Lyngdorf does things a little differently. Even in the increasingly popular world of versatile one-box streaming amplifiers, the Danish hi-fi brand stands out from the usual suspects with the all-new TDAI-2210.

From the fully digital amplification architecture and unusual digital volume control to its bespoke app interface layout, this Lyngdorf sits a little adjacent to the mainstream alternatives – and it feels every bit a modern hi-fi product.

Build & design

The Lyngdorf TDAI-2210 may sit in between the brand’s existing TDAI-1110 and TDAI-3310 models, but it is no middle child with hand-me-downs. It is completely redesigned from the ground up, with a new PCB layout, a cleaner signal path and better power supply filtering – and is the most advanced product in the range.

The TDAI-2210’s key technical element is in the name: TDAI stands for Total Digital Amplification, Integrated. This is not a common Class D amplifier, but a fully digital amplifier that keeps the incoming music signal digital all the way through, from the digital inputs up to the filtered speaker outputs; even analogue signals are converted to digital before being processed by the amplifier. This technology is Lyngdorf’s own design and is an evolved version of the first digital amplifier – the TacT Millennium – that we reviewed a quarter of a century ago.

The amplifier’s output is rated at 105W per channel into 8 ohms, and it doubles in power (to 210W) as impedance halves to 4 ohms. This means the amp will drive any price-compatible speakers without any issue, in electrical terms at least.

The unit itself is compact and minimal, coming in a matte black finish that looks rather unassuming at first. Lyngdorf says it wanted to prove you can have a high-performing, high-end product even in a small footprint, and the TDA-2210 fits the brief. The build quality is reassuringly solid, and details such as the ridges on the sides of the unit are finished to a high standard.

Lyngdorf has focused its attention on the high-contact points of the streaming amp: the large full-colour touchscreen display, the “lossless” volume control, and the redesigned My Lyngdorf control app.

Let’s start with the glass touchscreen display, which is crisp and clear, with album artwork and the large icons easy to see from a distance. The glass has a smooth feel that is responsive to every tap and, most importantly, leaves no fingerprints.

We also like how the display screen’s background changes colour to match the album artwork being shown. There is a display option that shows a spectrum analyser, but Lyngdorf bucks the current trend by avoiding any retro VU meters.

One of the TDAI-2210’s standout features is the digital volume control, which changes the gain from the output stage rather than attenuating the incoming signal as is conventional. This avoids distortion or any issues with channel balance that are inherent in potentiometer-based volume controls.

The volume dial software is calibrated beautifully, with every tiny incremental movement on the dial having an instant visual feedback on the large display. Using it feels organic and rewarding. You can make very subtle and specific adjustments to the level, and spinning the dial faster results in quicker volume changes.

Combined with the My Lyngdorf app, the TDAI-2210 is a delight to use. It’s clear that Lyngdorf has put a lot of effort into how the streaming amp feels to use. The interface layout is clean and logical, and it both looks and feels considerably more modern than the usual lines of text and sub-menus we see in rival systems.

The harmonious way the display, app and controls respond to all our interactions throughout testing is very pleasing. There is a traditional remote control included, too.

The app – and by extension the TDAI-2210 itself – is as straightforward or as complex as you want it to be. You can customise the app and display so it only shows the main information you are interested in, or you can delve further into the settings to find ways of fine-tuning the Lyngdorf’s sound to your heart’s content.

There are rather good ‘Voicing’ EQ presets that you can also customise, treble/bass tonal adjustments, and ICC (Intersample Clipping Correction) settings that deal with potential distortion or ‘clipping’ effects when digital music is converted into analogue sound.

Here, Lyngdorf recommends turning off the default ‘subsonic/rumble filter’ for best sound performance, while we would also recommend disabling the ‘speaker limiter’ for a more open and dynamic sound.

Features

On the streaming side, the TDAI-2210 is well appointed with all the popular ways of playing music wirelessly. There’s support for Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, Spotify Connect and global internet radio via Airable. Bluetooth and Google Cast are also on the menu, while AirPlay 2 is coming soon via a software update due in late September. Streaming music using any of these methods is swift and stable.

You can also play music from connected NAS drives thanks to UPnP/DLNA compatibility. At the moment, you can’t access your NAS library from within the My Lyngdorf app, although this functionality will be available in the late September software update. Until then, you can use third-party apps such as BubbleUPnP and MConnect, and it worked perfectly fine for us when streaming WAV and FLAC tracks from our Naim Core server.

Hi-res file support is a standard 24-bit/192kHz PCM across most inputs, while higher 32-bit/384kHz files are supported when stored locally on a USB drive. There is no support for DSD files here, and we can imagine some might be put off by the omission at this premium price.

The TDAI-2210 has a good spread of physical connections, including RCA line level inputs and outputs, a pair of balanced XLR outputs, and multiple digital coaxial and optical inputs. An HDMI eARC input is available for seamless audio integration with a TV, and there are two USB inputs (type A and C) for plugging in media hard drives and laptops, respectively.

Lyngdorf offers two optional modules to add even more connectivity. Our review sample is fitted with the “high-end analog” module, which adds a moving-magnet phono stage and three additional analogue inputs, including a balanced XLR pair, which promise better analogue-to-digital conversion thanks to a higher-quality Asahi Kasai DAC.

This module adds over £500 / $500 to the standard price, but is a useful option for those who require the extra connections. Meanwhile, the HDMI 2.1 module adds two more HDMI inputs and one output, with a much steeper additional cost increasing the unit’s price to £4399 / $5499.

More useful is that the TDAI-2210 comes with Lyngdorf’s own RoomPerfect room correction technology. It’s a sophisticated system that tunes the streaming amp’s sound to the room it’s placed in, via multiple readings taken from random positions of the included mic.

The most complicated part of the process is setting up the included mic stand; the app will walk you through the rest of the straightforward calibration process. It’s worth taking the time to do this during set-up, and you can toggle the saved RoomPerfect settings on/off to hear the differences.

Our dedicated listening rooms are already acoustically treated, and we found that the RoomPerfect setting boosted the bass and added more heft to voices and instruments. But it also takes away too much of the Lyngdorf’s spacious, open presentation for our liking, while voices lose some of their natural expressiveness.

Still, it’s a subtler effect than other room calibration software we have used, and we would recommend trying it out.

Sound

To complete the TDAI-2210 system, all you need to do is add a pair of speakers. We use a variety during our testing, from the Epos ES7N standmounters to our reference ATC SCM50 speakers, while models ranging from KEF LS50 Meta to the PMC Prodigy 5 and even the Acoustic Energy AE300 Mk2 would all suit. We would just avoid pairing the Lyngdorf with any lean, bright-sounding speakers.

We start with Dolly Parton’s Jolene streamed over Tidal Connect. The TDAI-2210 delivers a lively, nimble-footed performance, which keeps us tapping along to the catchy tune. The sweeter edges of Parton’s indelible voice and her personality come through with a good dose of detail and clarity.

The Lyngdorf hews true to Parton’s smaller-scale ’70s-era recording, but it also has no issue expanding its wings and giving a grander stage to Massive Attack’s Paradise Circus and Agnes Obel’s The Curse. Instruments are given ample space and breadth, and the leading edges of notes are nicely defined, while voices are placed centre stage and focused in the airy soundstage.

The Lyngdorf sounds wonderfully clean, crisp and sprightly no matter what music we play through it, making it easy to listen to.

Basslines perhaps aren’t as meaty as rivals owing to the Lyngdorf favouring a leaner presentation, but this does add to that agile sense of rhythm that holds our interest. A greater dose of dynamic punch would render the iconic bassline and outro in Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain more dramatic and impactful, while the physicality of orchestral pieces from John Williams and Hans Zimmer could be more tangible and authoritative. Still, the TDAI-2210’s crisp precision and fluid sense of rhythm deliver just enough snap to remain musically satisfying.

The Arcam SA35 (£2999 / $3300 / AU$6495) is the main rival here and, while it’s not as sophisticated as the Lyngdorf in use, it is the better (and cheaper) of the two when it comes to outright sound quality. The Arcam delivers a more powerful and authoritative sound, along with richer layers of texture and detail around every piano note, plucked string and French horn. Better low-level dynamics and a fuller tone add greater expression to voices, too.

Playing around with the Voicing presets and EQ settings helps to add a bit more body and immediacy to the Lyngdorf, but the differences between the two remain.

Despite the Arcam comparison, we still like the Lyngdorf’s amicable presentation and how it gets across the essence of a song. The switch from a brash heavy metal track to the more intimate, gentler tones of Elliott Smith’s Between The Bars is nicely communicated. Musically, it all hangs together pretty well.

The Lyngdorf’s sound is consistent through all the digital inputs, and we find that they sound better than their analogue counterparts. Plugging our Cyrus CDi CD player into the coaxial and RCA stereo inputs, we find that, while subtler, the analogue connection sounds less forthright and powerful. The analogue inputs on the optional module fare better and sound more fluid, but they’re still a touch soft-sounding compared with the standard digital ins.

Listening through the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro X, the sound is also consistently clean, detailed and nimble through the 3.5mm headphone output. We also plug the Rega Planar 3 RS Edition turntable into the optional module’s phono inputs, and it’s nice enough to listen to, but lacks the Lyngdorf’s lively energy that we like so much.

We'd like to hear more dynamic punch and richness to do justice to our records; if you’re serious about vinyl replay, we would recommend a dedicated phono preamp such as the Graham Slee Reflex M or Rega Fono MM Mk5.

Verdict

There is something inherently likeable about the Lyngdorf TDAI-2210. It may not beat the class leaders, but its digital-first approach is clever and appealing, and the way the TDAI-2210 behaves when we interact with it is hugely rewarding.

With its fresh, modern outlook and lively sound, the TDAI-2210 is a great alternative to the mainstream options at this premium price, and is worth an audition.

Review published: 4th September 2026

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Features 5
• Build 5

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Sonos has formally named its app and multi-room operating system. Sonos 27 is being introduced this year with two new products – Ace Ultra and Beam Ultra – and boasts new AI control features, and new app navigation.

According to the company's press release, it "represent[s] the next stage of Sonos’ evolution from a collection of connected audio products into an increasingly intelligent and adaptable audio operating system for the home".

Why now? We spoke to Sonos's vice president of software, Sid Patel, and senior director of product development, Brandon Holley, both of whom have been with the company for over a decade, to dig into the newly-christened Sonos 27 operating system.

"For years, people have seen us as a speaker company, but what we actually have been building is an audio operating system," says Holley.

"Why now? We really think we've not done enough justice to tell the story of what the software does with the overall system and the speakers, and what it brings, and so this [branding] gives us a place to talk about the software and hardware and how it all works together," says Holley.

"Underneath it's extremely complex, there's a lot going on... but from a customer's standpoint, we want them to understand that every interaction, every piece of the system, whether it's the hardware or a partnership with a specific music provider – that is all part of a system."

"We've spent 20 years learning how a home feels and functions, and finally, we're naming the thing that we've been building all along," says Holley.

Sonos 27 is the overarching operating system powering the Sonos ecosystem and its many products, with Sonos aiming to treat its "audio operating system" like an Apple/Android operating system that updates every year. The '27' in the name will update every year, changing to '28' next year, we're told, just like iOS 26 will update to iOS 27 this year.

Fabric – "the magic that has been Sonos for 20 years"

While naming the various things the Sonos ecosystem can do might seem like a marketing exercise, what is more concrete is the company's commitment to ensuring its ecosystem isn't a walled garden like other brands, offers various ways to control its products, and that these products work together more seamlessly.

Ensuring that the new Ace Ultra wireless headphones connect to every Sonos 27-compatible product seamlessly is a key component of this. "That is not a promise we fulfilled fully with Ace; we are fulfilling it with Ace Ultra," says Patel.

Sonos Fabric is the name given to the multi-room capability of the ecosystem, in the way that Sonos products can be linked together – or as Patel calls it, "the magic that has been Sonos for 20 years".

That includes the whole-house multi-room grouping of products, a stereo pairing between two speakers, and the new 'headphone linking' feature, which will let you transfer sound between a Sonos speaker or soundbar to Sonos Ace Ultra wireless headphones.

