Sony’s enthusiasm for OLED seems to have cooled off in 2026, and the Bravia 7 II is clear proof of that.

While this isn’t the first time Sony has flirted with sidelining OLED for its own take on the latest backlit panel technology, its new True RGB range is certainly the biggest push it's made to date.

Serving as the step-down model in a duo of new RGB Mini LED TVs, the Bravia 7 II hopes to tempt prospective OLED buyers away with the promise of higher brightness and purer colours, all while directly addressing the traditional shortcomings of backlit TVs

It’s a bold strategy, and after the move didn’t quite pay off when we compared the Bravia 9 Mini LED to the Bravia 8 OLED back in 2024, we’re somewhat surprised to see Sony attempt it again.

So, with the power of hindsight guiding it, has Sony developed a backlit TV that can tempt home cinema fans away from the enticing mid-range OLEDs on offer, or has it stumbled at the same hurdle again?

Price

We have the 55-inch Sony Bravia 7 II in our test tooms, which typically retails for £1999 / $2100 / AU$2999, though some discounts are already appearing.

Sony also sells the Bravia 7 II in a wide array of sizes, ranging from 50- to 98-inches; you can find pricing for the full range below:

It’s worth noting that the 55-inch Bravia 7 II’s launch price isn’t far off the 55-inch Bravia 7’s £1899 / $1900 / AU$2935 launch price; that feels like a pretty fair price increase considering the panel technology upgrade.

However, the Bravia 7 II is, unfortunately, priced higher than the LG C6 at 55 inches. Originally £1700 / $2000 / AU$2995, the C6 can now be found widely for £1499 / $1700 (it seems to be sticking to its launch pricing in Australia). As our current frontrunner for the best TV that we’ve tested this year, this OLED could prove to be a rather pesky thorn in Sony’s side.

Moreover, Sony’s Award-winning Bravia 8 II QD-OLED TV is now widely available for £1799 / $2600 at 55 inches, down from its launch price of £2499 / $3500. Australian availability, however, seems spotty, and pricing looks to have remained at AU$3299.

It may not seem entirely fair to compare this TV to a 2025 model, but Sony’s release strategy means that the Bravia 8 II will remain in the lineup for the foreseeable future. The price of the 7 II will drop throughout its lifespan, but this launch pricing does reveal Sony’s approach to positioning this TV.

With a launch price higher than that of the LG C6, Sony clearly thinks that RGB Mini LED is a comparable or better technology than OLED. In fairness, LG priced the C6 quite competitively, and aggressive discounts since launch means that it’s unlikely that the Bravia 7 II will ever undercut it.

Design

The Bravia 7 II sports an interesting and, if we’re being honest, slightly odd blend of aesthetic choices.

We’ll start with the positives, and the “clear” star here is the new transparent centre stand. Sony has traditionally opted for feet at either end of its TVs, so it already scores points for the convenient central pedestal design as it can be placed on narrower TV units with ease.

However, it’s the transparent part that we’re really excited about. Sony has employed some clever cable management and a one-way plastic panel that refracts light to make it look like no cables are hanging below the TV, and almost as if there’s no stand at all.

It’s hard to describe without seeing it (we’ve tried our best to do it justice with our photography), but the word “magic” was being thrown around the TV testing room upon placing the Bravia 7 II on one of our test benches. It really does give the impression that the TV is floating in place, and the slender bezels around the display help to sell the sleek illusion.

Slightly less awe-inspiring is the rest of the TV’s chassis. It’s when we look at this TV side-on that we’re reminded it’s not an OLED. At 5.4cm in depth, the Bravia 7 II is a fairly chunky set, although Sony has been clever enough to make that thickness mostly uniform throughout with a pleasing taper at each end of the set, ensuring that the TV wears this extra heft fairly well.

Sony has used this opportunity to refresh the included remote, and the new handset ticks practically all of our boxes. It features sharper corners and brings back the backlit buttons and USB-C charging port that were both curiously rescinded on the Bravia 8 II’s remote despite being available on previous generation Sony TVs.

Sony also scores bonus points by using its eco-conscious SORPLAS material here, which is also featured in the main chassis of the television.

Features

We’ve already established that this TV is using the latest panel technology on the market, and it’s only the second RGB Mini LED TV to enter our AV testing room, after the Hisense UR9.

For those not in the know, RGB Mini LED drops the white backlight and Quantum Dot colour filter layer in favour of individual red, green and blue Mini LEDs in pursuit of better brightness, colour accuracy and blooming control.

This isn’t the first time that Sony has made a huge bet on Mini LED. 2024’s Bravia 9 featured a hugely customised Mini LED system, which was powered by Sony’s XR Master Backlight Drive in conjunction with the XR Processor.

Sony’s new RGB Backlight Master Drive Pro is the next evolution of this technology, and it reportedly supports “unprecedented colour volume, precise colour gradation, and a significantly wider viewing angle” on Sony’s new True RGB TVs.

The company’s Triluminous colour system also evolves into RGB Triluminous Max, which the company says can deliver a colour range in line with the Bravia 8 II, while offering the brightness increase of RGB Mini LED thanks to its Luminance Booster feature.

In true Sony fashion, the Japanese AV giant hasn’t given away any official figures regarding brightness levels or dimming zones, but we count 340 dimming zones in our 55-inch Bravia 7 II review sample.

Interestingly, that’s considerably fewer zones than other backlit TVs we’ve tested recently — including the Award-winning 65-inch TCL C7K, which sports 1008 dimming zones.

As with previous Sony TVs, the Bravia 7 II supports HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision, but not HDR10+.

Moving on to the sound system, Sony has outfitted the 55-inch Bravia 7 II with a 40W sound system, comprising two full-range drivers and two tweeters. The TV prompts you to perform an automated room calibration during set-up, which allows the TV to adjust the sound output to best suit your viewing environment.

This TV supports a range of Dolby and DTS audio formats, including up to Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. For those looking to bypass the built-in speaker system (we’ll explain why you may wish to do that shortly), the HDMI eARC socket allows for external audio devices to be connected.

On the subject of HDMI, the Bravia 7 II only sports two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets, alongside two HDMI 2.0 ports. They all support ALLM, but only HDMI 3 and 4 support 4K/120Hz gameplay and VRR.

This has been the case for many previous Sony TVs, but in a year in which more TV manufacturers than ever are offering three or more full-bandwidth ports (Hisense and Philips join Samsung and LG this year), the Bravia 7 II is lagging behind its contemporary competition even more than its predecessors did.

Moving on to streaming, the Sony Bravia 7 II doesn’t throw any curveballs here either. Google TV remains the operating system of choice, and we don’t find any obvious missing apps or software stumbles of note.

Generally speaking, Sony’s software feels a bit more robust this year, with less lag and a pleasing new My Cinema interface. This takes the pressure out of changing your TV’s picture and sound settings by presenting three easy-to-interpret modes within a charming visual interface. These modes are: Director’s Cut, Daytime and Dialogue.

The second and third options boost brightness and visibility for watching in ambient light and enhance vocal clarity, respectively, but the aptly titled Director’s Cut is our favourite of the trio. It essentially works in a very similar way to Filmmaker Mode on other TVs – Sony famously refuses to put Filmmaker Mode on its models, instead offering its own Professional picture mode – by applying picture settings that best provide an “as the director” intended picture performance.

Picture

Sony has to justify this backlit TV's expense for it to stand above its self-emissive OLED competitors, and, for the most part, the Bravia 7 II does a pretty good job. This is easily one of the best backlit TVs we’ve ever tested, but it’s not completely picture perfect.

We put the TV through its paces using our thorough product testing procedures; we’ve hooked up our reference 4K Blu-ray player to the TV and raided our library of 4K discs, and we have two comparison TVs on hand to judge the Bravia 7 II against. The first is a lower-priced mid-range OLED, and the second is Sony’s very own Bravia 9 II – the step-up model in Sony’s new True RGB range.

We’ll start with the positives as there are many of note. As a whole, the Bravia 7 II delivers much of what we like from Sony’s other recent televisions, in part thanks to Sony’s excellent picture tuning.

There is a suitable sense of balance and subtlety to the image, ensuring colours are presented with punch and saturation without verging into overblown territory. Foliage in Civil War appears pleasantly verdant without inching into highlighter-green, and a golden sunset appears appropriately rich and warm.

Sticking with Civil War, we find motion handling to be particularly impressive. Sony has long excelled in this area, and the Bravia 7 II continues that tradition. Camera pans are smooth and composed without drifting into the soap-opera effect, while fast-moving objects such as the jets flying over the Charlottesville military camp remain clean and well defined. The Bravia 7 II can't quite match the near-instantaneous response of OLED, but we rarely find ourselves distracted by blur or judder during films.

Most impressive, though, is the solidity and depth on display here. Sony is renowned for capturing three-dimensional depth via the Bravia XR Processor’s ability to analyse the focal point of the image, and generate depth information around it. This system is utilised excellently on the Bravia 7 II, as evidenced when we watch the Matera sequence in No Time To Die.

As Bond crosses a bridge towards a cemetery, there is a tangible sense of solidity that we rarely see in non-OLED TVs, and the backdrop of the Italian vista seems to stretch far into the horizon. These combine to greatly aid immersion, resulting in an image that draws us in with ease.

The general sense of nuance and sophistication extends to how the Bravia 7 II manages its backlight. When this TV is in its element, it becomes possible to forget that this is a backlit TV, as the RGB Mini LED system doesn’t distract or detract from the experience.

This extends to general blooming control, which is extremely impressive by prevailing standards. In a shot from Oppenheimer in which the nuclear bomb testing site is lit up at night by a series of spotlights, we find that the halos of light that we’ve seen time and time again on other backlit TVs have been strictly confined. There is still a very faint amount of blooming, but this is leagues ahead of other LCD TVs that we’ve recently tested.

However, it’s unfortunate that the Bravia 7 II does fall behind the OLED competition when it comes to contrast. Those spotlights don’t punch through with much vigour, resulting in highlights looking rather flat and dull.

This is also evident in the introduction of Alien: Romulus, as the TV is evidently dulling the pinpoint stars to maintain the integrity of the black backdrop of space.

Comparing this with a cheaper OLED, we find a night-and-day difference, as the inky black depths of space contrast wonderfully with focused pockets of brightness.

Furthermore, the introduction of Blade Runner 2049 reveals a strange colour volume issue with darker content. The black background — which, we should note, is still a very dark shade of grey on this TV — and text seem to battle, with the normally vibrant red “replicants” word showing as more of a greyish-pink.

As the text continues line-by-line, the TV seems to really struggle with colour consistency, as the white text fades into shades of peach and grey, worsening with each line of text that appears.

We suspect that this challenging scene is tripping up the RGB Mini LED backlight and, more importantly, the algorithm that deduces where to place highlights and colours, resulting in a form of colour bleeding that influences the surrounding text.

It's worth noting that the Bravia 9 II exhibits very similar behaviour, too, suggesting that this is currently a characteristic of Sony's implementation of RGB Mini LED rather than an isolated issue with the Bravia 7 II. We also find that the Bravia 9 II delivers punchier highlights, which tracks with its higher overall brightness capabilities — but you can find out more about that TV in our separate review.

Viewing angles could also be better. While our OLED reference retains colour purity and detail when we look at it from wider angles, the Sony washes out when we move past a point that’s not all that far from the “sweet spot”.

This is, ultimately, where we have to acknowledge that while the Bravia 7 II is a very good backlit TV, it’s still subject to some of the inherent drawbacks of LCD technology.

You can pick up a very capable OLED for similar or, in many cases, less money than the Bravia 7 II, which affords you better sharpness, perfect contrast and zero blooming.

Sound

Sony’s entire Bravia TV lineup, from the flagship Bravia 8 II to the three-star Bravia 3, have all fared well when it comes to sound. Despite this, Sony seems to have taken a different approach with the Bravia 7 II, and it's a step backwards rather than a step forwards.

Dipping back into Civil War, we find that while there is a good sense of clarity and detail, the sound system seems to struggle dynamically. It all sounds quite forward and a touch shouty, with voices also missing a touch of tonal variety and subtlety.

Blade Runner 2049’s famously difficult chapter two sequence, meanwhile, is often handled in a very specific way by Sony TVs; they tend not to dig too deep into the bass (while still dealing a decent-enough dose of low-end punch) as to avoid any sort of obvious distortion.

It’s a tradeoff that we think has worked particularly well, but it seems as though Sony has tried something new with the Bravia 7 II. Bass feels more present here, but it also comes across as quite hollow and lacking in rhythmic timing or tonal variety. The tense build-up of chapter two instead feels a bit flat as a result.

Swapping in Sony’s Award-winning Bravia 8 II, which employs an actuator-based sound system, we find that everything sounds more natural and directional, with bass sounding more controlled.

We’ll apply our usual advice here and recommend pairing the Sony Bravia 7 II with a soundbar or surround sound system if you are planning on picking one up.

Verdict

Sony’s step-down RGB Mini LED TV is a compelling backlit TV in many ways. The company’s excellent picture processing is clearly on display, and the new panel technology really does help to rectify some of the shortcomings that come with “traditional” Mini LED.

However, you’ll notice that we’re singling out the fact that this is, at the end of the day, a backlit TV. While Sony has worked hard to try to make us forget that by minimising blooming and making black depths more convincing, there are certain OLED-specific qualities that the Bravia 7 II can’t quite match.

While we wouldn’t consider this to be an issue if Sony had positioned this TV as a cheaper alternative to OLED, the fact of the matter is that you can get a better-equipped OLED TV for less money.

If you’re totally against OLED, then the Bravia 7 II is probably one of the best backlit TVs we’ve tested, but for most people, the performance doesn’t quite feel representative of the price tag.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 3
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the LG C6

Also consider the Sony Bravia 8 II

Read our TCL C8K review

Best TVs: flagship OLEDs and budget Mini LED sets tried and tested

It’s finally here. After roughly 18 months of teases, demos and hands-on sessions, Sony’s flagship RGB Mini LED is in shops and in our test rooms.

The Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II are what Sony refers to as ‘True RGB’ TVs – an attempt by the brand to elevate its RGB Mini LED models above the flood of rivals they're facing, while suggesting that those competing implementations aren't quite as sophisticated.

Sony’s ambitions here are huge. The Bravia 9 II sits above the exceptional, Award-winning Bravia 8 II in the brand’s range, with an even higher price than the non-RGB Mini LED Bravia 9 it replaces. It’s also more expensive – at least in 65-inch guise – than the new flagship OLEDs recently launched by Sony’s rivals.

In other words, while Sony might skirt around the term “OLED-killer” when describing the Bravia 9 II, the pricing makes that claim loud and clear.

Can a backlit TV – even a ‘True RGB’ one – really match or surpass the best OLED TVs ever made?

Price

The 65-inch version of the Bravia 9 II that we’re testing is priced at £3499 / $3600 / AU$5999.

That’s a full £500 / $300 more expensive than the 65-inch version of the Bravia 9 (which didn’t make it to Australia) was at launch.

It’s also £500 more expensive than the Bravia 8 II QD-OLED was when that launched last year, and more expensive than brand-new flagship OLEDs such as the LG G6 and Samsung S99H.

While much has been made of the potential of RGB Mini LED technology to offer larger TVs at lower prices than prohibitively expensive, hard-to-manufacture super-sized OLEDs, even the 85-inch Bravia 9 II is either quite similarly priced, or the same price, as the 83-inch versions of those Samsung and LG OLEDs.

The new technology has, though, enabled Sony to also offer the Bravia 9 II in an astonishingly huge 115 inches. Unsurprisingly, this gigantic TV has an equally gigantic price tag – £22,999 / $31,000 / AU$44,999.

Of course, launch prices are just a snapshot in time. The Bravia 9 II’s aforementioned rivals have already received their first discounts, and it probably won’t be full price itself for long. Still, the launch pricing tells us a lot about where Sony is pitching its True RGB flagship.

Design

Sony hasn't played it safe with the Bravia 9 II's design, which is unlike that of any other TV currently available.

Its defining feature is a new Mirage Stand, which at first sounds rather gimmicky but proves remarkably effective in practice. A subtly tinted transparent panel connects two slim metal uprights to a broad rectangular base, but from your normal viewing position, that panel is so inconspicuous that the TV almost appears to float just above your furniture.

Better still, while you can still see the surface beneath the TV and the wall behind it through the panel, the cables routed through the stand somehow disappear from view entirely. Clever stuff.

On the other hand, though, the Mirage Stand can be installed in just one position, which leaves space for a soundbar. There’s no option to lower the TV if you’re not using a soundbar.

The stand largely defines the Bravia 9 II's appearance, too. Unlike the understated elegance of the Bravia 8 II, Sony's flagship RGB Mini LED set makes much more of a statement. Combined with the chunky cabinet that's necessary to house its advanced backlight and speaker system, it has a substantial visual presence that won't appeal to everyone, but there's no doubting the quality of the execution.

Thick though the Bravia 9 II is, the rear panel is completely flat, making wall-mounting pleasingly neat, while the overall build quality is excellent. This is every bit the premium product you'd expect from a flagship Sony TV.

Another interesting design choice is the anti-reflective screen coating. It's among the most effective we've encountered, dramatically reducing reflections and making the Bravia 9 II particularly well suited to bright living rooms.

The trade-off is that the panel has a noticeably more matte finish than the Bravia 8 II, which itself has a matte coating. When switched off – or when displaying very dark scenes in a typically lit room – it doesn't look quite as deep black as its OLED sibling, instead taking on a slightly greyer appearance.

Whether that's a worthwhile compromise will depend largely on your viewing environment and which side you’ve picked in the matte vs glossy war, but our reviewers broadly feel that the LG G6’s anti-reflection coating – which reduces reflections a little less effectively than the Bravia 9 II but has a black-preserving, glossy finish – is the current leader in this area.

Sony has also introduced a new premium remote control. It's slightly larger and more ergonomically shaped than the one supplied with other Bravias of the last few years, and it features automatic backlighting. The layout remains intuitive, too, with the Sony Pictures Core shortcut moved above the navigation pad and the old Menu button replaced by a shortcut to Sony's new My Cinema interface.

Ultimately, the Bravia 9 II is a TV whose practicality is every bit as impressive as its styling is distinctive. The Mirage Stand won't be to everyone's taste, but it's one of the cleverest and most effective pieces of industrial design we've seen in quite some time.

Features

The Bravia 9 II's headline feature is, of course, its RGB Mini LED backlight.

Unlike conventional Mini LED TVs, which use a white backlight shining through a colour filter layer, the Bravia 9 II instead uses independently controlled red, green and blue Mini LEDs to generate colour directly.

Sony argues that this is only half of the story, though. Equally important is the sophisticated Backlight Master Drive system that controls those LEDs. After all, a Mini LED TV is only as good as its backlight processing – and history tells us that Sony knows a thing or two about that.

The 65-inch model we're testing here features 1530 local dimming zones, and Sony claims significant gains in both peak brightness and colour volume over the Bravia 9 that it replaces – and even more so over the Bravia 8 II QD-OLED.

In fact, Sony goes as far as claiming that True RGB is a “best of both worlds technology”, and that the Bravia 9 II is designed to match the “intent and peak brightness of the BVM-HX3110” mastering monitor.

This comparison with the mastering monitor is crucial to the Bravia 9 II’s very existence. According to Sony, its aim is to deliver a home viewing experience that matches what the content creators signed off in the studio. The brand feels that the brightness offered by Mini LED over OLED is vital to this, and that the RGB element is essential to deliver the colour range and accuracy that neither standard Mini LED nor OLED can match.

The Bravia 9 II also introduces Sony's new My Cinema interface, which is designed to simplify picture and sound settings without taking meaningful control away from enthusiasts.

Accessed via the dedicated three-dot button on the remote, My Cinema offers three viewing profiles: Director's Cut, Daytime and Dialogue. As their names suggest, these prioritise faithful reproduction, improved daytime visibility and clearer speech, respectively.

Perhaps the cleverest thing about My Cinema is that it deliberately limits some of the available picture adjustments. In Director's Cut mode, for example, non-Dolby Vision content (which is delivered in Dolby Vision Dark) is automatically presented in the Professional picture preset, preventing users from accidentally drifting away from Sony's intended reference settings.

We do, however, have one small criticism. While the Daytime profile defaults to the Standard Bright picture preset, it also allows you to switch to Standard, Professional or IMAX Enhanced. The Cinema preset isn't available within the Daytime profile at all, though, despite being the obvious choice for anyone wanting a slightly brighter but still authentic presentation. Hopefully, Sony will rectify this in a future software update.

Elsewhere, the Bravia 9 II offers the premium smart TV experience we've come to expect from Sony.

Google TV still isn’t quite as slick as LG’s webOS or Samsung’s Tizen, but it remains a very capable smart platform. Set-up via the Google Home app is refreshingly quick and straightforward, and the TV has Google Gemini built in, complete with far-field microphones for hands-free voice control.

App support is excellent, too. Of the 34 streaming and media apps on our usual checklist, only Apple Music and the Xbox and Amazon Luna game-streaming services are absent. Sony includes YouView, too, to overcome Google TV’s usual blind spot where UK catch-up apps are concerned, and there’s a PS Remote Play app so you can play PlayStation games via the TV even if your console is in another room.

Just as importantly, every app that should support HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision and/or Dolby Atmos does so correctly, and Sony's Studio Calibrated modes continue to provide optimised picture settings for services such as Netflix, Prime Video and Sony Pictures Core. The TV is IMAX Enhanced-certified, too.

The Bravia 9 II’s audio hardware is unusually ambitious. Rather than hiding its speakers along the bottom edge as most TVs do, Sony arranges almost the entire speaker array in a horizontal line around the middle of the rear of the chassis, with only the Beam Tweeters positioned higher up. The idea is to anchor dialogue and effects closer to the centre of the screen, making the sound appear to come more naturally from the picture itself.

The Acoustic Multi-Audio+ system comprises eight speaker units in total, including two full-range drivers, twin subwoofers, two tweeters and a pair of Beam Tweeters, driven by a claimed 80W of power. Those Beam Tweeters are designed to create a greater sense of height and improve the placement of effects.

Pair the TV with one of Sony's latest Bravia sound systems and the integration becomes even slicker, with audio settings incorporated directly into the TV's interface and full control available through the Bravia Connect app.

Acoustic Centre Sync is also supported, allowing the TV's speakers to work alongside those of compatible Sony sound systems, though our experience with the feature has been mixed enough over the years that we'd recommend experimenting rather than simply assuming it's the best option for your particular set-up.

Picture

One of the highest compliments we can pay Sony's flagship RGB Mini LED is that, for the vast majority of the time, you simply stop thinking about how it's producing its picture and instead become immersed in what you're watching. For a backlit TV, that in itself is a deeply impressive trait.

But there’s also one particular way in which the Bravia 9 II surpasses every other TV we’ve tested: colour.

Quite simply, the Bravia 9 II produces the finest colours we've ever seen from any TV. Richly saturated scenes burst with vibrancy, but never at the expense of authenticity. Sony has combined extraordinary colour volume with its traditional restraint, so even the boldest hues remain beautifully balanced and believable. It's a wonderfully cinematic presentation that constantly impresses without ever shouting for attention.

That balance is particularly evident in Pan, where the dazzling fantasy palette of Neverland looks gloriously rich while still feeling entirely natural. Likewise, the vivid oranges and blues of Captain Marvel have exceptional intensity without ever becoming gaudy or oversaturated.

Bright colours retain their richness where many TVs begin to wash them out, too, and there’s impressive vibrancy right down into the deepest shadows. This top-to-bottom consistency is one of the Bravia 9 II’s greatest strengths.

Brightness, too, is undeniably exceptional.

During our early preview of the Bravia 9 II in Tokyo, Sony demonstrated the TV reaching around 4000 nits in its Professional picture preset, and in action, this is clearly one of the brightest TVs we've ever tested.

Crucially, unlike an OLED, Sony’s RGB Mini LED flagship’s immense brightness isn’t limited to small highlights. Where OLED technology inevitably has to reduce brightness during large, bright scenes, the Bravia 9 II can maintain its extraordinary light output across the entire screen if required.

The white room scenes in The Matrix provide a perfect demonstration. While the Bravia 8 II inevitably has to reduce its overall brightness as the dazzling white fills the screen, the Bravia 9 II simply keeps pouring out light. It's one of the clearest examples of RGB Mini LED's tangible advantage over OLED.

That brightness also gives the TV impressive versatility. Those seeking faithful movie reproduction will be best served by Professional mode, but Standard takes greater advantage of the Bravia 9 II's immense light output without straying too far into artificiality. Vivid, meanwhile, is best avoided altogether, pushing colours and brightness so far that the resulting picture bears little resemblance to the director's intent.

The additional brightness also makes the Bravia 9 II particularly appealing for bright-room viewing. Modern flagship OLEDs such as the Bravia 8 II are already bright enough for the vast majority of living rooms, but those with especially sunlit spaces will appreciate the RGB Mini LED's enormous brightness headroom and superb anti-reflective screen.

Colours and brightness aren’t the Bravia 9 II’s only qualities, though.

The Batman demonstrates just how accomplished Sony's local dimming system has become. Black levels are superbly deep for a backlit TV, blooming around white and coloured highlights is virtually non-existent and, perhaps most impressively of all, the backlight goes quietly about its work while almost never drawing attention to itself through obvious brightness shifts or flickering.

Civil War showcases Sony's typically exceptional processing, combining natural skin tones, outstanding detail and wonderfully controlled motion into a picture that's both cinematic and effortlessly watchable.

All of this adds up to what is, quite simply, the best picture we've ever seen from a backlit TV.

And yet...

Comparisons with Sony's own Bravia 8 II reveal that even this exceptional implementation of RGB Mini LED still can't quite match the fundamental strengths of OLED.

The Bravia 9 II's local dimming system is extraordinarily accomplished, yet it still can't quite replicate the pixel-level precision of OLED. The result is a picture that looks just a touch flatter than the Bravia 8 II's. Objects don't separate from their backgrounds with quite the same solidity, and scenes lack just a little of the three-dimensional depth and effortless dynamism that OLED consistently delivers.

Perhaps counterintuitively, OLED also retains an advantage with bright highlights against very dark or black backgrounds. Sony's Mini LED TV is understandably cautious in these situations, preserving its exemplary blooming control by stopping short of the intensity that the Bravia 8 II produces with bright white logos or isolated highlights.

Viewing angles remain another clear OLED advantage, too. The Bravia 9 II performs better off-axis than most backlit rivals, but colours and contrast still fade as you move away from the centre of the screen, and the otherwise well-hidden blooming is revealed.

There are, however, occasional moments that remind you the Bravia 9 II is still, ultimately, a backlit TV.

The opening text of Blade Runner 2049 remains its most obvious stumbling block. When the first word, “Replicants”, initially appears, it’s closer to grey than it is to the intended red, and as each new paragraph of white text fades in, the whole block briefly flashes a pale pink before settling down. Even then, the text never looks quite right: the white words near “Replicants” retain a faint pink cast, while the final red “Blade Runner” fades to grey as the rest of the words disappear, whereas it should remain a vivid red against the pitch-black background.

This is a highly unusual clip that challenges a TV in a way that 99 per cent of footage never will, but it proves that while the Bravia 9 II’s backlighting system is very impressive, it’s not infallible.

We also encountered one issue with the Bravia 9 II that warranted rather more investigation. During our testing, we consistently observed faint horizontal lines in a handful of Dolby Vision scenes, including parts of Sinners, across both UHD Blu-ray and streaming sources. The artefacts weren't visible when viewing the HDR10 versions of the same material, strongly suggesting an issue specific to the Bravia 9 II's Dolby Vision processing.

The lines are subtle enough that many viewers may never notice them, but once spotted, they can be difficult to ignore. Given their very specific behaviour, we'd hope this is the sort of issue Sony can resolve via a software update. It's important to stress, though, that this isn't the reason the Bravia 9 II misses out on five stars.

Gaming largely reinforces the conclusions we've already reached with movies. HDR titles such as Uncharted: The Lost Legacy look spectacular, with the Bravia 9 II delivering richer colours and greater brightness than the Bravia 8 II. Once again, though, the OLED's superior contrast gives the image greater solidity and depth, making buildings in the opening city sequence look more three-dimensional while revealing finer details, such as the freckles of the young shopkeeper, more readily.

The differences become more pronounced with SDR games. Call Of The Sea looks strikingly vibrant from the Bravia 9 II, but it's also a touch overbearing, with colours skewing richer and redder than we'd like and small white interaction prompts proving less distinct than they are on the Bravia 8 II. The OLED's more balanced presentation ultimately proves easier on the eye over longer sessions, despite looking a touch less immediately spectacular.

Motion, too, reveals one final weakness. There’s a slight smearing to fast-moving action and camera pans that's only occasionally visible with films but becomes much more noticeable in games, where higher frame rates and player-controlled movement make the effect more obvious, especially in comparison with the crisp responsiveness of OLED.

Ultimately, Sony has produced the finest backlit TV we've ever tested, and one that comes close to delivering OLED-like consistency while comfortably surpassing even the best OLEDs for brightness and colour volume. That said, a handful of flaws and relative deficiencies, while individually minor, collectively cost the Bravia 9 II its fifth star.

Sound

Sony has long been one of the few TV manufacturers to treat sound quality as more than an afterthought, and the Bravia 9 II continues that tradition with a presentation that's impressively large, spacious and immersive by TV standards.

The first thing that strikes you is the scale of the soundstage. Audio extends well beyond the physical boundaries of the TV, while Dolby Atmos soundtracks benefit from a genuine sense of height that's still rare from integrated speakers.

Watching Civil War, effects are placed with impressive precision around the TV, while the chaotic soundscape retains plenty of subtle detail rather than collapsing into a wall of noise.

It's an involving listen, too. The Bravia 9 II produces more weight than the Bravia 8 II, helping action scenes feel satisfyingly substantial.

That extra bass comes at a small cost, though. The deep synth notes at the start of chapter two of Blade Runner 2049 have plenty of depth, but they lack the tautness we'd ideally like. Rather than each note starting and stopping with real authority, the bass flaps somewhat, robbing those bassy effects of some of their intended impact.

The Bravia 9 II also falls just short of the Bravia 8 II when it comes to refinement. Dialogue remains consistently clear, but voices aren't projected with quite the same focus or solidity as they are by Sony's flagship OLED. There's also a slight hardness to the presentation that occasionally makes speech sound a touch brash, softening some of the subtle emotional nuances in performances.

That slight lack of finesse extends to high-frequency effects, too. The rain falling onto the balcony in Blade Runner 2049 has a faint metallic edge that makes it sound a little more like static than falling water. It's a subtle trait that you'll rarely notice unless comparing TVs directly, but it does slightly reduce the sense of realism.

Ultimately, the Bravia 9 II delivers some of the most spacious and immersive sound we've heard from a TV, and many buyers will be perfectly happy relying on its integrated speaker system. It doesn't quite match the refinement of the Bravia 8 II, though, and a TV of this calibre still deserves to be partnered with a dedicated sound system if your budget allows.

Verdict

With the Bravia 9 II, Sony has pushed backlit TV technology further than ever before.

Sony's first flagship RGB Mini LED TV delivers the finest colours we've ever seen from a television, breathtaking brightness, and local dimming that's so accomplished you'll frequently forget you're watching a backlit display at all. Add excellent processing, immersive sound and a polished user experience, and this is probably the best backlit TV we've ever tested.

It's not perfect, though.

A handful of relatively minor issues – from the rare backlight hiccups and a peculiar Dolby Vision bug to slightly soft bass and some motion smearing with games – are disappointing in a flagship TV. More fundamentally, despite coming closer than any previous LCD set we've tested, the Bravia 9 II still can't quite replicate the solidity, consistency and pixel-level precision that make the very best OLED TVs so special.

That doesn't make the Bravia 9 II the wrong TV. In fact, if you regularly watch in an exceptionally bright room or simply prefer not to buy an OLED, Sony's flagship True RGB model should sit right at the top of your shortlist. For most buyers, though, the Bravia 8 II remains the more complete television. It's not quite as bright, but it's more consistently convincing, costs less, and ultimately delivers the better picture overall.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony Bravia 8 II

Also consider the Samsung S99H

Read our Hisense UR9 review

Best TVs: flagship OLEDs and budget Mini LED sets tried and tested

The size of the average UK living room is now just a third of what it was in the 1970s, according to a survey by LABC (a UK representative body for local council building inspectors). Of course, as living space constricts, so does the amount of room being allocated to hi-fi set-ups.

That’s where speakers like the Dali Sonik 5 come into play. With a compact design and a price of £899 / $1800 / AUS$1749 – just shy of the current Award-winning Fyne Audio F501E at £999 / $1299 / AU$1999 – these Dali floorstanders strike a pleasing balance between convenience, cost and quality.

The new series of Sonik speakers replace the discontinued and much-loved Oberon range, making the Sonik 5 the successor to the five-star Oberon 5. A tough act to follow, given the multiple What Hi-Fi? Awards under its predecessor’s belt.

On inspection, the apple doesn’t seem to have fallen far from the tree between these models, with similar dimensions and driver configuration. But the question is, will these new floorstanders throw down the gauntlet or leave us reminiscing about the good ol’ days?

Build

The Dali Sonik 5 are compact two-way towers, with fairly diminutive dimensions of 82.6 × 16.2 × 27cm (hwd). Their petite size means these speakers never dominate visually and will fit seamlessly into most spaces.

The internally braced MDF cabinets are clad in high-grade laminate and come in four finishes: natural oak, white, walnut and black ash. On our test pair, the walnut finish looks convincingly wood-like and complements the clean front panel cosmetics well, making it look notably more modern than the Oberon 5.

In terms of drive units, there are two 13cm mid/bass drivers loaded with a rear port, and a 29mm soft dome tweeter. The mid/bass diaphragms use Dali’s trademark mix of fine-grain paper pulp reinforced with wood fibres, which the company claims provides rigidity, good damping and light weight.

The drive units employ Dali’s patented SMC (Soft Magnetic Composite) technology in the motor system to reduce distortion, which should help with optimising detail, transparency and dynamics.

All three drivers are linked through a single-wired two-way crossover, resulting in a sensitivity of 88dB/w/m and nominal impedance of 6 ohms – identical to the Oberon 5. These are typical figures, and shouldn’t cause any problems when paired with decent, price-compatible amplifiers. That said, Dali recommends pairing it with an amplifier with a power rating of 30-150 watts.

Compatibility

In terms of positioning, we find the Sonik 5 sound best facing straight ahead, with a gap of at least 0.8m from our testing room’s rear wall. When angled in, the sound is a little narrower and brighter than we would like. Positioned too close to the wall, the bass starts to dominate.

If you are listening at close range – say, closer than two metres – then it’s likely that the tweeter will be well below your ear height. In which case, we recommend tilting the speakers slightly upwards, so that the tweeter axis lines up with your ears. If your listening position is further away from the speakers, this becomes less of an issue.

In terms of partnering electronics, we found the Dali speakers coped well with similarly priced separates. We got good results from both five-star Arcam A15+ and Naim Nait XS 3 stereo amplifiers.

For the bulk of this test, we were streaming hi-res tracks using the Naim Uniti Atom Headphone Edition music streamer, or playing compact discs from the Cyrus CDi CD player.

Sound

After giving the Sonik 5 a few days to settle in, we find ourselves thoroughly impressed by their performance. With an intricate and highly musical sound, these speakers are versatile, proving themselves a serious contender across genres.

Listening to Nude by Radiohead, we enjoy powerful but pleasingly tight bass for the speakers’ small size, vivid textural details across the frequency range, and a musical presentation that conveys each of the instruments with good separation, allowing their individual tonal qualities to shine through. At a similar price, the larger Fyne F501E produce deeper bass, but sacrifice a degree of precision in the process.

While listening to Johnny Cash’s I Won’t Back Down, backing harmonies have a pleasant, airy quality, while Cash’s voice holds its own in its chesty, elderly bass. Most impressively, his vocal remains crystalline, occupying centre stage with an eerily lifelike presence.

Dynamically, the Sonik 5 are responsive. We find that the decay of certain notes, dynamic swells and subtle ebbs in volume are all conveyed with a faithfulness that outperforms both the Oberon 5 and the Fyne F501E. No mean feat.

Dali’s speakers are not traditionally shy when it comes to treble, but with such refined textures and an ability to sparkle without veering into shrill territory, the manufacturer’s boldness has, once again, earned our respect.

Their midrange is another highlight, evoking palpable humanity and emotion from voices as varied as Tom Jones and Martha Wainwright. We enjoy the texture and natural warmth that the Sonik 5 reveal in vocal performances across our music collection.

Rhythmically, these speakers are highly adaptive, with the capacity to maintain a musical sense of momentum, even when faced with the raucous rhythms of Elvis Costello’s 20% Amnesia. But they cope just as well with the subtle undercurrents of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, Pt. III – Pursuance.

These Dalis work well with classical recordings, too. Listening to Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 3, the cello’s delicate texture is preserved even when it plays incredibly quietly, as it does for extended periods in the piece. When the symphony swells to its dramatic climax, the scale and depth of field conveyed by the Sonik 5 leave us feeling the music to our very core.

The Sonik 5 maintain a stable stereo image, which by price standards is precise and well focused. Symphony No. 3 allows the speakers’ stereo image to shine, highlighting their layered soundstage, which retains focus and precision, even in dense arrangements.

Verdict

With a pleasingly compact size and excellent sound, we think the Dali Sonik 5 will make a superb addition to any home set-up, especially if you’re working with small spaces.

Provided you are willing to take some time to set them up carefully, these floorstanding speakers have plenty to offer, with a sound that transcends their dimensions.

Review published: 8th July 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Compatibility 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Fyne Audio F501E

Also consider the Dali Oberon 5

Best floorstanding speakers 2026: budget to premium models tested by our experts

What do you think of when you hear the word “liberty”? Perhaps the triumphant motto of the French Revolution which pledged liberty, equality and fraternity for all, or perhaps the Statue of Liberty with her torch aloft welcoming newcomers to New York via Ellis Island? The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, perhaps, or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance if you’re into your black and white Westerns?

You may not think of a pair of mid-price wireless earbuds, but could that be about to change? The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro are already imbued with a certain grandeur by virtue of their very name, but a name alone does not make a pair of earbuds.

Anker’s sub-brand Soundcore must face off against the likes of JBL and Sony to make a dent in this mid-range field, and while this isn’t the most densely populated segment of the wireless earbuds landscape, there are still a handful of hurdles for the Liberty 5 Pro to overcome.

Price

At £150 / $170 / AU$280, the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro are committedly mid-range wireless earbuds. For this kind of money, the JBL Live Beam 3 can be yours for around £120 / $150 / AU$150, while the more affordable and Award-winning Sony WF-C710N can be picked up for £75 / $80 / AU$128 at the time of writing.

The likeable Apple AirPods 4 with ANC, conversely, sit around the £179 / $179 / AU$299 mark.

Build & comfort

Hooray, a pair of wireless earbuds that fit snugly and securely in our ears! This isn’t faux surprise or mock celebration: it’s remarkable the number of in-ear headphones – wired or wireless – that fall at what should be the most basic of hurdles.

We rarely have such an issue with the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro. The mid-range contenders use a similar configuration to the more premium Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), with an outer stem attached to a main body accompanied by top-mounted fins designed to sit under the ear’s inner ridge and facilitate a more stable fit. Those fins are fixed to the buds directly, however, so it’s something of a one-size-fits all arrangement.

They may be small, but the difference they make is profound. Those fins are firmer than the ones found on the second-gen Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2, but in acting as an anchor to keep your buds in place, they really do the trick. We took the Liberty 5 Pro to the gym and even on a short 5 kilometre run, and not once did they come loose or make a bid for freedom.

During everyday use, the Liberty 5 Pro are easy to get along with. Their silicone ear tips fit snugly and securely, yet it isn’t often that we feel fatigued by the buds as we clock up the minutes of wear. Better still, Soundcore has been kind enough to offer five tip sizes ranging from XXS to large, so you’re likely to find a set to suit your needs, and there is an ear-tip test on the app to further help you on your journey to achieving a decent seal.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the Liberty 5 Pros’ charging case, which uses a narrow front-mounted screen to display your buds’ vital statistics. The idea of a smart screen that essentially does the job of a companion app on your phone can be a bit of a divisive one, but we do appreciate being able to see our buds’ battery life at a mere glance.

Features

If you want something that will last and last, the Liberty 5 Pro’s battery life is decent, but they aren’t quite the Duracell Bunny of the mid-range earbud world. You’ll get around 6.5 hours from the buds and up to 28 hours total from the case with noise cancelling switched on, falling short of the 9-10 hours (buds) and 48-hour total of the rival JBL Live Beam 3.

Even the cheaper Sony WF-C710N squeeze around 8.5 hours from the buds and 30 hours with the case in play, leaving the Soundcore earbuds lagging rather behind their main rivals.

The Soundcore buds support Dolby Audio with head tracking, something they implement with reasonable competence. Do be aware that switching on Dolby Audio will switch off Soundcore’s ‘AI Sound Enhancement’ algorithm, resulting in a modest but perceptible drop-off in audio quality as a result.

The Sony-developed LDAC Bluetooth codec is also on the menu, something we wouldn’t necessarily expect to find with a pair of earbuds at this price – the cheaper Sony WF-C710N, for example, don’t support it at all. Considering LDAC allows you to stream high-resolution audio streams up to 32-bit/96kHz at up to 990kbps data rates from a compatible source, that’s quite a feather in the Liberty 5 Pros’ cap.

Touch controls work well, with Soundcore’s system operating primarily via either a series of taps or swipes depending on what you want your buds to do. Our test pair are responsive to our various commands, and we’re particularly impressed by the levels of customisation on offer from the accompanying Soundcore app.

On the subject of the app, Soundcore’s is generally a good one. There are plenty of useful features, such as an eight-band equaliser, ANC mode toggling, touch control customisation, and a handy fit test, but some users might feel that some additions just get in the way, such as a ‘Discovery’ comments forum and a ‘Soundspace’ section filled with free meditations and various flavours of white noise. For us, such additions aren’t particularly necessary, although they may have their fans among users keen for an app with all of the bells and whistles.

Noise cancelling & voice calls

Soundcore has put a lot of effort into the Liberty 5 Pros’ voice calls, packing the buds with 10 sensors and powering it all with a new ‘Anker Thus’ AI chip, which draws on large audio datasets and uses a configuration whereby the chip’s CPU and memory are fused together for a more efficient and powerful performance when handling audio and calls.

Human speech is nicely spotlighted and impressively clear, although voices do sound a little artificial and robotic. The Soundcore earbuds do isolate speech admirably from environmental noise, so much so that traffic, wind and birdsong are barely audible as we natter away without distraction. The Sony WF-C710N sound more natural, but the Liberty 5 Pro have a cleaner presentation.

Noise cancelling is similarly capable. The Liberty 5 Pro keep up with their rivals as they suppress the general ambience of a busy cafe, making a decent fist of softening exterior noises if not completely eliminating them.

Higher frequencies, including some human speech or the clank of weights in a busy gym, will still penetrate through, as will the deepest of deep rumbles, but this isn’t a poor performance at this mid-price level. If you want a proper step up in terms of pure noise isolation, you’re going to have to spend more cash and seek out the premium Bose QC Ultra (2nd Gen) or the Sony WF-1000XM6 instead.

Sound

It’s been a reasonable showing thus far, but sound is ultimately where the race is won or lost, and it is here where the Liberty 5 Pro trip and stumble. From the outset, we’re impressed with the muscle and weight they bring to their respective renditions of Slipknot’s Left Behind and Nine Inch Nails’ As Alive As You Need Me To Be, but a lack of clarity and overall sonic precision limit the extent to which we’re truly involved in our music.

To their credit, we do get a sense of a pair of earbuds that are trying to entertain us. These aren’t bland or lifeless performers, with the Soundcore bringing enough robustness and power, especially at the lower end, to grant our tunes some proper wallop. Corey Taylor’s relentless performance on Left Behind is suitably ferocious, yet subtler quirks and vocal textures are lost amidst the earbuds’ somewhat clouded presentation.

Ultimately, there’s a lack of real refinement to go with all of that undeniable eagerness. The bass may be powerful, but it is both ill-defined and overdone, while a peakiness and lack of treble refinement haunts the upper frequencies. While doing a bit of tinkering with the provided in-app equaliser can help to rectify some of that excessive eagerness, it can’t do much to infuse any real quality into the resulting reproduction.

It’s an issue that really stands out whenever a track has plunging bass tones, which ultimately end up sounding amorphous, rumbly and lacking in sufficient definition. Boot up the opening of Noisettes’ Never Forget You or the first few bars of Agnes Obel’s The Curse, and you’ll hear what we mean.

A loose low-frequency reproduction is not the only issue. While the Soundcore buds do have decent weight and impact, they’re not as crisp or as well-disciplined as their rivals. The cheaper Sony WF-C710N are equally full-blooded, yet they have the punch, precision and propulsion to go with that muscularity. The C710N are a pro boxer’s powerful, clean leading jab; the Liberty 5 are a sloppy haymaker thrown on a booze-fuelled Saturday night.

The mid-range buds’ lack of rhythmic momentum is highlighted on tracks such as Ghost’s Satanized, during which a poor sense of timing and squashed dynamics conspire to make the whole thing sound both flat and sluggish. The JBL Live Beam 3 are better in both regards, while the supremely entertaining C710N are, frankly, streets ahead.

Verdict

Despite their secure fit and ample feature set, the Soundcore Liberty Pro don’t have the sonic talents to trouble the best mid-range buds. If sound quality is a priority, seek out the well-rounded JBL Live Beam 3 or the sonically superior (and cheaper) Sony WF-C710N instead.

Review published: 7th July 2026

SCORES

• Sound 3
• Features 4
• Comfort 4

MORE:

Read our JBL Live Beam 3 review

Also consider the Sony WF-C710N

Best wireless earbuds: 7 sensational pairs reviewed and rated by our experts

Is the humble compact disc about to experience a revival in the way vinyl records have enjoyed over the past few years? While there are some positive signs, we wouldn’t go that far just yet – but it is possible.

Perhaps more importantly, given that more than 200 billion CDs have been made since the format was launched in Japan in 1982, there remain plenty in circulation. There are many people, including us, who still have large CD collections and aren’t about to give them up any time soon.

In such circumstances, and if funds allow, you owe it to yourself to have a listen to the Gryphon Audio Ethos CD player. It is hugely expensive, of course, but shooting for the stars is never going to be a low-cost option.

Build & design

In the metal, this is a mighty impressive beast. We love that Gryphon Audio has been brave with the styling of the Ethos. The company could have easily made this into yet another rectangular box, but instead, it has chosen a striking triangular design that looks like little else on the market.

We like the sci-fi appearance and have something of a soft spot for top-loading CD player designs. There are practical issues with this kind of layout, though. The player can only be placed on the top shelf of your equipment rack, for example, but it also adds ritual to loading a CD that puts us in mind of using a turntable. That’s a good thing in our book.

The loading process is as follows. First, you raise the lid using the small gold lift bar on the attached arm, place the CD over the motor spindle, and then put a small magnetic puck over the centre to hold the disc in place. The lid is then lowered manually. Take care here, because its motion isn’t damped, so it can slam shut rather inelegantly. Gryphon provides a small coaster to place the puck on during the process, which is a thoughtful touch.

Once the lid closes, the Ethos’s transport whirs up to speed. While not overly noisy, it is still possible to hear the mechanism working even when we are a few metres away, something a conventional drawer-loading design would suppress better.

Overall build quality is excellent, just as we have come to expect from Gryphon. At this price, anything less would be unacceptable. The Ethos feels immensely solid and engineered to last decades. Fit and finish are straight out of the top drawer, too.

We even like the partnering metal remote. It is a small unit, but it sits well in the hand and is intuitively laid out.

Features & connections

As is fashionable, Gryphon’s engineers have allowed plenty of leeway for their customers to tweak this player’s sound. There are seven filter options for PCM and three for DSD music files. As is usual, these filters make subtle differences, and the best choice is down to taste and system matching as much as anything else. In our system, the Slow Roll-Off, Minimum Phase option works best for PCM. We left the Ethos on the default Filter 1 setting for DSD.

Then there are upsampling options, and the choice of whether the CD player processes the digital data stream in PCM or DSD. Once again, the differences are small, but we prefer the DSD option at the highest sampling rate. It sounds a touch more natural and fluid to us.

Lastly, there is a Phase-Invert switch. On the surface, this might sound like a fringe concern, but having come across recordings that have mistakenly been recorded out of phase, the ability to correct this allows the listener to enjoy a more focused presentation. It is a subtle effect, but in a transparent enough system, the benefits are clear.

This Gryphon doesn’t play SACD discs, so DSD recordings and high-resolution PCM can only be fed through the Ethos’s DAC via one of its digital inputs. It is equipped with BNC coaxial, AES/EBU and USB Type B connections, and is compatible with PCM files up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD512.

A pair of ESS Sabre ES9038Pro 8-channel DAC chips (one per side) work in full dual-differential, dual-mono mode, and sit at the heart of the Ethos’s digital module.

On the analogue output side, there are balanced XLR and single-ended RCA options. You will find the left and right channel outputs on opposite sides of the chassis, which is a result of Gryphon’s preferred dual-mono circuitry layout. This kind of arrangement tends to help stereo imaging and prevent unwanted interactions between the left and right signal paths, so improving overall performance.

Add fully balanced operation in both the digital and analogue circuits, something Gryphon has always done, and noise levels are even lower, leading to gains in dynamics and transparency.

Compatibility

The Ethos positively demands a top-class partnering system. We use our reference Burmester 088/911 MkIII pre/power combination driving a pair of ATC SCM50 speakers. We also try a pair of Fyne Audio F1-8 standmounters for a bit of variety. All cables are premium offerings from Chord Company and Vertere Acoustics.

The Ethos needs care in placement. A CD transport is a mechanical mechanism that is easily affected by external vibrations, so a level, rigid, well-damped support is essential.

Make sure it is absolutely level, too. This aspect is important, and Gryphon even provides a rather neat spirit level with the Ethos to help. The player has adjustable spikes that lock into place once everything is set. Such details matter.

Sound

We have long lived in a world where the standard 16-bit/44.1kHz CD specification has been seen as the minimum level of quality digital hi-fi, with hi-res PCM and DSD recordings being cast at the pinnacle of sound. The Ethos proves that there remains plenty of value in the original digital standard.

This player sounds natural in a way that still eludes most high-end music streamers we’ve come across, even if they are playing high-res music files. By natural, we don’t mean the kind of smooth and rich presentation some manufacturers engineer into their products to make them sound less ‘digital’.

Rather, Gryphon has gone for a subtle, unforced approach that rewards over the long term. It is a sound all about texture, physicality and body, rather than focusing on leading edges or the mechanics of the recording.

Play a large-scale classical piece such as Tchaikovsky’s Marché Slave Op.31, and the Ethos sounds wonderfully fluid, uncovering a massive amount of information, without sounding the least bit etched or clinical.

It conveys the scale of the orchestra superbly, delivering the music’s brutal crescendos with enthusiasm, while never losing its composure. We love this player’s sense of authority and its ability to organise the mass of information it uncovers into a cohesive and musical whole.

