I’ve tested a lot — and I mean a lot — of the best Bluetooth speakers. More than 50 to be exact. And if we’re talking about sheer popularity, then one brand is the clear and obvious top dog: JBL. For good reason too. In my years of testing, I’ve found that JBL regularly delivers the ideal blend of quality and affordability, regularly producing Bluetooth speakers with great sound and impressive durability at an easy-to-stomach price.

JBL also makes loads of different options, so I though I'd help you narrow things down a bit, and have picked out three JBL speakers I’d actually spend my own money on — with speakers for all budgets.

I’ve selected a small, budget-friendly speaker, a mid-priced maestro, and a premium pick that’s ideal for parties — there really is something here for everyone. If a speaker hasn't make this list, it’s by no means a vote of no confidence; this is simply a list of the three I’d personally grab right now.

1. JBL Go 5

Let’s start with the small yet mighty JBL Go 5, which I recently reviewed and rated five stars. The Go 5 is, in my view, the best small speaker on the market right now, offering clear, precise, and well-balanced sound, alongside an extremely hardy build, and a stellar feature-set.

As a mini speaker, the Go 5 won’t be able to belt out earth-shaking bass, but it plays to its strengths. Low-end sound is agile and punchy rather than ‘boomy’ and uncontrolled. Meanwhile, mids are clear and composed, and treble is highly articulate, resulting in great sound within a small package.

There’s also USB-C audio for lossless playback and EQ options to tailor audio to your specific tastes. The Go 5 has a more layered, full sound than its predecessor, the JBL Go 4, so if you own that model, I’d still recommend upgrading.

Another reason to opt for the Go 5 over the Go 4 is its design. The newer variant is equipped with edge lighting that makes listening to music even more immersive — especially in low-lit rooms if you want a bit of ambience. Waterproofing also got a boost to IP68, meaning the Go 5 is fully dustproof and capable of surviving a 1.5 meter dunking underwater for as long as 30 minutes — ideal for beach trips and pool parties.

Mix in solid battery life, Auracast compatibility, as well as a drop proof exterior, and the JBL Go 5 really is the full package — albeit a small-sized one. It’s typically available for $54.95 / £39.99 (about AU$75) as well, meaning it’s an absolute bargain.

2. JBL Flip 7

If we’re talking about value for money, then the JBL Flip 7 might just be the greatest Bluetooth speaker I’ve ever tested. Big statement, I know.

The reason for this is actually fairly simple: the sound it produces defies belief — not only based on the speaker’s low price, but also on its low footprint. Yes, the five-star Flip 7 is very compact, but it produces big, impactful sound, with strikingly impactful bass that demands your attention. But this doesn’t come at the expense of the rest of the frequency range. Mids are layered and intricate with vocals sounding especially well-defined, while treble sounds exert a level of expressiveness that’s beyond expectation.

Elsewhere, the Flip 7 carries over a lot of the Go 5’s greatest features, like an IP68 rating, USB-C audio, Auracast, and PlayTime Boost if you need a bit more battery life — though the standard 14 hours should get you a decent way. Sure, there’s no edge lighting on this one, but it's a clear step-up in terms of sound quality and power — it has a 35W maximum power output compared to the Go 5’s humble 4.8W.

At $149 / £129 / AU$179, the Flip 7 already overdelivers against its asking price, but I’ve seen it pop up on sale plenty of times, so keep your eye out for a sweet deal.

3. JBL Xtreme 5

Last but most definitely not least, I have the JBL Xtreme 5. If you’re working with a larger budget, want massive sound, or want a speaker for parties, then this one’s for you. This model was released alongside the Go 5, so I also reviewed it very recently, and like its small counterpart, it earned a glowing five-star review.

But what makes the Xtreme 5 so special? Of course it has all of the aforementioned features, whether that be IP68 dust and waterproofing, wired lossless playback or personalizable EQ. But the big difference is made in the audio department.

The Xtreme 5 has a massive maximum power output of 130W, meaning it can supply seismic sound, with thumping bass, driven and direct mids, and vibrant highs. Although it's a great performer all-round, it really is the low-end that wows. I described this model’s bass as “mesmerizing” in my review, and during testing I was blown away by the sheer might of its low-end output, which was significantly improved from the JBL Xtreme 4.

In addition, the Xtreme can squeeze out up to 28 hours of playtime, has JBL EasySing Mic compatibility for karaoke, and like the Go 5 it has customizable LED lighting. If you want the ultimate portable party speaker, look no further than this. The Xtreme 5 usually sells for $399.95 / £329.99 (about AU$560), which is very competitive in the upper echelons of the Bluetooth speaker market, although it's undoubtedly quite the investment.

Summer is here, and there’s one thing you need to take your barbecues, beach trips, and festivals to the next level: a Bluetooth speaker.

That’s right, a portable speaker is sure to bring the vibe up — well, if you’ve got one that’s actually good. And believe me, there are a lot of models out there that really aren’t worth your time. Whether it’s an unbranded speaker that only costs $15 / £15 and produces distorted sound, or an overpriced luxurious alternative, you’ll want to steer clear of the slop.

Luckily, I’ve tested more than 50 Bluetooth speakers, so I know good value when I see it. And today, I’m here to share three of my very favorite portable speakers with you, all of which are well worth their asking price, and excel in crucial areas like sound quality, design, and feature-set. So, want to ensure you get a high quality audio companion for the summer? Look no further than these top picks.

1. The ultra-cheap option: Tribit Stormbox Micro 3

I could’ve easily given this one to the JBL Go 5, but spoiler alert: JBL is featuring later on in this list — and hey, it’s good to get a bit of variety in there, right? And so, enter the Tribit Stormbox Micro 3, which is easily among the best Bluetooth speakers in the ultra-cheap category.

This palm-sized speaker offers a lot more quality than you’d expect at its moderate price point. What grabs you first is its seismic bass output. But don’t be fooled: this isn’t the bloated, overstated low-end that a lot of budget speakers produce — it’s impactful and commanding. This is great for genres with pumping bass like House and other electronic genres, for instance.

What’s more, this speaker is IP68-rated, meaning that it’s fully dustproof, and can survive a 30-minute-long dunking in a meter and a half of water. It's also made of a rough and ready fabric material, and is drop-proof, which, paired with its compact size, makes the Stormbox Micro 3 the ultimate speaker to take out and about.

Another real highlight is the Stormbox Micro 3’s 24-hour battery life, which is absolutely exceptional. For reference, that’s double the amount you’d get with the Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2, and while that model may offer slightly more detailed mids and more expressive treble, its underwhelming bass and high price means I’d pick the Stormbox Micro 3 every time.

2. The mid-range maestro: JBL Flip 7

The JBL Flip 7 is one of those pieces of tech that seems too good to be true — except it isn’t.

It supplies sound far greater than you’d expect for its size, with huge yet controlled bass, powerful yet detailed mids, and vibrant yet articulate highs. The Flip 7’s dual-driver configuration and 35W max power output also helps it to get surprisingly loud, making it a versatile option for either bedroom listening or a party environment.

In addition, the Flip 7 is compatible with Auracast, enabling you to easily connect to other JBL speakers, there’s USB-C lossless audio support, and again, IP68 dust and waterproofing for on-the-go use. Sprinkle in a high-quality build, AI Sound analysis for optimized audio, and a neat array of color options, and the Flip 7 really does feel like the full package.

Usually, the Flip 7 will cost you about $149 / £129 / AU$179, but it goes on sale quite a lot of the time — even when writing this article, I spotted it going for less than $100 / £100 / AU$150, which is unspeakably good value for money.

3. The premium powerhouse: Marshall Kilburn III

Let’s finish up with the speaker I always reach for at my desk: the Marshall Kilburn III. This beautiful amp-inspired model is a true work of art, with faux-leather casing, a gorgeous metallic speaker grille, and eye-catching golden details. But it’s a lot more than a pretty face.

Yes, the Kilburn III sounds exceptional even with the lack of higher-res Bluetooth codecs like LDAC or aptX Adaptive. It serves up deep, regimented, almost moving bass, well-separated mids, and controlled highs, and there’s a great sense of balance right across the frequency range. The Kilburn III also makes use of Marshall’s “true” 360-degree stereophonic sound, which means the speaker has no real sweet spot — it sounds fantastic from all angles.

One of the things I love most about the Kilburn III, however, is its S-tier battery life. You get a mammoth 50 hours of playtime here, and there are also battery health options that you can activate in the Marshall Bluetooth app. On top of this, you get a 3.5mm port for wired listening, a USB-C port that enables you to charge external devices, and there’s even a placement compensation feature for getting optimized audio, no matter where your speaker sits.

At $379 / £299 / AU$599, this is by no means the cheapest speaker on the market, but I’ve seen it go on sale for less than $300 / £250 / AU$500 before. And if you’re looking for something with a touch of class, then it really doesn’t get much better than the Marshall Kilburn III.

Sonos Era 100 SL: two-minute review

The Sonos Era 100 SL is a wireless speaker that features nearly all the strengths of 2023’s original Sonos Era 100, but at a cheaper price. While it isn't a surprise that there have been some trade-offs to get that cost down, I doubt they'll be a dealbreaker for most people.

Sonically speaking, there aren’t many sacrifices at all. In the mid-range, the Era 100 SL is capable of impressive detail. When I played I Want You by Moloko, I was impressed by how well its funky guitar noises, strings and acidy synth line cut through the mix, without interfering with the wonderfully polished vocals.

However, I found the high end a little more cluttered on occasion: listening to The Gloaming by Radiohead, I did feel that the rhythmic pulsing static was a bit too forward, treading on the toes of the granular synth. It sounds great for the price, but you do get a finer presentation if you pay more.

Bass was always the original Era 100’s achilles heel. It often tipped into being brash, slightly swamping the rest of the mix. When I played Six Days (Machinedrum remix) by DJ Shadow on the SL, the low-end appeared slightly more dynamic when compared to the original Era 100, leading me to wonder if a software tweak to rein in bass was responsible, or whether it's part of the re-engineering inside that Sonos CEO Tom Conrad told us the company had done, to hit the lower price.

Either way, it still isn't great with sub, though: it falls away just when it hits the drop, that swelling bassline feeling nowhere near as substantial as it sounds on the best wireless speakers that are pricier.

Generally, though, the SL offers a spacious presentation, especially when fed high-quality recordings. Playing Wasting My Young Years by London Grammar from Tidal’s hi-res tier, I was struck by the airiness of the mix, which allowed the silvery vocals to stand apart from the piano and drums.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t quite extend to the speaker’s stereo field — as with its predecessor, I found it hard to differentiate a clear stereo separation unless I was very close. As such, you’re unlikely to get a clear sense of left and right from halfway across the room — but then, at this price, you could actually buy two happily.

So the Era 100 SL is as easy on the ear as its predecessor, albeit with some of the same drawbacks. But how does it look?

Given it’s largely decked out in the same getup as the Era 100, there really are few surprises here. It’s the same dimensions and has the same wraparound grille and matte-plastic top surface. The touch-capacitive control scheme is also largely identical — with the voice control button being the only real omission, because Sonos removed that feature. Otherwise, Sonos has stuck with what works for the SL, and I’d say that was the right instinct.

In fact, probably the only area where the SL makes a real departure from its namesake is in its feature set. Connectivity remains solid, offering Wi-Fi 6, AirPlay 2 and a whole host of built-in streaming services — although the only wired input you’ll get is if you splash extra cash on its USB-C to 3.5mm analog converter. EQ options are identical to those on the Era 100, offering just the option to boost or duck bass or treble.

But there are two significant differences. First off, as I alluded to above, voice control has been stripped out of the SL. This feels like a reasonable sacrifice to lower that price — and I’d rather that than weaker sound quality.

Slightly more an issue for me is the omission of Trueplay room correction for Android users (which is a consequence of dropping the microphones, since the Android solution relies on them). Those with an iPhone can still tailor the SL’s sound to their space using their device to track calibration sound as they walk around the room. Given how well this feature polishes its sound, it is a shame that you'll miss out if you're on an Android device.

Despite this though, the Sonos Era 100 SL is well worth it. You get the quality sound plus classic design of Sonos’s pricier speaker, for the reduced price of $189 / £169 / AU$289. That’s a pretty great bargain and ameliorates our biggest hesitation with its pricier predecessor. Yes, it's a shame that Android users miss out on a great feature but it's still the best home speaker you'll get for this price.

Sonos Era 100 SL review: specs

Sonos Era 100 SL review: price & availability

• Launched on March 31, 2026
• Costs $189 / £169 / AU$289
• Available in black or white

Having launched on March 31, 2026, the Sonos Era 100 SL is available now, at a cheaper price than its predecessor, the Era 100.

The SL comes in at $189 / £169 / AU$289, compared to the Era 100’s now-reduced price of $219 / £199 / AU$319. While not a huge gulf, it still amounts to a decent saving, especially given the near-identical specs.

And, as is usually the case with Sonos gear, for that price you have the option to pick up the speaker in white or black.

Sonos Era 100 SL review: features

• Good connectivity options and streaming service support
• Room correction only compatible with iPhone
• No voice control of any kind

So how does the Sonos Era 100 SL’s featureset differ from its spendier stablemate? Well, on paper, it’s very similar to the Era 100, with only a couple of key differences.

Let’s start with its drivers. The SL offers the same setup as as the Era 100, with a mid-woofer to handle both mid-range frequencies and bass, while two angled tweeters take care of the treble and help form its stereo field. These are all driven by the speaker’s three class D amplifiers, meaning you get decent volume and low-end heft.

Setting up Sonos products has always been a breeze, and the Era 100 SL is no exception. Simply plug it in, download the Sonos app, and select the system you want to add it to. Tap on your speaker when it appears, and it will play an audio pin to connect it to your system. After installing an update via the app, I was good to go.

The last (optional) step is to set up the SL’s Trueplay room-calibration tuning, which is designed to get you the best possible sound from the speaker, and that works much the same as it did on the Era 100.

Essentially, you point your iPhone’s mic toward the speaker, then walk around the room while whirling it around in slow circles with one arm, like a lopsided propeller.

Following calibration, the sound definitely seemed free of obvious acoustic issues — there wasn’t any boom back from the bass, nor any unfortunate reverberations off the surfaces or walls — so Sonos’ room correction seems as effective as ever.

Unfortunately, there’s a pretty major caveat here: unlike on the Era 100, the SL’s Trueplay tuning is only compatible with iOS. And that is a real shame, given it does help unlock the SL's best sound. However, it still offers great performance for Android users, even if the lack of Trueplay does add an asterisk there.

Trueplay for Android users isn’t the only feature removed to help reduce the SL’s price. The voice control offered by the full Era 100 has been omitted, too, saving you the price of the mic module and controls. Personally, it takes me far longer to horsewhip my thoughts into a spoken command than it does to simply pull out my phone, so I’m not all that bothered about the lack of voice assistant. But if you are, you’ll probably prefer the Era 100.

While I’ve mentioned how much I rate the Era 100 SL’s room-correction tech, I can’t really say the same for its EQ options. The Sonos app only offers the ability to boost or duck the treble or bass by up to 10 levels. While I do think Sonos’s speakers sound a lot better than some wireless speakers out of the box, plenty of rivals now offer nine-band or even parametric EQ — which makes the SL’s bass and treble sliders feel like old hat.

As far as connectivity options are concerned, the Era 100 SL offers a decent range. Using Wi-Fi 6, you can stream tunes directly from your devices using AirPlay 2, or from the speaker using built-in apps including Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Soundcloud, Spotify, Tidal and a whole heap more. Meanwhile, Bluetooth 5.3 will allow you to hook up all your non-Apple devices, although there’s no support for higher-res formats such as aptX HD.

Sadly, the Era 100 SL is less well equipped when it comes to physical connections. Its USB-C port is only for plugging in adapters, so banish any thoughts of hooking up wired digital audio. So while it does allow you the option for plugging in either a 3.5mm jack for analog audio or an Ethernet cable, each of these requires you to buy a separate adapter. It’s a world away from the wealth of ports that a speaker such as the Bluesound Pulse Flex offers.

• Features score: 4 / 5

Sonos Era 100 SL review: sound quality

• Impressive detail
• Rich mids, and bass feels slightly less muddy
• Relatively weak stereo field

My big worry when preparing to test the Sonos Era 100 SL was that in trying to hit the cheaper price point, there would have been a negative impact on the quality of its sound. Fortunately, I’m pleased to reveal this isn't the case — the Era 100 SL happily holds its own against its predecessor and, in some areas, I actually wonder if software tweaks have reined in some of the Era 100’s worst impulses.

First, let’s start with the mid-range. When listening to Venera by George Fitzgerald, I was impressed with how much presence and detail the SL could squeeze out of the track’s vocal, pad washes and synth lines, making them sound like a richly textured whole. Admittedly, some of the percussion felt a little less punchy than I’m used to, but that was more than made up for by how well it balanced the saturated, arpeggiated synth and organic organic woodwind sounds that close out the track.

The original Era 100 came unstuck mainly in the bass — like an overexcitable puppy, it was both enthusiastic and yet lacking in discipline. Here, it sounds like the SL’s software has been tweaked slightly to rein this in.

Comparing Listen by Pola & Bryson and Goddard on both speakers, sustained bass notes sound less reverberant and flabby on the SL, while snarling distorted bass synths seem more tightly expressed. However, not that if you’re expecting super-low bass from either device, you’ll be left wanting: there’s very little in the way of sub from either.

I tested the SL’s treble by playing Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac — an exam it easily passed, even if it didn’t quite ace it. There wasn’t any unpleasant distortion or oversaturation to it, while the snare and toms had a delicious punch that kept everything moving forward. However, my one reservation was that the rhythmic punch and the polished vocals slightly outshone the twangy rhythm guitar — for me, they’re part of what makes the track so iconic, so it was a shame they didn't get to share as much of the limelight.

Given the Era 100 SL doesn’t exactly sit at the premium end of the market, it also does a good job of separating different instruments in the mix. Playing a hi-res stream of Clair de Lune by Kamasi Washington straight from Tidal, I was impressed by the clarity of timbre of each instrument, especially during the solos. The trumpet beautifully conveys the instrument’s rich harmonics, while the sliding strings of the double bass as the player launches into their solo are brilliantly expressed.

Like its predecessor, the SL is only capable of so-so stereo. Unlike some more premium speakers, it still largely feels like the sound is issuing from a single point. And when I played Manchild by Eels, I could appreciate the stereo separation between elements — with the guitars clearly panned to the right and the vocals to the left — but only when I was sat within a few feet of the device. At least listening angles are pretty consistent, with only a very slight drop off in the treble as you travel toward the speaker’s back.

All in all, my biggest worries going into this were ill-founded. Despite the cheaper price of the Sonos Era 100 SL, it doesn’t demonstrate any significant sonic sacrifices compared to its full-fat sibling. And there may have even been a few software tweaks behind the scenes to slightly rein in the wilder tendencies of the older speaker. Either way, it’s a very decent-sounding speaker for the price.

• Sound quality score: 4.5 / 5

Sonos Era 100 SL review: design

• Almost identical to the Era 100
• Solid, tactile build
• Effective touch-capacitive controls

When it comes to looks, the Sonos Era 100 SL remains almost identical to its older sibling. They share the same cylindrical ellipse shape, are wrapped in the same metallic grille, and arrive in the same black or white colorway. If you’ve ever gawked at the older Era 100, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting here.

All in all, the Era 100 SL is decently stylish, feels solidly built, and the matte plastic of its top surface is pleasingly tactile. While I’ve poured scorn on quite a few wireless speakers lately for defaulting to this same basic format, I’ll give Sonos a pass here. First off, it was largely the brand that coined this look in the first place — and, more importantly, the Era 100 SL is principally a cheaper speaker wearing its spendier brother’s clothing, meaning it was never going to break the mould of existing speakers.

In light of this, so not surprisingly, the Sonos Era 100 SL is the same size as its full-fat sibling, measuring 7.19 x 4.72 x 5.14 inches / 182.5 x 120 x 130.5mm. However, it's ever so slightly lighter — presumably thanks to its shedding of voice control mics — weighing in at 4.3lbs / 1.95kg compared to its predecessor’s 4.45lbs / 2.02kg. That makes it a pretty average size in the grand scheme of things, neither Lilliputian like the 0.96lbs / 0.44kg Sonos Roam 2, nor Brobdingnagian like the hulking, 3 lbs / 14.5kg Cambridge Audio Evo One.

With one notable exception, the erstwhile voice control button, the buttons on the Era 100 SL are the same. And that’s very much a plus: there’s no need to fix the Era 100’s control scheme since it definitely isn't broke. Its touch-capacitive controls are easy to activate, allowing you to play, pause and skip tracks, while swiping its touch bar lets you tweak its volume. Sure, it could offer light-up symbols for use in darker rooms or customizable shortcut keys, but it covers the core functions well.

Fundamentally, the Era 100 SL is the spitting image of the Era 100 before it. So if you were a fan of the older model, you can be sure you’ll like its younger sibling.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Sonos Era 100 SL review: value

In our review, one of our criticisms of the original Sonos Era 100 was its increased cost. Its initial list price of $249 / £249 / AU$399 presented a chunky markup on the Sonos One at $219 / £199 / AU$319 , but even more so when compared to the Sonos One SL's $199 / £179 / AU$289. Even though the Era 100 has now come down in price to $219 / £199 / AU$319, that’s still only roughly comparable to the Sonos One.

Conversely, the Era 100 SL has a list price of $189 / £169 / AU$289, making it the same price or even cheaper than the Sonos One SL but with many of the same features and the exact same sound quality as the Era 100. That’s not to be sneered at.

In fact, if you’re an iPhone user, the only real thing you’re losing here is voice control, something I’m personally happy to sacrifice for a bit of a bargain. And even if you’re an Android user, this price is still well worth it as you're unlikely to get much better performance by investing your spend elsewhere. Access to Trueplay is a definite bonus but that shouldn't detract from the fact the SL still offers great sound for its price.

• Value score: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Sonos Era 100 SL?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Sonos Era 100 SL review: also consider

How I tested the Sonos Era 100 SL

• Tested it over four weeks
• Compared it to the Era 100 using a wide range of tracks
• Have decades of experience using audio hardware

I tested the Sonos Era 100 SL over the course of about a month. I made sure to utilize many of its key features, including room-tuning and EQ, and tried connecting to it through a range of options from direct streaming on the device through to connecting discrete devices using AirPlay 2.

To assess its sound quality, I played a wide variety of music, from classic rock to liquid drum & bass. I also compared the sound, side by side, with the Era 100 to see whether I could perceive any significant differences between their sound signatures. In addition, I compared each version’s stereo field and angle drop-off to see whether either revealed any issues with their soundstage.

As well as spending at least the past six years reviewing wireless speakers for tech publications, I have decades of experience using audio hardware in my home environment, including a range of wired and wireless speakers and headphones. I’ve also spent 20 years producing music from home, which has given me a firm understanding of how to assess the balance of frequencies and stereo elements.

• First reviewed: June 2026
• Read more about how we test

When the Canvas L was announced, and declared itself the "world's first audiophile soundbar", the TechRadar Slack lit up. The likes of KEF and Bang & Olufsen would surely dispute that claim — and is this upstart company really going to beat them at their own game?

Well, I got to listen to the new Canvas L in action at the High End Vienna 2026 hi-fi show, and my skepticism is gone. Other companies have produced absolutely glorious-sounding soundbar-shaped speakers, but the Canvas L is pretty astounding even in that context.

It's not trying to be like soundbars that apply 50 drivers to create a really big sound that works with Dolby Atmos spatial audio in all directions. It's pretty clear when you see the speaker arrangement that this is following a more traditional stereo speaker setup, just transplanted into a shape that's more like soundbar, and that sits below a TV.

Each side of the soundbar has an arrangement with a 29mm SB Acoustics ring radiator tweeter, a four-inch mid-range driver custom-built by Scan-Speak, and an eight-inch Scan-Speak woofer, the latter of which is paired with a matching eight-inch passive radiator.

So that's a pretty classic three-way system (plus a radiator), just in a cunning disguise. It requires a pretty robust amount of bracing, and the cabinet here certainly looks more like what you'd expect from hi-fi than from a soundbar. And the hefty size means it's designed to mount to the back of your TV, rather than sit on a surface.

Of course, even though this is basically a pair of floorstanding speakers in a cunning horizontal disguise, all the amplification is on board, and there's a hefty 1,500W of peak power. Specifially, there's 300W per woofer, 200W per mid-range driver, and 50W per tweeter, all class D.

Canvas Hifi says the frequency response is a huge 25Hz to 40,000kHz — and that brings me the juicy part: how it sounds.

Let's start with the fact that I can easily believe those big frequency range claims, because there's just wildly deep bass that resonates convincingly right through your abdomen, in a great way.

The low end is just gloriously meaty, giving you something to really grip onto and flow with in the music, and that can wake you up with guttural punch if it needs to.

I felt that were was just a slightly boomy edge to it when digging to the deepest depths, which wouldn't necessarily be surprising for something with two huge radiators, but it may have just been an artefact of the cobbled-together listening rooms we have to use at trade shows.

Even if it it's part of the bar's sound, I'd still have no real complaints if I wanted a powerful system without a sub — you just wouldn't need one, and it had no problem dispersing bass thoughout the room, as you'd want.

The sense of power goes beyond just the bass — it has no problem filling the whole room in front of me with a wall of sound that's packed with texture, and brings convincing realism to every delicate element in vocals.

It's so dynamic and impactful, with excellent musical timing, in a way that just gives it engrossing rhythmic energy. I could have happily sat floating in its sound the rest of my day at the show.

I've talked about the power a lot, because it's what stands out most. It can be really light-touch when it needs to be, meaning that it really does feel like an elite hi-fi experience in soundbar form, because it has the versatility that I associate with truly excellent large speakers — and then the ability kick you like a horse when the song demands it.

My overarching takeaway from the experiences was just for firm and 3D the instruments feel in music, even without the full separating you'd normally have for a stereo soundstage.

Here's the thing, though: I only got to hear it with music. Ultimately, this is is still a soundbar, and how well it works with movies is a big deal. I have no doubt it's going to handle the dynamic scale of a great soundtrack easily, but I'd definitely want to hear it with dialogue before arriving at any definitive conclusion.

Oh, and the other thing is the price. The Canvas L will reportedly start from $5,999 for the base model, which includes fixings to attach it to your TV, and it'll work as a stand for your TV as well. That will have a front panel for the speaker as well, of course.

That's about $6,880 / £5,150 / AU$9,760 — and it's for the smallest size. (The size of the speakers won't change at larger sizes, but you'll get a different front panel and fixtures.)

But bass as low as 25Hz is really hard for anything that isn't a dedicated subwoofer to hit. I had a look for stereo speakers that can match it, and you're looking at something like the Monitor Audio Gold 500 6G — which cost the same as this without amplification — or the Bowers & Wilkins 803 D4, which cost about $20k.

So relatively speaking, the Canvas L is a bargain? Sure, why not.

Klipsch The Nines II: Two-minute review

The Klipsch The Nines II are a tough pair of small speakers to beat for a large room. The amount of power and the clean, slightly overly bassy, sound are just some of what make these speakers special. There's also a ton of features on offer, including virtualized spatial audio (which is admittedly limited) Wi-Fi streaming, and even Dirac Live (though I couldn't seem to get it to work during my testing).

In fact, the buggy nature of the Dirac Live is my only real gripe with Klipsch's The Nines II (well, that and their cumbersome name if you're writing a review…), and the Dirac issue could be more due to environmental factors than a fundamental problem. My other issue — the fact that the speakers are heavy — is more just inconvenient than a real flaw.

Whenever I listen, I’m convinced that The Klipsch The Nines II are among the best stereo speakers to come out this year. And the amount of connectivity and features make them a nice alternative to the best soundbars, especially if you still want a bit of that more traditional stereo speaker setup.

Just be aware that these are quite a bit more expensive than the original Klipsch The Nines. That said, The Klipsch The Nines II offer a lot more than the first version as well.

Klipsch The Nines II review: Price and release date

• How much does it cost? $2,399 / £2,249 / AU$4,999
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

The original Klipsch The Nines have been out for a few years now, so the Spring release of the Klipsch The Nines II in 2026 is perfect timing. Speakers may not benefit from the yearly iterations of something like phones or TVs, but it’s about time for the upgrade considering the improvements in Bluetooth technology and W-iFi streaming over those last few years.

Interestingly enough, the Klipsch The Nines II are more than an iterative upgrade. Dolby Atmos (even if it’s a virtualization) and Dirac Live support are on offer in the new version, along with support for more Hi-Res codecs and a wider frequency range, which is why this newer version also comes with a much higher price tag — they're $700 / £700 more than the originals. That’s quite a price hike.

Klipsch The Nines II Powered Stereo Speakers: Specs

Klipsch The Nines II Powered Stereo Speakers: Features

• Virtualized Dolby Atmos, and Dirac room correction
• Wi-Fi streaming for a bunch of different music apps
• App has a lot of functionality, including custom EQ

The Klipsch The Nines II speakers may be limited in terms of features just by their form factor compared to a soundbar system like the Klipsch Flexus Core 300, but they have the right amount of options for a pair of bookshelf speakers.

Dolby Atmos and DTX:S is available on these speakers, though the spatial audio support is virtualized due to the fact that there aren’t any upward-facing speakers, and obviously limited width. Still, the virtualization does give a sense of height to the audio that works decently with a blockbuster movie.

Along with Bluetooth connectivity (5.4 specifically), the Klipsch The Nines II also support Wi-Fi streaming, specifically Google Cast, Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, and more. Since they work with Google Cast, they can be set up with Google Home for smart home users.

There’s a tiny bit of a lag between source and speaker when going wireless. However, there is a Lip Sync setting in the app to better synchronize when using the speakers with a wireless source with visuals, such as watching a video on a laptop with the audio coming through the Klipsches.