Another new feature under the 'Fabric' umbrella opens up the possibility of portable surrounds. The Sonos Play and Move 2 portable speakers (which feature Bluetooth and wi-fi) can now be used as rear surrounds alongside the Sonos Arc/Arc Ultra, Beam (Gen 2) and Beam Ultra soundbars. Sonos' Positioning Technology will use high-frequency sound to "sense a speaker's location and adapt its role" accordingly.

New AI-enabled ways to control your Sonos products

It will come as no surprise that AI is a big part of the new operating system, and as an evolution of the brand's "open platform philosophy", Sonos will let users control its ecosystem using any AI assistant they prefer.

"AI is obviously all the rage in the industry, but the way we're approaching it is like how we've approached it from the beginning for everything," says Patel. "We're creating a platform where we plug into other AI ecosystems and AI ecosystems can plug into us, similar to how music partners can plug into us today."

Sonos 27voice is the brand's own assistant for "music and mood curation" that has been customised and is more AI-friendly, while the Sonos 27mcp (Model Context Protocol) infrastructure will let you connect any external AI assistant or agent to your Sonos system (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Siri) so you can ask it to control music anywhere in your home.

"We know the home, we know audio, we know music," says Patel, "and so we've taken a layer and created intelligence there, so what we do is bring that intelligence to the home." The focus is on letting users control their music in a way that's quickest and feels most natural to them, whether that's using voice control, the app, the web app, the on-unit buttons or AI.

"From the time you bring your speaker home and your system home and you set it up, we want you to be listening to TV or music as fast as possible," says Patel of the brand's number one goal for the app.

A new feature called Sonos Custom Agents will also let users "create their own agents" through their system, allowing you to customise the model, persona and voice for your own personal AI assistant.

"We are in a new era where we're listening to our customers a lot more"

A big part of the creation of Sonos 27 and any updates going forward will be listening to customer feedback, especially on the app. It's a concentrated effort after the disastrous app redesign of 2024, which led to widespread customer dissatisfaction, the then-CEO stepping down, and Sonos rolling back many of the app features to re-gain trust amongst its customers.

"We still believe the Sonos app is the best way to experience your system along with all the other control services like voice and web and direct control," says Patel.

"We are in a new era where we're listening to our customers a lot more," Patel acknowledges, and declares many of the new app changes have been "community driven and very experimental", with the Sonos team engaging with customers on Reddit and social media channels to get instant feedback.

"We sort of opened the door to even our engineering team engaging with customers on Reddit, which is not something we did in the past. And it's actually worked out really well for us."

The Sonos 27app will gain fresh discovery and tab navigation, a new "virtual" volume dial, presets, lock screen integration and more. On top of that, the brand says it's still "innovating" and working closely with Apple and Google to further integrate Sonos features within a smartphone's native operating systems.

Will this be a turning point for Sonos, and will it be enough to claim back trust amongst its many long-term customers? There is a definite sense of confidence that the new features will work as promised, and we'll be getting our hands on Beam Ultra and Ace Ultra review samples imminently to try out all the new features and see how the updated app works – so stay tuned.

Sonos 27 will be available as a free update to all current-generation Sonos products (i.e. all products working with the 'S2' app/OS since 2020), with the portable surrounds support, new app navigation and Sonos 27mcp rolling out from 8th September.

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The Sonos Ace Ultra wireless headphones have landed, and it looks like good news throughout, with Sonos promising a "direct connection to the Sonos system."

Positioned above the three-star Ace – the brand's first headphones released in 2024 – the new step-up Ace Ultra have been designed from the ground up to deliver the improvements to sound, noise-cancelling and wider compatibility with the Sonos ecosystem that were missing from Sonos' debut over-ears.

At the heart of the Ace Ultra is the "Headphone Engine 2", a next-gen wi-fi hardware and software system that lets you link the headphones directly to your existing Sonos system. It's the feature that we (and Sonos customers) have wanted all along, allowing you to swap audio from any Sonos wireless speaker or soundbar to the Ace Ultra headphones at the press of a button (or via the app), and back again.

Listening to music on the Ace Ultra from your laptop or smartphone is still done via Bluetooth rather than wi-fi, but this is a marked improvement over the original Sonos Ace, where you could only 'swap' audio from select Sonos soundbars.

With the Ace Ultra, this 'headphone linking' feature will work with any current Sonos soundbar and wireless speaker under the Sonos 27 ecosystem, including the Arc Ultra, Ray, Beam (Gen 2), new Beam Ultra, Sonos Five, Era 100, Era 300, Move 2, Play and Roam 2.

The Ace Ultra feature all-new Sonos-designed 40mm drivers, and the sound is tuned with input from the Sonos Soundboard, which features leading figures in music and film (including Grammy winners) to deliver a sound "that stays true to the artist's intent."

Active noise cancellation has been given a boost, with the Ace Ultra promising to be twice as effective in this regard. The Ace Ultra house 10 mics (up from eight on the original Ace), with an adaptive ANC system that continuously monitors your surroundings to deliver the best ANC experience.

An Adaptive EQ also tunes the ANC to adjust to any imperfections in the acoustic seal around the earcups, such as gaps in the fit for those wearing glasses.

An Aware mode, which lets outside sounds in, also returns, as does support for headtracking with Dolby Atmos content.

Battery is up to 35 hours (up from 30 hours from the original Ace) with ANC activated, and you can get three hours from a fast-charge of three minutes. The higher-quality aptX Lossless codec is supported, while native support for 16-bit/48kHz resolution is once again supported via a wired USB-C connection.

The general design of the Sonos Ace Ultra remains the same as before, with soft foam cushions to provide maximum comfort, and physical buttons that include a multi-function button/slider (called the 'control key') through which you can adjust volume, change noise modes and playback, and send music to and from your connected Sonos speakers via the 'headphone linking' feature.

There are three-band and eight-band EQ settings in the app to further customise the sound to your tastes, whereas TrueCinema technology tunes the headphones' sound according to your room's acoustics when connected to a compatible Sonos soundbar.

The Sonos Ace Ultra headphones will cost £399 / $449 and be available globally from 29th September, with pre-orders starting from today, 1st September. The headphones will be available in four finishes: new sand and agave colours, as well as the standard black and white options.

Interestingly, the established Sonos Ace will continue to be available. The Ace are currently priced at £299 / $299 / AU$449, which is a considerable drop from their launch price of £449 / $449 / AU$699. Those in the UK will also get a bonus saving, as the new Ace Ultra will launch for £50 less than the inaugural Ace did.

We have high hopes for the new Sonos Ace Ultra headphones, which seem to address many of the issues we had with the original Ace – such as incomplete features, buggy connections, "average" sound, and ANC quality that didn't compete with strong rivals.

Let's see if they give the current Sony, Bose and Sennheiser class leaders a run for their money.

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Earlier this week, Naim launched its new premium Uniti Star Lite streaming amplifier, which retains all the extensive features, connections and design of the original Star – but loses the CD player and ripper.

This is a blow to CD fans, but it was unavoidable due to issues sourcing the original drive mechanism and an inability to find a suitable alternative.

Naim's solution therefore was to cease production of the original Star and introduce the Star Lite as a streaming-focused unit. All sensible, to be fair, especially at the lowered price of £3199 compared with the now-discontinued Star's £3499.

With all the specs, amplification and streaming features being pretty much identical, we had also assumed that the sound quality of the two units would remain the same as well. That would be no bad thing, as the original Uniti Star got an effusive five-star review from us when we tested it back in 2018.

However, Naim has now confirmed to us in a statement that the new Star Lite will actually have a "better audio performance" than the outgoing Star.

Developing the Star Lite gave Naim's engineers the opportunity to tweak elements of the hardware, circuitry and software under the hood, all of which should result in "a cleaner signal path, with improved transparency for a more refined listening experience."

Here is the full statement from Naim below:

"The Uniti Star Lite was developed as a replacement for the Uniti Star following the discontinuation of the CD mechanism. However, during development, we identified some performance benefits resulting from this simplified architecture.

"By removing the CD mechanism, we were able to reduce electrical noise within the product. Combined with software optimisation and a more focused hardware architecture, the result is a cleaner signal path, with improved transparency for a more refined listening experience.

"In short, Uniti Star Lite is not simply the original Uniti Star without a CD drive; the simplified architecture has enabled us to achieve a more optimised electronic with a better audio performance."

So that's more positive news than we initially thought, and credit to Naim for not resting on its laurels. While many will mourn the loss of the integrated CD player, it looks like those investing in the Star Lite will potentially benefit from better sound, too.

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Naim has added a new premium streaming amplifier to its Uniti range, called the Uniti Star Lite, which has all the same streaming features, connections, hi-res specs and design as the original five-star Uniti Star we effusively reviewed in 2018.

The big difference? It no longer has an integrated CD player and ripper, hence the "Lite" version.

That isn't Naim being contrarian and deciding CDs are passé just as the silver disc is growing in popularity; this "renewed focus" is the result of a supply issue.

As reported by US hi-fi site ecoustics, there was speculation earlier this year on the Naim Audio Community forum about the original Uniti Star's potential demise, with Naim's Richard Dane (who manages the forum) confirming that Naim had "run into difficulty in sourcing the CD drives for the Star" and had therefore decided to "pause production" while it looked for a suitable alternative or decided whether a "more extensive re-design is required".

Dane confirmed in a later post in August that, since the mechanism "suddenly ceased production", Naim had been unable to find a suitable replacement, and thus would stop production of the Star entirely and preserve any remaining CD mechanism stock for repairs and servicing.

• “Uniti Star Lite is not simply the original Uniti Star without a CD drive” – Naim says its new streaming amp sounds better, too

Dane further stated that there is a "logical solution to the problem", which we're seeing now in the form of the streaming-focused Uniti Star Lite.

The Star Lite sits between the compact Uniti Atom (currently £2299 / $3799) and the full-size, more powerful Uniti Nova (£4399 / $6899).

Even without the CD player, the Uniti Star Lite is a stacked product in terms of streaming and connections. It boasts the same 70W per channel into 8 ohms of Class A/B amplification as the original model. Naim says the Lite will be "preserving its audio performance", so we're expecting it will retain the excellent sound quality of the original Star. Update: Naim has confirmed to us it has made improvements to the sound quality, too.

Everything from AirPlay 2, Google Cast, and internet radio to Tidal/Qobuz/Spotify Connect is available, with UPnP compatibility that lets you access and play vast digital music libraries stored on connected NAS drives. Bluetooth is now updated to the aptX Adaptive codec.

Ethernet and dual band wi-fi is on board, while everything is controlled via the established Focal & Naim app, a comprehensive and elegant platform that also lets you connect up to six compatible Naim and Focal streaming products.

There is ample connectivity, from RCA and 5-pin DIN analogue inputs to optical, coaxial RCA and coaxial BNC digital inputs. There is also an HDMI ARC input, two USB-A ports, and a 3.5mm headphone port.

File format compatibility is also extensive, with hi-res files up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD128 supported (via USB), and 24-bit/192kHz files supported across most other inputs.

All of these features are identical to the original Star, as is the stately aluminium-clad design, which features a 5-inch display and the stunning illuminated volume/control dial on top.

The dimensions are identical, too, although the new Uniti Lite is 1kg lighter due to it no longer having an optical CD drive fitted.

Naim says the Uniti Star Lite is a "natural evolution" of the Star, and while it's a shame that the one feature that made the Star stand out is now missing, we must also applaud that Naim has stuck to its standards and hasn't simply fitted a disc drive of lower quality into a premium streaming product and called it a day.

The one upshot here is that the Uniti Star Lite has also shed a few hundred pounds in price: £3199 / €3999, compared with the original, now discontinued, Uniti Star, which cost £3499.

We're also told that the Star Lite will only be available in the UK and Europe markets, which won't be such good news for the rest of the world.

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Eversolo has launched two multitasking network music streamers, the DMP-A8 Gen 2 and DMP-A8 Master Gen 2. These pack in network streaming, high-resolution DAC, analogue preamplifier and a host of connectivity, with near-identical features and a refreshed design across both products.