We can track low-level instrumental strands with ease, yet the Ethos’s sound also allows us to take a step back and just enjoy the spectacle. It is rare to hear a digital source component that combines insight with such a music-first attitude.

The player’s tonal balance is spot on. It is neutral without lacking in warmth and substance. No part of the frequency range stands out unnecessarily, and it all blends seamlessly to the extent that we have to work hard to split the presentation into distinct frequency ranges during analysis.

Stereo imaging is as crisp and precise as you like. We love the solidity of the presentation and the convincing way the Gryphon renders the depth of recordings (provided the recording has depth, of course). The soundstaging remains stable and locked in, no matter how complex the music gets. We find the control and grip of this player hugely appealing.

While the Ethos’s presentation is undeniably refined, there is no lack of bite when the music demands. Listen to Kendrick Lamar’s Humble, and we’re pleased to find that the Gryphon responds with plenty of attack and energy. The song’s bassline kicks with real power, and the player delivers rhythmic drive with conviction.

The story remains equally positive when we try out the player’s digital inputs. We use the digital outputs from our reference Naim ND555/555 PS DR music streamer, a Cyrus CDi and our MacBook Pro (loaded with Audirvana music software and plenty of high-res music), and regardless of source, the Ethos performs excellently.

While the sonic character of the digital inputs remains consistent with the player’s CD playback, the extra information of high-res files is easily heard. Yet, we don’t find going back to the humble compact disc any issue, so good does it sound. The Ethos sounds musically engaging and entertaining, regardless of the source.

Verdict

The Gryphon Ethos is an exceptional CD player. It is beautifully made and is a pleasure to use. While its price puts it out of reach for most people, we’re still glad it exists.

This player shows just what is possible with the original silver disc, and we suspect that it is way more than most people would imagine.

Review published: 6th July 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 5

MORE:

Also consider the Esoteric K-05XD

Best CD players: budget to premium options tested by expert reviewers

Our last experience of Burmester in a Porsche was the excellent audio system offered on the all-electric Taycan. We found it to be a big jump up in quality – indeed, a “night and day difference” was how we described it in our review.

Does the optional Burmester system have a similar impact on our ears in Porsche’s best-selling model, the Macan? We plugged in the newest all-electric variant and pressed play to find out.

Price

Your first rung on the optional sound-system ladder for the Macan is the Bose Surround Sound System, which costs £963.

If you want to step up to the more expensive Burmester 3D High-End Surround Sound System tested here, you are looking at a higher price tag of £2916.

System

For the money you get 21 speakers, 21 channels of amplification and 1470 Watts of power. In the front of the cabin you’ll find a trio of Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeters, which use ribbon diaphragms.

These are positioned on the top of the dashboard, with one tucked in each corner, and the third partnered with a midrange driver in the middle.

There’s a midrange driver and woofer in each front door and a full-range 3D speaker in the front A-pillars.

Each rear door gets a normal dome-tweeter, midrange driver and woofer, with a pair of surround tweeters and midrange drivers also positioned in the back, towards the rear parcel shelf.

In the boot, under the pull-up floor, is a 400W subwoofer which uses 400 watts of Class D amplification.

The processing modes you get with the system include Sound Enhancer which is designed to improve the sound of compressed music, while Auro 3D processing is there to help with immersiveness.

We would recommend having the sound enhancer turned on – we noticed a small, subtle lift in quality. When it comes to the 3D processing, we wouldn’t stray too far from the first couple of rungs on the ladder when you’re playing with the intensity.

We found it ok having some information coming out of those A-pillar speakers, but any more and it can result in a very messy and confused sound – the speakers start making their presence felt and not in a good way.

There is also an ‘Eco’ mode which crosses over from the Bose system and which we found delivered results that weren’t ideal for sound quality. To summarise, we found using the mode resulted in "a shrinking of scale, diminished dynamics and a more laid-back and less expressive sound".

Sound Modes

While some car systems offer a one-size fits all approach to the sound, with this Burmester option, you choose how to focus the sound in the car. Here you have the option of either ‘symmetrical’ or ‘driver’.

There’s nothing groundbreaking to see here; the former gives you more of an even spread of sound (which is going to be better when you have a car full of passengers) or you can create more of a focused stereo image for the driver, more akin to sitting in front of a pair of speakers.

If you’re the only person in the car, then it’s going to come down to a matter of taste as to which you prefer. Symmetrical gives you a fuller soundstage, pushes the soundfield back towards the windscreen and encourages a greater spread of sound. It sounds a bit more relaxed in its delivery.

Switch to the driver-focused setting and things tighten up. You are aware there is a shift of information from the far left of the cabin to a position much closer to your left ear.

This setting promotes a more up-front, focused sound, and places you more in your own private soundstage. It feels more as though you’re sitting in the sweet spot between a pair of speakers.

Your sound profile choices are Pure, Smooth and Live. Having experienced all three, we think there’s only really one choice. Pure delivers the best sound possible, and doesn't manipulate the signal in any way.

Smooth softens everything, to the point where music becomes less entertaining and more dull and subdued. There’s a real lack of clarity with frequencies at either end of the spectrum sounding rolled off.

Live boosts the top end, and makes music pop more than in Pure mode, but it uspets the balance and highs now sound splashy.

You also have bass and treble adjustment but no mid-range. We left both of these at '0' and left the fade/balance adjustment alone too.

Sound quality

Stick with the Pure setting and you’ll be treated to a hugely entertaining and lively sound. We start with a blast of Orpheus by Ash and the Burmester system gets off to a rock-infused, rhythm-driven start.

The track kicks off with a flurry of drum play and immediately gets you in the mood. The kick drum has impressive impact, and overall, there’s a real sense of energy that springs from the percussion.

Each thwack sounds precise and deliberate, and really helps to convey a sense of pace and speed.

There’s a real sense of drive to the track as it rolls along. Lyrics are delivered with vigour and verve, and there’s plenty of detail extracted.

We switch genres to some old-school soul in the shape of Sam and Dave’s Hold On, I’m Comin’ and the Burmester system does a great job of capturing the song’s funky delivery.

The vibe, detail and texture of the sax as it punches through the sound stage is impressive and showcases the system’s great dynamics. It’s backed up by the solid drum beat, and enthusiastic, expressive vocals which dip and soar in all the right places.

For a quick bass test, we move on to another classic test track of ours: Black Eyed Peas Let’s Get It Started, and the system throws an impressive amount of weight behind the track’s bassline. It’s punchy, powerful and agile. There’s no thick, treacle-like texture here – each note sounds clean and clear but not insubstantial.

During testing, we were fortunate to test it against the standard Bose Surround Sound System, and the Burmester was clearly better all-round. Yes it costs more, but we don’t think you should be in any doubt that opting for the Burmester will get you significantly better sound quality.

There’s much more of a spark to the sound. Music is more invigorating and the step-up system gets your foot tapping from the off. The Bose set-up lacks detail, definition and dynamics when compared with the Burmester, which is more capable and also more configurable.

Verdict

In our experience it can be very hard for a car sound system to sound fun to listen to. It sounds like a relatively simple requirement, but you might be surprised at how many we’ve tested that just fall flat; but not the Burmester 3D High-End Surround Sound System for the Porsche Macan.

Whatever you throw its way, this set-up takes it in its stride. It’s a hugely enjoyable listen worth all five of our stars.

MORE:

I used an Eco setting on a car audio system for the first time — and my worst fears were confirmed

I switched from Bose’s surround sound system to Burmester’s 3D hi-fi in the Porsche Taycan, and was blown away

I heard a Burmester hi-fi system bring Elvis back to life, and it blew me away

Samsung proved it could make an incredibly capable portable AV machine with the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

That handset introduced a truly groundbreaking picture upscaling feature, which directly addressed the shortcomings of streaming video on your smartphone; ultimately earning it a spot on our coveted annual What Hi-Fi? Awards list.

A year on, and Samsung is back with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which makes a few subtle tweaks to the Award-winning formula. While AI is still very much at the forefront of the S26 Ultra’s appeal in general, Samsung is also promising upgrades that should appease AV enthusiasts such as us.

However, with Apple and Sony nipping at its heels, can Samsung keep up the momentum and deliver another smartphone that you can dependably enjoy movies, TV shows and music on while you’re on the go?

Price

The Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at £1279 / $1300 / AU$1799 for the base 256GB configuration, although Samsung also offers 512GB (£1449 / $1500 / AU$2099) and 1TB (£1699 / $1800 / AU$2549) versions.

The first two options come with 12GB of RAM, whereas the 1TB is outfitted with 16GB.

Compared with the S25 Ultra, the base model is £50 more expensive here in the UK, the 512GB model is £100 more than the S25 Ultra, and the 1TB version is £150 more than last year’s model.

And looking at the wider smartphone market, the S26 Ultra has a few notable competitors. The Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max (which we haven’t reviewed yet, but stay tuned) starts at £1199 / $1199 / AU$2149, making it significantly cheaper. We have reviewed the standard iPhone 17 (£799 / $799 / AU$1399), and we thoroughly approve of its AV credentials.

If you don’t want to compare Apples to Androids, then the Sony Xperia 1 VIII (review also coming soon) has just launched at £1399 here in the UK, but it’s not on sale in the States or Australia.

Design

Samsung’s flagship has gone through a gradual transformation over the past few generations. The S23 Ultra featured a curved screen and sharp corners, the S24 Ultra flattened that screen, and the S25 Ultra smoothed out the corners for a nicer feel in the hand.

The S26 Ultra feels like yet another evolution while also retaining the design DNA of its predecessors, except for the aforementioned smoother corners and the slightly awkward smattering of camera lenses on the rear being now mostly housed on a raised “island”.

This looks neater, but it also means that the phone now rocks dramatically if you interact with the display while it’s lying flat on a table.

Another design quirk that’s more of an irk is Samsung’s decision to drop the durable titanium frame of the S25 Ultra and move back to an aluminium shell, which makes it feel slightly less premium than its predecessor.

Apple made the same move for the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, citing improved thermal efficiency as the primary driver behind the change.

Samsung has, at least, ensured that the S26 Ultra is sporting the latest and toughest version of its Armour Aluminium material, which can also be found on the Galaxy Z Fold 7. This is paired with Corning’s Gorilla Armour 2 display coating for better scratch and crack resistance, and Samsung’s excellent anti-reflectivity screen coating.

Samsung has also achieved its “thinnest Galaxy Ultra smartphone yet” with the S26 Ultra, as it has shaved the handset down to just 7.9mm from the S25 Ultra’s 8.3mm thickness.

Despite the thinner build and change in materials, the S26 Ultra is broadly the same weight as its predecessor, at 214g. That’s still pretty impressive for a device with a 6.9-inch display, and it doesn’t feel particularly unwieldy in the hand despite its size. That said, it's still a sizeable smartphone, and it likely won’t suit those with small hands.

Samsung is offering the S26 Ultra in a range of finishes, including Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, Black or White, as well as Silver Shadow and Pink Gold, which are both exclusive to its online store. Our review unit is the Cobalt Violet version, and we think it looks rather smart in this hue, which shifts from purple to a dark blue depending on how the light hits it.

Features

Strap in, this is going to be a long one.

Samsung is once again billing this smartphone as the ultimate feature-packed handset for power users, and that’s evident from the feature set. That being said, not a whole lot has changed since last year.

We’ll start with the glorious 6.9-inch Super AMOLED 2x Display, which is practically identical to that of the S25 Ultra. It features the same 3000 nits peak brightness, 3120 x 1440 resolution, 500ppi pixel density, HDR10+ support and a variable refresh rate of 1Hz-120Hz.

It does come with a few new tricks, including a privacy mode, which can block the display from off-axis viewing. This has been impressively achieved at a pixel level, and can be easily switched on or off for the whole screen, or even certain parts of the display, meaning you can look at sensitive information or input passwords without worrying about prying eyes.

More exciting for us is the upgraded ProScaler feature, which Samsung says uses a new algorithm for even sharper and richer upscaling of lower-resolution content. Once again, Samsung claims that its mobile division has worked closely with its TV arm to achieve this, and the results last year were excellent. Here’s hoping the new version is even better.

Furthermore, Samsung is touting an enhanced mDNIe (mobile Digital Natural Image engine) system with 10-bit data processing for colours. Samsung claims that this will allow for four times the precision and subtlety when it comes to displaying colours. This is music to our ears, as Samsung’s smartphone displays have traditionally leaned towards the more enthusiastic end of the scale when it comes to colour reproduction.

The audio capabilities of the S26 Ultra seem to be mostly identical to those of its predecessor – at least on paper. Unsurprisingly, there is no headphone jack (wired audio peripherals can be connected to the USB-C socket), and Bluetooth audio is supported via the Samsung Seamless Codec (SSC) and LE codec.

Dolby Atmos is once again supported via headphones, and the stereo speaker arrangement consists of the bottom-firing speaker and earpiece speaker.

On to the less AV-crucial features of the S26 Ultra. This handset uses the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gen 5 for Samsung processor. The ‘for Samsung’ suffix differentiates this from the standard Snapdragon Elite Gen 5 chipset found on other smartphones, as Samsung has customised it for supposedly improved performance.

As mentioned earlier, this is backed up by either 12GB or 16GB of RAM, depending on the storage configuration you choose; our unit is the base 256GB/12GB configuration.

In practice, the Galaxy S26 Ultra flies through the Android 16 software system, which is running Samsung’s customised One UI 8 skin on top.

Disappointingly, Samsung hasn’t upped the battery capacity of the Ultra, choosing to stick with the 5000mAh cell of the S25 Ultra. It does, however, benefit from some charging upgrades, including faster wired and wireless charging.

Samsung claims that the S26 Ultra can go from zero to 75 per cent in 30 mins via 60W wired charging, whereas wireless charging is now boosted to 25W. You will, of course, need to supply a supported fast charger to access these charging speeds.

While Samsung is selling a range of magnet-equipped accessories, including cases and power banks, oddly, the company has opted not to include the magnet ring in the handset itself for native Qi2 charging support.

Apple’s MagSafe and Google’s Pixel Snap features have been hugely popular for seamless accessory compatibility, so it feels as though Samsung is missing out here.

Samsung is still managing to impress when it comes to the camera specifications. The S26 Ultra features a very similar camera set-up to its predecessor, which is no shame to us.

The S26 Ultra sports four lenses in total. The 200MP main sensor is reportedly 47 per cent brighter for better night photography, while Samsung claims the 50MP telephoto zoom lens features a 37 per cent improvement over last year.

The 10MP 3x optical zoom lens now apparently features less noise and better HDR support, while the 50MP ultra-wide lens (which was updated on last year’s handset) seems to be the same.

Last, but by no means least, is Samsung’s extensive AI feature set. Samsung is billing this phone as “the easiest, effortless AI phone”, so you can bet that artificial intelligence is baked into most of the software.

The usual suite of Galaxy AI features is here, including Circle to Search, writing suggestions, auto-translate, and the Now Brief feature, which provides contextual information such as calendar entries, weather forecasts and news depending on your interests and time of day.

These are being joined by a generative AI photo-assistant tool, which can transform photos into different styles simply by typing in a prompt, and Now Nudge, which will provide intelligent auto replies based on information from other apps (such as your calendar or messages).

Finally, Samsung’s Audio Eraser feature, which is supported for video recording to isolate and remove background noise, is now available on video streaming apps, including Netflix. This essentially works like a dialogue enhancement mode on a TV or soundbar, as users can choose to soften or remove background noises in order to make voices sound clearer and more present.

Picture

Samsung has proven that it can apply its OLED TV expertise to its smartphone displays, as we likened last year’s S25 Ultra to the S95D QD-OLED TV. Having just reviewed the S99H, we can once again see a resemblance between Samsung’s flagship smartphone and TV.

We load Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max onto the handset to put its picture performance credentials to the test, and we have the Galaxy S25 Ultra on hand for a head-to-head comparison.

We’ve also made a couple of crucial changes to the picture settings, namely changing the resolution to 3120x1440/QHD+ (from the default 2340x1080/FHD+ resolution) and switching the colours from the vivid preset to natural.

With these settings dialled in, the S26 Ultra delivers a superbly crisp, contrast-rich, and three-dimensional image that isn’t far removed from its predecessor, but some subtle upgrades help make it even more cinematic.

Starting with The Batman on HBO Max, the phone serves up a visual treat during an establishing shot of the grimy Gotham streets. Bright digital signage contrasts wonderfully with the dimly lit city streets, and the tangible sense of depth and solidity to the image really sells the film's gritty, oppressive atmosphere.

The level of detail is also very impressive, most likely thanks to Samsung’s excellent ProScaler upscaling feature. The subsequent shot of an illuminated corner shop looks spectacularly rendered, with a level of sharpness and three-dimensionality that makes the 6.9-inch display feel hugely cinematic.

Moving on to the hectic race sequence from Ready Player One, we find that the motion niggles that caught our eye on the S25 Ultra are no longer noticeable. This frantic sequence is presented with excellent fluidity, and while we could describe it as slightly over-smooth, it doesn’t distract us from the bombastic action on screen.

This sequence also demonstrates how capable this phone is when it comes to handling contrast. The vehicle headlights, the beaming sun, and the floodlights that illuminate the track are shown with intense pockets of dazzling brightness.

Rounding out our testing with Wake Up Dead Man on Netflix, we find that the Samsung can sensibly deliver more natural-looking content, too. Colours here, including skin tones, foliage and clothing, all look well-balanced, and there is a slight increase in warmth and richness to these colours that, for the most part, don’t verge into oversaturation.

This sequence also demonstrates how capable this phone is when it comes to handling contrast. The vehicle headlights, the beaming sun, and the floodlights that illuminate the track are shown with intense pockets of dazzling brightness.

Rounding out our testing with Wake Up Dead Man on Netflix, we find that the Samsung can sensibly deliver more natural-looking content, too. Colours here, including skin tones, foliage and clothing, all look well-balanced, and there is a slight increase in warmth and richness to these colours that, for the most part, don’t verge into oversaturation.

What strikes us most is how a handful of fairly subtle picture upgrades take this smartphone to the next level. The extra degree of sharpness, more adept handling of highlights, improved motion, and superior contrast handling all culminate in a phone that feels like having a pocket-sized OLED TV.

Sound

Samsung smartphones have, in previous years, lagged behind the likes of Apple and Sony when it comes to nailing sound, but the S26 Ultra feels like another step in the right direction for the Korean tech titan.

Plugging in a pair of wired headphones via our trusty USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, we stream a handful of tracks over Apple Music in Lossless quality to assess how the S26 Ultra handles music.

Overall, the new phone sounds slightly crisper, cleaner and more detailed than its predecessor, and Samsung seems to have learned from its competitors in a few key areas.

Voices are, once again, at the forefront of the listening experience, with the Samsung digging up a greater sense of tonality and vocal characteristics compared to its previous flagship handset. The harmonies of Bon Iver’s For Emma sound layered and wonderfully detailed, while there is a greater sense of texture to the guitar strums throughout Mazzy Star’s Fade Into You.

Controversially, we also think that Dolby Atmos is well implemented for music here. The sense of space and openness introduced into Harry Styles’ Carla’s Song is impressive, and we feel as though it ties all of the aspects of the track together nicely. Usually, we’d recommend leaving this off, but Samsung’s implementation is surprisingly effective and doesn’t feel overly processed or vague-sounding.

However, despite a decent helping of audio upgrades, we still prefer Apple’s approach to audio. Plugging the same adapter and headphones into an iPhone 16 Pro reveals a warmer, better-organised sound with even more texture. We also find that the iPhone’s sound feels more full-bodied and better integrated, which highlights Samsung’s occasional tendency to sound a touch too direct and overexcited.

While the Samsung doesn’t get anything outwardly wrong, it needs to nail those final sonic subtleties to match its incredibly talented competitors.

We do approve of the S26 Ultra’s speakers, though.

The physical distance between the downward-firing loudspeaker and the earpiece at the top of the display (which combine to make a stereo speaker arrangement) results in a good sense of stereo separation. With Dolby Atmos switched on, this handset can create an impressively large and spacious cinematic sound, which is well-suited to big blockbuster action sequences, such as the aforementioned Ready Player One race.

Verdict

Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone might not be a game-changing upgrade compared with its Award-winning predecessor, but it's hard to argue that it hasn’t made some meaningful improvements to make it an even better smartphone for portable AV usage.

Contrast, detail levels and motion have all been improved, making this once again feel like a feature-packed, pocket-sized OLED TV. While Samsung could learn a thing or two from its competitors when it comes to musicality, this is another top-notch Android smartphone for those who prefer to watch their films and TV shows on the go.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Also consider the Sony Xperia 1 VII

Read our Apple iPhone 17 review

The best smartphones for music and movies

They say that you should never judge a book by its cover, and we think much the same applies to hi-fi components. Over the years, we have come across no end of impressively specified products that fail to thrill musically while seemingly prosaic alternatives shine.

What of the new generation Vertere Phono-1 LX? On the surface, little appears to be different on this premium phono stage, bar some cosmetic tidying of the casework. Perhaps, more surprisingly, there are no great claims for the inside either, with the basic circuit design remaining unchanged. So, it is natural to wonder whether the change to LX status offers anything meaningful.

Build & design

Delve into the details, however, and the development work put into this new generation phono stage becomes more obvious. The circuit may be the same, but the main PCB is of higher quality than before, ensuring better contacts at soldered joints and superior long-term reliability.

The performance of any hi-fi component is reliant on the quality of its power supply. Here, Vertere has upgraded components to deliver a more stable, lower noise feed to the audio circuitry. Even the mains power input has been improved by using inductors to reduce the amount of RF energy entering the unit.

Elsewhere, there is a new two-way earthing switch that is claimed to offer a longer service life than the three-way option fitted to the previous generation of Phono-1 MkII L, as well as simplifying the choice for listeners.

Given the hum issues that record players can suffer with, we’re glad Vertere continues to take grounding seriously and understands that a one-size-fits-all solution doesn’t really work in every situation.

As before, the Phono-1 LX is nicely made and pretty compact at 5.5 x 21 x 24cm. It should slot into any equipment rack with ease. This new generation model looks a little smarter than before, thanks to the new textured paint finish on the lid and the removal of the previous generation’s top panel securing bolts.

Put old and new side by side, and it is surprising just how much difference such small details make.

There are now four finish options for the front panel: black, silver, orange, and another black acrylic option styled to match the company’s DG-X record player.

Compatibility

The Phono-1 LX is compatible with both moving magnet and moving coil cartridges, having a gain range of 40-63dB selectable in 12 steps via a series of dipswitches on the base.

While this is enough for most cartridges on the market, if you do have a very low-output moving coil, Vertere has you covered. It is possible to order a high-gain version of this phono stage with an extra 6.4dB of gain at no extra cost.

As far as cartridge loading goes, this Vertere phono stage offers a generous range of resistance (78 ohms - 47kOhms) and capacitance (100pF - 1.02uF) options, so that it is possible to optimise the results from just about any price-comparable cartridge on the market.

Aside from the slight awkwardness of the small dipswitches – the company provides a tool in the box to make using them easier – the Phono-1 LX is about as straightforward as phono stages get in terms of usability.

On the back, there is a single set of connections, both input and output are single-ended, and a couple of earthing posts. The Vertere’s front has just a simple on/off toggle and a small power LED.

Given the price point, this Vertere deserves a top-class record player. For testing, ours is the Technics SL-1000R turntable with a choice of moving coil (Kiseki Purpleheart, Ortofon MC X30) and moving magnet (Vertere Dark Sabre, Nagaoka MP-200) cartridges.

The rest of our system is Burmester’s 088/911 MkIII amplifier and ATC SCM50 speakers. We also try a second, more price-appropriate set-up of PMC Cor integrated amplifier driving a pair of Epos ES-14N speakers.

Sound

We start by comparing the Phono-1 LX with its predecessor, the Award-winning Phono-1 MkII L, and it doesn't take long to realise that, despite sharing so much DNA, the new model is a clear step forward. Considering just how highly we rated the old one, this comes as quite a shock.

Regardless of the cartridge we use, the newcomer sounds more transparent and detailed. As we listen to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, it is hard to miss the improvement in clarity.

Instrumental textures are rendered more convincingly, and it is easier to grasp the scale of the orchestra and recording venue. There is little to criticise when it comes to control and composure, even when the music becomes demanding.

Stereo imaging is precise and nicely layered. We are pleased with the stability of the presentation and the Vertere’s ability to convey image depth in an authentic manner. Of course, the partnering record player has to resolve all this information in the first place.

The Phono-1 LX’s dynamics are stronger too, with the orchestra coming through with greater verve and impact, making for a more entertaining listening experience. We are surprised by how much more authority is on offer, with the new generation sounding considerably more solid and powerful through the midrange and lows.

These gains pay dividends when switching to Catch A Fire by Bob Marley & the Wailers. We enjoy the Vertere’s rhythmic drive and cohesion with this album, and the way it delivers Marley’s voice with such finesse and passion. The album’s basslines hit hard but display a pleasing amount of articulation and grip. In comparison, the last-gen version sounds thinner and more tentative.

The Phono-1 LX’s tonality remains convincing and refuses to skew too far off kilter at either frequency extreme when provoked. There is enough top-end refinement here to avoid things sounding aggressive, even with less-than-perfectly produced records, but feed the Vertere something well-recorded, such as Quincy Jones’ Back On The Block set, and it shines.

Verdict

The Phono-1 LX may look much the same as its Award-winning predecessor, but it has taken a notable step forward in performance. It is more expressive and pulls us into the music with even greater ease.

Provided you have a talented record player and a system capable of great transparency, this Vertere phono stage is an easy recommendation.

Review published: 1st July 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 5

MORE:

Also consider the Cyrus 40 PPA

Best phono preamps: budget to high-end, tried and tested

Most hi-fi enthusiasts have heard of the BBC-designed LS3/5A speakers. This tiny monitor was introduced in 1975 and has built a cult following thanks to its natural way with vocals and terrific stereo imaging. Given its small size and age, it will come as no surprise that it has limitations too, with restricted large-scale dynamics, an inability to play loud and limited bass reach, the most obvious.

The BBC also designed a bigger, more ambitious option, the LS5/9. It was released eight years after the LS3/5A and was intended to serve as a critical-listening monitor in modestly sized studios where the company’s bigger models just wouldn’t work. Its job was to allow the sound engineers to optimise all aspects of the broadcast/recording from microphone placement to overall sonic balance.

The BBC is a broadcaster rather than a speaker manufacturer, so as with its other designs, the LS5/9 is made under license by third-party companies such as Graham Audio. The Devon-based speaker manufacturer proudly proclaims its official licence on the packaging of these speakers.

Given that there are unofficial versions of this LS5/9 on the market, that seal of approval, at the very least, is a statement that the company has stayed faithful to the original design.

Design & build

The LS5/9 is a medium-sized, two-way monitor. It stands 46cm tall and has an internal volume of 28 litres, compared to the mere 5 litres of its smaller sibling. The front-ported cabinet follows the BBC’s favoured thin-wall construction method.

In this monitor, the enclosure’s panels are made of 9mm birch plywood and then heavily damped to move any resonances away from the all-important midrange region. Most current designs take the opposite approach, using thick panels that are more rigid but have resonances higher up the frequency range into areas where our hearing is more sensitive.

The LS5/9 is available in two standard hand-matched real wood veneers – cherry and oak – and three more premium options: ebony, rosewood and walnut. In a nod to modernity, Graham Audio has included magnetically mounted grilles for neatness.

Overall build quality is excellent. The oak veneer on our review sample looks lovely, while fit and finish are as good as the price point demands.

It isn’t possible to buy the original LS5/9 mid/bass unit, so Graham Audio, in partnership with Volt Loudspeakers, developed a new driver that complies with the BBC’s specifications. This 20cm polypropylene unit uses a rigid die-cast aluminium frame and has what is claimed to be a ‘massive’ motor assembly. Each driver is hand-assembled and tested by Volt.

OEM driver supplier, Audax, still manufactures the LS5/9’s official tweeter, and that’s what Graham Audio uses. This is an unusually large 34mm soft dome that is protected by a fearsome-looking metal grille.

Its output level is factory-set, but it can be tweaked to match your listening environment using exposed connections on the front panel. This involves moving a soldered wire between the three options (-1dB, 0dB (level) and +1dB), so it isn’t a particularly convenient thing to do. In most cases, we suspect that people will leave well alone.

The LS5/9’s crossover is relatively complex in design. It uses high-grade polypropylene capacitors and, unusually, a tapped autotransformer to equalise the tweeter level. The result is a sensitivity of 87dB/W/m and a nominal impedance of 8 ohms – pretty standard numbers for a speaker of this type.

Compatibility

Indeed, these speakers don’t prove particularly hard to drive. We try a range of amplifiers from Arcam’s A15+ and the Cyrus 40 AMP to our reference Burmester 088/911 MkIII pre/power without issue.

Our main sources are Naim’s ND555/555 PS DR music streamer and the Technics SL-1000R/Kiseki Purpleheart MC feeding a Cyrus Phono Signature/ PSX-R2 phono stage.

It pays to take care over speaker positioning. In our 3 x 7 x 5m listening room, the LS5/9 sound best around 70cm out into the room, angled in towards the listening position, though their controlled lows make a closer-to-wall position acceptable.

Once optimised, they provide a relatively broad listening sweetspot and their presentation remains impressively consistent as we move around the room. This trait points to great integration between the drive units and a well-calibrated crossover design.

These monitors are voiced to perform best with the grilles on, and they will sound a little bright and forward if you don’t use them this way. Aim to have the tweeter around ear height for the most balanced results.

Sound

Note, despite the age of the basic design, the LS5/9 speakers are highly revealing. If there are any shortcomings in your amplifier, source or the recording you play, they won’t be shy about telling you.

If you are at all familiar with the much more forgiving LS3/5A, that might come as a bit of a shock. Remember, the LS5/9 were designed as proper critical-monitoring speakers, and the LS3/5A were not; the ability to dissect recordings and highlight flaws further up the chain is the bigger speaker’s raison d'être.

Given their intended purpose in life, it comes as no surprise that the LS5/9 are even-handed and essentially neutral. They’re not massive boxes, so we wouldn’t expect seismic bass from them, and we don’t get it. But the lows they do produce are taut, articulate and dovetail seamlessly with the midrange.

As we play Kendrick Lamar’s Humble, it is hard not to admire the LS5/9’s insight into low-end subtleties and their ability to play loud without stress. Bear in mind the design’s age, it is even more impressive. The BBC’s original specifications stipulate 100dB monitoring levels, so the ability to play at high levels was baked in from the beginning.

Their midrange is another highlight. It is beautifully natural, conveying the likes of Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight with the passion and body they deserve. We love the unforced character of these speakers and the way they deliver so much detail without sounding artificially etched or aggressive.

Sure, that tweeter isn’t shy about revealing hard edges or brightness in recordings, but given a good enough signal, it remains decently refined and insightful.

Stereo imaging is another strength. As we listen to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, it is hard not to be impressed by the sense of dimensionality and scale. Instruments are placed with precision and refuse to blur as things get busier. We don’t find the soundstage especially spacious, though we do like the convincing way image depth is layered.

Good as these monitors are, there are areas where the age of the design shows. While they excel at conveying low-level dynamics, the kind that communicate the feelings in lyrics or the subtle change of intensity of instruments, they don’t deal with larger dynamic contrasts with as much conviction. The very best alternatives at this price have a broader dynamic reach and convey sonic authority better.

We would also like the LS5/9 to deliver rhythmic drive with a bit more verve and precision. Their analytical approach to music replay has plenty of appeal, but it would be nice if a song like Michael Jackson’s Black Or White was rendered with a greater sense of propulsion.

Verdict

The LS5/9 are a piece of hi-fi history, and should be judged as such. We wouldn’t expect a classic car from the ’80s to be better than current designs in every aspect, and nor would we expect that from any piece of hi-fi.

The shock is just how excellent these speakers sound by current standards. Feed them a good enough signal and their superb midrange, insight and finesse shine through. They sound authentic in a way that still eludes most price rivals, and while there are aspects of their performance that fall slightly behind the very best at this price, these aren’t enough to dull our enthusiasm.

The LS5/9 design is a testament to the quality of the BBC’s engineers of the time, as well as an indication that speaker design hasn’t progressed over the decades as much as we would like to think. Graham Audio has done a great job bringing it to life.

Review published: 29th June 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Compatibility 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Epos ES-14N

Also consider the Fyne Audio 701

Best bookshelf speakers: top standmounts for every budget tested

Fyne Audio has impressed us before. Across the nine years that the company has been producing speakers, we have awarded five stars to varied products such as the high-end F701SP standmounts, the compact Vintage Five, and the F501E floorstanders, which are current What Hi-Fi? Award winners.

With the release of the entry-level F5E standmount speakers (tested at £399 / $699 / AU$895), Fyne’s proprietary IsoFlare technology only recently became available at a more affordable price. At that point, however, the company still hadn’t made an entrance into the growing market for active, Bluetooth-enabled stereo speakers.

Enter the Cubitt 5. With a good spread of connectivity options, Fyne’s first active speakers do an awful lot for their desk-friendly proportions. How will they measure up against more established rivals?

Price

Currently available at £549 / $749 / AU$1495, the Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 sit in between two strong five-star rivals.

Those are the smaller, Award-winning Ruark MR1 Mk3 (£399 / $579 / AU$899), which we praised for their punchy sound and good quality phono stage, and the larger KEF Coda W (£799 / $1000 / AU$1450), with their elegant build quality and excellent dynamic handling.

Build & design

The first thing we notice about the 26cm-tall Cubitt 5 is their rather stylish design, featuring curved edges and a sleek chrome surround to the main driver. With a minimal, modern look and shoebox-sized dimensions, they make an unobtrusive addition to our test room.

We are also struck by how these speakers look just as comfortable on speaker stands as they do sitting on our desk.

Our test pair arrived in Olive Green, but the Cubitt 5 are also available in Midnight Black, Pearl Titanium, Pebble Grey and Arctic White finishes. Our pair look well finished and feel solidly constructed, with a reassuring but easily transportable weight of approximately 4kg per speaker.

Despite their robust and satisfyingly minimal design, we are somewhat disappointed to find that the speakers feature no onboard controls. Although the included remote is a handy addition while listening from a distance, in a desktop setting, where the speakers are close to hand, it becomes frustrating to have to find the remote every time we want to change source or volume.

In contrast to the sturdy speakers, the black plastic remote feels somewhat insubstantial, but nonetheless does its job well, allowing for easy switching between sources, volume adjustment and activating standby mode. In a thoughtful touch from Fyne, the remote can also be stored in a small metal holder attached to the back of the right speaker so you don’t lose it.

But let’s get into the nitty gritty. Taking a closer look at their fully active design, we find that each of the enclosures houses two 60W Class D amplifiers, one dedicated to each drive unit.

The speaker’s IsoFlare driver array sees a 19mm titanium dome tweeter mounted at the centre of a 12.5cm multi-fibre mid/bass unit to improve sound dispersion and integration between drivers. IsoFlare positions the drivers’ acoustic centres (the point at which the drive unit appears to generate sound) on the same axis, rather than above one another as they would be in a conventional design.

As with Fyne’s other IsoFlare products, the mid/bass driver’s rubber surround exhibits the company’s patented fluting, which it claims damps down energy from the driver more effectively, reducing distortion and improving clarity. The speakers also employ a front-firing bass port to reinforce the low end.

Similar to active speakers such as the KEF Coda W, the Cubitt 5 feature one master speaker housing power connection, amplification, DAC and connections, with a wired connection to the other speaker. A 3m cable comes included in the box, but Fyne also offers a longer 8m version, which is available to purchase for £39.99 / €44.99 / $49.99.

Pleasingly, all inputs are clearly labelled, making the Cubitt 5 an accessible option for music fans of all technical abilities. On the front panel, however, we begin to feel that the minimalist design, which includes just a single LED that turns red during standby, doesn’t provide us with enough information.

Without any visual indication of volume, we found it all too easy to return from a break after listening at high levels, and get unexpectedly blasted away when we turn them back on. Similarly, when switching between sources, we would have liked some way of knowing which source was currently selected.

Features

The Cubitt 5 are equipped for wireless playback via Bluetooth 5.0, which supports the standard AAC and higher-quality aptX HD codecs.

In terms of wired connections, the speakers house stereo RCA analogue inputs, an optical input that handles hi-res files up to 24-bit/96kHz PCM, and an HDMI eARC input for hooking up to a television, and an integrated moving magnet phono stage for use with a record player.

Our first pair of test speakers had issues with clipping when using the analogue RCA inputs. Fyne sent us another sample though, which performed without a hitch – so we’ll give these speakers the benefit of the doubt.

We find that the Cubitt 5’s Bluetooth connection works well with both our Macbook and smartphone, entering pairing mode easily with one click of the remote and maintaining a stable connection throughout testing. The speakers remember their last connection, so you can pick up where you left off when switching between devices.

Further reflecting their versatile design, the built-in moving magnet phono stage means these speakers can be connected to a turntable without the need for any extra boxes – ideal for vinyl enthusiasts with limited space. A phono ground output is also included on the primary speaker’s rear panel.

For those wanting to extend the speakers’ already impressively controlled and punchy bass, a subwoofer output is also available.

Unlike some of their rivals, the Cubitt 5 do not offer any kind of tonal equalisation or the option of a control app. Fortunately, though, the speakers are sufficiently well balanced and simple to use that these omissions don’t feel like a major issue.

Sound

The Fyne Cubitt 5 sound best placed against our listening room’s rear wall, mounted on speaker stands. It is worth noting, however, that they also cope remarkably well on a desktop, resisting both low-frequency blurring and excessive desk vibration better than most rivals.

Across every input, the speakers deliver an impressively taut sound, with a vibrant, airy top end. Bass performance is at once impactful and satisfyingly neat, considering the constraints of their size.

We are immediately impressed by their textural fidelity, with the acoustic guitars of Adrienne Lenker’s Sadness As A Gift showcasing their animated and vivid presentation.

Equally propulsive and contextually sensitive, the Cubitt 5’s rhythmic drive is nothing short of impressive for their price. When listening to Fcukers’ I Like It Like That, we are immediately struck by the manner in which powerful hits of synthesised sub bass drive the song relentlessly forward without ever compromising the gossamer quality of the lead vocals.

Notably, the Cubitt 5 hold their own at high volume, staying composed even when pushed hard.

The Cubitt 5’s soundstage is impressively stable. Listening to David Bowie’s Blackstar, we note the speakers’ precise stereo presentation, with instruments sitting firmly in their places across the left/right axis.

Moving the speakers further apart, we find they are capable of significant width before any central holes begin to appear in the stereo image. With an unexaggerated sense of depth, the Cubitt 5 allow Lazarus’s smooth, layered drums to sit comfortably behind Bowie’s pained vocal.

Moving further away from the speakers, we find they retain a satisfying sense of spatial reality, even as we walk around the room.

Dynamically, the Cubitt 5 are highly responsive. Listening to Talk Talk’s The Rainbow, transitions between delicate piano chords and the brash roar of a distorted harmonica are reproduced with equivalent ease. Similarly, large jumps in volume during Radiohead’s Palo Alto are delivered with an impact that seems to sit comfortably within the speakers’ ability.

The Cubitt 5’s MM phono stage sounds pleasantly detailed and energetic when we tried it with the Rega Planar 3 RS Edition, and will be fine for most users. However, if vinyl is your main source, we think it would be worth upgrading to a standalone phono stage for an extra touch of dynamic sensitivity.

An additional word of caution: we do note that the Cubitt 5 produce a slightly higher level of hiss than their rivals, which is apparent when no music is playing, but which isn’t, ultimately, loud enough to bother us during playback.

Compared to the smaller Ruark MR1 Mk3, we feel that the Cubitt 5 offer superior bass handling in terms of agility and grip, and a more faithful, if slightly less energetic, sound signature.

With a responsibly vivacious presentation, these speakers provide an honourable, if not entirely threatening, challenge to more expensive active designs such as the KEF Coda W. However, given the price difference between the two, we are happy to accept any compromises.

Verdict

With the Cubitt 5, Fyne Audio is an accomplished addition to the growing market for active speakers with Bluetooth. Their compact proportions, ease of use and feature set make them an ideal addition to a home audio set-up, especially if you have limited space.

While we would have liked to see on-board controls and a visual volume display included, these speakers nonetheless deliver an enjoyable and immersive listening experience for the price.

Review published: 26th June 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our Ruark MR1 Mk3 review

Also consider the step-up KEF Coda W active speakers

Best active speakers 2026: our experts pick the top pairs with integrated amplifiers

If you know much about wired open-back headphones, you’ll probably be familiar with the talents of the Grado SR325x. The rugged over-ears have been scooping What Hi-Fi? Awards since their 2021 release, delighting us with their exceptional musicality and hugely entertaining presentation. In fact, the SR325x are already a pair of bona fide classics.

Even the all-time greats must move with the times, though, with Grado reimagining the SR325x as the SR325 Classic as part of the brand’s overhaul of some of its most established wired headphones. The new Classic range brings together many of its most recognisable headphones under the same banner, all united by the addition of a new 'X2' driver, with the newer models set to replace all of the ‘x’ versions currently available.

That’s a big deal. With the SR325x soon heading off for a well-earned retirement, they’ve left their successors with awfully big shoes to fill – are the new SR325 Classic up to the challenge?

Price

The Grado SR325 Classic cost £349 / $350, making them a little more expensive at launch than the original SR325x, which came into the world at £330 / $295. The latter pair have dropped considerably in the UK since then, however, tending to hover around the £200-250 mark.

Wired competition at this price is hardly scarce. For less money, you can grab the exceptionally talented Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X open-backs for £219 / $299, or spend a little more for the five-star Austrian Audio Hi-X65 for $400 in the US and £300 in the UK at the time of writing.

If you want to spend a bit more, the smooth-sounding Sennheiser HD 660S2 can be yours for £399 / $599.

Build & comfort

Classic name, classic Grado look. The new SR325X Classic sport the industrial, hard-edge aesthetic so familiar to fans of Grado’s established roster of wired headphones, typified by small rounded earcups, aluminium speaker grilles and lean, minimalist construction.

Those aluminium housings are now all black as opposed to the previous silver finish of the SR325x, but this is still the classic Grado design language with which we’re familiar. Nothing here screams luxury, but we’d be confident that, as we’ve found with the established SR325x, these are headphones that will last and last.

While general levels of construction are high, we do have to raise our usual concerns about the cans’ rather unforgiving foam earpads. Grado has never been particularly generous with the padding it provides across its extensive roster of on-ear and over-ear cans, but when you could buy a pair of ultra-luxurious DT 900 Pro X for a similar price, it’s hard not to feel a little short-changed when dealing with the somewhat coarse, slightly scratchy cushions provided with the new SR325.

Yes, the Grados’ light weight helps to offset any potential discomfort, but when the relative leanness of the ear cushions means there’s not a huge barrier between the driver housing and your precious ears, we can imagine that some users will find the SR325 Classic to be more unforgiving than the headphones they’re used to.

Plus, it might just be a bad batch, but the Classics’ removable ear pads do seem to come off incredibly easily on our review sample, so much so that we can remove them from the main body of our test pair with a single finger. That can become a real issue, especially when you’re spending half of your time fiddling to try to reattach the cushions to their housings rather than actually listening to your headphones.

Thankfully, we don’t find too many other gripes concerning usability. Adjusting the headband is done via a simple vertical slider mechanism that responds to a firm push or pull, and we find that the SR325 Classic will clamp firmly – but not too firmly – to your head without too much trouble.

Grado has given other structural elements of the Classic headphones a refresh, such as re-engineering the height rod, junction block and gimbal system for better stability around the headband and earcups. The headband also has more padding than before, while the braided cable has been updated to be lighter and more flexible.

Sound

Improving upon the SR325x was never going to be easy. We’re talking about headphones that have scooped award after shiny award while laying down a sonic benchmark for musicality and verve – improving upon that particular recipe is a bit like trying to add a bonus track to Sergeant Pepper’s.

Yet improvements have been made, that much is for certain. Grado describes the implementation of its new X2 driver as delivering "improved consistency, control, and refinement" alongside "greater clarity, extension, and balance". We couldn’t have put it much better ourselves.

Those 44mm X2 dynamic drivers, built using a Mylar diaphragm and a copper voice call, bring levels of clarity and composure to these Classic cans that the established SR325x can’t match. The Classic are rich, powerful yet precise in their presentation, handling a hi-res recording of Agnes Obel’s Fuel To Fire without a hint of freneticism or fuss.

Such a sparse, delicate and carefully curated composition plays perfectly into the Classics’ hands, exhibiting the over-ears’ talents for overall control and organisation. Instrumental textures blend delicacy and weight beautifully, granting insight and real personality to the dark, mysterious strings on Obel’s The Curse.

Much as we’d like to, we can't listen exclusively to super-talented Danish singer-songwriters all day, so it’s time to kick things up a notch with The Smiths’ How Soon Is Now?. The Grados’ smooth yet open presentation gives the tune a fittingly cinematic presence, while the thudding drums are presented with a satisfying balance of control and brute force.

We spend a great deal of time listening to the SR325 Classic, be it via our trusted Astell & Kern A&norma SR35 hi-res player or plugged directly into a laptop, and there’s no question they benefit from notable improvements over their predecessors, particularly in terms of greater precision, detail and clarity.

So why, then, do we feel increasingly frustrated the more and more we listen? In the back of our minds, we can’t shake the feeling that this ‘Classic’ spin on the SR325 isn’t hitting the spot in the same way as the SR325x.

Much of that owes to a poorer sense of rhythmic drive. The SR325x are far better in this regard, propelling tracks forward with their sparkier, more propulsive temperament. The established Award-winners are more agile and energetic, too, with a brio and enthusiasm which has been somewhat muted on the newer iteration.

Much as we’re impressed with how clean and well-ordered the SR325 Classic are, too often we find ourselves willing them on, like a jockey trying to kick more life into a tiring racehorse. The Classic cans don’t have such a forward feeling of momentum, while the SR325x have a carefree skip in their step that we continue to find utterly irresistible on tracks such as Hans Zimmer’s pulsating Supermarine or Stevie Wonder’s relentlessly funky Higher Ground.

Ultimately, the SR325 Classic seem to have sacrificed verve and excitement for composure and clarity, and to our ears, that’s a shame. Grados are all about fun and panache, but there’s a seriousness – dare we say a standoffish quality – to the SR325 Classic that we can’t help but find slightly disappointing.

Verdict

In some ways, the SR325 Classic are an improvement over their predecessors. They’re undeniably clearer, more rounded sounding headphones, bringing new levels of poise and maturity to an Award-winning Grado recipe.

Yet during our side-by-side testing, we find ourselves yearning more for the SR325x than their newer counterparts. They may be less forgiving and less refined, but the SR325x are simply more entertaining than their slightly po-faced successors.

The Classics will have their fans, but if we had to pick a pair to live with, we’d snap up a deal on the older Grado SR325x before they run out.

Review published: 22nd June 2026

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Comfort 4
• Build 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Grado SR325x

Also consider the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro X

Best over-ear headphones: wired and wireless pairs tested by our in-house experts

You know how fancy restaurants have this tendency to deconstruct classic recipes? Well, Sony’s done the same thing to the soundbar, but unlike that deconstructed lasagne, which you rather wish was just a perfectly delicious, fully constructed lasagne, the Bravia Theatre Trio is an almost flawlessly tasty treat.

Sony’s thinking behind the Theatre Trio is that as TVs get ever bigger, soundbars will struggle to create audio on a scale to match the visuals. The obvious solution is to switch to having speakers on either side of the screen, which is what the company’s done previously with the HT-A9 and Bravia Theatre Quad, but that creates its own issue: a lack of central focus, which is particularly important for dialogue.

The solution to the solution, then, is to break the soundbar down into three parts: a centre, a front left and a front right.

In a way, this is the antithesis of the soundbar, which was created, of course, to reduce all of the speakers needed for satisfying home cinema into one, slender unit. What’s next: the return of full home cinema in a box systems?

Let’s not get bogged down in the circular nature of home theatre fashion right now, though. Let’s just enjoy the Sony Bravia Theatre Trio for what it is: one of the finest lifestyle Dolby Atmos systems you can currently buy.

Price

The Sony Bravia Theatre Trio has launched at £1999 / $2000 / AU$2999, making it a very premium proposition indeed.

It’s a highly unusual proposition in today’s market, too, which makes direct comparison rather tricky. Someone considering the Bravia Theatre Trio might also have on their shortlist solo soundbars such as the KEF XIO, Sonos Arc Ultra and Bravia Theatre Bar 9; full soundbar systems such as the Samsung HW-Q990H; and bar-less set-ups such as the Bravia Theatre Quad.

It’s a good job, then, that we have all of these on hand for comparison with the Trio.

Almost inevitably, the Trio system can be expanded through the addition of wireless surround speakers and up to two wireless subwoofers. The new Rear 8, Rear 9, Sub 7, Sub 8 and Sub 9 are all compatible with the Bravia Theatre Trio, and if you buy everything together, the prices of the surrounds and sub(s) are halved.

Several legacy accessories – the SA-SW5 and SA-SW3 subwoofers, and the SA-RS5 and SA-RS3S surrounds – are also compatible with the Trio, should you already own any of those.

We’ve tested the Trio with the Rear 9 surrounds and Sub 8, as well as solo, and you can read our thoughts on the value of expanding the system in the sound quality section.

Design

The Bravia Theatre Trio is a slightly odd thing to behold, especially if you're coming from a soundbar.

The left and right speakers will look familiar to anyone who remembers Sony's HT-A9 system. They share a similar cylindrical shape and fairly substantial dimensions, though the Trio's versions are considerably more stylish, with a black fabric (rather than grey plastic) finish that helps them look modern and discreet despite their size.

They're attractive speakers, too. A metallic ring around the top of each cabinet adds a touch of class, while perforations in the top reveal the up-firing drivers responsible for the system's height effects. Build quality feels reassuringly solid throughout, too.

The centre speaker is a little more divisive.

Essentially a very narrow soundbar that sits beneath the TV, the centre isn’t unattractive exactly, but there is something slightly awkward about its proportions, particularly when it’s positioned beneath the sort of super-sized TV that the Trio is primarily designed to partner.

Thankfully, its low-profile design means it won't obstruct the screen, and Sony includes spacer feet in the box should you need it to straddle your TV’s pedestal stand.

Sony has also done an excellent job of making the Trio as installation-friendly as possible.

The rear of each speaker is flat, allowing for neat wall-mounting, and the left and right speakers require little more than suitably positioned screws. A dedicated wall bracket for the centre speaker is included in the box, too, alongside an HDMI cable and usefully long power leads.

Sony has gone out of its way to ensure that the system isn't overly fussy about speaker placement. It's still worth positioning the speakers as symmetrically as possible, but if real-world constraints mean one speaker ends up slightly higher or further away than another, the calibration system is designed to compensate.

There are compromises to the minimalist approach, though.

Like many modern soundbars, the Trio has no traditional display. Each speaker instead features a small status light that indicates power and connection information. Anyone wanting more detailed feedback will generally need to open the Bravia Connect app, which isn’t always ideal, despite the quality of the app itself.

This is a non-issue for owners of compatible Bravia TVs, at least, as the Trio’s settings and status information appear directly within the television's interface.