There will still be a lag between play, pause, etc. but that’s not something that I found to really affect my experience of the speakers.

Speaking of the app, this is the central place for any deeper fine tuning. If you want to tweak the audio, there’s a five-band EQ in the app along with some presets. If you want to set up or use Dirac Live, you do that through the app — by the way, the speaker comes with a limited license that will adjust the audio between 200 and 500 Hz (the full frequency is paywalled).

Lastly (well, I’m leaving a few less consequential things out), you can turn on a few different modes: Dynamic Bass, Dialog mode, and Night Mode, and they all work decently enough with the latter being the most effective at its purpose (bringing up quiet sounds and bringing down loud ones).

• Features score: 4.5 / 5

Klipsch The Nines II Powered Stereo Speakers: Sound quality

• Weighty, robust sound
• Lots of bass, mid-bass a bit too full
• Lots of dynamic headroom

Klipsch's The Nines II are really good sounding speakers, and they might be the most weighty sounding speakers I’ve heard for the size, too. Despite not having a subwoofer (or maybe because of it and still providing a lot of bass), every element seems to have a thickness or robustness to it that I usually don’t hear with a lot of audio equipment.

Listening to music the low end is there in spades, whether I was listening to pop, hip hop, or even Counting Crows. The massive bass gives a boominess to the mid-range that is not unpleasant, but is far from neutral or accurate. Using the app to bring the 400Hz slider down one or two notches does clean up the sound a lot, but know that this is fundamentally built into its audio profile.

The high end is slightly on the warm side due to that weightiness I spoke about. Boosting the 8kHz slider in the app does brighten the affair though, if you prefer. Regardless, the Klipsch The Nines II did retain all the detail in the high-end in elements such as the strings in Radiohead’s Pyramid Song or Joni Mitchell’s higher register in A Case of You.

The soundstage, while dependent on correctly setting up the speakers, is not only nice and wide but has good separation thanks to the amount of headroom on these speakers. After all, I never really had them higher than halfway up in volume and they filled a good sized room full of distortion-free, clean audio.

• Sound quality score: 4.5 / 5

Klipsch The Nines II: Design

• These speakers are big for bookshelves
• Few physical controls, lots of inputs
• There's a subwoofer output

The Klipsch The Nines II are big at over 18 inches tall, over nine and a half inches wide, and almost 15 inches deep, weighing up to 33 lbs per speaker (the one without all the controls is two measly pounds lighter). They’re also attractive, thankfully, coming in three colorways: walnut, red oak, and black (reviewed here).

In terms of controls, the active speaker only has a volume dial and a single power / input cycle button. There’s also an LED indicator above the power button that changes colors depending on the input selected and, while there may only be two physical controls (there’s also a pairing button on the back of each speaker labeled Utility), there are quite a few inputs.

There’s HDMI eARC, optical, phono, USB, Bluetooth, coaxial, and ethernet. It’s easier to select them through the app, because remembering which color corresponds to which port isn't easy to remember.

All the ports are situated on the back of the primary speaker. Besides the physical ports for the channels listed above that need them, there’s also a sub out and a mic in, the latter of which is for the Dirac Live feature.

Also included are speaker covers that attach magnetically, along with a matte black remote, the aforementioned wired mic, an HDMI cable, power cable, and cable to connect the two speakers to each other physically, if you don't want to have them speaking to each other wirelessly (they’re automatically paired with each other out of the box, so going wireless is no hassle).

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Klipsch The Nines II review: Setup and usability

• Setup is made more difficult by the speakers’ weight
• App is intuitive to use for the most part
• Dirac Live is difficult to set up

The Klipsch The Nines II are both easy and not easy to set up, entirely based on their weight. The primary and secondary speakers are automatically paired out of the box and just need to be plugged in to power. Pairing via Bluetooth requires just being on the Bluetooth input and connecting via your smart phone.

And the physical connections just need their respective cables and possibly a settings change — changing a TV’s audio output to eARC, for instance. In terms of functionality, that’s all you have to do to use them.

That said, each speaker is heavy at over 30 lbs each (or over 14.5kg). That’s cumbersome to move. Even if that weight is not a problem for you, these are big boxes. Add in speaker stands, which I believe are ideal for getting the best sound out of these speakers (an additional $475 for a pair if you want Klipsch's own…) and setup becomes more of a physical challenge than it might be for some speakers.

The stand just takes time to assemble: connect the proper rubber feet based on flooring, the base to the stand, and the stand to the speaker. But if you connected the stand to the speaker upside down like I did, you’ll encounter my least favorite part… flipping the speaker over while connected to the stand, which weighs an additional 24.1 lbs (10.9kg), by the way.

Each complete 57 lbs unit was unwieldy, to say the least, and I felt like I had to be careful so as not to let these fairly pricey speakers accidentally fall and get damaged.

Outside of that, adjusting the speakers for placement is similar to any other pair of bookshelf speakers, if heavier, and it didn't take me long to get them situated for a listening sweet spot on the couch.

Using the speakers is likewise a slightly mixed bag. Using the remote is easy and I appreciate the ability to remap the two bottom buttons to my favorite inputs. The app is generally intuitive as well.

However, as much as I enjoy the difference Dirac Live can make with speakers, I had an incredibly difficult time getting the calibration test to run even though I had the upgrade for the full frequency range (an additional $99).

I know that the microphone is very sensitive so needs as much quiet as possible, but no matter how hard I tried, that degree of quiet threshold I just could not reach.

• Setup and usability score: 3.5 / 5

Klipsch The Nines II Powered Stereo Speakers: Value

• Comes with a premium price tag
• A lot of very good speakers available for much less
• Much more expensive than the original Klipsch The Nines

When the original Klipsch The Nines came out, they were priced similarly to the KEF LSX II LT, one of the most popular active stereo speaker systems out there. The Klipsch The Nines II are not only seven hundred bucks more than the original, but the KEF speakers have come down to $999 / £899 since they came out. That’s a massive price difference.

That said, the KEF LSX II LT are compact so are not able to really fill a room the way The Nines II can. Plus, there’s no analog connectivity or the extensive set of features the Klipsch The Nines II have.

When it comes to being a complete and yet powerful stereo system in two (reasonably) compact boxes, The Nines II are good value — but no one's going to claim they're a bargain.

• Value score: 3.5 / 5

Should I buy the Klipsch The Nines II speakers?

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

Klipsch The Nines II review: Also consider

How I tested the Klipsch The Nines II

• Used regularly for a few weeks
• Listened to all sorts of audio
• Used the various controls and ports

I used the Klipsch The Nines II for a few weeks, listening to all sorts of genres of music, such as hip hop, EDM, pop, rock, jazz, and folk to get a better feel for these speakers. They were also tested with some TV viewing and computer games.

I’ve tested a lot of tech gear over the years from laptops to keyboards and speakers, and so have been able to use my expertise towards giving an honest and fair opinion, not to mention a critical eye, to any product I test.

• First reviewed: June 2026
• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

One of music’s greatest abilities is to move its listeners. Usually that’s an emotional experience, but listening to the JBL Summit Everest speakers, I quickly remembered it can be physical too.

The first time I felt bass vibrate my very soul was sat in the back of my friend’s Vauxhall Nova, with its back full of subwoofers. Then there was my 20s, when I spent a considerable amount of time standing too close to speakers in what we’ll call my “dubstep era”.

Thankfully, being sat in front of the JBL Summit Everest was quite the upgrade to both of those experiences — but just as palpable.

For many people, JBL might be a brand they would more associate with the best Bluetooth speakers more than hi-fi, but the company’s history is firmly rooted in high-end home audio, and celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. The launch of these speakers, and the slightly smaller Summit K2, is part of those celebrations.

They are actually the fifth generation of Project Everest speakers that span more than 40 years, with this iteration slotting into the company’s now five-strong Summit Series.

JBL says this range represents the most “technically accomplished” speakers it has ever made for homes, and the new Everest sit at the top of all of them, having taken six years to make. I'm told the engineers were given no budget to hit, and no specific selling point to nail, except to make the very best speakers they could.

The homes these speakers are made for, though, must have space I can only dream of. As their name might suggest, the Summit Everest are enormous. Standing at 144cm, they’re a little shy of 5 feet tall, and take up the floor space of at least two ‘regular-sized’ floorstanders, maybe more.

You’ll want to think where you’re putting them too, because moving them around isn’t exactly an easy option at 237kg per speaker.

For anyone familiar with the Everest range, they’ll look familiar — they’ve very much kept the family DNA, and are certainly not for people worried about whether a speaker blends in or not, even with their curved cabinet design and choice of gloss finishes.

These are proud statement speakers, with proprietary dual 10-inch mid-bass drivers and dual 15-inch woofers that sit below a custom, large-format Sonoglass horn.

Within this horn is the newly engineered mid/high frequency system — comprising three two-inch dual-diaphragm, dual-motor compression drivers — which promises next-level clarity, detail and dynamic precision.

Considering what these speakers are capable of, there’s a range of options for powering them, with the option for single wire, alongside more likely bi-amp/bi-wire and tri-amp/tri-wire configurations.

With a minimum impedance of 2.7 Ohms, your amp(s) of choice are going to need to be suitably powered too — the demo used Mark Levinson 600 Series electronics, made up of the preamp and dual monoblock amplifiers totalling around $110,000 /£100,000.

I sat through a demo of six songs, the first being a new hi-fi show favorite when there is bass to show off: the Geoff Castellucci cover of The Sound of Silence. But despite having heard it numerous times over the two days of the High End Vienna show, I’ve never quite heard it sound like it did on the Summit Everest.

The pure power, depth and definition with which Castellucci’s voice was reproduced were near visceral, extending all the way down into the sub bass at a volume that effortlessly filled JBL’s considerably sized listening room, without any distortion. I think I can still feel the sub-harmonics rumbling in my chest today.

JBL turned to another show favorite, Pink Panther by markusphilippe, to show off the incredible spatial separation that these speakers are capable of. It also highlighted a seriously natural handling of both the saxophone and double bass melodies, two instruments that are notoriously tricky for speakers to reproduce with conviction.

Intimate female vocals were served up by a play through of With Birds by Dominique Fils-Aimé and Diana Krall’s The Girl in the Other Room, also helping the Summit Everest demonstrate the depth and accuracy of their soundstage.

The “fun” came in the form of The Future is Unknown by Adriatique — a melodic, energetic techno track that shows off the Everest’s grippy handle on dynamics, a hypnotic, pulsing bassline delivered with so much power it feels like it might rumble me right out of my seat, and powerful synths so full of texture they sound almost three dimensional.

Of course, there’s the small matter of the price, and — fairly predictably — none of this comes cheap. The Summit Everest cost an eye-watering $160,000 / £140,000 per pair, meaning this level of hi-fi is not something that most of us will experience outside of demo rooms.

But that’s ok. There is plenty of great gear out there for a much more realistic budget, but it’s still nice to be reminded of what’s possible when that budget is left at the bottom of the mountain. A real treat indeed.

Convenience has become a much more acceptable concept in hi-fi these days. No longer shorthand for compromise, its importance for modern listeners has instead inspired whole lines of products — and the impressive Cambridge Audio Evo range is one of the most impressive among them.

Initially made up of a couple of just-add-speakers streaming amplifiers and an all-in-one player, the line up has offered a great solution for anyone looking to simplify their setup since its launch five years ago.

Last year, Cambridge retired the lesser powered of the two streaming amps — the Evo 75 — leaving the reconfigured Evo 150 SE and the also-includes-speaker Cambridge Evo One holding the fort on their own… until now.

Cambridge recently unveiled the Evo 300, a brand new range-topping stereo streaming amp, promising to be twice as powerful and, the brand says, a “real step up” from last year’s Evo 150 SE in “pretty much every way”. I got to hear it at this year's High End Vienna hi-fi show, and we deemed it good enough to win one of TechRadar's High End Vienna Best in Show awards.

As much as I love the fun of system matching with hi-fi separates, it can be expensive and time consuming, so there’s a lot to be said for a the simplicity of a streaming amp — particularly one that is claiming a hefty output of 300 watts per channel of Class D amplification, all wrapped up in a seriously stylish design.

You even get to choose from interchangeable side panels for the Evo 300’s black aluminum body, with the option of a traditional real-wood finish or a more modern black slatted look. I’m partial to the wood look myself.

The Evo 300 is like a slightly stretched out version of the Evo 150 SE, measuring just a couple of inches wider. This means it also features the brand’s largest screen at 7.8 inches, which is an OLED that looks as bright and crisp as ever. This shows any changes to volume and input as they happen, but also displays album artwork or a choice of digital VU meters, if you prefer.

The same incredibly tactile dual-concentric control dial from the 150 SE sits along the front panel, for adjusting volume and choosing input, plus there’s a front-mounted 6.35mm headphone output and a handful of playback controls just to the right of the display.

While Cambridge told me that it’s managed to squeeze even more power from the same Hypex NCOREx amplification modules as the 150 SE, the company’s flagship streaming amp has had a DAC upgrade, with the improved 32-bit ESS Sabre ES9038Q2M now on board to support playback of just about any Hi-Res Audio you can throw at it.

It also now features a dual-mono layout under the hood, for maximum channel separation, and improved stereo imaging, alongside a balanced pre-amplifier stage. Plus there’s now the addition of HDMI eARC for the most up-to-date connection for your TV, and flexibility with independent volume and subwoofer controls.

These join the things we loved from the 150 SE, such as dual speaker outputs, optical, RCA and balanced XLR inputs, and a moving magnet phono stage for hooking up a turntable.

Comprehensive streaming support is of course offered via Cambridge Audio’s excellent StreamMagic platform, which includes Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Qobuz Connect, plus you can use AirPlay 2, Google Cast, and Bluetooth 5.4. It’s also Roon Ready for multiroom support with other Roon-compatible devices.

All of this points to a seriously capable centrepiece in a serious hi-fi system — particularly considering the much more powerful speakers it can now be paired with.

I got to listen to the Evo 300 hooked up to a pair of Dynaudio Contour Legacy floorstanders — which really aren’t messing around at $14,000 / £10,000 / AU$20,000 per pair. But the Evo 300 takes them in its stride, with a confident, full-bodied presentation, and volume to spare.

From a brief first listen, it’s easy for the power and scale that this relatively compact single box is capable of to be the main takeaway. Streaming from Spotify Lossless, the Evo 300 delivers an incredibly expansive and spacious sound, with a solid stereo image and good separation.

But the level of insight, clarity and detail retrieval also feels notable here. Combined with Cambridge’s reputation for musicality and what appears to be a more refined tonal balance — even at high volume levels — it all means that, on first impressions, the Evo 300 certainly sounds to be the substantial step up it is promising to be.

Of course, trade show demos offer far from perfect conditions for a truly critical appraisal of sound, so I’m very much looking forward to seeing how it performs in the real world.

The Cambridge Evo 300 is very much priced for its capabilities though, so at $3,999 / £3,499 / AU$6,399, you’re going to want to make sure your space or gear can really make use of these beefier specs before you invest.

If not, the Cambridge 150 SE remains a great option for just-add-speakers convenience, and at almost half the price in the UK and Australia (£1,999 / $3,299 / AU$3,849). In the US, the price is bizarrely close between the two models, though the Evo 150 SE often falls to $2,699.

• Major changes to navigation and volume control
• Available in a new beta this week
• Opt-in rather than enabled by default

Sonos has announced a suite of new changes to the Sonos app, and you'll be able to try the new version this week as a beta — if you want to.

Posting on Reddit, Sonos CEO Tom Conrad says that after "hundreds of hours watching real customers use the Sonos app" his team has identified lots of irritants and sticking points. "We've learned a lot about what hangs people up, what's confusing when you're new to the system, and what slows you down when you're just trying to change the darn volume."

In response, Sonos is making lots of changes to the app, including how you turn the volume up and down.

The post has so far generated a lot of positive responses, including the current top comment by Daveintausend: "Never thought I'd say this but I'm hyped for a better volume control."

What changes are coming to the Sonos app?

A new beta will be released this week, with significant changes to the interface. As Conrad put it: "What kept showing up was this: a lot of friction came from proprietary patterns we built that made the app harder to learn and use than it needed to be. Stacks on stacks on stacks of content cards. Swipe-up gestures to switch speaker orientation. Close boxes where any other app on your phone would have a back button. Custom interface elements that never quite felt like part of iOS or Android."

The plan is to change all of that, and Conrad has highlighted three key areas: better tabbed navigation, a "totally new" volume interface, and more control over how your players are listed and displayed.

He also promises "dozens of smaller quality-of-life fixes everywhere" including swipe to delete in playlists, new views on iPad, and a refresh to the Now Playing screen.

The main interface will be divided into three tabs: Home, System and Search, which will be styled in a way that's native to your phone's operating system, and that replace "the hidden gestures and content cards".

And the volume control will have "a core mechanism that is easier to grab and fine tune, buttons to tap up and down if that’s your thing and a new way to synchronize a across group of rooms."

The changes aren't rolling out to the main app just yet, and they're actually not even mandatory in this week's beta either — but if you install the new beta you'll be able to see the changes by enabling "Enable Improved Navigation" in Settings. It will remain an opt-in toggle post-beta, with Sonos soliciting feedback "until it's fully polished up."

The beta program is here, if you want sign up and try the changes out, but bear in mind that using beta software always comes with the risk of bugs or other problems.

I think it's fair to say that Sonos is doing things very differently since Tom Conrad took the helm in early 2025, and he was up-front about the app debacle when my colleague Matt Bolton interviewed him earlier this year.

In that conversation he told us that "In the aftermath of [the problems], you just have to show up in people's life with some humility and do the hard work of earning their trust back through great execution, great product, great software, great experiences, and never forget what you put people through". It's great to see him delivering on that promise.

For the launch of Denon's new X3900H and X2900H AV receivers, I visited the company's headquarters in Japan to give the new models a try in the custom listening room developed for the company's Sound Masters to tune products to perfection — but I also visited Denon and Marantz's combined factory, where the two companies produce their hi-fi and AVR components.

This is in the city of Shirakawa, about an hour's ride on the Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo, where the cherry blossoms still lingered even though Tokyo's parks had largely lost their annual spring decoration.

Seeing the production lines and testing for the various hi-fi models was interesting, but I've visited lots of AV manufacturing facilities in my time, and once you've seen four, you've largely seen them all.

But our tour included an extended session in the factory's home theater listening room, which is one of the most impressive setups I've experienced. The room was first established in 1983, so that the first Marantz AV receiver could be developed and tested in it before its launch in 1985.

There are subtle signs of the room's age — the vault-like door has a distinctly '70s infrastructure look and feel to it — but the Denon receiver at the center of our demo today is unquestionably modern.

The AVC A1H is the company's first model that can handle 9.4.6 speaker channels, with support for basically any spatial audio system you'd care to throw at it.

And 9.4.6 channels is exactly what the room's speaker system offers, in the imposing form of eight Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 speakers with an HTM81 D4 center, plus four ASW Series subwoofers tucked away at the edges — and six speakers mounted in the ceiling. That's about $250k of speakers.

These were paired with a Sony VPL-VW535 4K projector for the visuals, powered by an Oppo UDP-205 4K Blu-ray player. Alas, it's a reminder that this model has arguably never been bettered despite being discontinued the better part of a decade ago.

I slid into the sweet spot seats in the middle, which Denon and Marantz engineers said is 12 feet from the center channel, and 10 feet from the two rears — not quite following the equilateral distance guidelines laid out by Dolby for Atmos, but I'm not going to quibble with the people who design the actual setup.

The first demo scene was A Star is Born (2018), when Ally comes out to play on stage at Jackson's concert for the first time. The first thing that struck me was the complete disconnection of the sound from the equipment, in the best way.

The sound is so expansive and expressive that it feels like there's no channel system at all — the platonic ideal of Dolby Atmos' spatial audio.

The sound is so amazingly cohesive from top to bottom, and always has a new gear to find when it needs to step up the resonant bass of an acoustic instrument, or when Gaga’s voice is given extra elevation out of the mix by the soundtrack, or to highlight each guitar string suddenly twanging — and whenever it needs to the extra step, it always feels like a seamless flow.

The system feels like it just has endless power, and yet it feels like it's not exerting itself hard at all — there's no sense of the forceful and forward sound that you're likely to get from soundbars or compact options. It's just naturally explosive.

Next up was the opening scene of Unbroken, which puts you in the middle of an aerial battle in World War II — in particular, locking you in and around the experience of one bomber.

There's excellent specificity in the position and scale of effects, such as propellers vibrating the air, or whirring gunner seats and small rattling brackets and fixtures. But these don't sound like they’re being especially highlighted and punched up; they’re just naturally specific in the mix.

Anti-aircraft fire and explosions are grippingly dynamic, popping out of nowhere and rattling the soundscape forward to back as the cockpit is peppered with shrapnel — it's not one crackly effect, but a clear wave of super-fast movement in 3D.

Machine guns fire audibly just above the screen, and cartridges rattle in a clear downward motion as they fall into our 'seating' area — you're able to understand more about the structure of the vehicle from the sound design, when everything is this precise.

Next on the list is Gravity, which the Denon and Marantz team described as their choice of movie for an “AVR stress test” — the scene where Ryan Stone re-enters the atmosphere really slams all channels at once, including bass, continuously for several minutes — they said it's basically the hardest-to-drive movie scene.

With that in mind, what jumped out to me is how, despite the cacophonous rumbling and rattling filling the space around me, I could also hear that the system was really delicately handling the singing in the score. It's soft and refined, and also brutal and bruising, all in the same moment.

The positional effects in this scene absolutely whip around you, alarms pierce with their own individual level of urgency, and exploding debris is somehow chaotically noisy and yet also moves precisely in the sound field.

It’s audio havoc, but it never clips or crushes the disparate elements, so you’re completely trapped in the tensest part of the movie while it happens — this is unimpeachable immersion.

To give us a gentle recovery, we finish up with A Complete Unknown. When Dylan and Joan Baez play their privately contentious set together at the folk festival, there's such a lovely recreation of the ambient sound, ironically perfectly recreating the audio signature of an imprecise speaker system.

The song showcases lovely, sharp guitar string plucks and total rhythmic control in the gentle track. The system can explode the crowd noise in the back, while maintaining the same gentle and faintly distorted vocals at the front, all in careful balance, without the denser sound overpowering anything more delicate.

My demo run in this listening room was the kind of experience that spoils you for lesser home theater setups, though I'll be saved from myself by not having the disposable income to spend a quarter of a million on speakers, before I even get to the supporting equipment — let alone building a suitably impressive room to house it all in.

But if you should find yourself coming into a large inheritance and you love movies, I can think of far worse ways to spend it.

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Majority Move M4 review

The Majority Move M4 is a huge Bluetooth speaker boasting a mighty 70W power output, a rugged design, and plentiful battery life, making it very much reminiscent of JBL’s Xtreme range.

Yes, it's clear that the Cambridge-based audio brand is coming for JBL with its Move speakers — and this model I tested is the most powerful in its line. But can Majority compete with the likes of JBL with this release? Here’s what I think after many hours of listening with the Majority Move M4.

On the face of it, the Majority Move M4 has a lot of the features you’d expect from the best Bluetooth speakers. It has Bluetooth 6.0 for long-range connectivity, IP67 dust and waterproofing enabling it to survive a good dunking underwater, and a high power output for blasting tunes at parties or gatherings.

But this model struggles to keep up with the competition in a number of regards. And crucially, that’s mostly evident in its sound quality.

I started assessing the M4’s audio quality by playing KOLTER’s What a Day. This house tune just didn’t sound as I’d hoped — I was instantly struck by compressed audio, with tinny percussion that sounded grating, even at middling volume levels. Bass also lacked the authority and punch I was looking for, and the low-end sounded distorted at higher listening levels.

It was a similar story with I’ll Be Your by RUZE. Bass lacked dynamism, meaning that drops were anti-climactic. Mids also didn’t sound very well separated or rich, and the track just lacked that full-bodied, energetic quality necessary to replicate its excitement and vibrancy.

Even with a more stripped back track like 78 Rotações by Jards Macalé, I wasn’t a big lover of the M4. It definitely handled the less demanding nature of the track more effectively, with relatively clear vocals and decent enough balance across the frequency range. However, the tonality of acoustic guitars wasn’t the most accurate or expressive, and the finer details didn’t jump out at me.

Even though the M4 can get relatively loud, in part thanks to its 70W output power, it often sounds more shouty than regimented and impactful. Bass lacks the dynamism and drive you may expect. And with compressed-sounding treble that can err on the harsh side of things, this speaker struggles to compete, sonically speaking.

I experienced underwhelming sound while streaming over Bluetooth, but also when I was using a wired connection via a 3.5mm cable. However, you can also use the speaker with a USB flash drive or microSD card if you’d prefer. Both of these listening methods are admittedly on the niche side of things, but hey, they’re here.

There are a few more interesting features onboard, including customizable RGB lights. You can press the light button on the speaker and personalize the color and pattern to your liking, and although I prefer the classier lights of the JBL Xtreme 5, it looks fine. You can also turn the lights off if you’d prefer, which can conserve battery life.

Speaking of battery life, you get a pretty commendable 30 hours here, which is better than budget rivals like the Tribit Stormbox Lava. Other features include a built-in mic for hands-free calling and multi-speaker pairing… though I’m not sure why anyone would want two of these.

The fatal flaw in the features department is the M4’s lack of a companion app. That means there are no EQ options — a big miss — and no way to remotely alter lighting or other useful settings. This is a basic inclusion for a lot of Bluetooth speakers at this point, and was disappointing to see.

Before we wrap up, I want to speak about design. This thing is definitely reminiscent of the JBL Xtreme 4, with a pseudo-cylindrical build, fabric exterior, and rubber buttons. However, it looks like a far less appealing alternative. I wasn’t a fan of the flimsy-feeling handle, the blue and gray color scheme, or the cheap-looking radiators on each side. This sort of thing is subjective, of course, but the look of the M4 definitely didn’t do it for me.

With that said, the speaker feels fairly durable, and its IP67 rating means it's well protected against dust ingress, and can be submerged under a meter of water for as long as 30 minutes — a very solid level of protection.

OK, the Majority Move M4 is hardly the most expensive model on the market. It comes in at £119.95 (about $160 / AU$225). However, rivals such as the Tribit Stormbox Lava are available for less — and while that model is a little heavy-handed in the low-end, it certainly sounds better than this Majority speaker. The JBL Xtreme 4 is also available discounted regularly for as little as $250 / £199 (about AU$350), and although that’s a decent amount more, the jump in quality is outrageous.

Would I recommend the Majority Move M4? The answer is no, sadly. Despite its relatively rugged build and commendable battery life, it offers poor, unrefined audio that lacks energy in the low-end and control in the highs. There’s a generally compressed quality here, which means that your favorite songs just don’t sound as they could. Instead, I’d recommend scooping up an on-sale Xtreme 4 if this is the kind of speaker size you're after (and the budget you've set aside for it).

Majority Move M4 review: price & release date

• Priced at £119.95 (about $160 / AU$225)
• Released in January 2026

The Majority Move M4 released in January 2026 in the UK, although at the time of writing, the speaker — alongside its sibling models, including the Move M1, M2, and M3 — are yet to land in the US or Australia. The Move M4 is priced at £119.95 (about $160 / AU$225), making it a lot cheaper than rivals like the JBL Xtreme line, and although it's the largest in its line, it remains pretty budget-friendly.

Majority Move M4 review: specs

Should I buy the Majority Move M4?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Majority Move M4 review: also consider

How I tested the Majority Move M4

• Tested across a week-long period
• Mainly streamed tracks via Tidal
• Compared against similarly sized rivals

I spent hours testing the Majority Move M4 across a week-long period, and tested it in our dedicate music testing space at Future Labs.

For the most part, I streamed tunes using Tidal, but I dipped into Spotify from time to time as well. To begin with, I sifted through tracks in our TechRadar reference playlist, which features songs from a wide range of genres, but I also made sure to listen to a ton of tunes from my personal library as well.

More generally, I’ve spent years testing audio gear here at TechRadar, including a huge number of portable speakers — I even curated our guide to the very best Bluetooth speakers. I compared the M4 to rivals like the JBL Xtreme 4 and Tribit Stormbox Lava, which I personally tested, so I knew exactly how Majority’s speaker stacked up against the competition.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: June 2026

At this year’s High End Vienna show, iFi unveiled its latest and greatest portable DAC, the iFi iDSD GR 2 — and I was there to see the big reveal.

This portable and decidedly hip flask-shaped DAC / amp is endeavouring to build on the extremely strong foundations laid by its predecessor, the iFi xDSD Gryphon, which we rated five stars under intense review. This model delivers even more amplification power, and aims for even more detailed audio alongside a more intuitive interface — pretty promising stuff right?

Not only did I see the product at its unveiling event, but I’ve also tried it out for myself. I got to listen to a few tracks with the GR 2, play around with its new interface and also hear from the iFi team about some all-new features. It’s safe to say we’re feeling pretty positive about the GR 2 so far, having given it one of our Best In Show awards at High End Vienna, so here’s everything you need to know about iFi’s latest creation.

iFi crams in even more tech

Although the GR 2 may look similar to its predecessor on the outside, it has plenty of big improvements on the inside — so to begin with, let’s run through some of the main ones.

iFi told me that this model delivers around 50% more output power than its predecessor (up to 1,513mW RMS), but at the same time, supplies greater dynamic range and less distortion. This is largely enabled by the DAC’s new current-output Burr Brown PCM1795 chipset, which can also serve up “true” 32-bit resolution audio.

iFi was also keen to highlight how this new chipset retains the “warm, analog house sound” it is known for. The team were also keen to impress on us that because the GR 2 is a current-output DAC, (its circuitry outputs an electrical current proportional to the digital input value, rather than a voltage) the company had “freedom to engineer a bespoke analog output stage.”