How do you tell them apart? Well, the Master Gen 2 model now has a custom top-loading CD player built-in, meaning you can play your physical CD collection along with your digital music library files and streamed playlists from just one multi-tasking box.

The DMP-A8 Gen 2 and DMP-A8 Master Gen 2 otherwise share plenty of the same streaming and connectivity features. They have full network streaming abilities (wi-fi and wired), including DLNA compatibility so you can stream stored digital files from a connected NAS drive.

There's support for popular and niche music streaming services, while Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Qobuz Connect and Bluetooth are on the menu.

As before, both Eversolo models pair an AK4191EQ digital processor with an AK4499EX DAC for greater precision, with support for hi-res music files up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM and DSD512.

Updates include a more powerful and faster eight-core processing platform, 8GB of memory and 64GB of internal storage. As we found with the Eversolo DMP-A10, there is an awful lot that an Eversolo streamer and its interface can can do, so the increased processing power in the new streamers will no doubt be welcome, ensuring the interface remains responsive while handling hi-res files, large libraries and switching between various sources.

You can also install an optional internal SSD with up to 8TB of storage on both models, so you can save and access your digital music downloads locally.

Both also function as preamplifiers, thanks to an analogue-domain volume control and a fully balanced analogue output stage. This means you can connect either product to a power amplifier or a pair of active speakers and use the Eversolo as control; or you can use either one purely as a network streamer when connected to an integrated amplifier.

Physical connections include AES/EBU, optical and coaxial digital, along with balanced XLR and RCA line-level analogue connections. There are also USB Type-B and HDMI ARC/eARC inputs, and a dedicated subwoofer output with adjustable crossover settings.

Along with the integrated CD player, the Master Gen 2 features a more sophisticated clocking system than the standard DMP-A8 Gen 2 and adds a 10MHz external clock input, allowing those with "more advanced digital systems the option of connecting the Eversolo to a compatible external clock and using a shared precision timing reference across their digital audio equipment."

The aluminium chassis has been redesigned for both second generations, with a larger 8.6-inch touchscreen display that shows off playback information, album artwork, all sources and apps, as well as display options which include VU meters and spectrum analysers.

Both Eversolo models also feature Eversolo's 'evotune Pro' room correction system, and a 20-band parametric EQ that you can fine-tune to your heart's content.

The Eversolo DMP-A8 Gen 2 is available now and costs £1949 / $1980 / AU$3299, while the DMP-A8 Master Edition Gen 2 will cost you a little more at £2489 / $2590 / AU$4299.

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Marantz's newest CD player, the CD 70, continues the brand's long-held reputation of making entry-level disc spinners that hit the mark, with a performance brimming with insight, power and clarity, and a solid build quality that's easy to use.

But this CD 70 also marks the end of an era. With a new model name, a new design language and a hike in price, the CD 70 heralds the end of the celebrated Marantz CD6000 series, and a new beginning for what ‘entry level’ hi-fi means in 2026.

The CD 70 replaces the Award-winning Marantz CD6007 – a player that launched in 2020 and has been our entry-level recommendation ever since, for its hugely entertaining, cohesive and detailed sound, good spread of features, and superb build quality for its £349-£399 price.

The CD6007 follows in the footsteps of a long line of five-star, Award-winning CD players – it's a lineage that runs through two decades, and we've tested nearly every single model. The CD6006 (and its UK Edition), CD6005, CD6004, CD6003 – put these successive models all next to each other and you might have to squint to find the differences.

The Marantz entry-level CD player has had the same design language ever since the CD6003 launched for £300 in 2009, with a sturdy front panel showing symmetrical buttons flanking the disc tray and display in the middle, and distinctive curved sides.

This design was derived from Marantz’s more expensive hi-fi separates at the time (such as the Reference SA-10 SACD player), and not only meant a very recognisable profile across all Marantz models regardless of price, but also that that these budget Marantz CD players looked and felt far more premium than their asking price and rivals.

That same style and format carried on over the next decade across five models, with each iteration tweaking and refining the sonic formula to be that bit cleaner, more detailed, more dynamic, more open and more cohesive. The build and finish remained reassuringly solid with little changes (CD6005 has "shinier buttons", we noted in our review), with the price staying in the £300-£400 range.

The earlier models remained between £300-£350, and it wasn't until the CD6006 launched in 2016 that we noted the first "meaningful" rise in price to £400.

"A fantastic player and immense value for money. Its predecessor was already a winner, and this has topped it"

Such was Marantz's success in the CD player category in the ’80s and ’90s that its more premium "two-digits" models – the CD-63, -65 and -67 – were released in a yearly cycle. For the CD6000 series, it adopted a two-year cycle – a regularity that feels rather alien in today's hi-fi landscape.

When we spoke to legendary Marantz engineer Ken Ishiwata in August 2011 ahead of the CD6003 being replaced, he said, "We've switched to a two-year replacement cycle in stereo products such as these. However, while we might have been able to extend the CD6003 and PM6003 for another year, our competitors are trying very hard to catch up, so we have to make sure our leading position will be maintained."

Most of the times, the differences between the generations have been minor – changes to the circuitry and power supply layout, new DSP decoder, improved headphone amplifier – but every few generations, there is a greater step change, such as a new CD transport mechanism or new DAC chips.

Of all the features, it's the USB port on the CD6000 series that has seen the greatest evolution.

In the CD6003, it could play MP3 files and charge your phone, but when the CD6004 came around, it was a challenge to charge the larger and more power-hungry iPads that were becoming popular – this was “a tough nut to crack”, admitted Ishiwata during our interview. We noted it was done “properly” in the CD6005 review, and you could also play WAV files up to 24-bit/48kHz.

With the launch of the CD6007, you could play hi-res files up to 24-bit/192kHz and DSD for the first time through the USB port.

"Fresh young challenger"

But the CD6003 wasn’t the first of its family to receive acclaim. The CD6002 launched for £270 in 2007 and won back-to-back What Hi-Fi? Awards, and we noted that while previous Marantz players had always sounded pleasingly rich and detailed, this was the first to really shine when it came to dynamics and punch.

Let's go back even further to 1999, which is when the CD6000 series was first launched. We tested the updated CD6000 OSE in the September 1999 magazine to five-star success. It cost £300. The CD6002 and 6000 OSE look distinctly different from the CD6003-6007 run of models, with the disc tray and display on the left hand side and the buttons on the right.

Even the 6000 OSE looks remarkable different from the even more ’90s-retro design it replaced: the CD 67 MkII SE. In the review of the CD6000 OSE, we said this “fresh young challenger” took its design from the more expensive £3500 CD7. This recurring trend of Marantz's budget models adopting the design language of its flagship models of the era continues with the new CD 70 in 2026.

The 1999 CD6000 OSE player featured a newly developed Philips transport, four Dynamic Amplifier Modules (HDAM – a technology still used in Marantz products to this day) in the output stage, and – as it does today, 27 years on – had RCA line level, optical and coaxial outputs and a 6.3mm headphone port. We said that the 6000 OSE sounds typically Marantz: fluid and full-bodied, "eminently musical" and noted "taut rhythms that are crisply delivered" when playing Stevie Wonder or classical pieces. Although, we said in our review, the CD player needed more teeth and bite with, say, heavy metal music.

Marantz addressed this and upped the sonic game in the next release after a gap of a few years in the CD6002, and it continued to improve the sound quality in every generation since. This forgiving, smooth character is even addressed in the CD6006 from 2016, which we noted had "rather more bite and shine to the treble frequencies than we’ve been used to from 6000 series CD players in the past – which is definitely a good thing".

Sometimes the differences between the generations weren’t big enough to warrant a full system overhaul; if you had the CD6004, did you need to immediately replace it for the CD6005? Not necessarily. We said in our CD6005 review that Marantz has perhaps played it a little "safe" while also acknowledging the "greater sense of space, on top of an already-open delivery" and "lovely free-flowing character that’s fluid but not overly rich".

There's no denying that the CD6000 series carried on flying the flag for budget CD players for well over a decade, with next to no competition for the excellent, last-of-its-name CD6007 in recent years as CD’s popularity waned in light of streaming. It’s a product we would still recommend for CD fans today, especially if you see it at a discount.

"The entry-level hi-fi market isn’t what it used to be"

The new CD 70 carries that Marantz mantle, but it has evolved enough that it ends the chapter on the much-loved CD6000 series. For one, there is a marked increase in price, which has now increased considerably to £499. It’s a sign of the times as the price of quality hi-fi separates has increased across the board (components, materials and supply-chain demands all cost more, which all move the price tag northwards) that this is now considered "entry-level" in today's hi-fi market.

The design language has changed considerably, and that alone marks a clear end of the ‘classic’ CD6000 series and the dawn of the new CD 70 model. This new styling might not be for everyone, but it would be foolish of Marantz to stay stuck in the past and not move things forward.

The CD 70 is even more insightful, clearer and punchier than the CD6007, although it has a more assertive and authoritative character that we're used to hearing – a far cry from the smooth, relaxed sound we said needed more of a kick with the early CD6000 players.

It’s a good CD player even at this elevated price, but even so, we can't help but wave goodbye to the much-loved CD6000 series that was a true bastion of budget CD players.

We said in our CD6005 review: "There’s something admirable about a company that just won’t quit, even after it’s fought its way to the top. We’ve lost count of the gongs the Marantz 6000 series has scooped over the years, yet Marantz keeps tweaking."

It's a drive we hope to see carried on with this new generation of Marantz CD players.

MORE:

Read our Marantz CD 70 review

Read our exclusive interview from 2011: Ken Ishiwata talks upgrades, keeping ahead of the game and why there's life in the old CD yet

Quiz! How fast can you solve our turntable challenge? Test your wordsearch skills now

It’s August, which means our stockrooms are starting to fill up with new products as we get into the swing of our annual Awards 2026 judging period.

You can read more about our Awards process over at our Substack – where our TV and AV editor Tom Parsons gives you a behind-the-scenes peek into what goes on during the next two months, as we listen to every new product submitted in hopes of winning a prestigious What Hi-Fi? Award trophy.

Every year, no matter how stressed we get, we are delighted with the calibre of the new hi-fi and AV products we come across.

Below is just a snapshot of the new products we have in at the moment – and more will be coming in over the next couple of weeks! Will any of the products below become new Award-winners this year? We can’t wait to start testing and find out.

As ever, if you have any questions about the products we’re testing, send us a comment below or email us at whathifi@futurenet.com, and we’ll endeavour to reply as soon as possible.

And you can also vote on the product you're most interested in at the bottom of the article!

Technics SL-1500CS

A new Technics turntable? Yes please! The SL-1500CS (£1099) is a step-up model from the five-star, Award-winning SL-1500C (now £899). It features much of the same design and features, including the built-in phono stage, fitted Ortofon 2M Red cartridge, and semi-automatic operation.

The new ‘CS’ model includes Technics’ Delta-Sigma digital motor drive technology that aims to deliver the most accurate and stable rotational speed, thus improving overall sound quality.

We have experienced the effect this Delta-Sigma tech has had in the brand’s more premium models, such as the superb SL-1300G, so we can’t wait to find out how it enhances a more affordable, long-running favourite.

Cambridge Audio Evo 300

Cambridge Audio’s Evo series of streaming amplifiers has a new and most powerful flagship. We first set our eyes (and ears) on the new Evo 300 at the High End Vienna Show, and it left us wanting to hear more.

The Evo 300 follows the same design language as its Evo 150 SE sibling, and features double the power at 300W per channel of Class D amplification, a newer ESS DAC chip, and a larger display screen.

Streaming features and hi-res file compatibility remain as extensive as ever, while physical connectivity includes HDMI eARC and a moving-magnet phono stage. The more advanced Evo 300 comes with a higher price tag of £3499 / $3999 – which places it just above our current favourite in this category, the Arcam SA35.

Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar

Bose’s latest Dolby Atmos soundbar moves things upmarket: the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is the brand’s new flagship and has launched at £999, with our current Award-winning, the mighty Sonos Arc Ultra, clearly in its sights.