Sony also supplies a small but useful remote control that provides quick access to the essentials, including volume, bass level, sound modes, voice enhancement and input selection.

Features

While the Bravia Theatre Trio's three-piece design is its most obvious distinguishing feature, the real cleverness lies in how Sony attempts to make those three speakers sound cohesive, like a soundbar, yet also much bigger, like a more traditional home cinema set-up.

Officially, the Trio is a 3.0.2-channel system comprising dedicated left, centre and right speakers. The centre houses two front-firing woofers and a tweeter, while the left and right speakers each feature a front-firing woofer and tweeter, plus an up-firing driver. Together, Sony claims the three speakers deliver a total power output of 405W.

The system supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks. It’s IMAX Enhanced certified, too, but only once compatible rear speakers and a subwoofer have been added.

Key to the way the Trio handles these 3D audio formats is Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology. Using the physical speakers as a foundation, 360SSM then creates up to 24 'phantom' speakers around the room. These virtual speakers are designed to bolster the real ones and create a larger, more immersive soundstage than would otherwise be possible.

One area in which Sony has clearly put particular effort is set-up and calibration.

Installation is handled via the excellent Bravia Connect app, which guides you through the entire process with clear, well-illustrated instructions. Despite the sophistication of the system, getting everything connected, positioned and configured is refreshingly straightforward.

As part of the set-up process, you're asked to specify the locations of the speakers relative to one another, either approximately or by entering precise measurements. You can also specify their height, allowing the system to compensate for the sort of less-than-perfect real-world placement that often comes with living-room-friendly home cinema set-ups.

The calibration itself is unusually thorough, too. As well as using microphones built into the speakers, the Trio comes supplied with a dedicated USB-C calibration microphone that you plug into your phone before measurements are taken from the listening position. The result should be a level of consistency and accuracy that's difficult to achieve with systems that rely solely on onboard microphones or a smartphone.

Despite that thoroughness, the process is remarkably quick and painless, and, once complete, Sony's Sound Field Optimisation technology adapts the system’s performance to both your room and speaker placement.

There are plenty of further adjustments available within the app should you wish to experiment. You can choose between Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping processing, Dolby Speaker Virtualiser and DTS Neural:X, adjust the height of the soundfield, create a temporary listening position and access the usual assortment of voice enhancement, bass and night mode settings.

Happily, Sony's default settings are generally spot on, and most users will never feel the need to delve into the Trio’s advanced sound settings.

Connectivity is solid, too. The centre speaker houses an HDMI eARC connection for your TV, plus a dedicated HDMI input with support for 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM passthrough.

Wireless support includes Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay and Spotify Connect, while Sony's DSEE Ultimate processing can be used to upscale compressed music files.

Owners of compatible Bravia TVs get a few extra perks, including Voice Zoom 3 dialogue enhancement and, as mentioned, the ability to control many of the Trio's functions directly through the television's interface.

Sound quality

The whole point of splitting a soundbar into three separate speakers is to create a larger and more spacious soundstage, and that's exactly what Sony has achieved.

Compared with even the best conventional soundbars, the Trio sounds huge. Effects stretch much further to the left and right, dialogue remains firmly anchored to the screen, and there's a greater sense of sound being projected out into the room rather than simply originating from beneath the TV.

Blade Runner 2049 demonstrates these strengths particularly well. The sounds of the city as K walks towards his apartment spread far beyond the physical locations of the speakers, filling our large listening room with impressive width and scale. More importantly, the system doesn't just sound wider than a soundbar; it sounds taller, too.

In fact, the Trio's Dolby Atmos performance is one of its most impressive achievements. The sounds of passing vehicles, overhead announcements and environmental effects frequently extend above the listening position, creating a genuinely convincing sense of height. Given the size of our test room and the almost three-metre distance between the seating position and speakers, that's no small feat.

The system proves equally adept with the chaotic battle sequences of Civil War and the aerial action of Top Gun: Maverick, maintaining an impressively large and immersive soundfield without losing track of the finer details.

Perhaps even more impressive than the scale, though, is the cohesion. Despite the fact that you're listening to three physically separate speakers, the Trio rarely sounds like three separate speakers. Instead, it creates a single, unified wall of sound that stretches right across the front of the room.

That sense of integration is particularly important because it allows the system to retain one of the key advantages of a traditional soundbar: you never find yourself consciously thinking about which speaker is producing which effect.

Much of the credit for this appears to belong to Sony's Movie Theatre Acoustics processing. Switch it off, and the soundstage immediately shrinks, while the illusion of a single coherent soundfield begins to weaken. Leave it enabled, however, and the Trio sounds significantly larger, more immersive and more convincing.

There is a small trade-off. The processing can occasionally exaggerate echo that's already present within a soundtrack. The interviewer's voice during K's baseline test in Blade Runner 2049 is one example, while Nandez's dialogue during the early autopsy sequence gains a touch more resonance than is strictly correct.

These moments are relatively rare, though, and the benefits broadly outweigh the drawbacks. Some people might prefer the cleaner delivery when Movie Theatre Acoustics is disabled, but most will want to leave it enabled (as it is by default) for the additional scale, weight and cohesion it brings.

In some respects, the Trio highlights the limitations of conventional soundbars.

Using the excellent Sonos Arc Ultra as a reference point, Sony's system delivers substantially greater scale, bass weight and Atmos immersion. This isn't really a criticism of the Sonos, which remains one of the most capable soundbars at its price, but it does neatly demonstrate what can be achieved when you physically separate the front channels: the Trio simply fills the room more effectively.

One small issue to note regarding movie sound is that the centre speaker can buzz slightly when pushed by super-deep bass, such as that at the start of the second chapter of Blade Runner 2049. It's not something that crops up often enough to become a significant issue, but it is one of the few occasions on which the centre speaker draws attention to itself.

For music, meanwhile, the Trio offers something that most soundbars simply cannot: genuine stereo reproduction.

Switch Sound Field processing off and the centre speaker drops out, leaving dedicated left and right channels handled by dedicated left and right speakers. Give those speakers a small amount of toe-in, and the resulting stereo image is impressively focused, while still benefiting from proper separation.

My Curse by Killswitch Engage is delivered with excellent punch, dynamics and drive, while Rosalía's Divinize demonstrates the system's ability to produce serious low-frequency heft. The dense instrumentation of Karnivool's Salva remains composed and controlled, and Alone On A Hill by Silversun Pickups is rendered with convincing scale and strong stereo focus.

Sony's hi-fi heritage shines through here. The Trio sounds weighty, energetic and engaging in a way that most soundbars simply don't.

That doesn't mean it's a replacement for a properly sorted pair of powered hi-fi speakers, of course, but it comes closer than most lifestyle home cinema products.

One similarly priced alternative to the Trio that we’ve not yet mentioned is the excellent KEF XIO.

With both movies and music, the KEF sounds cleaner, crisper and more detailed than the Sony, with excellent organisation and precision. The Trio counters with greater weight, larger scale and the sort of genuine stereo separation that only physically separated speakers can provide.

Neither approach is inherently better than the other, and preferences will inevitably vary, but the comparison reinforces the fact that Sony has created something genuinely distinct rather than simply another premium soundbar.

And, while the Bravia Theatre Trio is a complete and highly capable package on its own, adding Sony's optional speakers and subwoofer takes things to another level.

Testing with the Rear 9 surrounds and Sub 8 dramatically increases immersion, creating a seamless bubble of sound that extends around the entire listening position. Atmos effects become even more precisely placed, and the busy cityscape of Blade Runner 2049 becomes extraordinarily convincing.

Just as importantly, the minor shortcomings of the standalone system largely disappear. The slight buzz from the centre speaker vanishes once deep bass duties are handed over to the subwoofer, while the occasional over-emphasis of echo through Movie Theatre Acoustics is also cured.

There remains a very slight amount of distortion from the Sub 8 itself during the deepest bass moments, and we'd be fascinated to hear whether the larger Sub 9 can eliminate this final remaining niggle. That's a discussion for another review, though.

Judged as an initial package, the Bravia Theatre Trio is a hugely impressive performer that successfully combines the scale and spaciousness of a separate-speaker home cinema system with much of the convenience and cohesion that make soundbars so appealing.

Verdict

Sony's Bravia Theatre Trio could easily have ended up feeling like an awkward compromise: neither as neat as a soundbar nor as capable as a traditional speaker system. Instead, it succeeds in taking many of the strengths of both approaches while avoiding most of their weaknesses.

It's not quite perfect – the centre speaker isn’t quite as capable as the larger speakers flanking it, there's no display, and some rivals can sound a touch cleaner and more detailed – but those shortcomings are minor in the context of what the Trio achieves overall.

Ultimately, Sony's deconstructed soundbar concept proves brilliantly effective. If you're looking for a premium lifestyle Dolby Atmos system and have the budget to stretch this far, the Bravia Theatre Trio is one of the most compelling options in years.

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Design 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the KEF XIO

Also consider the Samsung HW-Q990H

Read our Sonos Arc Ultra review

Best Dolby Atmos soundbars: our reviewers' five recommendations

When French audiophile, engineer and speaker designer Jean-Marie Lière approached me about a review of the Microphase Audio Design Tower 3 Signature, I was intrigued, having seen the brand at Sydney hi-fi shows but not yet having had a chance to listen at more leisure to the company’s speakers. But the overall aesthetic certainly piqued my interest. I was also excited about the chance to sit down with Jean-Marie, who explained his history and the early days of M.A.D. to me. That, and having had the opportunity to review the latest floorstanding model, means M.A.D. is now a company I’ll be keeping a close eye on in the future.

As the brand name implies, Microphase Audio Design places a strong focus on phase coherence. Indeed, Jean-Marie revealed to me that in his early days of speaker design — which he joked predated my own accumulated life years by quite a margin, back in the 1970s — he was inspired by the design principles of Elipson. He said that Elipson (founded by fellow Frenchman Joseph Léon) had “mastered phase”, and he hoped to replicate their achievement but without adopting the iconic spherical shape of Léon’s speaker designs. He ultimately wanted to produce a speaker that was even smaller than Elipson designs, and one that could be more affordable and accessible to a wider audience.

His first design was the small SAT (satellite) monitor, launched in the mid-80s, which turned out to be a critical and commercial success in France, Belgium, Germany and Scandinavia. And, true to his word, Jean-Marie managed to design the SAT to be incredibly small, just 200 x 200 x 150mm. Newer versions of the original SAT now exist today in both passive and active forms, with the MK3.3 being the most recent. This is relevant also to the floorstanders here, because the latest SAT is itself integrated into the design of the Tower 3 Signature.

While it can certainly be argued he achieved his goal, Jean-Marie admits his thinking could have been conceived as “mad”. Whether by chance or a deliberate choice, that mad way of thinking now inspires not only the name of Jean-Marie’s company (abbreviated to M.A.D.), but also his willingness to try new things when designing speakers.

EQUIPMENT

The Tower 3 Signature certainly adopts this way of thinking, as it maintains the company’s design ethos of employing a strikingly narrow baffle at just 192mm wide. While it’s not uncommon these days for speakers to be supermodel thin, the 192mm width of the Tower 3 Signature is exceptional, and requires an extended plinth of 250mm width to ensure stability while also providing “M.A.D. looks!”. Such a narrow design ensures it’s easy to accommodate in living rooms of all shapes and sizes, but it’s not just for an easy fit. The minimal width can also help to minimise baffle-step diffraction effects that can colour the midrange and smear imaging on wider fronts.

The Tower 3s aren’t especially tall, either, at 1200mm height — which includes the plinth — while their depth comes in at a manageable 440mm, again including the plinth.

As previously mentioned, the Tower 3 incorporates the SAT MK3.3, albeit in an inverted alignment, and with its 17cm bass driver being replaced with a larger 31cm alternative sourced from SB Acoustics. This sits at the base of the cabinet and fires out to the side. Clearly, Jean-Marie opted for a side-firing design owing to the slim cabinet size, but also for the sonic benefits. Side-firing woofers like this can integrate bass more smoothly into the room, as they rely on boundary reflections rather than direct radiation, reducing placement sensitivity compared to front-firing (which demands precise positioning) or rear-firing (which can boom or null in corners).

The concept of side-firing drivers isn’t new, and while he’s not necessarily credited with inventing it, they were popularised in the 1970s by Roy Allison, a former vice president of engineering and manufacturing at Acoustic Research. Allison oversaw production of many of the company’s now-legendary loudspeakers, including the AR-9. That model, known for its impressive bass output, featured opposed 12-inch side-firing woofers (one on each side) to aid vibration cancellation and room coupling. While the Tower 3 Signature uses just a single side-firing woofer, it clearly traces a history back to Allison’s boundary-friendly philosophy.

The 130mm paper-cone midrange driver continues Jean-Marie’s longstanding partnership with French speaker driver manufacturer Audax, which has been producing his custom designs since the first SAT speaker. Here it’s placed in a stepped baffle configuration to physically time-align the drivers’ acoustic centres, ensuring wavefronts from tweeter and midrange arrive simultaneously for that goal of better phase coherence and thereby a more coherent soundstage. So the Audax midrange should align perfectly with the Signature’s AMT ribbon tweeter from German company Mundorf. This AMT tweeter is a variant of Oscar Heil’s Air Motion Transformer design that has been in use since the 1970s, with a pleated diaphragm of folded ridges that increase efficiency and greatly reduce the front–back diaphragm movement compared with a typical 25mm dome tweeter.

Around the back a small reflex port is tuned to optimise the side woofer’s output, while dual speaker binding posts enable bi-amped or bi-wired modes if you wish. The crossover is a 3-way design splitting at 150Hz (12dB/octave) and 4kHz (6dB/octave), prioritising gentle slopes for natural driver integration. Microphase Audio Design lists the frequency response of the Tower 3 Signature floorstanders as 40Hz–25kHz ±2.5dB; the 40Hz lower limit should satisfy most listeners, although those looking for extra low-end oomph may want to consider adding a subwoofer. Efficiency is rated at 90dB/1W/1m, nominal impedance 4 ohms. I used the Marantz Model 50 to hand for this review — rated at 100W into 4 ohms — and as you’ll find out in the listening sessions section, it proved to be more than up to the task of driving the Tower 3 speakers.

The cabinetry deserves special mention too. The Finnish marine-grade birch plywood feels very solid and, with each speaker weighing around 25kg, they stay planted in place. This holds true whether you stand them on hard flooring or carpet, as they don’t require spikes — the plinth alone ensures they don’t move an inch. The cabinets are treated with a polyurethane coating, which not only gives them a distinctively clear and ever so slightly shiny finish, but also resists fingerprints far better than gloss. Though various components have been sourced internationally, final assembly takes place right here in Australia.

LISTENING SESSIONS

Connected to the Marantz Model 50 integrated amplifier and partnering CD 50n CD player/streamer, I first played one of my current favourite songs from American singer-songwriter Slayyyter called ‘Dance…’ — a synth-pop dancefloor number with a thumping bass-line intro.

This immediately showcased the Tower 3 Signature’s ability to deliver deep, tight, and controlled bass, with each thump of the drum pad landing with real confidence. Almost equally striking was the pinpoint stereo imaging — Slayyyter’s vocals sat dead centre, natural and clear, while the subtle echo effect on her words conveyed genuine airiness without a hint of muddiness.

For this initial test, I positioned the side-firing woofers facing outwards, each about 60cm from the nearest sidewall. Curious about the alternative, I then swapped them so the woofers faced inwards — and as soon as the same track restarted, the bass completely took over the sound. In my smaller listening room, the speakers were clearly too close together, creating too much bass buildup; however, in larger rooms, inward-facing woofers can work together for stronger central bass reinforcement. What this test also proved is that side-firing woofer designs open up more placement experimentation compared to front-firing designs.

While the speakers have a small rear port and internal padding to tame resonances, I kept experimenting with rear-wall distance. Keeping the 60cm sidewall spacing (woofers outward), I moved them from 20cm to 30cm from the rear wall and noticed a noticeably larger, more open presentation.

I also experimented with toe-in. While the Tower 3 Signature’s narrow baffle and phase-aligned drivers should theoretically disperse sound evenly for a wide sweet spot, I found angling them inwards towards my listening position by about 20° sounded better to my ears — vocals locked more precisely dead-centre, and the soundstage gained better depth and focus without narrowing excessively.

Switching to Tool’s ‘Chocolate Chip Trip’ from the Fear Inoculum album confirmed the Tower 3 Signature’s effortless handling of complex arrangements. Danny Carey’s polyrhythmic drums retained tight punch and separation, while the layered synths and atmospheric effects floated naturally in a remarkably open soundstage. The single side-firing woofer once again proved key to the overall delivery, pumping out articulate bass that supported the mix rather than dominating it.

Jessie Ware’s latest single ‘Ride’ — which offers a cheeky nod to Ennio Morricone — elevated the vocal performance even further. Ware’s sultry, emotive vocals were an undeniable highlight — rich, textured, and so viscerally real they gave me chills. Her voice was suspended perfectly in the soundstage, with the midrange and tweeter delivering on their promise of phase coherence. The overall presentation felt expansive and refined, with basslines driving the groove tautly rather than overwhelmingly. That single side-firing woofer keeps the low-end in check with sophisticated control.

Hayley Williams’ ‘Simmer’ then let them stretch their rhythmic legs — the side-firing woofers locked in with the song’s catchy groove, delivering taut kick-drum punches that had my foot tapping relentlessly. I completely forgot I was reviewing and just enjoyed the music.

CONCLUSION

As introductions to new brands go, things couldn’t have gone better with the Microphase Audio Design Tower 3 Signature. The amount of love and passion that has gone into their design and build is evident from the get go. They combine superb driver integration with fantastic build quality, forgiving placement, and genuine musical engagement. You simply must give them a listen.

LAB TEST

The overall in-room frequency response, as measured by Newport Test Labs and shown in Graph 1 for the Microphase Audio Design Tower 3 Signature loudspeakers, is extremely linear and extended such that between 60Hz and 8kHz, which is far and away the most important region of the audio band for music reproduction, the response is constrained within 2.5dB, which is to say the measured frequency response is 60Hz–8kHz ±1.25dB. Looking at the more typically reported ±3dB envelope, the frequency response is 54Hz to 20kHz ±3.0dB, which is an exceptionally fine response by anyone’s standards.

Newport Test Labs measured the high-frequency response of the Microphase Audio Design loudspeakers using a gating technique that replicates what would be measured in an anechoic chamber, and fortuitously allows far more precise frequency and level measurements to be plotted than the in-room measurement of Graph 1. It transpired that the response measured 15 degrees off-axis horizontally was slightly flatter (more linear) than the on-axis response, with a slightly lifted extreme-treble response and, since this off-axis angle will be the listening position for most listeners, we’ve elected to show this response in Graph 2. You can see there’s a very slight roll-off that commences at 4.5kHz, but it levels off at around 10kHz and extends at the same level out to around 33kHz, after which it rolls off very rapidly.

The peaks and dips in the response that are visible on this trace are so high in frequency, so little in level variation and of such high Q that they would not be audible to the human ear. If Newport Test Labs had smoothed this trace via post-processing (as most manufacturers do), these minor irregularities would have disappeared; the trace shown is raw and completely unsmoothed.

The impedance of the Microphase Audio Design Tower appears to show that the cabinet is acting as if it’s a sealed enclosure, so there’s obviously something interesting going on here that’s no doubt the explanation for the impressively extended bass response, given the cabinet volume and the bass driver’s Sd and Vmax. The impedance remains below 8 ohms between 72Hz and 550Hz, and from 4kHz to beyond 40kHz, but never drops below 4 ohms, so we’d allocate this design a nominal impedance of 4 ohms.

Newport Test Labs measured the sensitivity of the Microphase Audio Design Towers using its standard stringent measurement technique, and reported efficiency as being 87dBSPL at a distance of one metre with an input voltage of 2.83Veq., which puts it numerically at the average for most home hi-fi loudspeakers, but it will sound slightly louder in A–B comparisons due to Newport Test Labs’ methodology resulting in lower SPL levels. Overall, this is a very well-designed, electrically efficient loudspeaker system that delivers extended bass, superbly flat midrange and smoothly tailored high frequencies.

What makes a good radio? Clear sound and strong reception are fundamental, but high on the priority list should undoubtedly be ease of use. With multiple stations to access if you’ve got FM or DAB tuners, not to mention vast internet radio options and the added bonus of Bluetooth streaming in today’s digital radios, navigating your way through the multitude of options and hitting upon exactly the station you want within seconds is no mean feat.

Luckily, Roberts has some expertise in this area. The British brand has been making radios since 1932, with recent models including the network streaming-enabled Stream 94L (which is a former Award-winner) and our current favourite, the tiny but mighty Revival Petite 2.

The Roberts Stream 219 internet radio is the latest addition to the stable, and it packs in plenty of features for the £150 asking price.

Features

If you’re a radio fan, you are well catered for. FM and DAB/DAB+ tuners are included for your local stations, while you can fire up any internet radio station from around the globe thanks to the onboard wi-fi powers.

The Stream 219 has multiple buttons and dials to find your way across the numerous stations and sub-menus, and the controls feel swift and intuitive. This means scrolling through a long list of local DAB+ stations and switching between sources doesn’t take long at all, with every option labelled clearly.

You can also save up to 60 presets – 20 each for FM, DAB and internet radio – with five dedicated preset buttons available on the unit to quickly access your favourite stations. Handy.

The Stream 219 isn’t just a radio, it caters to wider listening habits as well: Spotify Connect and Bluetooth streaming are on board, and there is even a portal for podcasts.

Physical connections include a 3.5mm auxiliary input and a USB-A port, for plugging in sources like an MP3 player, or USB sticks and hard drives filled with music files (MP3 or WMA, no hi-res playback here). You can also charge your smartphone using the USB-A input. Handy.

All sources can be easily selected from the main menu, which is the small colour display on top of the Stream 219. Simply spin one of the dials to select your source, and the sub-menus will give you options to choose stations in a variety of ways – by region, popularity, genres or simply by searching for it.

All of these actions can be done by twiddling the dials and pressing the sturdy buttons, or a combination of both. It can be complex at first, but we find the actions become second nature once you’ve done them a couple of times.

If accessing the thousands of internet stations through the unit feels unwieldy, you can download the free Oktiv app for a more streamlined control from your smartphone.

In the Stream 219’s settings menu, you can set dual alarms; choose the sound quality level (we left it on high); check your network settings and software updates; set the display’s brightness levels and more. Inputting your wi-fi password will be the most laborious part of the radio’s set-up, but you’ll only need to do it once. We transported the Stream 219 between our home office and our work office, and it connected to the respective wi-fi networks with no prodding on our part.

One final bonus feature is that if you love listening to radio plays, sports coverage or the Shipping Forecast late into the night, there is a 3.5mm wired headphone port for private listening.

Build & design

The top of the radio’s unit that houses the controls, dials and 2.4-inch LCD screen is positioned at a slant, which makes it easy to access from most angles. We also found that this glassy surface is a dust magnet, so we would keep a microfibre cloth at hand for a regular clean.

The screen shows off album artwork and station logos in full colour, although the contrast weakens when viewed from an angle.

That aside, the buttons and dials feel reassuringly tactile when used. We like the physical dials for adjusting the bass and treble levels, which lets you tweak the sound on the fly, as you see fit.

The unit itself is a fairly chunky size to accommodate two 7.6cm (3-inch) full-range drivers within. We have become accustomed to Roberts’ heritage-styled radios that feature lovely leatherette coverings and wood panels, so this more minimalist, ‘modern’ look is a little bit of a departure, prioritising practicality over more luxurious details. The cabinet’s plastic build feels a little cheap to the touch, but it is a robust build overall.

The mainly mains-powered Roberts Stream 219 can also be turned into a portable radio, hence the sturdy carry handle integrated into the unit that makes it easy to carry the radio from your kitchen to the garden. You’ll just need to buy and slot six AA batteries into the back of the radio to make it portable.

Sound

The sound quality of FM/DAB radio will in part depend on your proximity to a local transmitter, and luckily we enjoy a strong reception as we test the Stream 219.

We play a variety of broadcast radio and music streams – World Cup news, Seattle's KEXP internet radio station, the No Such Things As A Fish podcast, a few hours of calming Classic FM, and our Tidal and Apple Music playlists over Bluetooth – and find ourselves getting along with the Roberts radio’s sound with ease.

The sound is clear and projected well into the room, with no sharpness or coarseness to the treble, although it starts to shine bright at higher volumes. There is no flab or undue boominess in the bass, either. Songs such as Alt-J’s Breezeblocks and The Beatles’ Come Together flow with a steady, agile rhythm, and there’s a good amount of detail when we tune into the news or start tapping along to Guy Garvey’s finest curated tracks on BBC 6 Radio.

While the radio doesn’t quite convey the wide-ranging dynamic scope of a full orchestra, or of the plunging basslines in Billie Eilish’s bad guy, there is a good amount of breathing space between instruments in the mix. Edges of notes sound tidy, and the sound projected into the room is pleasingly clean and open.

We find throughout our testing time that the midrange sounds a touch hollow, which robs voices of some natural warmth and solidity. As a result, the subtler inflections from presenters and musicians don’t come through with as much expression and subtlety as we’d like.

When so much of broadcast radio is dependent on the spoken word, this is a noticeable chink in the Stream 219’s armour. Tweaking the treble and bass levels balance the midrange somewhat, but doing so compromises other elements of the Roberts’ sound; this is where we wish there was a dial dedicated to adjusting the mids.

In comparison, the smaller, Award-winning Revival Petite 2 radio lacks the scale of its bigger brother, but it does offer a more cohesive and detailed sound that is more engaging to listen to. There’s more texture to instruments and voices, with personalities and nuances coming through with greater warmth and dexterity. Admittedly, the Petite 2 does lack the network features of the Stream 219, but there’s only £50 between the two radios.

Verdict

The Roberts Stream 219 gets full marks for its feature set and ease of use. It’s bursting at the seams with multiple music-playing options that would put some premium wireless speakers to shame and, despite the complexity, the physical controls are reliable and nice to use.

We think there’s room for improvement when it comes to sound quality, but it’s a decent performance overall. If you’re after this capable radio’s particular mix of talents at this modest price, you would be well served.

Review published: 17th June 2026

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Roberts Revival Petite 2

Also consider the Ruark Audio R1S

These are the best digital radios we've tested and highly recommend

In a sea of monochrome black and greige dominating the market, JBL’s Gen Z-friendly wireless headphones stand out by a mile.

Available in a variety of stylish colours – including the bright orange of our review sample – the JBL Live 780NC over-ears offer a playful and youthful contender that still ticks all the right boxes in this heaving market: good design, good sound, good price.

Price

Sandwiched between JBL’s premium Tour series and its more budget Tune range, the Live series of wireless headphones occupy a mid-range price bracket where there is a scarcity of five-star offerings.

At £170 / $250 / AU$300, the Live 780NC are a little over half the price of popular premium wireless over-ear headphones from Sony, Bose, Bowers & Wilkins and Sennheiser, but sit above the stupendously talented and budget Sony WH-CH720N, which can now be found for as little as £75 / $100 / AU$148.

The five-star Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT are available for £129 (around $199 / AU$269), but lack any active noise cancelling, while other headphones at this price – from Philips and Soundcore – haven’t quite made their mark. Plenty of opportunity for JBL to stand out, then.

Build & design

Whereas many affordable headphones around this price can feel rather plasticky and cheap in hand – understandably so to keep costs down – the JBL Live 780NC feel anything but. The materials are light enough to ensure the headphones are comfortable to wear, but also feel pleasantly smooth and high quality to the touch.

There is a mixture of materials and finishes here that could easily have looked and felt garish in less capable hands, but the sheen of the outer earcups and hinges blend with the matte finish of the headband and earcup housings in a subtle, stylish way.

The mix of plastic, metal and silicone here is certainly more premium feeling than the cheaper Sonys and the JBLs look more svelte than the functional Austrian Audios. We particularly like the knurled finish encircling the outer earcups – it’s a nice detail you normally wouldn’t see at this price.

If the orange finish of our review sample is too extrovert for you, there are more subdued green and blue hues, along with sandy, lilac and the standard black and white colours.

The headband feels sturdy, the leatherette earcups are comfortable with ample padding, and the clamping pressure is nicely judged. We perhaps would have liked a little more padding in the headband, but they don’t cause any discernible fatigue over long listening periods.

The metal sliders are nice to use, and there’s enough flex in the earcups to get a comfortable and secure fit for most of our review team.

You can fold the 780NC up into a ball or lay them flat around your neck, and they come with a soft, if somewhat thin, carry pouch.

You get a mix of physical buttons on the earcups – for power, ANC modes and volume – that are within easy reach, while tapping on the shiny outer cups lets you control music playback, calls and voice assistant. We found them all responsive in use, and you can further customise the touch and button controls in the JBL Headphones App.

One small quirk to remember is that the headphones will go into standby mode after a certain period of inactivity (you can choose the time in the app) if you forget to slide the power button to the ‘off’ position. To reconnect the pairing to your phone or device, simply turn it off and back on.

Features

Don’t worry too much if you forget to power-off the cans, though, as their battery life is massive. With active noise cancelling turned on, you get 50 hours, which extends to a whopping 80 hours with ANC turned off. We didn’t even have to glance at the battery level in the app throughout our testing period, and only charged the headphones out of habit after a week or so. A five-minute charge gives you four hours of juice, which meant we were always topped up.

Even more premium headphones such as the Sony and Bose models can only manage 30 hours with ANC activated, with Sennheiser’s Momentum 5 Wireless the only model to beat the JBL at 57 hours, while the HDB 630 goes further at 60 hours. The cheaper Sony 720N can only muster 35 hours with ANC on.

For wireless connections, the JBL headphones run on Bluetooth 6.0 and feature Auracast sharing and LE Audio, as well as the higher-quality LDAC codec when used with a compatible source device. If you prefer a wired connection, JBL provides a USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable in the box, so you can connect them to a 3.5mm-toting laptop or music player and enjoy a lossless performance. Just remember to power the JBLs on when listening in wired mode.

The headphones feature Multipoint Bluetooth, which allows you to easily switch between two connected devices, and they have proximity sensors to automatically stop playing audio when you take the headphones off your ears.

Head into the JBL Headphone app, and you’ll find a bunch of features and customisation options that you can tweak to your heart’s desire. Along with adjusting the various ANC modes, you can prioritise audio quality or video (the latter to reduce lip-sync issues), enable spatial audio modes, and there’s even a nifty ‘relax mode’ with nature sounds you can mix to create an ambient background for when you need to focus on writing, for example.

There are preset EQ modes as well as a 10-band equaliser to save your own tuning, and there’s a separate Personi-Fi portal that personalises the sound to your tastes further.

A neat party trick is that if you have one of JBL’s latest Bluetooth speakers, such as the Flip 7 or Go 5, you can use the Auracast button to beam music from the speaker to the Live 780NC headphones, with both playing in tandem.

There are plenty of more useful features to explore in the app, and you can also turn most settings off if you don’t want them.

ANC & call quality

The main settings you should explore are for noise cancelling. There are sliders available for the noise cancelling and ‘ambient aware’ modes, allowing you to choose the intensity of the noise cancelling or how much of the outside world you want to let in. You can also let JBL’s six microphones and real-time adjustment take over with the Adaptive ANC mode, which automatically adjusts the noise-cancelling levels to your surrounding environment.

The Live 780NC’s ANC quality is decent, cutting out much of the low-level deep rumbles of passing cars, train engines and exhaust fans. The noise-cancelling effect tends to focus more on those low-frequency noises, as we can still hear a fair bit of higher engine whines, train announcements and the chatter of people around us. These noises that sit in the mid and high frequency ranges are gently softened, but we’re still aware of them in full ANC mode.

It’s not the end of the world, and there is enough damping of the rumbly surrounding noises that the JBLs’ effect feels adequate at this level.

Call quality is decent for this level, too, with voices coming through with enough clarity, detail and solidity to be heard, although there is a slight hard, mechanical edge to the caller’s voice. Dual beamforming mics and an intelligent noise-cancelling algorithm mean voices should be distinctly heard even in windy, busy surroundings, and we found that surrounding noises didn’t intrude much upon our calls.

One neat thing about the JBL headphones is that, in the app, you can tweak the tone of your and the callers’ voices, as well as choose how much of your own voice you can hear in a call. We prefer keeping the voice settings on ‘natural’, but it’s worth exploring these settings if you’re in particularly noisy environments.

Sound

If we could use one word to describe the Live 780NC’s sound, it would be ‘comfortable’. The headphones’ character is easy to listen to, with a smoothness across the frequency range that is appealing from the moment you slip them on. There are no bright or hard edges at the top; the midrange is focused and detailed; the bass is plump.

Any spikiness at the top being smoothed off means you can listen to many hours of shredding guitars and heavy metal screaming without your ears getting fatigued, as we found by spending a long weekend getting reacquainted with Avenged Sevenfold’s back catalogue on Tidal.

This trade-off does mean that some of the crystal-clear high notes of the delicate piano in Birdy’s Shelter or the ferociously brash and dynamic upheavals of Fontaines DC’s Starburster are a little subdued.

There is enough detail on the bones and satisfying solidity underpinning each note to ensure the music doesn’t get neutered, though. Music flows well through them, with the personality and intent of each track – from A7X to Doechii to Hozier – coming through with plenty of expression in the mix.

Voices come through with ample personality when listening to podcasts and are easy to follow in the soundstage without ever sounding muddled.

There is a richness to the 780NC’s sound that feels as though it’s covered in a layer of thick syrup – but in a good way. It leaves us in a pleasant environment where you’re engulfed in the rich, layered textures, and that smoothness doesn’t work our sonic muscles too hard. The JBL cans have a more refined way with detail than the cheaper Sony 720N, but are less analytical than the Austrian Audios.

The headphones’ bass levels are overly enthusiastic, but you can tone them down a touch using the EQ settings. Basslines are not unsubtle or unwieldy though; they plunge deep and there’s enough bounce in their step as we play through our usual test tracks from Massive Attack's Paradise Circus to Dr Dre and Hans Zimmer soundtracks.

Overall, the 780NC have a good amount of rhythmic talent and dynamic expression to keep us listening throughout. The lower mids and bass frequencies simply could do with a leaner diet to give us cleaner, subtler layers with more satisfying punch.

Go wired and, while they retain the same rich, smooth character, everything sounds a little tidier around the edges, with subtler dynamics, greater solidity and more detail unearthed. The instruments in Khruangbin's Maria Tambien are etched more clearly and with crisper, sweeter highs, even if the bass notes are just as dominating.

Verdict

The JBL Live 780NC aren’t too expensive, aren’t too budget – they’re in that ‘Goldilocks zone’ that, while not perfect, comes very close to delivering everything in a good-sounding, well-designed, feature-packed package.

While not gaining the full five stars when it comes to sound, they’re an attractive pair we have no trouble recommending at this mid-price arena that is starved of exciting contenders. If you’re after a comfortable pair of headphones that you could spend hours with, these playful but capable JBL Live 780NC are worth your attention.

Review published: 16th June 2026

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Features 5
• Build 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT

Also consider the Sony WH-CH720N

Best wireless headphones reviewed and rated by our in-house experts

The Focal Mu-so Hekla is not your average soundbar. It claims to be an “immersive all-in-one system” that “combines Dolby Atmos technology, outstanding sound performance, and ease of use to transform your everyday listening”.

Its name alone shows off its strong pedigree. While it is branded as Focal, it is a collaboration between the French manufacturer and its sister company Naim Audio. This isn’t the first time the two brands have worked together on a product: that was the high-end Diva Utopia active wireless stereo speaker system (£29,999 / $39,999 / AU$59,999) which came out back in 2024.

The Naim link is also apparent with the inclusion of the Mu-so branding, which audio fans may recognise as the company’s well-regarded line of wireless speakers that launched in 2014. The range boasts such products as the five-star and What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Naim Mu-so 2 (2019) and Mu-so Qb 2nd Gen models, which wowed us with their punchy, detailed and dynamic sound.

And where does Hekla come from? It’s the name of one of Iceland’s most active volcanoes. If that evokes an explosive and powerful performance, then you would be correct.

Price

The Focal Mu-so Hekla has its sights set on the high-end market, and is only sold in authorised Focal Powered By Naim retailers. This exclusive nature is also reflected in its price tag, which is a whopping £3000 / $3600 (around AU$5625).

That’s higher than the all-in-one music systems we have encountered from Ruark Audio and Cambridge Audio, as well as premium Dolby Atmos soundbars such as the KEF XIO (£1999 / $2500 / AU$3600) which snagged a What Hi-Fi? Award last year. We praised this KEF soundbar for its agile bass and detailed overall sound.

Design

The Mu-so Hekla is quite a bulky beast. It is one metre long and almost 30cm deep. On top of that, it weighs 15.5kg. This makes it less easy to accommodate than other premium soundbar rivals, as it needs a relatively large piece of furniture to support it.

On the top of the bar, you will find a stylish white illuminated dial that is the same as that featured on Naim’s Mu-so products. You can control volume with a twist to the side, and the dial acts as a touch screen to adjust input and power. It makes for a sleek design that rotates smoothly and adds to the premium feel.

As much as we like it, this design creates some issues when the Hekla is used as a soundbar. In our test room, it only just fits under our TV screen and the light from the dial is reflected off the screen from certain angles. This is not a problem when using the Hekla as a hi-fi system away from your TV.

Given the system’s bulkiness it’s fair to ask, why not make it more soundbar-y in shape? The Hekla’s shape is dictated by the engineering team’s insistence on prioritising acoustics. It simply had to be this large to fit the required drivers, electronics and acoustic technology into the box in order to deliver the high-quality sound and immersion they wanted.

“When we created this product, yes, we wanted a home cinema experience; but above all, we wanted to keep our hi-fi signature, specifically for music,” a Focal representative told our Hi-Fi and Audio Editor Kashfia Kabir at the product’s launch showcase last year.

The Hekla is available only in an all-black finish – the idea is for the unit to disappear in a dark room (you can also turn off the LED illumination surrounding the control dial) for ultimate immersion in what you are watching or listening to.

Although it is large, the Hekla has a premium-feeling design that matches its price tag.

Features

There are 15 drivers in total, with each powered by its own Class D amplifier. That includes seven drivers on the front (three woofers, two midrange and two tweeters), two full-range drivers each on either side of the unit, and four upward-firing drivers at the top of the unit.

All together, it outputs a claimed 660 watts of power (60W each to the front three drivers, 40W each to the remaining 12 drivers). The electronics (streaming and amplification) are all designed by Naim. Steve Sells, the engineer behind the original Mu-so and the flagship Naim Statement amplifier, was also involved in the development of this Mu-so Hekla.

In terms of physical connectivity, you will find an HDMI port with eARC support. There is also an optical input, a wired Ethernet port (alongside wi-fi capability), and a pair of RCA outputs to add a subwoofer.

You can connect your TV, CD player, Blu-ray or games console; but unlike other do-it-all modern systems, there is no built-in phono stage.

As you would expect, you get the full complement of streaming-service support and high-resolution file compatibility. Tidal, Qobuz and Spotify – and their Connect versions – are present, as are AirPlay 2, Google Cast and Bluetooth (standard AAC and SBC codecs only) for easy streaming from your devices. UPnP streaming is also on board, meaning you can play stored files from connected hard drives.

Hekla supports hi-res audio up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD128 files, and it can also connect with other compatible Focal/Naim streaming products that use the same Focal & Naim app and streaming platform to create a multi-room system.

In terms of sound modes, there are a range of options to choose from: Dolby Music, Dolby Movie, Sphere Music and Sphere Movie. There is also a Night Mode, which reduces dynamics and bass so you do not disturb others in the house.

You can switch between these modes via the app, which lets you easily fine-tune the bar’s settings and change the output. You can also go into the EQ settings, and calibrate the soundbar to your space with Focal’s ADAPT (Adaptative Acoustic Personal Tuning) technology. Get your tape measure handy for that one, as you will be asked to calculate a range of different measurements.

With ADAPT on, the scale of the sound is wider, which adds an extra bit of immersion to our listening experience.

Sound

As soon as we boot up the Focal Mu-so Hekla with movies, we are greeted with a spacious yet precise sound that elevates every scene.

We kick off with Sinners in Dolby Atmos as our protagonist Sammie summons spirits from the past, present, and future to a small barn in Mississippi. When Sammie sings his heartfelt tune, accompanied by just his guitar, his slightly tentative vocals sound emotive and grow stronger as he gains confidence with a sense of authenticity.

As the spirits join in and more instruments are added to the mix, the Hekla does a brilliant job of expanding the soundfield to create a sense of spaciousness without losing its composure. Each instrument and voice is still placed exactly around the space, which adds a sense of precision that is rare for an all-in-one system. There is not a trace of harshness either, as we are instead treated to a solid and full-bodied approach that adds an extra weightiness.

The Hekla maintains this composed yet impactful performance with its bass. With Dune: Part Two in Atmos, we watch as Timothee Chalamet’s Paul Atreides rides his first sandworm. When he slips the thumper into the sand to call the worm, the initial click is tight and clean with a precision that can be felt in the soles of our feet. The levels of detail are breathtaking, as we can hear the grains of sand falling with an impressive exactness.

Later as the worm bursts out from the depths, the roar of sand is forceful but not overwhelming, as you can hear Atreides slinging his metal hooks and shouting in his efforts. The bass also packs an authoritative low-end punch that reaches the lowest we have heard for an all-in-one system, adding to the scene’s impact.

The gradual build from Atreides quietly skulking across the sand to the exhilarating flurry of sound as the worm emerges is expertly handled by the Hekla, and shows off its superb dynamics.

When switching between the sound modes, each offers a slightly different experience. Dolby Movie offers the most precise sound, but this results in a slightly less three-dimensional feel. Sphere Mode, on the other hand, offers a more spacious sound with a more muscular bass but sacrifices a degree of precision. Both sound great, but it is down to personal preference.

The same can be said for the modes when we switch between Dolby Music and Sphere Music when playing some tunes.

The Hekla continues its show-stopping performance with music, and deals excellently with whatever we throw at it. Listening to 500 Miles by Peter, Paul and Mary via Qobuz Connect, the system shows off its softer side. As the vocals get louder near the end of the piece then grow quieter to almost a whisper, it handles this change in dynamics with subtlety to compound the emotive finale.

It can go punchy and loud, too. With Liar’s Tale by Kneecap, the initial visceral electric zing is portrayed with enthusiasm and clarity. When the bass comes in full throttle, it is delivered with authority and immediately gets our toes tapping.

With Yosi Horikawa’s Bubbles, the sound of bouncing ping pong balls cascades all around our listening position with incredible levels of detail and spaciousness.

We put the Hekla up against the less pricey KEF XIO. While the cheaper XIO is still great for the money, the Hekla justifies its higher price tag with better dynamics, detail resolution and refinement.

Verdict

As far as all-in-one systems go, the Focal Mu-so Hekla offers the best of both worlds. It delivers all the drama you could want from a soundbar when watching movies, with controlled bass and authoritative overall sound that elevates each scene.

But you can also feed it a delicate piece of music and be treated to a finessed performance that makes you feel the emotion of each note.

It might come at a high price but, if you have the funds, its performance more than justifies the cost.

Review published: 15th June 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Features 5
• Design 5

MORE:

Read our review of the KEF XIO

Also consider the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max

Best hi-fi systems: CD, vinyl and streaming music players for the home

Best soundbars: options for every need, recommended by our experts

Can you believe that there was a time when Samsung didn’t feature a single OLED TV in its range? That all changed in 2022, when it put its spin on OLED by adding a layer of Quantum Dots and launched the excellent S95B QD-OLED TV.

Five years later, the brand is now reaping the benefits of the self-emissive panel technology. It now makes some of the finest OLED TVs around – take the five-star S95F and S90F duo from last year – and its 2026 lineup features more OLED TVs than ever before.

Of course, Samsung was never going to celebrate half a decade of OLED success without taking things up a notch, which is why it has introduced a new, rather unusual flagship model that takes inspiration from one of the brand's other most successful models.

That new flagship OLED is the S99H, a premium QD-OLED TV that oozes style and sophistication, thanks at least in part to its aesthetic similarities to the wildly successful, design-led The Frame LCD range.

Here, though, those smart good looks have been blended with the core abilities of the excellent S95F – with a generous helping of performance upgrades for good measure.

The result? A showstopping OLED TV that blends style and substance, and one that we think could dethrone the current reigning champion of our best OLED TV list: the Sony Bravia 8 II.

Price

We have the 55-inch Samsung S99H before us today, and it’s officially priced at £2499, though in true Samsung fashion, that launch pricing hasn’t stuck around for long. We’re already seeing a £100 decrease across all sizes, which puts the 65-inch version at £3199, the 77-inch model at £4199, and the 83-inch size at £5999.

Now, we need to clear something up regarding model numbers for different regions.

In the US and Australia, Samsung is calling this model the S95H. Despite the different name, it is an identical TV. In these regions, you’ll find the 55-inch S95H for $2500 / AU$3999, the 65-inch S95H for $3400 / AU$5299, the 77-inch S95H for $4500 / AU$7999, and the 83-inch S95H for $6500 / AU$9995.

That's not the end of the story, though. To confuse things even more, Samsung is selling a model under the S95H name here in the UK, too, but it’s a different TV. From what we gather, it is the same TV as the S99H, but without the metal frame-style design. In fact, it looks identical to last year’s S95F.

So, to reiterate, the S99H we're testing here is known as the S95H in the US and Australia, but that is not the same as the UK's S95H TV. Yes, we have given some constructive feedback to Samsung on all of this.

Got all that? Then let's consider the S99H's competition, which primarily comes in the form of Sony’s awesome, Award-winning Bravia 8 II, the 55-inch version of which, after around a year on sale, now costs around £1799 / $2600 / AU$3995. That makes it significantly cheaper than the S99H in the UK, but there's rough pricing parity between the two TVs in the US and Australia.

There’s also the 55-inch LG G6 to consider, which appears to be widely discounted to £1840 here in the UK, but is so far sticking to its $2500 / AU$3995 launch price in the US and Australia, respectively.

Design

We’re confident in saying that this is one of the most unusual-looking TVs to enter our AV testing room.

Samsung clearly took inspiration from its hugely popular The Frame TV when it came to designing the S99H, and while this television’s looks won’t be to everyone’s taste, we’re just pleased to see a TV company that’s willing to push the boat out when it comes to design.

The S99H features a two-layer design, with an OLED screen section mounted onto a slightly larger metal backplate, with a roughly 2cm gap between. Samsung calls this its “FloatLayer” design.

It’s hard to describe, but the effect it gives is essentially a floating OLED panel surrounded by a premium metal frame. Much like LG’s G-series, this TV is designed to be wall-mounted, and while we can’t do that in our testing room, we have seen it wall-mounted at various hands-on events leading up to launch.

In short, the S99H looks like a work of art when it's fixed to a wall, as the floating design becomes really quite striking and effective. Despite the two-layer design, the overall depth is just 2.8cm, which also helps to sell the futuristic look that Samsung is going for.

Unfortunately, the TV doesn’t look quite as suave when it’s set up in its tabletop configuration. Samsung includes two quite cheap-feeling plastic feet with the TV that feel somewhat at odds with the rest of the premium design, and the metal bezel and floating design look less convincing when it's not attached to a wall.

Samsung also includes two remotes in the box: a “traditional” button-heavy number, and a sleeker “smart” remote. The latter includes both a USB-C socket and a small solar panel on the back for easy recharging, though it’s frustratingly not backlit. Then again, neither are the remotes included with the aforementioned Sony or LG TVs, so we can’t knock Samsung too much here.

Features

Samsung’s penchant for cramming (almost) every imaginable feature into its TVs is, once again, evident with the S99H.

We’ll start with the QD-OLED display, which Samsung has managed to squeeze even more brightness out of since we last saw it on the S95F. It can now reportedly reach a whopping 2700 nits in the Movie picture mode, and as you’ll come to find out in the picture section of this review, there are plenty of instances in which we find ourselves being taken aback by how bright this TV can get.

Samsung has also improved its Glare Free coating this year, making it more effective at combating reflections and glare from ambient light. The matte display also makes artwork from Samsung’s Art Mode feature look more realistic for those who want a TV that blends into its surroundings.

In usual Samsung fashion, HDR support comes in the form of HDR10+ (including the Adaptive and Gaming versions), HDR10 and HLG, but not Dolby Vision.

Samsung's answer to Dolby Vision 2, HDR10+ Advanced, is also supported by the S99H. Unfortunately, no content is available in the new format yet, and we don't have a date for its arrival. Amazon is said to be working on adding it to Prime Video in the not too distant future, though.

Hardcore PC gamers will be pleased to learn that the S99H can handle signals right up to 4K/165Hz, as well as the console-friendly 4K/120Hz format, across all four of its HDMI 2.1 sockets. VRR, ALLM and HDR10+ Gaming are also all supported.

All of the connections are built into a side-facing nook in the rear of the TV, which is a departure from the One Connect box that has come with Samsung’s previous flagship OLED TVs.

One Connect does live on, though, and in a quite remarkable way: Samsung is offering an optional Wireless One Connect accessory, which is set to launch in July for £299 / $350 (AU price TBC).

This features four HDMI sockets, and because it connects to the S99H wirelessly, it takes the total HDMI 2.1 socket count to a staggering eight. That’s enough to support all three of the current-generation consoles, a gaming PC, a 4K Blu-ray player, a soundbar or AVR, and a streaming device, and you’d still have one spare.

The S99H also supports Dolby Atmos, both via HDMI eARC and through its built-in 4.2.2-channel 70W sound system.

Samsung offers two simplistic sound modes, Standard and Amplify, but there is also a range of Samsung-specific sound processing features based on its Vision AI platform, including Object Tracking Sound Plus, Active Voice Amplifier Pro, Adaptive Sound Pro, and AI Sound Controller Pro; all of which are fairly self-explanatory.

Q Symphony also returns. This allows you to use the TV’s speakers in unison with those of a connected Samsung soundbar, but it should be approached with caution – we generally find that a good soundbar performs best when the less capable speakers of a TV don't get involved.

AI also steps in to help with picture processing, as Samsung has implemented its 4K AI Upscaling Pro, AI Motion Enhancer Pro and Auto HDR Remastering Pro features, alongside a Real Depth Enhancer contrast enhancement system and Colour Booster Pro.

On the subject of AI, Samsung has applied its “AI for All” mantra in swathes here, as the S99H is positively dripping in artificial intelligence, right down to the AI button on the remote.

A click of this button brings up Samsung’s Vision AI interface, which can recognise on-screen content and provide extra contextual information. This includes related content, cast information and prompts to find out more detailed information about the show or movie.

Scrolling from this page brings us to a more generalised AI interface, from which Samsung allows you to pick your preferred system. Here you can ask for recipes, generate AI wallpapers, or ask general questions. The sky is, hypothetically, the limit.

This is all made possible by the same NQ4 AI Gen3 Processor found in last year’s S95F, as well as Samsung’s Tizen OS platform. The operating system has had a fairly comprehensive refresh for 2026, with a new content bar at the top that splits your apps into categories including entertainment, gaming and art, and the operation feels generally slicker.

App coverage is mostly excellent, with a wide range of international and domestic streaming applications. Currently, the only missing app is BBC iPlayer; we’ve reached out to Samsung, which says that it expects to add iPlayer support soon.