One major difference is that the GR 2 features a color OLED touchscreen, adding a new level of intuitiveness that we felt was missing from the original Gryphon (which had a functional but un-colorful black and white display). This OLED screen enables you to swiftly cycle between core settings and different connectivity methods, making the user experience incredibly slick.

But despite adding this touchscreen, battery life has been significantly boosted. Nath Chinn, Product Marketing & Technical Enablement Consultant at iFi, told me that the new model has a capacity of 4,900mAh, which is about a third more than the original Gryphon.

Perhaps the best feature that’s been added to the GR 2 from an iFi fan's perspective is K2HD tech (also found in the much pricier and really quite huge iDSD Phantom desktop DAC) which Chinn emphasised is still exclusively licensed by JVC Kenwood to iFi products. K2HD is intended to restore harmonic detail, and bring a track closer to its intended sound. Chinn revealed a bit about the licensing process to me, stating that “we had to basically spend 18 months doing a dance, sending them [JVC] products, and then evaluating them in their master recording studios with engineers to see whether we’re worthy enough. It’s a labor of love, but we’re honored to have that privilege”.

Chinn described the GR 2 as a “Swiss army knife” and the inclusion of K2HD only boosts the product's versatility. Speaking of which, there are a number of connectivity methods on board to suit just about any situation. There’s Bluetooth 5.4, with aptX codecs including Lossless and Adaptive as well as Sony’s LDAC. But there’s also a 4.4mm and 3.5mm input and output, a USB-C port, and more.

But just how good is the GR 2 in use? Well, I headed on over to iFi’s demo space, which was equipped with the new DAC/amp, a music streamer, and a pair of the Sennheiser HD 820. I tuned into Grace by Jeff Buckley in 24-bit/192kHz, and it sounded spectacular. This combination served up a phenomenally balanced presentation, with intricately textured vocals and expertly separated instruments.

I also found the GR 2 incredibly easy to use. It was so simple to activate settings like K2HD, cycle between USB-C and Bluetooth connectivity modes, and make any subtle adjustments I needed. This combination of high-end specs and seamless usability really does make it feel like an excellent mobile/desktop solution for hi-res audio fans.

All of this is even more impressive when you consider that the GR 2 has a lower launch price than its predecessor. It comes in at $529 / £529 / AU$849, which is by no means cheap, but pretty competitive given the device's specifications. Is it worth the cost? You’ll have to wait for our full review to find out…

I recently visited the High End Show in Vienna, where the world's top audio companies show off their latest and greatest creations. The show mostly focuses on ready-to-sell products — of the kind that we chose in our Best in Show at High End Vienna 2026 Awards — but it's also where interesting new audio components makers show off what they're making to other companies, to use in their creations.

One of these companies at the 2026 show was GSS, showing off a new bass driver called the Model S1. It's a very slim transducer, just 62.5mm tall and 299mm wide, and is capable of operating in a box with a volume of just 1.75 liters.

This means that you can put two of them, in a force-cancelling configuration, in a sealed box that's around 65mm tall, 310mm wide and 200mm deep — and that's exactly what I got to hear at the show.

I'll go into the experience in a moment, but the short version is that this small box sounds like a subwoofer that's much larger — GSS Audio says that specifically its system is capable of delivering the bass of something six times the size.

There's no exact way to say what this should be the equivalent of, because of variations in driver design, but the easy way to think of it is this: it's an 8-inch or 10-inch subwoofer squeezed into a box the size of a chunky hardback book.

The magic trick here is the level of excursion (i.e, how how far forwards and backwards the diaphragm can move). In this transducer, it's capable of moving 17mm in each direction, for a total movement of 34mm — that's how it can displace so much air to match larger drivers.

The diaphragm is very elaborate in order to make this possible — it's full of ridges and spirals. We've seen this on a lot of smarter woofer drivers; it's basically a way of managing the amount of surface area of the transducer, so that it can extend as far as it does, but delivers consistent performance across the full movement range.

GSS Audio also says it's put some special sauce into the configuration of the magnets, as well as the spider (the suspension system that holds the magnet in place, even as it moves).

Enough preamble — let's talk about the experience of listening to it. GSS had two of its little boxes (each with dual drivers) set up, each of which was connected to a two-way Neumann studio monitor speaker, so a stereo configuration with a double dose of bass.

The boxes deliver absolutely thumping bass that's capable of punching you in the torso as great low-end should (if you want it to), but it's also super-controlled — powerful but tight as a drum (or a drum machine, as the case may be if you making the most of this for music).

What really jumped out to me (as much as something you feel inside your bones can jump out at you) was the deep sub-bass. It's not pushing down to deeper frequency artificially and setting your teeth on edge as a result; I threw on Sugar Kingdom by Nikki Nair, which is a song that bad woofer can really screw up, but I could've just lived in the sub-bass here, bobbing and bouncing along.

Something to note is that this was borderline a near-field listening environment — I wasn't quite at desktop distance from the Neumann speakers, but I was closer than a standard listening or home theater room, and the bass boxed performed great for this kind of setup, which is now how I'd think of using a larger sub.

Of course, while GSS demo'd it with music and stereo speakers, the company really seems to expect its biggest use to come in speakers where bass is wanted by space is at a premium.

At its booth, it had prototypes of a soundbar with two of the Model 1 drivers in, and a wall-mounted speaker with four(!) of them in — the latter is a fascinating idea for a home theater setup, where your surround speakers would also act as a diffused subwoofer system, saving you a load of space and wiring.

I didn't get to hear these in action, and I don't know when we can expect actual products to appear, but GSS did say it had some partners planning to use its products (but obviously it wouldn't may about who that might be).

I can't wait to see a real product with this tech built-in though — I think it could be a total gamechanger for big bass in a small space.

The GSS Model is the latest in a line of impressive compact subwoofer tech we've seen over the last few years — it's an impressive area of innovation. A little while back, we were blown away by the bass of the Brane X wireless speaker, and its compact true subwoofer that uses a smart magnet system to overcome the air compression problem most small sub designs have.

And there's the Sonos Sound Motion tech, which is used in the Sonos Arc Ultra. Sound Motion mean Sonos could replace an array of dedicated woofers with a single driver that operates in two directions at once, so it actually functions as its own force-opposed system. You can read my interview with Sonos about the development of Sound Motion here.

• Multiple Sony devices will lose access to streaming services and Google Cast
• AV receivers, Blu-ray players, soundbars, wireless speakers and more
• Effective November 17, 2026

Something we've learnt the hard way over the years is that pretty much any product with an online component will lose it eventually. Server shutdowns have affected everything from multiplayer games to the ill-fated PlaysForSure music platform, and now it's coming to Sony products.

Like Bose earlier this year, Sony is shutting down servers for some of its audiovisual products. But unlike Bose, which went to great pains to enable people to maintain as much functionality as possible, Sony's devices will lose many core features as a result.

The changes aren't immediate — they won't come into place until November 7th, 2026 — but they apply to a lot of models including AV receivers, Blu-ray disc players, speakers and soundbars. The full list of affected devices is available on Sony's website, but we've included it at the end of this article too.

What Bose did, and what Sony isn't doing

Earlier this year Bose discontinued online support for its SoundTouch speakers first introduced in 2013. However, the speakers themselves remained fully functional and while Bose's own SoundTouch streaming was switched off, AirPlay and Spotify Connect would continue to work.

Sony's changes are more severe. From November, the following services will be unavailable on affected devices:

• Amazon Prime Video
• Google Cast
• Netflix
• Pandora
• Slacker Radio
• Spotify
• Vudu

As Sony explains, from November "access to supported network services will no longer be available on affected models [and] any downloaded network services may no longer be accessible on affected models… we apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding."

While most of the affected models are elderly, there's a lot of them: nine soundbars, 16 AVRs, 17 Blu-Ray players, multiple Blu-Ray home theater systems and five sets of wireless speakers. That means the service shutdown is likely to affect quite a lot of people.

Which Sony products are affected by the 2026 shutdown?

Audio and Micro Component Systems

• CMT-MX700NI
• HAP-S1
• HAP-Z1ES
• MAP-S1
• NAC-SV10

AV Receivers

• STR-DA1800
• STR-DA2800ES
• STR-DA3700ES
• STR-DA5700ES
• STR-DA5800ES
• STR-DN1020
• STR-DN1030
• STR-DN1040
• STR-DN1050
• STR-DN1060
• STR-DN1070
• STR-DN1080
• STR-DN840
• STR-DN850
• STR-DN860
• STR-ZA810ES

Blu-ray Disc Players

• BDP-BX18
• BDP-BX37
• BDP-BX38
• BDP-BX57
• BDP-N460
• BDP-S185
• BDP-S270
• BDP-S280
• BDP-S370
• BDP-S380
• BDP-S390
• BDP-S470
• BDP-S480
• BDP-S570
• BDP-S580
• BDP-S770
• BDP-S780

Blu-ray Disc Home Theater Systems

• BDV-E280
• BDV-E370
• BDV-E470
• BDV-E570
• BDV-E580
• BDV-E770W
• BDV-E780W
• BDV-E870
• BDV-E880
• BDV-F7
• BDV-HZ970
• BDV-IZ1000W
• BDV-L600
• BDV-T28
• BDV-T57
• BDV-T58

Media Players

• FMP-X10
• SMP-N100
• SMP-N200

Soundbars

• HT-CT790
• HT-CT800
• HT-NT3
• HT-NT5
• HT-RT5
• HT-ST5000
• HT-ST9
• HT-XT2
• HT-XT3

Wireless speakers

• SA-NS310
• SA-NS410
• SA-NS500
• SA-NS510
• SRS-X7

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• Technics x Fritz Hansen: every content creator's dream collab
• From Technics: its premium-class SL-40CBT turntable in oxblood red
• From Fritz Hansen: its iconic Kaizer idell 6631-T lamp, also in oxblood red

Fritz Hansen, the Danish furniture company, and Technics, the Japanese audio specialist, have teamed up to unveil a brand new... nothing, strictly speaking (and when we get down to brass tacks).

And yet the new partnership is every content creator's dream, because it has seen them both re-release old products, but in a juicy oxblood red. It's perfect for the influencer staple 'I just bought a 60ft Parisian apartment with no plan; now what?!' series. Arrange next to a well-thumbed hardback book with macrame bookmark, a French press with ceramic blue-glaze espresso cup and an old armchair bought on a lazy Sunday at the Marche aux Puces — you're away.

Anyway. Since we're a tech site, let's start with the audio option. The Technics SL-40CBT direct-drive turntable was released towards the end of 2025 and we noted its refreshingly different 'terracotta' color option as one of the biggest highlights of the deck.

Well, that's terra-gotta go, because Technics' new model is a burgundy or oxblood red version — a colorway that's definitely having a moment — of that same turntable. It offers the same specs as the original build (no word on pricing just yet), but in the new hue and with Fritz Hansen branding on the felt mat. Oh, and it's limited edition! Only 300 models are going on sale.

Coming from Fritz Hansen is, you guessed it, another older device recolored to oxblood-slash-burgundy. It's the Kaiser idell lamp which is, I'm told, an iconic 1930s table lamp. I'm no lamp journalist, but Fritz Hansen's lights straddle the $1,000 price point, so I don't doubt its credentials.

Only 200 of these red lights are going on sale (well spotted, the lamp is even more limited edition than the deck), and only in Europe or Asia — unlike the turntable, which will be on sale in the US. Both products will see the light of day in October, with pricing yet to be announced — but I imagine they won't be affordable to the majority of flea market shoppers, Parisian or otherwise…

But... why?

Companies re-releasing older successful models in new colors is nothing new. What's confounding to me about Technics and Fritz Harmon's collaboration is just how much spin has been invested, to make these devices sound truly exciting.

"Music is an art of time. Time flows without form, quietly imprinting itself on our emotions through sound" says a noted representative of Technics. "Sound and light both change how a space feels without touching its structure" reads another quote.

If you've been re-reading those press release quotes to try and understand what they mean (and wondering whether I've introduced a typo to ruin their meaning), you're not alone. But I've carefully re-read it several times and consulted with experts (other people on TechRadar's team) and we've come to the conclusion that at least we know it wasn't written by AI.

"Two objects with distinct origins that, together, form a setting that is considered and deeply human" puts me in mind of The Bard's "Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene". But I think really, it's two companies with very good legacy products, tying themselves in knots, trying to wax lyrical on the interplay of light and sound (because they are light and sound companies).

Or maybe there's a lot more going on, and I'm just too confused (or dim) to understand what they're trying to say. Look, the burgundy turntable actually looks really nice. Yes, I wish I could enjoy it without requiring a PhD in philosophy to understand the announcement, but in the end, it would look great in my listening room…

I attended the 2026 edition of High End Vienna and to say I saw (and heard) some incredible audio tech would be an understatement. I tried out a number of new high-end headphones, and even saw a soundbar with mechanized wooden gills… but perhaps the stand-out was hearing Bowers & Wilkins’ brand new floor-standing loudspeaker, the 801 D5.

This is the flagship model in B&W’s new D5 series, and its release coincides with the audio specialist’s 60th anniversary. It has all of the features you’d expect from a model in this range: B&W’s instantly recognizable diamond dome tweeter, a luxurious futuristic design, plus exceptional sound quality.

Luckily, I was able to attend a demo for the new 801 D5, and listened to Andy Kerr, Director of Product Marketing and Communications at Bowers & Wilkins, speak about what exactly makes this new model so special. Here’s everything you need to know about the speakers — and a fair bit more on how I rated the listening experience.

The latest gem in the Diamond Series

Before I get into the demo, allow me to provide an introduction to the Bowers & Wilkins 801 D5.

This floor-standing loudspeaker, which B&W says is “60 years in the making,” is pitched towards both music industry professionals and the most enthusiastic audiophiles.

The 801 D5 has been upgraded with “acoustic, mechanical, and electrical improvements,” such as space frame bracing for a more expansive soundstage, new tuned mass dampers to limit unwanted output from the speaker, as well as upgraded wiring harnesses and crossovers for greater resolution listening.

The loudspeaker features an almost sci-fi inspired design, with new finishes available, including Dark Walnut and Warm White, and I have to say — it genuinely is a joy to behold, as are the other models in the new D5 range.

The Bowers & Wilkins 801 D5 will be available for purchase from 9 September 2026, and will cost $65,000 / £43,000 (about AU$90,000). But just how good does the model sound? Well, I found out for myself.

A listening experience like no other

At the High End Show, myself and a handful of other journalists scurried into a demo room, and prepared to experience the 801 D5 alongside Kerr, who ran through various tracks with us. Although the testing space wasn’t ideal — we could still hear people walking around the show — I still got a great taste of what this model has to offer.

I sat in the ideal front row spot at the demo, with a pair of Dark Walnut 801 D5s connected up to Mark Levinson's 626 preamp each, as well as a Mark Levinson 632 power amp, and a premium Innuos music streamer. And the results were exceptional.

We started by listening to Hit or Miss by Odetta, and I was wowed by the warm tonality of the bass, as well as beautifully balanced, natural-sounding acoustic guitars and expertly separated vocals. I was particularly struck by the life-like sound of percussion — it genuinely sounded as if there was a drummer playing in the room, which is exactly what you’d want from a set of ultra-pricey reference speakers.

Then, we moved onto a 2021 rendition of After Midnight by Eric Clapton, and this really showed the speakers in their best light. The D5 put up an amazingly revealing performance with top-tier musicality and detailing, but also maintained a real fun factor. Vocals were incredibly direct and true-to-life, but bass extended down brilliantly, and overall stereo imaging was spectacular.

Next up was Thom Yorke’s Black Swan, and here, Kerr was keen to highlight the scale and integrity of the bass, and asked us to listen for “how it hangs between the speakers and doesn’t pull or lie in the corners of the room where the speakers are”.

And this certainly felt like the case when listening along. Punchy, imposing bass powered through the center of the room with great intent, and I could almost feel the low-end in my soul. But as hard-hitting as the bass was, it remained agile and rhythmic.

Last, but not least, we tuned into Antigravity by Sohn, and this was perhaps the most mind-blowing track of them all. The 801 D5 delivered an intensely immersive presentation, and it felt as if bass was running through the floor (with tremendous impact). This was paired with authentic, almost raw-sounding percussion, beautifully balanced and tonally accurate vocals, plus energetic synths.

All in all, then, the 801 D5 delivered a mesmerizing sonic performance that felt every bit as premium as its price tag suggests. And with seismic yet regimented bass, deeply layered vocals, and life-like treble, Bowers & Wilkins may have set the bar for high-end reference speakers.

• Redditor creates own smart home controller, tied into Sonos systems
• Cost just $20 / £16 (or around AU$30), for a small display
• It's like the Sonos Controller, but in 2026

Back in Ye Olden Days (the noughties), Sonos used to sell dedicated music controllers and they look wonderfully retro now. These fell by the wayside when smartphones got good enough to do the exact same thing. But given the current penchant for nostalgia tech, cassette players and digital detoxing, these music controllers are seemingly making a comeback.

No, Sonos isn't re-releasing its beloved CR100. And while a new Google Nest Hub is on its way, it's apparently going to focus more on AI chatbots than music controls. So to manage your Sonos, we have to turn to Redditors.

Over on the r/sonos subreddit, a user appropriately called hometechgeek has shared a small, simple smart display they created. Using software shared in the post (and screens bought for cheap online), they have fashioned a home assistant controller which you can use to change lighting, check sensors and, yes, control your music.

Cover art and smart room control using a £16 touch screen from r/sonos

Screens show a play/pause button, volume controls and track skips, and a default screen shows the song you're playing — perfect, in other words, to manage your Sonos devices from one controller. Some commenters have compared it to the Windows Phone's old software, and more widely to Windows' noughties and 2010s boxy look, and honestly they're not wrong.

Can you make it at home?

Making a controller like this doesn't sound expensive. The 4-inch screen hometechgeek used cost £16 (about $20 / AU$30), bought cheap from AliExpress, and they list plenty of other models that'd work. The internet is, as it turns out, rife with little screens you can buy and use for your own ends.

The software is free too, and it sounds like plenty of people on the r/sonos subreddit have already got their hands stuck in by trying it out, reporting any bugs they've found and suggesting tweaks.

If you're a technophile you'll likely find it really easy to make at home, then. However, as some commenters point out, not everyone will find it feasible. You'll need a little technical know-how to set up the screen, and to use Github for the code.

Obtaining that technical knowledge shouldn't be too hard, with a few YouTube tutorials sure to get the job done, but it might not be worth it for everyone. This kind of kit will be useful to people with a smart home full of gadgets, but if you've just got a single speaker or soundbar, it likely won't be worth your time.

There's a reason the smartphone killed the Sonos controller: a dedicated screen to control your music just isn't necessary for most of us (because it's already at our disposal with zero effort, in our phone).

Khadas Tea Pro review: two minute review

The Khadas Tea Pro headphone amplifier is a slim and lightweight external DAC/amp that works across most devices — iOS, Android, Mac, Windows and Linux — and is particularly good for smartphones with MagSafe or magnetic cases.

The Tea Pro connects via USB-C and delivers both 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm stereo outputs, with support for up to 768kHz PCM and DSD512 audio. It also has Bluetooth 5.4 input with aptX HD, aptX Adaptive and LDAC as well as the obligatory SBC and AAC. The integrated battery promises up to 8 hours of CD quality listening over USB-C and 11 hours using AAC on Bluetooth.

Although there's Bluetooth on board at up to 96kHz PCM, for best results you want to use this device as a wired DAC/amp. The Bluetooth performance isn't bad by any means, but the Tea Pro delivers higher resolution audio via USB-C.

FiiO TT13 review: price and release date

• Released August 2025
• Priced $199 / £199 (about AU$375)

The Khadas Tea Pro was launched in August 2025 with a recommended price tag of $199 / £199 (about AU$375) and is available with a choice of two cables: USB-C to USB-C, or Lightning to USB-C for older iPhones and iPads. Although it's twice the price of the original and well-received Tea it's a very significant upgrade with significantly higher sound quality, better Bluetooth, an integrated display and more headphone options.

Khadas Tea Pro review: features

• MagSafe attachment
• Bluetooth or USB-C
• Excellent hi-res support

Although it's compatible with almost anything with a USB port, the Tea Pro is clearly intended for MagSafe iPhones (iPhone 12 onwards) or phones in magnetic cases. That enables it to clip securely to the back of your phone, and it's a strong connection both directly and through a compatible phone case.

There are two headphone jacks here: a 4.4mm balanced output delivering up to 180mW at 16.5 Ω, and a 3.5mm jack putting out up to 100mW at 16.5 Ω. There's also a built-in microphone for voice calling. If you have headphones with their own mic connected to the 3.5mm jack, the headphone mic will take precedence over the Tea Pro's mic.

The ESS ES9039Q2M DAC supports sample rates of up to 768kHz PCM and DSD512, with a signal to noise ratio of up to 122dB. A Qualcomm QCC5181 takes care of the wireless features, with support for SBC / AAC / aptX / aptX Adaptive / aptX HD / LDAC over Bluetooth 5.4.

There are seven EQ presets for different musical genres, and you can also set your own EQ via the 10-band custom EQ. That delivers adjustable gain from -12dB to +12dB.

The internal battery is 2,100mAh and promises up to 11 hours of listening depending on the audio format you're using: 11 hours with AAC over Bluetooth and 8 hours of CD audio over USB-C. The Tea Pro can also recharge from your phone when its battery is low if you enable Device Charging in its settings menu.

Features score: 5 / 5

Khadas Tea Pro review: sound quality

• Good on Bluetooth, better on USB
• Wide soundstage and good clarity
• EQ presets best ignored

The Tea Pro delivers a neutral sound, and with high gain on it delivered an impressively propulsive performance on my open-back BeyerDynamics; I'd have liked to drive them a little louder but there's more than enough power for sensible listening levels. Bass is generally clear and well defined and highs are airy without being harsh, and things only started to get uncomfortable when both iPhone and Tea Pro were at their highest volume levels on very bright or bassy tracks.

As fun as the Tea Pro is over Bluetooth, it's better still with a USB-C connection. It's louder, more defined and more spacious, with the likes of Robyn's Dopamine delivering more punch than over wireless. There's a nice wide soundstage, with tracks like U2's remastered Zoo Station sounding suitably widescreen and Talk Talk's New Grass delivering impressive airiness.

The Tea Pro is very good for a portable DAC/amp, although I did notice a difference on tracks such as Little Simz and Obongjayar's Point and Kill that showed up the relative lack of headroom compared to a desktop device: on my desktop DAC/amp the serpentine bass is noticeably clearer and more distinct, the whole track feeling much more airy, whereas on the Tea Pro the low end was less defined and the track a little boxy. I found that the on-board EQ presets made that more apparent, dulling the sound. I much preferred leaving the EQ off altogether on my better headphones, although I did need to cut the highs for IEM listening to reduce the harshness they're prone to.

Sound quality: 4 / 5

Khadas Tea Pro review: design

• Very Apple-like appearance
• Tiny screen in a big bit of glass
• A little fiddly when magnetically mounted

The Tea Pro is a good-looking thing. It looks decidedly Apple-esque, with a very slim 7.85mm machined aluminium casing, curved edges and two large black glass sections: the status display area, which looks big but contains a fairly small 0.95-inch AMOLED screen, and a smaller lozenge displaying the Tea logo. That lower lozenge is functional as well as decorative, as it ensures your phone won't wobble when you put it on a desktop or other flat surface.

Buttons are kept to a minimum. On the left there's a power button and a menu/confirm button, and on the right there are volume up and down controls. The slim size of the Tea Pro makes them a little fiddly to access when the device is attached to your phone, but not impossibly so. That's not an issue if you're connecting with the supplied 10cm USB-C cable.

Inevitably adding a magnetic item to your phone adds weight, but the Tea Pro isn't too bad: at 96g it's lighter than Apple's own similarly sized MagSafe power bank.

Design score: 4 / 5

Khadas Tea Pro review: ease of use and setup

• Simple pairing/connection
• Simple menu system
• Tiny text in display

Pairing over Bluetooth is effortless and the menu system is simple: it gives you access to filters, EQ, high and low gain options, device settings, headphone options and so on. The text is exceptionally small, however, so it's handy that you can also access settings via the companion iOS/Android app.

Usability and setup score: 4 / 5

Khadas Tea Pro review: value

• Nice sound and premium appearance
• Pricey for a portable DAC
• Some rivals are more powerful and a lot less expensive

It's clear that some of the price tag here is for that aluminum body and extensive use of glass: rival headphone DAC/amps cost a lot less but look and feel a lot less special. If you're happy to pay a premium for solid build and stylish looks then this is a good choice with excellent iPhone attachment and good compatibility with other devices too.

Value score: 3 / 5

Should I buy the Khadas Tea Pro?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Khadas Tea Pro review: Also consider

The cassette-themed FiiO KA15 is cute, fun, sounds good and comes in at half the price of the Tea Pro, delivering both 3.5mm and balanced 4.4mm outputs with a desktop mode that puts out much higher power than the Tea Pro can deliver. The iFi Go Link 2 is cheaper still and particularly good if all you want to do is add wired headphones to a USB-C device such as a phone or tablet.

How I tested the Khadas Tea Pro

• Wired open and closed back headphones and IEMs
• Lossy streaming, lossless FLAC and Logic Pro projects

I spent a week listening to the Tea Pro via my usual headphones: BeyerDynamic DT990 Pro open-back and DT770 closed-back headphones at home and work, and SoundMagic E11C IEMs outdoors and on public transport. I listened to lossy and lossless streaming and uncompressed FLACs on my iPhone 16 Pro.

• First reviewed: May 2026
• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Denon Home 400: two-minute review

The Denon Home 400 sits in the Japanese brand's completely repositioned Home 2.0 range for 2026, and it doesn’t take much to see the updates as a direct challenge to Sonos and the best wireless speakers on the market. The range features three speakers — the Denon Home 200, 400 and 600 — all of which promise spatial audio from a single box. They’re all tuned by sound masters, built for native stereo playback even as singular units, deliver an immersive experience, and have refined designs.

The Denon Home 400 sits right in the middle of the range, but occupies a bit of a sweet spot. Its $599 price tag puts it at the same ball park as the Sonos Era 300, and I think Denon comes out of the comparison looking like the better option.

Along with Sonos, though, there’s no shortage of competition from the likes of Apple’s HomePods, JBL’s Authentics 300 and the WiiM Sound smart speakers. While the Denon range technically supports Siri, this is a product that’s much more about the sound than it is the smarts.

In use, it sounds tremendous and is highly customizable with a full spatial audio experience where you really can hear the difference. The HEOS app works brilliantly, and set-up is a doddle. It also has a sense of style. This is a speaker that looks premium rather than plasticky, and that alone may make it easier to recommend than Sonos for many potential buyers.

Is it worth the premium price, though? I’ve been hands-on to find out what the Denon does differently.

Denon Home 400 review: price and availability

• Released on March 24th, 2026
• $599 / £449 / AU$999 (approx.)

The Denon Home 400 costs $599 / £449 / AU$999 (approx.) and is clearly positioned to rival the Sonos Era 300, which costs $479 / £449 / AU$749 officially, but it is a bit more likely to be available on offer, having gone down to $379 / £339 on Amazon within the past six months.

Other similarly sized rivals include the JBL Authentics 300, which costs $450 / £380 / AU$600, or the bass-heavy Brane X for $599 / £475 / AU$915. Apple fans will also, of course, consider whether a HomePod 2 ($299 / £299 / AU$479) may better suit their needs, as it has a few clever tricks and perks for the iOS faithful.

Denon Home 400 review: specs

Denon Home 400 review: features

• Native Dolby Atmos with adjustable height and bass
• Several connectivity options
• Voice control only via Siri, and only if you already have a HomePod

The core selling point of all the new speakers in the Denon range is Dolby Atmos support with adjustable sound modes. I’ll go into that in more depth in the 'Sound quality' section below, but it is a meaningful differentiator between this speaker and most of its competition. The vast majority of other smart speakers will either not have Atmos or rely on (the admittedly clever) digital processing trick of spatial virtualization. That’s what the Denon Home 200 does, too.

The one option offering proper Atmos is the aforementioned Sonos Era 300. The Denon Home 400, just like this rival, packs in true Dolby Atmos with a six-driver setup: dedicated left and right drivers, upfiring drive units and two 4.5-inch woofers (all powered by six independent Class-D amplifiers). What this means is that you’ll get much more width — throw a Dolby Atmos track at this speaker and you’ll hear a wider soundstage — and real height, as it bounces sound off your ceiling. The adjustability in the Auto mode means you can dial in exactly how much bass extension, width or height you want.

You can use voice assistance on this speaker, but I’m not going to pretend it’s a headline feature. Apple’s Siri is the only voice assistant on offer, so you’re not going to find Google Assistant or Alexa as an option during setup. And, in order to set it up, you need to have an Apple HomePod or HomePod mini on your Wi-Fi network to handle the Siri requests you make on the Denon speaker.

Luckily, I’ve got some HomePods in another room, so I could test this, and it works fairly well, but I wouldn’t go around suggesting that this is a speaker with built-in voice control. It’s more of a niche added extra, as long as you already have an extra accessory that would cost you at least £99.

In general, the HEOS app (HEOS stands for Home Entertainment Operating System, thanks for asking) is excellent and great if you think you might set up a multi-room ecosystem of speakers after investing in this one. It covers multiple brands, not just Denon, and works with a wide range of speakers, soundbars and receivers.

Overall, the Denon Home 400 offers a broad range of connectivity options, including a 3.5mm AUX for use with turntables or MP3 players, and a simple native Bluetooth button to connect to other devices if you’re not using the app. Bluetooth LE Audio is coming via an update, and it has support for ALAC and aptX formats over Bluetooth. You’ve also got Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, and Qobuz Connect built in, too.

Through the USB-C port, you can deliver firmware updates via a pen drive or use wired Ethernet via any USB-C adapter, which is a nice benefit compared with others that might make you buy a proprietary dongle. Obviously, it’s not quite the same as built-in Ethernet, but it’s not a feature everyone would use.