We weren’t blown away by Bose’s last soundbar effort (the three-star Smart Ultra Soundbar at £799), so here’s hoping this fresh model, with its lifestyle-friendly looks and 5.1.2 driver set up with proprietary Phase Guide speaker technology, will fare much better and give Sonos a run for its money.

iFi iDSD GR 2

Another exciting product coming through the doors at What Hi-Fi? Towers is iFi’s latest DAC/headphone amp, the iDSD GR 2, which aims to deliver “uncompromising” sound from your hi-res music files.

The iDSD GR 2 has been designed from the ground up to be the brand’s most versatile and advanced portable DAC yet, with a redesigned amplifier stage, greater headphone drive, and a new Burr Brown DAC chip chosen for its “warm, analogue character”.

There are 3.5mm and 4.4mm headphone sockets, aptX Lossless and LDAC codec support for hi-res wireless listening over Bluetooth, and USB-C and optical/coaxial inputs, with file support up to PCM 768kHz and DSD512. It costs £/$529 and we have high hopes for this “portable powerhouse”.

Wharfedale Diamond 12i speaker package

Wharfedale’s Diamond 12 range has given us many Award-winners across the standmount, floorstander and surround speaker package categories. This beloved affordable range has been updated to the new Diamond 12i series – and so we naturally requested a full 5.1 speaker package made up of fresh 12i models to review anew.

We have already tested the Diamond 12.3i floorstanders on their own to five-star success, which bodes well for the 5.1 speaker package. The new range doesn’t try to reinvent itself; the updates include improving the bass performance and some new finishes, while Wharfedale is sticking to the same prices. Nice.

Marshall Kilburn III

Imbuing our stockroom with some classic rock’n’roll heritage, Marshall’s portable Kilburn III Bluetooth speaker certainly looks the part with its retro amplifier looks. The aesthetics have been updated and we get lots of tactile dials, switches and textures on this hefty portable speaker, which runs for an impressive 50+ hours of playtime.

Costing £300, this speaker isn’t just a pretty face. The Kilburn III offers 360 True Stereophonic sound, adjustable bass and treble controls, and a dynamic loudness setting that promises not to compromise musical detail across the frequency range when you want to turn things up to 11. We’re glad our listening room is in a warehouse when we come to test this speaker.

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I put Roberts’ new rugged digital radio “for explorers” to the test on an overnight camping trip – here’s how it went

Quiz! Can you name the first audio product from these 12 iconic hi-fi brands?

Quiz! Can you name all the types of hi-fi and AV cables from the photos?

How well do you know your hi-fi history? To put you to the test, we’ve created this quiz to see if you can name the very first audio products from some legendary hi-fi brands, from Wharfedale to Technics to Sonus Faber.

We have focused on just 12 hi-fi brands here – otherwise we’d all be here forever – and we are looking for the exact product name of each brand’s very first commercially available hi-fi product. (If you get stuck, the answers can be found in many of the recent features on the site, as part of our What Hi-Fi? 50th anniversary celebrations this year...)

There aren’t any prizes for getting full marks beyond your own personal pride and our congratulations – but we hope you have fun along the way. Enjoy, and post your score in the comments below!

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Quiz! Can you name all the types of hi-fi and AV cables from the photos?

What will hi-fi look like in 2076? We asked some of the most influential experts in the industry

We asked 8 sound engineers for their top studio test tracks – here’s what they picked and why

2026 is quite the momentous year: not only is What Hi-Fi? celebrating its 50th birthday, but it's also 100 years since the TV was first invented by John Logie Baird in 1926.

The way TV technology (along with broadcast, film and smart features) has progressed over the past century is nothing short of astonishing: chunky CRT (cathode ray tube) TVs gave way to slimmer LCDs and then even slimmer OLEDs, while screen resolution has gone from cosy standard definition to widespread 4K to futuristic 8K.

We have seen the birth and death of plasma TV, while in 2001, What Hi-Fi? entered a new era of Sound and Vision to expand our coverage to TV/home cinema alongside hi-fi and audio. The 2000s also marked a historic time in broadcast TV as the UK switched from analogue to digital, and the introduction of Full HD resolution was a turning point in TV screen technology that paved the way for constant innovation and advancement in the 21st century.

The What Hi-Fi? review team has been at the forefront of all these technologies, and we've sifted through our magazine archives from the 2000s to today to find the very first instances of when a new TV format of the 21st century – Full HD, OLED, 3D, 4K, 8K and beyond – entered our test rooms to get the full review treatment.

They may not have been the best examples of each TV tech, but they were the very first of their kind to show off just what a new screen technology, format and resolution could offer.

NOTE: To read the full-size text of the magazine images below, click on the arrow sign on the bottom-left corner, and in some cases, further click on 'view original' at the bottom-right corner.

LCD 1080p: Sharp LC-45GD1E (2005)

In today's fast-paced world of constant cutting-edge technology, it's hard to imagine just how big a deal the advent of Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution was.

Standard TV broadcast was a mere 720 x 576 resolution, and we were perfectly happy with that on the 25-/32-inch CRTs and widescreen LCD tellies that were popular throughout the 90s. Freeview's digital terrestrial service started in 2002 in the UK, while the first "high-definition" BBC HD and Sky HD channels launched in May 2006.

For the best part of the 2000s, most LCD and plasma TVs were 'HD-Ready'. These TVs' native resolution was 1280 x 720 (or 768), but they were able to accept 1080i/1080p videos, and would simply downscale the picture to fit the lower resolution screen.

The first flatscreen LCD TV we encountered with a native 1080p Full HD resolution was this Sharp LC-45GD1E in 2005. We said the picture looked "stunning" when fed Full HD video from a home cinema PC, and that it displayed "an extraordinary absence of noise and motion-smearing."

It was less successful when upscaling standard definition content – a contrast to how advanced upscaling tech has become when dealing with 8K TVs (see below) – and we said cheaper, smaller 42-inch plasma TVs coped better here.

The Sharp's higher resolution came at a premium – £5500 for a 45-inch LCD TV! – so we deemed it more for the "connoisseur" rather than an "everyday TV." Besides, it really needed Full HD content to look its best, and that was hard to come by at the time.

Plasma 1080p: Pioneer PDP-5000EX (2006)

In the 2000s, plasma versus LCD was about as heated as, well, OLED versus LCD is today. Fujitsu launched the first commercial plasma TV in 1997, but it was the legendary Pioneer Kuro sets that everyone still remembers fondly as the peak of plasma screen technology.

Back in 2006, Pioneer was also the first to provide us with a plasma screen that finally did native Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution. Despite us having already experienced Full HD resolution in LCD TVs, this Pioneer PDP-5000EX was the first set to offer "full 1080p compatibility... with the appropriate input interference" to accept Blu-ray and HD-DVD picture.

Our praise was effusive: "staggering picture quality", "this is the best plasma ever made", "this is what the telly looks like in heaven" – we weren't kidding when we said Full HD resolution wowed us in a way that we never thought possible.

With over two million pixels on screen, we found the definition "extraordinary". When fed 1080p content, the picture was "bright, sharp, colourful and consistently lustrous" and it also coped well with standard-def broadcasts.

Anyone wanting this premium new tech would have to cough up £7000 (a trend for every new TV technology, as we'll see below), but it showed just how revolutionary this new Full HD resolution was to the future of TV as we know it.

OLED: Sony XEL-1 (2008)

LCD and plasma TVs were widespread at the dawn of the new millennium, but a new panel technology – one that was close in spirit to the beloved plasma – was about to change the course of TVs forever.

Like plasma, OLED panels don't need a backlight. Instead, they use self-emissive organic light-emitting diodes that generate their own (white) light, which is put through a colour filter.

The advantage is that when an OLED pixel is turned off, it is truly off and therefore pitch-black. This results in perfect blacks without any hint of backlight bleeding through the image, superior contrast, and richer, punchier colours. Not needing an extra backlight panel meant OLED screens could be much thinner than LCD TVs, too.

The downsides are that the pixels have a limited shelf life due to their organic nature, they can't go quite as bright as LCDs, and at the beginning, larger screens weren't possible to produce due to the difficult nature of manufacturing these panels.

The Sony XEL-1 was the world's first OLED TV. It launched in 2007, with a screen size of just 11 inches and a depth of just 3mm. It boasted a high contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, while the display resolution was a paltry 960 x 540.

We covered its launch news in the May 2008 issue, which looked at the next-gen TVs entering the market. In 2009, in "the next big thing" TV feature (fifth slide in gallery above), we learned of 21- and 27-inch prototypes of the Sony OLED, while the XEL-1 got even skinnier at just 0.9mm!

Sadly, we haven't been able to find any other coverage or review of this Sony XEL-1 in our magazine archives. It would be a good few years yet before a full-size, full-production OLED TV hit our test rooms, while Sony finally entered the OLED market proper with the stunning A1 (KD-55A1) OLED TV in 2017.

3D TV: Samsung UE40C7000 (2010)

3D wasn't a new technology by any means in 2010. Cinemagoers had been experiencing it since before the television was even invented, with 1922's silent feature The Power Of Love widely considered to be the first commercially released 3D film, shown at the Ambassador Hotel Theater in Los Angeles.

Why would anyone want to watch 3D films at home, while wearing bulky glasses that needed charging? Was it headache-inducing or was it an immersive experience for films and gaming? The jury was split when we tested Samsung's UE40C7000, the first 3D TV to hit the What Hi-Fi? test rooms.

You needed a 3D disc and a Blu-ray player compatible with the format to make the picture (Samsung's own BD-C6900 3D player and a 3D Blu-ray of Monsters vs Aliens, in this case), but it did offer a genuine "depth of field" that was suitably three-dimensional.

If you didn't care about 3D at all, however, then the Samsung UE40C7000 was also a very fine TV in its own right. Across terrestrial TV, DVD and Blu-ray, this 40-inch LCD TV delivered "epic levels of detail", with a subtle colour palette that handled skin tones particularly well. Motion handling was impressively smooth, and the edge-lit LED backlighting balanced black levels, highlights and details well.

An "overall impression of unshakeable solidity" is high praise indeed for this five-star 3D TV.

Read the full review: Samsung UE40C7000

4K LCD TV: Toshiba 55ZL2 (2012)

The Toshiba 55ZL2 made headlines for being the first glasses-free 3D TV – that is, you wouldn't need to wear bulky active or passive 3D glasses to see the picture in three dimensions; the Toshiba's integrated camera and lens technology would track your eye movements and do the hard work for you!

It worked, but with caveats. The subtle depth of field was nice, it was less fatiguing on the eyes, and the picture didn't experience a drop in brightness as it did with 3D glasses. But the tech did require you to sit completely still; any fidgeting or movement would lead to a drop-off in focus, definition and 3D effect, which was less than ideal.

But who cares about 3D? Because the Toshiba 55ZL2 was also the very first 4K TV screen we tested, back when the new reality of "four times the resolution of Full HD/1080p" was still in its earliest stages.

There was no mainstream 4K content yet (and wouldn't be for a long, long time), but Toshiba's 4K picture hinted at what was to come. Fed some demo content of flowers, landscapes, and cityscapes from a hard drive, we said: "native 3840 x 2160 images look, frankly, astonishing. Detail levels are absolutely sky-high, and the most complex patterns remain steady and stable with the sort of casual efficiency that’s the mark of a properly effective device."

With Blu-ray and DVD films, the Toshiba TV's colour balance was "expertly judged", and we praised its black depth for being "excellent by the prevailing standards of LED-backlit LCD screens."

Costing £7000, the cutting-edge 55ZL2 was considerably more expensive than your standard Full HD 55-inch TV at the time, but nowhere near as expensive as the £25,000 84-inch Sony 4K and LG 4K LCD TVs that would hit the market later that same year.

For actual 4K content, we had to wait for another three years: in August 2015, BT Sport Ultra HD launched as the UK's first 4K channel, while the first few 4K Blu-ray discs hit the market in 2016.

Read the full review: Toshiba 55ZL2

Curved OLED: Samsung KE55S9C (2013)

Curved OLED TVs were a short-lived fad, not helped by the fact that you couldn't wall-mount them, viewing angles weren't great for anyone not sitting dead centre of the screen, and the early models quickly became outdated as they didn't support the upcoming 4K resolution.