Samsung TV Plus, which features hundreds of free over-the-internet streaming channels, is also included, and gamers are well looked after thanks to the presence of apps for services such as Xbox, Amazon Luna, and Nvidia GeForce Now.

Picture quality

It’s clear that Samsung has been working to tweak and adjust its picture processing over the years in the pursuit of achieving that final pinch of picture quality excellence, and the S99H is evidence that its work has paid off. This is Samsung’s most mature TV yet, and it’s all the better for that.

We opt for Filmmaker Mode as our preferred picture preset, albeit with a couple of tweaks to get the best performance possible: we switch Colour Temperature from its Warm 2 default to Warm 1, and turn the judder and blur reduction settings up to 1.

The resulting picture is extraordinary, and it makes any content we throw at it – from Blade Runner 2049, Civil War, Pan and Drive, to No Time To Die and The Batman – shine. We have the S99F set up next to the Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II, and despite the tough competition, the Samsung delivers an unflinching visual feast.

Starting with the opening scene of Blade Runner 2049, we find that the S99H serves up oodles of contrast, which results in a deeply three-dimensional picture with superb highlights.

The overhead shot of the solar farm instantly draws us in, thanks to the superb detail levels mixed with the excellent sense of depth. We also approve of how the S99H handles the gloomy, bluish-grey sky, as well as the skin tones of Officer K and Sapper Morton.

In fact, the S99H makes the Sony Bravia 8 II look a bit green in our head-to-head comparison, and skin tones start to look a bit pasty, too. Sony TVs have traditionally leaned towards the cooler side when it comes to colour reproduction, even in Filmmaker Mode, but it’s interesting to see these TVs take a different approach, particularly as they use the same panel technology.

This is most evident in the scene from Pan in which the floating pirate ship enters a cavern; the Samsung runs rings around the Sony when it comes to maintaining low-light colour volume. Skin tones are noticeably warmer and more vibrant on the Samsung in this instance. That being said, the Sony is evidently better at maintaining shadow detail.

In fact, some shadow detail is lost entirely on the S99H, especially during dark sequences in moodier flicks such as Drive and The Batman. In both films, we find facial features and clothing textures occasionally succumb to darkness, while the Sony has no trouble keeping them visible.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Samsung takes the crown when it comes to delivering dazzlingly bright highlights; in fact, we’re adding the S99H to the list of TVs that we’ve had to shield our eyes from physically.

Reverting to the exceptionally bright (and critically dismal) Pan, we find the mix of punchy, concentrated highlights and rich colours stealing our attention away from the Sony entirely.

However, the more conventional-looking Civil War is the perfect test disc to highlight exactly what this TV does well. Everything from the night-time forest fire sequence to a helicopter gliding over a lake and the Charlottesville military camp looks fantastic.

There’s a real sense of nuance here that previous Samsung TVs haven’t always been able to capture. Foliage, for example, is wonderfully textured and detailed without looking over-etched, and while the colours do seem a smidge over-saturated compared with those from the Bravia 8 II, it's not to an extent that looks instinctively wrong.

The sequence that shows the journalists driving through a forest fire seals the deal here. The mix of detail, depth and contrast served up by the S99H is remarkable – the striking, bright flames contrast wonderfully with the dark background, and there is a real sense of intensity and warmth derived from how Samsung's OLED handles highlights.

We fire up the standard Blu-ray of Logan to assess the S99H’s upscaling capabilities, and it's a similar story here, too. Detail levels are superb, and if we weren’t so eagle-eyed, the S99H could almost have fooled us into thinking we were watching a 4K disc.

Colours are also nicely balanced, and motion remains solid, too. This TV excels regardless of what you throw at it.

Sound

It’s not just the picture performance that Samsung has improved. Sound has also been upgraded, which is a good sign after the S95F’s middling delivery.

We stick with Civil War, which highlights everything from dialogue to explosions, and even Dolby Atmos height effects. The rhythmic swooping of helicopter blades is delivered with a strong leading edge, underpinned by a pleasingly controlled dose of bass.

Moving on to the scene in which Lee and Jessie have a heart-to-heart conversation in a wooded area, we approve of how the S99H captures the subtle characteristics of their voices well, and overall, the dialogue is crisp and well-defined. The atmospheric effects, including birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind, sound pleasingly spacious, too.

There is plenty of height and width to the sound, which is also evident in Blade Runner 2049. The sequence in which Officer K returns to his home from the police precinct is another example of how the S99H captures atmospheric sounds to great effect.

The booming audio adverts are placed with impressive precision and plenty of height, while the S99H somehow manages to beam the sound of the bustling street in a way that creates a fairly convincing sense of immersion.

While we’re on the subject of Blade Runner, we put the S99H through our usual chapter two stress test and find that Samsung has changed its approach. Where many of the brand's previous models have been quite bassy but a little prone to distortion, the S99H digs less deep but proves to be almost entirely distortion-free.

Sony takes a similar approach with the Bravia 8 II (and many other of its TVs), and we ultimately find it to be a sensible compromise. We would of course like more bass weight, but if that has to be sacrificed somewhat to reduce distracting distortion, then so be it.

It’s not all good news on the sonic front, though: like the S95F, the S99H simply doesn't go very loud. Even close to its maximum volume levels, this is an easy TV to talk over. The Amplify setting helps to negate this somewhat, but it does result in some dynamic compression.

The Sony Bravia 8 II also does a better job of organising the sound during scenes with lots of competing effects. The ending battle of Civil War is a perfect example, as the Sony balances dialogue, explosions, and vehicle sounds with care to create a more impactful and immersive soundscape.

With all that said, the S99H is still a big improvement over the S95F where sound is concerned, and it's ultimately a very usable (and even enjoyable) built-in sound system.

Verdict

There’s no other way of putting it; Samsung has knocked it out of the park with the S99H.

With a refined approach to picture tuning, a feature set that (with one key caveat) many TVs can only dream of, and a greatly improved sound system compared with last year’s model, the company’s latest flagship OLED TV takes the title from the S95F as the best TV the company has made to date.

The bold new design might not suit all tastes, and die-hard Dolby Vision fans may be disappointed, but we’re struggling to find reasons not to recommend the Samsung S99H to anyone considering splashing some serious cash on a flagship OLED TV.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony Bravia 8 II

Also consider the LG G6

Read our Philips OLED910 review

Best TVs: flagship OLEDs and budget Mini LED sets tried and tested

If you want to watch movies on the big screen without forking out thousands for a TV bigger than 85 inches, a coffee table projector can be a tempting proposition. That’s because they can offer a large screen size paired with an easy-to-carry design that gives added flexibility.

The Soundcore Nebula P1 is the latest model to enter the villa, offering a portable build and boasting promising tech specifications. And there’s an intriguing sound addition that is a unique proposition when it comes to the coffee table projector market.

This audio offering makes this projector stand out from the crowd, but as we’ll see, it is ultimately let down in another key category.

Price

The Soundcore Nebula P1 launched at £700 / $800 / AU$1300, placing it in the mid-range lifestyle projector category. We have already seen some limited deals, which have dropped the price to around £595 in the UK, for example.

At a similar level is the Xgimi MoGo 4, a portable projector that is currently available for about £499 in the UK, although it launched at the slightly higher price of £509 / $499 / AU$1399. We gave this model a solid four stars for its punchy picture and compact design, and it features in our best portable projectors guide.

It’s worth noting that the MoGo 4 is not aiming at the same market as the Nebula model. The Xgimi projector has a built-in battery, unlike the Nebula P1, but it lacks separate speakers.

Design

Those separate speakers really make the P1 stand out from the crowd. The two wireless speakers sit on top of the projector and are secured by a magnetic connection and a cute lock switch on the projector’s body. You can charge the pair from here, or separately via their USB-C ports.

The speakers are lightweight and easy to carry, sporting a sleek grey finish with two rounded corners.

You can place them around your space “wherever you see fit”, as the brand claims when you are prompted to set them up. In our test room, we place the speakers on either side of the projector to achieve a degree of spaciousness and stereo separation, facing towards our seating.

There is no Dolby Atmos support, but they offer Dolby Audio to create 2.0-channel sound.

The projector itself feels practical and sturdy. There is a flexible cloth handle that makes it easy to carry around, especially as the complete package weighs only 2.4kg. You can tilt the body up to 130 degrees towards your screen or wall, and the body acts as a stand, which makes set-up simple.

The included remote control has a sleek, premium feel. You can use this to control power and volume, access auto-focus and streaming platform shortcuts.

Features

On the back of the projector, you will find an HDMI eARC port that supports up to 4K at 60Hz. You will also find a USB-A port and a 3.5mm aux jack if you want to connect your headphones.

As we mentioned, the P1 doesn’t have a built-in battery, but you can run it from a portable power supply via the USB-C port: Anker, Soundcore's parent company, sells specific chargers in a bundle on its website, or you can use a non-official one as long as it has a minimum power output of 100W.

Anker claims that its official 737 Power Bank delivers “one hour of continuous use” with the speakers attached to the body and the brightness set to full. That is, of course, not long enough for a full movie or even a football match, so we feel it’s best to think of the P1 as a compact mains-based projector, rather than a true portable one.

The P1 can output an image up to 180 inches in size, and it has a 1080p resolution and HDR10 support.

Nebula claims the projector can produce up to 650 ANSI lumens of brightness, which is brighter than its Xgimi MoGo 4 rival, which comes in at 450 ANSI lumens.

It also uses the Google TV operating system, giving you access to streaming apps such as Apple TV, Prime Video, Channel 4 and Netflix. There is no BBC iPlayer, although you can cast it from your phone as a workaround.

There is a range of smart features to help you get your picture looking straight. That includes auto-focus and auto-keystone, but you can also do this manually if you need to fine-tune. Once you have set up your projector, you can save settings into presets if you repeatedly use it in the same location.

You can also employ Nebula’s own “Vision Fit” tech to set up your screen. This is used via the Nebula Connect app, from which you take a photo of the surface where you’d like to project the image, and the projector will use it to optimise the results. It’s a neat idea in theory, but it is rather time-consuming, and we find ourselves sticking with the more traditional settings.

The app gives you much of the same functionality as the remote control, but you can also access more detailed picture and sound settings.

Picture

When we first switch on the P1 in the default 'Nebulamaster' picture setting in our dark test room, we are greeted with an overly vivid and unpleasant image. We kick off with Sinners on Blu-ray as Sammie drives up to his father’s church, where his movements look exaggerated and too smooth, so he bobs around in the car like a giddy child on a seesaw.

Once we change to Movie mode and turn the MEMC (Motion Estimation and Motion Compensation) setting to low, motion looks much more natural and lacks distracting judder. Sammie enters the frame with a little bit of a bounce, but feels more grounded than in the default setting.

We also knock the sharpness and saturation settings down a few notches. With these adjustments, the picture is much more balanced. In Sinners, as the sun peers out from the clouds at the start of an ominous morning, the projector delivers a relatively natural-looking image, but the colours lack the degree of pop required to deliver a genuinely punchy picture. Instead, you get a slightly flat overall look. The shining sun, for instance, lacks the vibrancy to break through the rest of the picture.

Switching to No Time To Die on Blu-ray, as Daniel Craig’s Bond has a near miss with an explosive device, his skin tone also lacks much natural warmth, instead looking a little pale and unnatural. His features look overetched as well (even with the projector’s Sharpness setting dropped down to zero), exaggerating wrinkles and bumps to a clearly unrealistic degree.

This is a wider issue with the P1 – especially when it comes to wide scenery shots. In the sweeping footage of the Italian town, the projector exaggerates the outlines of the trees and bricks in the buildings. This makes the image look too busy, and in fact means the whole picture verges on grainy instead of clean and clear.

Shadow detail is not the strongest, either. In Civil War, as the journalist protagonists recover from a traumatic event, young photographer Jessie sits with her legs hanging out of a parked van. It is hard to distinguish the interior from her dark hair in the shadows. There is a differentiation between the inside and the outside of the van, but it does not go as dark as rivals.

Despite its claimed 650 lumens, the P1's brightness is underwhelming and lacks the punch we expect. When we test the projector in a lit room, the P1 is still usable, but it isn't impressive, and it loses some shadow detail and colour.

We compare the Nebula model with the Xgimi MoGo 4. Both projectors accept movies in HDR, and the P1 is certainly the better performer in this format. It looks less overcooked compared with the MoGo 4, and keeps the image more balanced overall.

When we switch back to SDR content, the MoGo 4 delivers an image with both deeper blacks and punchier highlights, resulting in a more three-dimensional overall picture that immediately grabs the eye.

While the Nebula P1 offers a reasonably balanced picture and performs acceptably in brighter environments, its lack of punch and brightness holds it back, and in picture terms it can't match the cheaper MoGo 4.

Sound

The P1’s speakers, each powered by 10W of amplification, really are the stars of the show. They deliver clean, engaging sound that adds much-needed energy to movies and TV shows.

In Civil War, as an army chopper takes off, each swing of the rotor blade is portrayed with an impactful punch that elevates the tension of the scene. The wide soundfield is impressive, too; the chopper moves from one side of the screen to another, giving a real sense of breadth.

Dialogue is also clear and emotive. Vocals take centre stage, as they should, but not at the expense of the rest of the mix.

The performance of the speakers will depend at least somewhat on where you can put them in your space, especially if you are outside, and they’re certainly not on a par with the best dedicated Bluetooth speakers, but compared with the speaker systems of most portable and lifestyle projectors, they’re a massive improvement.

Verdict

With the best sound we have heard from a coffee table projector at this price, the Soundcore Nebula P1 certainly offers something new. And its clever, compact design makes for a practical and flexible proposition.

It's a shame the picture performance isn't at the same level, but if you don't mind sacrificing some quality there in the name of much better sound, this is a compelling choice.

SCORES

• Picture 3
• Sound 5
• Design 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Xgimi MoGo 4

Also consider the Hisense M2 Pro

Read our Anker Nebula Mars 3 Air review

Best projectors: the best options tested by our home cinema experts

It’s been a tricky few years for Onkyo.

Historically better known for its AV receivers, the Japanese company filed for bankruptcy back in 2022, but not before offloading its core home AV and hi-fi division to a joint venture between Premium Audio Company (the parent company of Klipsch, Integra, Magnat and others) and Sharp.

It teased a return at the end of 2024 before finally launching new hi-fi electronics and an affordable line of powered speakers at CES 2025.

That range of electronics was called ‘Icon’, and it’s the Onkyo Icon A-50 streaming amplifier that you see before you here.

It’s a strong choice of name – but can the level of performance on offer match it?

Price

Priced at £1199 / £1599 / AU$3299, the Onkyo lives in a space where there isn’t too much in the way of major rivals.

The one potential stumbling block to its success is a big one, though. It comes in the shape of the Ruark Audio R610 (£1199 / $1599 / AU$2299), a What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025 winner, no less.

This neat box of tricks offers similar functionality to the Onkyo and has a price tag which is comparable in both the UK and the US.

There is a bit of a gap in pricing when you look at the Australian market, but we think it’s the product most people are likely to compare it to.

Design & build

Once unboxed, first impressions are mixed. Onkyo has gone down the traditional full-width separates route for the Icon A-50 as opposed to the slightly more stylish and more modern design of the Ruark.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with 'traditional', and from a distance everything appears perfectly well-appointed – all the various controls, buttons and switches seem to be proportionate and in the right place.

Once it’s powered up, that sliver of orange LED on the volume control sharpens up the amp’s appearance nicely. It contrasts neatly with its black surround and matches the ladder of LEDs that arcs around the input selector. Each rung glows orange as you cycle through the various options until you arrive at your desired input.

However, your contact points feel a little, dare we say, cheap. The top of the chassis, despite having an attractive pattern of vents, doesn’t feel the most robust.

The power button, depending on how it’s pressed, can make a quite off-putting springy noise, while the volume control makes quite a substantial clicking noise around halfway up its travel.

We weren’t quite sure why the amp was doing this, so we reached out to Onkyo, who told us “to prevent the product temperature from becoming high, the power supply for the amplifier is designed to switch between two levels, low and high, depending on factors such as the volume value, internal temperature sensor, and speaker output level".

It’s a strange quirk and something that we haven’t come across on a product like this before. It’s also something that we did find distracting during testing.

The textured finish to the input selector feels nice to the touch, but the control’s actual movement is a little soft and not quite as precise as we’d like.

Add all the design and build elements together, and we’re left with a feeling that we’re not quite getting our money’s worth.

The supplied remote is a relatively ordinary plastic wand which contains all the basic buttons for changing input, volume and accessing the tone controls.

It does the job without too many complaints, although a couple of times, when controlling the volume, the dial seemed to briefly resist and even go in the opposite direction before rotating the desired way.

Features

Speaking of controls, you are encouraged to download Onkyo’s Controller app before you begin set-up.

Companion apps for anything streaming-related can be hit and miss in our experience, and the Onkyo’s isn’t without issue. There’s plenty of functionality built in, for sure, but it struggles to gloss over what is all too often a frustrating and buggy experience.

What should be a simple set-up process is hampered by an over-complicated and overly fussy menu system and an app that is generally slow and sluggish to respond.

Tidal Connect worked smoothly as you’d expect, but the Amazon Music implementation is sluggish and buggy. On one occasion, we are streaming music using the service through the Controller app and the icons for skipping tracks disappear from the screen on our iPhone 15 Plus.

Through the app, you can access the Onkyo’s basic Dirac Live room correction or the built-in Fidelity IQ calibration. Both of these can use the microphone, which comes with the amplifier and plugs into the corresponding socket on the front panel.

Depending on your room layout and characteristics, you might want to stick with how they calibrate the sound, but we preferred them both turned off. In our acoustically treated rooms, Dirac Live sounded a little lightweight, while the Fidelity IQ option seemed to change the balance and boost certain frequencies at the expense of others, resulting in an unbalanced sound.

Instead, we would suggest actually flicking the switch on the front of the A-50 to turn on Direct mode. With this mode engaged, your music won’t pass through the amp’s tone control circuit and instead travel on a slightly shorter signal path.

In our opinion, it makes a subtle, yet audible difference to the sound quality. Music sounds slightly cleaner and more transparent.

During testing, there were a couple of bugs that cropped up when experimenting with Dirac Live, Fidelity IQ, and Direct mode. On a couple of occasions, the amplifier went rogue and turned the bass up in the tone controls when switching between them. The Onkyo would also occasionally mute the sound when switching between Dirac Live and Fidelity IQ.

We actually found the best part of the control app to be the volume control. Tapping the button on your screen launches a pop-up volume dial, which you slide your thumb around. The dial’s action is nice and smooth, and the amp is quick to respond.

On the front of the amp is a 6.3mm headphone socket, and four LED indicators next to a ‘my input’ button, which you can use to assign a particular source and sound settings to a single preset.

Around the back are three analogue inputs, two optical digital inputs, one coaxial digital input, a USB-A input for an external storage device, an HDMI ARC socket and a phono input for the moving magnet/moving coil phono stage.

Bluetooth connectivity is also included, which allows you to not only beam music to the Onkyo from a smartphone or tablet, but also transmit Bluetooth audio to a pair of Bluetooth headphones for, say, some late-night, wireless listening. The amp is compatible with SBC, aptX and aptX HD codecs.

The networked A-50 can cater for virtually all your streaming needs with support for Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, Amazon Music and TuneIn internet radio. It also supports AirPlay, Chromecast and is Roon Ready.

Sound

The Icon A-50 is claimed to deliver 110W per channel (into 8 ohms) using Class A/B amplification. During testing, we have it hooked up to our reference bookshelf speakers, the Epos ES-7N, and the amplifier seems perfectly at home driving them.

We start with a track or two from our Naim Uniti Core server accessed through the controller app, and we like what we hear.

Playing Lady Gaga’s Starstruck, the A-50 puts its best foot forward. The track sounds punchy, weighty and piques our interest with a lively and spacious sound.

There’s plenty of scale and size to the soundstage, too – the Onkyo sounds bold and forthcoming, but doesn’t sound overpowering. It’s nicely measured in its approach.

Bass notes hit with weight and authority, but it’s not just about the amount of bass. There’s decent detail and texture there too, and the difference in intensity between each low-frequency blow is easy enough to distinguish.

We wheel out the five-star Ruark R610 for comparison, and although it sounds smaller scale and less open, you do get a much greater sense of focus and precision compared to the Onkyo.

The current What Hi-Fi? Award-winner sounds more sure of itself, displaying greater composure and also has the edge when communicating the rhythmic flow and dynamic shifts of the track.

We slow things down with George Michael’s Careless Whisper and the Onkyo’s large, expansive delivery comes to the fore once again. It’s nice to listen to and does a fine job of separating the various elements of the track.

However, the vocal isn’t delivered with quite as much conviction or precision, nor does the saxophone sound as solid or dynamically dexterous as it is when heard through the Ruark.

Having said that, the A-50 still sounds balanced. There’s no sign of any brightness or hardness at the top end, and you certainly couldn’t accuse the Onkyo of delivering unruly and overly keen bass frequencies, either.

We play the same two tunes over Tidal Connect and Bluetooth, and the amplifier remains in character. Yes, the compressed Bluetooth versions sound just that, but the Onkyo maintains its broad, expansive personality.

Unfortunately, we can’t say the same for the phono stage. Connecting a Rega Planar 3 RS Edition and playing Lukas Graham’s Happy Home, and we are left feeling disappointed by the slightly flat and compressed sound that greets us.

Tonally, there’s nothing too off-putting, and it’s balanced and easy-going enough, but there’s a distinct lack of drive to the synthy bassline, and his normally expressive vocal sounds stunted.

The headphone output, by contrast, sounds tonally grey compared to what we hear from the amp’s speaker outputs. There’s a lack of natural warmth, and detail levels take a hit too.

Verdict

As you’ll have probably guessed by now, we aren’t as enamoured with the Onkyo Icon A-50 as we had hoped to be.

The large-scale, powerful sound it produces shows potential, and there are likeable elements to its sound quality, but it never really comes close to troubling the composure and dynamic finesse of the class-leader at this level.

Combine the questions over build with the buggy app, and the Onkyo feels like one of those products where it’s a good concept on paper, but, ultimately, the execution is lacking.

Review published: 9th June 2026

SCORES

• Sound 3
• Features 3
• Build 3

MORE:

Also consider the Ruark Audio R610

Best music streamers: top network audio players tested by our experts

We have seen several feature-packed all-in-one hi-fi systems enter the market from traditional manufacturers in recent times. Cambridge Audio, KEF, Sonus Faber, Naim and Ruark Audio, to name but a few, all offer one-box solutions which include source(s), input and speakers built-in. And now we can add Danish speaker manufacturer Dali to that list.

At High End Vienna 2026, it launched Vega, a hi-fi system with a twist, and one that the company has actually been working on for four years. Obviously, we couldn’t resist dropping by the Dali stand for a closer look to see the system in action.

Price

The Dali Vega costs £2599 / $4500 / AU$4499 and launches in October. This makes it more expensive than the Ruark Audio R410 (£1299 / $1699 / AU$2599) or Cambridge Audio Evo One (£1299 / $1499 / AU$2499.

However, it does sit below the £2999 / $3600 / €3300 asking price of the Focal Mu-so Hekla, which will be one of its key rivals.

Design and build

Dali claims Vega has been designed to be “the most versatile and user-friendly audio source in the home”. And it definitely delivers the kind of flexibility and thoughtfulness we haven’t seen in this arena before.

Besides placing Vega horizontally on a tabletop, you can also wall-mount it. Not only that, but you can flip it through ninety degrees so it hangs upright.

It’s a clever idea and offers users an extra solution when room space might be tight, and attaching it to a wall is an option.

Although it does offer HDMI connectivity, Dali is at pains to say this is a wireless sound system and not a soundbar – there’s no Dolby Atmos or upfiring drivers.

What it does have is a 400W digital amp running 8 channels of audio. Under the woven fabric speaker grilles are two 25mm soft dome tweeters and two 4.5in wood-fibre/paper mid/bass cones on the front, and you'll find the same driver configuration on the rear.

At either end of the unit is an anodised aluminium passive radiator, which matches the finish of the speaker. They’re black on the dark oak finish and silver on the light oak silver finish.

You can’t miss the large circular control on the top of Vega. Dail has spent a lot of time trying to make it tactile and nice to use, and when we try it out, it seems smooth to operate.

It uses a military-grade ball-bearing, while the housing of the wheel is metal with a glass top. Tap the glass, and it brings up Vega’s menus, which are located on a small OLED screen positioned next to it.

The writing on the screen switches to match the unit's portrait or landscape orientation, which is a neat touch. Dali explained that this functionality would have been difficult to achieve with a more traditional dot-matrix LCD display.

It does seem a little small, especially when trying to read the speaker’s settings from a distance, but once the speaker is set up, you’ll mainly be interacting with the BluOS app on your smartphone or tablet.

To the left of the control dial is a row of buttons which includes power, mute and input switching. You also get five customisable preset buttons, which you could assign to a radio station or streaming service – you can even map one to a particular input.

Features

As we’ve mentioned, Vega is powered by BluOS, which we've found to be a stable and well-featured streaming platform. Everything else for Vega has been designed in-house by Dali.

This includes a patent-pending Adaptive Stereo Enhancement (ASE) DSP processing that monitors the incoming stereo signal in real-time and adapts it to fill your room in a spacious and immersive manner.

Out of the box, Vega is set up for use on a shelf or tabletop and has three settings to choose from depending on its placement: free space, medium, and close.

Each one of these affects the sound output from the rear of the speaker, which is at its maximum when in free space mode.

You also have not one but two wall mounting options (it comes with a bracket in the box). It can be positioned horizontally or vertically and uses an internal accelerometer to work out its orientation, and it will automatically switch the output of the speakers to match.

So, when it’s mounted vertically, instead of still having left and right channels firing out of the front and rear, the whole left side of Vega becomes the left channel, and the right side becomes the right channel. Very clever.

To accommodate wall mounting, all connections are underneath the system as opposed to on the rear – Vega offers HDMI ARC, an RCA analogue input, an optical digital connection and a USB input for an external drive. There’s also a subwoofer output, should you want to up the bass at a later date.

In addition to the BluOS streaming smarts, Vega’s wireless connectivity also includes Bluetooth aptX HD, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect and AirPlay 2.

Sound

During our demo with Vega, we were shown the effect of having the ASE processing on and off, and although it was tricky to hear too much, thanks to the noise coming from other areas of the exhibition space, you could still hear the sound shrink and become smaller scale when it was turned off.

Turned back on, you could hear the sound open up again and become larger and fuller.

We’ll obviously need to get it into our test rooms for a full sound quality evaluation, but we heard a few seconds of Ray Charles and Natalie Cole’s version of Fever and the double bass and finger clicks seemed to be nicely defined and have decent snap to them.

Vega seems to serve up an open and dynamic sound, although it was difficult to really evaluate the detail and definition that managed to cut through the noise on the stand.

We switched up the pace with the Stereo MC’s Step It Up, and the Dali seemed to have a skip in its step with seemingly decent punch and power. We couldn’t really hear anything stick out of the frequency range, but it was competing with a lot of environmental noise.

Initial verdict

Obviously, we won’t know how the Dali Vega truly fares until we’ve had a chance to put it through its paces in our test rooms, but it’s an eye-catching offering from the brand in the category of all-in-one hi-fi systems.

Not only does it boast interesting tech developed in-house, Dali’s managed to package its wireless sound system with an attractive amount of versatility.

Some might see the wall-mounting as a bit of a gimmick, but we think the extra flexibility has legs and is a novel approach where space in many living rooms is at a premium. If Vega manages to execute it successfully, Dali could be onto something, and we can’t wait to find out.

MORE:

Dali's premium all-in-one system promises hi-fi-level performance in any place, and in any position

High End Vienna 2026: all the news and highlights from Europe's biggest hi-fi show

I heard Cambridge Audio's new Evo streaming amplifier at High End Vienna – was it evolution or revolution?

Our pick of the best hi-fi systems you can buy for every budget

Streaming amplifiers make a lot of sense – they are solutions for people who want convenience but don’t want to sacrifice audio quality.

Historically, Cambridge Audio’s Evo line has provided just that – and it now has a new addition in the shape of the range-topping Evo 300.

We headed into Cambridge Audio’s demonstration room at High End Vienna 2026 to see and hear it in action.

Price

The Evo 300 costs £3499/€3999/$3999 which places it slightly above our current favourite around that price, the Award-winning Arcam SA35. The Arcam costs £2999 / $3300 / AU$6495 and launched back in May 2024.

To give you some extra context, the Cambridge Audio Evo 75 and Evo 150 launched in 2021 for £1799 / $2250 / AU$3299 and £2249 / $3000 / AU$4299, respectively, while the Evo 150 SE arrived in 2025 with a price tag of £1999 / $3299 / AU$5795.

Design and build

If you’re familiar with any of the previous Evo models, you’ll know what to expect from the Evo 300. And the fact that it takes after its siblings is a good thing.

Like the rest of the Evo family that has come before, the new model is a good-looking piece of kit with styling that should look at home in a wide range of listening environments.

It has a premium-looking and feeling black aluminium cabinet which boasts Evo’s party piece – interchangeable side panels. You get two options: a real wood veneer or a black slatted option, should you want a traditional or more modern aesthetic.

On the front of the amp is a 7.8-inch display – the largest Cambridge Audio has used to date. And it seems just as crisp and punchy as the screens we have seen on older Evo products.

Album artwork looks good, and it’s also easy to read, whether you’re looking at track information, changing volume or switching inputs. This is good to see – it isn’t always a given on products of this type.

As with previous Evos, a small strip of buttons runs down the right side of the screen, and at the far right side of the fascia is the volume dial/control wheel combination.

You do get a slender remote control with the Evo 300, although you’re more likely to use Cambridge Audio’s intuitive StreamMagic app for the majority of your interactions.

Features

As the model name implies, the power output of the Evo is 300W per channel. This is provided by Hypex NCOREx power modules.

Under the aluminium chassis, you’ll find a dual-mono layout, a balanced pre-amplifier stage and an ESS Sabre ES9038Q2M DAC, which supports up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM and DSD512.

Streaming comes courtesy of Cambridge Audio’s excellent StreamMagic platform, which provides support for Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, Amazon Music, Deezer, Qobuz Connect, Roon Ready, UPnP and Internet Radio. The amp also supports Bluetooth 5.4 (including aptX HD), AirPlay 2 and is Roon Ready.

Around the back of the unit, there are two sets of speaker terminals, RCA and balanced XLR inputs, HDMI eARC connectivity, and a built-in moving-magnet phono stage for a compatible turntable.

You also get an adjustable subwoofer output and an optional high-pass filter for the main speakers.

Sound

All the hi-fi show listening caveats apply here in terms of room design, layout and impact of external noise. In a room full of keen journalists jostling for position, it’s tricky to get the complete picture of a product.

Still, we were treated to a few tracks on the Evo 300 – partnered with a pair of £8000 Dynaudio Contour Legacy floorstanders – to give us a flavour.

We kick things off with a blast of Inertia Creeps by Massive Attack, and there seems to be plenty of power behind the drum thwacks.

The overall delivery appears focused and precise with a good amount of insight. Edges of notes seem well-defined with a good amount of texture.

Switching to Foo Fighters’ Stranger Things Have Happened, and there seems to be good separation in the stereo image with space around both the guitar and Dave Grohl’s vocal.

It’s an open, expansive image, and the guitar strums sound nicely defined with a good amount of weight behind them.

As the intensity of the guitar play and the vocal pick up during the course of the track, the amplifier seems to follow suit.

Initial verdict

In terms of build, design and features, it certainly looks as though the Cambridge Audio Evo 300 ticks a lot of boxes.

And, although we aren’t too familiar with the speakers used by Cambridge Audio in the demo, what we hear in our brief time with the streaming amplifier is more than enough to make us keen to get one into our test rooms for a closer listen.

The streaming amplifiers category is growing in size all the time, so it will be interesting to see if Cambridge Audio can set the benchmark for performance at the price.

MORE:

High End Vienna 2026: all the news and what to expect from Europe's biggest hi-fi show

I’ve had a first listen to Bowers & Wilkins’ new flagship 800 Series Diamond speakers – and now I’m desperate to hear more

Our pick of the best hi-fi systems for all budgets

The separates approach has held sway in the world of high-end hi-fi from the very beginning. That is perfectly understandable, given the idea that each component only has one job to do, and so can be optimised for that task. Such logic is undeniable. When you are charging huge sums of money for a premium product, every last degree of performance matters, after all.

But we’ve noticed a change in recent years. Manufacturers are getting better at integrating functionality without compromising the sound, particularly in the digital space. Esoteric’s new N-05XE streaming preamplifier is a prime example of that trend.

This beautifully made unit combines network streaming, digital-to-analogue conversion and a preamplifier in one neat, albeit chunky box. Any house-proud hi-fi enthusiast will appreciate the reduction in interconnects, mains cables and required rack space a product like this brings. Just add a power amp with passive speakers or, even better, a pair of actives, and you have a minimalist but well-featured system that (potentially) can still match the best at the price.

Design & features

The N-05XE seems like an ideal front-end for such a set-up. It is well equipped, sporting a streaming section that ticks almost all the boxes. This Esoteric will play any music file available on your home network, but has to be hardwired via an Ethernet cable or optical using an SFP port. wi-fi connectivity, while undeniably convenient, is not on the menu on stability and performance grounds.

We have no complaints about file compatibility. It is excellent. This Esoteric is happy to play high-res recordings up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM and DSD 22.5MHz. We can’t imagine anyone getting caught short with this player. Embedded streaming services include the Connect versions of Tidal, Qobuz and Spotify, and the N-05XE is certified as Roon Ready.

This streaming preamp’s digital section is a little out of the ordinary. Rather than use off-the-shelf DAC chips for the N-05XE’s digital module, the engineers decided on an in-house solution based around an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array); a powerful processor programmed with the company’s own software instructions. This converter section is a multi-level Delta Sigma design based around discrete components to optimise performance.

Should the upgrade bug strike, which we suspect may take a while, it is possible to add an outboard 10MHz clock to the N-05XE. Esoteric’s own G-05 clock costs £5500 / $5800 / AU$9000, so it's a serious investment. We have heard such things make a notable improvement, so it is worth a listen.

For a streaming preamp to be successful, the analogue side of things has to be as capable as the digital. Esoteric’s engineers haven’t cut corners with the N-05XE’s analogue preamp section. It is a dual-mono, fully-balanced design with a sophisticated power supply arrangement that even goes as far as delivering a dedicated feed to the volume control circuit. Great care has been taken to ensure that the preamp performs consistently, whether driving a power amplifier, the line output or the headphone socket.

That headphone output is no afterthought. Esoteric has taken things seriously here, developing a new dual-mono parallel single-ended amplifier module. The aim was not only to improve the sound but also to ensure good drive characteristics across a broad spectrum of headphone types. There is a choice of a conventional 6.3mm socket or a 4-pin XLR output on the front panel. The headphone amplifier is rated at a healthy 1200mW per channel into a 32-ohm load, which should be enough in most cases.

The company has worked hard to ensure that the N-05XE can slot easily into a wide range of systems. There is a good choice of digital connections on the rear panel (USB Type B, coax x 2, optical x 2 and AES/EBU) alongside a USB Type A for playback of stored music. In addition, there is a USB Type C socket on the front to connect either a flash drive or a digital source such as a computer or personal music player.

Bluetooth 4.2 is included too. While it isn’t the best sounding connection option as far as sound quality goes, compatibility with higher-quality aptX and LDAC codecs means the results are still more than acceptable. We like that Esoteric has included this wireless functionality, as there are times when the convenience trumps the need for absolute performance

On the analogue side, there are two line-level inputs (stereo RCA and XLR), where the XLR can be configured for conventional balanced use or running Esoteric’s proprietary ES-Link system.

ES-Link is a current-based transmission method (rather than voltage-based, as is conventional), and is claimed to be less sensitive to the impedance characteristics of whatever it is connected to, so improving sound quality. The choice of single-ended RCA, balanced XLR and ESL-A is mirrored on the analogue output side of things

Build

Esoteric has built an enviable reputation for excellent build and engineering, and rightly so. We are happy to report that the N-05XE lives up to those traditions. Its casework is immaculately made and finished, feeling reassuringly solid. Finish options? The N-05XE is available in both black and silver.

The large volume dial spins on ball bearings, so its rotation is as smooth as you like, while every switch and button works with precision, and feels like it will last a generation. We even like the small, double-sided metal remote. It is logically laid out and easy to use.

Esoteric’s engineers are clearly happy to defy convention when they think it is justified. In this case, the N-05XE’s top panel floats loose rather than being attached solidly. It is essentially free to move a millimetre or so and rattles when we tap it.

During development, it was found that mounting the lid loosely in this way lends an increased openness to the product’s sound. Similarly, you will notice that the unit’s feet move around when you take it out of the box. These feet are of a surprisingly complex design, featuring an internal spike-and-base arrangement claimed to disperse mechanical vibrations.

In day-to-day use, a network streamer lives or dies by the quality of its partnering app. Esoteric’s Sound Stream app is a solid effort that proves stable in use. It has the usual range of features, but isn’t quite as slick and intuitive as the best we’ve come across. The layout can look rather cluttered, though we get used to things relatively quickly.

A product at this level deserves a top-class partnering system. We slot the N-05XE into our reference set-up, using it first with our Burmester 088/911 MKIII pre/power driving ATC SCM50 speakers, and then bypassing the preamp and plugging directly into the power.

Our main streamer comparison is with Naim’s pricier ND 555/555 PS DR, but we also have recent experience with price rivals such as Moon’s 681, Linn’s Selekt DSM Edition Hub and Naim’s NSS 333.

Sound

If you love to tweak, you are in luck. In line with most modern digital products, the Esoteric N-05XE allows the user to switch between various upsampling and filter settings.

We spend a good few days experimenting with the various options, and settle on the highest rate (512) for the Delta Sigma Modulator operating frequency and the RDOT option (a slow roll-off design with some clever processing) for the digital filter. But note, the differences between the various settings are subtle at best. The choice comes down to taste and partnering system as much as any obvious superiority.

If you like an extrovert, end-of-the-seat presentation, then this or any other Esoteric product isn’t for you. In our experience, the company’s sonic signature is all about precision, refinement and delicacy. It is a cultured sound that’s impressively clean, combining class-leading detail resolution with a degree of understatement that takes time to appreciate. Once you get used to it, most alternatives seem a little uncouth in comparison.

Stream a demanding classical piece such as Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, and the N-05XE’s composure is welcome. It takes a frantic piece of music and lays it all out effortlessly for the listener. Each instrumental strand is easy to track, and nothing gets lost as the composition becomes ever more difficult. Instruments are carefully rendered, with the texture and shape of notes presented with care.

Tonally, this Esoteric is as balanced as they come, with no particular part of the frequency range gaining undue prominence. The highs are sweet without sacrificing too much in the way of bite, while the top-to-bottom balance remains beautifully cohesive and nicely judged. The presentation doesn’t have the architectural solidity of our reference Naim, but it remains clean and stable.

The N-05XE’s stereo imaging is excellent. The product’s dual-mono configuration obviously pays dividends here, with a broad and spacious soundstage populated by crisply focused instruments. Everything is locked in position and doesn’t blur as the music becomes more demanding. We’re particularly pleased with the way that the N-05XE renders soundstage depth, giving the recording a wonderfully three-dimensional feel.

It is pleasing to note that this Esoteric is equally as talented when used as a DAC. We use a variety of sources from our MacBook Pro (loaded with Audirvana music-playing software and plenty of high-res music files) and Naim’s ND 555 streamer serving as a digital source to an iPhone 14 Pro Max to test Bluetooth.

The N-05XE does well. It has a highly-resolving DAC module and equally talented analogue output stage, which combine to deliver whatever the recording requires. Rosalía’s Berghain comes through with dynamic intensity and rhythmic momentum intact. We marvel at the music’s drama and the Esoteric’s ability to communicate the singer’s emotion while still delivering a high degree of clarity and control.

We switch between various file types from 24-bit/192kHz Beethoven recordings to Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions on DSD, and the N-05XE copes with ease. There is no hint of unwanted hesitation or noise. It gets on with the job without fuss.

Bluetooth pairing is swift, and we have no issues with stability. The sound quality via this input is obviously limited compared to the other options, but it is perfectly fine for casual listening.

It is also pleasing to note that the Esoteric’s analogue inputs sound good too. Such a talent isn’t a given with digital-based components, but it means that the N-05XE is perfectly capable of working well with both analogue and digital sources.

The story is just as positive with headphones. We try Yamaha’s magnetic planar YH-5000SE, Austrian Audio’s open-back The Composer and Focal’s closed-back Stellia, and all work well. The N-05XE drives every headphone with ease, delivering a balanced and detailed sound that is neutral enough to put the spotlight on the headphones rather than the source component.

Verdict

Convenience and the high-end aren’t usually comfortable bedfellows, but this Esoteric proves it is possible to combine the two in a neat, easy-to-use package.

The N-05XE is a hugely capable product that compromises very little compared to more purist options. If you are looking for a top-class sound and don’t want the clutter of conventional high-end separates, this Esoteric is a great place to start.

Review published: 3rd June 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Naim NSS 333

Also consider the Moon 681

Read our Linn Selekt DSM Edition Hub review

Best music streamers: top network audio players tested by our experts

Wharfedale seems to believe in the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach, if the new Diamond 12i range is anything to go by, and who can blame it? On paper, the highlights of this updated range aren’t particularly exciting: they include a revised set of finishes, redesigned reflex ports and a tweak of each speaker’s internal damping.

Nothing to get particularly excited about, although Wharfedale deserves praise for keeping the entire range’s pricing unchanged from its predecessors. In a world where every manufacturer is pushing up prices, this comes as a refreshing and pleasant surprise.

The original Diamond 12 series launched in late 2020 and quickly became our go-to recommendation for anyone looking for great value, affordable speakers, whether for stereo or home cinema use.

The original 12.3 floorstanders were a particular favourite of ours, offering an excellent all-round performance in a neat, easy-to-accommodate form. They won multiple What Hi-Fi? Awards over the years and remained the class leader right until it ended production in late 2025.

Design

Its replacement, the Wharfedale Diamond 12.3i, looks reassuringly familiar. In fact, you have to look hard to notice any substantial changes beyond the three new finishes (black, walnut and grey).

The revised rear firing port looks much the same from the outside, though we did notice a soft rubber ring mounted to the end on the inside, something the original never had.

The trio of drive units is essentially the same. That’s no problem, as they were hardly a weakness.

The 12.3i remains a 2½ way design where the upper 13cm driver handles the midrange and bass, leaving the lower one to add a bit of muscle only at the lowest frequencies.

Both of the larger drivers use Wharfedale’s Klarity diaphragm material. Klarity is the company’s marketing name for mica-loaded polypropylene, a material claimed to offer a good balance between stiffness, damping and light weight.

A 25mm textile dome tweeter takes responsibility above the 2.2kHz crossover frequency. We’ve heard this high-frequency unit in various Diamond 12 models and it has always impressed with its detail and refinement.

Build & compatibility

Take a look at the specifications and you will find nothing obvious has changed from the previous gen model. The 12.3i’s sensitivity is still 89dB/W/m and nominal impedance continues to be rated as 8 ohm compatible, with a minimum of 5 ohms.

These numbers imply that these floorstanders should be easy enough to drive for most price-compatible amplifiers. Certainly, the Arcam A5+ integrated amplifier we used for much of this test had no difficulty driving them.

We do notice that these speakers are now single-wired only. Is that a major loss? We don’t think so, and suspect most owners never took full advantage of the previous generation’s twin set of terminals.

Overall, the Diamond 12.3i’s build quality is good for the money. We have a pair of the originals for comparison, and notice that the finish on the new ones’ metal feet isn’t quite as neat, but to be fair this is something that you would never see once the speakers are installed.

There is little to complain about elsewhere. The cabinets feel solid and are finished neatly. Our review sample is in the new black finish and looks understated but still classy.

At 97.5cm tall and just 18cm wide, these Diamond floorstanders are compact enough to fit into most rooms without dominating, and in the UK at least, that’s a big positive.

We do find that the 12.3i is a little fussier about room positioning than its predecessor. Its revised porting arrangement has resulted in a more muscular bass performance, which many will prefer, but it also makes the speakers less forgiving about their proximity to a wall.

In our 3 x 7 x 5m listening room, the 12.3i sound most comfortable around 70cm into the room, and slightly angled towards the listening position to solidify their stereo imaging. The previous generation model could be placed closer and still sound balanced.

Sound

A floorstanding speaker at this price has a difficult balancing act to perform. It has to be forgiving with budget separates and streaming systems, yet still shine with more ambitious electronics. The original 12.3 did that superbly, and so does this new version.

The change of port and internal damping may seem slight on paper, but they have changed the Diamond 12.3’s character a little. The new “i” models are certainly bigger and bolder-sounding. Play a dramatic piece of music, such as the Indiana Jones theme by John Williams, and there is no denying that these new Diamonds produce more dramatic results.

Dynamic shifts are a little more vivid with the new-gen model going from quiet to loud and back again with greater conviction. The bass also kicks harder and, perhaps surprisingly given the identical specifications, seemingly a little deeper.

The tweeter is unchanged, so we’re surprised to find that the treble is now a little more forward than before. It adds to the sense of space in the recording and makes low-level details a touch more apparent. But don’t worry, things aren’t overdone, as the Diamond 12.3i still sounds refined and well-behaved by class standards.

As we work our way through the likes of De La Soul’s Cabin In The Sky set and Jill Scott’s To Whom This May Concern album, it becomes clear that the 12.3i floorstanders should still be considered class leaders. It is hard to argue against the fact that their combination of insight, dynamic expression and control is hard to beat at the money.

Given a song like De La Soul’s YUHDONTSTOP, the 12.3i are a fun listen, rendering the group's vocal flow with enthusiasm and clarity. Vocal and instrumental textures come through well, certainly better than any rival floorstander we’ve heard.

Rhythmically, these Diamonds are surefooted rather than enthusiastic, but they convey the music’s momentum and energy well enough. We’re having fun and these Wharfedale floorstanders are playing their part in that.

However, as good as these new speakers are, there are areas where we feel the older model edges things. In side-by-side comparisons, the original 12.3 sounds a little more cohesive and conveys musical momentum a touch more emphatically. Its bass is a little better integrated too, though clearly less powerful.

Verdict

Given that this “i” model replaces the original, perhaps the comparisons don’t matter so much. It is how the Diamond 12.3i compares to its price rivals that is more important.

In this respect, there is little out there to worry these Wharfedale floorstanders. They remain a cut above the competition, and that makes them an excellent buy at the money.

Review published: 1st June 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 4
• Compatibility 4

MORE:

Also consider the Dali Oberon 5

Best bookshelf speakers: top standmounts for every budget tested

Bigger boxes and bad vibrations – why floorstanding speakers can be tricky to build

We’ve always rather liked Tribit’s Stormbox Micro line of Bluetooth speakers. Tribit isn’t an established name in the same vein as Sony or JBL, yet it has produced a couple of charming, affordable portable speakers which, especially the Micro 2, exhibit real talent in the midrange frequencies. Plus, “Stormbox” sounds like it was named by Thor.

The problem with making a good budget Bluetooth speaker is that you’ve got to follow it up while meeting the challenge of newer, more capable rivals.

It’s no secret that JBL is the name ruling the Bluetooth speaker roost, and with the pocket-sized Go 5 recently earning a glowing five-star appraisal, the third-gen Stormbox Micro is going to have to work even harder than its predecessors if it doesn’t want to be out-muscled by the ever-advancing competition.

Price

You can get your hands on a Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 for around £63 / $65 / AU$130 approx, the same price at which the outgoing second-gen model started life.

At this more budget-friendly end of the cost ladder, the five-star JBL Go 5 clocks in at around £40 / $50 / AU$59 at the time of writing, and if you want to go even cheaper, you can get an older Go 4 for as low as £25 / $30 during sales events.

If you seek something a little more premium, the JBL Flip 7 tends to sit at roughly £110 / $150 / AU$170 at the time of writing, but again, it tends to enjoy decent discounts when the time is right.

Build

Build-wise, the Stormbox Micro 3 hasn’t deviated hugely from its five-star predecessor. Its flat, coaster-like design remains generally unchanged, with the top half of the speaker dominated by a woven textured grille and the bottom half clad in rubber to give you plenty of non-slip grip.

Large, bold volume buttons flank a circular play/pause toggle, which can also be used to summon Siri if held down for a few seconds. Those big, bold buttons do give the Tribit a clean and simple interface, but during our tests at least, we do find that they require quite a forceful press to elicit a response.

Backlit buttons for power, Bluetooth pairing, toggling XBoom and managing stereo mode/party mode are neatly housed on the speaker’s thin front-end, and thankfully, don’t require the same levels of brutish force for us to get them to cooperate.

View it from the top-down, and the new Stormbox is a bit chunkier than its outgoing ancestor, though the difference is slight – you’ll still manage to slide it into a backpack, perch it on the side of your bathtub (it’s waterproof, don’t worry!) or hold it in the palm of your hand without too much trouble. Thankfully, portability is still the name of the game here.

That said, we would’ve liked some kind of carry loop for taking the Tribit on your travels, such as you’d find adorning the side of the JBL Go 4 or larger Bose SoundLink Plus, although the Stormbox Micro 3 does have an elastic rubber strap at its base which Tribit bills as being attachable to bikes, bags and the like.

Forget the elastic strap, though, because what that base also has is magnetic powers. Yes, you can stick the Stormbox to pretty much any magnetic metallic surface you can find, and the novelty never wears off as we spend our time roving our office looking for places to stick our test sample. On the side of the fridge, attached to our boardroom whiteboard, stuck to a metal pillar outside… oh, the fun you can have.

Let’s return to the more technical side for a moment. Within, the Tribit boasts 13 watts of power driving a 48mm driver and dual coaxial passive radiators for producing what the brand describes as "crisp clarity and deep, punchy bass". More on that in a moment.

Features

Credit where it's due, Tribit has really bolstered the battery life for its third-gen Stormbox Micro. The Micro 2 gave you a very admirable 12 hours of playtime on a single charge, but that’s been doubled to a whopping 24 hours, a figure which trounces the roughly 10 hours of the JBL Go 5 and the 16 or so hours of the more expensive JBL Flip 7.

A big bonus for the Tribit and, we envisage, a major part of its potential appeal.

Speaking of battery, the Micro 3 also doubles as a powerbank, meaning you can juice up your smartphone on the go via USB-C – akin to the charging feature you’d find on the likes of the chunky JBL Charge 6. To have charging capabilities on a speaker this small is not something we’ve often seen, so kudos to Tribit for implementing it with the Micro 3.

Elsewhere, the third-gen speaker boasts an impressive IP68 water and dustproof rating, keeping it in line with the major class leaders at this price. Splash it with water or give it a quick soak in the sink, and that water-repellent body does a fine job of keeping those precious insides dry and working as they should.

Tribit has also granted support for True Wireless Stereo pairing with its latest Stormbox Micro, but note that this can only be done with two models of the same generation, so you won’t be able to dig out your old Stormbox Micro 2 and form a stereo pair with the new third-gen model.