There’s no remote with the speaker, it’s designed for use with the feature-filled HEOS app, where you can gather together your music services — including Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, Soundcloud, Tidal, Qobuz and TuneIn — and internet radio stations, along with control of the multi-room setup and audio customizations. I wish my choice of streaming service, Apple Music, were added to the picks, but it’s otherwise an app I find hard to fault.

• Features score: 4.5 / 5

Denon Home 400 review: sound quality

• Outstanding spatial audio performance from a single unit
• Excellent customization for height and width
• Pure mode for a more direct and balanced experience

We’re going to be talking a lot about spatial audio in this section, because that really is the Denon Home 400’s party piece. It can take a well-encoded Atmos mix and make it feel three-dimensional. It’s in the Auto setting by default, and that’s probably where I’d leave it in my environment, in which it’s more than capable of an immersive room-filling sound.

If spatial isn’t for you, you’ll prefer the Pure sound mode. This bypasses the DSP and works as a great mode for anyone wanting the typical stereo image experience.

I’d already had a chance to hear the Denon Home 400 in a London hotel suite, and that gave me a sense of just how impressive it would be. During Ed Sheeran’s Shivers, I could hear a noticeable height extension that makes it perceptibly different when compared with the Home 200. Listening to the Atmos mix of Riders on the Storm by The Doors reveals background vocals in the height layer, an element that’s harder to pick out in the neutral mode.

Having the speaker within my own apartment only further confirmed how adept it is with spatial sound. To test it, I mostly focused on playing Dolby Atmos from Apple Music over AirPlay, but I also used it with Spotify Connect, radio stations, and I set up both Spotify and Deezer within the HEOS app to test those, too. The experience is convincing, there’s a lot of clarity to be heard across the whole frequency range, and two woofers deliver significant bass oomph.

Listening to Raye’s Where Is My Husband! in Dolby Atmos is highly rewarding for how much extra detail you start to hear in the layers of instrumentation, all while keeping her powerful vocals right in the center. I used the HEOS app to dial up the width and height, and you can feel the backing vocals spread out on the soundstage, with the instruments becoming easier to identify in space.

Putting the 400 in Pure mode and switching over to Click Clack Symphony shows that there’s a place for both modes. Pure is much more direct and balanced. There’s clearly more vocal presence in this mode, and the stomps have far more impact. You can get a different sonic experience by switching between both modes, something this track shows so well — it’s bordering on ethereal in Auto with those spatial customisations, yet sounds intimate on the Pure setting.

In general, I find the sound hard to fault. By default, the Auto mode may have a smidge too much bass for my tastes, but it’s easily remedied by moving the slider down two notches in the app. The Pure mode is fairly neutral in its approach, but still has its fair share of energy and dynamism. If you listen to spatial tracks, play around with Auto, but most of us should find Pure less fatiguing, making it a better 'set and forget' option.

• Sound quality score: 4.5 / 5

Denon Home 400 review: design

• Durable and stylish look
• Two neutral colorways
• Will suit most living spaces

Immediately after unboxing, it’s clear that the Denon Home 400 is more than your average utilitarian speaker. The best thing about its design is the lack of visible plastic, which is only really visible on the speaker's top section. The rest is covered by a seamless piece of fabric with no obvious seams, and the bottom of the speaker — just like every model in the new Denon range — is a sturdy titanium base plate. It adds a little bulk, sure, but also the satisfaction of knowing that this is durable and not something that can be tipped over.

Underneath the speaker, a light glows to let you know it’s turned on. This was something that my wife initially felt ruined the look, but it’s easily solved because you can lower the brightness (or turn the light off entirely) in the app. Crisis averted. There are physical controls on the right side of the device, allowing you to control volume and playback, along with three quick select buttons (for your favourite internet radio stations or streaming services) and an action button to summon voice control.

The speaker also comes in the same two neutral colorways as the rest of the range – Charcoal and Stone (my review unit). I’ve got no complaints. It’s a speaker that’s designed to look good in the living room without commanding attention, and it does exactly that. It’s also worth noting that, on the back, there’s a switch to mute the microphone and that it’s a hard-wired off button that’s not connected to the network circuitry.

I find this looks much less plasticky in comparison to rival speakers (looking at you, Sonos) and that the Home 400's buttons and controls are easier to understand and use (looking at you, Apple). It ends up being a winner on multiple fronts.

• Design score: 5 / 5

Denon Home 400 review: Usability & setup

• Controls are easy to understand and use
• The HEOS app is intuitive and full of features
• But there’s not much voice control available here

The Denon Home 400 is an exceptionally straightforward speaker to set up and use. The box gives you the speaker unit itself and the power cable. Once it’s plugged in, you set it up with the HEOS app, a process that took me approximately five to 10 minutes, and connect it to your home Wi-Fi network, telling the app whether the speaker is away from walls, in a corner, or just in front of one wall, which helps it adapt its sound.

You do need to use the app so that you get all of the internet-connected features, but it doesn’t take long at all to get started. Once you pick some favourite radio stations in the app, you can also press and hold on the preset buttons to save them for quick access, and you can always just use the Bluetooth button to connect devices that might not be on your wireless network. The same applies to wired playback.

I tested both with my MP3 player, the Activo P1, and found it seamless in use. However, it’s worth mentioning that I couldn’t get the Denon to play back at one of its supported higher-res Bluetooth codecs over the P1; it stayed stuck in SBC despite supporting higher bandwidth options.

In day-to-day use, though, this is highly intuitive to use, both wirelessly and if you were to connect an AUX cable to an MP3 player, CD player or turntable. Denon has said a goal with this product is getting you to your music with minimal button presses, and that holds true in use, whether you’re using those quick select buttons, or just playing wirelessly over the HEOS app, Spotify Connect or AirPlay. The one downside would be for those who are used to voice control of their playlists. Unless you use Siri and already have a HomePod, this doesn’t work well for that.

If you were keen to set up multi-room groups, this would also work well, with controls within the HEOS app, plus the ability to create a stereo pair with two Denon Home 400s. It’s also a great feature that the ability to mute the microphone is a physical control, not something that exists only in software, something that’s great for peace of mind if you don’t want to use voice assistance or have your voice recorded.

• Usability & setup score: 4.5 / 5

Denon Home 400 review: value

• Premium price to match the Sonos Era 300
• Cheaper units don’t deliver spatial audio this good
• Rivals are a bit better for voice control, though

At $599, the Home 400 is priced at the top of the standalone premium home speaker market, making it a direct rival to the Sonos Era 300. For me, the Denon more than matches its Sonos competition when it comes to powerful spatial audio and is also a more stylish speaker with more intuitive control and better connectivity. The Denon gives you spatial customization missing from Sonos, and it also has built-in AUX, USB-C and the option of Ethernet.

While rivals like the Sonos Era 100 and Apple HomePod are cheaper, they’re also more locked into ecosystems. They’re good as affordable rivals, but the Denon offers the more powerful, more immersive and more customizable sound. And, while the JBL Authentics 300 also holds a lot of appeal, and I’m a particular fan of its style and retro controls, it lacks native Dolby Atmos, so it doesn’t feel like a direct rival.

The one thing you’ll want to keep in mind is the lack of capable voice assistance from the Denon at launch, but if that doesn’t matter to you, the customizable spatial sound, ability to connect to players and turntables, plus intuitive control make the Denon Home 400 a good value buy in this price tier. Just make sure you’re keen on spatial sound and know you want to hear the layers inside a mix, as that’s what sets this apart.

• Value score: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Denon Home 400?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Denon Home 400 review: also consider

How I tested the Denon Home 400

• Tested with music streamed from Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music via AirPlay, and radio stations within the HEOS app
• Also tested Bluetooth and wired performance with the Activo P1 audio player
• Used Audio Pro A10 MkII for comparison during listening tests
• Tested over several weeks of both casual and critical listening

I tested the Denon Home 400 using a wide range of different music genres and styles, including popular hits, soundtracks, ambient playlists and classical. I listened to podcasts and radio content, too, over several weeks of testing. I primarily used the Denon Home 400 in one spot, on a table in my living room, and that gave me a sense of how well it was able to fill the space in my small flat.

I used Bluetooth and wired connections with my Activo P1 music player, and also streamed using the HEOS app itself, accessing Deezer, Spotify and radio stations from this interface. Most of my spatial listening was tested via AirPlay, playing tracks mixed for Dolby Atmos through Apple Music.

For some direct comparisons, I used the other speakers that I currently have in my flat, including an Audio Pro A10 MkII and a couple of HomePod Minis in a stereo pair. And, to get a great understanding of the speaker’s performance, I made sure to listen to the widest possible range of genres at varying volume levels.

• First reviewed: June 2026
• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee

The 2026 High End audio show is in full swing in Vienna. The show is a key fixture of the hi-fi enthusiast's calendar, and was previously held in Munich — this year, it made the big move over to the Austria Center on the banks of the Danube, and TechRadar followed it.

We've had our audio team on the ground, rapidly learning how not to get lost in the new layout and exploring the mix of returning companies and new players who've jumped on board as part of the change.

We explored as many listening rooms and headphones booths as we could, to identify our favorite products in the audio areas we cover here on TechRadar, so naturally we've got a mix of speakers, streamers, a soundbar-that's-not-a-soundbar, and headphones, rather than hi-fi cables and pre-amps.

So here, in alphabetical order, are the products our team picked as the products that really stood out to us at the end of the show days, all chosen based on listening to their performance.

Astell & Kern SP4000T and Clarus

Let's start with a double winner — we got to test these together, and while each seems phenomenal, the combination was the most impressive part. The SP4000T DAP is an upgraded version of the already fantastic A&K SP4000 player, now packing four vacuum tubes for a taste of the analog.

The Clarus are wired earbuds with nine drivers per bud, using a bunch of different technologies, each targeting different frequencies.

The combination of the two really leans into the 'clarity' suggestion in the Clarus' name — we were instantly taken by the pin-sharp attack in their dynamic range, and the fine detail that they were able to bring out of the music, all while giving every listener a huge sense of scale that feels well beyond something handheld or that fits right in your ear conch.

Bowers & Wilkins 801 D5

Bowers & Wilkins is celebrating its 60th anniversary, so what better time to release its new flagship 801 D5 loudspeaker? This model features B&W's famous Diamond Dome tweeter and an upgrade to its internal Matrix bracing, including a new Space Frame Bracing extension.

The aim is to deliver even more incredibly natural, generous, and immersive sound. During our demo with the 801 D5, we were blown away by life-like vocals, brilliantly regimented deep bass, and super-defined treble, as well as its sophisticated soundstage and spacious presentation.

Cabasse Pearl Pelegrina Édition Atelier

The High End show is always full of bonkers speaker designs, and Cabasse's spherical Pearl design is old news to hi-fi fans — but we can't help but be taken by the Pelegrina version's 'alien eyeball squid has come to Earth to negotiate a new intergalactic peace' design — and what's new this year is the Atelier system, meaning that you can have any finish you want on them, to make them fit your spaceship listening room perfectly.

But what's most important is the astoundingly powerful sound from a speaker cabinet that's actually amazingly compact. The front driver is a tri-coaxial system, meaning it's actually three drivers nested inside each other, and there's a hefty custom-design woofer on the rear capable of especially high excursion.

The end result is a set of speakers that look like an art installation, but can party like a warehouse rave. They can thump the low-end with the best of them, while delivering super-rich and detailed sound that wraps across the room despite their compact 'pupils'. And they're active speakers, so you can put them wherever you want in your home and just start playing.

Cambridge Evo 300

This is the artist formerly known as Cambridge Audio's new, more powerful compact streaming amp — if you've got a really beefy speaker. Still, if you don't want to dedicate too much space to components, then the 300W per channel you can get from the Evo 300 might be exactly what you want.

That's paired with Cambridge's excellent, super-comprehensive streaming platform and digital skills, so you've got easy access to Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, Roon, and Deezer, with various casting options from your phone and aptX Bluetooth if you prefer. There are two sets of speaker outputs, plus a sub out; for input, you've got XLR, HDMI eARC, and analog options including an MM phono input.

It's just the ultimate all-in-one modern amp if you've got big speaker ambitions — and here in 2026, why shouldn't you?

Canvas Hi-Fi Canvas L

This is basically a pair of floor-standing speakers disguised as a soundbar for Halloween. You've got a stereo setup where each side has a tweeter, a midrange driver, and an 8-inch bass woofer with a matching 8-inch passive radiator. There's 1500W of amplification behind that, as well a necessarily well-braced cabinet — all of which are designed to attached to the rear of your TV using a mounting bracket, with the speakers sitting underneath the screen.

And it's in this list because it sounds like two excellent floorstanding speakers. It delivers unbelievably deep and resonant bass for a floating speaker bar, with the low end dispersed well throughout the room. There's phenomenal texture and realism to vocals, and it's all brilliantly musical and full of excellent rhythmic energy. It's delicate when it needs to be, but our overarching takeaway from listening to music is just how firm and 3D every instrument feels.

We didn't get to try it with music, but this is the first time we've heard something claim to be an audiophile soundbar and responded, "Yep, that's fair". It was electric, musical, and kind of addictive.

iFi iDSD GR 2

The iFi iDSD GR2 portable DAC is a considerable upgrade on its beloved predecessor, the venerable xDSD Gryphon, in a number of ways. It delivers far more amplification power, longer battery life, and even a touchscreen for a more user-friendly experience.

After trying it out at the show, we loved how it more seamlessly helps you to bring the very best out of a pair of premium headphones, and with K2HD tech for enhanced harmonics alongside a whole load of connectivity options, the GR2 has just about everything an audiophile needs, whether listening at home or on the go.

Meze Audio Arta

These new planar magnetic headphones come from a brand known for bringing high-end sound to a very reasonable price — but this time, Meze Audio just went all out, price be damned.

The result is one of the biggest and most cohesive soundstages we've ever heard from a pair of headphones. From the tinkliest treble with heavy sub-bass, these headphones deliver it all with total control and clarity, all at the same time if they have to. It's that cohesion that stands out, partly because it means individual parts don't stand out — everything sounds simply 'correct' in a way that deeply satisfies the brain. They deliver total audio order — a perfect, seamless whole.

Noble FoKus Artemis

These are wireless active noise-canceling headphones, from a company that most people will probably know best for putting improbably powerful driver arrays into earbuds. Well, it's now put an improbably powerful driver array into over-ears, including a dynamic driver, a planar driver, and a balanced armature — and somehow, the end result is pretty lightweight and comfortable, with a 50-hour battery life.

The end result is probably the most revealing noise-canceling headphones we've ever tried. They're utterly impeccable at picking out every nuance of instruments, even in the most dense mix, and even with the ANC mode activated (which is pretty good too).

There's a huge dynamic range, and really steep level of attack to them: every drum is hard, and every plosive is picked up with precision in a voice. The sound is maybe a little cooler than most people will be used to from ANC headphones, but that will be exactly their strength — they create the silence, and then fill it with tiny details you'd never heard before.

Ruark R710

The Ruark R710 streaming amplifier blends a beautiful retro-style look with an expansive suite of modern features — as well as some not-so-modern ones that we very much welcome. It builds on Ruark's previous R610 in a number of ways, packing in more power for the speakers, along with an integrated CD player, which has apparently been included by popular demand (and is hidden in the handsome wooden front grille, making it a fun secret touch).

When listening to the streamer alongside Ruark's new Talisman R speakers, we were impressed by the warmth and tonality of vocals, the high caliber of instrument separation in the mix, and the striking power of the overall presentation from a compact box.

Yamaha NX-70A

Yamaha's new active speakers have a very sleek and stylish look, but generally seem quite unflashy and demure — though in our demo at the show, they seemed like something of a wireless wonder.

They offer a lively, precise sound with really well-honed handling of transients, which helps them to build an excellent stereo spatial presentation. The diffusion of ambient sounds into the room while holding the tension on the sharper central sounds makes them a really exciting listen. There's so much detail, creating a really physical sense of texture to something like the hum of a saxophone reed. Add the pleasingly weighted bass response, and you get a set of active speakers that really grab your attention, in the best way.

• High End Vienna brings even more speakers
• Kanto Tuk Grand brings premium, stand-mounted boxes in 'burled' wood
• Bowers & Wilkins goes for the formidable sci-fi look

I am convinced that there are two types of speaker, and all the pomp and ceremony of High End Vienna hasn't convinced me otherwise. Two new high-profile, high-price announcements prove I'm right, too.

Type number 1: the box. Lots of speakers are essentially well-braced, driver-filled boxes that you put on your shelves or place on stands. There's nothing wrong with that; it's a simple look, and today it's Kanto Audio that's waving the cute, ever-so-slightly kooky cuboid flag with its new Grand Tuk.

This new $999.99 / £799.99 (about AU$1,600) speaker pair is due to go on sale at some point this summer. Don't worry, we'll spend more time with Kanto Audio in a moment, but we've someone else to meet.

On the other side of the scale is type number 2: the 70s sci-fi creature. We see all sorts of formidable towers of power-style speakers, which occasionally look inspired by the costume department of Doctor Who in the best way — and representing that team today is Bowers & Wilkins.

The brand's new 800 Series Diamond D5 range of speakers has quite a few different products, headlined by the 801 D5 which we weren't provided release or price information for. Some look like legally-distinct Daleks, others aerodynamic car spoilers, and they'll all go on sale in September.

Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series Diamond D5

Let's start with the big range, so I can share a picture of a Dalek to prove my point. The Diamond D5 series consists of the flagship which, as already pointed out, doesn't have a price or release date, though that doesn't specifically mean it won't release; we're just waiting on details. Instead you can buy a similar model, the 802 D5, which comes at "a more affordable price point": $45,000 / £32,500 (about AU$66,000) for a pair.

Naturally, it's a floor-stander, as are the 803 D5 (MSRP $35,000 / £25,500, which converts to roughly AU$52,000) and 804 D5 (MSRP $25,000 / £16,500, converting to around AU$37,000).

Also showing up to the party, just without a leg to stand on, is the 805 D5, $15,000 / £10,000 (roughly AU$10,000): a stand-mounted pair of speakers.

Rounding out the range are two three-way center channels for home theaters: the $15,000 / £10,000 (same conversion as before) HTM81 D5, and the $12,000 / £8,000 (about AU$16,000) HDM82 D5. These are both designed to be used alongside the main products: the HTM81 works with the 801 and 802, while the cheaper model goes with the 'cheaper' speakers.

So why are these things so expensive? Well, the big selling point is the use of Bowers & Wilkin's Diamond Dome tweeter, which is that little microphone-looking flourish at the top. It's designed to provide reference-quality sound in the higher ends.

They've all clearly been meticulously designed too — that's why they look so unusual — and come with impressive (though varied) extra speakers. These are hands down professional-grade high-end audiophile pieces of kit, but there's something for the rest of us at High End too...

Kanto Tuk Grand

Let's move on to everyone's favorite Star Wars character: Kanto Tuk Grand. This new bookshelf speaker offering goes for a cool $999.99 / £799.99 (about AU$1,600) per pair and after the Bowers & Wilkins, that looks cheap.

As I've mentioned before, it's our more traditional example within this article, but there's a reason audio companies return to this tried-and-true build. Kanto has, the company tells us, spent time refining this cabinet design, both to improve the sound and to "belong with" the space you put it in.

Specs-wise (because there's only one product, we can actually talk about its specs without creating a massive list), you've got a 28mm x 35mm Air Motion Transformer tweeter, and a 6-inch aluminum cone. It hits a frequency response range of 40Hz-22kHz, and a power output of 160W.

There's a nice range of connection options here: you can plug them in via 2x RCA cables or optical, as well as USB-C, and those latter two will bow allow 24 bit/96kHz playback. You can also pair via Bluetooth 5.4, with the Tuk Grand supporting atpX Adaptive, AAC and SBC.

Design-wise, it's relatively basic compared to the Diamond boys, but simplicity is underrated (a lower price point is not underrated, though I still wouldn't call the Kanto 'cheap').

The Kanto Tuk Grand was unveiled alongside three second-gen speakers from Kanto Audio, due out between summer and fall, but make no mistake: the Grand is the flagship product here.

WiiM is one of the most interesting companies in the audio world right now, breaking out in the last couple of years in no small part thanks to capitalizing on Sonos' disastrous app update, and the company's quieter period since.

In that time, WiiM went from offering add-on boxes for traditional hi-fi, to launching sleek integrated streaming amps, to launching its own wireless speakers and subwoofer, starting with the WiiM Sound, to unveiling its first soundbar.

Ahead of the soundbar's launch, I spoke to WiiM's CEO, Dr. Lifeng Zhao, about the decisions the company made in developing the soundbar, whether WiiM has a signature sound profile, and what it means to offer "simplicity" in the context of these products, among other topics.

TechRadar: Tell me why you guys have chosen to do a soundbar now.

Lifeng Zhao: WiiM is four years old; in terms of brands right now we are a new player. So we did a streamer and amplifier, which convert or upgrade your existing audio gear. Those get really popular among our users, who start to expand [where they use them] to more environments: their living room; their media rooms. So, we always get this kind of feedback — they ask "when will you guys launch home theater, because we already have your gear, but we don't want to have separate components".

To use our streamer or amplifier, you have to have passive or powered speakers, right? But many people want to have one powerful all-in-one device in their living room. So they don't really want separate components because you know there's messing [with wires, and aesthetics], so we are always getting this request.

I'm also a big fan of entertainment, so for myself I want something simple to use with Dolby Atmos that can fulfill my music and TV experience. So, it came both from our own use, as well as a request from our community.

TechRadar: So, did you consider making an AV receiver or something like that before you decided to go the soundbar route? You already made the amps, so an AV receiver seems like it might have been the obvious way to go.

Lifeng Zhao: We already have the AV receiver if you think about it, right? We have the amps.

TechRadar: Only two channels.

Lifeng Zhao: Yeah, 2.1. But you can expand it with your surrounding channels [using wireless WiiM speakers]. That's the beauty of our systems. We don't want to make a traditional AVR, but we have a solution for those AVR users. People want a multi-channel system, but they don't want messy wired solutions. It's not flexible, and there are many limits on the placement, so we already have 2.1, but you can expand it with the surround speakers.

We are looking at more possibilities, but we don't want to make a legacy AVR; we want to make compact powerful and wireless versions of AVR.

TechRadar: The soundbar you guys are releasing is very good value considering the amount of physical channels that you've built in, and the amount of technology. A lot of soundbars at a similar price to yours are quite small, whereas yours is reasonably big. Can you talk through the design process around deciding how big you wanted the soundbar to be, and how that paired with the price you wanted to charge?

Lifeng Zhao: First of all, let's go back to our target users. We want this soundbar for both needs: watching TV plus listening to music. We don't want you to have to have two separate devices just because you watch TV and listen to music in your daily lives. So then we were thinking about how if we make [a product] only for the TV, just to improve the voice clarity, then we don't really need to go big — but we see a lot of people really want to listen to music with good bass, so the physics of that means we cannot make it too small.

So then we are thinking we can make [a soundbar with a subwoofer] but many people prefer the simplicity of an all-in-one — so that also gives us a size limit. So for our first one we wanted [to make one] people can just buy for most use cases. So with the size, our main target market is the US and Europe, and in most of Europe people have a single family [room]. So they have 55 inches or up TVs. So we did some surveys, and we think this is the kind of right size which can capture the majority of our audience.

TechRadar: You mentioned trying to balance the bass with the size and the compactness. So, you've got the four passive radiators in there. Were you designing the size of the soundbar around the size of the speakers and radiators you wanted to use, or were you choosing the speakers based on the size you wanted the soundbar to be?

Lifeng Zhao: We start with acoustic criteria. We say how deep a bass we want, based on our [previously launched devices]. We launched the amps, and we see how people set up their systems. We want to go to 50Hz, so users could get good bass — so that kind of gives us an acoustic volume. We calculate size based on this volume, but we do want it to be a sleek soundbar, so we have some height limits. But we can calculate the length, depth, and the height while leaving space for the speakers.

I always say we start from the acoustic criteria, then we calculate the size, then we design the best speaker driver according to this size limit.

TechRadar: Do you have more than one HDMI port, for passthrough?

Lifeng Zhao: We have one HDMI eARC, we don't have passthrough. We are thinking that people will connect most of their devices through the TV, because you have multiple HDMI inputs in the TV.

TechRadar: A lot of your competitors also only have one HDMI port, but there's a large number of people who have had their TV for a long time and they've collected a lot of boxes to connect to it, and so it can be really difficult to lose one of your HDMI ports to your soundbar. So, is there a reason behind this decision: was it either to do with cost or technical design or simplicity that you chose to only have one port?

Lifeng Zhao: Design is always about trade-offs, right? So, here I would say we value the simplicity, so people aren’t confusing HDMI and HDMI ARC. Before this journey [at Linkplay/WiiM] I also worked on media devices a lot in my past career, so we know that simplicity is very important. This is a choice to value that simplicity more in this device.

TechRadar: One of the interesting things about your soundbar is that you have a screen on the front, like the Wiim Sound speaker. Screens on soundbars is always quite a controversial topic, because people feel very strongly about having a light in front of their TV. Tell us about how the screen will work when you're watching content, and why you decided to include it.

Lifeng Zhao: We actually debated a lot internally. Our first screen-enabled devices [were the streamer and the amplifier], then the Sound speaker. So we actually accumulated a lot of experience in how people use a screen. To go back to your question regarding why we put a screen on the soundbar: first of all, the soundbar is made both for people using it for music and also watching TV, and in both cases we see a need for a screen. To give you some examples, when you listen to music, people always look somewhere to see what's playing, and they like looking at their favorite album art. We see people will even build a separate display just for artwork while listening, so we see this, and we want to provide integrated solutions for that.

Then we go back to the soundbar. So actually we are saying two things. One is that if you don't really need the screen, you can turn it off. Another thing is that we really want instant feedback. Think about it: if you only have an LED light right there with so many inputs, output and functions, how do you know what the status of the device is? It's really confusing even for me when I look at the LEDs, you know? I always forget, like, [what would flash] when the network doesn't work, right? How do I know it?

So, we want to give people a simple and intuitive control plus the instant feedback, because the device is so powerful. There are many statuses that may be important to your use cases. In a simple device we can just use a very simple app, but when it becomes very powerful, like your smartphone, you have to have a screen for people to interact.

TechRadar: There are obviously two ways to think about simplicity. And one is to have less information shown to keep it simple, and to have users trust that they're in the mode they like and things won’t change. Whereas I think you're saying that the way to introduce simplicity is to make sure people have all the information in front of them, so they're not questioning what the options are. That more information makes it simpler. Is it fair to say that's how you feel about it?

Lifeng Zhao: What I'm trying to say is that there are certain use cases where you need more information, but we don't want to give people too many options. So if you don't want that screen while you’re watching TV, our system will automatically turn off for you because you can separately configure the mode for each of your watching needs. But you can do even more, or we can do it automatically for you by default. You just need to set up once.

We want people using the screen intuitively. We don’t want to cause confusion; we don't want to become complicated. But [instead of] only having a red or a yellow indicator, we will tell you, oh, your network is disconnected, or your format is not supported, right? Let's say you don't support DTS, right? If you just have a yellow indicator, people will not really understand, they'll get really frustrated because they don't have any audio. So that's the kind of simplicity we want to have.

TechRadar: When it comes to expanding the system, you've got the ability to easily go to 5.1.2 channels by adding on the other WiiM products. Did you consider going beyond that? Because presumably with your technology, you could offer 7.1 2 or 5.2.2. Did you think about offering these?

Lifeng Zhao: Yeah, that's the beauty of our system, right? We started from separate components, so we accumulated a lot of experience. Another thing is that if you look at our wireless technology, we invest a lot in terms of wireless infrastructure — we have Wi-Fi 6E, so if you have the best routers we can leverage your routers, so we don't really have a limit. If your wireless environment can support it, we can expand it more.

Yes, when we launch the soundbar it supports 3.0.2, but as you mentioned we can expand it beyond 5.1.2, so that's exactly what we are doing, with the latest Wi-Fi standard you know we can expand more and with low latency.

[Editor's Note: Since this interview, WiiM has changed its stance and is aiming to support adding front left and right separate speakers for use with the WiiM Bar at launch, which can be either WiiM's wireless speakers or can be any speakers attached to a WiiM amp. Dr. Zhao gave us this additional comment: "We can confirm the bar supports wireless front, left, and right speakers. This wasn't originally intended as a launch feature, but based on community feedback and the team's testing, we decided to share it. There seems to be a lot of interest from our community, so if feedback and internal testing continue to go well, we'll look to keep it in."]

TechRadar: So are you saying that actually someone can go beyond 5.1.2 channels?

Lifeng Zhao: Right now we are saying 5.1.2, but potentially, with the software update we can expand more.

TechRadar: Speaking of wireless technology, have you guys explored Dolby Atmos FlexConnect as an option for your products?

Lifeng Zhao: We always look at different types of connectivity and the multi-channel options. FlexConnect definitely is on our radar.

TechRadar: Is there any reason why you're not supporting it now?

Lifeng Zhao: This is our first one, right? As I mentioned, we can support it with a software update, so the hardware is there. It's just about whether we feel it's mature enough, or the user experience [is ready]. We don't really want to give people half-baked technology; we want to make sure it’s really good and people can easily use it. So there's a possibility that we can do it even in current hardware with the software update, but I cannot commit on this one yet.

TechRadar: Speaking of the ecosystem, it looks like this is another piece of hardware that doesn't support Apple AirPlay 2, which is true of a lot of the new releases WiiM has launched. Are you able to say why this hasn't been included in the last few products?

Lifeng Zhao: We have many options on our devices, we support like more than 25 music services, then we have other ‘casting’ options there — and we value the people's content. If you're using Spotify, we want you using Spotify Lossless instead of a compressed [stream], and we see a lot of confusion, actually, of people using Spotify Connect with the other option you just mentioned [AirPlay 2]. So, it’s really a choice, like a design choice — we make it easy to use with high-res.