But the Samsung KE55S9C is notable not for its curved screen, but because it was actually our first time seeing the OLED panel technology on a large screen beyond a mere 11 inches.

As with 3D, the test team argued about the curved screen continuously. Some found it a "distracting gimmick" as the picture distorted according to the curvature when viewing it from the side, while others (those sitting dead centre) found the curve led to greater immersion.

The frame surrounding the 55-inch screen also served as a (rather large) stand, and it was more curved than the screen itself, adding to the illusion. "That curve" was listed as both a Pro and a Con in our review.

What we all agreed on, though, was that OLED looked stunning, handling contrast far better than any LCD TV we had seen. "Dark scenes are some of the deepest and blackest we’ve seen, genuinely resembling the absence of light," we enthused, even if we would have liked subtler shading and variation in the extremes. Colours were rich and vibrant, while the picture was also crisp and clear.

Did we recommend it? Its "prohibitively expensive" £7000 price tag was three times that of our favourite 55-inch plasma at the time, and we can't imagine most people beyond early adopters took the plunge.

We didn't "really understand why we’re seeing curved OLED sets before flat ones" either, but it did point to an exciting future for OLED TVs.

Read the full review: Samsung KE55S9C

4K OLED: LG 55EG960V (2015)

We never tested the £10,000 LG 55EM970V OLED that first arrived in the UK in 2013, but in 2015 we did finally get to test a TV that combined two picture technologies we had been waiting on for years: 4K Ultra HD resolution and OLED.

And the LG 55EG960V was "everything we hoped it would be", delivering the two new technologies with "spectacular results" in a living room-friendly 55-inch screen size. The intensely pitch-dark blacks contrast brilliantly against bright whites, while the 8.3 million pixels on screen were delivered with crystal-clear and precise detail.

"The depth of colours is breathtaking. They aren’t just richer, there are simply more precise shades of them on the screen, giving a wonderfully vivid feel to the picture," we said. There were more subtleties revealed in the deep blacks than before, and while upscaling standard definition content was a little fuzzy around the edges, it was still a punchy picture.

Yes, it was also gently curved (but you could wall-mount it), it did convincing 3D, and its thin screen with floating effect looked rather "gorgeous", too. It was still more expensive than equivalent LCD sets, so we couldn't yet definitely say that OLED was better and better-value.

We can now, though, as OLED has gone from strength to strength and become more affordable in the past decade, delivering even more impressive picture quality with greater subtlety and accuracy alongside unrivalled deep blacks and punchy contrast – from the wildly popular and affordable LG C5 to our TV & AV Editor Tom Parsons' current favourite, the Sony Bravia 8 II.

Read the full review: LG 55EG960V

8K: Samsung QE85Q900R 8K QLED (2018)

Unlike the world of hi-fi, TV manufacturers are in a constant state of innovation and of pushing the boundaries of screen technology. It took ages for 4K UHD broadcasts, streams and discs to become a reality since the first time the screen tech was proposed, but it wasn't long after that 8K was being touted as "the next big thing."

Samsung got there first, with the QE85Q900R 8K QLED hitting our test rooms in 2018. The LED-backlit quantum dot screen (Samsung was still staunchly against using OLED then) had a mind-blowing 33 million pixels to 4K's eight, with this mammoth 85-inch set offering "the same pixel density (104ppi) as a 43-inch 4K model".

4K has pretty high resolution, but if you sit too close to the screen, you can start to see the individual pixels. The advantage of 8K was that you could sit as close to the screen as you want – we sat even a foot away – and still not see any pixels. With native 8K content provided by Samsung, it looked fabulous.

"Predictably, it’s all about sharpness and detail. The image is unbelievably lifelike, and draws you in to an extent that 4K simply can’t match. Naturally, it’s helped by the sheer scale of the 85-inch display – this is cinematic and then some."

The AI-based upscaling technology was almost as impressive, as it had to effectively "make up" so much of the picture on screen when watching 4K, Full HD or DVD content, which was sharp and detailed with no discernible "artefacts, shimmer or noise".

The problems? It's 85-bloody-inches massive, and black levels simply weren't deep enough, with backlight blooming issues pervading the screen.

Also, there was no actual 8K content and, eight years on, there still isn't any. 8K resolution remains an impressive technical feat, but without the practical availability of broadcasts or films (the sheer size of the file/disc needed to accommodate those 33 million pixels doesn't bear thinking), it's unlikely to overtake 4K resolution in the home in the foreseeable future.

Read the full review: Samsung QE85Q900R 8K QLED

Micro LED: Samsung 75-inch Micro LED 4K TV (2019)

While arch-rival LG was leading the way with OLED during the 2010s, Samsung was staunchly working on advancing LED-backlit LCD panel technology, such as its Quantum Dot Mini LED display.

In 2018, though, the brand veered away from LCD in spectacular fashion, with Micro LED, which made its debut at CES in Las Vegas that January.

Micro LED uses tiny, non-organic self-emitting diodes for each pixel, so it's capable of producing the perfect blacks we love from OLED, while also theoretically delivering brighter images, greater colour control, and a longer lifespan of 100,000 hours (just over 11 years of constant use).

Thanks to its modular architecture (each Micro LED screen is constructed using a number of small modules arranged in a grid pattern), these early Micro LED TVs could span huge sizes. They could be even thinner than OLED, too, and their inorganic nature meant they could be left on permanently – great for commercial purposes.

Since then, non-modular, more typical TV-style Micro LED screens have been produced by Samsung, but prices have remained staunchly sky-high – the 146-inch 4K version of Samsung's The Wall Micro LED TV will set you back an eye-watering £199,999 in the UK. Needless to say, both production and adoption of Micro LED haven't been widespread beyond B2B applications.

We did get to see a 75-inch Samsung 4K Micro LED model in 2019, and it gave us an insight into the complexity of its manufacturing process, as well as a taste of its potential picture quality.

The demo footage we saw gave us an impression of "stunningly punchy and vibrant image with truly exceptional colours. Everything looks real and life-like to an extent we've genuinely not experienced before."

"Perfect" bright whites contrast against "perfect" black backgrounds, while there is subtlety amongst the colours too, and viewing angles remain consistent no matter where we were in the room.

Micro LED TVs might well be the true successor to OLED, but even now, they're hard to get hold of at any sensible size, and they're well beyond the means of most people who aren't Premier League footballers.

Read the full hands-on review: Samsung 75-inch Micro LED 4K TV

RGB Mini LED: Hisense UR9 (2026)

With Micro LED parked, TV manufacturers have focused on advancing the backlight quality of LCD TVs, and so RGB Mini LED is the current TV technology du jour.

Unlike conventional Mini LED TVs that use a white backlight shining through a colour filter layer, RGB Mini LED uses independent red, green and blue Mini LEDs to generate colour directly. The result? Brighter pictures and more accurate colour reproduction.

Does that make RGB Mini LED an OLED-killer?

Not quite, at least not yet. Hisense led the charge here, with the Hisense UR9 (65UR9STUK) being the first RGB Mini LED we tested earlier this year, ahead of Sony's recent Bravia 9 II effort. The Hisense UR9 showcases a stable, consistent and controlled picture, with none of the flickering or shifting behaviour we find distracting on traditional backlit TVs. Subtle blooming effects are nicely controlled, too.

We praised the Hisense RBG Mini LED TV's ability to display "consistently strong" black depth, noting "impressive richness and stability to colours", while extra-bright HDR content is delivered with dazzling intensity.

It's impressive stuff for an LCD TV, but it still doesn't quite achieve the three-dimensional quality and solidity of a price-equivalent OLED screen. Deep black levels, subtle colour gradations and even the perception of bright whites against inky blacks are better reproduced on Sony's current best OLED TV.

"Despite its impressive local-dimming system," we said, "the Hisense simply cannot match the pixel-level contrast control of the Sony Bravia 8 II."

Read the full review: Hisense UR9 (65UR9STUK)

Over a decade on, and OLED still rules the roost when it comes to picture technology. Brands have also looked to advance OLED panel technology, with LG Display producing ever-brighter W-OLED panels and Samsung Display firing back with also-ever-brighter versions of its competing QD-OLED technology.

Considering how revolutionary Full HD felt in the 2000s – which was four times the resolution of standard def, which is the same jump in resolution between Full HD and 4K – it has been an astonishing rate of advancement for screen technology.

What will the next 50 years of TV look like? Considering the stunning picture quality available to us these days, it should look pretty darn spectacular.

MORE:

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Our guide to the best TVs of 2026: flagship OLEDs and budget Mini LED sets tried and tested

22 of the best film scenes to test picture quality

How to optimise your 4K TV settings for Blu-ray, DVD and TV viewing

Active speakers – speakers with built-in amplification directly powering the drive units – have become more and more popular these days. Their space-saving form negates the need for separate boxes for amplifiers and trailing cables, reducing clutter and making for neater systems.

Most active speakers these days also come with built-in DAC and digital inputs, sometimes a phono stage, and more often than not hi-res network streaming or at least Bluetooth included for ultimate all-in-one convenience. Acoustic Energy bucks this trend by keeping its new AE Active speakers purely analogue.

This new model builds on the five-star, Award-winning AE1 Active speakers we tested back in 2018 and have highly recommended since, and features updated acoustic technology and refined design for a new generation.

Build & design

The Acoustic Energy AE Active are a fully active two-way design, with 50W of Class A/B amplification powering each drive unit. That’s a total power output of 200W, with the amplifiers being refined in this new generation to improve dynamic capability. Each speaker has its own mains plug for power, with the revised amps fed by high-quality linear power supplies to ensure a consistent, low-noise performance throughout the frequency range.

The 40-year-old Acoustic Energy brand continues its tradition of using metal drivers in its new active speakers. The 27mm aluminium dome tweeter has a new rear chamber for reducing distortion at certain frequencies in the crossover region, and is combined with a dedicated waveguide to deliver a wide soundstage.

These speakers use the same 12.5cm mid/bass driver that was developed for the recent AE1 40th Anniversary passive speakers. This is a “pure-piston” ceramic/aluminium cone that is low in mass but very stiff, and has been engineered to minimise cone flex and distortion.

The analogue filters have been improved to minimise any phase disturbances. There is a rear-facing bass slot port that has also been updated, while internally the cabinet has had extensive bracing and internal damping panels to further improve performance.

The cabinets themselves have been subtly refined, with a neater trim around the drivers that overall looks rather smart and subtly elegant. The speakers are available in three finishes: high gloss black or white, and a new natural walnut wood veneer. Our sample’s wood veneer finish feels lovely to the touch, with a smooth texture and high quality finish throughout.

The standmounts have a fairly compact footprint and look most at home on dedicated speaker stands, although they could be placed on a large, sturdy desk if you are using them as nearfield monitors. You’ll just need to make sure both speakers are within reach of a mains power socket.

Features

The AE Active speakers eschew any digital or streaming elements entirely. Acoustic Energy says it experimented with modern features such as wireless streaming, switch mode power supplies, Class D amplification and DSP, but ultimately didn’t want to compromise the pure audio performance. The AE Active have a fully analogue signal path that avoids any digital processing entirely in the quest to preserve the original audio file’s integrity.

As such, you get two analogue inputs: a pair of balanced XLR inputs and a pair of stereo RCA inputs.

On one hand, this purist approach is commendable, but it’s a little old-fashioned and won’t appeal to everyone, particularly those looking for an easy solution. There’s a reason most active speakers these days – such as the KEF Coda W, Fyne Cubitt 5 and Cambridge Audio L/R S – come with Bluetooth and a variety of digital inputs to work with modern sources including TVs and laptops.

On the other hand, this pared-down approach does keep the Acoustic Energy rather flexible and future-proof. The speakers have integrated volume control, which means you can directly plug in a source such as a CD player or hi-res music streamer. You can also plug in a preamp or an external DAC to widen the connectivity, and it allows for a potential upgrade path down the line.

On the back panel on both units, you’ll find bass and treble controls to fine-tune the sound to the room they’re in, especially if dealing with less-than-ideal placements. One new feature is the auto on/off switch that lets you choose between leaving the speakers on permanently or activating standby mode after 15 minutes of inactivity.