Many of the above features can be managed and monitored by the Tribit app which, while not the most in-depth platform you’ll ever come across, is clearly laid out and easy to navigate thanks to its bold, uncluttered menus.

A nine-band customisable equaliser is nice to have as well, or you can select one of Tribit’s seven genre-led presets if you want the legwork done for you.

Sound

Judged on its own terms, the Stormbox Micro 3 is a reasonably capable performer. It’s quite a personable little speaker, and the sound that it produces does have some appeal, especially if you feed it tunes that play to its relative strengths.

The midrange where the outgoing Stormbox Micro 2 excelled, and as we listen to a slice of Nick Cave’s Into My Arms, we discern that those particular talents haven’t entirely skipped a generation. Cave’s voice is fairly rich and full, with the Tribit spotlighting the Aussie crooner nicely as his emotive sincerity shines through.

Tribit’s promise of a fulsome lower end also rings reasonably true, evidenced by the depth of the opening bass plucks on Noisettes’ Never Forget You. Depth and grip go hand in hand, giving adequate shape and texture to what can be, in the care of lesser speakers, amorphous rumbly tones.

At this price, the Stormbox Micro 3 has enough organisational ability to stop music falling over itself or feeling as jumbled as a load of socks flying around inside a tumble drier.

Detail levels across the frequency range – piercing highs, sweet mids and deep lows – are decent for a speaker of this size, even if we do notice some occasional hardness in the upper reaches, such as when we play Rosalía’s complex, operatic Berghain.

The Micro 3 is a decent Bluetooth speaker, then, but it’s simply not a class leading one, a fact that is spotlighted when put up against the JBL Go 5. Practically everything that the Stormbox Micro 3 can do, the JBL can do at least as well, and that’s a real issue when it comes to recommending the former.

After all, why would you buy a Tribit at around £63 / $65 / AU$130 when you could pick up an equally talented Go 5 for cheaper at £40 / $50 / AU$59?

The Go 5 may be smaller in size and price, but sonically, it matches the Micro 3, even when playing at the highest volumes or pushed to challenge tricky tunes such as Berghain or Tool’s Forty Six & 2.

In fact, the JBL often outshines the Tribit, with its more adept rhythmic and dynamic handling bringing out the underpinning beats of Muse’s Madness with more confidence and skill than the slightly sluggish Stormbox.

JBL’s diminutive class leader is just as clear and detailed, too, and that’s again a problem when you consider the price disparity between the two. Switching back and forth between both while playing Debussy’s Sarabande, we find that we prefer the more rounded, punchy sound of the outstanding JBL.

We do like the Stormbox, but if we’re being honest, we like the JBL Go 5 quite a lot more.

Verdict

We had high hopes for the Stormbox Micro 3, especially considering that the two speakers which preceded it both earned five-star ratings. This is by no means a bad effort, and still feels in some ways like an improvement over its predecessors thanks to its bolstered feature set and solid sound.

Sadly for Tribit, the world has moved on. The JBL Go 5 is currently our top pick if you’re after an ultra-portable, ultra-budget Bluetooth speaker, and when it costs a good deal less than the Stormbox Micro 3 but sounds noticeably better, it makes Tribit’s effort a much tougher sell.

Review published: 29th May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 3
• Build 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the JBL Go 5

Also consider the JBL Flip 7

Best Bluetooth speakers tried and tested for every budget

Well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?

If you can believe it, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless made their debut in the second half of 2022, meaning we’ve been waiting nearly four years for a fifth-gen sequel. In wireless headphone terms, that’s a long wait, especially when you consider that most manufacturers tend to update their premium lines every two or so years.

Think of the premium wireless headphones that have been released since the Momentum 4. The Sony WH-1000XM5 and the WH-1000XM6. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones and their second-gen successors. The Apple AirPods Max 2. The Dali IO-8. The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2, Px7 S3, Px8 and Px8 S2. That’s a lot of very impressive premium alternatives.

It might have been a long wait from one generation of Momentum Wireless to the next, but we know that Sennheiser can still compete with the best – just look at the benchmark-setting Sennheiser HDB 630 over-ears for proof. The Momentum 5 Wireless are a notch cheaper than their more audiophile bigger brothers, but if they share similar sonic talents, they might well make the case for the old adage that slow and steady really does win the race.

Price

As you might have gathered, the Momentum 5 Wireless have a lot of competition, but most of it comes at higher prices. The Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 are £400 / $450 / AU$699, while the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) started life at £449 / $449 / AU$700 but often drop to £349 in the UK.

Let’s not forget about the five-star Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3, which will cost you £399 / $499 / AU$699 at full price, whereas the Apple AirPods Max 2 are a step up at £499 / $549.

Build & comfort

We’ve occasionally criticised Sennheiser headphones for looking a little bland or functional in the past, but that’s not an accusation we could level at our stylish ‘Denim’ blue test pair.

True, the overall design language typified by those large oval earcups will be familiar to anyone who has seen a pair of recent wireless Sennheiser over-ears, but little touches, such as the headband’s attractive fabric exterior, go a long way to making the Momentum 5 Wireless feel more premium. They’re certainly a lot more desirable-looking than their rather plain HDB 630 siblings.

To hold in the hand, the Momentum 5 Wireless don’t impress quite so much. That headband exterior looks and feels the part, but the earcups feel just a little cheap and plasticky to the touch. They’ll swivel horizontally without much trouble, but unlike the Sony WH-1000XM6 or the Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), they don’t fold up entirely.

Having earcups with large exterior surfaces does have its advantages, particularly when it comes to touch controls. Sennheiser’s system – customisable via the Smart Control Plus app – is really well implemented, and we find them to be intuitive and easy to manage. Whether we’re swiping up on the right cup to increase volume or across to switch tracks, everything responds crisply and quickly to what we want.

Controls aside, how are the Momentum 5 Wireless to wear? At 290g, they’re not the lightest premium wireless headphones you can find – the Sony WH-1000XM6 weigh just 254g – but they are comfortable. We spend a long time listening to the Momentum 5, and though we find some mild on-ear heating past the hour mark, we generally don’t suffer with that aching, ‘squashed ear’ feeling that can make extended listening a real chore.

They’re secure and stable, too. The Sennheisers accompany us on quite a few dog walks and the occasional trip to the shops, and even when we’re striding purposefully with our eager Labrador in tow, they don’t often feel as though they’re rocking on our ears thanks to the headphones’ well-judged clamping force.

Inside, the Momentum 5 Wireless house a pair of 42mm dynamic drivers, inspired by those found in Sennheiser’s HD 600 series of wired headphones and tuned for what the German manufacturer describes as a “full-bodied sound with dynamic bass”.

Features

When we visited their research and development labs, the team at Sennheiser described themselves as a “sound-first company". That may be so, but we’re pleased to see that Sennheiser hasn’t forgotten that wireless cans need a few mod cons to keep up with the times. As a result, we’re not left cursing a barren features list.

Bluetooth codec support is impressive, with the Momentum 5 Wireless offering SBC and AAC codecs alongside higher-quality aptX HD, aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive flavours. The cans currently use Bluetooth 5.4, but an upcoming firmware update later this year will push this to 6.0 and include LE Audio for reduced latency, better battery life, and potentially improved sound quality.

Speaking of Bluetooth, Multipoint tech is available for connecting to two devices simultaneously, with our test headphones switching easily between an iPhone 15 and our work laptop without much fuss.

Battery life is a highlight, reaching a very healthy 57 hours when noise cancelling is switched on and you’re playing at a reasonable volume. For comparison, the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) generally top out at 30 hours with ANC in play. A nice feather for Sennheiser’s cap, then.

For spatial audio fans, Dolby Atmos is on the menu when listening to supported Atmos content, with head tracking to be added via an upcoming firmware update. We test the tech out using a few Dolby Atmos tracks on Tidal – The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter and Jimi Hendrix’s Crosstown Traffic to name a few – and there’s no doubt that the Sennheisers are able to harness their Dolby powers to craft a more three-dimensional listening experience.

Dolby Atmos can be switched on and off via the Sennheiser SmartPlus app, a stable and easily navigable platform which we find a pleasure to use. We’re particularly keen on the amount of customisation on offer, be it dialling in the amount of ANC we want to experience or tinkering with the eight-band custom equaliser.

ANC & call quality

Sennheiser has stated that, in response to customer feedback from the Momentum 4 Wireless, it has made a big effort to improve the noise cancelling for its fifth-generation follow-ups, with the new cans using twice as many microphones (a total of eight) for what Sennheiser describes as “three times” better midrange noise cancellation.

Those improvements add up to a pleasing experience. The Momentum 5’s ANC isn’t on the same level as the excellent Sony WH-1000XM6 or Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), but it’s a good performance which keeps most noises – traffic, wind, the hum of air conditioners – at bay. Sennheiser does keep its promise of better midrange cancellation, with the Momentum 5 doing well to exclude the chatter of external voices.

The overall effect does feel more like a softening of sounds rather than a complete exclusion – something which the Sony and Bose manage more effectively – but it’s still a capable showing. Taking the Sennheisers to the gym, the ANC results in a softening of the hubbub of a busy public space, even if harsher noises, such as clanking weights, can penetrate through.

Happily, call quality is right up there with the best. We take the fifth-gen Momentum out for a test chat on a blustery day in May (thanks, British weather), and our headphones effectively reduce intrusive wind and traffic noise while spotlighting human speech. Voices are clear and natural, even making the WH-1000XM6 sound a little mechanical and bright by comparison.

Sound

For something a little different, let’s start with what the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless don’t necessarily do quite so well.

The headphones’ bass reproduction is on the richer side, something which makes itself apparent when listening to Hans Zimmer’s Like A Dog Chasing Cars, and while it’s still of a high quality, some listeners might prefer a tauter reproduction at the lower end.

Further, songs with a propulsive central rhythm don’t quite clip along with the same sense of ‘momentum’ when playing via the Sennheisers as they do when switching to the more expensive Sony WH-1000XM6. Load up Radiohead’s Burn The Witch or Kid Cudi’s Day 'n' Nite, and you’ll hear what we mean – the Sonys have a forward-focused urgency to them, while the Sennheisers favour a more relaxed presentation.

Costlier alternatives, such as the WH-1000XM6 or HDB 630 will undoubtedly take things up a notch sonically, but if you’re not willing to spend that extra £80 / $50-100, the Momentum 5 Wireless are an excellent pick thanks to their plentiful sonic virtues.

Their midrange, for instance, is a real highlight. While the Sennheisers can be a touch rich in the lower frequencies, they are right at home in the midrange, offering a naturalness and insight that gives even more premium alternatives a run for their money. Marvin Gaye’s crooning on Mercy Mercy Me comes across as rich, smooth and soulful, with the Momentum 5 crafting a wondrous feeling of emotive intimacy as Gaye bemoans that “things ain’t what they used to be”.

Let’s be clear, however, that these are more than just midrange specialists. These are rich, smooth yet strikingly precise and detailed headphones, with an audio signature that makes listening a refreshingly undemanding experience. Sugar’s If I Can’t Change Your Mind can sound overly urgent or shrill via lesser alternatives, but the Momentum 5 Wireless have the poise and maturity to bring order to what could, in the wrong hands, have quickly descended into chaos.

Those qualities are only amplified when we listen using a wired connection. Both 3.5mm and USB-C options for wired audio are provided, with the latter capable of handling files up to 24-bit/96kHz. A physical connection adds fullness and depth to instrumental textures, and that lovely midrange becomes perceptibly sweeter and even more defined when we return to Mercy Mercy Me via USB-C.

Wired or wireless, dynamics are teased out ably, and the Sennheisers are subtle and delicate in the way that they communicate those key tonal shifts, with the Momentum 5's precise temperament bringing out small scale dynamic shifts superbly.

All told, we could spend days on end listening to the Momentum 5 Wireless and feel neither frustration nor fatigue. While words such as “undemanding” or “relaxed” might otherwise be used synonymously with “boring” or “bland”, we in fact find that these are headphones that strike a great balance between refinement and fun.

Verdict

With the HDB 630 and now the excellent Momentum 5 Wireless, Sennheiser has reaffirmed that it is still a key player in the premium wireless headphones space, with the Momentum 5 Wireless serving as a timely reminder of the quality the brand can produce.

If you’re willing to spend a touch more, it’s well worth considering either the Sennheiser HDB 630 or the Sony WH-1000XM6. If your budget doesn't quite stretch that far but you’re still keen on stellar sound, the excellent Momentum 5 Wireless are an obvious choice.

Review published: 25th May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony WH-1000XM6

Also consider the Sennheiser HDB 630

"Sound comes first" – we speak to Sennheiser about German engineering, changing ownership, and 80 years of making music

Best noise-cancelling headphones tested by our in-house review experts

If you’re after a pair of wireless headphones for around £150 / $150 / AU$200, your choices are roughly as follows.

You’ve got the excellent Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT if you don’t need noise cancelling, or you could go for the four-star Philips TAH8000E if you want ANC powers and don’t mind taking a bit of a hit on the sound side. Apart from that, it’s pretty slim pickings in what appears to be a strange market hinterland between budget-friendly cans and their premium, plus-£300/$300 counterparts. Or, you could spend a good deal less and buy a pair of our budget favourites, the Sony WH-CH720N for around £75 / $100 / $AU259.

At £130 / $130 / AU$220, the Soundcore Space 2 seem to fill this gap nicely, at least on paper. With the Hi-X25BT failing to provide ANC and the TAH8000E’s sound not quite reaching five-star heights, the path is open for the Space 2 to stick their flag in this potentially vacant soil. Let’s find out how they perform.

Build & comfort

Both to look at and wear, the Soundcore Space 2 are a well-made, sensibly designed pair of wireless headphones.

They play things reasonably safe on the design front, opting for simple circular earcups, an amply padded leather headband and some functional plastic on-cup buttons, but it would be hard to accuse the Space 2 of feeling cheap. They don’t have the boundary-pushing aesthetics of the more costly Nothing Headphone (1), for example, but this is still a neat, simple yet fairly classy pair of over-ears at a nice price.

They’re rather comfy, too. At a very reasonable 264g, the Space 2 don’t weigh a huge amount, meaning they’re rarely burdensome to wear over extended listening periods. The padding on the earcups and headband is a little on the soft side – some may prefer more firmness – but we don’t feel starved of comfort during our tests.

That headband is easily adjustable via a fairly smooth mechanism which grants roughly an extra inch of wiggle room, while the earcups will rotate from side to side and, even better, fold away fully to make carrying them in a bag easier.

In terms of general usability, it’s a standard, simple showing from the Space 2, and we don’t necessarily mean that as a criticism. The budget cans opt for the same general configuration as many wireless headphones of this type – including the Sony WH-CH720N – with noise cancelling and power buttons found at the bottom of the left earcup, and volume and Bluetooth controls on the right.

They’re not exactly luxurious, and actually finding the buttons when they’re hidden at the bottom edge of your headphones’ exterior requires some acclimatisation – but again, there’s little to really complain about here.

Features

The Soundcore Space 2 go big on battery life, offering around 50 hours with active noise cancelling switched on, and up to 70 hours if you turn ANC off and don’t listen at ear-splitting volumes. We used ours throughout a busy two-day press trip and barely made a dent in their battery. Better yet, a hurried five-minute charge will grant around four hours of standard playtime in a pinch.

For context, the Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT offer around 30 hours from a single charge, while even the Sony WH-CH720N’s 50 hours (ANC off) and 35 hours (ANC on) can’t keep up with the Soundcore.

Bluetooth codec support includes the standard SBC and AAC codecs, while those with compatible sources get the bonus of the higher-quality LDAC codec too. There’s also a 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable for wired listening, but no direct support for USB-C audio.

Spatial audio is provided, in a sense at least. Soundcore’s spin on the tech is dubbed ‘3D Sound’, and, as the name suggests, it’s designed to make stereo audio sound more three-dimensional by expanding the soundstage. There are hints of the tech working well here, and while it’s not going to challenge Dolby Atmos, we do get a sense of instruments being set further away from our ears a little more noticeably when using the mode.

If you do want to have a go with ‘3D Sound’, the best way to find it is via the Soundcore app. It’s a neat app bursting with features – even its own AI chatbot called “Anka” – and there is plenty to discover. You get an eight-band equaliser, ANC mode toggling and even some on-cup button customisation living alongside quite a few ambient sound options.

While you’re on the app, it’s worth taking advantage of Soundcore’s ‘HearID’ hearing test, which assesses your listening abilities and preferences and then purports to construct your own personalised sound curve. How much of this actually pays off is debatable, but it’s nice to have the option at this level, and we do find ourselves conducting much of our testing with our personalised hearing profile switched on.

ANC & call quality

It’s time to find out how the Soundcore Space 2 handle noise cancelling, and what better way to test out their ANC capabilities than with a quick flight over to Germany? No, we didn’t book the flight just to test out a pair of wireless headphones – we’re committed to our jobs, but we’re not that committed.

Both the flight and the busy airport give us the perfect opportunity to discover what the Space 2 can do, with noise cancelling available in its standard active form as well as a Transparent Mode for letting the world in.

Considering the price you’re paying, both settings are competently realised. The general hubbub of a busy airport terminal is softened nicely, even if peakier higher frequencies can tend to pierce through, while the rumbling and swooshing of an airplane in flight are diminished ably as we take to the skies with the Space 2 clamped over our ears. At this price, we’ve very little to take issue with.

It’s tricky to take voice calls on a plane, so that’s a test for when we’re back on terra firma. The Space 2 harness a 3-mic array and AI-powered algorithms in a bid to give calls sufficient intelligibility, and while speech comes through clearly enough, voices can sound a touch robotic and mechanical when compared with the more natural-sounding Sony WH-CH720N.

Still, the Space 2 are capable of blocking out exterior noises really rather well – perhaps even more so than the WH-CH720N – so that the swirls and whooshes of wind on a particularly tempestuous day barely register. All in all, a box ably ticked on the voice calls front.

Sound

Given the Space 2’s solid performance across other areas of our testing, we’re disappointed that the same levels of talent haven’t translated over to how the headphones actually handle music. In short, there’s very little about the Soundcore cans which we find engaging or exciting, and even less which has us wishing to return for repeat listening sessions.

They are, all told, rather bland performers. True, there’s something to be said for a pair of undemanding, composed headphones if you want to avoid that weary sense of fatigue that can often occur with more over-eager alternatives, but the Space 2 go too far the other way. Where is the excitement when we play Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal? Where is the drama of Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting?

We pick out Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine, and while we discern a decent amount of clarity and cohesion, as we listen we find there’s a real lack of emotional involvement, which mars our enjoyment. Withers’ voice is fairly robust yet lacking in any emotional heft, and the strings introduced at around the 30-second mark don’t have the free, swooning effect we might have hoped for.

Part of those strings’ uninvolving presentation owes to the headphones’ flattened dynamics. Muse’s Panic Station is next, and though the Space 2 are able to bring some cohesion and restraint to proceedings, we don’t discern much contrast between each deep bass pluck or the alternating percussive thumps of that key bass-snare drum pattern. Again, a compressed, flat sound prevents things from taking full flight.

Digging out the cheaper, Award-winning Sony WH-CH720N confirms our reservations. Okay, the Sonys sound a little flavoured at times, and their bass can be a little over-eager, but they’re far more entertaining and insightful across the various songs we play. Panic Station immediately pulses with more verve than the Soundcore cans manage, whereas those varying instrumental textures on Goose’s funky So Ready are more fleshed out and have the authenticity and personality we’ve been craving. The Sonys made music sound musical – the Soundcore, conversely, made it sound dispiritingly mechanical.

The similarly-priced Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT also provide an impressive benchmark which the Space 2 cannot match. They’re not as punchy or vicarious as the WH-CH720N, nor do they offer as much bass weight, but these are evidently far clearer, more delicate and more detailed headphones. Switching back to the Soundcore Space 2 simply makes the latter sound lacking in proper detail and bite.

It’s moving over to these five-star rivals that further makes us realise what has been missing from the Space 2s’ presentation. Balanced and reasonably clear they may be, but Soundcore’s over-ears don’t have that je ne sais quoi – be it the expressiveness of the WH-CH720N or the delicacy of the Hi-X25BT – to set our hearts aflutter.

There’s something to admire about how organised and unfussy the Soundcore cans sound, even as the music becomes more demanding and complex, but rarely do they make us feel in any way involved with or excited by the various songs we feed them.

Verdict

While we had hoped that the Soundcore Space 2 might have filled a gap in the mid-priced wireless market, we’re instead struggling to see how they fit into the current landscape.

Yes, a healthy arsenal of features does give them a potential competitive edge, especially with regard to their impressive battery span and comfortable fit. But when they’re sonically outmatched by finer – and cheaper – alternatives, they don’t quite seem like a viable option in comparison with the class leaders.

Review published: 22nd May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 2
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony WH-CH720N

Also consider the Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT

Best wireless headphones reviewed and rated by our in-house experts

TCL has achieved phenomenal critical and commercial success over the past couple of years thanks to an (almost) unerring ability to deliver good picture and sound quality at prices so aggressive they’ve had rival brands quaking in their boots. And, on paper at least, the Q6C looks to keep the winning streak going.

After all, features such as Mini LED backlighting, local dimming and a Quantum Dot colour system all sound surprisingly close to the specs found in TCL’s What Hi-Fi? Award-winning C7K series – yet the Q6C costs significantly less.

We guess there must be a catch somewhere, but on TCL’s current form we wouldn’t be at all surprised if whatever catch we find really isn’t that big a deal.

Price

Normally, if you spend £650 on a 65-inch TV, you would expect to get… not very much. Not for the first time in recent years, though, TCL is here to rewrite the TV value rulebook.

The set in question this time is the Q6C, the 65-inch version of which usually only costs £649 yet manages to carry such features as 4K/144Hz gaming support, Google TV smarts, Quantum Dot colours and even a sophisticated Mini-LED backlight system with local dimming.

We’ve been around the block enough times to know that such specifications aren’t automatically a guarantee of great picture quality – but at the risk of showing our hand too early, in the Q6C’s case they really do add up to something pretty special for the money.

TCL also sells 55-, 75-, 85- and 98-inch Q6C models for £409, £819, £949 and £1499 respectively. These are all pretty remarkable prices for screens built on the same key specs as the 65-inch model, where the only major difference is the number of dimming zones (more for the bigger screens).

The Q6C’s main competition, really, is TCL’s own C7K step-up model, which costs £200 more at the time of writing.

TCL also sells a C6K model which, it says, is identical to the Q6C. However, further up the range, TCL's ‘C’ variants often have a different panel coating to their “identical” ‘Q’ counterparts. The fact that matte vs glossy coatings can make a significant difference to picture quality, and that we haven’t specifically tested the C6K, this review only applies 100 per cent to the Q6C.

Design

At first glance, the TCL Q6C looks like a chip off the old TCL block. A narrow black frame runs around the screen, boasting a reasonably premium finish, and the screen sits on a pair of simple arched blade-style feet. These angle out slightly, bringing more attention to themselves than they would otherwise, but this stance also helps the set feel pretty sturdy and wobble-free.

As you go about screwing on the feet in either of the provided wide or close position options, though, you can’t help but notice first that the set sticks out around the back quite a long way by today’s TV standards, and also that the screen is significantly lighter than TCL’s more premium sets.

Most folk don’t spend their lives looking at the back of their TV, though, and the rather lightweight and plasticky nature of its build quality isn’t something you really feel aware of once the TCL has been set in place.

The Q6C’s remote control apes the TV it partners by quite effectively disguising an essentially rather lightweight and plasticky build behind a cute brushed finish, a sleek, long, thin shape, and an ergonomic button layout. That button layout includes direct access buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, Disney+ and TCL’s own collection of live-streaming ‘channels’.

Features

Despite its aggressive price, the Q6C is built around a native 4K screen with Mini LED backlighting and a local dimming system that works, in the case of the 65-inch model we’re testing, across 242 independently controlled zones. At this price, local dimming of any kind is a rarity, so getting 242 dimming zones is a real treat. That said, the not vastly more expensive C7K features more than a thousand dimming zones.

The Q6C produces its colours using Quantum Dots, with which TCL claims to cover 93 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour spectrum used for most HDR mastering. The HDR support extends to both the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ premium formats, with their extra scene-by-scene image information, as well as the core HDR10 and HLG formats.

The set is also IMAX Enhanced certified, meaning it’s been judged capable of doing justice to the special noise-limiting IMAX Enhanced mastering system used on a few 4K Blu-rays and a fair number of films (especially Marvel releases) on Disney+.

Impressively for its money, the Q6C also gets one of TCL’s new HVA panels. These introduce a variety of innovations, including a faster transient response for enhanced clarity; a new light-emitting chip claimed to deliver 50 per cent brightness and 10 per cent efficiency boosts over its predecessor; and a new condensed micro lens system over the LEDs, that apparently focuses light better for greater backlight uniformity, optical stability and halo control.

Smart features on the Q6C, as with most of TCL’s current TVs, are provided by the Google TV platform. Unlike most other brands that use Google TV, though, TCL has managed to get BBC iPlayer on board alongside the other key terrestrial UK broadcaster catch-up apps, and all of the main global streaming services. The only things you don’t get that some rival smart systems offer are Freeview Play and Freely.

Gamers are exceptionally well catered for by the Q6C. It supports 4K/144Hz (and the console-friendly 4K/120Hz) gaming, and can even increase the frame rate to 288Hz if you’re prepared to accept a drop from 4K to Full HD resolution. VRR is supported, too, including in the AMD FreeSync Premium Pro format, and there’s even support for Superwide aspect ratios if you’re playing a PC game that supports them.

A special gaming menu becomes available when the TV knows you’re gaming, too, offering information on the incoming gaming signal as well as easy access to a selection of gaming aids that include a superimposed crosshair, the option to magnify part of the image to give, say, a mini-map more prominence, a couple of genre-specific picture presets, and an option to enhance shadow details in dark game sequences to make it easier to spot lurking enemies.

In a perfect world, all four of the Q6C’s HDMIs would support the full gamut of today’s gaming features rather than just two of them, but you don’t get perfect worlds on 65-inch TVs that cost this sort of money.

The Q6C’s sound system, finally, isn’t one of the Bang & Olufsen-designed systems found higher up TCL’s range. It’s still designed with another acclaimed audio industry brand, though, Onkyo, and still includes a couple of dedicated bass woofers on its rear panel to underpin the sound from its main stereo speakers. This sound system is capable of playing both Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X sound formats.

Picture

While the Q6C doesn’t quite hit the giddy picture-quality heights of TCL’s C7K, it gets closer than the price gap would lead you to expect. This means that it also comfortably outguns pretty much every other 65-inch TV around at the same sort of price point – including Samsung’s recently reviewed U8000F.

The single most impressive thing about the Q6C's supposedly budget pictures is their black level performance. Once again, TCL’s particular combination of an HVA panel, local dimming, Mini LED lighting and local dimming processing results in excellent blacks in both dark scenes or dark picture areas and the black bars of widescreen content.

Hardly a hint of greyness slips into dark scenes, and backlight haloing around stand-out bright objects during dark shots is also remarkably well controlled for a 65-inch TV at the Q6C’s price point. We’ve seen 65-inch LCD TVs costing hundreds, even thousands, of pounds more than this TCL fail to deliver black tones so effectively.

As well as instantly giving the Q6C an outstanding foundation for the rest of its images to build on, its excellent black levels are also achieved without causing shadow details to become crushed out of the darkest areas. Dark scenes thus look as three-dimensional and immersive as bright ones, creating a sense of consistency that makes it easy to remain fully immersed in what you’re watching.

The Q6C’s remarkable freedom from the sort of hardware and/or processing issues that almost always to some extent plague the picture quality of other similarly affordable TVs continues across pretty much every other aspect of its picture performance, too. Images look crisp, clean and detailed enough to leave you in no doubt that you’re watching a native 4K screen, for starters – especially if you leave the set’s Precision Detail feature on (which you might as well, as it doesn’t seem to cause any negative side effects) and turn the Digital and regular Noise Reduction features off (at least when watching native 4K sources). Even the Q6C’s upscaling of HD sources is well above par for its level of the market.

Colours impress, too. There’s more vibrancy and lustre on tap than we usually see with such affordable TVs, yet at the same time, in most presets, the impressive vibrancy doesn’t look forced or unnatural. Skin tones look believable, there’s practically zero HDR colour striping, and subtle shading differences are rendered with enough finesse to ensure that even the most colourful images feel three-dimensional and realistic rather than cartoonish and flat. The nuance in the Q6C’s colours contributes in no small measure to the image's impressive sharpness, too.

The Q6C is not as bright as TCL’s step-up C7K model. It’s bright enough, though, to do arguably better justice to HDR images than any other similarly affordable 65-inch TV we’ve seen, combining good full-screen brightness with strong brightness peaks. All delivered alongside those excellent black levels we described earlier.

There are signs beyond its lower brightness that remind you that the Q6C is a step down from the C7K. While it’s faint, where backlight haloing does occasionally become noticeable, it spreads further beyond the bright highlight that’s causing it than it does with the C7K. That includes spreading very occasionally into the black bars of a movie if a really intensely bright object appears right next to them.

The very brightest highlights of bold HDR masters can also cause clipping, where subtle shading and colour details are lost in a sort of ‘white out’ effect, and skin tones can occasionally teeter on the edge of coarseness where they happen to catch bright sunlight, too – though they seldom if ever actually tip over into a distracting level of roughness.

Motion, once you’ve either turned the set’s motion processing off or left it on its low setting (to avoid unwanted over-smoothing or processing side effects), is marginally more prone to judder and blur with 24p movie sources than the C7K’s images are. But again, compared with the vast majority of rivals at its price point, the Q6C’s motion performance is actually pretty easy on the eye.

Colours can desaturate quite noticeably if you watch the screen from a steep angle of around 45 degrees or more, and blooming becomes slightly more noticeable. These problems are usually much more noticeable with budget VA LCD TVs, though, and from narrower angles.

To finish on the high note the Q6C’s pictures deserve, it’s a pretty stellar big-screen gaming display for its money. Graphics look crisp, bright and colourful, while the high frame rate support ensures gaming also feels fluid, smooth and responsive. The responsiveness is further bolstered by a measured input lag of just 13.1ms at 60Hz.

Sound

The Q6C’s Onkyo-designed sound system isn’t as ‘hi-fi’ in tone or as well-rounded as the B&O systems found higher up TCL’s current range. It’s not bad at all, though, for such an affordable TV.

Particularly surprising is the size of the soundstage it produces with DTS:X and, especially, Dolby Atmos mixes. Ambient effects and off-screen details appear well beyond the TV’s left, right and even top edges without the staging becoming incoherent or thin.

Dialogue seems to be coming from the screen rather than somewhere beneath or behind it, helping it sound impressively clear and clean. It still sounds contextualised enough, though, rather than bright or sharp.

Movie scores exist outside the scope of the main in-scene sound, just as they (usually) should, and sound effect detail levels are high enough to point to more quality in the speakers than you’ve any right to expect for this sort of money. Specific location details aren’t, to be clear, placed with the sort of accuracy you get with premium TV sound systems from the likes of Samsung, Philips and Sony, but the Q6C certainly does more with them than most similarly priced rivals.

There’s plenty of volume available, too, and while the sound density and power tend to level off during escalating action or horror scenes rather than continually expanding right to a scene’s climax, at least the sound doesn’t actively collapse under pressure.

Bass levels aren’t quite as rich and deep as we might have hoped, given the presence of two subwoofers on the set’s rear, which occasionally causes some high-pitched ambient effects to sound a little too dominant. Even the epic bass drops of Blade Runner 2049, though, don’t cause the bass speakers to seriously distort or drop out. In fact, the only distortion during Blade Runner 2049’s famous opening soundtrack dynamics comes from the treble, which causes a slight ‘buzzing fly’ effect when the speakers are under their greatest pressure.

The bottom line, though, is that, as with its pictures, the TCL Q6C’s sound is better than that of most, if not all, other TVs in its price class.

Verdict

If the Q6C cost twice as much as it does, we’d still class it as good. In fact, for a 65-inch TV at its price, it’s nothing short of ridiculous. If this is how TCL signs off its current range, we seriously can’t wait to see what the brand brings to the table next.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 4
• Features 4

Read our review of the TCL C7K

Also consider the Samsung U8000F

Read our Mitchell & Brown QLED1811 review

Best TVs: flagship OLEDs and budget Mini LED sets tried and tested

Stop what you’re doing – there’s a new pair of Sony wireless headphones in town.

The 1000X range has been Sony’s flagship wireless series for a whole decade, and the brand has decided to mark this anniversary with a completely new addition to its established line-up: the Sony 1000X The Collexion over-ears.

These may be ‘celebratory’ headphones, but think of The Collexion as a fully fledged product in their own right, rather than a limited edition one-off designed for the sake of novelty or sentimentality. These are headphones which exist separately from Sony's WH-1000XM6 – with their own unique sound, design philosophy and materials – and sit comfortably above their stablemates in price.

In fact, Sony has focused on sound above all else for The Collexion cans, for what it has dubbed “the best sounding headphones we’ve ever made”. When you consider some of the absolute gems the Japanese brand has produced in the past few years, that’s a mouthwatering claim. We’d be letting you down if we didn’t give them a listen…

Price

While the 1000X series has always remained a decidedly premium line, Sony had always resisted the urge to move up into the sort of ‘high-end’ territory occupied by the likes of the the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 (£629 / $799) and the Focal Bathys (£699 / $799), but with the 1000X The Collexion clocking in at £550 / $650, these are the closest Sony has ever come to operating within that more rarefied area of the market.

With the B&W and Focal rivals above them, the new Sonys have the likes of the Apple AirPods Max 2 (£499 / $549) and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) (£449 / $449 / AU$700) sitting just below.

If you need reminding, the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 are priced at around £400 / $450 / AU$699, even if discounts are now knocking a few pounds or dollars off that RRP, while the five-star rival Sennheiser HDB 630 will set you back around £400 / $500 / AU$1000.

Build & comfort

Get hold of a pair of Sony’s latest and, if you squint your eyes a little, you might be fooled into thinking that you’d picked up a pair of Sonos Ace instead. The Sonys have the same clean, minimalist exterior as the Ace, as well as similarly designed oval earcups adorned with a few metallic physical buttons on the left earcup.

Sony’s engineers describe 1000X The Collexion as a pair of cans that should both look good and make you feel good when you wear them, and for the most part, that aim has been achieved. Everything on The Collexion is made either from metal or faux leather, with a nicely padded headband designed to spread pressure evenly for extended user comfort and slightly firmer ear padding than found on the WH-1000XM6.

We don’t have an issue with the look or feel of the faux leather, though our test pair are more susceptible to marks and stains than the smooth plastic of most of Sony’s other headphones. That faux material adorns pretty much the whole exterior of the earcup, so grubby fingers, not to mention the rigours of everyday use, do end up making their mark after a time.

A slimmer profile does help to add lightness, though, with the width of the earcups measuring around 40mm from inside to out, compared with the 45.4mm of the WH-1000XM6.

That does make for an appreciably lightweight and unobtrusive wearing experience, and though The Collexion actually weigh more than their XM6 counterparts – 312g against 254g – rarely do we feel that extra weight.

Some of our testers did experience some rocking and instability from the earcups when walking from place to place, but if you’re stationary, the new Sonys often simply melt away into obscurity as you forget you’ve got a pair plonked on your head at all.

While there are a few physical buttons to be found, touch controls are the main way of controlling your Sony over-ears. They work as well as you’d expect, responding quickly and effectively to our various commands, with ample levels of control customisation available via the useful Sony SoundConnect app.

Unlike the XM6 over-ears or the Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), these aren’t headphones which fold up into a ball, but their flattened profile and accompanying carry case – with its hollowed-out handle putting us in mind of a small handbag – mean they’re still relatively portable.

Features

Sony has very much positioned its new premium cans as sound-first headphones, but the 1000X The Collexion’s feature set matches the same generous level as that found on the do-it-all WH-1000XM6.

Battery life clocks in at around 32 hours with ANC off and roughly 24 hours with noise cancelling switched on, and while that’s down from the 30-or-so hours of the WH-1000XM6, it’s still a reasonable lifespan. The AirPods Max 2 only manage around 20 hours, although the Sennheiser HDB 630 are streets ahead with a whopping 60 hours with noise cancelling in play.

If you’re a fan of spatial audio, you get three versions of Sony’s ‘360 Reality Audio Upmix’ tech – ‘Music’, ‘Cinema’ and ‘Game’ – each of which add varying degrees of spatial processing depending on the media content. They’re fun modes to play around with, and we particularly enjoy the more immersive ‘Cinema’ setting which just about lives up to its billing by providing a more open, cinematic experience when watching movies.

On the subject of signal processing, these are the first Sony headphones to make use of its DSEE Ultimate tech for improving lower-quality digital audio files. In the app, you also get access to a 10-band equaliser for tweaking the sound alongside several simple presets, or you can deploy ‘Background Music’ mode to make it seem as though your tunes were playing in the distance to better aid your concentration.

The 1000X The Collexion support standard SBC and AAC codecs alongside higher-quality LDAC – which lets you stream hi-res music at higher data rates over Bluetooth from a compatible source device, such as Sony’s latest smartphones. Bluetooth LE Audio is also on board for lower power consumption and better-quality sound. You can also listen to the Sony headphones wired, thanks to the included 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable, though note that the headphones will have to be powered on when listening through a physical connection.

Sony’s Speak-To-Chat feature, which drops the volume level when you start talking, also returns, though we’d caution that the headphones can often confuse human speech with other sounds, particularly wind. If you don’t want your cans to keep cutting out every few minutes, we’d suggest switching Speak-to-Chat off when you’re outdoors and it’s a bit blustery.

ANC & call quality

While Sony has warned that noise cancelling wasn’t as much of a focus for The Collexion as it was for the WH-1000XM6, it’s still operating at a decidedly high level. Much of the same tech from the XM6 is on-hand here, including the QN3 chip and a total of 12 mics to capture and monitor surrounding noise.

When working in full noise-cancelling mode, Sony’s latest over-ears do an excellent job of suppressing noise throughout the frequencies, and while you might get the slightest hint of a shrill bird tweet just about breaking through that barrier, middle and lower range frequencies are filtered out expertly. The ANC quality on the WH-1000XM6 is still Sony’s best, but it’s very unlikely that you’ll feel short-changed by the noise cancelling on offer with The Collexion.

Call quality is excellent, too. The Collexion house six beamforming mics complemented by a wind noise reduction structure for enhanced vocal clarity and reduced external sonic intrusions, and it really pays off. Voices are clear, articulate and emotive, while background sounds rarely, if ever, intrude on our conversation as we stand next to a busy motorway on a decidedly blustery day.

Sound

Let’s reiterate what we mentioned in our introduction – the 1000X The Collexion are distinct headphones in their own right, with a sound, says Sony, which prioritises refinement, detail and maturity over the punchier, more flavoured personality of the WH-1000XM6.

To achieve this, The Collexion headphones feature a bespoke carbon composite 30mm drive unit, constructed using soft edging and a hard centre in pursuit of an “exceptional frequency response”. Sound has been optimised using a low-phase noise crystal oscillator, while premium components and circuitry, including advanced gold-containing solder, aim for an improved signal to noise ratio to reveal finer musical details and offer a wider soundstage.

That’s a lot of tech under hood, but how does that translate to the real-life listening experience?

Well, in many ways, the Sony 1000X The Collexion do live up to their billing. Just as described by Sony, they’re headphones that deal primarily in spaciousness and clarity, qualities which suffuse nigh-on every track as we bounce from Max Richter’s Never Goodbye to Radiohead’s Everything In Its Right Place.

That latter track sounds particularly good – The Collexion’s wide, open presentation grants the track a broad canvas on which to play, like an epic drama unfolding on a lovely big widescreen TV.

Detail levels are excellent, and when you have a pair of over-ears that offer clarity, textural insight and spaciousness to this extent, it’s hard not to be impressed. The elegiac strings on Never Goodbye are rich and mournful, while the piano on Debussy’s austere Sarabande strikes a wonderful balance between rich intent and subtle delicacy.

For all of their openness and delicacy, the Sonys don’t lack musical muscle. Think of them as being like a pro ballerina – nimble and graceful, yes, but strong and immensely robust when the time calls for it. It’s a nice balance to have, all aided by a deep, powerful yet controlled lower-end reproduction.

Bass tones are expertly handled, something that really comes across when we load up Massive Attack’s Atlas Air and feel the full force and punch of the tune’s full-blooded drum hits. That bass is nicely separated from the overlaid synth sounds working away above, yet not to the extent that the composition starts to lack any sense of cohesion between frequencies.

These premium Sony headphones really are impressive performers in so many aspects, but they appeal more to the head than to the heart. They certainly trade off some of that signature expressiveness we’ve heard in other Sony headphones for greater openness and detail, something that reduces the extent to which we feel truly involved with our music. Talented as they are, there’s something slightly removed, almost standoffish, about their reproduction.

That’s not something of which we’d accuse the outstanding, and cheaper, Sennheiser HDB 630. The Sennheisers have a more natural fluidity, especially with how they handle dynamic shifts, which makes them a more engaging listen. For us, the Sennheisers seem to strike that balance between naturalness, entertainment and analysis a touch more acutely than the Sonys.

Their rather aloof personality also robs the Sony cans of some of their intimacy. Listen to the first 30 seconds of Black Veil Brides’ Saviour II, and there’s a greater feeling of closeness to the opening guitar and vocal lead when listening via the costlier Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2. When the track opens up as the chorus hits, however, The Collexion show their hand, allowing it to blossom and reveal its gothic grandeur with more scale than the rival B&W cans.

Verdict

There’s much to admire about Sony’s 1000X The Collexion over-ears. It’s impossible to ignore their poised, detail-rich performance, while that ample feature set and classy construction make them tough to resist.

There is a ‘but’, however. In pursuing a particular sonic signature – namely, one that goes after scale, detail and clarity – it’s hard not to feel as though Sony has slightly thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

Yes, these are seriously talented performers, but deep down, they feel like headphones which were built to impress rather than entertain. As a result, we find ourselves admiring them rather than completely falling in love.

Review published: 19th May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony WH-1000XM6

Also consider the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2

Read our Sennheiser HDB 630 review

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs 1000X The Collexion: which premium wireless headphones should you pick?

Best wireless headphones reviewed and rated by our in-house experts

The original Naim NAP 500 power amplifier was launched in the year 2000, with the NAC 552 preamplifier joining it in 2002. For more than a decade, this combination was the pinnacle of Naim amplifier performance, and was usurped only when the company launched its ultra-high-end Statement combination in 2014.

Today, that Statement pre/monobloc pairing costs a cool £234,997 / $299,997 / AU$440,000, so there certainly remains plenty of leeway for the NAC 552/NAP 500 DR to thrive.

Given that these 500 series products launched almost a quarter of a century ago, it seems natural to wonder how competitive they are against current rivals. You have already seen the star rating, so you know the answer to that.

However, you should also know that neither product has remained unchanged over the years. Each enjoyed a huge performance boost when Naim added its Discrete Regulator (DR) technology into the respective power supply designs around a decade ago.

It is also worth noting that, while the world of consumer electronics in general moves at a lightning pace, mature technologies such as analogue electronics tend to progress glacially at best. As a result, a well-engineered, no-compromise design from decades ago can still compete at the highest level, as this four-box stereo amplifier proves.

Features

Judged on specifications, the NAC 552 preamplifier (£26,999 / $34,999 / AU$56,500) looks as basic as they come. It is a line-level unit, so if you need a phono stage, digital inputs or Bluetooth connectivity, you will need to add those as outboard boxes.

It isn’t quite from the Stone Age, however, so you do have a remote control.

At least there are plenty of inputs, though all of them are single-ended. Naim’s engineers didn’t see the benefits of including balanced connections on a domestic product when this preamp was designed. The company’s latest 200 and 300 series products, interestingly, do include the option.

Look on the back panel and you will find seven of the company’s long-favoured DIN connectors and two conventional stereo RCA pairs. So, a choice of nine input connections; but look at the front panel and you will find only six input buttons. What gives?

Each input button can be linked to any of the rear-panel connectors, which is the kind of flexibility we didn’t expect in what is otherwise a purist product. Equally, there are multiple line-level outputs for those who still use a recorder, be it reel-to-reel, cassette or digital.

There are two rows of buttons on the NAC 552’s front panel. The top line selects what you listen to, and the lower row decides the source to be recorded – the two work independently, which is handy.

To the left of the buttons, there are dials for volume and balance; these connect to carefully selected motorised potentiometers. No issue with that in principle, though the volume control in particular works in an abrupt way that makes small changes at low levels harder to perform than they should be.

The NAP 500 DR (£26,999 / $34,999 / $53,000) is more limited on the connection front, as power amplifiers usually are. Its input is a three-pin XLR per side, but only two of the pins are connected, so it's a single-ended link. Naim supplies a dedicated lead. A word of warning: if you get the left and right-channel leads mixed up, all you will hear is silence.

Design & build

Take a look inside the NAC 552 preamp and you will find that the sensitive audio circuits are mounted on a heavy brass suspended subchassis to minimise any sonic degradation caused by external vibrations. The assembly sits on springs and floats pretty freely, so the preamp shouldn’t be moved around without the four transit bolts being in place to avoid damage.

The preamp’s power supply is housed in an outboard unit called the 552 PS. Separating the audio and power-supply sections in this way reduces any unwanted mechanical or magnetic interactions.

This external supply weighs in at a robust 13.9kg (compared with the preamp’s 12.9kg) and features a hefty 800VA toroidal transformer. Electrically, it is a split-rail design that connects to the NAC 552 via a multi-pin Burndy cable and Naim’s Snaic 5 (DIN) lead.

The two-box approach continues with the NAP 500 DR power amplifier. Its outboard supply, the NAP 500 PS, packs a massive 1100VA toroidal mains transformer, delivering no fewer than 12 DC feeds, each dedicated to specific parts of the amp’s circuit. The connection between the NAP 500 DR and the power supply is also done using Burndy cables, in this case, a pair.

The Class A/B NAP 500 DR is something of a powerhouse, rated at 140 watts per channel into an 8-ohm load. While this is a pretty generous figure, in reality, this beast sounds considerably more muscular than even that number suggests – but more on that later.

Like the preamp, the NAP 500 DR is a beautifully made unit inside and out, just as we would expect at this level. Its casing opens on both sides in a dramatic gull-wing manner, revealing the internal circuitry.

We note that both these Naims have admirably neat circuit layouts and display obsessive attention to detail when it comes to housekeeping things such as cable routing. Both units are packed with quality discrete components rather than ICs – a deliberate choice made on performance grounds.

Compatibility

An amplifier at this level clearly needs a first-class partnering system. If there are any doubts about your source or speakers, get those sorted out before even thinking about getting this pre/power. This Naim combination is utterly ruthless at exposing flaws, particularly in source components, so it pays to ensure those you use allow the amplifier to shine.

Our reference system already features the Naim ND555/555 PS DR music streamer, which is the natural partner for this amplifier. We also connect a Technics SL-1000R/Kiseki Purpleheart MC record player feeding a Cyrus Phono Signature/PSX-R2 phono stage to play our records. Our reference Burmester 088/911 MkIII amplifier serves as a good benchmark for this Naim pairing.

As for speakers, our usual ATC SCM50 are pressed into service alongside JBL’s excellent Summit Ama and the Fyne Audio F1-8 standmounters. We use Naim’s own Super Lumina interconnects alongside the company’s NAC A5 speaker cable, as well as our usual premium Chord Company and Vertere leads.

Once everything is up and running, we’re pleased to note that neither Naim unit gets particularly hot in use. So, while we would still recommend placing them in a rack with plenty of ventilation, heat build-up is unlikely to be an issue.

Sound

Ever heard the Radiohead song Everything In Its Right Place? It's an absorbing piece of music, but also a fitting description of this Naim combination’s sound. This amplifier is wonderfully organised and stable. Every instrumental note, vocal track and sound effect gels seamlessly to produce a musical whole that seems more than the sum of its parts.

It is a crisp, direct and bold presentation, one concentrating on conveying the physical aspects of the music while still having the refinement necessary in this part of the market. There is a pleasing no-nonsense quality to the presentation, where the amplifier’s control and composure makes the music feel almost simplified, so effortless does it all seem.

Corny as it sounds, listening to the Naim in full flow feels as though we have a direct link to the music’s emotional core, making it difficult to step back to analyse the results. This combination simply does what an amplifier should, and that’s to make the signal louder without corrupting it in any significant way.

For this to happen, certain qualities have to be present, and in this regard, the NAC 552/NAP 500 DR tick all the boxes. This amplifier sounds impressively transparent, allowing the quality and character of the source and recording to shine through. Excellent detail resolution should be a given at this level, and the Naim duly obliges. Importantly, the verve and energy in the music aren’t diluted, as can often happen in the search for ever-greater levels of insight and clarity.

Listen to a demanding track such as Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and the Naim pairing is happy to let you follow an individual instrumental strand, or simply to sit back and enjoy the experience. The symphony’s savage dynamic sweeps are delivered with ferocity coupled to a degree of authority that eludes all but the very best.

That claimed 140-watts-per-channel figure is healthy, but barely hints at the muscle on offer here. Naim watts, it seems, are different from others.

Yet power is only part of the equation. This pairing’s impressive detail-resolution translates into convincingly realised instrumental textures. There is delicacy where required, of course, but also a sense of palpability that’s uncommon.

The same applies to voices. Mount The Air by The Unthanks is a lovely, natural-sounding recording, and the Naim reveals the full scope of the group's immaculate vocals with real finesse.

Tonally, we have no complaints. This four-box is essentially neutral and refuses to favour any part of the frequency range over another. It sounds authentic in a way that eludes much of the competition.

Our reference Burmester 088/911 MkIII shows that it is possible to have a more spacious soundstage, but the Naim counters with class-leading image solidity and focus. Instruments are sharply rendered and locked in position, even when the music gets demanding. To our surprise, the Burmester pairing sounds a little blurred in comparison.

Naim’s products are famed for their rhythmic ability, and the NAC 552/NAP 500 DR is as exceptional as we had hoped for. When asked to play Massive Attack’s Angel, this amplifier doesn’t hold back, delivering a feeling of unstoppable momentum coupled to a full dose of the song’s brooding menace.

Lows are delivered with a thrilling mix of power, agility and grip. It’s an enthralling performance; one which leaves us luxuriating in the music rather than thinking about the mechanics of hi-fi.

Verdict

25 years is a long time for any product to be in production. Having talked to Naim’s representative, there is no sign that this pre/power is going to be put out to pasture anytime soon. We are glad of that.

The Naim NAC 552/NAP 500 DR pairing remains an exceptional performer and is up there with the best we have heard at this level. Highly recommended.

Review published: 18th May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 3

MORE:

Also consider the Burmester 088/911 Mk III

Integrated vs pre/power amplification: the pros, cons and which is best for you

“What took you so long?”

It’s a fair question we might aim at Cambridge Audio, which, over its near-60-year history, has dabbled in almost every audio category: amplifiers, CD players, music streamers, turntables, subwoofers, wireless speakers… even a Blu-ray player.