We really want people to leverage the best quality of their music on our system, and we also offer other options, which you can do very easily. We have multi-room no matter which source, via input to the Wiim. And with most of the music sources you can do lossless audio — so that’s the two options we offer right now.

TechRadar: You’re offering your RoomFit room correction here. I guess this is a very similar technology to what you've offered on the amps previously, but did you have to make any changes for working with Dolby Atmos and other formats you're supporting here?

Lifeng Zhao: It has to be different, right? Because in the soundbar we handle Dolby Atmos as a type of spatial audio, we also handle DTS, so we have multi-channel [sound to deal with]. Previously with RoomFit we started with like one device, then we expanded to 2.1 with a subwoofer — but now we’ve expanded RoomFit for the entire system. It's adding your surrounding speakers, adding your subwoofer, it’s not only doing stuff like balancing your SPL, or frequency spectrum, we also balance timing.

So we really expanded RoomFit for the spatial audio. We invested quite some time to get it right, and hopefully when we launch this soundbar people will be amazed by just how good it is. You just do one-tap calibration, it does everything for you: it calibrates the latency, the level matching, both for your front and surrounds and your subwoofer.

TechRadar: You mentioned earlier about designing the acoustic signature to deliver the right kind of sound that you wanted. And would you say that the new soundbar and the WiiM Sound speakers and your amps share a particular sound signature? Is there a sound signature that you believe is the WiiM style?

Lifeng Zhao: We are not really traditional hi-fi, if you look at our history. We really value the source. So that's why we always emphasize that, if you have a very good source, we want to replicate that in the original format. That means the resolution and in the bit depth, so we try to minimize the distortion when we do the [digital-to-analogue].

We do a lot of things mathematically to try to perfect the sound based on your existing system. In our amp we want to value your speaker signature you already have, so in our RoomFit we actually we want to just tackle the room mood most. So your high end, high frequency — we want to keep that signature [of your speakers] because that's what you paid for, right? So I would say we want to value people's preference more, and in the parts we can do well, we control that part — then we give people options. Simplicity, plus the powerful control.

If you go to advanced settings, you still can change your signature because if people whole, like, a warm sound they [can have it].

TechRadar: That makes sense, especially for the amps and things. But when you're making the soundbars and and WiiM Sound speakers, you're the ones choosing what the speaker output is going to sound like. So did you guys settle on a particular sound profile you wanted to make the default, or is it different for the soundbar than for the music speakers?

Lifeng Zhao: Exactly. Out of the box we want a really good sound, and if you talk about a sound signature, we do have different profile settings for the HDMI input or the music inputs. For the music inputs, we want to really have good clarity and a rich sound [with] respect to the original. Then for the HDMI, we tuned for more bass, for immersive audio. So we have a different profile, and I think it's a very good default for each of the sources.

TechRadar: It's interesting to talk to you about this element, because there are some companies I speak to where the speaker drivers are the things they really focus on, whereas your focus seems to be more on the processing and the signal pathway. Do you think that comes from the kind of company you are, as a digital platform company that has extended into speakers, instead of the other way around? Do you think that makes big difference as to how you approach your products compared to older hi-fi companies who did the analog part first and then are adding the digital in?

Lifeng Zhao: To make a better product, we need to marry the two sides. I would say we start from the digital world, but when we did the amplifier we actually [developed] a lot of analog, so we have a really good understanding of that digital-to-analog [process]. So we definitely are also analog people, and then when we do the speakers, our teams have people who worked in traditional [hi-fi] companies such as Harman Kardon, so we do have expertise on this area as well. Our talents will be in wireless, and in the DSP, and we also have a lot of acoustic engineers.

• Ruark unveils R710 Music Console and Talisman-R floorstanding speakers
• The R710 is Ruark's 'most powerful' console yet, with CD player and phono stage
• It costs £2,199 (about $3,000, AU$4,000); Talisman-R is £1,499 (around $2,000, AU$2,800)

Let me be clear: UK audio specialist Ruark is a master of compact hi-fi products — just see the five-star MR1 Mk3 petite powered desktop speakers for starters.

Although the duo of products that Ruark has just unveiled at High End Vienna may look heritage, they're chock full of thoroughly modern tech (and also some slightly older tech too) under their delightful exteriors. And yes, they absolutely can be purchased together to make a beautifully simple, space-conscious hi-fi system.

Those slim floorstanding speakers put me in mind of the electrostatic designs Quad made in collaboration with the BBC in the 1960s, but Ruark tells me they actually hark back to one of the company's own original flagship designs, first launched in 1990.

Both new products, says the company, have been designed "make high-end hi-fi accessible" and as a further celebration of Ruark's 40th year in trading (following two stunning 'radiogram' options at the start of the year), it's a gorgeous offering indeed.

Ruark R710 Music Console and Talisman-R floorstanders: key specs and pricing

The R710 is an update to the firm's Ruark R610 console (and Sabre-R bookshelf speakers) that I adored when I saw them in the flesh, back in 2024.

Alongside its built-in CD player, phono stage (so your vinyl-spinner can be added as a source) and onboard dual 200W Class-D amplifiers, high-resolution music file support and streaming is here, at up to 24-bit 384kHz, thanks to R710's quad-core CPU, with Spotify Connect, Qobuz Connect, Tidal Connect, Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, Internet Radio and apt-X HD Bluetooth all baked in.

For local music libraries, R710 also supports playback from both networked media servers and attached USB storage devices — and if you want to hear your film soundtracks through it, R710 adds an HDMI ARC/eARC connection for TV connectivity too. And while you get a gorgeous rotary Bluetooth remote with your purchase, to make playback control easier (it's not too dissimilar to something the aspirational amplification brand Moon might offer), a huge selling point for me is that large front-mounted color display for album artwork and text.

And those Talisman-R speakers? You're looking at a two-way, bass-reflex passive wired system, comprising a 27mm Ruark silk-dome tweeter and 6.5-inch long throw woofer with a lovely long, slim profile and sloped front baffle — although take note, they still weigh a reassuringly hefty 17.6kg each.

Ultimately, Ruark wants you to consider the R710 and Talisman-R speakers as a beautiful system — and I get it. Both products are available in Fused Walnut or Satin Charcoal lacquer, and the R710 is priced at £2,199 (so around $2,000 or AU$4,000, as rough guesstimates) with Talisman-R at £1,499 (which is $2,000 or AU$2,800, or thereabouts).

• Yamaha new wireless speakers feature HDMI eARC and CEC connectivity
• Room calibration and wide streaming support is also onboard
• Priced £2,587 (about $3,475 / AU$4,870)

Yamaha has unveiled a set of high-end wireless hi-fi speakers that look like they'll be a serious rival to the five-star KEF LS50 Wireless II. The new NX-70 speakers bring features and materials from Yamaha's flagship products and musical instruments, and they are designed to work with all kinds of audio — including from your TV.

They're good looking too, with solid aluminum tops, copper accents and gently rounded cabinets. That isn't just cosmetic: the shape minimizes internal standing waves and the 5mm thick aluminum plate suppresses resonance.

The speakers connect to each other wirelessly and you can stream to them via Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Google Cast, AirPlay 2 and from other sources via Yamaha's own MusicCast app. The speakers are Roon compatible and they include an HDMI eARC/ARC port with CEC control for your television.

Yamaha NX-70A wireless speakers: key features and pricing

The NX-70A speakers feature a 5 and 1/4-inch Harmonious Diaphragm Cone woofer and a 1 and 1/4-inch Harmonious Diaphragm Dome tweeter putting out up to 100W and 60W respectively.

The wonderfully named Harmonious Diaphragm system blends Zylon polymer, which is also used in Yamaha's flagship speakers, with spruce wood; that's the wood Yamaha uses in its grand piano soundboards. According to Yamaha the result is "a consistent tone over the entire frequency spectrum" that delivers instruments and vocals "naturally and with remarkable musicality."

The NX-70As also feature Yamaha Parametric room Acoustic Optimizer, which is Yamaha's own room calibration system. It uses an included microphone to measure the sound of your room or other space and then adjusts the sonic characteristics accordingly so you don't have to worry about perfect speaker placement.

The Yamaha NX-70A speakers will be available from July 2026 with a recommended retail price of £2,587 (about $3,475 / AU$4,870).

JBL Xtreme 5: two-minute review

The JBL Xtreme 5 is here and it's bigger, bulkier, and just better than what came before it. This party-ready Bluetooth speaker is on the larger end of JBL’s portable range, and comes with a massive 130W power output, 6.4lbs / 2.9kg weight, and a fairly high price to match. But this model really does feel as if it’s worth every penny.

Why? First of all, we have to talk about sound. The Xtreme 5 is a monster, with rumbling, almost earth-shaking bass, that can extend incredibly deep while retaining composure and clarity at all times. I was wowed by the richness and impact of the speaker’s low-end output, but this never came at the expense of rich mids or expressive highs.

It really does feel like the Xtreme 5 is a substantial sonic upgrade on its predecessor, and like the best Bluetooth speakers, it could handle just about every genre I threw at it with ease. This model can also get louder than the JBL Xtreme 4 thanks to its ramped up power output — although it will need to be plugged into the mains to hit its peak.

With souped-up power comes a size increase. This model is a lot heftier than the Xtreme 4, and wider too. It may be too bulky for some, but the included shoulder strap means it’s still pretty easy to carry around.

Something I love about the Xtreme 5 is how delightfully durable it is. This model is built to a very high standard, is drop-proof, and even IP68 dust and waterproof-rated, meaning it can easily survive a dunk in the pool.

But it’s not just practical, it’s pretty swell-looking too, especially thanks to newly integrated edge lights, which are fully customizable in the JBL Portable app. If you’d prefer you can turn them off, which can help to conserve battery life — you’re getting the same 24 hours that we saw on the Xtreme 4, but you can ramp this up to 28 hours with PlayTime Boost active.

Even in the features department, the Xtreme 5 nails it. You get USB-C audio passthrough for lossless playback, Auracast for multi-speaker pairing, customizable EQ, and a super easy-to-use compainon app.

And in the end, this portable speaker really does feel like the full package. Some may point out a slight price bump in the US, but the Xtreme 5’s cost feels entirely justified and well-balanced against the competition. If you want a speaker to get the party moving, with uncompromising, striking sound, this is easily my top recommendation.

JBL Xtreme 5 review: price and availability

• $399.95 / £329.99 (about AU$560)
• Launched in April 2026

The JBL Xtreme 5 launched in April 2026, about two years after its predecessor, the JBL Xtreme 4. It has a list price of $399.95 / £329.99 (about AU$560), representing a $20 bump in the US but no increase in the UK. It’s available in a range of colors, including Black, Blue, and Camo.

JBL Xtreme 5 review: specs

JBL Xtreme 5 review: features

• Customizable EQ and lighting
• 24 hours of playtime (28 hours with PlayTime Boost)
• USB-C audio passthrough for hi-res playback

The Xtreme 5 is overflowing with features, making it an incredibly adaptive and customizable Bluetooth speaker to use.

You’ve got a lot of the usual good stuff: multi-point connectivity, fast-pairing, and Auracast for multi-speaker connection, but there’s even more to uncover with the JBL Portable app.

Through this simple yet effective companion software, you can pick from a neat assortment of EQ presets or create your own with the seven-band equalizer, activate PlayTime Boost for an extra dollop of playtime, and also customize the speaker’s edge lights.

Lighting is new on the Xtreme 5, and it looks great in my view. And it’s very customizable too — you can pick from a range of effects, such as Bounce, Loop, or Trim, and these are great fun to mess around with. But unlike the smaller JBL Go 5, the Xtreme 5 provides the option to change the color of on-board lights, which makes this speaker even more personalizable.

Like a lot of the new-gen JBL speakers, the Xtreme 5 also supports USB-C passthrough, meaning you can enjoy hi-res audio on the go. Just hold down the play button, plug your device in, and you’re good to go.

In fact, the USB-C port stands alone on this model, and can be used for more than just playing music. It’s used to charge the speaker itself, of course, but you can also use it to charge external devices — ideal for juicing up your phone if you’re out and about. There’s also a USB-C wall charger included in the box, which isn’t something you see from a lot of the competition.

While we’re on the topic of charging, I suspect you’re wondering about battery life. And the Xtreme 5 has a good amount of stamina. It can typically last around 24 hours, but with PlayTime Boost active — a mode that increases playtime at the cost of audio fidelity — you can get up to 28 hours. That represents no increase from the Xtreme 4, which is understandable given the higher power output, but there are some competitors, like the Marshall Kilburn III that can give you as much as 50 hours.

Another fun inclusion is JBL EasySing Mic compatibility, which lets you enjoy karaoke wherever you are — but you’ll have to purchase these mics separately.

The only thing that’s missing from the Xtreme 5 is a built-in mic for taking hands-free calls. This is a pretty common thing to leave off the spec-sheet in Bluetooth speakers these days, and is by no means a deal-breaker among the TR team, but it’s worth considering if you’d like to use your JBL as a speakerphone — because that won't be possible.

• Features score: 4.5/5

JBL Xtreme 5 review: sound quality

• Mesmerizing, full-bodied bass
• Detailed mids and energetic highs
• Incredibly powerful, even compared to predecessor

While listening to Max Chapman’s remix of I’ll Be Your by Ruze, I was struck by one thing right out of the box: the bass. I didn’t feel like the Xtreme 4’s low-end gripped me as much as I’d hoped when I tested it a couple of years back, but this was absolutely not the case for its successor.

The dynamism and depth of the low-end was instantly striking — it was commanding, regimented, and intent-filled, resulting in a highly energetic and immersive listen. This remained the case with House tracks like Feel Da Vibe by Soul Mass Transit System, where the bass extension was seriously impressive — if you want clean, full-sounding low-end output, it’s going to be hard to beat the Xtreme 5.

And luckily, this never came at the expense of the rest of the frequency range. Mids are rich and well-balanced — and in Allie X’s Black Eye, I was really surprised by just how natural and detailed vocals sounded, even with the hard-hitting bass powering throughout. That was the case with a simple AAC signal, by the way — even though there’s no aptX or LDAC on board, JBL’s party speaker can still dish out plenty of detail.

In more stripped back tracks, like Desafinado by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, vocals sounded warm and textured, with excellent tonality and articulation — even more so than they did on the still-great Xtreme 4. Sure, bass was pretty forward for a track like this, but that was nothing I couldn’t fix — I rapidly switched to my saved custom EQ and found the perfect balance.

The Xtreme 5 handles the highs really well too. When listening to Lewis Taylor’s Paradise via USB-C, percussion in the treble range sounded vivid and energetic, but wasn’t uncontrolled or overemphasized. As I edged towards 100% volume, it could sound a little compressed, but that’s incredibly common for Bluetooth speakers such as this one.

Speaking of volume, this thing can get seriously loud. And that’s no surprise when you look under the hood, with the Xtreme 5 boasting a single 90W woofer and dual 20W tweeters when it’s hooked up to the mains. For reference, that’s 30W more power from the sub than the Xtreme 4 — which instead opted for dual 30W bass drivers.

It’s also worth noting that the Xtreme 5 has a stereo configuration, but you shouldn’t expect impeccably separated and faithful stereo output here — although true stereo output is possible when pairing the Xtreme 5 with a second, identical model.

• Sound quality score: 5/5

JBL Xtreme 5 review: design

• Larger and weightier than the Xtreme 4
• Edge lighting is a welcome addition
• IP68-rated and drop-proof

JBL clearly believes that bigger means better, because the Xtreme 5 has a considerably larger footprint than its predecessor.

It’s wider and heftier too, coming in at 6.4lbs / 2.9kg — quite the rise from the 4.6lbs / 2.1kg of the Xtreme 4. That bulky build may put some off, but the Xtreme 5 still feels surprisingly portable. And that’s thanks to its carry strap, which is adjustable and comfortable to sling over the shoulder.

Despite that size increase, I prefer the look of the Xtreme 5 to its predecessor. There are some small changes to the appearance of the speaker — like a plate on the top side for button controls and a more prominent base stand. But there are still plenty of familiar traits — the recycled plastic and fabric material, the in-your-face logo placement, and the big radiators on each end of the model, for instance.

The biggest change, of course, is the inclusion of edge lighting. I’m a big fan of this personally — it makes bumping tunes that bit more immersive, and adds an ambient touch for late-night listening. These are customizable, but can also be turned off if you’re not in the mood for a light show or want to conserve battery life.

Beyond its looks, the Xtreme 5 is a seriously heavy-hitter in the design department — and that’s largely down to its durable construction. When using the Xtreme 5, it felt like dropping it would break the ground, rather than the speaker itself. It’s got an incredibly solid feel to it, and JBL has certified it as ‘drop-proof’. On top of that, its IP68 dust and waterproof rated, meaning it can even survive a 30 minute dunking under a meter and a half of water — pretty impressive, right?

• Design score: 4.5/5

JBL Xtreme 5 review: value

• Minimal price increase in the US, no change in some regions
• But actually feels like a better value buy than predecessor
• Incredible all-round quality is deserving of the steep cost

As much as I liked the JBL Xtreme 4, there was always a little something missing for me. The bass didn’t quite have the bite I was looking for, I didn’t fall in love with its design, and as a result, it didn’t quite feel worth the money. But the JBL Xtreme 5 has totally sold me.

Look, this is how you do an upgrade. This model has more power, more striking sound, lighting for added beauty points, and an even more durable build than last time out. And although US buyers will have to pay $20 more than the launch price of the Xtreme 4, the price has remained flat in other regions, including the UK.

Even with a price increase, this Bluetooth speaker feels worth every penny to me. And with its increased size, lights-integration, and power-boost, it almost feels like an ‘Xtreme Pro’ of sorts, rather than a mere refresh of what came before.

Looking at the competition right now, I think the Xtreme 5 is in very good standing too. For instance, the Bose SoundLink Max has a list price of $399 / £399 / AU$599 — considerably pricier than the Xtreme 5 in markets like the UK. Sure, Bose’s model goes on sale fairly often these days, sometimes for $100 / £100 less, but even still, I think the Xtreme 5 offers excellent bang for your buck with more bountiful bass and a sturdier build.

• Value score: 5/5

Should I buy the JBL Xtreme 5?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

JBL Xtreme 5 review: also consider

How I tested the JBL Xtreme 5

• Tested for hours alongside the JBL Xtreme 4
• Used in the music testing space at Future Labs
• Predominantly tested using Tidal

I spent hours testing the JBL Xtreme 5, during which time I exhausted its various features, assessed its audio quality, and compared it against its predecessor, the JBL Xtreme 4. Testing took place at our music testing space at Future Labs.

For the most part, I streamed music over Tidal to assess the audio aptitude of the Xtreme 5, but I did dip into Spotify from time to time as well. To begin with, I sifted through the TechRadar reference playlist, which features tracks from a wide range of genres, but I also bumped tunes from my personal library afterwards.

I’ve spent years testing audio gear here at TechRadar, including everything from cheap wired earbuds like the Sennheiser CX 80U to premium wireless headphones like the Sony 1000X The Collexion. Of course, I’ve tried out a ton of Bluetooth speakers too, and have reviewed JBL models like the JBL Go 5 and JBL Grip. I also curated our best Bluetooth speakers guide, where I tested more than 30 models to find the greatest models around.

• Read more about how we test
• First reviewed: June 2026

Sonos has offered the ability to add wireless rear speakers to its soundbars, creating an effective compact surround-sound system, for well over a decade. But this setup really hasn't changed much from the Playbar to the Sonos Arc Ultra — you can still have the soundbar with two rear speakers, and one or two subwoofers.

For years now, Sonos superfans have been begging the company to expand these options with the ability to use its wireless speakers as true front left and right channels for a home theater setup.

The frustration is width: elite soundbars like the Arc Ultra have angled drivers so that the audio sounds much wider than the soundbar itself, but there are diminishing returns with 'virtualized' width compared to the real width of just having speakers on either side of your TV, the way you would in a five-channel surround sound system made from separate speakers. And we just had a reminder from a Dolby exec about how important width is in recreating Dolby Atmos mixes.

People love the simplicity of a wireless Sonos setup compared to building out a wired separates system, and many are enamored with Sonos' sound profile. But as time goes on, the failure to innovate in the kinds of setups available starts to look stubborn at best.

Imagine that you have a Sonos Beam 2nd Gen connected to your TV over HDMI, and it receives the Dolby Atmos sound and then streams it out to a Sonos Era 300 to the left of your TV and one to the right of your TV.

These would deliver real width, especially since the Era 300 has left and right drivers, as well as forward-facing. The Beam serves as the center channel for clear dialogue, and the Era 300s deliver powerful side channels and height channels. And, of course, you could combine with wireless rear speakers, as Sonos does already.

People are choosing to buy bigger and bigger TVs, which need wider and wider sound to match their scale. We can't keep making soundbars bigger to compensate (well, we can, but I'm not sure it'll really please anyone).

Sonos has been in the perfect position to capitalize on this, and yet somehow Sony beat it to the punch by announcing the Sony Bravia Theatre Trio, an 'LCR' (left, center, right) wireless system that's more or less exactly the setup I described above, but with Sony speakers.

Here's what really galls the Sonos superfans: the tech already exists, unofficially, to do this, and many have tried it. There is a whole subreddit dedicated to a third-party app called Sonosequencr, and the developer makes it clear that they're not hacking the speakers to make this possible: they're tapping into tech already dormant in Sonos' system, that Sonos has never fully enabled.

Using Sonosequencr comes with tradeoffs, with the main one being that you can't use Trueplay to correct the sound for your room, so in some cases it's possible you're better off sticking with a regular Sonos setup that compensates for your room's reflections, especially if you have a smaller space — but in some large setups, the addition of real speakers might be the better option. Sonos could also break the third-party app at any time, since it's all unofficial.)

There were leaks that Sonos was planning to enable this kind of setup using its canceled streaming box as the centerpiece, but this obviously never came to fruition (but the tech that Sonosequencr taps into might be the vestigial remains of it, or an earlier version of it).

I wrote at the time that I hoped it would retain the exact feature I'm talking about today, but there's been no sign of it since then. That's probably partly because Sonos spent a year just trying to fix its app's problems and getting things ready for multiple launches this year (which started with the Sonos Play).

Maybe Sonos is getting ready to unleash a new world of home theater flexibility on us — when I interviewed CEO Tom Conrad, I asked him about Dolby Atmos FlexConnect and its ability to work with really flexible speaker placement, he said: "We're interested in that entire space, the entire domain of: How do you get the bits from the source to the speakers? How do you position the speakers in three-dimensional space? And how do you render? We'll continue to work on our roadmap."

In response to a question about TV makers launching their own wireless speaker tech and pushing Sonos out, Conrad said: "We're the pioneer in wirelessly distributing audio around the family room, and we'll have our own things to say about how that evolves in the coming quarters."

So it definitely sounds like Sonos has something planned for home theater this year, and I really hope it takes the chance to finally unleash extra speaker positions. The fact that Sony got there first really surprised me, but Sonos has a key advantage: price.

Sony's system costs £2000 (about $2,690 / AU$3,750) for the front three speakers. The closest Sonos setup in terms of Dolby Atmos performance would be the Beam 2nd Gen and two Era 300 speakers, as I mentioned above. At the time of writing, that costs $1,127 / £1,077 / AU$2,297 — but you could swap the Era 300s for a pair of Era 100 SL speakers, and the price would drop to $707 / £657 / AU$1,377.

When I think about the scale of performance you could get from that setup for that price… well, like I said, the whole thing

• Sonos' new app update enables you to turn SonosNet mesh networking off
• The feature may cause clashes with "more complex" home networks
• Available on iOS and Android, but not every will get it at the same time

Sonos has release an update to its app for both iOS and Android that may solve a weird networking issue for some users. The update, which is rolling out from today, adds a toggle for SonosNet that enables you to turn the feature off.

According to Liz from Sonos, who posted details of the update to the r/sonos subreddit, turning off SonosNet may "help resolve connectivity issues on more complex home network setups."

This is a relatively small update – the last one in mid-May delivered multiple changes including additional Music Library grouping options, layout improvements in iOS and for US users, changes to advertising personalization. But if you've been getting weird Wi-Fi issues it may be just what you've been waiting for.

What is SonosNet and why should you fear it?

SonosNet is designed to connect your Sonos speakers to each other, and it was created when home Wi-Fi wasn't always up to the task of smoothly streaming to your Sonos gear.

Sonos's solution was to create a Sonos-specific private Wi-Fi mesh network (before mesh routers were common) that your speakers would share, with an Ethernet-cabled Sonos device acting as the hub for everything else.

That's good, but as Liz from Sonos explains: "For most modern, high-speed routers, disabling SonosNet can actually help things run smoother. Newer routers use Wi-Fi technology that can sometimes conflict with SonosNet's mesh, so turning it off lets your system lean fully on your home network instead."

Sonos has also added the ability to see what's connected via SonosNet, which again might help with diagnosing speaker-specific weirdness.

However, it's worth noting that this tech is on by default for a reason — this option might be exactly what many people need, but I wouldn't try it until you've looked into other possible causes if you're having Sonos connection issues.

The update is a rolling update, meaning not all devices will receive it at once — so even though the new software is live today, your app might not show the option yet.

Once it's available to you, you can turn off SonosNet in System Settings > Networks > Disable SonosNet. Of course if you aren't experiencing network problems then there's no need to do this – and if you haven't done so already, it's worth trying a different SonosNet channel first to see if that solves your problem without having to take SonosNet offline.

Recently, I got my hands on the JBL Go 5 — the latest edition of the audio specialist’s smallest, and most affordable Bluetooth speaker. And to say it impressed me would be an understatement.

With exceptional sound quality in a small package, top-tier durability, and enticing LED lights, it proved that JBL is still king of the mini Bluetooth speaker world. It’s also available at a very low price…

However, with the Go 5 finally on the market, you can now easily swipe the previous-gen JBL Go 4 model with major discounts that could easily tempt you to go for that option instead, saving a bit of cash.

Given that the Go 4 was already one of the best Bluetooth speakers in the small-size category, I can see a lot of people being torn on which one to buy. So is the JBL Go 5 worth buying over its predecessor even at a higher price?

After testing both side-by-side, for me the JBL Go 5 is the better buy, even if you have to pay up to 30% more for it — because that difference isn't actually a lot of money, but the speaker itself is a big improvement. Let me break it all down for you.

JBL Go 5 vs JBL Go 4 specs at a glance

How do the JBL Go 5's features & design differ from the Go 4?

First of all, let’s take a look at the key differences between the Go 5 and Go 4.

Both models have a similar, rectangular build and feature the JBL logo at their core. Buttons are layered on the outside edges, enabling you to swiftly turn your speaker on, control playback, and pair via Bluetooth. They also feature a loop for hooking the speaker to something, which are constructed from hardy fabric in both cases.

The differences in terms of build are quite minor, really. The Go 5 is slightly larger, the logo pops a little more, and there are raised 'feet' on the back for when you’re laying the speaker flat. It also has IP68 dust and waterproofing, meaning it's fully protected against dust ingress, and can survive a 30 minute dunking under a meter and a half of water.

The Go 4 is IP67-rated, meaning it can only swim under a meter of water safely, but that level of protection will be more than enough for most.

The obvious and major difference between the Go 4 and Go 5 is the latter’s inclusion of lighting. You can select from a number of lighting effects in the JBL Portable app, and enjoy ambient effects while listening to your tunes. It’s a nice touch, but if you’d rather turn it off to conserve battery life, you can do so.

Speaking of battery life, you get a bit more out of the Go 5 than its predecessor. JBL’s new model supplies eight hours of playtime, with an additional two available using PlayTime Boost.

The Go 4 gets close, with seven hours — and up to nine with playtime boost on — so you should get enough charge to keep the tunes going for a cookout.

Otherwise, things are fairly similar across the two models. You’ll get multi-point connectivity, EQ tweaking in the JBL Portable app, fast-pairing, and Auracast connectivity for multi-speaker pairing.

Usefully, though, the Go 5 supports AirTouch, which enables you to instantly stereo pair to another Go 5 unit just by tapping them together.

Sound quality: more of a difference than you may expect

So, other than the Go 5’s lighting, a lot of the feature and design differences are the sort of incremental things you’d expect from a next-gen refresh. However, when it comes to sound quality, the upgrade is a lot more substantial than you may expect.

I’ve appreciated the Go 4’s sound since I first heard it a couple of years back — it was pretty clear and punchy given the model’s limited confines. But the Go 5 has redefined what is possible for a small-sized speaker.

The Go 5 has a much more open, detailed quality to its audio playback — the Go 4 sounded compressed and restricted in comparison when I used both side by side.

In tracks such as Marco Castello’s Editto Dal Sottoscoglio, I was treated to a much more full-sounding presentation on JBL’s newer release — the definition of dreamy vocals, the sharp, expressive hit of hi-hats, and the tonality of gliding guitars just came through with so much more life and color.

Even though bass is inherently limited on the Go 5, it’s also a bit cleaner sounding against the relatively punchy but slightly less powerful Go 4.

You’ll also be able to get more powerful sound from the Go 5, as its output power has increased to 4.8W from 4.2W, and the speaker does reach pretty impressive volumes — both models will succumb to compression at peak loudness, though.

Unlike the Go 4, you can also make use of wired audio on the JBL Go 5, with USB-C audio passthrough. This unlocks lossless playback, resulting in even more agile, responsive bass, surprisingly detailed mids, and controlled treble. Most will probably stick with Bluetooth, but this sort of feature is great to see regardless.

Verdict: here’s how I’d spend my money

So, in the end which speaker do I think is worth buying? Considering that the JBL Go 5 has a modest list price of $54.95 / £39.99 (about AU$75), representing a very small increase over its predecessor in real terms, I’d say there’s no contest.