That the active speakers come with built-in volume control is great news – this means they don’t require a separate preamp with volume control to function, such as the more premium ATC SCM20ASL active speakers do.

The only real complaint we have is with the placement and design of the volume controls. The dials are placed on the speakers’ back panel – this might be fine if the speakers are within reach on a desk, but it’s not practical if they’re on stands and you’re on your sofa. No, there is no remote control included here.

The bigger issue is that there are independent volume controls for each unit, with no clear markings on the dials. This means there is more chance of the volume not being perfectly level and balanced between the units, as you have to set them individually. We would much prefer it if there was one volume control that controlled both speakers’ levels.

A preamp or source with volume control comes in handy here, such as the Naim Uniti Atom Headphone Edition music streamer we used throughout testing, so you can take the guesswork out of it.

Sound

Placed on stands and with the Naim Uniti Atom HE streamer playing a variety of radio, WAV and hi-res FLAC songs, the AE Active don’t take long to show their talents.

The control they have over every note is astounding at this level. The piano notes in Alicia Keys’ Fallin’ sound tremendously composed and land with solidity and confidence. Each note starts and stops with unerring punctuality, with the rhythm of every song we play being marshalled with a kind of military precision that is hugely impressive.

The amount and quality of bass coming from these not-particularly-large cabinets is also impressive, and we had a blast playing tracks with intense basslines just to hear what these AE Actives can do. There is real muscle and impact to the basslines of Major Lazer’s Pon de Floor, but there’s agility and texture here too. It’s all pulled taut and has the immediacy that is inherent in active speaker designs.

The busy arrangement and high-octane energy of the track are handled with ease by the speakers, too, with every note sounding crisp and positioned accurately in the soundstage – but without ever losing the party vibe.

Dynamically, the AE Actives are fantastic. The snappy transient response of these active speakers means sudden shifts in quiet-to-loud moments are brilliantly and speedily communicated, while slow-burning moments – such as Clint Mansell’s instrumental Moon soundtrack – sound fluid and retain their sense of tension.

Play Kate Bush’s Watching You Without Me and the AE Active reveal high notes with the right mix of clarity, headroom and bite, but without any undue brightness or sharpness. The overall sound from these active speakers is rather clean and with low-distortion throughout the frequencies, which also means we can enjoy listening at high volumes without hardness or woolliness creeping in.

The stereo imaging is similarly focused and composed, with voices showing off just how well integrated the AE Actives' drivers are. The speakers have no problem revealing the different voices, intonations and personalities in Eminem’s Stan. From The Unthanks’ delicate, nuanced vocals on Mount The Air to Eminem’s rapid-fire, ferocious rapping on Godzilla, the AE Actives reveal the character and intensity of every song with a good amount of detail and nuance.

The Acoustic Energy speakers are just about transparent enough that you are aware of the distinct recording qualities of albums from different eras, but they don’t make too much of a fuss over the quality of each track. The overall sound could perhaps be a little more fluid and airy-sounding, and they may struggle to fill very large rooms. When listening in our larger 3m x 7m x 5m (hwd) test room, the AE Actives sound a touch dynamically restrained, but they come to life in our smaller 3m x 4m x 7m room, with a bit of breathing room from the back wall to balance the bass performance.

We swap to a price-equivalent separates amplifier and speaker pairing of the Arcam A5+ and Acoustic Energy AE300 Mk2 (both current Award-winners in their respective categories), and find this offers a more relaxed and wider soundstage. They sound rather soft in the bass, though, and don’t go as deep either. Overall, they can’t match the speed, precision and agility of the AE Active speaker.

Verdict

The Acoustic Energy AE Active are a niche product in today’s audio landscape, but they are a tremendously talented and capable pair of active speakers. They are a viable alternative to a traditional separates pairing at this price, and could well be the last chain in your hi-fi system you’ll have to update. Highly recommended.

Review published: 14th July 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 3

MORE:

Read our review of the KEF Coda W

Also consider the ATC SCM20ASL

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KEF has teased that a new speaker is in the works, with an Instagram video showing the brand's iconic Uni-Q driver and promising "a new definition of luxury."

The new speaker is said to have a "sculptural" form designed by Welsh industrial designer Ross Lovegrove. Lovegrove and KEF have a long history of working together. This includes his work on the brand's flagship Muon speakers, Muo Bluetooth speaker and Mu wireless earbuds/headphones, which all have curvy forms that certainly stand out.

In a blog post on KEF's website, the brand teases that the new speaker will take inspiration from these products, promising "a visual identity unlike any other."

There's little else revealed about the speaker beyond the inclusion of the Uni-Q driver, but KEF is promising "stunning sound clarity, sharper details and an expanded soundstage, that fully immerses you in the artist's creative vision."

That's quite a lofty promise, and we're left wondering just how "luxury" these new speakers will be when it comes to their price.

The new speakers are said to be "effortless in sound" and "composed for those who listen deeply." More bass? Large speaker? Your guess is as good as ours at this point.

Will the new speaker be a passive design and follow in the footsteps of the Q Meta and R Meta speaker series? Will there be a long-awaited update to our multiple Award-winning KEF LS50 Meta? Or will this be a new entry in KEF's LS wireless active speaker range, which features five-star products such as the LSX II and LS50 Wireless II?

We've got a couple of weeks to keep guessing, as the new KEF speaker will be revealed on Thursday, 30th July.

MORE:

Read our KEF LSX II review

And our KEF LS50 Meta review

Our guide to the best speakers we've tested and recommend across all budgets and types

Italian brand Volumio has been making waves with its compact streaming products that offer ample features in designs don’t look like traditional hi-fi.

The Primo V3 is the latest iteration of its music streamer and DAC, and it packs quite a number of features into its petite dimensions.

Volumio’s network streaming platform gives you access to Spotify, Tidal and Qobuz Connect, and internet radio services like TuneIn. It is DLNA compliant and Roon Ready certified, and Bluetooth 5.0 is also available.

The updated ESS Sabre 9039Q2M DAC handles hi-res audio files up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD256, and the unit offers wi-fi and Ethernet connections to your network.

Analogue outputs include balanced XLR and RCA line level, with eight adjustable voltage levels to fine tune the unit’s output to your partnering amplifier or active speakers.

There is a video-only HDMI output for seeing the Volumio OS on a screen, a microSD card slot to integrate your digital library directly without needing a network connection, and there are two USB-A ports for connecting hard drives. Notably, there are no coaxial or optical connections.

You can use either USB-A port as a digital output connected to a compatible USB DAC, via which it can handle ultra high resolutions files: PCM files with a high sampling rate of 1536kHz, and DSD1024.

Volumio says this allows you to “preserve the full fidelity of your music system” and “retain the full resolution of the original recording”. Those files must be rarer than hen's teeth, as we have rarely come across downloadable hi-res tracks beyond 24-bit/192kHz – which the Volumio natively supports.

The Primo V3’s quad core CPU is faster and more powerful than before, while care is taken internally to shorten the signal paths of the circuitry and it uses a linear power supply stage to reduce noise and interference. Combined with a high-precision clock, this helps to reduce jitter and keep the signal as clear as possible.

You can further fine tune the sound of the streamer thanks to eight DAC filters.

The Volumio Primo V3 streamer sports an all-black minimal design, and is available now for £769 / $1049 / €849.

MORE:

Our guide to the best music streamers for all budgets

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The World Cup 2026 and the intense heat wave aren’t the only things whipping us into a frenzy as we head into the peak of summer. This is also the time of year when our test rooms get super busy, as brands across the consumer audio/AV industry ramp up their product launches and drop off their latest next-big-thing with alarming (and also exciting) frequency.

On the home cinema side, we have big news: Sony’s first RGB Mini LED TVs are finally in our test rooms, while Denon’s flagship Dolby Atmos AV receiver is waiting to be tested.

On the hi-fi side, we have our hands on the first samples of the long-awaited Acoustic Energy AE Active speakers and the new AudioQuest DragonFly Copper DAC, while Pro-Ject’s latest turntable could prove to be a sizzling head-to-head with a current Award-winner.

As always, feel free to drop us a comment below or send us an email to whathifi@futurenet.com if you have any questions about the products we’re testing, and we’ll do our best to get back to you with an answer. Enjoy the summer, and stay cool!

Sony Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II

After more or less two years of teases, Sony’s first RGB Mini LED TVs are in our test rooms for their full reviews.

Sony is grandly referring to its RGB Mini LED TVs as ‘True RGB’ models, and it is pitching the flagship model – the Bravia 9 II – above the awesome, Award-winning Bravia 8 II QD-OLED. Can the new, backlit model really be better than its OLED sibling? We’ll be testing the TVs side by side to find out.

At the same time, we will also be testing the Bravia 7 II, Sony’s step-down True RGB model. Far from being the poor relation, there’s every chance this could prove to be the performance-per-pound champ of the new range.

Acoustic Energy AE Active

We have had to wait even longer for a sequel to one of our favourite active speakers. We’ve been recommending Acoustic Energy's AE1 Active speakers for the better part of a decade, and the new AE Active (£1250 per pair) hope to continue that legacy.

Unlike most active speakers these days, which include Bluetooth, digital inputs, and network streaming features for added convenience, the new AE Active remain staunchly analogue throughout their signal path to “preserve audio integrity”; they offer only RCA and balanced XLR inputs. The two-way speakers feature a 27mm aluminium-dome tweeter and a new 12.5cm ceramic/aluminium mid/bass cone, each powered by dedicated 50W Class A/B amplifiers.

The cabinet, internal damping, reflex port and internal components have all been updated, and you can connect a source directly thanks to on-board volume controls. Can this old-school approach still have a place for modern hi-fi fans? We can’t wait to find out.

AudioQuest DragonFly Copper

We thought AudioQuest’s DragonFly range of very simple and excellent USB DACs was long gone, but the High End Vienna 2026 show gave us a nice surprise in the form of the new DragonFly Copper.

It has the same form that we loved so much in the Award-winning but now retired DragonFly Cobalt: a tiny, USB-stick-shaped DAC/headphone amp with a 3.5mm port at one end to connect your wired headphones, and a USB-A port for plugging into your laptop. A USB-C adapter is included for use with latest smartphones.

The Copper (£229) promises to be the most efficient and most powerful DragonFly yet thanks to a new 32-bit ESS Sabre chip, while the dragonfly logo still lights up according to the sample rate being played up to 96kHz. Can it still impress us in light of newer feature-packed, versatile rivals?

Pro-Ject Debut Reference 10

Pro-Ject’s Debut range of turntables have long been the sweet spot of its extensive offerings, combining excellent performance with affordability, and with two What Hi-Fi? Award-winning products – the Debut Pro and the current Debut Evo 2 – among its ranks.

The Debut Reference 10 is the most expensive Debut yet at £999. It promises, too, to be its “most accomplished model yet”. It is based on the excellent Debut Pro’s build and features, with new elements including a longer 10-inch tonearm with an aluminium/carbon fibre construction and a “resonance-resistant” acrylic platter. It comes fitted with the Pick-It Pro moving-magnet cartridge, which can be upgraded.

At this price, it faces competition from the Award-winning Rega Planar 3 RS Edition and the new Technics SL-1500CS – it could be one of the most exciting and formidable trio of turntables we have tested in a long while.

Roksan Caspian 4G

Roksan’s Caspian 4G Streaming Preamplifier and Power Amplifier made quite the impression when we first laid eyes (and ears) on them at their launch demonstration at the start of the year. We finally have the duo in our test rooms, and are looking forward to put this rather stylish-looking top-of-the-range pairing.

The power amp boasts 105 watts of Class A/B amplification, while the preamp features extensive connectivity, including HDMI eARC input and moving-magnet phono stage. The BluOS streaming platform sits at the heart of the pairing, which brings networked hi-res streaming features and popular app services into the mix, while Roksan’s engineers have paid plenty of attention to the internal circuit and the physical design to ensure it sounds great and is user-friendly, too.

The £6500 / $8250 is almost sensible considering the amount of technology and features you get in two boxes; let’s hope it lives up to the high expectations.