The fact that it has taken the British audio brand 58 years to launch its first-ever active speakers is perhaps surprising, but we’ll allow them to be fashionably late. The brand’s new L/R range of active speakers comes in three sizes, and we’ve got the baby of the bunch on test here, the Cambridge Audio L/R S. Is this petite desktop speaker the beginning of a hit series? It certainly looks promising.

Price

The L/R S is the smallest and cheapest model of Cambridge’s L/R speakers, and costs £399 / $549 / AU$949 per pair. This puts it squarely in the crosshairs of the Award-winning Ruark MR1 Mk3 (£399 / $579 / AU$899) powered desktop speakers, while Onkyo’s five-star GX-30ARC can be yours for a little less at £299 / $349 / AU$649.

The L/R S are available in six finishes that include the standard black and white, as well as more colourful green, blue and orange finishes. If you opt for the walnut veneer finish of our review sample, you’ll have to pay a little more at £449 / $599 / AU$1049 per pair.

If you’ll be placing the L/R S speakers on your desk, it’s worth checking out the optional angled desk stands (£49) that tilt the speakers up so the sound is more directed towards you.

Build & design

If you’re working with limited space – small rooms, student digs, not a lot of surface real estate – then these active speakers will work a treat. Each cabinet is just under 23cm tall and about 13cm wide – no wider than your average paperback book – which means they’ll fit onto most desktops and even shelves, ideally perched on either side of a laptop or your TV.

The speakers themselves look neat and stylish, and we can imagine the minimal cabinet design fitting into most interiors, whether you want them to blend into a spartan layout or add a splash of colour with the punchier hues.

Build quality is of a high standard, with clean, crisp edges and a smooth finish. We particularly like how the Cambridge logo is etched into the finish at the top of the cabinet. It looks classy.

Each speaker is furnished with a 21mm aluminium tweeter and a long-throw 76mm mid/bass driver, with a bass reflex slot positioned at the rear of each cabinet. All drivers are powered by Class D amplification, and altogether, the L/R S claim to offer a mighty 100W of total output, split evenly between the two channels.

The tweeter has a large waveguide that, along with the mid/bass driver, occupies the majority of the ultra-minimal fascia, with the metallic orange colour of the dome peeking through to offer some visual interest. The speakers don’t come with a grille, but the tweeter’s phase cap doubles up as a guard to protect it from poking fingers.

This is a fully active design with all the amplification and electronics housed in the primary speaker. The supplied 2m connecting cable has a bespoke 4-pin conductor that carries the signal to the secondary speaker. This cable has a pleasingly secure locking mechanism at either end, too. If you need a longer lead between the speakers, a 5m cable is also available to buy separately.

Keeping things simple seems to be the main aim with these petite active speakers. There are no controls or dials on the speaker for choosing inputs or changing volume – which might irk some users who like having such controls within easy reach – but there is a colour-coded LED under the primary speaker which clearly indicates the input chosen.

A remote control is supplied, which takes care of input choosing, volume and power. It’s a slim unit made of light plastic, but it works well, and we would take pains not to mislay this remote.

You can place these small speakers pretty much anywhere, and, knowing this, Cambridge has taken steps to ensure the L/R S are able to sound their best wherever you place them. At the back, you’ll find a pair of toggle switches: one to indicate whether the speakers are placed on a desk or not, and another to indicate if they are positioned close to a wall (“near wall”) or out in “free space”. The “near wall” mode is straightforward. It reduces the mid-bass around 100Hz to account for any boominess that might occur when placing the speakers very close to a back wall.

The “desk top on” mode, meanwhile, deals with two issues at once – time alignment and desk reflection – and shows how much thought Cambridge’s engineers have put into this design. When the small speakers are placed on a desk, the drivers will naturally be physically lower than your listening height. This desk mode compensates for this effect, delaying the tweeter output and readjusting the top and mid frequencies so that music sounds “right” from your listening position.

Additionally, this mode also notches down the mid frequencies (around 700Hz, says Cambridge) to balance out the unwanted energy coming from the speakers’ sound being reflected from the desk.

We would try out the various combinations to see what works best for your speaker placement. We quite liked the combination of "free space" and keeping ‘desk top’ mode off for a richer and more solid sound overall, but the effect will vary depending on your room and the surface the speakers are placed on.

And finally, there is a third and very useful toggle switch that lets you assign the primary speaker as the left or right channel, giving you greater flexibility for placement.

Features

Whereas the bigger siblings – the L/R X and L/R M – boast full network streaming smarts, the baby of the family is once again keeping things pared down and uncomplicated by offering Bluetooth for streaming. Physical inputs on the L/R S include a pair of RCA line level, optical and USB-C, and there is a subwoofer output.

It’s worth noting that while the optical and USB-C both support hi-res audio files up to 96kHz, the speakers’ DSP will automatically resample/downsample all files to 24-bit/48kHz.

Perhaps surprisingly in this enduring age of vinyl popularity, there’s no built-in phono stage here, as you’ll find in the Ruark and Onkyo rivals. There’s no HDMI ARC input here either, which you will find on the cheaper Onkyo speakers.

Regardless, you can still connect a variety of products to these speakers, including a CD player, a TV, a smartphone/laptop, and even a phono stage-equipped turntable, such as the Sony PS-LX3BT. Bluetooth has the higher-quality aptX and aptX HD codecs on board, and pairing with our smartphone takes seconds.

Using these speakers is a cinch. Once connected, they’re easy to control using the supplied remote or with your paired phone when streaming from Tidal or Spotify.

Along with the toggles for adjusting the speakers’ sound depending on their position, there are also three sound modes to choose from: Normal (the default one), Voice (accentuates mids/voice) and Movie (increases in bass and treble frequency for more impact, and mids for clearer dialogue).

We appreciate that the EQ modes are rather subtle in action. Voices are a tad clearer and more prominent when deploying the Voice mode during podcasts, and the Movie mode doesn’t overdo the peaks in frequencies, but we prefer the more balanced, solid sound of the Normal mode for all kinds of audio.

Sound

We set up the L/R S speakers on the desk in one of our listening rooms, flanking our laptop, connected to Bluetooth, and leave them running in while we do some work. This allows us not only to run the speakers in, but also to gauge how they behave when used exactly the way we imagine most people will. Will the speakers sound too boomy on the desk? Will they sound too powerful and distracting, or will they fade into the background? Is there any peakiness in the treble to annoy us?

As we listen to Rosalia, Eminem, Waxahatchee, Geese, Rachmaninoff and more, we find ourselves living rather harmoniously with these compact Cambridge speakers. What’s impressive is just how nice and even they are throughout the frequencies – it allows for a very easy-going listen, and one you could listen to for hours without getting fatigued.

There is no discernible peakiness in the treble, which sounds rather civilised and cultured even when hitting the brash, brazen highs of Fontaines D.C.’s Starburster. The bass is rather taut and nimble but not overpowering, which is welcome if you’ll be listening to the speakers up close and on resonant surfaces. There is less bass weight on the L/R S compared with the more exuberant Ruark MR1 Mk3 rival, and it doesn’t sound as muscular when faced with the brooding bassline in Massive Attack’s Angel. But it nips along at a good pace.

There is a good amount of detail on offer, thanks also in part to a clean, low-distortion background. Whether we listen to these speakers using Tidal via Bluetooth or USB, or CDs on a connected Cyrus CDi disc spinner, the presentation is consistent. From Waxahatchee’s honeyed vocals to Geese’s more discordant and laconic tones, we find the speakers create a rather lovely solid sweet-spot for voices, too.

Listening at low volume doesn’t quite give us a full picture of the speakers’ abilities; turn up the volume, and you’ll find them spark into life. If you reach your smartphone device’s maximum Bluetooth volume limit and wonder if that’s all they can do, reach for the remote control and turn it up some more. These speakers can go pretty loud. Just be wary of going too high, as things do start to get unwieldy and shouty.

Even as we admire their evenness and orderliness, we find the L/R S speakers can be a touch reserved at times. On some tracks – such as on Eminem’s The Way I Am and Forget About Dre – we find ourselves willing the speakers on, to tackle the propulsive rhythm with more punch and panache. The piano notes in Game Of Thrones’ Light Of The Seven glide along smoothly, but they could do with a greater degree of precision and urgency to better impart the ratcheting-up of tension in the piece.

In comparison, the rival Ruark MR1 Mk3 speakers have the upper hand when it comes to rhythmic impetus and dynamic expression. They are able to deliver a bigger and more open sound too, with a greater amount of space in between the instruments and voices.

We find that the Ruark speakers sound clearer throughout the midrange, too, which reveals a greater degree of subtlety and insight. In comparison, the Cambridge sounds as though there is a cloudy veil over the mids, which we would love to hear scrubbed clean so that textures and subtleties can be unleashed. Bon Iver's voice on Exile is layered with rich textures and full of personality and emotion through the Ruarks – this effect is a little muted through the L/R S.

We would recommend investing in the optional desk stands for the L/R S, as physically tilting the speakers towards your listening position results in a clearer, more solid sound. Listening significantly off-axis changes the balance somewhat, so we would take some care when positioning the speakers and experiment with the various toggle modes to find the ideal sound for you.

Verdict

As Cambridge Audio’s first-ever active stereo speakers, the L/R S are off to a great start. It’s a confident design with thoughtful consideration for how people will use them in the real world. And they look stylish, too.

That even-toned, refined and easy-to-listen-to sound is impressive for a product of this type and price, and we think a sprinkle of energy, precision and insight could well catapult these compact Cambridge speakers to stardom. The Ruarks and Onkyos of this world might rest easy for now, but they’ll certainly be keeping an eye on this new contender.

Review published: 15th May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 5
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Ruark Audio MR1 Mk3

Also consider the Onkyo GX-30ARC

Our guide to the best desktop speakers for hi-fi fans, tested by our experts

Can you believe it’s been four years since Denon released the hugely talented AVR-X2800H? That model stormed our test room to deliver a superb cinematic sound at a reasonable price, earning a rightful spot on our best AV receivers list and a What Hi-Fi? Award.

But 2022 was a long time ago, and things have certainly changed. The Product of the Year-winning Sony TA-AN1000 emerged to dethrone the AVR-X2800H, and we’ve been waiting for Denon to bite back against its Japanese AV opponent since.

Our patience has, as you can probably tell by the headline of this hands-on review, paid off. The AVR-X2900H is a direct sequel to the beloved X2800H, and Denon has made a handful of key upgrades to make it the Kryptonite to Sony’s Superman.

As this is a hands-on review based on a brief introduction to the new amplifier we had at Denon’s offices in Tokyo, we won’t be attaching a star rating yet – that’ll have to wait until we get the new amplifier into our dedicated home cinema testing facility. As for now, here are our initial impressions of the X2900H.

Price

Denon has officially revealed pricing for the AVR-X2900H, and it’s surprisingly pleasant news.

Despite significant global economic instability since 2022, the same £899 price tag applies here in the UK, meaning we’ve avoided a dreaded price hike. While that is good news indeed, there’s still the competition to be mindful of.

Crucially, Denon is positioning this as a direct rival to the TA-AN1000, so the price needs to remain competitive with that amplifier; which in itself may be a big ask as the TA-AN1000 has been on the market for a few year and, as such, is now subject to nearly constant price decreases.

While Sony launched that AV amplifier at a higher £999 price, we’ve seen it widely available for £899, and it can drop to as low as £699 during major sales events.

Build

Consistency is key with Denon’s AVR range, and truth be told, the X2900H looks like it’s long lineage of predecessors.

The genes run strong with the X2900H; this is another angular black box with a brushed metal finish and a rectangular display placed atop a tidy line of on-device buttons.

Denon has made a couple of changes, though. These buttons are now angled slightly upwards, making them easier to press if you have this AVR placed at shin-height in a media unit, and the volume and source select knobs look slightly different.

Subtle upgrades aside, this AVR remains functional-looking rather than particularly eye-catching. Denon’s sister company, Marantz, wins the AVR beauty contest – just look at the Cinema 30 and tell us you disagree…

Features

But beauty is merely skin deep; it’s what the Denon offers in terms of features and sound that is more compelling to us.

Much like its predecessor, the AVR-X2900H offers seven channels of amplification, supporting up to a 5.1.2 or 7.1 surround sound system. Denon claims that this amp can output 95W per channel, though that’s with only two of the seven available channels driven.

The mention of 5.1.2 support might give away that this AVR supports Dolby Atmos, and DTS:X is also supported. Audyssey MultEQ XT also makes a return for straightforward room correction, including automated speaker level and distance settings.

On the subject of calibration, Denon has added the basic version of Dirac Live Room Correction this year, although it’s an optional extra that requires additional equipment to set up.

In terms of connectivity, the AVR-X2900H sports six HDMI inputs, three of which support signals up to 8K resolution, and Denon has added 1440p video pass-through and AMD FreeSync this year for better PC gaming support. There are also dual HDMI outputs, one of which is HDMI eARC, while the other supports Zone 2 functionality.

Denon has made direct reference to this AVR supporting HDR10+, but Dolby Vision hasn’t been mentioned yet. Considering the AVR-X2800H supported the dynamic HDR format, we’d be very surprised to see this missing in the new model.

Wireless connectivity is also solid, with streaming supported over wi-fi, AirPlay 2, Bluetooth and Denon’s HEOs application, which also provides access to countless music streaming apps, including Tidal, Qobuz and more.

Internally, Denon says it’s made a few changes in pursuit of improved sound performance, too. It says that it’s implemented an upgraded 32-bit multi-channel DAC architecture for “improved imaging, clearer high-frequency detail and more confident low-frequency energy across every channel”.

Sound

So, have these improvements made a noticeable change to how this amplifier sounds? It’s far too early to say, but we did get a chance to listen to a very familiar test scene from Dune: Part One on both the existing AVR-2800H and new AVR-X2900H, to get a flavour of what the new model is capable of.

The AVR-X2900H was hooked up to a totally overkill speaker package comprising Bowers & Wilkins 801 Diamond speakers; far too high-end to match a mid-range AVR such as this, but fun to listen to nonetheless.

The scene in which the Atreides clan boards an Ornithopter to see the spice fields of Arrakis sounded noticeably richer and larger in scale on the new model, while also remaining agile and exciting in an impressive display of cinematic balance.

Everything felt more layered and detailed, with voices in particular carrying more character and tonality. This helped to convey more natural and emotive dialogue, aiding immersion and allowing us to get sucked into the tense conversation had within the cockpit of the Ornithopter.

Bass and dynamics, two areas that we appreciated on the Sony competitor, also appear to have improved on the X2900H. Bass goes deeper when the tribal drums of Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack burst into life, and it’s a snappier and punchier affair too.

It remains controlled, but it felt like the low end had more attack, resulting in a more engaging and exciting experience.

Early verdict

It’s taken a while, but our early impressions of the Denon AVR-X2900H lead us to believe that our patience has paid off.

After having its confidence knocked by Sony, we’d like to say that Denon is back with a vengeance, but in reality, it seems like the changes made here are both subtle and considered.

That seems like the right move to us, as the AVR-X2900H has made a strong first impression; now all it has to do is live up to expectations in our AV testing room…

MORE:

Read our full Denon AVR-X2800H review

As well as our Denon AVC-X3800H review

And check out our picks for the best AV receivers

Just when you thought JBL couldn’t make its Xtreme portable Bluetooth speaker any more, er, extreme, it goes and blesses us with a fifth-generation model. And this one is not only waterproof and dust-proof – it is now drop-proof too.

The JBL Xtreme 5 can also put on a bit of a show thanks to new colourful, customisable edge lighting, which emits from two strips placed on the front of the speaker.

Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll discover there’s a lot more going on here than just a light show and a newfound sense of invincibility.

Price

The good news for prospective buyers is that the price of the JBL Xtreme 5 hasn’t really changed massively compared with its predecessor. It costs £330 / €350 / $400, while the Award-winning Xtreme 4 started life at £330 / €330 / $380 although it can be found significantly cheaper now, given it launched back in 2024.

It has a close rival in the shape of the five-star Bose SoundLink Max. This, too, originally launched in 2024 for £399 / €400 / $399, but at the time of writing, it can also regularly be found for less than its JBL counterpart.

Design and build

Like a bodybuilder who has bulked up for their first show of the season, the Xtreme has been beefed up by JBL for this latest incarnation.

Placed next to the previous version, the Xtreme 5 comes across as much more of a unit. The changes in proportions are immediately noticeable, and you could almost be forgiven for thinking this was actually a new step-up model.

Compared with the Xtreme 4, the Xtreme 5 is more than 1.5cm taller, just over one centimetre deeper, and nearly five centimetres wider. These figures don’t look like a lot on paper, but see the two together in reality and the difference in stature is obvious.

The 5 is also nearly one kilogram heavier, which you can feel as soon as you pick it up by the carry strap (which you’ll be pleased to know still includes a bottle opener as part of its design).

Speaking of the strap, the floating loops on top of the speaker have more clearance on the new model, making it slightly easier to attach than on its predecessor.

A couple of other design tweaks also enhance the Xtreme 5's broad chest. The built-in stand, which uses rubber bumpers along the front and back edges for stability, has increased in size, while the rubberised ‘fins’, which are dotted around the edges of each end of the speaker, are more robust to offer greater protection should it roll off your picnic bench.

The passive bass radiators at either end of the speaker are also bigger, which means the sense of theatre they offer as they pulse in time with your favourite tunes has a bit more visual impact.

And that’s before your eyes are attracted to those light strips on the front of the Bluetooth speaker. You can change their colour, the pattern they display, or you can turn them off completely.

The control buttons, which used to simply to sit directly on top of the speaker’s ruggedised fabric, have changed position slightly. They are now mounted on a large matte-finished panel on the top of the speaker (together with power, Bluetooth pairing, and Auracast buttons), which we think also adds to its perceived bulk.

Features

But it’s not just at the surface level where changes have been made – there has been a significant overhaul to the driver configuration of the Xtreme 5. Where previous generations used twin tweeters and twin woofers, the new speaker keeps the tweeters but ditches the woofers in favour of a single ‘racetrack’ driver positioned behind the JBL logo.

JBL claims the new driver can better handle the increased power of the new model, a by-product of which is that it can deliver more mid/bass than its predecessor.

The total power output of the Xtreme 5 is a claimed 130W when mains powered, 90W when running off the built-in battery. This compares with figures of 100W and 70W for the Xtreme 4.

The speaker supports Bluetooth 6 and Auracast – the latter allows you to pair two Xtreme 5s together to use in stereo, or to connect multiple compatible JBL speakers together, should you want music blasting throughout your house.

Charging the JBL Xtreme 5 is done through the USB-C connection on the back, and the speaker can power your smartphone or tablet through the same socket. It also supports lossless audio up to 24-bit/48kHz through a wired connection – although for most people that’s a nice to have feature, rather than an essential.

JBL has included a couple of technologies designed to aid sound quality. AI Sound Boost is always on and uses an algorithm to clean up low frequencies and reduce distortion; while Smart EQ analyses what you’re listening to in real time and can adjust the speaker’s delivery to suit, say, if you’re listening to music or a podcast.

In addition to helping you access the six different edge-lighting themes and alter the colours you see displayed, the JBL Portable app also allows you to access a new seven-band equaliser, should you want to tweak the out-of-the-box sound.

You can also form a stereo pair through the app and turn on Playtime Boost, which tweaks the sound so you can extend the battery life by four hours (as standard, you should be good for 24 hours of uninterrupted playtime).

We would steer clear of this particular feature unless you’re really desperate. It dramatically reduces the bass output of the speaker and makes the overall sound leaner and more compressed.

Sound

Avoid that setting, though, and the JBL Xtreme 5 does not disappoint.

Play Ed Sheeran’s Shivers and you can immediately hear that increase in power. As the track bursts into life during those first few seconds, you get a much greater sense of scale and size compared with the Xtreme 4.

You’re not buying a Bluetooth speaker for its stereo imaging, more for its spread of sound, and the JBL takes filling our modestly sized test room in its stride. Take the speaker outdoors and crank it up, though, and things get even more impressive.

The speaker laps up high volume levels and can easily go loud enough to power a summer party or annoy the neighbours, depending on your mood.

There’s plenty of bass weight – even with the Xtreme 5 firing out into the great wilderness, the track’s deep, probing bassline makes its presence felt. Impressively, though, it doesn’t overpower the rest of the track – Sheeran’s expressive vocals still take centre stage.

The other thing that strikes us about the JBL is how much clearer it sounds than its predecessor. It makes the Xtreme 4 sound hazy and cluttered in comparison.

Play Run by Stephen Fretwell, and there’s more separation around the individual elements, so you can hear what each one brings to the music.

You can inspect around the edges of that crisply defined percussion and piano, but the whole presentation remains cohesive, and the track remains confidently knitted together with the lead vocal at the centre. It’s still a hugely musical listen and captures the slow, gentle rhythmic flow and rise and fall of the track.

We switch between battery and mains power, and can hear a small injection of punch and solidity when we tap into that bigger power figure. It’s not a huge jump, though, and we think you’ll be satisfied whichever way you decide to use the speaker.

Verdict

Just when we were starting to wonder how JBL could improve things with yet another generation of Xtreme, it goes and beats what came before.

The Xtreme 5 is a beefier design than previous versions. Not only does it have greater sonic presence, but it also has a newfound sense of clarity, which elevates sound quality to a new level. And that’s bad news for its closest rivals. Bravo, JBL.

Review published: 13th May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Features 4
• Build 5

MORE:

Read our Bose SoundLink Max review

Want something cheaper? Check out the JBL Charge 6

Our guide to the best Bluetooth speakers for every budget

Here it is, folks: our first full review of an RGB Mini LED TV.

We have previously run extensive hands-on tests of a couple of RGB Mini LED TVs – most notably the huge Hisense 116UX – but, due to their astonishing sizes and prices, we’ve had to do the testing outside our own facilities. In our world, that’s not a full review, so those TVs haven’t received star ratings.

The 65-inch Hisense UR9 we have before us today is designed to address the size and price issues that have until now prevented more people from hopping on the RGB Mini LED bandwagon.

This set, then, is leading the mainstream RGB Mini LED charge. And, while it’s a fair way short of perfect, particularly next to a flagship OLED TV, the UR9 is an impressive TV in its own right and a tantalising glimpse at the technology’s long-term potential.

Price

Price is always a hugely important factor whenever we test a product, but it’s particularly crucial to how the Hisense UR9 will be viewed.

In the UK, the launch price of £2999 places the 65-inch UR9 in the same category as flagship OLED TVs such as the new LG G6 and last year’s Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II.

In Australia, though, the AU$3999 price puts the Hisense UR9 up against step-down OLEDs such as the LG C6.

Most interestingly (and confusingly), while the announced launch price in the US was a super high-end $3500, when the TV actually arrived in shops, the tag was a vastly cheaper $2000, placing the UR9 in an entirely different category, below even step-down OLED models.

Essentially, then, this Hisense is a rather different proposition in each of those three regions. Seeing as we are UK-based and it’s a UK sample we’re reviewing, though, it’s the UK price that we are primarily working with here. And that means the UR9 is going to have to face off against the mighty Bravia 8 II QD-OLED.

Design

The Hisense UR9 is not one of those modern flagship TVs that disappears into your living room.

At 4.5cm thick, it’s decidedly chunky by current premium TV standards, particularly next to the impossibly slim OLED models with which it competes on price.

The rear panel is completely flat, though, which makes the UR9 fairly tidy for wall-mounting, and the overall build feels solid and substantial.

The TV’s general styling is perfectly pleasant, too, though it stops short of being genuinely luxurious. Bezels are slim enough, the dark metallic finish is smart, and the overall aesthetic is clean and restrained, but the UR9 lacks the slick elegance and premium flair of rivals such as the Sony Bravia 8 II and Samsung S99H/S95H.

Hisense has made some nice, practical decisions, though.

The centrally mounted pedestal stand has a relatively narrow footprint of around 42cm, making the UR9 easier to place on narrower furniture than many similarly sized rivals. It also offers two height positions, allowing you either to keep the screen sitting low and tidy or raise it slightly to create extra clearance for a soundbar.

Rows of tiny perforations run down both sides of the set, while larger openings line the top edge. These house the UR9’s side- and up-firing speakers, which form part of its integrated Devialet sound system.

Overall, then, the UR9 is more functional than fashionable – a practical, purposeful TV rather than a particularly glamorous one.

Features and specs

The headline feature here is, of course, the UR9’s RGB Mini LED backlight.

Unlike a conventional Mini LED TV, which uses a white backlight shining through a colour filter layer, the UR9 instead uses separate red, green and blue Mini LEDs to generate colour directly. In theory, this approach allows for both greater brightness and more precise colour reproduction.

Hisense claims peak brightness of up to 3500 nits for the 65-inch model we’re testing here, alongside 980 local dimming zones and a native 170Hz panel, all driven by the company’s Hi-View AI Engine RGB processor.

Gamers are generally very well served – with one unusual caveat. Unlike most premium TVs, which have four HDMI sockets, the UR9 has just three. These are accompanied by a PC-gaming-friendly DisplayPort connection – something that remains extremely rare on TVs.

Is a DisplayPort connection more valuable than a fourth HDMI socket? We have our doubts, but to a small number of very committed PC gamers, it may be very useful.

All three of the HDMI sockets are 2.1-specified, though, with support for 4K/170Hz (and the console-friendly 4K/120Hz), VRR and ALLM. Some brands, including Sony, still offer just two HDMI 2.1 sockets on their TVs.

The UR9’s input lag is decent rather than exceptional. We measured 32.5ms at 60Hz in the standard Game mode, though enabling the Refresh Rate setting reduces that figure to a more respectable, though far from groundbreaking, 24.6ms.

The UR9 supports every significant HDR format currently in use – HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision – plus the intelligent Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive variants that respond to ambient room lighting conditions.

It is also IMAX Enhanced certified, and the UK version of the TV features an anti-reflective, anti-glare screen coating that proves fairly effective at combating bright-room reflections.

Audio specifications are unusually ambitious by TV standards, too. The UR9 features a Devialet-tuned 4.1.2-channel speaker system with dedicated up-firing drivers, plus support for both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks.

In the UK and Australia, the UR9 runs Hisense’s own VIDAA smart platform, while the US version instead uses Google TV.

VIDAA still isn’t the prettiest smart system around, but it’s fast, responsive and logically laid out. App support is broadly very good, too, with all of the major streaming services and UK catch-up apps present and correctly supporting the relevant picture and sound formats.

There are, however, a few frustrating omissions. Most notably, the Apple TV app lacks access to the Apple TV store and users’ purchased libraries, so it can’t be used for movie purchases and rentals. That’s a real disappointment, as Apple’s pay-as-you-go store is the best around.

While far less important for a TV, it’s worth noting that music streaming support is sparse, too, with Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music and Qobuz all absent. There are no cloud gaming apps, either.

The inclusion of Freely is welcome, though, as it allows live TV channels to be streamed over the internet without an aerial connection.

Picture quality

The Hisense UR9 makes a superb first impression. In fact, perhaps the most impressive thing about it is just how rarely it behaves like a traditional backlit TV.

Before getting into that, though, some setup advice is required, because the TV’s default HDR settings do it few favours.

When first fed HDR10 content, the UR9 automatically switches into its HDR Energy Saving mode which, despite its name, is surprisingly aggressive. Colours skew cool and bluish, motion processing is overly intrusive, and the overall image looks unnatural and overcooked.

HDR Standard and HDR Dynamic are similarly best avoided, both pushing sharpness, brightness and processing much too hard.

Thankfully, Filmmaker Mode proves far more successful. It delivers the most accurate and balanced picture of the available presets, and it quickly becomes our preferred overall option.

Interestingly, though, IMAX Cinema is also unusually compelling. While its underlying settings appear almost identical to those of Filmmaker Mode, it consistently produces a noticeably brighter and punchier image without obviously compromising balance or naturalism.

As a result, we would stick with Filmmaker Mode for dark-room and purist viewing, but happily switch to IMAX Cinema during the daytime or whenever we fancy a little extra visual intensity.

Once properly configured, the UR9 is an extremely accomplished performer.

Play 1917 on 4K Blu-ray, and the opening logos immediately demonstrate just how well controlled the TV’s backlight system is. Blooming around the bright white text is minimal, black depth is strong, and colours look rich, warm and nicely cinematic.

More importantly, the local-dimming system generally goes about its business without drawing attention to itself. Throughout our testing, the UR9 almost never exhibits the flickering, brightness pumping or visibly shifting backlight behaviour that can make many Mini LED TVs distracting.

That consistency quickly emerges as the UR9’s defining strength. While many bright Mini LED TVs constantly remind you that they are dynamically manipulating a backlight behind the scenes, the Hisense instead achieves a broadly very composed, stable and natural delivery that often feels surprisingly OLED-like.

Blade Runner 2049 showcases this particularly well. Black depth is consistently strong, shadow detail is excellent and subtle blooming is tightly controlled. There’s also impressive richness and stability to colours, especially reds, which look wonderfully pure and saturated without drifting into pink or magenta tones.

Extra-bright HDR material suits the UR9 especially well, too. Pan looks spectacular here, with dazzling highlights and bold, vibrant colours that comfortably outgun the Sony Bravia 8 II for outright brightness in many scenes. Sunlight bursting through clouds and glinting off the fantasy scenery of Neverland is delivered with real punch and intensity.

Crucially, though, the UR9 generally achieves this brightness without sacrificing balance. Skin tones remain natural, and there’s a pleasing cinematic warmth to the image – and it doesn’t drift into gaudiness.

Motion handling is strong, too. The default Film setting is decent enough, but switching Motion Enhancement to Clear results in noticeably smoother pans without introducing the distracting soap-opera effect or processing artefacts that such systems often create.

The notoriously difficult Matera cemetery and chase sequence from No Time To Die is handled particularly well, with impressively little judder to the panning shots and clean rendering of drifting smoke and rapid camera movement.

Dropping down to standard-def and SDR, our Kiss Kiss Bang Bang DVD is reproduced with pleasing warmth, strong detail and impressively clean upscaling. Colours are arguably pushed a touch too hard at times, but the overall presentation remains highly enjoyable and consistently cinematic.

For all of the UR9’s strengths, though, direct comparisons with a top-tier OLED TV still reveal the limitations of even this undeniably refined RGB Mini LED model. Despite its impressive local-dimming system, the Hisense simply cannot match the pixel-level contrast control of the Sony Bravia 8 II.

Extremely bright highlights against deep black backgrounds are sometimes handled slightly conservatively, presumably to avoid blooming. Perhaps counterintuitively, those bright white logos against pitch-black backgrounds appear more intense and impactful on the Sony OLED than on the much brighter, on paper, Hisense.

More significantly, the OLED TV produces a more solid and perceptually three-dimensional image across the board. Objects and characters stand out from their surroundings with greater depth and dynamism, while subtle gradations within clouds, shadows and highlights appear more convincing and refined, creating a more rounded look.

This isn’t a new phenomenon: we have documented that extra solidity you get from OLED plenty of times previously, most notably when we used the Sony Bravia 8 OLED as a comparison in our Bravia 9 Mini LED review. But it bears repeating for those who are choosing between an OLED and a backlit TV.

Viewing angles are another clear OLED advantage. While the UR9’s picture performance doesn’t entirely fall off a cliff when you move off-axis, the sweet spot in which it performs at its very best is surprisingly narrow.

And while the UR9 usually keeps blooming impressively well controlled, especially for a backlit TV, particularly torturous scenes can still expose its limitations.

The bomb-test sequence in Oppenheimer is a great example. From the UR9, there’s a slight general greying to the image, plus some visible glow around isolated spotlights in the darkness. The opening starfield of Alien: Romulus, meanwhile, reveals that the UR9 cannot simultaneously maintain truly inky blacks and perfectly intense star highlights in the way an OLED can.

To be clear, the Hisense performs well in these scenes by LCD standards, and many owners may never notice such shortcomings during normal viewing. But they do prevent the UR9 from truly matching the effortless contrast precision and dimensionality of the best OLED TVs.

Sound quality

Developed in partnership with Devialet, the UR9’s 4.1.2-channel speaker system delivers a surprisingly expansive and full-bodied presentation by TV standards, with particularly impressive width and height effects.

The Theatre sound mode is the most immediately striking of the available presets, producing a presentation that extends well beyond the physical boundaries of the TV and creating a convincing sense of spaciousness with Dolby Atmos soundtracks.

There’s decent bass depth, too, and the UR9 maintains good composure at high volumes, avoiding the harshness and distortion that can afflict many flatscreen TVs when pushed hard.

The overall presentation is smooth and rich in character, which makes the UR9 an easy and enjoyable listen over long viewing sessions.

It isn’t perfect, though. Dynamics are a little stunted, and action scenes lack some of the punch and excitement they deserve, while dialogue could be projected with greater clarity and emotional expression.

The Theatre mode also slightly overplays its hand at times. While its extra spaciousness is undeniably appealing, it introduces a faintly diffuse and echoey quality to voices, along with a slight sense of delay that makes speech sound less natural than it should.

As a result, we find ourselves preferring the Standard sound mode for most content. It still sounds pleasantly spacious and open, but delivers dialogue with greater focus and cohesion while maintaining good weight and scale.

Ultimately, while even a modest dedicated soundbar will comfortably outperform it, the UR9’s audio system is better than that of most TVs, even at this lofty level.

Verdict

In several ways, the Hisense UR9 is one of the best backlit TVs we have ever tested.

Most of the time, you’re not even made aware that it is a backlit TV, so good are its black levels, its control of blooming and its consistent, flicker-free contrast.

While it is possible to trip up the backlight, it’s quite hard to do so, and many buyers may never see an unsightly bloom in their period of UR9 ownership.

But while this first mainstream RGB Mini LED TV is broadly mercifully free of the flaws that generally afflict backlit TVs, it still can’t match the overall picture quality of the best OLED models.

The pixel-level contrast control of OLED brings benefits in several areas. There are the notably brighter highlights on very dark backgrounds that even accomplished backlit sets, such as the UR9, are too cautious to go all guns blazing with for fear of blooming. There are the almost flawless viewing angles, too, which the UR9 is a long way from matching.

The biggest thing, though, is the generally more solid, more perceptually three-dimensional image that OLED provides. Next to the Bravia 8 II, the Hisense UR9 simply looks flatter, less dynamic and less impactful.

Ultimately, as enjoyable and technically impressive as the UR9 is, we can’t think of a good reason you would buy it over a flagship-grade OLED, and that’s the level at which Hisense is pitching it – at least in the UK.

Of course, if you are someone who has a flagship-level budget for their next TV and a general aversion to OLED, the Hisense UR9 should be right around the top of your list.

If you’re a UK buyer, it’s probably a good idea to wait and see if we get a massive US-style discount before placing an order, though.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Also consider the Sony Bravia 8 II, LG G6 and Sony Bravia 9

Here are all of the best TVs you can buy right now

For What Hi-Fi? readers at least, playing music directly from your smartphone may be the most cardinal of all cardinal sins. To take your music and subject it to being squeezed through your iPhone’s tinny little speakers is, to some at least, the equivalent of cooking a dry-aged steak in a microwave and then slathering it in a small mountain of ketchup.

This, in part, is why the JBL Go 5 exists. The fifth generation of JBL’s very affordable Bluetooth speaker is built to be almost as portable as your smartphone itself, but with boosted sonic capabilities that won’t leave your music sounding as though it’s been put through the metaphorical microwave.

The first JBL Go came out back in 2018, and since then, JBL has been steadily refining the line by adding more features, tweaking the dinky design and refining that all-important sonic output. The Go 4 was the former high water mark, but 2026’s new model is now on the scene – and, from what we’ve heard, this fifth-generation model might be the best Go yet.

Price

You can all breathe a sigh of relief because, while the world’s financial markets may be in turmoil, some things are blessedly immune from inflation. The JBL Go 5 clocks in at the same price as its predecessor, once again costing a wallet-friendly £40 / $50 / AU$59 at the time of writing.

If you want something cheaper, your best bet is probably to plump for a now-discounted JBL Go 4, which can sink as low as £28 / $30.

There are a few comparable speakers knocking around at this near-entry-level price point. The five-star Tribit Stormbox Micro 2 tends to hover around the £45 / $46 mark; and you can now grab its less successful successor, the Stormbox Micro 3 for around £63 / $65.

Build & design

Unlike a former child star losing their chocolate box looks once they hit their troubled adolescence, the Go is just as cute as it has ever been. It’s a tiny bit larger than the fourth-gen Go, but the slight increase in size is perceptible only if you place the two generations next to each other.

Once again, we’re dealing with a very small, square(ish) speaker that is only slightly bigger than a pack of cards or a bar of soap.

Times have changed, however, so there are a few extra aesthetic developments beyond mere size. The Go 5’s front-mounted ‘JBL’ lettering logo has been rather cleverly hollowed out, so there should be less impediment to the sound from the driver reaching your ears.

Plus, JBL has added lighting to the party, which you can customise and switch on/off via the JBL Portable app. Twin strips of white lights run parallel across the top and bottom of the main speaker face, with four stock light themes – ‘Bounce’, ‘Loop’, ‘Switch’ and ‘Freeze’ – from which to choose.

Is it strictly necessary? No, of course not. Is it a fun touch for an ultra-portable speaker aimed at people who don’t want their portable audio taking things too seriously? Yeah, we’d say so.

Elsewhere, it’s much the same as before, and that doesn’t raise many complaints from us. Rubberised edging surrounds practically the entire unit, with large play/pause and volume controls housed at the top of the speaker and the power, Bluetooth pairing and Auracast icons spread vertically down the left hand side, all of which are easy to use and responsive to the touch.

At the bottom, JBL’s signature diagonally slanted ridges have been replaced by a rubberised bulge, but we don’t find that has much of a negative effect on how much the speaker grips to horizontal surfaces.

At the top right of the unit is a handy, non-adjustable carry loop, one that we find remains durable and robust no matter how many times we spin it around on an outstretched finger.

In fact, the entirety of the Go 5 just feels so well made that we’d bet a small chunk of cash that, barring a nuclear apocalypse or the battery running dry, it will last for many years to come. That IP68 rating means that an aggressive outdoor hosing leaves no lasting impression, and as our test sample(s) accompany us from the bottom of a backpack to the end of the garden, they take everything cheerily in their stride.

Features

Considering how small and cheap the Go 5 is, you’re not exactly starved of features. If you have the latest Flip 7 or Charge 6 speakers, many of the same features have been carried over to the fifth-gen Go, and there are even a few new tricks that are exclusive to the smallest member of the portable JBL family.

Check this out for a party piece: the Go 5 is capable of ‘AirTouch’ stereo pairing, and it really is exactly as described. Get two Go speakers together, tap them together end to end and, almost unfailingly, they’ll emit a chime of approval and form a stereo pair. You can also do this in the provided app, but what sort of fun is that?

Stereo pairing is easier than ever to set up and use, and the technology seems to have been improved since we tried it last. Our JBL Go 4 review griped that we would have liked slightly better sound synchronisation between our two speakers when playing in stereo, but we don’t now detect a noticeable delay from one speaker to the other when music is being shared by two speakers.

There’s a lot more packed into the teeny tiny Go 5. Auracast Bluetooth compatibility is back, bringing the Go 5 in line with the current JBL Flip 7, Charge 6 and new Xtreme 5 models and letting you connect multiple compatible JBL speakers together either via the on-unit button or via the JBL Portable app.

Battery life has been bolstered just a little, with the Go 5 squeezing out roughly eight hours of standard playtime, with an additional two hours via Playtime Boost. This is an increase over its predecessor’s seven hours of standard time and maximum of nine with Playtime Boost.

Do be aware that Playtime Boost should be seen as a ‘last resort’ option, as this feature will suck out most of the bass from your speaker’s output and make things sound unbalanced and rather thin. More of a ‘break glass in case of emergency’ kind of a thing if you desperately need to extend your power use.

Sound

JBL’s palm-sized Go 5 promises improved audio with a fuller, deeper bass than its antecedent, thanks in part to its 45mm driver and that hollow-contour logo working in tandem to “level up sound output and performance”.

“Level up” is a rather nice way to put it, and as we flit between the older-generation model and 2026’s fresh-from-the-oven fifth-gen iteration, it’s clear that this is the most sonically capable Go yet.

The Go 4 was a wonderful sonic surprise, but its successor does enough to trump it, treating us to a fuller, meatier reproduction that simply sounds more rich and engaging than its predecessor. There’s unquestionably more depth in the bass, too, though not to the extent that the lower end unnaturally dwarfs the rest of the frequencies and threatens to throw the entire reproduction off balance.

The Go 5 doesn’t try to do too much – instead, it gives us a hearty and surprisingly musical upgrade on anything that our tinny smartphone speakers could hope to muster. Relatively simple tunes, such Muse’s Madness, sound clean, composed and impressively clear through the midrange, while Turnstile’s crunchy rock anthem SLOWDIVE is dispatched with confidence and muscle as we shift things up a gear.

This is a speaker that can fit in the palm of your hand, yet it’s genuinely remarkable just how punchy and effusive the Go 5 is capable of sounding. Ludwig Goransson’s POSTERITY brims with energy when played via the JBL, and while this isn’t a speaker that will grant such a layered composition a huge amount of space, the feeling of rhythmic intent and cinematic drama comes through with real gusto.

Like almost all of the more recent JBL portables we’ve tested, the Go 5 is tuned to have an innate understanding of how your music should sound. Again, nothing here is overdone or overly coloured, but it shares its bigger siblings’ ability to go with the flow as we bounce around tracks and genres.

Is Nick Cave’s Avalanche the most well-organised and cinematic rendition you’ll ever hear? Of course not. Does the Go 5 capture the essential character of what Cave is trying to convey? Absolutely it does. Will bigger speakers offer more textural detail when playing Hans Zimmer’s The Battle? Undoubtedly. Do we ever feel as though the Go 5 is failing to communicate the inherent drama of the piece? No. In all honesty, we don’t.

The good news keeps coming, as the Go 5 steps in line with its latest-gen JBL counterparts by supporting 24-bit/48kHz lossless playback via USB-C. Hold down the speaker’s ‘play’ button as you plug in a USB-C cable and a happy sound will inform you that you’re now in wired playback mode.

We test lossless playback with Tidal playing on a connected iPhone 15, and find that our music sounds a touch clearer, crisper and more detailed when going wired compared with Bluetooth.

Just be aware that JBL doesn't tend to supply an in-box USB-C charging cable any more (as is increasingly standard for most brands, in a bid to minimise electronic waste), but we imagine most users will have a spare one knocking around these days, so that shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

Verdict

Laurel resting doesn’t seem to be JBL’s thing at the moment, especially when it comes to its strong line of portable Bluetooth speakers.

The Go 5 is the best Go yet, thanks to its handsome feature-set, stylish portable design and, for a speaker of its size and price, excellent audio quality. If you’re still playing your music through your phone’s speakers, it may be time to consider upgrading to one of JBL’s pocket-sized dynamos, because the Go 5 really is the real deal.

Review published: 8th May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 5

MORE:

Read the JBL Go 4 review

Also consider the Tribit Micro Stormbox 2

Check out the best Bluetooth speakers we've tested

BenQ is one of the busiest projector brands around, producing models of all shapes, sizes and prices.

The TK705i successfully finds another little twist to add to the current projector range by combining a solid picture performance with an aggressive price, built-in smarts and arguably BenQ’s cutest design to date.

Though as we’ll see, offering so much for its price tag hasn’t been a completely compromise-free process.

Price

At £1199 / $1799 / AU$2199, the TK705i sits towards the lower end of the lifestyle projector market – yet it has some promising specifications and features to its name. These include built-in Google smarts, 3000 lumens of claimed peak brightness, 4K HDR playback and an integrated sound system.

Key rivals in this space are the Award-winning Hisense M2 Pro, and the super-stylish Epson EF-72.

Design

The TK705i is the latest example of a rapidly expanding trend for roughly cubic projectors. Its take on this trend, though, is actually one of the most attractive to date.

Apparently inspired by dappled sunlight filtering through layered leaves (yes, really), the TK705i features a bluish-grey fabric front and sides finished in a nicely contrasting hard plastic grille with some interesting spots of solid smooth grey finish over clusters of the grille holes.

Rounded corners soften the projector’s presence to complete the living room-friendly feel, and you can attach its strikingly compact form to a mounting foot if you want to add rotating and tilting flexibility to its design charms. It’s even possible to use the projector inverted and tilted on a shelf if such positioning suits your room layout.

At which point we’re feeling pretty confident that our inadequate words really aren’t doing the TK705i’s prettiness justice, and refer you to the photographs accompanying this review.

The TK705i ships with a full-sized remote control featuring large, clearly labelled buttons in a sensible layout that makes its key mic, home screen, auto picture adaptation, YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video and Live TV buttons suitably prominent with an eye-catching white backing.

Features

The TK705i’s eye-catching design is built around a DLP optical system illuminated by LED lighting. It can play 4K sources and high dynamic range in the HDR10, HLG and HDR10+ formats, but not Dolby Vision. The 3000 lumens of claimed peak light output is reckoned to be capable of driving screens as big as 120 inches across.

The 4K support is achieved using Texas Instruments’ XPR pixel shifting technology rather than the sort of native 4K pixel counts you get with much more expensive projectors from Sony and JVC, but unlike other pixel-shift technologies, DLP’s approach has been deemed ‘true 4K’ by the Consumer Technology Association group in the US.

Connections on the TK705i comprise two HDMIs (one with eARC support for passing audio out to a soundbar or AVR), two USB-C ports, a 12V trigger port for powering up or down a motorised screen or curtains system, and a 3.5mm audio output. Plus, there’s wi-fi, of course, to support the projector’s built-in smart features.

The TK705i’s HDMIs don’t support 4K resolution at 120Hz. The best we could get was 4K/60Hz, in fact, complete with HDR resolution. No higher frame rates were showing as available, even if we lowered the resolution output from our Xbox Series X.

The projector does have a few helpful gaming features up its sleeve, though, including dedicated HDR RPG and FPS gaming modes designed to give the best experience for those sorts of games, and an impressively low standard input lag time in its Gaming mode of just 12.2ms.

While we didn’t find a way to achieve the 5ms of lag quoted as possible for the projector by BenQ, we did get it down to an extremely low 9.3ms by activating Gaming Boost mode. Note that this mode, however, turns off all of the image placement corrections you likely made during set-up – even the manual zoom function. So, unless you’re very lucky and the TK705i delivers a perfect image at just the right size and in just the right place in your living room with no corrective measures required, you’ll probably prefer to live with the extra 3ms of lag required to keep image set-up corrections intact.

Talking of set-up, the TK705i features a sophisticated Smart Image Adaptation system to help you get images appearing with the correct geometry and proportions with the minimum of manual intervention. This includes automatic 2D keystone adjustment, auto focus, automatic screen fit (provided your screen has a clearly defined border), auto obstacle avoidance that can shift pictures around objects that might sit between the projector and your screen, and automatic eye protection that turns the brightness down if you get your head too close to the lens.

There’s even an Auto Cinema Mode that can adapt the image’s tone and brightness based on analysis of both your wall colour and ambient light levels.

In the unlikely event that you still feel you need to fine-tune the image after the auto set-up features have done their thing, optical zoom, manual focus and digital image shift features are all provided in motorised form via the remote control.

The TK705i’s menus and smart features are delivered, as usual for BenQ, by the Google TV system. Which is mostly fine, except that the BBC iPlayer still refuses to play ball with it. Just about every other app is there, though, including the other key UK terrestrial broadcaster catch-up apps.

BenQ’s CinematicColor system for delivering ‘true to life’ colours is present and correct on the TK705i, and claims to be capable of covering 98 per cent of the Rec 709 standard dynamic range colour spectrum.

One final positive feature of note is the projector’s ability to run very quietly – as little as 24dB – for such a compact 3000-lumen-capable projector, even when showing HDR video.

Picture

While the TK705i’s pictures are unsurprisingly (given its price) not quite up there with the very best projectors in BenQ’s current range, they’re still enjoyable enough to make it look pretty good value.

The first thing that strikes us about the TK705i’s pictures is how bright they are. That 3000 lumens brightness claim feels slightly pessimistic, in fact, as the projector both punches through quite high levels of ambient light without its pictures feeling flat or washed out, and delivers intense, luminous-looking pictures in dark-room conditions.

The high brightness helps it deliver compelling HDR pictures by such affordable 4K projector standards, as well as allowing BenQ to provide a reasonable amount of flexibility over your preferred HDR ‘look’; in particular, how much the presentation favours brightness vs detail in bright areas.

Initially, we felt that the TK705i’s brightness seemed to be running slightly ahead of its colour performance, leaving tones feeling a little faded. A Dynamic Colour feature, though, does an excellent job of injecting more vibrancy into proceedings, resulting in a punchy, potent image with both SDR and HDR sources. This extra colour punch is delivered while retaining impressive levels of blend and tone subtlety, too.

No colour – not even skin tones – looks flat or plasticky under the Dynamic Colour regime, and while tones don’t look quite as uniformly natural and accurate as they do with BenQ’s finest projectors, no particular tones stand out too starkly from the rest.

In fact, it’s ultimately the balance and nuance the TK705i’s pictures retain despite their high brightness and Dynamic Colour vibrancy boost that most stands out against much of the competition at this level.

Motion looks clean and natural on the TK705i, even with 24p films, without any need to engage the motion processing options, and DLP projection’s rainbow effect issue, where red, green and blue stripes can flit over bright highlights, is controlled well enough not to become a serious distraction even to What Hi-Fi? team members who are particularly susceptible to seeing it.

There are a couple of areas, though, where the TK705i’s relative affordability shows through. First, its pictures aren’t quite as pin-sharp and detailed-looking as some of the best sub-£1500 projectors around. Pictures still look 4K, to be fair, regardless of whether you’re watching native 4K or HD sources, but they lack a little of that snap and crispness that we know DLP projectors are capable of (despite not using truly native 4K optical systems).

The biggest limitation of the TK705i, though, is its handling of dark scenes. While dark areas of mostly bright pictures look reasonably convincing and create a decent sense of contrast and depth, fully dark sequences look rather grey and flat as the projector struggles to resolve the sort of black levels movie fans love – and which BenQ is usually so good at producing.

Setting an Adaptive Luma feature to its Medium setting enhances the projector’s dynamic range and gives the image a bit more punch, which at least helps to hide the black level shortcomings – but it doesn’t completely solve the problem, and can cause some shadow detailing to go missing in the darkest corners.

To be fair, the TK705i’s black colour limitations are much less noticeable if you’re watching the projector in a non-blacked-out room – and relatively ‘lifestyle’ projectors such as the TK705i are much more likely to find themselves operating in ambient light than dedicated home cinema models. So, if your likely use case for a TK705i is going to be almost constant regular living room viewing, where removing all ambient light is pretty much impossible, its pictures could seriously work for you.

For a projector to bag that elusive fifth star, though, it needs to be able to adapt to serious movie nights a little better than the TK705i can.

Sound

Given that the TK705i’s cubic design is down at least in part to a desire to include decent integrated speakers, its sound performance comes as quite a disappointment.

Particularly troublesome is how bright and harsh high-pitched sound effects and voices are, especially at the sort of relatively high volumes many home cinema fans will want to push towards for movie nights.

Dense soundtrack moments also sound thin and sibilant at any sort of volume, and the tendency to exaggerate treble isn’t helped by the integrated 2 x 8W sound system’s bass limitations. The movie world’s deepest rumbles lack potency and presence relative to the rest of the sound presentation, can succumb to sort of whistling distortion at times, and can even just drop out of the sound presentation entirely when the going gets really deep.