With appealing, customizable lighting, incremental feature enhancements, and considerably better sound, the JBL Go 5 is almost like a blueprint on how to do an upgrade right.

Sure, the Go 4 is often on sale now, and I’ve seen it drop below $40 / £30 / AU$50 regularly, so saving the extra $15 / £10 will be tempting. And it still offers solid sound quality, a durable design, and phenomenal portability.

But the audio improvement alone makes the Go 5 worth choosing over its ancestor. For me, it’s the best little Bluetooth speaker that money can buy.

• The Sonos app is not currently available in the Apple App Store
• No change to Google Play: it's still there
• Sonos has acknowledged the issue and is "working on a solution"

Update 2: The Sonos app is back on the App Store now. Normal service resumes. The original article and update will remain as published below.

If you're looking for the Sonos app for iOS, iPadOS or Mac, you'll need to wait: it's not there. The app is temporarily unavailable in Apple's App Store for all three platforms.

Sonos is aware of the problem: in a status update it says that "We have identified a problem with the Sonos App availability in the iOS / Mac App Stores and are working on a solution."

So far the app has been unavailable for a few hours and we don't yet know when it'll return.

Update 1: Sonos provided the following comment to TechRadar: "The Sonos app is temporarily unavailable for new downloads and updates from the Apple App Store while we complete a routine administrative update with Apple. Existing installations on customers' devices are unaffected and the Sonos app and service are operating normally. We expect the issue to be resolved soon. For the latest status, please visit https://status.sonos.com/."

What's wrong with the Sonos app?

The Sonos status page shows a clear sheet for almost everything bar the Sonos Account, which is currently labelled with a red X to indicate a major outage.

Sonos says that in addition to the app not being available to download, you might not be able to update it if it's already installed on your system.

It strongly seems like this is some kind of administrative problem, as hinted by Sonos in its statement to us — some online have speculated that it could be as basic as Sonos' developer accounts expiring, or a similar paperwork requirement not being met. If that's the case, we'd expect it to reappear and for Sonos to never speak of it again…

Having said that, at some point Sonos' Mac app will disappear permanently anyway — it's not built for Apple Silicon, and Sonos says it has no plans to adapt it, and instead is moving all desktop users to its web interface anyway.

• Dali unveils new Vega Wi-Fi speaker, on sale in September
• Works as a streamer, speaker and amp all in one
• Can be used wirelessly, and affixed to different surfaces

Does Dali even want you to buy its five-star classic-style speakers like the Dali Sonik 1 or Dali Kupid? Maybe not, because it's just unveiled a new all-in-one hi-fi system that steers away from traditional hi-fi altogether.

This is the Dali Vega, which the brand has shown off ahead of its 'proper' unveiling at the High End Vienna show at the beginning of June. But we already know basically everything there is to know about the device.

In short, the Vega is an all-in-one music system: it works as a streamer, a speaker system and a soundbar. When I first saw the picture above, I thought it looked a bit like an AC unit, but you don't have to affix it to a wall like that.

Dali's various pictures show it horizontal or vertical on walls and cabinets, with the unit recognizing its orientation and adjusting its output accordingly. It's also wireless, (other than the power cable), so you won't need to cover your home in messy cables.

It weighs 8.7kg, with a body that's 68.3cm long, 33cm wide and 20cm tall. Wall brackets come with the device, so you don't need to start planning your home renovation to hold it.

The Dali Vega is set to begin selling in September in some countries, and October and November in others (though Dali hasn't confirmed the order). It's set go sell for $4,500 / £2,599 / AU$4,499, in two finishes: Dark Oak and Natural Oak. So its price is pretty similar to a high-end AC unit too.

What happens in Vega...

Let's break down the Vega; firstly, its chops as a speaker. The unit houses ten drivers, all developed by Dali itself. There are four 25mm soft dome drivers, four 4.5-inch low-mid frequency drivers, and two passive radiators.

The 25mm soft-dome tweeters are designed to reduce resonant frequencies, and the low-mid drivers are arranged back-to-back, all of this with the aim of reducing resonance within the body.

These go hand-in-hand with Dali's Adaptive Stereo Enhancement tech, which apparently is designed to let each single speaker creative a wider soundstage, changing depending on the signal it's receiving. The Vega has 400W of amplification power across eight 50W channels.

Then, there's the Dali Vega's capabilities as a player. It has RCA and optical ports, as well as Bluetooth because yes, this is a wireless device too. You can use it alongside Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Apple AirPlay 2, or whichever piece of hi-fi gear you choose to plug it into.

It uses Bluesound's BluOS streaming system to connect to other sources, and buttons on the body let you set presets for inputs. There's also, as you can tell from the pictures, a nice big dial on the body, as well as an OLED display.

And it has an HDMI input, so you can use it as a soundbar with your TV too — something that's becoming more and more common among the best wireless speakers (above a certain size, at least).

• YBA unveils Design One, a new SACD player
• Claims it's the first "transportable" such model ever made
• It's not exactly an easily-portable model though

Despite the format dividing audiophiles, Super Audio CDs are apparently making a comeback, and the clear bellwether sign of a retro resurgence is when hi-fi brands start making tech to play retired formats. Well, that's happening with SACDs, sure enough.

French hi-fi brand YBA has just unveiled its Design One, which is apparently the world's first-ever "transportable" SACD player, running on its built-in batteries, and the company claims you can bring it to cafes and offices to use.

Banish from your mind the kind of retro-inspired compact model or feature-packed portable player that we've been covering quite frequently over the last few months — those are pocketable, but this one is not so much.

It weighs 1.34kg, measures 18.8 x 16.6 x 4cm, and has quite an angular body with sharp corners and easy-to-accidentally-press buttons. I don't see myself slipping this in my backpack when I'm off to do some work at the cafe, but then I feel less strongly about SACD compared to some in the TechRadar office.

Perhaps that's why it's billed as a "transportable" model rather than a 'portable' one; an elephant is technically transportable if you have enough tranquilizer and a crane, but you wouldn't call one portable. But beyond the eyebrow-raising description, it seems like it has a few specs that'll impress certain audiophiles.

A feature-packed SACD player

The Design One has quite a few outputs for a portable model: you can output through 3.5mm or 4.4mm for headphones, RCA, SPDIF coax and USB-C (though it doesn't support SACD on the latter).

It has an AKM DAC, frequency response of 20Hz-40kHz, output impedance of 0.4 ohms (that's with 3.5mm; it's 0.8 ohms for 4.4mm) and a signal-to-noise ratio at 125 decibels.

The unit will, apparently, last for up to 5.5 hours on a single charge, and can be plugged in via USB-C to power (via a separate port than the USB-C audio out, so you can do both at the same time). There's a 2.79-inch screen, and beautifully retro mechanical switches which can be customized in use.

Given the shape and size of Design One, it's hard to view it as being a portable CD player akin to many of the other new models being released. But it does still clearly to have value as a smaller-sized player of SACDs, and regular old CDs. It could fit quite nicely into a desktop set-up, or in a compact hi-fi setup, to save you buying a bigger option...

...if you can stomach the price. It's set to cost $1,699 (about £1,250, AU$2,500) when it goes on sale later in May. So it's certainly not a budget model.

• Jamo launches new portable speakers
• Flex and Flow are portable models designed for outdoors
• Reflect is a bedroom and alarm clock speaker

I feel like I was last writing about new Jamo speakers only yesterday. In fact it was actually a week ago, when the Scandi audio brand came back from the dead to reveal seven new loudspeakers, and I suppose it's now back-er from the dead, with three brand-new portable models.

Jamo has unveiled the HYG family of portable Bluetooth speakers, consisting of three different devices: two outdoor models, one indoor one.

The name comes from hygge, one of the few Swedish words non-speakers know; it's one of those beloved untranslatable phrases that refers to a feeling of cosiness and warmth. And the speakers certainly lean in for that Scandi-chic look.

Before you get over-excited for these speakers, bear in mind you can't buy them yet. They're due to go on sale in July.

Here You Go (HYG)

The outlier of the new trio is the HYG Reflect, which is due to cost $149 / £129 (about AU$260).

This has been designed as a speaker for your bedside cabinet. It functions as an alarm clock, wireless charging pad and, yes, speaker, with dual two-inch drivers and two passive radiators.

Next up, and pictured at the top of this article, is the HYG Flow. It's due to sell for $279 / £239 (about AU$480), which a tempting price when you consider its audio setup is so similar to the far-more-expensive Sonos Move 2.

It boasts twin one-inch tweeters angled away from each other, plus a five-inch woofer — that's the same arrangement as the Sonos, though the actual driver will obviously be different. It's compatible with both Bluetooth 6.0 or an aux cord. It can play with other Jamo Auracast speakers but, unlike the Sonos, there's no Wi-Fi play support, so that's what you get for paying more for the Sonos.

It's ostensibly a portable speaker, weighing 3kg and supporting up to 15 hours of playback, but it only has an IPX2 rating — again, that's weaker than the Sonos.

Finally, there's the HYG Flow, which is the cheapest member of the bunch at $129 / £109 (about AU$220). It's long, thin and light, weighing under a kilogram, and comes in six different hues, about three of which I'm obsessed with.

This offers two 1.5-inch full-range drivers and two passive radiators, connecting in much the same way as the Flow but with a 27-hour battery life. Its IP rating is also IPX7: fine for splashes by the pool, but not for use on a sandy beach.

Prior to the HYG, Jamo didn't have any wireless Bluetooth speakers in its line-up, so it remains to be seen just how well it marries its audio prowess with this functional form factor. July will tell.

JBL Go 5: two-minute review

The JBL Go 5 has still found ways to impress me, even though I've tested more than 50 Bluetooth speakers here at TechRadar.

See, I was already a fan of the JBL Go 5's predecessor, and I wasn't expecting all too much from a next-gen update — especially as the Go 4 itself only released two years ago. But ultimately, the Go 5 was a much bigger upgrade than I'd hoped.

There are some obvious changes out of the box: ambient LED lighting, a more refined overall look, and a slightly larger build. But it's when you fire the Go 5 up that the biggest changes rear their head — and cement this as one of the best Bluetooth speakers in the small-size category.

First of all, this model offers more powerful and refined audio than the JBL Go 4 ever could. Its output power has increased to 4.8W, so the single full-range driver can deliver more volume — ideal for small get-togethers.

But the audio quality onboard has been improved substantially as well. With more expressive highs, clearer mids, and cleaner bass, the Go 5 offers a clear sonic upgrade over what came before.

On top of that, you now get a maximum 10 hours of playtime with PlayTime Boost active, representing an improvement over the previous generation. Don't get me wrong, this is nothing groundbreaking, but it's still a welcome change.

Similarly, the Go 5 has marginally better waterproofing, now packing an IP68 rating. Its drop-proof build also makes it a great model for taking on the go, as well as using in the shower.

There's more, though, with USB-C audio connectivity on the features list, plus a new AirTouch function for instant stereo pairing. That's not to mention the usual good stuff, such as Auracast connectivity, solid EQ options, and multi-point connectivity.

The major takeaway, then, is that the JBL Go 5 is a great-sounding, well-built, and highly affordable mini Bluetooth speaker that offers plenty of improvements over its predecessor. I have some minor complaints, like the lack of color options for its LED lights and the battery life, which can be beaten by some rivals.

But the JBL Go 5 is without question one of the best-sounding small speakers I've ever used, and it's the one I'd pick as being best-in-class right now.

JBL Go 5 review: price and availability

• List price of $54.95 / £39.99 (about AU$75)
• Released in April 2026

The JBL Go 5 was released in April 2026, about two years after its predecessor, the JBL Go 4.

It has a list price of $54.95 / £39.99 (about AU$75), which represents a $5 increase over the Go 4 in the US, but no difference in the UK. Still, this speaker comfortably sits in the budget category, with the Go line standing as the most affordable in JBL's Bluetooth speaker lineup.

JBL Go 5 review: specs

JBL Go 5 review: features

• Battery life gets a boost to 10 hours
• Lights pull up to the party
• Easy to use app with neat EQ options

The JBL Go 5 has a solid featureset, including the usual multi-point connectivity, fast-pairing, and Auracast for multi-speaker pairing. However, by entering the user-friendly JBL portable app, you can open up even more options.

First of all, you can adjust the speaker's EQ. There are a few presets, like JBL Signature, Chill, Energetic, and more. But there's also a custom equalizer, which enables you to tailor sound to your specific taste. I created a slightly bass-boosted custom EQ to add impact for deeper tracks, and found it to work brilliantly, although the default tuning is pretty good regardless.

The JBL Go 5 now comes equipped with lights for a funkier listening experience, and these can also be customized in JBL's companion app. There are various effects to pick from, such as Bounce, Loop, Switch, and Freeze. However, you can also decide to disable lights if you'd prefer to conserve some battery life.

I would've liked the option to choose from different color lights on the JBL Portable app, but otherwise, I'm a big fan of this change.

Looping back to battery life, and JBL has given a boost to the Go 5, which now delivers eight hours of playtime, or 10 hours with the battery-saving PlayTime Boost active. 10 hours is still nothing out of this world, especially when the similar-sized Tribit PocketGo manages double, but that speaker is more basic and doesn't sound anywhere near as good as the Go 5 — more on that later.

Auracast is back for rapid multi-speaker pairing, but there's a new feature onboard for stereo linking two Go 5 models together. This is called AirTouch, and enables you to link a couple Go 5's simply by tapping them together. I tried this for myself and found it to be very responsive and practical.

One final option worth noting is USB-C audio. Just connect your listening device to the speaker with a cable, and you'll be able to enjoy technically lossless audio on the go.

JBL has added this to most of their Bluetooth speakers lately, and it's great to see this on the Go 5 as well, even if it's not exactly going to offer audiophile-grade sound, due to its small size.

• Features score: 4.5 / 5

JBL Go 5 review: sound quality

• Clear, expressive audio in a small package
• A lot more full-sounding than its predecessor
• Improved output power for increased volume

When I tried the JBL Go 4 a couple of years ago, I considered it to be a pretty solid performer, especially given its limited confines. But in my view, the JBL Go 5 offers a significant sonic improvement over that model.

Comparing the Go 5 against its predecessor, I found it to be far more full-sounding and well-rounded, and capable of more powerful audio. See, even though the Go 5 has a single 45mm full-range driver — the same as the Go 4 — it now offers a higher 4.8W power output.

I tried listening to a range of tracks, but started with the spacey house tune, Here to Catch You by Chris Stussy & S.A.M. The track's rhythmic and expressive high-pitched drums were replicated impressively on the Go 5, while synths in the mid-range came through with commendable clarity.

When bass entered the picture, the speaker didn't capture the drop with amazing impact or top-tier dynamism, but the low-end remained clean and agile.

In Editto Dal Sottoscoglio by Marco Castello, the Go 5 offered a more fleshed-out presentation than its predecessor, with more defined vocals, and less compressed-sounding highs.

Against slightly larger models, like the Tribit Stormbox Micro 3, the Go 5 isn't packing tons of low-end power, and as you'd expect, you won't get rippling sub-bass here or anything. However, I found the Go 5's bass to be rhythmic and responsive, and with a slight low-end bump in the EQ settings, I was able to get punchier bass for darker tracks.

Again, the the Go 5's smaller size means that you won't always get the most nuanced and separated audio either, but I was very satisfied with the clarity it managed across genres.

At top volumes, you'll experience a bit of compression, but the speaker rarely sounded tinny or shrill, and offered far more regimented and articulate sound than the majority of its budget-friendly rivals.

The inclusion of USB-C audio passthrough also means you can unleash lossless music on the go, something that few competitors include on their smallest models. For Bluetooth listening, you'll be limited to SBC and AAC, but that's pretty standard. And even with these more basic codecs, the JBL Go 5 is easily one of the best-sounding tiny speakers I've ever tested.

• Sound quality score: 4.5 / 5

JBL Go 5 review: design

• Lighting is a welcome addition
• Wide array of eye-catching color options
• IP68-rated and drop-proof

Overall, the JBL Go 5 looks pretty similar to its predecessor, but there are a few changes worth flagging.

First and foremost, there are some LED edge lights, which JBL has also added to the next-gen update of its Xtreme speaker. This adds a bit of ambience when you're listening late at night or at a party, and doesn't make the model look too busy or over-the top. I mentioned earlier how you can't alter the color of the LEDs, which is a bit of a shame, but the lighting pattern is customizable in the JBL Portable app.

This speaker is a bit larger than its predecessor as well, but only marginally. It's still extremely lightweight, and will easily fit in your pocket or a small bag, for instance.

Another thing I spotted is that the Go 5's logo looks a bit sharper, and there are protruding rubber feet on the reverse side of the model to keep it more stable when laid flat. Looks-wise, though, things haven't been altered all too much — there are still plenty of color options to pick from, and I was a huge fan of the turquoise model I tested out.

On a practical level, you're still getting a drop-proof, lightweight model, but there's one small improvement to note, and that's the dust- and waterproof rating, which has levelled up to IP68. That means that the speaker is fully dustproof and able to survive a 30 minute dip in a meter and a half of water.

The Go 5's palm-sized form factor and practical loop also make it perfect for taking out and about — combine that with its durability and neat looks, and its a very high scorer in the design category.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

JBL Go 5 review: value

• Not short of improvements over predecessor...
• ...meaning the slight US price-bump feels justified
• Performs a lot better than most rivals in its price-range

The JBL Go 5 is a fantastic value-for-money buy, and even though its seen a slight price increase over its predecessor (in the US, at least), it feels worth every penny.

At $54.95 / £39.99 (about AU$75), this is a very budget-friendly model, and is far cheaper than other small speakers, like the Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2, for instance.

You also get a whole lot for the money. Impressive sound quality in an ultra-compact form, high-standard build quality, and customizability in the JBL Portable app.

I'd even argue the upgraded audio quality makes it worth upgrading to the Go 5 from the Go 4 if you own that model — the additional power and less compressed audio is an absolute gamechanger, and the ambient lights aren't half bad either.

• Value score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the JBL Go 5?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

JBL Go 5 review: also consider

How I tested the JBL Go 5

• I spent multiple weeks testing
• Mainly streamed tunes from Tidal
• Reviewed by someone who’s tested more than 50 Bluetooth speakers

I spent weeks testing the JBL Go 5, using it at our music testing space, at home, and in the shower. I exhausted all of its features, and made sure to cycle through all of the options in the JBL Portable app.

For the most part, I used Tidal to stream music, but I dipped into Spotify from time to time as well. During my time with the speaker, I played through tracks from the TechRadar testing playlist, but also bumped a wide range of tunes from my personal library.

More generally, I've spent years testing audio gear here at TechRadar, and have covered everything from small models like the Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2 to party speakers like the Marshall Bromley 750. I've also used the JBL Go 5's predecessor, the Go 4, pretty extensively, meaning I knew exactly what to look for from a next-gen refresh.

• Read more about how we test
• First reviewed: May 2026

• Shanling releases new, retro EC Play portable CD player
• Lightweight, but with many connection options
• Sells in May for $199 / £209 (about AU$420)

CD players have remained in vogue despite the rise (and fall?) of streaming, but now retro audio tech is making a comeback (including cassette players, somehow), so too are '90s-inspired CD players.

Chinese hi-fi company Shanling has just announced the EC Play, a new and understated disk machine coming in silver, black or green.

It's set to sell from May, for $199 / £209 (about AU$420), less than the firm's higher-end portable players like the ECZero AKM which goes for $319 (about £244 / AU$490).

As you'd hope for a portable CD player, it's a little thing. It measures 14.2 x 12.5 x 2.6 cm — little more than a CD itself — and weighs 418g. That makes it lighter than the average regulation FIFA soccer ball, which are allowed to be between 410g and 450g. [Editor's note: I have no idea why we are now measuring our CD players in soccer balls, but I have decided to allow it.]

It has a clean shell, rather like the FiiO DM13, without the see-through section or design flair we often see from this kind of tech.

Yet a glance at the above picture shows various buttons, displays and ports. The thing may be lightweight, but it hides plenty of features.

A CD player with plenty of tricks

The Shanling EC Play doesn't just work with your standard 3.5mm headphones, but also has a 4.4mm port, and a Coax output too.

If you like retro but you've not gone all the way to the wired-only life, it also handles Bluetooth playback. It supports AAC, LDAC and SBC codecs, and is on the Bluetooth 6.0 standard.

The Cirrus Logic DAC supposedly is designed for a "natural and fun sound", and there's a built-in dual headphone amp that can cater for IEMs and headphones that need a bit more oomph, as well as your standard wired bud.

You can also plug the player into a PC, laptop or phone via USB, and it'll act as a DAC for PCM 32-bit/384kHz and DSD256 playback.

The EC Play's battery life is, according to Shanling, 12 hours. Naturally this'll vary based on how you listen to your music, but it's above average for this kind of gadget.

According to Shanling, the EC Play is designed not for top-end audio specs and unique features, but "to recreate the days of old", which is apparently "when portable CD players were convenient and a common part of daily life".

I'm not holding my breath to see this kind of tech commonly used on public transport, but Shanling's right in one way. Its EC Play seems convenient to use on the go or at home, with that versatility likely to win over some buyers.

iFi GO Link 2 review: two minute review

The iFi GO Link 2 is designed to do one thing, and it does it very well: it upgrades your laptop or smartphone's audio output to deliver impressive hi-res audio with no fuss and no unnecessary features.

It's a very good way to add wired headphone support to devices that have long since dropped the headphone jack, although if you want to connect 4.4mm headphones you'll need to look at one of iFi's larger DACs: the tiny GO Link 2 has just enough space for one 3.5mm headphone output.

This model delivers lower harmonic distortion and a wider dynamic range, and it does so in a device that's even smaller than the already tiny original. With an unchanged price tag the second-generation GO Link is one of the most affordable ways to improve your audio experience, especially for music on the move.

iFi GO Link 2 review: price and release date

• Released February 2026
• $59 / £59 (about AU$111)

The GO Link 2 was announced in February 2026 with a recommended retail prices of $59 / £59 (about AU$111). That's the same price as the original model and slightly less than the larger GO Link Max, which has a balanced 4.4mm output as well as the standard 3.5mm socket.

Pricing is competitive with the likes of the FiiO KA11 and KA1 headphone DAC/amps.

iFi GO Link 2 review: features

• ESS SABRE DAC with up to 6dB extra range
• Low noise floor and low distortion
• S-Balanced 3.5mm output

The GO Link 2 is based on the same ESS SABRE DAC as before, but this time around it comes with what iFi calls Dynamic Range Enhancement, which adds up to 6dB between the loudest and quietest moments. It also features lower harmonic distortion — up to 62% lower than the first-gen model, iFi says.

Although there's only a 3.5mm output, the GO Link 2 features iFi's S-Balanced system which iFi claims significantly reduces crosstalk between channels by "applying balanced circuitry principles to a single-ended headphone output".

This is the first GO Link model that's fully compatible with iFi's Nexis app, which you can use to customize the filters and apply firmware updates — but only on Android so far. As an iPhone/iPad user I wasn't able to take advantage of those features, as the iPhone app wouldn't communicate with the DAC. Hopefully an update is incoming.

Features score: 4 / 5

iFi GO Link 2 review: sound quality

• Impressively loud with great bass
• Excellent clarity and positioning
• Best suited to lower impedance headphones

The GO Link 2 will make you smile. It delivers excellent clarity, a spacious soundstage and a really inviting audio experience, especially on nice headphones. It's pretty great on budget ones, too.

I already have an iFi desktop DAC/amp, and I was pleased by how close this comparatively microscopic model sounded to its much more expensive sibling at sensible listening levels. It's particularly impressive at the low end, which it handles with power and precision, and if you're upgrading your phone or laptop you'll be really pleased that you did.

One of my favourite songs for testing audio is the live version of Peter Gabriel's Digging in the Dirt. It's beautifully performed and recorded, but there's a lot going on from the very low end to the very high, with a subterranean percussive bass, all kinds of instruments, and powerful vocals from Gabriel and Paula Cole. The GO Link 2 took it all in its stride, delivering a deeply involving sound from an Apple Lossless stream. I had a lot of fun with FLACs too, for instance U2's remastered Achtung Baby and Talk Talk's various masterpieces.

The GO Link 2 is surprisingly loud, and louder still when you connect it to a computer: there was a noticeable increase in volume when I played the same Apple Lossless audio on my Mac compared to on my iPhone.

However, I did find that being able to push the headphones harder on my Mac was counter-productive: towards full volume, snare drums and distorted guitars became harsh, while deliberately loud-mastered pop music such as Kygo and Selina Gomez's It Ain't Me became too bright and noticeably distorted by the deep bass notes. The same thing didn't happen on iPhone.

If you like to listen loud on a computer then a desktop DAC or one of iFi's more powerful DACs will have more headroom for your headphones.

Sound quality: 5 / 5

iFi GO Link 2 review: design

• Tiny and minimalist
• 137mm x 12mm x 7.6mm
• 7.8g

Dongles don't get much dinkier than this. The GO Link 2 is absolutely tiny, with the main section smaller than half of a Biro pen. It's 8% smaller than the first generation model, and it's 29% lighter.

There are no buttons, no switches, nothing to turn or poke or press, and because it's too small to have a screen it has a colour-changing status LED instead. That LED is green for PCM audio from 44.1 to 96kHz; yellow for PCM from 176.4 to 384kHz; and blue for DSD256.

The USB-C connector is attached with a short braided cable to the main unit, which has a 3.5mm headphone socket. Although the GO Link 2 is USB-C it comes with adapters for USB-A and Lightning ports, covering all the bases.

The cable feels very thin and I'd worry about it fraying long term; it's a known issue with some of the first-generation models, so it's probably wise to treat the GO Link 2 with care.

Design score: 4 / 5

iFi GO Link 2 review: ease of use and setup

• Plug...
• ...and play
• No buttons, screens or switches

It doesn't get much easier than this: plug it in and you're good to go, although as ever with USB audio devices if you're connecting to a Mac you'll need to tweak Audio and MIDI setup on your computer to enable higher quality than 16-bit/44.1KHz.

It's a shame that the app that enables you to adjust filters and other settings is currently Android-only, although I was quite happy with the out-of-box settings.

Usability and setup score: 4 / 5

iFi GO Link 2 review: value

• Superb value for money
• No unnecessary features or gimmicks
• Even better than the original

The original GO Link is much-loved, and iFi has very sensibly decided not to mess with its winning formula. Instead it's refined it with more dynamic range, even smaller dimensions and the same plug-and-go ease of use. The GO Link 2 is cheap and it'll make you cheerful.

Value score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the iFi GO Link 2?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

iFi GO Link 2 review: Also consider

FiiO's KA1 is similarly small and equally affordable, but unlike the GO Link 2 it also supports MQA rendering. It's available in both USB-C and Lightning options.

For an extra 20% over the GO Link 2 or KA1's price you could buy iFi's larger but still eminently portable GO Link Max, which has higher power output and both 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced outputs.

How I tested the iFi GO Link 2

• Open-back, closed-back and IEM headphones
• Lossy streaming, lossless FLAC and multitrack Logic Pro projects

I tested the iFi GO Link 2 for 10 days using my usual headphones and IEMs: BeyerDynamic DT990 Pro open-back headphones, DT770 closed-back headphones, and the affordable and punchy SoundMagic E11C IEMs.

I listened to a range of music on my iPhone 16 Pro, my iPad Pro and my Mac mini, with sources including lossy and lossless streaming, uncompressed multitrack projects on my Mac, and FLAC audio files.

• First reviewed: May 2026
• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

• Danish brand Jamo returns after hiatus with two new lines
• Concert revive 1990s design, wooden veneer
• Element offer shallow bodies and understated designs

After a 2024 sale of the company threw doubt on its continued existence, legacy Danish hi-fi brand Jamo has proven the skeptics wrong by coming back. And it's not just returning with one product, but a whopping seven.

This is across two families, and one will look familiar to audiophiles. The Concert Legacy series brings back the look of Jamo's older speakers, including the Concert 803, but in a newer form.

There are three models here: the Legacy 8 ($2,999), Legacy 9 ($5,299) and Legacy 11 ($7,999). Each price is for a pair of speakers, and we're waiting on international pricing, but we expect them to be available in plenty of countries.

The Legacy 8 is a passive bookshelf speaker with a 6.5-inch midwoofer and 1-inch dome tweeter. The Legacy 9 is a floorstander that adds two 6.5-inch woofers to the mix, and the Legacy 11 pops in another one of those woofers for good measure.

In the latter two models, the woofers are separated to a lower unit, which is padded with rubber to avoid it affecting your higher frequencies.

Each model comes in a trio of wooden finishes: Onxy, Heritage or Northern Frost.

Keeping it flat

The newer family of devices from Jamo is the Concert Element series. This differentiates itself by taking a Scandi-chic design; each looks like a Lego brick that plays music. They're minimalist and funky.

There are four devices here: the Concert Element 50 ($1,099), Element 70 ($1,899), Element 90 ($2,499) and the subwoofer SW10 ($699, and this price is for just one unit, not two).

With a (relatively) thin design, these devices are designed to fit better in shallow crevices or, in the case of the bookshelf Element 50, on furniture. This model has a 1-inch dome tweeter and 6.5-inch woofer, with a down-firing port.

The next two models are both floor-standers. The Element 70 gets a 1-inch tweeter, 5-inch medium cone and 8-inch woofer, while the Element 90 slightly increases the sizes of those drivers with a 1-inch tweeter, 6.5-inch medium and 10-inch woofer.

As you can probably guess by the prices, these aren't the exact audio equals of the Concert Legacy series, though you'd still expect them to be impressive. It's the design that sets these models apart, with a clean look that screams modernism, and we really like the thoughtfulness around make a more slimline option for narrower spaces.

The Concert Element SW10 offers a 10-inch long-throw woofer, and connects to other speakers by dual RCA / LFE line in.