Denon AVC-A1H

Denon’s flagship AV receiver is currently in our home cinema test room, warming up for its big review, which we will be publishing during our special Home Cinema Week (week commencing 20th July).

As you would expect, this is an absolute powerhouse of an amplifier, with 15 channels of amplification and 150W per channel. Fancy building a 9.4.6-channel Dolby Atmos home cinema? Then this could be the receiver for you.

Of course, it will need the sound quality to back up that impressive specification if it’s going to get a recommendation from us. For starters, it will need to sound better than its cousin, the Marantz Cinema 30, which is our current premium AVR of choice. Let’s see if it can manage that.

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Five game-changing iPod docks that shaped the modern wireless speaker market

I spent a day fixing vintage hi-fi – here’s what I learned

We've already looked at the impact that Apple, especially the iPod, had on the audio world over the past 50 years, ushering in portable music listening and speaker docks that eventually led to the wireless/Bluetooth speakers of today.

But when looking back at the history of hi-fi – especially as we're celebrating 50 years of What Hi-Fi? this year – it's usually the 'glory' days of hi-fi, i.e. the '70s and '80s, that we pore over, ogling vintage turntables, the first few CD players, affordable speakers and hefty stereo amplifiers.

What we don't do often enough is to look at the more recent history of the 2000s; it may feel recent, but there is so much technology peppered through the mid-00s that just doesn't exist anymore.

Case in point: iPod docks. It's easy to forget just how rife the things were after the introduction of the Apple iPod. iPod speaker docks and systems came in a variety of shapes and styles, from cheap and cheerful to premium and approaching hi-fi quality. There was something about that post-Y2K era, in the dawn of a new millennium, that allowed audio brands to experiment and be creative with their speaker dock designs.

You had simple, discreet (all Apple-white, of course) models rubbing shoulders with beefy one-box speakers that experimented with all kinds of curves and unique silhouettes, while a surprisingly tall iPod dock speaker existed alongside a valve-based system.

The iPod dock is now extinct, and the original 30-pin connector with it, but it paved the way for the modern Bluetooth/wireless speakers that we use to stream music from our smartphone every day. Here, we've paid tribute to the five iPod speaker docks that stood out to us in that short-lived but exciting era.

1. Bose SoundDock (2004)

£249
4 stars

The original Bose SoundDock was one of the very first speaker systems dedicated to the iPod. Launched in 2004, it catered to all varieties of the iPod with the 30-pin connector in a compact unit, with a credit card-sized remote letting you control playback and volume. It was a slick system. The cons against it were the slightly loose cradle fit, and no aux-in for non-iPod MP3 players.

We praised its impressive musical credentials, calling it "terrific" thanks to its solid, full-bodied sound, with clear, natural vocal delivery. It had none of the thinness blighting poorer-quality rivals; a lively, punchy rhythm, good bass and detail levels completed the set.

This being the 2000s, we did call the white-and-grey, SoundDock "ultra-stylish" and it was the "most sophisticated" iPod dock around.

That was, until...

2. Monitor Audio i-deck (2005)

£250
5 stars

Monitor Audio launched the i-deck in 2005 and swiftly nabbed five stars and a Product of the Year win at that year's What Hi-Fi? Awards. It was the first iPod speaker dock system that truly impressed us in terms of sound quality. We said "it gives you the looks, flexibility and sound quality of a good hi-fi micro system" and praised its "tremendous" sound quality that went loud with composure and offered a healthy-size soundstage.

"Tunes race along with infectious energy and plenty of enjoyment," we said as the i-deck won yet another group test. A drop by £50 in 2006 further cemented its status as a great sound-per-pound value buy, even as new models from Altec Lansing, Jamo and Apple's own iPod Hi-Fi tried to get in on the action.

The i-deck featured swappable bezels to fit the different styles of iPods around at the time, and even came with a 3.5mm mini-jack input to plug in other MP3 players. It's not the most compact system as it involves three boxes, but the beauty is that you can upgrade those speakers for a better pair too.

We also have to give props to Monitor Audio for making one of the most eye-catching designs – the 'tulip' shaped i-deck 100 from 2011 (£200, 5 stars) – which looks more sci-fi than its earlier efforts.

3. JBL OnBeat Xtreme (2012)

£400
5 stars

JBL is ubiquitous with the best Bluetooth speakers these days, so it should be no surprise that the brand had a whole range of iPod dock speakers. In fact, in November 2012, JBL was the very first brand to launch iPod docks with the new Lightning connector – the OnBeat Micro and Venue LT – when Apple ditched its long-lived 30-pin connection.

Before then, the JBL OnBeat Xtreme snagged the best iPod speaker dock Award in 2012. The OnBeat Xtreme could play music from your portable player in two ways: docking it, or be wirelessly streaming over Bluetooth. It brought non-Apple players into the fold, expanding its versatility and becoming a viable replacement for ageing hi-fi microsystems.

The 'crossed-arms' design was eye-catching, with a solid, appealing build quality for the relatively high price. It sounded great – a fun presentation, ample low-frequency heft (impressive, given the relatively small drivers), and plenty of detail in the clear highs and sweet midrange.

There’s certainly no shortage of low-frequency heft here – impressive, given the OnBeat’s relatively small drivers. Instruments get plenty of breathing space and dynamically it's plenty enjoyable. It can go loud enough to be at neighbour-baiting levels, although the midrange could harden up at this point.

The OnBeat Xtreme was so good it not only was the What Hi-Fi? team's office speaker in the old Teddington office for a good few years, but it also beat a legendary icon...

4. Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin (2007)

£400
5 stars

This is the big one. If it wasn't for the iPod, we wouldn't have the now-iconic blimp-shaped Zeppelin speaker dock. When we first reviewed it in the February 2008 issue, it didn't appear in our usual "First Tests" section at the start of the magazine – it appeared in our dedicated "Temptation" section that was reserved for pricier, "most desirable" high-end models.

That's how much of a novelty the premium, luxuriously built Zeppelin was in comparison to the other humdrum iPod docks of the day. It gave permission for other brands to aim higher – the JBL OnBeat Xtreme (above) and NAD Viso 1 both launched at £500 after the B&W.

The distinctive curved, elongated shape isn't just for style points; it helps minimise the cabinet around each driver unit, which improves dispersion. The drivers underneath were ones used by B&W loudspeakers: a 13cm Kevlar bass driver powered by a 50W digital amp is flanked on either side by 9cm midrange drivers and 25mm metal dome tweeters, each powered by 25W amps.

The resultant sound exceeded all our expectations. "You'll be amazed at the Zeppelin's pace, scale, weight, rhythmic ability and timing," we enthused in our five-star review. Its sense of attack and energy was "thrilling", with our only complaint being that it didn't image as well as rivals with widely spaced speakers.

It was also a tactile joy to use, and its combination of style, build quality and sound left us "smitten".

The Zeppelin gave birth the smaller, less expensive Zeppelin Mini a couple of years later, while you can buy a fully hi-res wireless version of the Zeppelin Pro Edition these days.

5. Fatman iTube Carbon v2.0 (2008)

£350
5 stars

If you don't remember Fatman Audio, you're not alone. The brand specialised in combining iPod docks with valve-based systems, and rather successfully, too. The year after the Zeppelin launched to rave reviews, the Fatman iTube Carbon v2.0 got put in a Group Test with the iconic speaker dock in the September 2008 issue... and won.

The iTube Carbon was far from a discreet-looking iPod dock. "Alongside the Zeppelin's sleek, Manhattan-skyscraper aesthetics it does look like a bit of a shanty town," we said, and not everyone was enamoured of a multi-box system that required separate speakers. You could buy the system sans speakers for £100 and provide your own pair, though.

Despite the inelegance, the Fatman was praised for being the best-sounding iPod speaker dock – it had an "endlessly listenable sound". The warm, eloquent valve characteristics gave songs like Steely Dan's Any Major Dude Will Tell You low-end weight and substance, while percussion and vocals were polished and bright enough. The Carbon "integrates and separates the differing elements confidently" and "excels when it comes to stereo focus and imaging" – the benefit of having separate speakers.

The first iteration of this unit was marred by build and reliability issues, even as we praised the the rich musical insight and "stunning" sound for this price; this v2.0 model addressed our concerns and smartened up the cosmetics considerably, and featured a 3.5mm socket alongside RCA stereo inputs.

Versatile, great-sounding and a unique valve-dock design – the Fatman may not be as fondly remembered as more famous iPod docks, but its spark burned bright at the height of the iPod dock's popularity.

Apple's stronghold over the audio world with the iPod and its 30-pin connector faded when it switched to the smaller Lightning connector. Adoption for the new connector was slow, as having to completely re-haul current audio products proved a pain for many brands.

The introduction of wireless AirPlay and rising popularity of Bluetooth around the same time carved a path towards today's wireless speakers that ditch the dock and feature streaming via Bluetooth, AirPlay, Google Cast and more – proving you don't have to be dependant on the whims of one (giant) tech brand.

But if it were not for the iPod, we wouldn't have such daring, creative, fun and, yes, silly designs that were affordable, compact, and made music available for all.

Below, you'll find a gallery of the variety of iPod docks and speaker systems we tested in the 2000s/2010s, straight from the pages of our What Hi-Fi? magazine archive. You can click on the arrow sign in the bottom-left corner to read the full-size text on each image.

MORE:

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Sonus Faber has unveiled the third generation of its premium Olympica loudspeaker range, which features new acoustic technology taken from the Italian audio brand's flagship Suprema speaker system, alongside cosmetic refinements. The five-strong range consists of two floorstanders, a standmount speaker, a centre channel and slim on-wall unit.

All speakers in the new range feature the Camelia midrange that was first developed for the Suprema system. Inspired by the shape of the camelia flower, this non-circular driver is made from fibre materials and features a fabric surround, and its distinct, irregular shape is designed to reduce the unwanted resonances found in more conventional drivers.

It is left unpainted too, and promises "exceptional clarity, transparency, and vocal realism."

All speakers feature a silk dome tweeter, while the 16.5cm woofers in the floorstanders (three for the Olympica V, two for the Olympica III) are new for the third-generation and feature an 'organic basket' with a honeycomb structure.

This helps to maximise airflow around the woofers while providing exceptional mechanical stability, for tighter, cleaner bass reproduction. Coupled with an advanced aluminium phase plug and new damping ring technology, this should result in greater dynamics and clarity too.

Additionally, the two floorstanders – Olympica V and Olympica III – feature a cork lining in the closed tweeter and midrange housing, which absorbs unwanted energy and reflections within the chamber to further aid the natural quality and transparency of the midrange performance.

Both floorstanders are three-way designs, with the larger Olympica V promising "expansive scale, powerful dynamics and full-range performance" that is ideally suited to larger rooms. The step-down Olympica III floorstander aims to bring that sound to "room-friendly proportions" for a wider range of spaces, while the Olympica I is a compact two-way standmount speaker that brings the range's sound signature to a smaller rooms while still offering "exceptional imaging, clarity, and emotional engagement."

All three speakers feature a silk dome tweeter and have a ported design.

“What has always defined Sonus Faber is our belief that beauty and performance should never be separated,” says Jim Mollica, president of Luxury Audio at Bose, who are the new owners of Sonus Faber. “While others prioritise one or the other, Olympica G3 unites refined Italian design and handcrafted attention to detail with advanced acoustic innovation to bring listeners closer to the music.”

The three-way Centre channel is designed to deliver articulate dialogue for use within in a home cinema surround system, while the slimline two-way Wall speaker is designed to be more discreetly integrated in on-wall systems.

The Olympica G3 features hallmarks of the brand's luxury craftsmanship, such as the lute-shaped cabinet design, which now features a herringbone real wood veneer – taken from the celebrated Stradivari floorstanders – and aluminium accents for an elevated look.

The range comes in Walnut or Wengè finishes, and is available to buy now. Sonus Faber's hand-crafted speakers are firmly on the high-end side, and the new Olympica G3 is no different, although it's a far cry from the £470,000 / $850,000 price tag of the reference Suprema floorstanders.