The pity is that aside from the one-sided nature of the sound, there are signs of promise in the TK705i’s audio. Despite not being one of BenQ’s most powerful projector sound systems, for instance, it still manages to project elements of the sound beyond its bodywork, getting some value out of Dolby Atmos soundtracks and reducing the common projector sound sensation that what you’re hearing isn’t connected with the pictures across the room.

The harshness reduces substantially if you’re in a small enough room not to need the volume to be cranked high, too.

In the end, though, while the TK705i can get pretty loud and detailed for such a compact projector, that loudness just isn’t fun to listen to.

Verdict

The TK705i’s uniquely cute, living room-friendly design and bright, vibrant images will deservedly win it plenty of fans.

Rather lacklustre black levels for dark room viewing and a surprisingly bass-light and brittle sound system, though, mean that the TK705i ultimately falls short of becoming another five-star BenQ projector masterclass.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 2
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Epson EF-72

Also consider the Hisense M2 Pro

Read our BenQ W2700 review

Best projectors: the best options tested by our home cinema experts

Building a family of great-sounding home audio products that can be used in isolation or together as a system is a tricky task. Bose will be hoping its new Lifestyle Collection can succeed where many have tried and failed.

Consisting of a Dolby Atmos soundbar, wireless subwoofer and wireless speaker, the new range was demonstrated at a special press preview where we could see and hear what it has to offer.

During the event, we got some hands-on time with the flagship Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar. We were able to hear it both in isolation and with the rest of the family in a full-blown Dolby Atmos surround sound system. Here are our initial thoughts.

Price

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is priced at £1000 / €1000 / $1099 / AU$1800, which places it firmly against the Sonos Arc Ultra (£999 / $999 / AU$1799).

The Sonos rival is not only a five-star product, but it’s also the current class-leader, having picked up a What Hi-Fi? Award in 2025 for its troubles. If you want the best Dolby Atmos soundbar we’ve tested at this level, the Sonos is the one to beat.

Another close rival is the Sony Theatre Bar 9, which started life a little more expensive than the Bose when it launched a couple of years ago, but has dropped from £1399 / $1400 / AU$1795 to around the £999 mark if you shop around online.

Design

It’s fair to say that soundbars don’t tend to be the most attractive pieces of tech. Credit to Bose, though – it has done a good job trying to elevate the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar’s appearance above the long plastic rectangles we tend to see dominating the category.

The ’bar is covered in a textured-knit fabric (available in either black or the white smoke finish, above), which feels relatively premium and is nice to the touch.

Stretching out across the ’bar is an attractive, sleek glass top, built into which is a circular touch-sensitive control panel. This allows you to control music playback and volume via a combination of tapping and sliding your finger around the inner edge clockwise (volume up) ot anti-clockwise (volume down).

That glass top stops short of the edges of the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar because it needs to leave room for its full-range up-firing drivers to do their work.

There’s one of these at either end of the bar, firing sound up at 90 degrees to add height and immersion to movie soundtracks. Note that this means the bar isn’t suited to being under a shelf with a TV above, as this will block the sound.

Across the front of the bar are four ‘racetrack’ drivers (the far left and right ones are full-range) and two of Bose’s PhaseGuide drivers, which use special processing to spread sound to areas where there aren’t actually any speakers.

On the rear, you’ll find two of Bose’s QuietPorts, which work with the company’s CleanBass technology and internal digital signal processing (DSP) to deliver low frequencies in a deep, controlled way with minimal distortion.

The soundbar’s dimensions are 6.7 x 111 x 12.5cm (hwd), and it tips the scales at just less than 7kg. For comparison, the Sonos Arc Ultra is a little bigger, measuring 7.5 x 118 x 11cm although it’s also a little lighter at 6kg.

For our demonstration, the Bose was used with a 75-inch flatscreen TV, but it would look equally at home with a 65-inch or 55-inch model. It can be wall-mounted, although the mount itself is optional and costs £34 / €39 / $49 / AU$69.

Features

Physical connections are limited to ethernet and a single, eARC-compatible HDMI socket. It’s a shame Bose hasn’t seen fit to include any additional HDMI 2.1 inputs – the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 includes one, although the Sonos Arc Ultra doesn’t.

Wi-fi is onboard, and streaming comes via Google Cast, Apple AirPlay or Spotify Connect. The soundbar also supports Bluetooth 5.3. Tidal Connect isn’t supported by the soundbar (or Lifestyle Ultra Speaker) at launch, but we have been assured that it’s in the pipeline.

To set the bar up, you’ll need to head into the Bose app, which has been given an overhaul to make things more intuitive, with fewer button presses required to get up and running.

As mentioned previously, Dolby Atmos is supported, but DTS isn’t. This doesn’t come as a huge surprise – the Sonos Arc Ultra is in the same boat – but it’s worth noting that Sony did find room to include it on its Bravia Theatre Bar 9, and Disney+ does now offer a DTS:X audio option for some of its content.

To calibrate the soundbar for your particular room layout, Bose’s CustomTune technology works with the microphone in your smartphone (iOS or Android) and analyses your room dimensions, surfaces and furniture placement.

In the app, you can also dive in and alter sound levels manually if you think they require a bit of extra tweaking. You are likely to find yourself in the app quite a bit, as you don’t get a physical remote control supplied with the soundbar.

Sound

As with any product listened to only briefly at a press event, it’s tricky to nail down exactly how the unit performs – especially in a room that is completely new to you.

Our demo took place in a space that should really play to the strengths of the Bose: a relatively simple square room, with bare walls and little in the way of soft furnishings to stop reflections and the spread of sound.

We start with a clip from the epic sci-fi movie Dune, and the Bose gets to work immersing us in the middle of a violent sandstorm. As the soundbar starts whipping up particles above and around our seating position, it seems to do a good job of spreading the effects across the soundfield.

We are listening at quite a high volume, and the soundbar seems to handle the pressure of the scene and the drama without showing too many signs of stress. As the on-screen action goes from all-out chaos to relative calm, the bar seems to communicate the switch in dynamics relatively well.

We switch to a scene from Ray to showcase the Bose’s Speech Clarity mode, which claims to be able to boost dialogue but not any other effects. Without the mode on, as Ray Charles crosses the road deep in conversation with his manager, it sounds more like a mumble.

Then, with Speech Clarity mode switched onto its highest setting, the dialogue does seem to be lifted out of the hustle and bustle of the effects around it, with the edges of words a little clearer and better defined. This could come in handy during late-night viewing, where you don’t want the surround effects boosting but need a bit of a dialogue boost.

To showcase the Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer and its impact on music, Bose plays Mi Corazon by Jacob Collier in stereo. There’s a decent spread of percussion, and when the sub kicks in, there's an injection of extra weight, and those low-frequency bass kicks are reinforced with a greater sense of solidity. Adding the soundbar, they immediately hit harder with more heft and body behind them.

Bose then adds a pair of Lifestyle Ultra Speakers as surrounds, so we are listening to a 7.1.4 Atmos system, and plays a clip from 6 Underground by Michael Bay.

As Ryan Reynolds is chased through Florence by the mafia and Italian police, effects are flying in all directions, with screeching tyres, gunshots, and a deep, pulsing heartbeat, all vying for your attention. And the system seems to do a good job of immersing you in the action. Detail levels seem ok, but we need to spend more time testing the bar to hear the true extent of its abilities.

The last scene we are shown is Queen’s Live Aid performance from Bohemian Rhapsody, which sounds relatively punchy and powerful through the soundbar. It’s hard not to hear the impact of the roar from the crowd as they explode into life when the band appears and they eagerly lap up Freddie’s direction. There seems to be a good, expansive spread of sound as they sing along with the frontman while he shows off his impressive vocal range.

When Hammer To Fall kicks in, there seems to be a decent amount of energy and life to the guitars and drums – but again, we really need more time with the soundbar to hear just how musical it is and how well it sticks with the tempo and rhythm of a range of different tracks.

Initial verdict

In a market still dominated by Sonos, it's good to see the arrival of a potential new rival from Bose, and we are being promised a big overhaul in terms of design and technology in an attempt to position itself as a serious rival.

Bose’s previous flagship, the Smart Ultra Soundbar, struggled to impress our review team, so we hope this new model is much more competitive when it arrives in our test room for a thorough evaluation.

MORE:

Read our Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar review

Our pick of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars for all budgets

Sonos Arc Ultra vs Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9: which flagship Dolby Atmos soundbar is better?

Even with our Nostradamus-like powers of prognostication, we freely admit that the arrival of a new Sharp Bluetooth turntable was not on our 2026 bingo card.

It’s been around 20 or so years since Sharp, the brand we now more readily associate with TV and home cinema gear (and sponsoring Manchester United in the early ’90s), put out a new record player. Yet the established Japanese manufacturer has clearly been keeping one eye on the surging vinyl revival as it unveils its new RP-TT100 deck.

Sadly, you don’t simply get to walk back into the arena after a long absence and expect to dominate the competition. It just happens that Sony has also decided to get back onto the proverbial turntable horse in 2026, with its five-star Sony PS-LX3BT and PS-LX5BT also offering automatic operation, Bluetooth powers and built-in phono stages, albeit at higher prices than the Sharp.

Comebacks can be tricky things – just ask Katy Perry – so it’s time to find out if Sharp still has that cutting edge, or if it’s been left behind by the ever-spinning world of turntables.

Build & design

Considering its entry-level price tag, the Sharp RP-TT100 is a rather nice turntable to behold, and we’re pleased with the levels of quality the Sharp manages to exude.

It’s arguably a more attractive proposition than the Sony PS-LX3BT (£249 / $400 / AU$469) – whereas the Sony can come across a tad ‘Fisher-Price’, we can see the appeal of the RP-TT100’s more compact and sleeker profile.

That modest aesthetic appeal is paired with lots of user-friendly simplicity. Sharp’s slender turntable is well laid out and simple in its set-up and operation, with the only tasks required to get it started being to attach the rubber belt to the platter and place said platter, along with its mat, onto the main plinth.

Once that’s done, you’re pretty much ready to rock and roll. The cartridge comes pre-attached to the tonearm, and this being a fully automatic model, there’s no tinkering with tonearm tracking weights, either.

The budget-friendly turntable features an aluminium platter and a metal tonearm, as well as a matte black housing and a Perspex dust cover which can be attached via a series of plastic clips. The supplied cartridge is an Audio-Technica AT3600L moving magnet that tracks securely at 3.5g.

Elsewhere, the Sharp’s combination of clean design and usability makes operation a breeze. A host of buttons in the bottom right corner are available for power, Bluetooth pairing, returning and then lifting/lowering the tonearm, and playback – all of which are responsive and nice to use.

What we perhaps didn’t expect to find is a dial in the left-hand corner which will skip forward or backwards on your record by around a minute via left or right turns respectively. Better still, there’s an included remote control (yes, with a turntable!) for putting your deck into pairing mode, switching it on/off, skipping forward and back and returning the tonearm to its original position.

You may use the slim remote and think it’s not working, but bear in mind that the buttons need a really firm, deliberate press if you want to get the desired response.

Features

On the RP-TT100, you’ll also discover twin toggles for switching between record sizes – either 7 or 12 inches – and selecting either 33⅓ or 45 RPM speeds, both accompanied by small LEDs to let you know which option you’ve selected.

Bluetooth 5.4 is on the menu for streaming to compatible Bluetooth speakers and wireless headphones. Although, there’s none of the hi-res streaming codec support for the likes of aptX HD or Adaptive that you might find on the Sony PS-LX3BT or PS-LX5BT turntables.

Still, connecting to standard Bluetooth is hardly a chore. It’s a simple process to get the deck into pairing mode: just press the button with the large Bluetooth rune emblazoned upon it, and your nearby device should connect automatically.

If it doesn’t, make sure your receiving Bluetooth device of choice is also in pairing mode, something we manage by pressing the Bluetooth icon on our trusty JBL Charge 6 speaker and waiting a few moments for it to make a connection.

Despite its modest outlay, the RP-TT100 is fitted with a built-in phono stage, which is always useful if your amp or active speakers don’t happen to have one.

You can, of course, just bypass the Sharp’s phono output to use either a separate phono stage or your amplifier’s, making sure to toggle the switch on the back of your turntable from ‘line’ to ‘phono’ if you’re using an external phono stage.

Last but not least, a USB-C port is available for converting your records into digital files via a computer.

Sound

We want a revealing system to get the measure of the Sharp RP-TT100, so most of our listening is done with the turntable’s line-level output connected to the Arcam A5+ (£749 / $1200 / AU$1595) integrated amplifier to test the player’s phono stage. The speakers we use are the five-star Epos ES-7N (£1890 / $2850), and we also partner it with the more price-appropriate Ruark MR1 Mk3 (399 / $579 / AU$899) desktop powered speakers.

We place our first record – Will McNicol’s Volume Two series of folk/jazz recordings – onto the RP-TT100 with a little trepidation. This is Sharp’s first turntable in a long time, one stuffed to the brim with plenty of features for under £200. In the back of our minds, we wonder how much of the budget was left over for focusing on actual sound quality.

This feels like the scene in Oppenheimer where the team of scientists are nervously performing their nuclear ‘Trinity’ test for the first time, yet our trepidation soon turns to relief as we discover a budget turntable that is, at the very least, competent. It makes a sound and doesn’t gash our favourite records, so that’s a good start.

Will McNicol makes for a nice, easy place for the RP-TT100 to begin, and the Sharp deck makes a solid account of itself as it clearly and efficiently runs through each acoustic track with stability and composure.

No, these aren’t hugely complex arrangements, but they’re delicate and subtly emotive, all characteristics which the RP-TT100 just about reveals as it goes about its business with quiet confidence.

Detail levels are reasonable for the price, and while lesser decks at this level can sound coarse or hard-edged, the Sharp reins itself in admirably. Leading edges of violins, acoustic guitars and cellos are defined yet not over-etched, with the RP-TT100’s composed, uncluttered temperament giving McNicol’s Before The Light space simply to exist and shine.

This is all rather positive, so it’s time to see if we can push Sharp’s low-cost player a little further. Lukas Graham’s sincere and emotive Happy Home comes next, and this is where issues begin to arise.

The Sharp struggles to track the song’s dynamic swells with any real gusto, all while failing to bring out enough of the emotion from Tom Jones’ Did Trouble Me to make the Welsh crooner sound sufficiently engaging.

As we load up Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, we further expose the Sharp’s limitations. The RP-TT100 gives it a good go, but it simply doesn’t have the dynamic stretch or the sense of presence or scale to give Ludwig his due. Rhythmic patterns aren’t teased out with any real clarity or verve, leaving much of the drama of the piece to fall by the wayside.

Switching over to the slightly more costly PS-LX3BT reminds us just how good Sony’s five-star competitor is at this level. Across all aspects, it proves itself a punchier and more dynamic contender, with the Pastoral Symphony sounding lively and engaging thanks to the rival Sony’s more adept handling of rhythms and dynamics.

We’ve been listening to the RP-TT100 via its built-in phono stage, and as you might expect, moving over to our Arcam A5+ amp’s phono stage does make everything sound better.

The Arcam's phono circuit is simply more detailed and spacious, making tracks such as Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams or Bach’s Siciliano in G Minor sound more layered and musically sophisticated, even if the Sharp’s core limitations still remain.

Elsewhere, the RP-TT100’s Bluetooth performance is solid, and even with the standard codec, we’re pleased to discover that records such as Leon Bridges’ Gold-Diggers Sound and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours are cohesive and reasonably detailed when beaming out to a pair of Sony WH-1000XM6 over-ear headphones or a JBL Charge 6 Bluetooth speaker. All other things being equal, we’d struggle to ask for much more at this level.

Verdict

On paper, the RP-TT100 is a lot of turntable for not a lot of money, something which gives it broad appeal to vinyl newbies who want a cheap turntable that’s easy to set up and simple to operate.

Sadly, there’s a certain level of sonic performance that we look for in any product, regardless of budget. The RP-TT100 may be sonically competent for the price, but its fundamental sonic limitations make it hard to recommend, especially when spending a little more cash on a Sony deck will reap far greater sonic rewards.

Review published: 1st May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 3
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our Sony PS-LX3BT review

Also, check out our Pro-Ject T1 Evo BT review

Our pick of the best Bluetooth turntables for every budget

As much as we would like it to be the case, not everyone can have a huge multi-speaker home cinema sound system.

Whether that’s because of the hefty price tag that comes with such a set-up, or the sheer amount of space it calls for, sometimes having a full-blown cinema system is simply not practical.

And that is where soundbars make so much sense. They can give you a clearer, more immersive sound compared to most TV speakers, with many models now also offering Dolby Atmos support for an even more enveloping experience.

Sony’s new Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + S soundbar package aims to tick all those boxes. It’s made up of a main soundbar and a wireless subwoofer, with the pair boasting a compact design and a comprehensive selection of surround sound formats. But can this package challenge the class leaders in the market?

Price

If you are buying the main soundbar on its own, it will set you back £699 / $870. There’s no Australian pricing released yet (it's set for launch in July), but that translates to around AU$1320.

However, for reasons we will get to below, we’re testing the Bravia Theatre Bar 7 alongside the optional Bravia Theatre Sub 7.

When bundled together, this system has several names – Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + S, Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + Sub 7, HTA7100KIT or HT-AP710 – and costs £799 / $1100 (around AU$1510).

Bought separately, the sub is priced at £249 / $330 (or a curiously-low AU$299 at Sony Australia at the time of writing), so if you are going to get it (and we very much feel that you should), it’s worth going for the bundle from the off.

There is also an option to add in surrounds with the Sony Theatre Rear 8 speakers, costing £449 / $500 / AU$599 on their own. In the UK, you can buy the Rear 8s in a bundle with the soundbar and subwoofer, and doing so takes their price down to £337.

The system is up against stiff competition, mainly as it is sandwiched between the Sonos Arc (£799 / $799 / AU$1399) and Sonos Arc Ultra (£999 / $999 / AU$1799). These are single soundbars with no subwoofer, but the Sony’s main bar is notably smaller than both Sonos models. That is worth bearing in mind when deciding what you can accommodate.

Build

The Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 7 has a functional overall feel, and is unobtrusive. The front of the bar is covered with a cloth grille that gives it a stylish look.

There’s no display, nor are there buttons on the bar, which makes it tricky to navigate the settings without the accompanying app (more on that in a moment).

There is also a remote control, which is quite dinky, with a lightweight design that puts functionality over style. From here, you can control the power, input, bass levels, volume and turn on Night mode.

The choice of finishes is limited to black, but this blends well into our test room. The soundbar measures 95cm wide and just 6cm high, so it fits neatly under our 55-inch TV screen.

The subwoofer is an impressively compact piece of kit with a versatile design. You can use it in two different positions, either with the grille facing the listener or the side of the room. We try it in both configurations, but there is not much of a difference in presentation. It ultimately depends on what arrangement works for you.

The subwoofer is slim as well, measuring 36 x 35 x 13cm (hwd), which is about the same size as your average briefcase, so it can easily be tucked next to your TV stand.

Features

The soundbar and subwoofer combination offers a 5.1.2-channel configuration. Under the hood of the main bar, you will find 9 drive units, split between side, centre, up-firing and bass channels.

As the up-firing drivers indicate, the Bravia Theatre Bar 7 supports 3D Audio, in both the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X formats.

Inside the subwoofer, there is a 13cm driver with a total power output of 100W.

At the back of the soundbar, you will find a cable cove that houses two HDMI sockets. One is the eARC port to connect the soundbar to your TV, while the other is a dedicated input. The Theatre Bar 7 supports full passthrough of 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM, which will be a big bonus to gamers with limited HDMI 2.1 sockets on their TV.

The Bravia Connect app lets you fine-tune the settings of the bar, with the ability to adjust bass levels and turn on the Sound Field and Voice Zoom feature. You can also pair the subwoofer (and the surrounds if you have them) from the app, where they recognise the product almost immediately, which makes for an easy set-up.

From here, you can also calibrate the soundbar to your space. This is done by playing a range of frequencies from the bar via the app on your phone, which will only take about 30 seconds, and the brand says it “will detect your position in the room and optimise sound to suit”. The subwoofer is not included in the calibration process, however, so it must be adjusted by ear.

We listened to the bar before and after calibration, and even in our acoustically treated test room, we noted a slight improvement. In a typical living room, the gains will likely be greater, so it’s worth the small amount of effort.

Sound

We test the Sony soundbar with a range of movies and music, and in each case it delivers a punchy, cohesive sound that is immediately likeable.

Kicking off with Top Gun: Maverick on 4K Blu-ray in Dolby Atmos, we watch as Tom Cruise’s Maverick attempts to reach hypersonic speed in a jet. The soundbar stretches the height effects above the TV screen as the vehicle soars into the atmosphere with a good level of precision.

This continues with the width of the soundstage, as Cruise whizzes across the desert from the right side of the screen to the left on his trusty motorcycle. You can hear the bike move across the space in a way that matches the movement on the screen.

When we play this scene without any setting adjustments, we find the bass is slightly lacking in the rev of the motorbike’s guttural engine, so we crank it up from the default 0 to 2 via the app.

This gives the scene an injection of energy with the added bass, but the lower frequencies never stand out as overzealous. Instead, the bass is well-integrated with the main soundbar and performs with the same precision as the rest of the system.

We use the Bravia 8 II as our display during testing. It sounds excellent by TV standards, but as you would hope and expect, voices are much clearer, cleaner and more expressive from the soundbar. When Maverick delivers a speech to his new pilot cohort, the balance between dynamic subtlety and clarity is well navigated.

There is the option to turn on the Voice Zoom feature, which does succeed in bringing voices forward in the mix. But it reduces the sense of scale, so we opt to keep it off. This will still be a good option for those who generally struggle with dialogue intelligibility.

The Sony package also delivers a great sense of three-dimensionality, which gives movies an enveloping feel. When watching Sinners on 4K Blu-ray in Dolby Atmos, spirits from the past, present and future all gather for a large-scale musical performance, and the Bar 7 admirably delivers the swirling overhead effects as the camera dances around the space, while still placing each instrument and voice in the room with brilliant accuracy and organisation.

There is a Sound Field setting that can be selected, and we find in our test room that it produces a wider, more effective surround sound effect compared to when it is off. Vocals become slightly less precise and do not reach the same level of detail, but it’s a small compromise considering the increase in scale.

This sense of immersion is also helped by the well-handled dynamics. As young musician Sammie first picks up his guitar to entertain the crowd, he tentatively plucks the strings with a delicacy that is reflected in the quiet dynamics. Then the music slowly builds to a brilliant crescendo as his vocals soar and a toe-tapping bass track is added into the mix.

Should you consider buying the Theatre Bar 7 without the subwoofer? We don’t think so. We test out the soundbar on its own, and while it still delivers clear vocals and convincing height effects, the sound is thinner and lacking the sense of scale and authority that we get when the subwoofer is added. Given the relatively low price of adding it from the off, and the compact dimensions, which make it pretty easy to place in your room, we feel the subwoofer is a wise addition.

We also test out the soundbar combo with music, and it continues to be a balanced, organised performer. With Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz, the Sony package offers a tight yet energetic bass that is well integrated with the rest of the track. Vocals sound natural yet forward, as evidenced by Aurora’s Some Type Of Skin. You can hear the delicate warbles in the singer’s voice, and every word is delivered with clarity.

When compared with the slightly pricier Sonos Arc Ultra, it’s clear that the two soundbars are taking different approaches. The Sonos offers a richer overall sound with warmer vocals that have more character than the Sony. But the Bravia Theatre Bar 7 and subwoofer combo delivers a more precise sound that feels more agile in comparison.

The Arc Ultra may suit your set-up more as it’s just one unit, but it is considerably larger than its rival (7.5 x 118 x 11cm versus the Sony’s 6.4 x 95 x 13cm). That means the Bar 7 might be a better fit for smaller living spaces.

Both can deliver about the same level of height and scale effects, making the Sony a worthy competitor to the Award-winning Sonos bar.

Verdict

Overall, Sony has done an excellent job with this soundbar package, delivering punchy, engaging audio.

The system is up against two Sonos Award-winners that are both tough competition, and they have their advantages as single soundbars. But their bulk might mean they are not as easy to accommodate as you might expect, unless you are looking to wall mount.

Regardless of build, the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + S is a beautifully balanced soundbar package that is hard to fault, making it a top performer at this money. Watch your back, Sonos…

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Features 4
• Build 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Sonos Arc Ultra

Also consider the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9

Read our Sonos Arc review

Best soundbars: options for every need, recommended by our experts

The Martin Logan brand is built on its excellent and rather elegant hybrid electrostatic/ dynamic driver high-end speakers. These are a little niche in design and, necessarily, rather pricey, so it’s no surprise to find that the company also makes conventional box speakers at lower price points.

Its entry-level series is called the Motion Foundation, and the F1 on test here is the smaller of two floorstanding options. The range also includes a pair of standmounters (B2 and smaller B1) and the C1, a dedicated centre speaker.

Design

All speakers use the same folded diaphragm tweeter with horn loading coupled to aluminium-coned drive units of either 14cm or 16.5cm diameter, depending on the size of the model.

The Foundation F1 floorstander uses four of the 14cm drivers, one for the midrange and three for the bass. Along with the horn-loaded tweeter, that makes for a pretty formidable-looking driver array for a speaker at this price.

The bass units are tuned by a pair of rear-firing ports that are positioned just above a pair of single-wire input terminals.

Martin Logan is particularly proud of its folded diaphragm tweeters. These are 24 x 25mm in size; the relatively large surface area, and the resultant reduction in excursion required, is claimed to result in a more detailed and lower-distortion performance than conventional dome alternatives.

The addition of horn-loading helps with efficiency and allows the engineers to control the way the high frequencies disperse.

The crossover frequency between the tweeter in the midrange unit is 3.7kHz and that between the mid and bass units is set at 240Hz. Both are fairly typical numbers. The F1’s 92dB/W/m sensitivity is decently high and might make you think that it is possible to get by with a lower powered amplifier, but the low-ish 4 ohm impedance still suggests something with a bit of grunt is a better way to go.

As usual, there is no harm in experimenting. We achieve good results with the Arcam A15+ integrated amplifier and the step-up Cyrus 40 AMP (both around 80 watts per channel), so that amount of power seems a reasonable starting point.

Build

Despite being the compact floorstander choice in the range, these are still imposing looking towers that stand well over a metre high. They are relatively slim at just 21cm though, and look smart and modern to our eyes. There are three standard enclosure finish options: black, walnut and satin white.

Cabinet build quality is good, with crisp edges and good attention to detail, though we feel that the feet (which are attached with a single screw) could fit more rigidly. They come as standard with rubber caps over the spikes, so those with wooden floors have an option that won’t cause damage.

The Motion Foundation F1 work best when given some room to breathe. In our 3 x 7 x 5m (hwd) test room, we end up with them around 90cm from the back wall and slightly angled in towards the listening position. It is worth taking some time to hone things as the stereo imaging really does snap into focus once optimised.

We would also ensure that your ears are broadly at tweeter height to get the most balanced presentation. If you sit too low, things start to sound a little odd.

Along with the aforementioned Arcam and Cyrus integrated amplifiers, we also test these speakers with our reference Burmester 088/911 Mk III pre/power pairing. Our main sources are the Naim ND555/555 PS DR music streamer and a Technics SL-1000R/Kiseki Purpleheart record player feeding a Cyrus Phono Signature/PSX-R2 phono stage.

Sound

We expected the Motion Foundation F1 to be something of a front-footed bass monster given the generous driver count and relatively large enclosure. We weren’t quite right. These towers do indeed produce a strong bass with good extension, but they prioritise articulation and control more than we were expecting.

Listen to bass-driven music such as The Dark Knight OST by Hans Zimmer, Bob Marley & the Wailers’ Catch A Fire or Massive Attack’s Mezzanine, and these speakers sound impressively taut at low frequencies. Bass is textured and agile, but not quite as authoritative as we hoped. Importantly, those lows remain balanced and nicely integrated with the rest of the frequency range.

The F1 sound pleasingly even in our test room, with no part of the frequency range gaining undue prominence. They have a clean and detailed presentation that resolves a great deal of information and presents it in a composed and organised way.

Given a complex piece of music such as Orff’s Carmina Burana, these Martin Logan floorstanders don’t flinch as they hold onto the multitude of instrumental stands without losing grip.

Their midrange is open and nicely projected, doing a good job of letting us hear every single word in Eminem’s rapid-fire vocals in No Love, despite the dense instrumental backdrop. Higher frequencies stay on the right side of brightness, retaining plenty of bite and attack without erring into harshness.

Play a poor recording and the F1 won’t hide the shortcomings, but neither will they magnify them.

Stereo imaging is pretty good, with these floorstanders rendering a wide and nicely focused soundstage. The imaging isn’t the deepest we’ve heard, and the sound doesn’t quite float free of the speaker cabinets, but that’s broadly par for the course at this level.

We are less forgiving about the F1’s lack of rhythmic drive, though. While they are punchy performers, these towers don’t manage to convey musical momentum particularly well. The result is that songs such as Massive Attack’s Angel or Bob Marley’s Stir It Up don’t hit home with the emotional impact they should. The ebb and flow of energy isn’t quite there and our toes aren’t tapping.

Equally, a lack of dynamic expression, particularly through the midrange, means that the passion of artists such as Nina Simone or Nick Cave doesn’t come through as vividly as we would expect. While these Martin Logan speakers sound clean and clear, they also have a slightly clinical sonic character that class leaders like the PMC Prodigy 5 or Fyne Audio F502S avoid.

Verdict

Despite our complaints, we still find much to admire in these floorstanding speakers. The Motion Foundation F1’s presentation is packed with clarity and is a match for class rivals when it comes to control and resolution. Their bass, while not unusually powerful, is impressively articulate and nicely balanced.

If Martin Logan’s engineers could find a way to make them more fun, price rivals would really have something to worry about.

Review published: 28th April 2026

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 4
• Compatibility 4

MORE:

Read our review of the PMC Prodigy 5

Also consider the Fyne Audio F502S

Best floorstanding speakers: budget to premium models tested by our experts

Our experience with Acoustic Energy’s midrange 300 Series speakers (which the company overhauled in 2025) has been a memorable one so far.

We’ve already tested the AE300 Mk2 standmounters, which were not only handed a five-star rating by our review team last year, but they also won Product Of The Year in the standmount speakers category at the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025.

So you can understand the feeling of anticipation around What Hi-Fi? Towers ahead of testing the AE309 Mk2, the entry-level floorstander from the range.

Of course, just because one speaker in a range gets five stars doesn’t mean that the rest of the speakers will automatically follow suit. Years of experience testing speakers have taught us that anything can happen when you jump around between models in a range.

But it is hard not to get excited about a close relative of a current class-leader. Fingers crossed these floorstanders don’t let the side down.

Build & design

Imposing, these speakers are most certainly not. Measuring 17cm wide and 90cm tall, we’d imagine the Acoustic Energy AE309 Mk2 would be a great fit for someone lacking a little floor space or who needs to reach an amicable compromise over how much room their hi-fi system can take up.

There’s something attractive about a compact floorstander, and we think Acoustic Energy has nailed the proportions here.

In the walnut finish of our test pair, these diminutive speakers look like they’ll blend into a lot of spaces. You also have matte black and matte white options available, too, so you can either go for full-on stealth mode or rock a slightly punchier look.

They’re nicely finished too, the curved edges on some sections of the cabinets add a nice air of elegance to an otherwise very functional and sturdy design.

Those cabinets are cleverly constructed. They are formed using a constrained layer construction that combines 18mm MDF with bitumen. Acoustic Energy claims it reduces cabinet vibrations compared to more traditional MDF or plywood designs.

As you’d expect, the AE309 Mk2 uses the same drivers you’ll find in the Award-winning standmounters. There’s a 29mm soft dome tweeter, but this floorstanding model doubles up on the 12cm mid/bass drivers, which are made from a paper/coconut fibre.

Compatibility

Before we sit down to put the floorstanders through their paces, as is the case with all speakers we test, first there’s the small matter of positioning.

The AE309 Mk2 boast a rear slot-shaped port just above the single-wire speaker terminals. It’s there to reduce the effect of air turbulence and help deliver clean, undistorted bass.

Acoustic Energy recommends you place them at least six inches from a rear wall and away from corners, and we’d agree. During testing, we find that we get the best results if we give them room to breathe and settle around 60cm from the rear walls in our test room, which measures 3 x 7 x 5m (hwd).

Place them too close to the wall, and we find the bass a little overblown for our tastes. It’s not unlistenable, but we’d struggle to live with it over long listening sessions, especially if you’re playing a particularly bass-heavy playlist.

We would also suggest angling the speakers so that the tweeters are firing at the side of your ears. The Acoustic Energy deliver a nice, cohesive stereo image, and this little tweak will help keep things focused.

Sound

Once we’re happy with the positioning, we fire up our tried and trusted reference system, which comprises the Naim ND555/555 PS DR streamer and Burmester 088/911 MkIII pre/power amplifier.

We know that in the real world, this isn’t exactly a realistic set-up, so we also have Arcam’s superb A15+ stereo amplifier sitting on the sidelines, ready to bring in. It’s much more price-appropriate for the speakers.

We start proceedings with Taylor Swift’s duet with Bon Iver, Exile, and it’s fair to say the AE309 Mk2 make an immediate impact. Well, it’s actually the influence of their cabinets, or rather the lack of it, that pricks up our ears.

The background of the track is eerily quiet – the soft, melodic piano play that opens the song just hangs in the open air before Justin Vernon’s deep baritone layers itself on top and locks into focus.

There’s quite a lot to take in here, not least an excellent amount of detail and texture. Each piano key strike sounds solid and detailed, and you can hear a good dose of the reverb around each note as they fill the stereo image.

Both Vernon and Swift’s vocals ooze emotion as the Acoustic Energy speakers do a great job of sounding natural, which allows them to capture the feeling and sentiment of the track with relative ease.

The sadness and anguish melded into the lyrics are all laid bare for the listener to hear, and as the track’s tempo speeds up, and the emotions rise ever so slightly, the AE309 Mk2 step up to match the subtle rise in intensity.

When the strings slide into view, the speakers showcase their excellent dynamics, tracking every rise and fall as the song reaches an emotional climax.

Next we employ Angel by Massive Attack, to get more of a feeling of how the Acoustic Energy pair handle low frequencies – and once again, we like what we hear.

There’s a real sense of solidity and weight as each note hits. There’s a good sense of drive too. We can hear detail and texture both at the surface level of each note, but also further down the sonic register. It feels like the floorstanders are squeezing out as much information as possible.

Our benchmark at this level is the Award-winning Fyne Audio F501E, and the fact that we don’t find ourselves pining for them every time we switch back to the Acoustic Energy shows the AE309 Mk2 must have something going for them.

The Fynes arguably have a bit more thrust and drive to their delivery with the Massive Attack track, though. They’re a bit more authoritative and punchier with exceptional dynamic stretch for the money – so much so that they can make the Acoustic Energy towers sound like they’re holding back a little. On the flip side, they don’t sound quite as natural or balanced.

We finish off with End Credits from the swashbuckling Pirates Of The Caribbean soundtrack. And the AE309 Mk2 deliver the track with enthusiasm and verve. The rapid, unrelenting pace of the track is no problem for these towers, which do a great job communicating rhythms and the textures of the instruments.

The precision and poise they can deploy give great clarity to a track that can sometimes be a blur of orchestral elements on poorer-performing speakers.

The hallmark of excellent speakers is that you don’t even realise they are there. Instead of being drawn to something they are or are not doing, you can close your eyes, and the music just washes over you. And that’s probably the biggest compliment we can pay the Acoustic Energy – the seamless integration between drive units simply lets the music do the talking.

It’s at this point that we retrace our steps, listening to the same tracks using the Arcam A15+ for amplification. And we can report that the speakers feel completely at home. The AE309 Mk2 sound much more relaxed (in a good way) in the company of something more suited to their price level.

They still deliver a natural, balanced and detailed performance, and it’s hard not to think that this pairing, driven by a Bluesound Node Icon music streamer, could make for quite a capable system.

Verdict

Credit to Acoustic Energy, we now have another member of its 300 Series that comes highly recommended by our test team. The compact AE309 Mk2 stand tall in a tough sector of the loudspeaker market, but their superbly balanced and musical sound is a match for any rival.

These are speakers that definitely deserve your time and, potentially, money.

Review published: 27th April 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Compatibility 5

MORE:

Also consider the Fyne Audio F501E

Read our review of the Q Acoustics 5050

Best floorstanding speakers: budget to premium models tested by our experts

If you’ve got a few thousand pounds or dollars to spend on a premium projector for a dedicated home cinema room, you’re spoiled for choice.

The go-to recommendation is the native 4K Sony VPL-XW5000ES, but the BenQ W5850 and Epson EH-QB1000 are both strong, five-star alternatives.

But what if viewing in a bright room is important to you, either because your viewing room isn’t fully light-controlled, or simply because you enjoy some daytime movie, sports or gaming action?

In that case, you want a super-bright projector that can punch through the ambient light – and that’s where the Optoma UHZ78LV comes in.

While the aforementioned Sony, BenQ and Epson have claimed peak brightness levels of 2000, 2700 and 3300 lumens, respectively, Optoma is claiming a monstrous 5000 lumens for its new flagship model.

So is it a great bright-room projector? And can it also deliver an impeccable dark-room movie night?

Price

Those lumens don’t come cheap: the launch price of the Optoma UHZ78LV is a hefty £5999. That converts to $8100 in the US (where the projector isn’t due to be sold) and $11,300 in Australia (where pricing is still to be confirmed).

The benchmark at this level, the Sony VPL-XW5000ES, also launched for £5999 / $5998 / AU$9990, but thanks to heavy discounting, it can now be bought for significantly less: ‘just’ £4399 in the UK at the time of writing.

The BenQ W5850 and Epson EH-QB1000 launched for £4599 / $4999 / AU$8499 and £4799 / $7999 / AU$11,900, and both still command roughly those prices.

All of that, of course, means that the Optoma is really going to have to go some to justify its much higher price.

Design

The Optoma is a fairly utilitarian-looking projector. Its blocky, functional chassis looks serious and premium, but it’s not stylish in the way of the rivals mentioned above. That’s slightly ironic, given that this is designed to be used more often in everyday living spaces than most.

That said, aesthetics matter less here than they do with a TV. Many buyers will ceiling-mount the Optoma or otherwise position it out of sight, and in that context, its understated design is unlikely to be a dealbreaker.

And, in fact, the chunky styling disguises a relatively compact form. It’s smaller than you might expect for a projector with this brightness and noticeably more compact than the Sony VPL-XW5000ES. At 11.5kg, it’s also lighter than the Sony, which helps make installation that little bit easier.

The supplied remote is functional rather than elegant. It’s quite button-heavy, which can feel a little overwhelming at first, but it is sensibly laid out, and the central navigation/enter button is easy to locate by feel in a dark room. Jabbing that button (or any other, for that matter) activates the backlight, making further operation easy during movie nights.

Features

Specs-wise, the Optoma is something of a powerhouse – and much of that comes down to its triple RGB laser light source. This is still relatively rare at this level and gives the projector an on-paper advantage in both brightness and colour volume.

As flagged right at the start, that brightness is the headline figure: a claimed 5000 lumens. That’s a huge number for a home cinema projector, and it underpins the Optoma’s aim of delivering a punchy, watchable image even in rooms with significant ambient light.

The projector uses a single-chip DLP system with pixel shifting to deliver a 4K image. This approach rapidly shifts the image on screen to create the full 8.3 million pixels required for Ultra HD, and it is recognised by the Consumer Technology Association as meeting the criteria for 4K.

In practice, it’s a technology that can produce impressively sharp and detailed images – as this projector demonstrates – but it doesn’t typically deliver quite the same level of natural crispness and fine detail as a native 4K system such as that used by the Sony VPL-XW5000ES.

Optoma claims coverage of 98 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour space and 96 per cent of BT.2020, and crucially, this wide colour performance is achieved without the need for a brightness-sapping filter.

HDR support is comprehensive. The Optoma handles Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG, and that Dolby Vision support is particularly noteworthy, as it remains rare among projectors and proves, as we’ll get to, a genuine strength in use.

Connectivity is solid, too. There are three HDMI inputs – two HDMI 2.0 and one HDMI 2.1 – all of which support eARC/ARC. The HDMI 2.1 socket allows for 4K/120Hz gaming, which is backed up by a pair of low-latency modes.

Engaging Low Latency mode disables features such as PureMotion and PureLight, while Ultra Low Latency goes further, also switching off image adjustments including aspect ratio, digital zoom and geometric correction. Using our Leo Bodnar input lag tester (at 60Hz), we measured input lag at 34.9ms in Low Latency mode, and a very respectable 18.1ms in Ultra Low Latency.

When it comes to installation, the Optoma is pleasingly flexible. It offers motorised zoom, focus and lens shift, along with a 1.6x zoom and a 1.25:1–2:1 throw ratio, making it relatively easy to position in a variety of room layouts.

The PureEngine Ultra processing suite provides a range of enhancement options, covering elements such as colour, contrast and motion. As we’ll explain further down, these features are best used sparingly, but it’s good to have the flexibility there.

Noise levels are impressively low, too. Optoma claims a maximum of 28dB, and in practice, the projector remains quiet and unobtrusive, even in its brightest modes. In most real-world scenarios, it will be effectively inaudible once your content starts playing.

Finally, the laser light source is rated for up to 30,000 hours of use, meaning there’s no need to worry about lamp replacements over the lifetime of the projector.

Picture

The Optoma makes an immediate impression with its sheer intensity. This is a seriously bright projector, and it uses that brightness to deliver a picture that’s bold, vibrant and consistently engaging – particularly in rooms that aren’t fully light-controlled.

Where many projectors start to look fairly washed out with ambient light in play, the Optoma is more than capable of punching through, maintaining strong colours and striking highlights that make it well-suited to everyday TV, sport and gaming, as well as movie nights.

That sense of dynamism is one of its defining traits. High-contrast scenes are delivered with real impact, with bright elements such as street lights, explosions and reflections cutting through darker backdrops with convincing force.

There’s also a pleasing sense of depth to large-scale images, giving action sequences and wide shots a tangible, almost three-dimensional quality. The battle for DC in our Civil War 4K Blu-ray, for example, looks particularly arresting, with blazing highlights and deep shadows combining to create a properly cinematic sense of scale.

Clarity is another strength. The Optoma produces a crisp, detailed image with plenty of fine texture on show, even in its more restrained modes. Skin textures, environmental detail and subtle lighting effects are all rendered cleanly, contributing to an image that feels sharp without immediately tipping into artificiality. Back to Civil War, you can clearly make out the sweat glistening on faces in harsh sunlight, while the dusty, sun-bleached landscapes retain plenty of fine detail.

In HDR, there are three main presets: HDR, Filmmaker Mode and IMAX Enhanced. Interestingly, their default settings are closer than you might expect, with the biggest differences coming from their colour tuning.

HDR is the most immediately striking, delivering maximum brightness and vibrancy, while Filmmaker Mode reins things in for a more balanced and controlled look. IMAX Enhanced goes further, offering a darker, slightly softer presentation that can initially seem subdued but proves surprisingly effective once your eyes adjust. It’s this mode that we settle on for HDR viewing in a dark room.

Even in its most restrained settings, though, the Optoma tends to favour a more expressive palette than strict neutrality. Colours are rich and often very appealing, but there’s a consistent sense of them being just a touch more saturated than they perhaps should be.

Skin tones in particular can carry a little extra warmth, which adds vibrancy but doesn’t always feel entirely authentic – something that’s noticeable in Blade Runner 2049, for example, where Luv’s typically porcelain complexion takes on a slightly warmer hue than expected in certain scenes.

That slightly over-enthusiastic approach extends to the overall balance. In a fully darkened room, the Optoma can feel just a fraction overcooked, even when dialled back. It’s not harsh or unpleasant – far from it – but there’s a sense that it’s always pushing for impact rather than settling into a completely natural, effortless delivery.

Switch to Dolby Vision, though, and things tighten up noticeably.

With Dolby Vision Dark selected, the Optoma adopts a more subtle and subdued colour balance, along with a more considered approach to contrast that better suits dark-room viewing.

Dolby Vision Bright adds a little extra punch without tipping things over the edge, and ends up being our preferred mode overall – even in a fully dark environment. Dolby Vision Cinema is the better option for use with ambient light, though you will want to disable the motion processing that’s enabled by default.

In these modes, the Optoma hits a sweet spot that proves slightly elusive elsewhere. It’s dynamic but balanced, punchy but controlled, and sharp without looking over-etched.

Even so, the Sony VPL-XW5000ES remains more flawlessly natural, particularly in the way it delivers fine detail, but the Optoma is a hugely enjoyable watch at its best.

Black levels and contrast are handled well, especially with the DynamicBlack system engaged. This adds useful depth to darker scenes while preserving highlight intensity, resulting in a picture that remains lively and engaging. Shadow detail is generally solid, and the projector avoids the kind of flatness that can affect less powerful models in mixed lighting conditions.

With SDR content, however, that balancing act becomes a little trickier. Cinema mode is overly bright and vivid for an authentic dark-room experience – though it works well with some ambient light – while Reference looks a bit cool and even slightly green.

With some tweaking, better results are possible: dropping Power to around 70 per cent, reducing Colour to 0 and disabling the PureEngine processing features produces a very enjoyable image.

Even then, though, there’s a lingering sense that the Optoma can’t quite resist leaning into the ol’ razzle-dazzle, with our Blu-ray of Logan taking on a sheen and vivaciousness that doesn’t entirely align with its gritty creative intent.

One trade-off for the Optoma’s single-chip DLP design is the presence of rainbow artefacts. These aren’t constant, but they do appear from time to time, particularly in high-contrast scenes where bright highlights sit against dark backgrounds.

In rare moments, they can become noticeable enough to distract, and more sensitive viewers will want to take this into account – for instance, bright light sources against dark skies can occasionally trigger fleeting flashes of colour.

Motion is handled well overall, though there are occasional hints of processing even with the motion processing features disabled. This can result in fleeting moments where movement looks slightly smoothed or less natural than expected. The effect is subtle and rare, but it does crop up often enough to be worth noting.

The PureEngine processing options, in general, are best used sparingly. Features such as PureColor and PureMotion tend to push the image too far, introducing an unnatural look. PureContrast can be useful in brighter rooms, though, where a little extra punch helps the image cut through ambient light.

Ultimately, the Optoma is a hugely engaging and versatile performer, particularly in rooms with some level of ambient light, where its brightness and colour vibrancy really come into their own. In a fully dark, dedicated cinema environment, it’s still very enjoyable, but its slightly heightened, more expressive presentation means it prioritises spectacle over absolute authenticity.

Verdict

The Optoma UHZ78LV is a projector with a very clear identity. It delivers a level of brightness and colour vibrancy that few rivals can match, and that makes it a superb choice for rooms where ambient light is part of the equation.

In those conditions, it’s hugely impressive. It produces a bold, dynamic and consistently engaging image that retains its punch where many projectors start to look flat or washed out.

Crucially, it also has a trump card in the form of Dolby Vision. With the right content, the Optoma finds a level of balance and authenticity that elevates it beyond its standard HDR performance, combining punch with control in a very satisfying way.

However, that performance isn’t consistent across all formats. With HDR10 and SDR content, the Optoma’s tendency towards vibrancy and impact can tip into slight exaggeration. This is most obvious in a fully dark room, where we argue that picture quality matters most.

It’s here that more traditional, dark-room home cinema-first projectors still have the edge. The Sony VPL-XW5000ES, in particular, delivers a more natural, balanced and ultimately more authentic image, with greater subtlety, more convincing motion and superior native 4K sharpness.

That leaves the Optoma as something of a specialist – but a very appealing one. It’s not the most faithful projector at this level, but it is one of the most flexible and, in the right environment, one of the most enjoyable.

So, if your priority is the most accurate performance in a fully dark home cinema, there are more accomplished alternatives. But if your viewing takes place in a room with at least some ambient light, or you want a projector that can double as a bright, punchy all-rounder for TV, sport and gaming, the Optoma UHZ78LV is an excellent choice.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Design 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony VPL-XW5000ES

Also consider the BenQ W5850

Read our Epson EH-QB1000 review

Best projectors: budget, 4K and ultra-short-throw

We get the impression that Samsung’s audio division might be one of the hardest-working teams in the AV industry. Delivering a new soundbar lineup every year is no mean feat – especially when they’re this good.

While the likes of Sonos, Sony and JBL tend to refresh their models every few years, Samsung somehow always manages to have a fresh set of soundbars ready every year, though that can lead to some generations having quite subtle differences from their predecessors; case in point, the HW-Q990H.

Last year’s HW-Q990F wowed us with an impressive new subwoofer that was built from the ground up to deliver punchy, musical and controlled bass from a surprisingly small package.

The HW-Q990H, which we have before us in our home cinema testing room, seems like a much more modest upgrade on paper – but when we take a listen, it turns out that there are a few more changes under the hood.

Price

Samsung has decided to launch the HW-Q990H at roughly the same £1599 / $2000 / AU$1999 price as its predecessor (that's actually £100 cheaper than last year here in the UK).

While that might sound like a lot to pay for a soundbar system now, we need to keep in mind that, traditionally speaking, Samsung's annual system tends to tumble in price fairly quickly and consistently throughout the year.

Last year’s HW-Q990F, for example, has dropped well below the £800 mark at various points since its launch – and especially during the major sales events such as Black Friday.

In fact, there is still plenty of Q990F stock around with huge discounts, and that is going to make it hard for the new Q990H to justify its high launch price.

Some more affordable all-in-one soundbar options have scored highly in our test room recently, including the Sonos Arc Ultra (£999 / $999 / AU$1799) and Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 (£1399 / $1400 / AU$1795), which may appeal to those wanting a neater solution.

However, none of these come with dedicated surround speakers or a subwoofer in the way that the Samsung does. You’ll have to cough up some extra cash to create an HW-Q990H adjacent system with these bars.

Design

If you were to put the soundbar portion of the HW-Q990H system in a lineup next to the Q990F, Q990D and Q990C, we’d seriously struggle to pick it out as the latest model. Looks-wise, this soundbar is practically identical to its predecessor, which is both good and bad news.

This is a very well-built and premium-feeling system. Everything is constructed from aluminium or a sturdy, high-quality plastic.

The main soundbar measures 7 x 123 x 14cm (hwd) and weighs 7.3kg, whereas the surround speakers are 20 x 13 x 14cm and weigh 3.4kg each.

The subwoofer, on the other hand, is a cube measuring 25 x 25 x 25cm and weighing 8.3kg. Those measurements are absolutely identical to the HW-Q990F’s.

This design is starting to look quite tired. The sharp, elongated hexagonal design is a touch brutalist (especially compared to Samsung’s sleek OLED TVs), and while the metallic grey finish is sleek, we think that the edgy soundbar and rounded cuboid subwoofer are at odds with one another aesthetically.