All of these seven new Jamo speakers will go on sale in August 2026, so you've got a while to save up for them.

• JL Audio, owned by Garmin, unveils new hi-fi products
• Two speakers: T6 and S3, each with high prices
• Also unveils CS Stereo Centerpiece preamp and streamer

Everyone's favorite smartwatch brand Garmin has taken a break from wearables, such as the recent Tactix 8, to release a series of home audio gadgets with bank-breaking prices.

This is JL Audio's Primacy range, and this is one of Garmin's sub-brands. You'd be forgiven for not having heard of them, as their chief areas are car and maritime audio, and this jump into luxe hi-fi is sure to raise some eyebrows.

Don't expect these gadgets to price similarly to the best Garmin watches, though. They're seriously expensive pieces of hi-fi gear — priced to match the elite stuff from the likes of Bowers & Wilkins and Wilson Audio — that you can only pick up from specialist audio dealers.

Meet the Primacy pals

Let's talk about the Garmin JL Audio Primacy T6 first (just above). This is the priciest of the bunch, retailing for around $90,000 per pair.

These floorstanding active speakers have six drivers each: a 1-inch carbon tweeter, a 5.5-inch mid-range driver, and four 5.5-inch woofers. These are three amps per unit, totaling 1000W of output, and each amp has its own DSP and DAC, with support for 32-bit/192kHz audio.

The JL Audio Primacy S3, selling for $35,000 per pair, drops the specs a little. They're active speakers again, with the same 1-inch dome tweeter as the bigger model, plus a 5.5-inch woofer, and two amplifiers per unit.

Both speakers have various refinements such shaped enclosures and audio filters to offer tuned sound. They connect via XLR, RCA or Cat 6

Rounding out the trio, ostensibly to control the others, is the $15,000 CS Stereo Centerpiece. This is both a streamer — with compatibility for various audio services — and a preamp. It has all the trappings you'd hope at the price, such as room correction, user profiles, Bluetooth compatibility, and a built-in screen.

None of Garmin's new devices are available from its website. Instead, the listings guides you to your local retailer, who you can pick them up from.

• Bose launches premium soundbar, smart speaker and wireless sub
• The Ultra Lifestyle Soundbar is the new Bose flagship at $1,099 / £999 / AU$1,800
• The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker has Dolby Atmos for $299 / £299 / AU$549

Bose's new Lifestyle Collection is likely to cause some frowny faces at Sonos HQ: it's a set of three premium pieces of audio gear designed for every room in your home, offering excellent flexibility including multi-room audio, and promising a typically luxurious Bose audio experience.

The three speakers are the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar and the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer. And in addition to working with each other, they also promise to work in groups with speakers from other manufacturers too.

Bose says that its app delivers "one of the simplest setup experiences in home audio", and if the collection sounds as good as it looks then Bose may well have a home audio hit on their hands.

Bose Lifestyle Collection: key features, pricing and availability

The Bose Ultra Lifestyle Speaker is a cylindrical speaker with three drivers, two of which fire outwards and one of which fires upwards. Bose says that's enough to create room-filling spatial audio from a single speaker, and it has Bose's CleanBass system and QuietPort acoustic opening to deliver low-end that's clean and punchy.

It also has Bose's TrueSpatial spatial audio processing, which is platform-agnostic, meaning it'll create spatial sound from any source. You can run it solo, in a stereo pair, in a multi-room setup, or as part of a surround-sound system with the Ultra Lifestyle Soundbar and Subwoofer.

The Soundbar is Bose's new flagship and comes with a fresh new design and an entirely new acoustic architecture; it's the first major soundbar redesign that Bose has developed in more than a decade.

There are six full-range drivers — four facing forwards and two pointing up for height channels — plus a center tweeter and two of Bose's PhaseGuide drivers that are design to provide extra virtual width for an immersive Atmos experience.

PhaseGuide is a system that widens the soundstage by using strategically placed transducers and waveguides to make audio appear to be coming from places where there aren't any speakers.

There's also TrueSpatial processing for anything that isn't in Dolby Atmos, SpeechClarity to enhance dialog, CleanBass and QuietPort for deep, controlled bass and the newly renamed CustomTune room calibration system (previously known as ADAPTiQ), which uses your phone as the room calibration mic — what do you know, that's just like Sonos!

Bose says that the system delivers the lowest frequencies of any Bose soundbar to date just from the soundbar alone, while also improving the highs and delivering better audio element separation.

However, for those who want even deeper bass, the third speaker is the powerful Lifestyle Subwoofer, which once again comes with CleanBass and QuietPort. It's built around a 10.5-inch driver, and connects wirelessly to the soundbar.

The three speakers all have Wi-Fi connectivity and support Google Cast, Apple AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect, and they can be grouped via Apple AirPlay or Google Home. There's also Bluetooth to stream directly from devices such as your phone and other audio sources.

The Bose app promises to walk you through the whole setup process whether that's a single speaker or a full surround system, and it then enables you to control the volume, source, equalization, surround and height levels. There's also built-in Alexa+ for voice control.

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker has an official price of $299 / £299 / AU$549; the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is $1,099 / £999 / AU$1,800; and the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer is $899 / £899 / AU$1,300. All three are available to pre-order now, and will be fully released on May 15th 2026.

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• Audiovector unveils R 5 Arreté loudspeaker
• Beautiful fin-shaped, hand-crafted wooden design
• Barrage of speakers includes twin bass drivers

I don't think I've ever seen a floor-standing speaker that wasn't beautiful or exotic in some way, and Audiovector has just proven my point by unveiling the new R 5 Arreté.

You've already seen this speaker in the above image, so you already know how good it looks. Each unit is hand-made in Denmark, and you can pick it up in a range of finishes. Above, you're looking at African Mahogany, but there's also Italian Walnut, White Silk, and Black Piano.

Audiovector is a family business, as we discovered at the launch of the Trapeze Ri, and so it makes sense that care goes into the speakers. The cabinets are designed ot be narrow, to "minimise edge diffraction for a more precise and transparent soundstage" according to the brand.

This attention extends to the plinth, with that staggered design achieving "a perfectly controlled coupling to the surface beneath". As you can see from the quotes from the brand, we haven't actually tested the R 5 Arreté yet.

You can, if you'd like, because it's on sale now. But you'll have to pay £17,500 (about $23,600, AU$32,860) for the pleasure of doing so.

Have you forgotten about the sound?

Okay, okay, the R 5 Arreté isn't just a lovely piece of furniture, but a loudspeaker. So what's it packing under the hood?

The three drivers are all 6.5-inch carbon speakers that use the brand's Accelerated Force Concept to reduce driver inertia. One's a mid driver, one's a lower-mid driver, and another's a bass driver aimed at the lowest frequencies. There's also a tweeter to handle the higher frequencies.

According to Audiovector, the frequency response is 23Hz-53Hz, with an average impedance of 8 ohms and a sensitivity of 90 decibels.

Another selling point of the Arreté is that it's designed to work well with amplifiers, due to its "unique three-position damping adjustment". So you can use your extra accessories to really eke the most out of the speaker.

If you're worried about whether you can fit these things, they're 11cm tall, 22cm wide, and 41cm deep with a weight of 32kg.

To many people, super-speakers like that might be outside the budget. But I was recently at a hi-fi show where I found some affordable hi-fi kit that might fill the Arreté hole in your soul.

Loads of the best Bluetooth speakers will sell themselves on their durability: IP67 ratings, survivable drop distances and rubber grilles are often touted as key selling points, pitching you on the promise of a speaker that can survive picnics, barbecues, hikes, cycle rides, and so on.

As a result, most people buying portable party players will be doing so for their ability to keep going in rugged conditions (or, at least, to keep going after some kind of water-related accident). Compact sizes and a hefty power output help these speakers work in a range of outdoor and social environments.

So when I recently received the Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 to test, I knew I didn’t want to just stick it in a corner of my office and listen for a few hours. I wanted to take it somewhere that’d really push it through its paces.

Thankfully, my testing time coincided with a trip I was due to take. Specifically, I was travelling to a remote cottage in deepest darkest Wales, to shoot a short film. Over the course of a week, we’d be working and relaxing in one of the rainiest places I’ve ever had the pleasure to work, and I needed something that’d keep the vibe going during the shoot and once we’d wrapped each day.

I love using trips like this as an opportunity to test new tech. So I made sure the Stormbox Micro 3 got pride of place in my stuffed rucksack, alongside the Samsung Galaxy A57 (and some headphones I’ve yet to finish reviewing), to put it through this week-long test. (Naturally, I forgot to take pictures on the trip, so you're seeing the Tribit during a sunny picnic after the fact).

A (Tri)bit about the Stormbox Micro 3

Oh, did I forget to formally introduce you to this new speaker? It's the follow-up to the five-star Tribit Stormbox Micro 2, as a portable pocket speaker like many brand offer.

It's a small and totable thing, weighing 330g, with a useful strap that you can carry the thing by, or use to strap it to a backpack or bike handlebars. The battery lasts for up to 24 hours in one go.

Audio-wise, it outputs at 13W, which is a little bit more oomph than many of these super-small speakers offer. It offers a nice amount of bass for the size, especially with a bass booster button that amps it up a little more, but I would have liked more treble in certain songs.

Something I really appreciate is the smooth design. My partner has the LG XBoom Go and while it's fine for music and is wonderfully hardy, its copious straps and dials and cables mean it catches on other things in my bag like picnic blankets or trailing wires.

The Micro 3 is way easier to remove (even if it immediately sunk to the bottom of my 85-liter hiking backpack on my trip to the mountains).

The wet test

One of my filming days was entirely exteriors, but even when we were shooting interiors, we'd need to pop outside to set up lights or cameras through windows. And when we weren't shooting, people would naturally be popping indoors and out to stretch their legs, go on a walk or enjoy the weather.

Unfortunately, anyone who's spent time in any elevated area, can tell you how changeable the weather can be. It'd be sunny one moment and torrential a few minutes after, and it got so bad that I had to cut some scenes to stop my cast and crew getting ill.

I didn't have to show the same worry for the Tribit, though. I'd sometimes leave it outside, only for sun to be switched out for rain clouds at the blink of an eye. On more than one occasion, I'd pop inside, only to return to a speaker weathering an unexpected deluge.

Sometimes, that can spell the end of tech. I'm sure many of us have lost gadgets to unexpected rain-bursts, and it's probably why the myth of the rice-drying solution is so prolific.

However the Stormbox seemed unmoved by its unexpected drenchings. The name really started to make sense after I kept accidentally getting it wet, and it kept successfully playing music.

At one point an unexpectedly strong gust of wind knocked it from the branch I'd perched it on, and even its brief dalliance with gravity (and the muddy hills of Eryri) left no marks (except some mud).

I really appreciate something as protected as the Tribit, because it removes one thing to worry about on trips or holidays. It'll keep ticking, even if I forget to look after it.

A feast (for the ears)

I'm not a cruel tech owner, I promise, and I let the speaker indoors from time to time.

The most use the Stormbox Micro 3 got was after shooting finished each day. I wasn’t just the director but the producer, making sure all the cast and crew ate well, and this meant cooking and serving a hearty meal for everyone — all while ensuring everyone was relaxed and had a drink to unwind with. I was a busy host.

When I cooked, I'd strap the Tribit to a cupboard handle, so it could keep the vibe going while I worked over the stove. I've tested some other gadgets with carry handles — most memorably the Lenovo Yoga Tab 13, which was limber enough to dangle from handles — and I love how versatile they are. The Tribit's hook meant I could hang it on all kinds of objects, to put it wherever I wanted.

Specifically, it meant I could keep the Micro 3 out of the way. Even though it's a small speaker, counter space can be limited in a busy kitchen, and I needed every inch of it for pots, pans and chopping boards.

Here's where I used the bass boost button most. If people are knackered from working all day, some good vibrations go a long way, and people aren't as interested in the audio nuance of trebles and mids. In fact, one guest took charge of toggling the bass button themselves, because that's what everyone wanted.

The kitchen-dining room combo wasn't huge, but two conjoined rooms are probably the exact size you'd be able to fill with the Stormbox. A speaker of its size isn't going to fill a cavernous dining room or a large garden, but it was perfect for self-catered cottage rooms like these where people will be near each other.

That principle could extend to this whole trip. The Tribit may not be the biggest or most powerful speaker out there, but it was perfect sized for a group trip like this, so we could bring a music player with us that we didn't need to worry about. I didn't even charge it all week, because apparently 24 hours is all I needed.

• Police seized 6,498 counterfeit records in the UK
• Fake LPs are big business, with big price tags
• Be very careful when you're buying valuable vinyl

UK police have seized counterfeit vinyl worth over a quarter of a million pounds in Luton, England. The City of London Police's Intellectual Property Crime Unit, PIPCU for short, says that the 6,498 records it took from the counterfeiters are the equivalent of £259,920 (about $351,370) in retail sales.

That's a lot of money. And it's also a lot of records. Aren't vinyl manufacturers supposed to be at full capacity thanks to Pokémon-esque "gotta catch 'em all!" releases of multiple collectible vinyl versions by super-popular artists?

In short: yes, but also no.

Vinyl villains aren't jumping the queue

First of all, the supply problems are largely solved thanks to a lot of investment in manufacturing capacity; as we've reported, Taylor Swift isn't stopping your Record Store Day specials from being made too.

And secondly, any capacity problems wouldn't be relevant here anyway, because the fakes most likely aren't coming out of the same pressing plants as legitimate Olivia Rodrigo or Record Store Day releases.

Many reputable pressing plants require documentation to prove that you're not a pirate, a counterfeiter or anyone else looking to duplicate something dodgy. So many counterfeiters set up their own pressing plants instead.

For example in 2024, PIPCU said it had seized 18 tonnes of evidence during a raid on just one counterfeit pressing plant in London. That single operation had four pressing machines for making vinyl.

And it's not the only secret underground record factory: according to the British Phonographic Industry, between 2020 and 2024 the organization delisted £26 million of fake vinyl from digital platforms and seized £316,050 in counterfeit products.

It's interesting to crunch the numbers, because if you look at this latest raid the average value per record works out at about £40, which is the going rate for ordinary LP releases. However, the UK Intellectual Property Office said last year that fake versions of LPs were priced as high as £1,000, because of course rare records can command much higher prices than the latest Harry Styles LP.

It's not surprising that counterfeit vinyl exists; worldwide, vinyl is a billion-dollar business, and as long as there are lots of buyers there are going to be people trying to rip them off. So it's important to be very careful when you're buying records from a source you don't already know and trust.

According to the IPO, tell-tale signs of a counterfeit record include poor quality production; new records that aren't shrink-wrapped; missing barcodes or poorly printed outers; catalogue numbers that come up as "unofficial" in Discogs; and private sellers with multiple copies of the same record, especially if that record is rare.

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• New CoolGeek TS-01 launched on Kickstarter
• Automatic turntable with glowing lights within the platter
• A retail price of $299, and it's already fully funded

Like any good tech writer, RGB-tinged gadgetry has infiltrated my home, but there's one piece of kit that still doesn't glow — or didn't glow, but a new Kickstarter project looks set to fix that.

I'm talking about the new CoolGeek TS-01 turntable, which you can take a look at on the crowdfunding site here. It seems to be the first project from the CoolGeek brand, but it's already blown past its HK$100,000 (about $12,000, £9,000, AU$18,000) goal by at least 10 times.

The CoolGeek TS-01 has a retail price of $299, so it's cheaper than some of our favorite affordable spinners, such as the Sony PS-LX5BT, and in classic Kickstarter fashion it's even cheaper if you pledge sooner.

The 'gimmick' of this turntable — according to me, rather than CoolGeek — is that it comes with some lighting effects, which emanate from the platter. The Kickstarter doesn't say if these are automatic, or customizable in an app, but the latter seems possible.

That's because the speaker supports Bluetooth 5.3 output as well as RCA, so it could theoretically connect to an app.

It's all about ease of use

Judging by the Kickstarer page, CoolGeek has a different idea about the turntable's selling points.

The page points to the turntable's automatic status as a draw, with an included remote ensuring you can control the record player without having to get up and control the arm (other than, presumably, switching records every 20 minutes in time-honored tradition).

It's also a thin creation, with a 28mm profile for the body, not including the dust cover or platter.

The tone-arm is made with carbon fiber but there's no word on the cartridge, even though it seems to have an Audio-Technica logo on it in photos. The Kickstarter page's focus on ease of use, and the price, suggests to me this is designed as an entry-level turntable rather than one for audiophiles.

But given that some of the best turntables are the ones that are easiest to use, that's only a good thing. Their complex set-up can put potential record player owners off, and so a build like this could overcome some hurdles. The RGB is just a nice extra touch.

The Kickstarter campaign is running until May 10, and CoolGeek states that shipping will begin in early July, with units taking up to a month to arrive depending on where you live.

• Topping announces the DX9 Discrete DAC and headphone amp
• Uses delta sigma processing like an integrated DAC, but in discrete components like an R2R DAC
• Going on sale for £1,299 (about $1,750, AU$2,600)

Topping Audio may not be the most prolific hi-fi company, but when it strikes, it strikes hard; a recent DAC, amp and preamp combo called the DX5 II proved that. And its latest piece of gear is just as ambitious.

The brand has announced the Topping DX9 Discrete, which is now on sale in the UK for £1,299 (about $1,750, AU$2,600) — that's not cheap, but given the tech inside, it's also kind of a bargain.

This combination DAC and headphone amp builds on its predecessor in a few key ways, most crucially introducing Topping's proprietary PSRM architecture for digital-to-audio conversion (which I'll come back to in a moment), and support for a 10-band PEQ. Thankfully, it retains the older version's design, including a cool see-through build.

The DX9 has a display on the front that lets you monitor various factors and change settings, and it has a wide range of inputs and outputs including USB, optical, coax and HDMI, hitting up to 32-bit 768kHz PCM / DSD512 decoding.

The Topping DX9 Discrete supports Bluetooth 5.1 with LDAC, various aptX standards, AAC and SBC, and works as a headphone amplifier with six channels, capable of driving even particularly fussy cans. But easily its coolest feature is in the DAC space.

The company keeps Topping itself

As audio fans might know, picking an audio system can be hard, with many fancy techs solving one problem only to raise another. Do you go for an R2R DAC, with is discrete architecture creating a warm harmonic sound but often more distortion, or an integrated chip that has less distortion but can feel like a colder and more digital sound?

Topping thinks it can deliver the best of both worlds using its PSRM system. The uses discrete components, similar to R2R DACs, but uses them for delta-sigma processing, like an integrated chip — all through a 1-bit pipeline at extremely high sample frequencies (purportedly in the megahertz range).

According to Topping, this is a bit like it's converting all your Hi-Res Audio files into DSD, which is natively based around the idea of 1-bit, high-frequency files.

The promise is that this all results in greatly reduced distortion compared to R2R DACs, while retaining a slightly more analogue-feeling sound for your music.

It's a neat trick, and one I'm sure audiophiles will flock to, if at least to see just how well it works. But selling points aside, this still seems like a sold DAC-amp combo which should sit well against other other favorite options…

• Pro-Ject announces two wireless upgrades for classic hi-fi gear based on WiiM OS
• Stream Box E upgrades your amp with streaming skills
• Wireless Box E turns any passive speakers wireless by connecting to the binding posts

Beloved hi-fi brand Pro-Ject hasn’t slowed down at all in 2026. After announcing a premium turntable in January and record cleaner last month, it has two more pieces of gear coming soon.

The brand has announced the Stream Box E and Wireless Box E, as part of its growing hi-fi ecosystem. They cost £159 (about $200, AU$300) and £199 (around $270, AU$400) respectively.

The Stream Box E is a wireless network streamer and digital pre-amp that can upgrade your wired audio system to allow for Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Qobuz. It can be connected to an amplifier, or directly to active speakers.

Then there’s the Wireless Box E, which also gives a tidy tech upgrade to existing gear. This time, it upgrades your passive loudspeakers, acting as a wireless receiver for them, meaning you can position them anywhere without needing to worry about running cable to them, giving you more flexibility over where you put them, or perhaps where you put the rest of your hi-fi setup.

You'll need one per speaker, of course, and each needs to be connected to a power outlet.

A WiiMsical choice

Perhaps the most intriguing part of the news, is that the Stream Box E and Wireless Box E will both run on WiiM OS. This is a platform primarily designed for the brand’s own tech like such as the WiiM Sound, but is also available to other brands, bringing their tech into the burgeoning WiiM ecosystem.

We’ve compared Sonos vs WiiM in the past to help you understand the differences, but the gesture is clear: this is part of a growing alternative to Sonos, and is clearly one that wants to be as flexible as possible based on these launches.

However, there's a big catch here for Apple users, which is not exactly a small portion of the world. WiiM has some kind of on-going issue with Apple that means that many of its products don't include Apple AirPlay 2 as an easy streaming options, and it's the same with these.

While support for the likes of Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect might mean you're actually fine with this, it also means these boxes are basically no good if you're an Apple Music user, or if you want to be able to use AirPlay's platform-neutral multi-room skills.

In this instance, Sonos absolutely still has the edge — it not only supports AirPlay fully, it's the only brand with a streaming amp that has native Apple Music support in its app for lossless listening.

The fast pace with which Pro-Ject is releasing gears shows that it’s only getting bigger and bigger in the home hi-fi game, especially with affordable options like these. Perhaps it’s found an ideal partner in the equally ambitious WiiM — we can't wait to see how well these work in practice.

Tribit Stormbox Micro 3: two-minute review

Four years after its predecessor launched, the Tribit Strombox Micro 3 has landed — and it’s been well worth the wait. This new model offers plenty of improvements over what came before, with a higher power output, extended battery life, faster charging, and a refined look. But is it worth picking over the competition? Here’s what I think after a week of testing.

First of all, we have to talk about sound. This speaker may be small, but it packs 13W of output power, which is nothing to sniff at. Its dynamic full-range driver links up with two passive radiators for impressive volume, and genuinely hard-hitting bass. When listening to low end-focused genres like House and Hip-Hop, I was wowed by the speaker’s bass output — it’s powerful and full-bodied, but never seems muddy or compromising to other sounds in the frequency range.

You also get clear mids and articulate treble, with solid balance using the speaker’s default sound signature. Sure, you’re not going to get the high-fidelity, openness, or detail that some more premium options in our best Bluetooth speakers guide offer, but the Stormbox Mini 3 still sounds admirable given its limited confines and tempting low price.

Something else I love about the Stormbox Micro 3 is its plentiful playtime. You get up to 24 hours here — double of what the Stormbox Micro 2 could deliver. Combine that with faster charging speeds and the capability to charge external devices, and you’ve got a seriously strong performer in the battery life category.

Other changes, like improved waterproofing, a newer Bluetooth version, and a novel magnetic base only help to make the Stormbox Micro 3 feel like a worthy successor to the Tribit Stormbox Micro 2 — a model we absolutely loved.

A lot of returning features, including a built-in mic, multi-speaker pairing, and extensive EQ options also stand Tribit’s small-sized speaker in good stead against the competition. The much-beloved JBL Go 4, say, doesn’t have hands-free calling capabilities, has a more humble output power, and lacks the detailed EQ controls you'll get here.

Still, that’s not to say that the Stormbox Micro 3 is perfect. I touched on its revamped design earlier, which gives it a more rounded look and provides the logo with a cleaner, more striking feel. But this speaker still isn’t the prettiest I’ve seen, and the lack of color options hold it back from greatness in terms of design.

Regardless, its dust and waterproofing, drop-proof build, and compact size ensure that the Stormbox Micro 3 is a highly practical model, and one that’s ideal for taking on the go. And many of my other complaints are mere nitpicks — the lack of backwards compatibility with the Stormbox Micro 2 plus a modicum of compression when listening at higher volumes, but these are extremely common gripes for speakers of this size.

All in all, the Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 is a very capable small-sized speaker. And the fact its price has barely changed from last time out makes it a seriously attractive proposition. At $64.99 / £62.99 (about AU$130), it’s an absolute steal, and considering the quality it posts across the board, I’d say that it’s one of the best value Bluetooth speakers I’ve ever tested. As a result, it’s an easy recommendation for me to make.

Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 review: price and availability

• List price of $64.99 / £62.99 (about AU$130)
• Released in April 2026

The Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 was first released in April 2026, about four years after the Stormbox Micro 2. Thankfully, the new speaker comes in at an extremely similar price to its predecessor — it will only set you back about $64.99 / £62.99 (about AU$130), which is a great price given its talents.

Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 review: specs

Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 review: features

• Battery life has been doubled to 24 hours
• Lots of customization options with Tribit app
• Multi-speaker pairing, but no backwards compatibility

The Stormbox Micro 3 has had quite the refresh in terms of features. The most striking is its improved battery life — you’re getting up to 24 hours this time out, which is double the amount of playtime you got on the Stormbox Micro 2. Of course, if you’re listening at higher volumes and using the XBass function, you’ll struggle to get that maximum 24 hours, but in my testing I found that number to be pretty accurate.

On top of that, the Micro 3 charges a lot faster than its predecessor. Tribit notes that you can get its lil’ speaker’s battery to 100% from empty in just 2 hours — a big leap from the 2.5-3 hours required to juice up the Stormbox Micro 2.

As we saw last time out, you can also use the Strombox Micro 3 to charge up other devices with a USB-C cable. That’s a pretty handy feature if you need to give your phone or wireless earbuds a boost, for instance, and the higher battery capacity makes this feature feel more worthwhile.

The new Stormbox Micro also has an improved Bluetooth version — it’s using Bluetooth 6.0, which gives you 45m of range, ideal if you want to keep the tunes moving while in a different room.

What’s more, the Stormbox Micro 3 packs 13W of power from its full-range driver (which is accompanied by a couple of passive radiators). That’s better than its predecessor’s 10W, and results in a louder, meatier sound.

Another nice inclusion is the built-in mic, which enables you to take calls hands-free like a speakerphone. I tried this out, and was genuinely surprised by the clarity of my speech. Given that a lot of rivals (JBL Go 4, I'm looking at you) skipped the mic, this was great to see.

You can also customize the sound of this speaker using the Tribit app. There are a nice range of EQ presets, including genre-specific options, and some designed for specific environments, like Outdoor. There’s also a nine-band equalizer, giving users the chance to tailor sound to their specific tastes.

In addition, there’s an XBass mode for those that really want to ramp up the low-end. I steered clear of this, though, as it just made the low-end sound overpowering, and caused the speaker’s battery to drain at a faster rate.

Finally, you can pair the Stormbox Micro 3 with a second, identical unit to activate stereo sound. Typically, audio will be downmixed to mono, so this is a useful feature — I just wish Tribit had let us pair with the Stormbox Micro 2 as well, something that would’ve given owners of that model a better reason to upgrade.

• Features score: 4.5/5

Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 review: sound quality

• Powerful, well balanced sound
• Seriously commendable bass from such a small speaker
• Lacks the mid and treble range finesse that premium rivals supply

Given its limited confines and low price, the Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 doesn’t sound perfect — you’ll experience some compression at higher volumes, and there are no fancy codecs like LDAC or aptX Adaptive. But still, the speaker performed pretty admirably in my testing.

I’ll start by saying that I spent most of the time using Tribit’s Signature EQ — XBass is here for a bumped-up low end, and there are a few other presets, but the standard tuning had a more balanced, controlled sound, so I rarely felt tempted to deviate from it.

For me, the most impressive thing about the Stormbox Micro 3 is its bass output. So many small-sized speakers fall flat here — even some more premium models sound as if there’s nothing going on whatsoever in the low-end, resulting in a thin, de-energized presentation.

But not the Stormbox Micro 3. In tracks like Harmony in the Distance by M-High, I was struck by the pumping, impactful bass that never sounded lethargic or bloated. Indeed, the low-end hit pretty hard considering this model’s small form-factor, but at the same time, it never drowned out synths in the mids or higher frequency percussion.

In this track, treble also sounded surprisingly sharp, with a rapid decay to ensure drums hit with rhythmic precision. They didn’t have the full-sounding fidelity you’d expect to hear on more premium speakers, though — something I’ll get onto shortly.

Moving over to one of my favorite tracks, Space Cowboy by Jamiroquai, and the Stormbox Micro 3 maintained impressive quality. Vocals were nicely weighted in the mix, and funky bass occupied a well-defined pocket, never seeming over-eager or muddy. At one point, the vocals and bass cut, as the tune built towards its euphoric climax, and the speaker recreated the re-entry of various instruments with finesse, indicating its solid dynamics.

With really deep, demanding records, such as Morning Wonders - Leo Pol Remix by Kolter, Tribit’s tiny speaker still managed to hold its own. The dark, rippling bass was perhaps a little too much for it to handle, but it still put up a valiant effort, while translating the aggressive higher-pitched percussion with control, rather than letting it fly off the handle.

So far, the Stormbox Micro 3 was doing pretty nicely, but I wanted to turn up the temperature, so I decided to test it against a pricier rival from a big name: the Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2. Now, for all of my gripes with Bose’s small-sized speaker, I have to say it sounds pretty good, with vibrant treble, expressive mids, and clean bass. So how did Tribit’s mini rival compare?

I started with a tech house track, Good Luck from ADR (UK) and OUTTEN, and straight away, I realized how the Tribit replicated low-end sounds with much more confidence and vigor than its Bose counterpart. Despite lacking some low-end punch, the SoundLink Micro Gen 2 produced cleaner overall audio in my view, with more refined clarity in the treble range in particular.

It was similar in Shinchiro Yokota’s Do It Again, with Tribit conjuring up more regimented, full-sounding bass, but less polished highs. The Bose really did struggle with some of the darker sounds, though, and despite its impressive clarity further up the frequency range, you’d expect more given its hefty asking price.

It’s with softer tracks, though, like Yellow Giant Reprise by Tatsuhiko Asano, where the Stormbox Micro 3’s limitations are laid bare. Mids just sounded more detailed, open, and separated on its Bose rival, and although Tribit’s speaker still plated up perfectly clear and non-distorted sound, it failed to offer that premium edge.