We prefer LG’s handsome (but sonically flawed) Sound Suite H7, or the smooth curves of the Sonos Arc Ultra. That being said, this isn’t a beauty contest, so we’re more interested in its features and sound performance – though we also need to remember that this bar will constantly be in your eyeline, and the surround speakers will be permanent fixtures in your living room.

Features

As with every Samsung product we test these days, from TVs to mobile phones, the HW-Q990F is feature-packed. There is, of course, a healthy dose of AI inclusions, but we’ll start with the hardware configuration.

This is an 11.1.4 system, with an impressive total of 23 individual drivers on board. This includes 15 drivers in the main soundbar unit, three in each of the wireless surround speakers, and two 8-inch woofers (in a push/pull configuration) in the wireless subwoofer.

Both the soundbar and surround speakers feature upward-firing drivers, which brings us neatly onto the immersive sound formats that this system supports.

The Q990H features support for three immersive audio formats: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Samsung’s Eclipsa Audio. Having full coverage of the available formats is a bonus, and while Eclipsa hasn’t been adopted by any other services aside from YouTube so far, it’s nice to be future-proofed in case that changes at some point.

In order to achieve the best surround sound experience, Samsung recommends placing the rear surround speakers at a 135-150-degree angle behind the listening position. Thankfully, Samsung’s SpaceFit Sound Pro feature, which is essentially this soundbar’s calibration system, can accommodate if your space doesn’t allow for this placement.

Interestingly, unlike most soundbars we test, which tend to take one set of measurements to map your room and adapt the sound, Samsung’s version is a clever, constantly running system that monitors your listening space at all times to make adjustments in real time.

On top of this, Samsung supports four sound modes: Standard, Surround, Game and AI Adaptive.

Standard takes a straightforward approach in which signals are directly reproduced (two-channel recordings are presented in stereo, for example), whereas Surround broadens the soundfield by introducing audio upscaling processing.

The Game setting reduces latency, and the AI Adaptive mode will, as the name suggests, employ artificial intelligence to analyse your content and adjust the sound to suit.

Another layer of processing is Samsung’s new Sound Elevation feature, which is new for this model. It’s designed to raise the audio upwards to match the position of your screen.

Samsung hasn’t really given a clear indication of how it determines where to place the audio, and for us, it seems to overshoot slightly and place the sound towards the top edge of our reference TV. This setting may appeal more to those who wall-mount their TV and leave a gap between it and their soundbar.

There is also a new Auto Volume feature that controls sudden loud spikes in volume when switching between different channels, applications or sources.

All of these sound settings can be applied via the included remote, and the dot-matrix display on the front of the soundbar is fairly useful for telling you which setting you're adjusting.

However, the Samsung SmartThings app is the preferred way of interacting with the settings menus, thanks to its snappy connection and set-up time, easy-to-understand menus, and generally solid stability.

You can also control your source from this app, including music streamed wirelessly to the system. The HW-Q990H supports Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, Tidal Connect and Bluetooth, and it’s even Roon Ready.

Samsung also allows you to connect the Q990H wirelessly to many of its compatible TVs, and Dolby Atmos is even supported here – though for the sake of getting the best audio quality and reduced latency, we recommend sticking with a wired connection.

While we’re on the topic of the Samsung ecosystem, Q Symphony – in which your Samsung TV’s speakers work in tandem with the system – is also supported here. It's worth trying, but don't assume that using Q Symphony will produce better sound than using the Q990H's speakers alone. Many TVs will bring down the overall sound quality rather than improve it.

Wired connectivity is equally impressive, as the soundbar has three HDMI sockets in total. This includes an HDMI eARC for connecting to your TV, alongside two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 passthrough sockets, which support up to 4K/120Hz signals with VRR and ALLM, as well as HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision (the last of which is especially nice as Samsung’s own TVs don’t support Dolby Vision).

Sound

We’ll be the first to admit that we weren’t expecting much of a change from last year’s Q990F, and yet the HW-Q990H has a few surprises up its sleeve.

We’ve hooked the soundbar package up to our reference TV (the Sony Bravia 8 II) and 4K Blu-ray player (the sadly discontinued Oppo UDP-203), and raided our library of reference discs to assess the system’s sound performance.

As with the previous model, the Surround mode proves to be the best for movies and TV shows, as the wider sound field means that all components hang together in a more sonically cohesive way. The Standard preset, meanwhile, is better for music, and those who prefer minimal processing, or perhaps want a more focused sound, may prefer it for movies and TV shows.

Overall, the improvements to this generation from the HW-Q990F (which we have on hand for direct comparisons) can be distilled into this: the Q990H takes everything we love about the last generation, and delivers it with even more nuance, detail and scale.

Starting with Civil War, we watch the section leading up to the climactic final battle, and we find that this soundbar package excels in practically every aspect. As Lee goes to comfort Jessie in a serene woodland area, we’re totally immersed in the environment thanks to the soundbar’s excellent placement of cinematic effects.

Birds chirping in trees overhead and the subtle crackling of twigs and leaves breaking underfoot are realised with superb accuracy, and the river trickling in the background is packed with sonic nuance; it all sounds genuinely alive.

As the two characters have a heart-to-heart conversation, we find that the tonality and emotions of their voices are captured thanks to the Q990H's rich sonic characteristics and deft handling of low-level dynamics. Vocal clarity is also excellent, as the system has no problem delivering crisp and detailed, yet full-bodied, dialogue, and we find little in the way of sharpness or sibilance in any of the characters’ voices.

As the Western Forces prepare to deploy, the thunderous rumble of helicopter blades is delivered with a crisp leading edge to each swoop, and is rounded out with a thickness, weight and richness that gives a genuine impression of heavy-duty metal blades chopping through the air.

It should come as no surprise that bass is handled very well, considering how much of a step up the HW-Q990F was with its redesigned subwoofer. The HW-Q990H seems to carry across the same, or at least a very similar, subwoofer, which brings an equally impressive dose of low-end weight.

We switch to Blade Runner 2049’s infamously tricky chapter two, and find that the bass builds nicely, peppering tension throughout. It refuses to distort or warble, and yet it reaches plenty deep, and there is a sense of tonal variation within the bass, which makes it sound tuneful and dynamic.

We find that the system’s previously established strengths are also on show. The way it projects height effects and places them – especially the announcements of the holographic advertisements near Officer K’s apartment – is impressive indeed. While this was a strength of the HW-Q990F, the Q990H takes this even further, with a greater sense of accuracy and spaciousness.

This system captures the bustle of the dystopian street and the buzz of K’s crowded apartment complex with a level of finesse and detail that seriously sells the atmosphere of each scene. It cleverly picks up background sounds and weaves them into the soundfield without making them sound forced or intentionally singled out.

Rounding out our film testing with Thunderbolts, we start the scene in which the team of anti-heroes makes a daring escape from a compound surrounded by military personnel. The tapping percussion featured throughout this sequence feels agile and snappy, conveying excitement and energy while easily keeping pace.

Dialogue is once again a highlight here; Yelena Belova’s dry wit is captured differently from John Walker’s stoic inflexion, thanks to the system’s ability to capture finer details. It’s not a night-and-day difference compared with its predecessor, but once we notice it, it becomes clear that the Q990H is the better of the two at unearthing subtler sonic nuances.

Moving on to music, we try a range of tracks, including Harry Styles’ Carla’s Song, Heavy by The Marias, and tracks from Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar OST in the system’s Standard mode. This sound mode removes the rear speakers from the equation and lets the main soundbar unit and subwoofer shine for stereo music reproduction.

The good news is that most, if not all, of the positive attributes from our movie testing are present and correct for music, too. Vocals are warm and detailed, bass is taut, deep and keeps pace, and there is a general sense of naturalism and balance to the sound.

While the Sonos Arc Ultra is our preferred soundbar for music, thanks to its richer, more rounded and smoother sound, the HW-Q990H is still a seriously talented performer.

Verdict

While it may look like a subtle upgrade on paper, and it even looks borderline identical to its predecessor when we unbox it, Samsung has made some worthwhile under-the-hood refinements with this soundbar package.

Its ability to capture a touch more detail and nuance, and place spatial sound effects with even greater precision, makes this system another step up in a lineage of soundbars that have improved year-on-year.

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Features 5
• Build 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Samsung HW-Q990F

Also consider the Sonos Arc Ultra

Read our Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 review

Best soundbars: options for every need, recommended by our experts

By JBL’s own reckoning, the Summit Ama is the best standmounter it knows how to make. Let that sink in a little. JBL was founded back in 1946, and the decades of knowledge gained by making all sorts of speakers for use at home, in cinemas and concert venues, and for recording studios around the world, has led here. Few, if any, rival speaker manufacturers come close to this depth and breadth of experience

The Summit Ama is the smallest and only non-floorstanding option in JBL’s trio of Summit high-end speakers. All three are named after Himalayan mountains (the others are called the Summit Pumori and Summit Makalu). They all sit below the company’s well-established range-topping Everest DD67000 (£79,999 / $82,500) and K2 S9900 (£49,998 / $68,000) tower models in price and size.

Design & build

The Summit range’s technical highlight is undoubtedly the horn-loaded compression tweeter. JBL has decades of experience making such drivers, and the engineering in the D2815K unit used here in the Ama is impressive.

It uses dual 38mm annular Teonex diaphragms, two motor systems and is loaded by the company’s HDI (High Definition Imaging) horn.

The HDI horn is made of Sonoglass, a fibreglass-based material, and is carefully shaped to ensure that high frequencies disperse in a controlled way, both horizontally and vertically. The horn’s unusual profile also aims to reduce the distortions that are traditionally inherent in such designs.

Below the tweeter sits a 20cm triple-layer carbon fibre/cellulose hybrid composite mid/bass unit. This driver’s diaphragm sandwiches a closed-cell foam core between the carbon fibre/cellulose layers to achieve the balance of stiffness, low mass and internal damping that JBL’s engineers required.

The mid/bass’s motor system uses a ferrite magnet and has a cast aluminium chassis for rigidity. This driver is claimed to deliver high sound pressure levels with low distortion and good power handling. Its low-end output is tuned by a large, flared rear-facing port that sits just above the chunky set of biwire terminals on the back panel.

The Summit Ama’s two drivers are integrated by a carefully calibrated crossover network that swaps traditional large value capacitors for multiple smaller ones; a choice that reduces ESR ( internal resistance) and is claimed to result in lower distortion, increased power handling and better dynamics.

Physically, this JBL is a chunky design, standing almost 48cm tall and around 31cm wide. The cabinet depth is pretty substantial at 34cm, and when mounted on their dedicated supports, the speakers will certainly dominate in most typical small rooms in the UK.

Build quality is excellent. The Ama’s cabinets feel rock solid and nicely damped. They are substantial at just over 26kg each, so they need care in installation. There are two finish options, black or ebony veneer, both in high gloss. The overall effect may be a touch brutish for some tastes, but there is no denying the care taken in fit and finish.

Those aluminium stands are substantial affairs with twin pillars and isolating IsoAcoustics soft feet rather than the spikes we normally see. Some thought has been given to cable management to keep things tidy, which is something we wish more manufacturers would take seriously. The Summit Ama bolt onto the stand to keep things secure.

Compatibility

JBL quotes the Summit Ama’s sensitivity at 84dB/W/m and its nominal impedance as 4 ohms, which suggests that a high-quality amplifier with plenty of power is probably the way to go. Our experience reinforces this idea. We get great results with our 180-watt-per-channel Burmester 088/911 MkIII amplifier combination.

There is no point in spending so much on a pair of speakers if the partnering system is in any way compromised. Our sources are Naim’s ND555/555 PS DR music streamer and a Technics SL-1000R/Kiseki Purpleheart record player feeding the aforementioned Burmester pre/power or a PMC Cor high-end integrated. Cables are premium options from Chord Cables and Vertere Acoustics.

The Summit Ama prove relatively unfussy about positioning in our 3 x 7 x 5m (hwd) test room. They need a bit of space to breathe, so don’t be tempted to put them close to a wall or corner, as you’ll never really hear just how good they can sound.

After a bit of experimentation, we end up with them around 90cm into the room with just a little angling towards the listening position. It is worth taking some time to optimise the toe-in angle, as getting the best balance between solid stereo image focus and good soundstage width requires a little work.

Sound

Once properly set up, these speakers generate a huge sound that belies their relatively modest (by price standards) size. We are listening to 65daysofstatic’s Heat Death Infinity Splitter and are stunned by the wall of sound these JBLs produce. They sound bold and confident, generating a sense of solidity and authority that’s rare among high-end standmounters in our experience.

They sound earthy and physical, maybe lacking a touch of spaciousness some rivals produce, but compensating with a brawny, outgoing character that’s so easy to love. This muscular presentation is built on the foundations laid by the speaker’s weighty yet still pleasingly articulate bass performance. These standmounters delve deep and true at low frequencies, delivering a fullness and power in the bass that is unusual for a speaker of this size.

We find we’re listening much louder than usual. That’s because these JBLs retain their smoothness, refinement and composure even when pushed hard. Their highs may not be the sweetest we’ve heard, but there is no trace of unwanted tizz or edge, and the level of resolution is excellent.

Dynamics, both high and low level, are delivered with conviction. Not many alternatives are as good at resolving dynamic contrasts, and even fewer remain as interesting to listen to at low volumes. These JBL standmounts remain an entertaining proposition right down to whisper volumes, though it has to be said, they actively encourage the listener to turn the wick up.

All the work on optimising the horn shape works well. The Summit Ama’s sound remains surprisingly consistent as we move away from our main listening position. Their expansive imaging stays decently stable over an unusually wide listening area. We have no complaints about focus or the way these speakers layer the soundstage.

As we work through our most demanding test recordings (The Dark Knight OST by Hans Zimmer, Massive Attack’s Mezzanine and Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring), we can’t help but be impressed by the Summit Ama’s sonic unflappability. Their ability to retain control through the musical drama is excellent, as is the way they dig up so much information yet manage to organise it in a cohesive and musical way.

Tonally, we find they err on the side of richness; they sound pleasantly full-bodied and robust. This character trait gives voices and instruments an appealing palpability. We love the way they render instrumental textures and the skill with which they convey Nina Simone’s emotion in Sinnerman.

They are sure-footed rhythmically and convey musical momentum well. These speakers want you to have a good time with appropriate music, but feed them with Olafur Arnald’s Found Songs, and they are equally capable of getting introspective.

Verdict

The Summit Ama are one of the costliest standmounters we’ve ever reviewed, but their breadth of talents is hugely impressive. That they can rock should be no surprise to anyone familiar with the brand’s heritage, but it's their blend of insight, dynamic expression and finesse that marks them out as something special.

If you view your hi-fi as an analysis tool to dissect recording and production quality, there are alternatives which will serve you better. However, if you just want to have fun and get lost in the music, these JBL standmounters should be right at the top of your shopping list.

Review published: 20th April 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Compatibility 4

MORE:

Read our ATC SCM 50 review

Also consider the Magico A1

Best speakers: budget to premium models tested by our expert reviewers

At last, the summer weather is finally peeking through the grey clouds after a gloomy winter.

And with that comes the opportunity for outdoor movie nights aplenty as the evenings get longer, making portable projectors a tempting proposition thanks to their small build and reasonable price tags.

The latest portable projector pushing its way to the front of the crowd is the Xgimi Vibe One, which would look right at home nestled in the toy section of a supermarket. But there is more to this dinky model than meets the eye, as it makes its mark far more impressively than we would expect from such a low-cost piece of kit.

Price

Few portable projector models come close to matching the Xgimi Vibe One’s price of £219 / $269 / AU$599. In fact, it is the cheapest that we have had in our test room.

The closest projector to this price point that we have tested is the Wanbo Vali 1 (£270 / $279 / AU$499), which achieved a solid four-star score for its balanced overall image. The Wanbo is more of a coffee table projector, though, with no built-in battery and a bigger/heavier design, so it isn’t aiming at the same market as the Vibe One.

The cheapest portable projector we recommend is the Anker Nebula Mars 3 Air, which launched at £550 / $600 / AU$1300. That leaves the Xgimi model in a league of its own.

Build

The Vibe One resembles a camping lantern more than a projector. It is very light, weighing just 1.4kg, which is about the same as a large pineapple. It’s much easier to carry around than a big fruit, though, thanks to the sturdy handle on the top.

You can get it in two colour options: cloud ash or blue spark. There’s also the option to add some pizazz thanks to a pack of included stickers, which are great fun for kids or whimsical adults.

To activate the projector, you tilt the body up from the bottom to face your screen or wall (a screen is highly recommended for a better picture).

If you turn the projector on while the lamp is facing downwards, it transforms into a Bluetooth speaker. The base also illuminates in its ambient mode with eight colour options, which is a neat touch.

Features

The projector offers three brightness modes: Standard, Performance and Eco. Performance is clearly the most intensive of the modes as the fan immediately goes into overdrive and the brightness slightly increases, whereas Eco dims the brightness to extend battery life. We find Standard offers the sweet spot between brightness levels.

The Vibe One features a built-in battery, which the company claims can deliver a very specific 1.2 hours of life. That number is only if you are using the projector in the Eco mode, however.

In Standard mode, the battery gave us just under an hour of AV action, which is barely enough for three episodes of The Simpsons, and will only give you one half of a World Cup match.

This wouldn’t be as much of an issue if there were the option to give the projector some juice via a power bank, but there is no support for USB charging. Ultimately, that means the Vibe One is not as portable as you might think, so definitely consider whether you have access to the mains in the spaces you want to use the projector.

The 1080p projector can also project an image up to 150 inches and claims to offer a maximum 250 ISO lumens of brightness. That figure might not look massive, but brightness figures all need to be taken with a pinch of salt. What matters is the actual performance.

On the body, you will find a USB as well as an HDMI, which allows you to hook up a Blu-ray player or games console. Google TV is built in, which means you can access streaming services such as Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+.

There’s no BBC iPlayer and, although you can bypass this by using Google Cast, it would be nice to have native support. Channel 4 is not on the cards either, and when we try to use the casting feature with both Android and Apple devices, it doesn’t work.

Picture

We start our testing in a pitch-black room with the projector hooked up to an Oppo UDP-203 Blu-ray player to give it the best test. In terms of picture modes, you can choose between Movie, Game and Standard. We settle on Movie as the most cinematic of the choices, offering the warmest colours and best dark detail.

Playing Civil War on Blu-ray, the Xgimi delivers a punchy but slightly over-baked picture in the Movie mode’s default settings, but after adjusting the contrast and sharpness levels, we unearth a more natural image that portrays the green trees around an army staging post with more balanced, yet still striking, colours.

This naturalness is present in the rendering of faces, too. As the shaken journalists attempt to collect themselves in the car after a particularly traumatic experience, the projector digs up the smaller details in their faces despite the dark interior. Skin tones also appear balanced and natural, without fading into the background or looking over-vibrant.

The Vibe One continues to impress when we switch to some darker content. In the opening of Alien: Romulus, as a ship floats through the depths of space, the projector presents the dark abyss with an impressively deep black by budget projector standards.

It can’t quite differentiate the darkest elements of the scene (the point at which the ship ends and space begins, for example), but it does well with such a challenging scene considering its price.

Xgimi’s projector also creates a good sense of three-dimensionality as a xenomorph fossil drifts towards the camera, helped by the contrast between the black of the fossil and the ship’s interior.

The Vibe One’s motion handling is surprisingly natural as well. We switch to the scene in Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings where the titular character gets caught up in a bout of fisticuffs on the bus. As the vehicle swerves towards us, it moves with a smooth yet convincing movement that gives the scene a sense of realism.

Judging by the projector’s portable design and budget price, it seems likely that many users will be using the model in a more well-lit environment. So we turn on the lights in our test room to see how it copes. While a fair bit of dark detail is lost, the colours are still balanced and eye-catching.

Bright sunlight will inevitably cause the Vibe One more problems – it will be hard to enjoy a Christopher Nolan movie outdoors on a summer's day, for instance – but it will be fine for a spot of sunny sport, the short battery life notwithstanding.

Back to our windowless test room, and we put the Vibe One against the Wanbo Vali 1. The Vibe One is clearly the more detailed and colourful performer, and while the Wanbo skews brighter than the Xgimi, the Vibe One’s crisper, sharper edges and more insightful dark scenes make the Wanbo look a bit murky by comparison.

Ultimately, while expectations must be tempered at this level, the Vibe One does an impressive job of getting the basics right, resulting in a balanced, natural-looking picture that massively outperforms its price tag.

Sound

The Vibe One is not as strong a performer when it comes to audio, however, despite the apparent involvement of JBL in its sound system. That’s perhaps not particularly surprising, given that there are only two speakers driven by 3 watts of amplification built in.

While it can go reasonably loud considering its size, the Vibe One still struggles to make much of an impact even at maximum volume. When watching Civil War, for example, the lack of punchy bass makes a landing helicopter sound more like a knife on a chopping board than a pounding piece of military hardware.

The bigger issue, though, is that voices can get lost in the mix, so some dialogue is hard to make out. In Alien: Romulus, as the android Andy and his human sister Rain rush through the bustling mining colony, their conversation gets muddled with radio chatter in the background, which makes it hard to decipher at points. And that’s in a quiet test room, so it would prove even more difficult in a louder setting.

When voices are audible, they also sound somewhat tinny and artificial. In Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, as Gamora and Peter Quill share a dance to Bring It On Home To Me by Sam Cooke, the relative lack of tonality in the characters’ voices and lack of bass detracts from the emotion of the scene.

The Wanbo delivers a louder audio performance with clearer voices, and outdoes the Xgimi in this area.

If you do buy the Vibe One, we recommend also adding a Bluetooth speaker for sound. Even something along the lines of the JBL Go 4 will be a significant upgrade for movies – as well as being an excellent little music speaker in its own right, of course.

Verdict

The Vibe One offers a detailed and cinematic picture for an impressively low price.

If it had better sound and a bigger battery (or USB power pack support), this could well be a five-star portable projector. Perhaps something to consider for the sequel, Xgimi…

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 3
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Xgimi Mogo 4

Also consider the Wanbo Vali 1

Read our Anker Nebula Mars 3 Air review

Best projectors: budget, 4K and ultra-short-throw

Audio-Technica is a cartridge manufacturing giant, so when the company overhauls one of its core moving magnet ranges, we can’t help but be interested.

The AT-VM740xML sits in the upper echelons of the new VMx range, which includes entry-level polymer-bodied models alongside premium die-cast aluminium options. There are mono variants too, though only available in the polymer housing.

Design

The Audio-Technica AT-VM740xML is the first rung metal-bodied option, with the difference between it and pricier siblings coming down to stylus profile and cantilever material. For example, the ’740xML uses a Nude Microlinear stylus profile with an aluminium cantilever, while the range-topping AT-VMx760xSL (£519 / $599 / AU$849) is specified with a Nude Special Line stylus profile and a boron cantilever.

A stylus profile has a big effect on the cartridge’s ability to track the record groove accurately, while the greater rigidity of boron aids the transmission of vibrational energy. Thankfully, the stylus assemblies are easily interchangeable, so it is possible to start with the AT-VM740xML and upgrade at a later date.

Audio-Technica is proud of the twin-coil per-channel generator system used in the VMx range, claiming it mirrors the structure of the original cutting lathe more accurately than the conventional alternative and improves efficiency.

Look inside the ’740xML’s metal housing, and you will find a central shield between the left and right channels to reduce crosstalk, which helps with stereo imaging and reduces distortion. The cartridge’s internal coils are now made of purer copper than that used on the previous generation VM series to improve performance.

A reduction of coil turns is said to aid dynamics, but this also results in a relatively low output of 3.2mV (1kHz, 5cm/sec). That output level isn’t anything to worry about though, as this Audio-Technica will play well with any moving magnet phono stage on the market.

Ease of set-up

This is an easy cartridge to fit. It has threaded holes in the body, so there is no messing around with small nuts when securing it to the headshell as before. Alignment is easy thanks to the ‘740xML’s multitude of straight edges.

Our testing is done with a Technics SL-1000R record player; its detachable headshell makes things even more painless.

The rest of our system is a Cyrus Phono Signature/PSX-R2 phono stage feeding a Burmester 088/911 MkIII amplifier and ATC SCM50 speakers. This high-end set-up isn’t typical of the kinds of systems that the AT-VM740xML will be used in, but it does a great job of putting a spotlight on the cartridge’s performance.

We also use a Cyrus 40 AMP with KEF LS50 Meta speakers to hear how the Audio-Technica responds in a more appropriate system context.

Our comparison cartridges are the Sumiko Rainier moving magnet (£129 / $199 / AU$299), Audio-Technica’s own AT-OC9XEN moving coil (£268 / $399 / AU$699) and the Nagaoka MP-200 moving magnet (£399 / $549 / AU$649).

Sound

Given a few days to bed in, the AT-VM740xML turns in great results. We play around with the tracking weight within the recommended 1.8-2.2g range and settle in the middle at 2.0g as the best compromise between tracking ability, tonal balance and general liveliness.

The AT-VM740xML isn’t the most exuberant or dynamic cartridge we’ve heard at this level, but it remains an engaging proposition nonetheless. As we work our way through a range of music that takes in Nitin Sawhney’s Human set, Holst’s Planets suite and The Boatman’s Call from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, it becomes clear that this is a clear and well-balanced performer.

It sounds a little cleaner and more precise than the expressive Sumiko, tracking basslines with greater dexterity and grip. There is a decent amount of weight and authority at lower frequencies, and that helps to deliver the essential sense of menace in music such as Holst’s Mars well.

Moving up the frequency range, we admire the Audio-Technica cartridge’s clarity through the mids and its articulate way with vocals. Nick Cave sounds suitably gruff yet vulnerable during Into Your Arms, while the instrumental backdrop comes across as wonderfully cohesive, maintaining the song’s delicate momentum and melancholic feel.

Dynamics, particularly subtle shifts in intensity, are communicated well, and we like the way this cartridge renders the texture and tonal richness of instruments. It sounds understated and natural, making it easy for us to get lost in the music rather than think of the mechanics of hi-fi.

It helps that the tonal balance is even and avoids over-egging any specific part of the frequency range. Bass is powerful, taut and tuneful while the highs combine bite and refinement well. Feed the cartridge a poor record, and it won’t hide the fact, but equally the Audio-Technica won’t make a meal of things either.

Stereo imaging ability is equally pleasing. As we listen to the Holst suite, we can’t help but enjoy the focus and stability of the soundstage. It remains stable as the music becomes more demanding, which isn’t always a given.

Rhythmically, things are sure-footed rather than enthusiastic. There is a good sense of drive to the Nitin Sawhney set, along with the ability to tie things together so that the music’s message comes through clearly. Songs such as Fragile Wind hit hard emotionally and are delivered with the lightness of touch they deserve.

Pay more for something like the Nagaoka MP-200 and you will get even greater resolution and dynamic fluidity. The MP-200 is certainly a more subtle performer, particularly when it comes to dynamic shading. But, given that the AT-VM740xML comes in at around half the price, this is more an observation than a complaint.

By the standards of its direct peers, this cartridge is a capable all-rounder that is as informative and musically coherent as we’ve heard at this level.

Verdict

The AT-VM740xML is an accomplished design. It is easy to fit and unfussy in nature, while being sensibly priced. We think it will work without issue when partnered with any good sub-£1000 record player, and has a blend of attributes that will see it shine in most cases.

Add the easy upgrade path into the equation and the only logical conclusion is to recommend it highly.

Review published: 17th April 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Compatibility 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Sumiko Rainier

Also consider the Nagaoka MP-200

Best cartridges: budget and premium options for your turntable

When you’ve been around for 50 years, you think you’ve seen it all. Throughout What Hi-Fi?’s half-century history of reviewing audio products, we’ve seen all kinds of turntables, CD players, iPod docks, in-car stereos and more.

This, however, is a first: a turntable with a CD player hidden inside it. While other combined turntable-and-CD-players do exist, we’ve never encountered a 2-in-1 design like this before.

Ticking many elements of today’s audio trends and demands – love for physical media, the convenience of Bluetooth, ease of use, and affordable price – this kind of integrated design could well be the perfect audio source for those who are strapped for space, strapped for cash and want the best of both physical format worlds. Without all the fuss of separates, that is.

It’s an intriguing, innovative design. Does it work?

Features

Starting with the turntable side of things, the Mixx Analog+ is capable of playing 33⅓ and 45 RPM speeds and both 7 and 12-inch records. It’s a belt drive design, and comes equipped with an Audio-Technica AT3600L fitted to the metal tonearm.

It’s a cartridge we know well and have encountered before on other budget decks, and the tonearm is all set up for the AT3600L moving magnet cartridge, so it’s ready to play straight out of the box. You can replace the cartridge if damaged, but it will be a like-for-like replacement as there is no scope for adjustments on the tonearm.

The Analog+ is fully automatic in operation, with a few tricks up its sleeve. Press play and the tonearm will automatically lift, move and start playing the record – without you ever needing to touch the arm. Just remember to put on the rubber mat and take off the stylus guard before pressing play, and set the correct size of the record so the automatic mechanism knows where the start of the record is.

At the end of the record, the tonearm will return to its arm rest – a handy feature that means the needle won’t be left digging a groove indefinitely if left unattended.

The turntable also has a nifty repeat function that lets you start over a side, and you can forward and rewind tracks. The latter isn’t an exact science – the arm simply moves a pre-determined short distance on the record rather than finding the precise spot where the next track starts.

For greater control, you can also hold down the skip buttons (either on the unit or on the included remote) to move it further and just about direct it to exactly where you want the needle to fall.

In fact, Mixx advises you not to touch the arm at all, so as not to damage the auto mechanism. The automatic operation is smooth in action, although the motor is quite noisy when the arm is moving. Thankfully, it goes quiet when the needle touches the groove.

Take the record off, and you’ll find the top-loading CD player built into the platter of the deck. It’s neatly accessible through the cut-out mat and platter of the Analog+, so you don’t have to disassemble any other part of the turntable. It’s a neat design.

Simply push down on the bottom edge of the lid to open, and there is a handy ‘Function/FN’ mode on the deck to switch between the turntable and CD modes. The display at the front of the deck shows you the track number being played and the time remaining. When in vinyl record mode, it shows the speed and size chosen.

The Analog+ can play CD, CD-R and CD-RW discs, and you can even leave a CD in its player without affecting the record playback on top. As long as you remember to switch to the right playback mode, one format shouldn’t affect the other’s replay.

That’s not all. The Mixx Analog+ has a built-in phono stage, which means you can plug it directly into a pair of active speakers or an amplifier’s line level inputs. Unlike rival decks such as the Sony PS-LX3BT or Pro-Ject T1 Evo BT, you can’t bypass the Mixx’s phono stage for an upgrade. We don’t expect customers for this kind of integrated product to go down the traditional separates route or to invest in an outboard module, so keeping things simple is no issue here.

Another convenience that’s added here is Bluetooth streaming, which lets you wirelessly stream your records or CDs to your favourite Bluetooth speaker or wireless headphones. The standard AAC and SBC codecs are supported, and pairing the Mixx with compatible Bluetooth-enabled speakers such as the Ruark MR1 Mk3 is swiftly done.

Just remember to toggle the RCA/Bluetooth output switch at the back of the turntable depending on whether you’re going the wired or Bluetooth route.

Build & design

The Analog+ looks smart and is nicely made. It has a fairly slim but solid MDF plinth, with rubber buttons laid out sensibly on the metal-fronted panel and reactive to every press.

Using it is as practical and straightforward as using a standard CD player, which makes it easy to get along with right from the start – even the automatic vinyl section feels intuitive.

There is clearly a lot of thought gone into the design of the Analog+ – it makes the Sony Bluetooth turntables look a little plasticky and clunky in comparison – and both turntable and CD player sections work smoothly during our testing.

The LED display showing vinyl modes and CD tracks is crisp and easy to read, and all the controls – speed change, play/pause, skipping tracks, repeat – are mimicked in the handy remote control. Apart from physically changing the CD or vinyl record, you’ll never have to leave the sofa to use this modern player.

The Analog+’s tonearm doesn’t have a finger-lift (a nice way to discourage you from manually moving the arm), although we do wish there was a safety clip for when it’s back in the armrest.

We like being able to see the CD spinning through the clear lid – although if you suddenly spot that the CD has stopped moving but music is still playing, don’t panic! There is a memory buffer that allows the CD player to store and play a track from memory, meaning it’s perfectly normal for the disc to stop every minute or so without interrupting playback at all.

Sound

We hook the Mixx Analog+ up to our usual reference system of Arcam A5+ amplifier and Epos ES-7N speakers, but also use it with the more price-compatible Ruark MR1 Mk3 powered speakers as part of our testing.

It’s worth mentioning that any additional elements to a standard turntable – integrated phono stage, automatic operation, Bluetooth – all tend to affect overall performance, and that’s before we even get to the fact this deck has a CD player incorporated inside it. The closest rival to the Analog+ we have is the Sony PS-LX3BT (£299 / $400 / AU$469), but this doesn’t have a silver disc spinner built in.

We start with the CD player, with Hans Zimmer’s The Dark Knight OST spinning. Even with our expectations for this kind of integrated player curbed, we find the CD player’s performance is quite poor and muddled. Nothing sticks out unduly throughout the frequency range, but there isn’t much in the way of clear detail, distinct separation or snappy rhythms.

It’s quite a small-scaled and dynamically squashed window through which it performs, which doesn’t remotely capture the dramatic flourishes and nail-biting tension of the soundtrack.

We move over to the turntable, and things improve. Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS album sounds fairly solid and stable, with a better sense of liveliness than its CD counterpart. For a product of this type, it sounds quite balanced. Detail levels are decent and it sounds pretty clear, too. The infectious pop record comes through with a sense of punch and flow, with the midrange in particular getting the best spotlight. It’s not really able to dig out deep bass for impactful swings in the rhythm, however.

Dynamically, the Analog+ is still quite limited in scope, no matter which format you listen to. In comparison, the Sony LX3BT turntable rival offers far greater subtlety and clarity to detail, a better sense of space and more precise, fluid dynamics. It’s simply a more musically interesting and involving listen.

Is the Mixx Analog+ more suited to casual listeners who prioritise convenience over sound? We plug it into the Ruark MR1 Mk3 speakers – through both RCA and Bluetooth – and find that while the connection side of things goes without a hitch, the player’s limited performance remains the same.

If you were hoping for the sound quality of entry-level separates of either a CD player or turntable in this 2-in-1 design, you will be left disappointed.

Verdict

We have to hand it to Mixx Audio. The brand is fairly young and the Analog+ is its most premium product yet. To design something so different from anything else on the market – and in an appealing, modern package – is worth applauding.

While the Mixx Analog+ has plenty going for it in terms of usability and features, and could be a neat solution for those who want an easy, all-in-one player that can play CDs and vinyl records from one unit – the sonic compromises are too big to ignore.

We hope a second-generation version, or a step-up model, will take more care with sound quality. Then it could get really interesting.

Review published: 16th April 2026

SCORES

• Sound 2
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony PS-LX3BT

Also consider the Sony PS-LX5BT

Read our Marantz CD6007 review

Best Bluetooth turntables: wireless record players tried and tested by experts

Good news, everyone! Sony is back making Bluetooth turntables, introducing two new decks into the fold: the Sony PS-LX5BT and its slightly cheaper sibling, the PS-LX3BT.

The just-reviewed PS-LX3BT did a sterling job in combining Bluetooth streaming, a built-in phono stage, fully automatic operation and superb sonic performance at a very affordable price. While the PS-LX5BT promises all of those same features from a more premium deck, it will have its work cut out if it wants to justify the step-up in price from its five-star sibling.

After all, the differences between the two fully automatic turntables are subtle: a step-up cartridge, slightly different arm tube, mat and finish, and detachable interconnect cables. For those seemingly minor differences, you’ll be paying roughly £100 / $100 / AU$150 to get your hands on the more premium model.

That seems like a rather steep advance, so has the PS-LX5BT done enough to make itself recommendable over its more affordable alternative?

Build & design

While it’s a step up from the PS-LX3BT in terms of price, telling the PS-LX5BT apart from its cheaper sibling does take more than a mere glance. Given its identical shape and layout, you’d be forgiven for getting one deck mistaken for the other in a game of spot the difference.

That extra money has gone somewhere, though. The darker finish of the PS-LX5BT is a little more appealing than its cheaper counterpart, while the provided rubber mat is slightly thicker and of a noticeably better quality. Also, whereas the PS-LX3BT has captive audio interconnect cables, the cables on the PS-LX5BT are detachable, offering the potential for improved performance if you wish to swap them out for a better set of interconnects.

This being a fully automatic turntable, operation is not a complex affair. The PS-LX5BT is easy to use and responsive to our commands, without you ever needing to touch the tonearm (bar unclipping it from the arm rest). Playing and pausing tracks is performed via ‘start’ and ‘stop’ buttons respectively, and once your record arrives at the end, the tonearm will automatically move back to its start position without the need for a manual reset. Handy.

Elsewhere, the belt-drive design features an aluminium tonearm with a precision pivot bearing, as well as an aluminium die-cast platter, all of which are made to a satisfying solid standard.

The PS-LX5BT is supplied with a pre-fitted moving magnet cartridge with a 2g tracking force, and we suspect that a good deal of the money you’ll pay, and hopefully the performance you’ll receive, is down to this step-up model over the one on the LX3BT. Additionally, you can remove the cartridge from the tonearm in this turntable, although you can only do a like-for-like replacement here, as you can’t adjust the tracking weight or bias for a different cartridge, which limits its upgradability somewhat.

Even with these minor tweaks adding to its prestige, the PS-LX5BT doesn’t necessarily exude high perceived value. It’s well made and reasonably substantial, but this is clearly a turntable that’s been designed for usability first and aesthetics second. Everything is functional and a tad utilitarian, and doesn’t have the glamour or sleekness of, say, a price-comparable Rega Planar 1 Plus (currently £399 / $599 approx / AU$899).

That, of course, is much of the point. Record players such as these are supposed to be minimum-fuss affairs, and, thanks to those large, hard-to-miss buttons for starting and stopping your records, as well as the dials for switching between 33 ⅓ and 45 RPM speeds and 7 and 12-inch records, that aim is achieved admirably by Sony’s simple, intuitive layout.

Still, we do have a few very minor quibbles. The player’s on/off button is found at the back, making it hard to access, while a permanent ‘on’ light might have been useful for taking the guesswork out of whether your PS-LX5BT is actually ready to use. Minor things, but worth noting.

Aside from that, this isn’t a turntable that’s likely to cause many problems for the user. Thanks to its automatic design, all you have to do is pop the rubber mat onto the platter, select your favourite record, hook up your cables to an amplifier or active speakers, switch your deck on and press start. Bob’s your uncle, you’re a vinyl aficionado!

Features

The PS-LX5BT sports Bluetooth streaming powers to satisfy modern users with varied listening devices. There’s support for the hi-res aptX Adaptive codec for streaming files wirelessly up to 24-bit/96kHz to compatible Bluetooth speakers and headphones, with the PS-LX5BT letting you have up to eight different devices paired at any one time.

Bluetooth streaming is reasonably easy to get up and running: just press the Bluetooth button in the front left corner of your turntable to put it into pairing mode and wait for it to connect to your nearby wireless device. As we found with the PS-LX3BT, however, there are a few minor pitfalls of which to be aware.

The Sony deck won’t play anything if you’re stuck in pairing mode, for instance, and sometimes you might need to switch out of said mode with a forced reset, either by turning your turntable off and on again or by changing the input on your connected amp and switching back to the correct phono one. That worked for us, anyway.

Those few kinks aside, it isn’t tricky to get sound beaming from your turntable to, say, a nearby JBL Charge 6 portable speaker or pair of Sony WH-1000XM6 over-ears. Nor, in fact, is it particularly challenging to get the PS-LX5BT cooperating across all modes of use – everything is clearly laid out, boldly labelled and, for the most part, doesn’t require any fiddly setting up in the first place.

Like its cheaper sibling, the PS-LX5BT comes fitted with a built-in phono stage, making it more versatile to use. This means you can connect it to an amplifier that doesn’t have its own internal phono stage, or even plug it directly to a pair of active speakers.

The operation is switchable too, meaning you can opt to bypass the Sony’s phono stage entirely to use either a separate external phono stage or one built into your stereo amplifier. Just remember to toggle the ‘line/phono’ switch found at the back of the record player for your chosen set-up.

Sound

Most of our listening to the PS-LX5BT is performed with a pair of Epos ES-7N speakers alongside the Award-winning Arcam A5+ amp (£749 / $1200 / AU$1595). We’re also keen to see if the LX5BT is a major upgrade from the PS-LX3BT, so we do a little switching between the two to discern whether those minor additions have paid sonic dividends.

What we find is that the PS-LX5BT is noticeably better, and does a fine job of justifying its not-inconsiderable price increase over its more entry-level sibling. The costlier deck is more open, spacious-sounding and more detailed than the LX3BT. It grants more space around instruments and gives the music greater breathing space within its broader, wider soundstage.

The PS-LX5BT is clearly the better option sonically, but even in isolation it’s an excellent turntable that soon proves itself worthy of consideration. The Sony spinner’s organised, authoritative sound deftly balances poise and punch, as evidenced by the manner in which it handles the heavier tracks peppered across Nas’ Illmatic LP.

Some acoustic guitar-focused loveliness courtesy of Will McNicol gives the PS-LXB5T a chance to show off its handling of subtle instrumental textures, and the Sony rises to the task with aplomb as accompanying violins and resonant cellos sing with authority. These are mature, finely-composed compositions, something which the PS-LX5BT seems to understand as it reflects such characteristics in its mature, even-handed delivery.

Sony’s well-priced player can cut loose and have a good time when called upon, too. We spend a good chunk of time ploughing through some contemporary drum’n’bass courtesy of Rudimental’s Rudim3ntal album, with the PS-LX5BT capably switching gears as it sheds its opening night tuxedo and dons its roadman tracksuit to bring weight, muscle and rhythmic propulsion to track after heady track.

Bluetooth performance is solid, too. Naturally, you’ll get more detail and clarity when going wired, but as we beam Arcade Fire’s Pink Elephant record to a nearby JBL Charge 6, we’re impressed with how much of the music’s inherent feeling is retained. Voices remain authentic and natural sounding, while instruments and textures are still clear, nimble and punchy enough to keep us invested in our tunes.

If you want to push things further, then switching to an outboard phono stage will proffer even greater sonic gains. When moving over to the phono input of the Arcam A5+, it’s clear that the Award-winning stereo amplifier’s phono stage is clearer, more detailed and more musical than the one built into the Sony deck.

Verdict

The PS-LXB5T is an excellent do-it-all turntable. More purist alternatives, such as the Rega Planar 1 Plus, will reward you with a more musical, engaging sound and, to our eyes, a more attractive design, but that’s a deck with no Bluetooth and a manual operation.

On paper, the cheaper PS-LX3BT might appear to be the better-value buy. But if you’re looking for longer term satisfaction thanks to a noticeable step up in sonic performance and versatile features, the PS-LX5BT more than justifies its place within the market.

Review published: 15th April 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Pro-Ject T1 Evo BT

Also consider the Sony PS-LX3BT

Read our Rega Planar 1 Plus review

Best Bluetooth turntables: wireless record players tried and tested by experts

The Sony PS-LX310BT has been sitting proudly on our list of the best Bluetooth turntables for a number of years now, and for good reason. The five-star record player debuted all the way back in 2019, and yet in the years since its release, it’s been nigh-on unrivalled for its hugely appealing blend of simple usability, sonic prowess and outstanding value.

Picking up the PS-LX310BT’s mantle is the new Sony PS-LX3BT which, along with its more premium sibling, the PS-LX5BT, sees Sony make a much-anticipated return to Bluetooth turntable production.

The new LX3BT model promises the same combination of usability, flexibility and overall value as its predecessor, and if it can juggle a quite impressive number of proverbial balls while keeping costs low, and performance a priority, Sony may be onto another low-cost winner.

Build & design

The Sony PS-LX3BT isn’t the most alluring turntable in the world by any stretch of the imagination. Lift it up and you’ll be surprised by how light and somewhat insubstantial it feels in your hands, while that rather functional all-grey finish isn’t exactly going to set pulses racing unless you happen to be taking a break from watching paint dry.

Yet what were we expecting for this kind of money? At this level, we’re simply seeking a deck that’s easy to operate and simple to navigate, and that’s exactly what Sony has delivered – a fully automatic turntable that you can get playing straight out of the box.

In truth, we find the PS-LX3BT simple and unfussy in its set up and operation. The automatic operation means you don’t even need to touch the tonearm here. Playing and stopping tracks is made easy via ‘start’ and ‘stop’ buttons respectively, and once your record has reached its end, the tonearm will automatically return to its resting start position without the need for manual resetting.

The trio of control buttons on the player aren’t luxurious to the touch – if anything, they feel cheap and a little tacky – but they're so large and clearly marked that even your nan could operate them.

The new player features an aluminium tonearm with a precision pivot bearing, as well as an aluminium die-cast platter and a rubber mat. At the end of the tonearm is a pre-fitted moving magnet cartridge with a tracking force of 3.5g, but as there’s no easy way to remove the cartridge from the tonearm, your options for upgrading are pretty limited – though it is possible to replace the stylus.

This being an automatic turntable, there’s very little for you to do aside from take your new purchase out of the box, set it down onto a stable and level surface, hook it up to an amp and dig out your chosen vinyl. There’s no need to set tracking weights or fiddle with cartridges – plug it in, switch on the power button, release the tonearm from its fastener, press ‘start’, and the PS-LX3BT will do the rest.

Okay, the trickiest task you may have to contend with might be attaching the removable transparent lid, but even then, it’s hardly rocket science. If we were being picky, having the on/off switch at the front of the deck might be a little more user-friendly than having to lean over to search out the power button housed right at the back, and an ‘on’ light might have been nice for indicating when the turntable is powered up, but neither are huge issues.

This isn’t glamorous design, but it is pleasingly functional and well-suited to users who might not have much, or any, previous experience of owning a record player.

Features

Look above your trio of start, stop and up/down buttons on the PS-LX3BT and you’ll see chunky dials for switching between record sizes – either 7 or 12 inches – or picking either 33⅓ or 45 RPM speeds.

The deck also has Bluetooth, offering support for the aptX Adaptive codec for hi-res streaming up to 24-bit/96kHz to compatible Bluetooth speakers and wireless headphones.

Dear old nan might find getting to grips with the nuts and bolts of her new-fangled Sony deck easy enough, but she’s possibly in danger of coming unstuck when it comes to Bluetooth. It’s generally a simple process to get the PS-LX3BT beaming out to receptive headphones or portable speakers – just press the large Bluetooth button to put your record player into pairing mode and your nearby wireless device should connect automatically – but there are a few potential pitfalls to watch out for.

If you’re unwittingly stuck in pairing mode, for instance, you’ll get no sound from your deck. We also found that getting out of said mode sometimes requires a bit of a manual reset, either by turning the turntable off and on again, or by moving away from the connected input on your amp and then switching back.

Quite impressively for a turntable of this type and price, the PS-LX3BT is equipped with a built-in phono stage, which is handy if your amplifier doesn't have one. This also means you can plug the turntable straight into a pair of active speakers, without needing to go down the traditional hi-fi separates route.

Alternatively, you can bypass the Sony phono output to use either a separate phono stage for an upgrade path or one built into a compatible stereo amplifier, such as the one found in the Rotel A8 or Arcam A5+ amps. Just make sure you’ve toggled the switch on the back from ‘line’ to ‘phono’ if you’re using an external phono stage.

Sound

We want a revealing system to expose the PS-LX3BT’s talents, so perform much of our listening with the Sony’s line-level output connected to the Award-winning Arcam A5+ (£749 / $1200 / AU$1595) integrated amplifier to test the turntable’s built-in phono stage. The speakers we use, meanwhile, are the Epos ES-7N (£1890 / $2850).

For a deck that does a lot on a shoestring, it’s perfectly fair to keep one’s expectations reasonably modest. Even with that in mind, it doesn’t take long before the PS-LX3BT confounds our expectations admirably. A sprinkle of textural insight here, a good dose of punch there – this is a far heartier metaphorical meal than we’d perhaps anticipated.

If our gastronomic metaphors are getting a little muddled, there’s very little that’s muddled about how the PS-LX3BT goes about presenting our music, as we move from classic pop through to drum’n’bass and a bit of good old fashioned prog metal. We’re taken with just how composed, controlled and well-organised the Sony sounds, marvelling at the effortless cohesion and solidity it brings to the entirety of Michael Jackson’s Bad album.

With that solid sonic foundation in place, the Sony deck has more than enough room to further showcase its talents. Jackson sounds like his iconic self as he howls, screeches and croons his way through the likes of Dirty Diana and Man In The Mirror, with the PS-LX3BT granting genuine energy and personality to the King of Pop’s irrepressible vocal stylings.

In fact, the Sony has a genuine sense of musicality, and at this level that was never a guarantee. Rudimental’s recent Rudim3ntal record is appropriately forthright and punchy through the PS-LX3BT, while Nas’ Illmatic walks a satisfying line between hazy smoothness and authoritative punch. The highest compliment we can give? We’ve completely forgotten we’re listening to a fully automatic turntable that only costs £299 / $400 / AU$469.

Okay, there were always going to be limitations. Whack on Avenged Sevenfold’s barmy avant-garde metal workout Life Is But A Dream, and just occasionally you’ll hear the Sony start to creak under the pressure as it strains to keep up with the constant pace changes across what is an often bafflingly bizarre and complex record.

Still, the overall ability displayed really is commendable, and that’s before we’ve tested out Bluetooth performance. We beam some of Illmatic out to a pair of Sony WH-1000XM6 over-ear headphones, a JBL Charge 6 Bluetooth speaker and even a pair of Ruark MR1 Mk3 desktop speakers and, lo and behold, the resultant sound hangs together admirably. Nas sounds alive and characterful, with bolder tunes such as N.Y. State of Mind still punching through with verve and intent.

While playing the Sony via its line-level output connected to the Arcam A5+ produced many nods of appreciation from our testers, switching things over to the Arcam’s built-in phono stage does take things up a notch. Through the Arcam’s phono input, the performance is more open and dynamic, all while adding greater leading-edge precision to the likes of Jackson’s Billie Jean and Man In The Mirror.

That said, switching back to the Sony’s built-in phono stage doesn’t evidence a disastrous drop-off. Music is a little smaller in its scale and loses some of the Arcam’s clarity, but as we quickly readjust, we find that our affections for the PS-LX3BT’s core performance haven’t been dampened much by hearing what the A5+ has to offer.

Sony’s phono stage is still a good one, especially when you consider how much the PS-LX3BT can do for such a modest outlay. To make an impromptu desktop system, we connect a pair of Ruark MR1 Mk3 to our test turntable, moving back and forth between the Sony's phono stage and that of the Ruarks, and discovering that the PS-LX3BT’s phono input is clearer, more open and more detailed than that of the MR1 Mk3.

Verdict

Right now, it’s hard to think of a turntable that does so much so well yet costs so relatively little. If what you seek is a plug-and-play automatic turntable with Bluetooth powers, impressive ease of use and a sound that’s accomplished and enjoyable, the Sony PS-LX3BT is a top-to-bottom delight.

For all those nervously setting out into choppy vinyl waters, this is the boat that will see you sailing blissfully through. Highly recommended.

Review published: 14th April 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 4
• Features 5