Overall, though, this comparison showed me the fantastic sound for pound value of the Tribit Stormbox Micro 3. Sure, it lacked the nuance and grace of the SoundLink 2 in the mid-range and treble, but it still performed solidly in those areas, while also producing far more energized bass and higher volume potential than its Bose rival.

It’s also worth noting that I mainly kept the Stormbox Micro 3 upright, typically while magnetized to my fireplace. It sounded great with this configuration, but you can also lay it flat, which has a less rounded, but still enjoyable sound.

• Sound quality score: 4/5

Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 review: design

• New rounded design still not the prettiest
• Magnetic base with handy silicone strap
• IP68-rated and drop-proof

The Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 looks pretty similar to its predecessor, but it's got a slightly more rounded build and a neater, more striking logo at its center. It’s not the prettiest small speaker I’ve seen — the retro-style Marshall Willen II and modern Bose SoundLink Micro 2 have a more premium, eye-catching aesthetic, although they’re also quite a bit pricer.

What I do like, however, is the practicality of the Stormbox Micro 3. First of all, this new model comes with a magnetic base, which makes it easy to fix to a shower or fridge. I had the speaker attached to the fireplace by my desk, which worked fantastically.

There’s also a strap on the reverse side of the model (carried over from previous iterations), which makes it easy to hook onto a bag, bike, or hook, so this is a very versatile speaker placement-wise. And it’s incredibly compact, which means you could easily chuck it in a bag when it’s out of use as well.

What’s more, the Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 has an IP68 rating, meaning its fully dustproof, and can survive a 1.5m dunking underwater for as long as 30 minutes. That’s an improvement over the previous model’s IP67 rating, and while it’s fairly unessential, it’s pleasing to see Tribit keep up with the likes of JBL’s water-resistant tech.

The Stormbox Micro 3 is also drop-proof, making it ideal for taking on the go. Tribit says that it can survive being dropped from about 1.2m, in-line with US military standards — so you shouldn't have to worry about it taking the occasional tumble.

Other than its average looks, my only complaint would be the Stormbox Micro 3’s lack of color options. You can only grab it in Black at the moment, while its predecessor could be purchased in Blue, Red, or Mint instead. Hopefully more colorways will be released down the line, but that lack of vibrancy is a shame, particularly given the vivid options supplied by Bose and JBL, among others.

• Design score: 4/5

Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 review: value

• Plenty of improvements over predecessor with next to no price bump
• Strong sound at this price-point, with great bass output
• High battery life and durable build make it a slam dunk

When it comes to value-for-money, I’m not entirely sure you can do better than the Tribit Stormbox Micro 3. We already raved about its predecessor's high quality paired with a low price, and things are much the same here.

There’s been next to no increase in list price against the Stormbox Micro 2, in spite of macroeconomic pressures, and you get even more for your money this time. More power, better battery life, a magnetic design, a more rounded look…this is a worthy improvement over a speaker we already loved.

For just over $60 / £60, you’re going to make a few sacrifices. You don’t get the stellar detail, nuance, and open sound that some small-sized rivals can offer — but they’ll come at a significantly steeper price-point. The Stormbox Micro 3 still sounds very good overall too — even if it can be outclassed, the clarity and balance on offer is highly commendable.

And given that the Stormbox Micro 3 performs very nicely in the low-end — an area where a lot of small speakers struggle, you’re getting plenty of bang for your buck as far as sound goes.

I was also delighted by the Stormbox Micro 3’s exceptional battery life, which is higher than a lot of premium rivals. Combine that with a durable build, and almost everything you could want from a small speaker can be yours at a very modest price indeed.

• Value score: 5/5

Should I buy the Tribit Stormbox Micro 3?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 review: also consider

How I tested the Tribit Stormbox Micro 3

• Spent one week testing
• Mainly streamed tunes over Tidal
• Reviewed by someone who’s tested more than 40 Bluetooth speakers

I spent one week testing the Tribit Stormbox Micro 3, predominantly using it at home — both stood upright and resting on its base.

When listening to music, I made sure to stream tunes over Tidal, starting with the TechRadar testing playlist, which features tracks from a wide variety of genres. I also bumped a range of tunes from my personal library, and tried out the speaker’s different sound modes and mic functionality.

More generally, I’ve spent in excess of two years testing audio gear here at TechRadar, which includes everything from the best wired earbuds through to premium wireless headphones. I’ve tried more than 40 Bluetooth speakers during my time here, and personally curated our guide to the best Bluetooth speakers, so I know exactly what is required for a model to stand out in this heavily convoluted market.

• Read more about how we test
• First reviewed: April 2026

• A Redditor built a tool to let you blind ear test FLAC and different MP3 quality levels
• Crucially, you use your own music, rather than samples you don't know well
• It's humbling a lot of audiophiles

In a bid to work out whether they had the hearing chops to tell the difference between FLAC and MP3, a Redditor recently built a tool to let you do a 'blind' listening test. It's not the first tool for this, but it addresses common pain points with these tools, to make it easier to directly compare and contrast songs — and most crucially, you use your own songs, so you're testing with tracks you know inside and out.

You upload a FLAC and the tool will create 16, 64, 128 and 320kbps MP3 copies. Then you can seamlessly switch between the lower bitrates and original, with randomized labels not telling you which version you're listening to. Changing won't jump you back to the start of the song, so you can hear excerpts in different streams.

The tool does the rest, and it's all processed in your browser, so your data won't be uploaded to the cloud or anyone ready to sell it. Just note, you'll actually need a lossless file to do the test, and for best results you'll want to be outputting to a good DAC – either in a hi-fi system or powered speakers, or one of the best portable DACs and some of the best wired headphones.

But why I am I talking? You can test out the tool yourself, by browsing to it right here. It's free to use, although there's a donation link for the creator if you find it useful.

Hearing a difference?

Most audiophiles will probably assert that they can always hear a difference between lossless and lossy, but this test might cause some to doubt their own ears. The owner himself said jokingly "turns out I'm deaf I guess", when describing how they can't hear the difference between 128kbps, 320kbps and FLAC.

The original poster's not alone, with other users confirming that they've struggled to hear a difference. One poster simply said "this is very humbling", communicating in four words what many other responders took paragraphs to say.

Another commenter described doing the test on $25,000 monitors, and not being able to tell 320kbps files from lossless.

As many point out, MP3 takes up less space than FLAC, making it ideal for space-conscious listeners.

This isn't exactly breaking news. Sound engineers have long rumbled about the differences between higher-quality compressed audio and full lossless being impossible to pick out. Famed producer Steven Wilson who recently admitted that he can't tell the difference between CDs and high-res audio any more (though I should point out that none of the options in the comparison tool are as high-quality as CD, which is around 1,400kbps).

There is plenty of defense for lossless, though, beyond audio fidelity. Posters point out that storing the best-quality FLAC files means you can easily convert to other file types without introducing artefacts, because while you can convert lossless to lossy MP3, you can't convert back and regain the information you lost.

So for audiophiles, having your music collection in FLAC is still a safer choice, even if it eats up that storage space. But this tool is a reminder that a good MP3 can still sound great, and even on par with lossless in real terms.

And at the very least, it asserts that 16kbps and 64kbps MP3s still sound garbage.

While much of the hi-fi-related focus here at TechRadar is aimed at turntables and active speaker systems, the fact remains that many of the TechRadar team — myself very much included — are mad about music, and being able to listen to it in its best-possible quality, in particular.

Which is why I get excited about products like the Lyngdorf TDAI-2210, a premium, compact streaming amplifier that has the function of three separate components. Being an integrated amplifier, it handles both pre- and power amplification (and if preferred, can be used solely to do one or the other), and it has a streamer built in, providing instant access to whichever online music service you use.

And, aside from being a jack-of-all-trades, it’s highly powerful too, capable of delivering up to 210 watts per channel into 4 ohms (if you’re not totally clued up on hi-fi jargon, that’s a lot!). There’s plenty more it can do, and it has some extra technical wizardry up its sleeve, and you can read all about it in a full in-depth Australian review at our sister site What Hi-Fi ( that review first appeared in Australian Hi-Fi mag, which I also happen to be editor of).

The reviewer, Stephen Dawson, heaped praise upon the Lyngdorf TDAI-2210, claiming “every element of each tiny explosion of sound was delivered with proper intensity and control that spoke of a wonderful cooperation between amplifier and speaker.”

And even at higher volumes (ones realistically way too high for normal listening), the Lyngdorf streamer didn’t falter, with Stephen adding, “the music was thunderous but remained perfectly controlled, with a strong delivery of the kick drum, and other bits of the kit tightly delivered”

Read the full Lyngdorf TDAI-2210 review at What Hi-Fi?

Dali Sonik 1: Two-minute review

Dali’s new Sonik series of speakers is the Danish brand’s re-introduction to the global hi-fi market — and these, the Dali Sonik 1, are a set of versatile, broad-appeal passive bookshelf speakers aimed squarely at the entry-level audio enthusiast. They enter a saturated market at this size and price, rubbing shoulders with about every major speaker brand you can name; still, they stand apart and more than hold their own.

Clever driver and cone designs, refined from Dali speakers past, provide a surprising quality of sound, from clear and distortion-free articulation to smooth, natural-sounding mids and highs. Everything shines through these, but vocals benefit perhaps the most.

Transient performance is nothing short of delicious, and the low end is surprisingly supple for the size of the units (helped along by some very enthusiastic bass reflex ports). There’s a chance that the Sonik 1 are a little over-eager with respect to high end, but it’s marginal — and minimal against the robustness and throat on display in denser mixes.

Being a curmudgeonly sort, I tried my best not to love these speakers at first listen. I failed. It’s love. From the clear attention to detail shown in their design and build to the stunningly versatile sound performance, the Dali Sonik 1 are an overperforming pair of almost-budget bookshelfs. And definitely among the best stereo speakers on the market.

Dali Sonik 1 review: Price & release date

• Released February, 2026
• Priced $900 / £449.99 / AU$849

Do you ever feel like the Scandinavians just do it better? From my distant and semi-ignorant perch in deepest West Yorkshire, in the UK, I can’t help but feel like it’s true. Whether its education, taxation, or straight-up happiness, the concept of Nordic exceptionalism is very real indeed – and we’ve got even more proof right here in the land of domestic hi-fi audio, thanks to the landmark Danish audiophile loudspeaker industry frontrunner, Dali. Which stands for, er, Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries.

Dali has been designing speakers from the ground up since the early 80s, and has established a well-earned reputation in that time. Its speakers touch every point of the hi-fi market, from budget-friendly fare to audiophilic bucket-list bookshelfs and beyond. Its roster of speakers is broad, deep and a little intimidating to reckon with — which is, in part, why it came out with this in February 2026: the Sonik series of passive speakers.

The Sonik series is Dali’s full and formal self-introduction to a global audience, taking everything it’s learned in its 40-ish years of loudspeaker development and cramming the best into a budget-spanning set of new flagships. There are seven different sets in the Sonik series, a comprehensive spread encompassing standmount, floorstanding and home cinema-friendly models. Whatever it is you want or need, chances are you’ll find it here.

Of these, the Dali Sonik 1 are proudly the smallest and cheapest of the bunch: a set of bookshelf standmounts that are dinkier than they look, and also much more powerful than that deceptive dinkiness would suggest. At $900 / £449.99 / AU$849, these aren’t the cheapest bookshelf speakers money can buy (especially in the US!), but they’re more or less in direct competition with entry-level bookshelf fare from practically every other hi-fi brand going; from Klipsch’s RP-600Ms to KEF’s Q1 Metas to Bowers and Wilkins’ 607 S3s to umpteen other austere offerings.

It’s a tough crowd, but one that Dali’s been quietly besting in a few key areas for a long time. In this competitive loudspeaker arena, will Nordic exceptionalism prove itself again?

Dali Sonik 1 review: Specs

Dali Sonik 1 review: Features

• Small-format bookshelf speakers with two-way crossover
• Patented cone design for smoother mids
• Remarkably low distortion, via proprietary driver composition

The Dali Sonik 1 are a pair of passive bookshelf speakers, with a two-way crossover involving a 29mm soft-dome tweeter and a 5.25-inch woofer, and a ported bass reflex chassis. They’re single-wire connectable, as opposed to bi-wirable; unless you have grand and arcane plans of driving tweeters and woofers separately, I don’t consider this in any way a shortcoming — and if you actually do have such plans, you are surely looking in the wrong price range.

Being passive, the Sonik 1’s features are almost entirely found in their clever composition, which hides some smart proprietary bits and pieces behind those optional magnetic cloth grilles. For instance, the whole Sonik series, Sonik 1 included, benefits from Dali’s trademarked Clarity Cone technology (taken from the Kore range that came before), wherein the speaker cones are made using a proprietary paper/wood-fiber blend, said to improve mid-range smoothness among other things.

There’s another trademarked feature, too, in the “SMC” (Soft Magnetic Composite)-assisted magnet systems that constitute the driver. Dali’s patented composite sits in the voice coil, significantly reducing distortion in the process. Collectively, these in-house divinations deign to create a fulsome, highly natural-sounding set of standmounts.

The Sonik 1 are the smallest of the Sonik series, and quite slender even for their size. It’s a small surprise settling them in to their respective homes and having some room to spare — but still, there’s a sense that they’re certain to punch above their weight class as soon as you take them out of the box.

Speaking of which, there’s not much here in the way of box candy (no speaker cables, either). That said, they do ship with two sets of stick-on rubber feet: small, squashy black ones for standing them on your shelf of choice, and some thick, translucent ones for sticking on the back if you intend to wall-mount them. I’m not one for wall-mounting them just yet, but I was nonetheless touched that Dali elected to send clear stand-offs so as not to cause unsightly shadows if you do hang them.

That particularly small-beers inclusion is, for me, a perfect crystallization of Dali’s approach with the Sonik 1, and a reflection of its journey to this point. Small things, offered without ceremony, that add up to a thoughtful and gratifying whole.

• Features score: 5/5

Dali Sonik 1 review: Sound quality

• Smooth, dulcet vocal reproduction
• Deep, reflex-assisted bass
• Transparent treble and tactile transients

Dali talks a big talk about the natural sound of the Sonik series. As someone that also works on the other side of the mixing desk from time to time, it’s hard to describe what makes something sound ‘natural’ as anything other than a neutral approach to representing exactly what was recorded. Hi-fi devices are not typically designed to do this, either; they’re designed to flatter. They accentuate the bits that gratify us, giving us more to grab onto than a flat-response set of monitors would dare to. And yet...

To reach for a sense beyond natural, the Sonik 1 do some marvelous things, from delicate treatment of higher highs to a round, robust treatment of reedier sounds. It’s the voices, really, that shine, with no undue thanks to those Clarity Cone woofers; my household’s vinyl copy of Mitski’s Nothing Is Happening To Me has been on heavy rotation, and rendered in disturbingly effective heartbreaky three-dimensionality each and every time, since I installed the Sonik 1 pair.

Cats is a long, soft-silk ribbon, pulled deftly through my left ear and out the right. If I Leave’s brief crescendo of deep-gritted guitars and chest-voice urgency is a weighty presence in the room. B-side opener and second single, I’ll Change For You, is an honest-to-god tearjerker with thanks to an exceptionally tangible rendering of that stunning lead line – Mitski’s voice honestly feeling as if it floats forward through the mix, drifting airily on its own delusive train of thought. Brain-scratchingly good stuff.

Spinning the 10th anniversary repress of Adult Jazz’s Gist Is, I got a real feel for the Sonik 1’s handling of space. The richness of that midrange lends itself to roomy sounds, in which Gist Is, a patchwork of heres and theres, readily revels. Sparse, clever instrumental arrangements are articulated with fullness — illustrating some tactile transient responsiveness just as much as a natural, earnestly flattering representation of timbre.

The cheeky-swung drums on opener Hum are a bright, effervescent presence; cymbal crashes and open hats fizz in Am Gone. Slow-burner Spook is a highlight, rendering powerful dynamic shifts and slow-developing ambiences with a sense of unbothered expertise. Palm-muted guitars spike through like football cleats through turf, and legato lead lines skate sharply across the crescendo as if on six feet of ice.

Dali commits to harnessing low end wherever and however it can, leading to some extremely impressive bass performance from speakers that have neither the stature nor the right. There’s a little weight missing, and the bass reflex port is doing a lot of heavy lifting to replace it (aided, no doubt, by the sub-optimal listening position in which the Sonik 1 lived for most of my testing), but even without that telltale pumpy bluster, there’s a lot to love about the structure of the heft they possess.

If I were to find anything to complain about with the Dali Sonik 1, it would end up being a slight high-end over-presence. The treatment of trebly sources is delicate, considered and even fastidious, but sometimes, to the point of clear preference over other elements of a mix. This is emphasized further by that slight lack in the low end, countered by an eager bass reflex.

But here’s the thing: I feel like I’m reaching. Putting on one of the more chaotic records in my vinyl collection — My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless — I’m greeted with unexpected clarity and cohesion. Everything’s resolved as it was, is and should be, from brain-swallowing yet still-punchy lows to screeching uber-compressed wall-of-guitar highs. It’s a high-performing pair, through and through.

• Sound quality score: 5/5

Dali Sonik 1 review: Design

• High attention to detail
• Clever attachable grille
• Cool, understated looks

Dali’s full-spectrum approach to design and manufacture means the same care and attention is given to the development of each product in their roster, as gamely demonstrated by the quality on display with the Sonik 1.

There’s attention to detail wherever you look, be it the chunky brass terminals at the rear or the tastefully radiused face-plates at the front. Really, these are tasteful-looking through and through. The pair under review are the natural oak variant version, but you can also pick these up in white, black ash or walnut. With mine, a cream front face is gamely disrupted by bold black driver surrounds, accentuating the presence of that cool burgundy woofer cone.

The included cloth grilles are a mottled off-white, and attachable (as is becoming increasingly common) with magnets; this leaves a smooth face on the speakers, and makes for a posh-feeling set overall. With the grilles on, the Dali Sonik 1 become coolly understated; they fade amenably into the figurative milieu of your living room, and shine all the more prominently on their acoustical merits.

• Design score: 5/5

Dali Sonik 1 review: Value

• A familiar price for entry-level audiophile fare
• Incredible performance for budget
• Impossible not to like

Generally speaking, and whichever way you slice it, $900 / £449.99 / AU$849 is a lot of money to ask someone to pay for something. But it’s the de facto floor price (excepting that tariff-y US-import price) for something good in the audiophile hi-fi space. When big numbers get bandied around for confoundingly clever loudspeakers further up the chain, it’s easy to lose sight of the real ask here for the average consumer.

Every brand that puts out an entry-level artefact of posh loudspeaker design at this price, then, has to be able to justify it. And most of the heavy hitters do, pulling down top-flight innovations to an affordable price and walking the walk on sound quality (Bowers and Wilkins’ 607 S3 being a chief competitor and major example). And just as most of the heavy hitters do, so too does Dali.

The Sonik 1 are as smart a pair of bookshelf speakers as you could ask for. They’re deeply versatile, deep-sounding despite their stature, and delightful to listen to. The frequency response reflects a hyper-natural richness, without overrepresenting anything too nakedly. They fill small and medium spaces capably, handle loud signals with minimal distortion, and deliver gratifying performance from wherever you sit or stand.

These speakers are an excellent example of what investing in hi-fi can actually mean for someone. The articulation and fidelity on display is demonstrably far, far better than cheaper fare you come across. The Sonik 1 may be the entry-level pair in a large family of new broad-appeal loudspeakers, but they’re as refined as you could ever want in a mid-range listening setup. They look the part, yes, but they feel the part, too.

To be blunt, I went into this review with a harshly critical eye. It was softened instantly, by a self-assured set of speakers that elevated my home hi-fi without ceremony. Dali is doing some incredible work reinstating the importance of attention to detail, of pride in a product, via a seamlessly well put together set of speakers that actually exceed their expectations.

• Value score: 5/5

Dali Sonik 1 review: scorecard

Should you buy the Dali Sonik 1?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Dali Sonik 1 review: Also consider

How I tested the Dali Sonik 1

• Tested for 6 week(s)
• Used as main living-room listening speakers
• Predominantly tested using vinyl records, played on Vestax turntables; also with CDs and hi-res streaming from Qobuz

The Dali Sonik 1 bookshelf speakers found their home at the epicenter of my living-room listening station, where they were hooked up to my Cambridge Audio A2 integrated amplifier, and received audio from a variety of sources — most commonly, vinyl records played through Vestax PDX-D3 turntables (outfitted with Audio-Technica AT-VM95E cartridges) and a Vestax preamp and mixer.

I listened to CDs using a FiiO DM13 CD player, and I threw some hi-res streaming from Qobuz in there for good measure, too, via a 3.5mm jack from my laptop to the Vestax mixer.

First reviewed: April 2026

Read more about how we test at TechRadar

• Victrola and Third Man Records are teaming for an exclusive collaboration
• It features a redesigned Victrola Wave deck in Third Man's flagship colors
• The collection drops on Record Store Day 2026 (April 18)

Leading audio brand Victrola makes some of the best turntables on the market, and its latest collaboration with Third Man Records is about to shake up Record Store Day 2026.

Combining Victrola's analog expertise with record label and music store Third Man Records (co-founded by Jack White), the two music moguls are launching an exclusive collection that features a revamped version of the Victrola Wave turntable finished in Third Man’s flagship black and yellow colors. In addition to the turntable, the duo are also giving Victrola's Tempo bookshelf speakers the Third Man treatment, so make a complete system.

The collection launches on Record Store Day itself (April 18) retailing at $499.99/ £455 for the Victrola Wave turntable and $249.99/ £225 for the Tempo speakers, or you can save $100 and opt for the $649.99 limited-time bundle. It will be available to purchase online from Third Man Records and Victrola’s web store, or you can snag it in-store at Third Man’s Detroit, Nashville and London sites.

“What Jack and his team have built is something truly magical,” says CEO of Victrola, Scott Hagen. “They aren’t just painting things yellow and black — it’s as if they’re bringing inanimate objects to life, each one with its own character and soul. Maybe that’s why vinyl and vinyl culture fit so naturally within the Third Man world”.

Speaking on behalf of Third Man Records, co-founder Ben Blackwell is equally as thrilled for the collaboration, sharing “Third Man is stoked to be making these yellow-as-hell-o turntables and speakers with the cool cats over at Victrola”.

Victrola unveiled the original Wave turntable at CES 2025, and it caught the attention of analog enthusiasts for one particular reason. As well as offering aptX Adaptive support for higher quality listening, Victrola’s Wave turntable comes with Auracast, a Bluetooth setting that allows for multi-device connectivity, thus taking it a step beyond one-to-one device pairing. Just think about how neat it would be to spin your new RSD pressings and listen to them throughout your place? Absolute bliss.

But Victrola’s funky Wave revamp is just the beginning of the company’s partnered RSD celebrations, there's also a carefully compiled a collection of Third Man Records pressings including Jack White’s Blunderbuss and The White Stripes essential listening Elephant. There’s also a live album by Brooklyn-based band Geese thrown in there which, as a huge fan, I am now suddenly craving. The launch is also set to be followed by an RSD event at Third Man’s Detroit store — any chance you can squeeze us onto the guestlist?

If you're as excited for Record Store Day as we are, don't forget to check out our pick of the 13 of the best Record Store Day 2026 releases to get your hands on.

Every audiophile and avid vinyl collector’s favorite day is approaching, and soon Record Store Day 2026 will hit us like a meteor on Saturday April 18 — and I for one am thrilled to embrace the chaos for another year.

I’ve been busy scouring the official RSD list for the best new presses (I’m hoping to snag a Jeff Buckley live album if I can), but it’s also a perfect time to consider upgrading to one of the best turntables. Speaking of, I’ve suddenly been distracted from curating my pre-RSD shopping list after spotting what’s probably the most funky looking vinyl player I’ve ever seen, and I need it to house my growing collection immediately.

Feast your eyes on this bad boy!

The Fisher-Price Music Box comes back to life

Blending the maximalism of the 1980s Memphis aesthetic with the nostalgia of the Fisher-Price Music Box (our Audio Editor Becky Scarrott remembers it well — and you can see what she means, because Disney re-released that with it's own twist, last year), this is the Play Pro turntable from Japanese audio company Tinyl which, thanks to the magic of the TikTok algorithm, landed on my ‘For You’ page. It’s as if we were destined to meet.

It's not the first time we've been reminded of the retro musical toys of our youth when new kit arrives, just check out Teenage Engineering's Record Factory, a device that launched a few years ago and that actually lets you record and cut your own records — limited to singles of up to four minutes in mono per side, but still…

Back to the new Play Pro, and it is the latest turntable to join Tinyl’s range of audio products, having launched in late 2025/ early 2026. So you can bet it’s gone straight into my tech wish-list. Its bold design and viral hype add to its grandeur, but don’t be fooled, it’s actually not as pricey as you’d think — how’s $199 / £165/ AU$342 for a turntable this groovy?

With its relatively humble asking fee, the Play Pro makes for a solid user-friendly vinyl player, so while it won’t be as punchy and agile as something like the Pro-ject Debut Carbon Evo (which is also more than double the price), it likely represents the kind of quality more than acceptable for first-timers and vinyl novices. And Sony's new affordable offering, the Sony PS-LX5BT is also quite a bit pricier, talented though it is.

The next best entry-level turntable?

For starters, the setup isn’t overly complicated and intricate. Its plug-and-play system means it’s simple for beginners to navigate, and the turntable is already fitted with speakers — ideal if the complete audio experience isn’t a huge matter for you. That said, users online haven’t raved about its native audio quality, but pairing it with bookshelf speakers has significantly improved the listening experience. And you don’t need to spend mega bucks on these either — allow me to point to you our roundup of the best stereo speakers.

Speaking of connectivity, you can pair the Play Pro with speakers, and even headphones, via Bluetooth, or use the AUX and RCA imports for wired connectivity. It also gives you the option to stream playlists right from your device when connected by Bluetooth, though this isn’t a huge appeal to me.

But what surprised me is that its tonearm is fitted with the Audio-Technica MM AT3600L cartridge, a trusted and reliable stylus, accompanied by an adjustable weight to not only protect the cartridge but to allow you to hear crisp detail no matter the genre. Before now, I’d been heavily eyeing up the Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT turntable, and though it’s not totally off the table as far as options go, you can’t deny those come-buy-me primary colors. It’ll be the centerpiece of all your dinner party antics — and that’s enough to sway me.

The act of choosing the best turntable — and the best stereo speakers, and amplifiers, and cables, and so on — is all part of the pursuit of the perfect analog sound. But you might be barking up the wrong tree in the pursuit of perfection.

As part of Record Store Day 2026 on April 18, audiophiles are going to be supporting their local music store, gushing over the new exclusive releases, and likely comparing all the new Hi-Fi kit upon which to listen to their new records.

And most of the time, spending more money gets you a better sound. I liked the Sony LX310BT, but it's not going to do for your records what the Cambridge Audio Alva TT V2 can.

But sometimes, making your turntable sound great isn't about the cartridge or tonearm, nor is it about the extra kit you buy to eke out the audio. Take it from me: sometimes it's a whole lot simpler and cheaper.

• Just bought a new deck? Here's our how to set up a turntable explainer

Dishing the dirt

I've written before about how my entire record collection was inherited: a fat stack of vinyl that fell into my hands when my childhood home was being sold. The records are all decades old (and some feel like they haven't been used in that time).

Some of these are early pressings from major artists, others are recordings of music a parent contributed to. It's a really big range, and when I acquired the collection, I found plenty of the records missing or unplayable. Time takes its toll with the physical music product.

When I started listening to them, their age was evident. There was so much snapping, crackling and popping that it sounded like I was eating a bowl of Rice Crispies. Many of the records would skip like they were frolicking in a spring meadow. In short, they didn't sound great.

I know sometimes the natural solution to such a problem is to spend more. Maybe a fancier record player, amplification solution or top-end speakers would do away with such a problem? Or maybe I need to elevate my cables from nasty reverb with those little stands?

Back then I may have been a vinyl novice, unaware of just how much cleanliness affects a record's sound (or its lasting power). But it wasn't hard to put 1+1 together, and realize that a layer of dust probably wasn't helping a needle track through an ever-decreasing groove. So the natural solution to me soon presented itself: do a bit of spring cleaning.

Cleaning your records correctly

The music from a record comes from the grooves on the vinyl, and so doing anything to it might seem heinous: wiping a cloth over it, putting it on a machine, blowing it. I can understand why some people might be reticent to clean their records.

But it's actually incredibly easy. We've got a guide on how to clean your turntable and records, and it basically just comes down to using the right spray and cloth. There are options on Amazon for just $15 / £20 / AU$40 that are simple and easy.

If you've got loads of cash, you could buy a special machine for it — and the corresponding solution to feed it. I recently covered a vinyl cleaning machine with different companies offering their own versions all the time. But these options aren't as cheap as just buying your own kit.

I got a kit that has a spray and a cleaning brush. Two squirts on the brush, and it picks up all the visible fluff and dust. It takes less than a minute to clean both sides of a record. Easy.

Your $15 vs $1,500

I was surprised by just how effective cleaning my records was — the contrast possibly helped by just how dusty they were. Listening back to wiped vinyl, the amount of noise and crackling was audibly lower.

The nicest part, though, was that this process only cost me the price of three beers: spending $15 (around £11 or AU$21) on a cleaning kit instead of $1,500 on a top-end turntable will save you a lot of money for more vinyl. The only other expenditure is a minute per record of your precious time, to actually clean it.

The irony about the pricier option is that your fancy turntable still won't make vinyl sing if it's mucky, the cheaper option will have a more audible effect.

According to experts, record maintenance doesn't just make it sound better, but keeps it lasting longer, and stops your stylus wearing out as fast. So I'm keeping this collection lasting longer too, which is the real savings.