Prices are as follows:

Olympica G3 V floorstanders: £25,000 / $30,000
Olympica G3 III floorstanders: £20,000 / $24,000
Olympica G3 I standmounts: £10,000 / $13,000
Olympica G3 Centre: £9300 / $10,500
Olympica G3 Wall: £6500 / $8000

MORE:

Read our Sonus Faber Sonetto V G2 review

Focal's latest high-end floorstanders are "an ode to the art of listening at home”

I spent a day fixing vintage hi-fi – here’s what I learned

Vertere has upgraded its Award-winning phono stage once more. The Vertere Phono-1 LX is the new and refined version of the excellent Phono-1 MkII L, and features improvements both within and cosmetically, promising to be the product's "most significant evolution yet."

The latest generation of the Phono-1 handles both moving coil and moving magnet cartridges, and features a wide range of adjustments so that it can be used with just about any price-compatible cartridge fitted to your turntable.

The Phono-1 LX's upgrades include a new, higher-quality PCB board that's built for long-term reliability, while retaining the same internal circuit. The internal DC power supply uses upgraded components to deliver a more stable, consistent and lower noise feed to the audio circuitry, while the mains power input has been improved to reduce the amount of interference entering the unit.

Additionally, a two-way earthing switch ('Earth Lift' or 'Earth Connection') now replaces the three-way switch in the older model for easier use and longer service life.

All together, Vertere promises these upgrades will result in less noise, higher dynamic range, "razor-sharp" spatial imaging and "a vocal texture so lifelike, the performance feels present in the room."

Considering we already think quite highly of its predecessor, we're intrigued to find out just how much of a difference these upgrades bring to the performance.

Vertere has also taken the opportunity to further polish up the unit's design, with the aim of offering "a visual presence worthy of the engineering within."

So that the Phono-1 LX is more visually consistent with Vertere's high-end, five-star Calon phono stage and its Award-winning DG-X turntable, the phono stage's casing now has a finely textured metallic finish, the LED power indicator is now a blue-green colour, and the top fixing screws have been removed for a seamless look.

As before, the Vertere Phono-1 LX comes in four finishes: silver, black, orange and black acrylic. The price has gone up a fair bit this time, with the new phono stage now costing £1650 / $2399 / AU$3250.

We have a sample of the Phono-1 LX that we've been testing, so stay tuned for a our full review very soon.

MORE:

Read our Vertere Calon review

Check out the best phono preamps we've tested and recommend

Moving magnet vs moving coil: which cartridge is right for you?

Regular readers of this website might be familiar with my turntable journey, where I fell hard for the vinyl revival a few years ago and upended my home system (and rearranged furniture) to make space for a turntable system.

My original system was modest and patched together: a Rega Planar turntable hooked up to the tiny Fono Mini A2D MkII phono stage and then connected to the Ruark MR1 Mk2 desktop speakers I've had for years. It was a lovely little set up and, most importantly for me, I did find myself using it regularly to play my slowly growing vinyl record collection.

But, as someone who loves traditional hi-fi separates, I was hankering for something more ‘proper’, and last year I finally graduated to a pair of Neat speakers and Naim’s Nait 50 stereo amplifier.

The Naim upgrade meant a couple of crucial things. First, it has a fantastic moving-magnet phono stage built-in, so my system actually ended up being neater as I no longer needed that outboard phono stage.

Second, it has a headphone amplifier with a 6.3mm socket. This section is completely new – it wasn’t on the original Nait 1 amp from 1983 – but the 50th anniversary homage adopts the headphone amp circuit from the five-star NSC 222 streaming preamplifier.

While I haven’t taken advantage of it so far, I have been thinking about finally getting a pair of wired headphones. As the summer days get longer, I find myself wanting to listen to my records late into the night while the rest of the house has gone to sleep – but obviously without disturbing my husband, my cat or my neighbours.

I have been eyeing up the awesome Sennheiser HD820 closed-back headphones for ages. We tested these five-star premium audiophile headphones a few years ago, noting their full-bodied, detailed sound and satisfying punch and agility in the low frequencies.

The problem is, the HD820 are way out of my budget even with the discounted price of £1299 at Sevenoaks. As I kept searching for something more in my price range, I found that the Sennheiser HD 505 wired headphones we tested last year are available at a much more wallet-friendly price of £180 at Amazon – and I’m tempted.

It’s not just the price that’s appealing – although that £50 discount off the original £230 test price is pretty good. That they're also an open-back design is what has caught my eye. I do find listening to closed-back headphones quite fatiguing after a while, so an open-back pair – with their more airy, open presentation – might be more amenable to the way I like to listen to music.

We say in our review that the HD 505 headphones’ “top end is wonderfully smooth, with no undue sibilance or brightness – overall this is as easy-going a listen as you could hope for.” That sounds ideal to me. The more budget pricing doesn’t mean Sennheiser has cut corners either. We found these headphones particularly talented in the midrange, with voices delivered with subtlety, clarity and a refinement that’s impressive at this level.

Grado’s SR325x and the Austrian Audio Hi-X65 are snappier, punchier and more agile open-back rivals (and are pricier), but I think I’ll prefer the Sennheiser’s smoother balance and more comfortable, lightweight build quality overall. During our testing, we found the earcups to be roomy enough that over-heating wasn’t an issue, and they weren’t fussy with partnering equipment, which means they should play nice with my Naim amp.

The HD 505 are a great entry point to Sennheiser’s audiophile wired headphones, and the relatively affordable price helps too. Will they transform my late-night vinyl listening sessions? I can’t wait to plug them in and find out.

MORE:

I’ve always had a soft spot for micro hi-fi systems, so I’m excited to see this awesome-sounding, five-star favourite discounted for Prime Day

Want to stop using streaming services but find physical media too expensive? This great vinyl deal might be the secret to building your record collection

Forget Prime Day – I’ve found 12 terrific hi-fi deals you won’t find anywhere on Amazon

We're on day 3 of Amazon's Prime Day 2026 – but have the best deals already gone live?

If you're just tuning in, we've spotted a host of great deals on five-star wireless headphones, Bluetooth speakers and even huge savings on traditional hi-fi products. From budget Sony headphones starting at £29, to a huge £500 discount on Bowers & Wilkins floorstanders, and more – there's a deal for everyone.

There's also a lot of deals that aren't worth your time, so the expert hi-fi and audio team at What Hi-Fi? (that's us!) are here to help guide you through all the duds. We're only highlighting the really good deals on products we have personally tested and genuinely recommend – we don't want you spending money on something we wouldn't spend our own cash on!

Also, remember that specialist hi-fi retailers also run their own deals alongside the giant store's sales event, with some offering huge savings on more traditional hi-fi separates. Always wanted a pair of premium floorstanders or a fancy Sonus Faber speaker system, or want to see if that desktop DAC is any cheaper? This might be your time to shop.

We're here all week – Prime Day ends on Friday 26th June – and we'll be sharing plenty of advice, tips and fresh deals that you don't want to miss if you love a bargain.

If you are also interested in picking up a saving on a TV or Dolby Atmos soundbar, also make sure to check out our Amazon Prime Day 2026 home cinema deals live hub.

Prime Day quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• Richer Sounds: big savings on top-rated hi-fi
• B&W speakers: £500 off at Sevenoaks
• Sony budget headphones: now only £29
• Bluetooth speaker: 35% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Earbuds: save £90
• Cambridge Audio: lowest-ever price on five-star amplifier
• AirPods: cheapest deals yet
• Technics: £70 off Award-winning wireless earbuds
• Wireless earbuds: first discount on premium buds
• Sevenoaks: shop all the latest hi-fi and AV deals
• Sonus Faber system: save £600
• Peter Tyson: lowest prices on hi-fi floorstanders
• Amazon: browse the latest vinyl and CD deals

Meet the team

Good morning, everyone! Kash here from What Hi-Fi?'s hi-fi and audio team, and we'll be bringing you curated deals on the best audio gear as Prime Day continues into its third (and penultimate) day this week.

Everyone in the team is on hand to help hunt down deals and let you know if they're worth it or not, so meet the people who will be running this live hub:

The best budget Sony ANC headphones drop under £60

We'll kick off with one of the best budget deals around. The Award-winning Sony WH-CH720N wireless headphones are some of the best cheap headphones with ANC we've ever tested, and they continue to lead the pack – even beating out new rivals when it comes to sound performance.

Yes, the build is basic but robust, and they don't have too many fancy features, but they get one thing right: sound quality. They are punchy, rhythmically and dynamically capable, and have plenty of detail that brings out textures and insights from instruments and voices – headphones costing under £100 have no business being this good.

The ANC effect is pretty great for the price too, and the over-ears are comfortable to wear. They were fantastic value at full price, but you can snap them up for as low as £60 at Amazon in this Prime Day deal.

Cambridge Audio hi-fi starter duo: £100 saving on stereo amp and CD player

Let's pivot to hi-fi. Cambridge Audio is running Prime Day deals across a bunch of their products, but the best ones are on a stereo amplifier and CD player that's ideal as a hi-fi starter pack.

The five-star AXA35 is a great budget stereo amplifier to get you started on your hi-fi journey. It's a slim, nice-looking unit that features multiple analogue RCA line level inputs, a moving magnet phono stage to plug a turntable into, and a headphone socket. And it's currently down to £299 at Amazon and Richer Sounds – that's £50 off the full price.

Add the matching AXC35 CD player to it, which features the same sleek look and has a disc mechanism that runs smooth. It's also enjoying a £50 discount at Amazon and Richer Sounds.

Combined, you get a nicely detailed, engaging and dynamic sound that's confident and lively – with £100 off the pairing.

Save £300 on Q Acoustics five-star floorstanders!

There are some excellent speaker deals going around – but you won't find these tempting discounts on Amazon.

For hi-fi floorstanders, head to the specialist retailers, where you'll be able to snap up a stunning deal, such as £300 off Award-winning Q Acoustics 5050 floorstanders. These speakers deliver a wonderfully clear and detailed sound with an open, spacious presentation, and are able to fill a larger room with ease. Just take care to partner them carefully to get the very best out of them.

Interested? They're yours at their lowest-ever price of £999 at Sevenoaks, Richer Sounds and Peter Tyson right now.

Looking for a great AirPods deal? We have two for you

If you're an Apple user, you'll probably be hunting down AirPods deals every time a sales event like Prime Day comes around.

And it hasn't disappointed this year: the excellent, five-star premium AirPods Pro 3 wireless earbuds are down to their lowest-ever price of £175 at Amazon. That's a solid 20% saving on Apple's best-sounding AirPods yet, with improved noise-cancelling and plenty of additional features (including hearing test and live translation) thrown into the mix.

But if you're not fussed about all the features, prefer an eartip-less design and have a tighter budget? Then the standard AirPods 4 with their 'open' design might be just up your street – they're the cheapest way to get the AirPods experience, and can be yours for £80 with a Prime membership.

Our favourite budget streamer is just £175

If you've got an ageing hi-fi system that needs a fresh injection of 21st century streaming features, then this small but powerful WiiM Pro Plus streamer is what you need.

It has pretty much every streaming platform to appeal to a wider audience – Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect – and you can connect to it using Bluetooth, Google Cast, AirPlay and wi-fi. Hi-res streaming up to 24-bit/192kHz is supported, and its compact form can fit into any small space.

Add to that a very streamlined and intuitive app interface, easy set up, and you've got a small streaming wonder. No wonder it's nabbed two What Hi-Fi? Award wins in a row. It's great value at full price, and it's now even better value with this Prime Day deal bringing the price down to £175 at Amazon right now. Don't miss out!

Sony's automatic turntable is ideal for vinyl newbies – save over £90 in this Prime Day deal

We only tested Sony's new fully automatic Bluetooth turntable a couple of months ago, and the PS-LX5BT nabbed a full five stars for its seamless usability, excellent plug-and-play feature set, and enjoyable, capable sound for the price.

It's now enjoying a Prime Day deal, with the price slashed from £399 to £307 at Amazon now.

The Sony LX5 turntable comes equipped with a phono stage so you can plug it straight into a pair of powered speakers (such as the Ruark MR1 Mk3 or Onkyo GX-30ARC) or you can plug in wireless headphones to enjoy your vinyl records without the burden of wires, or listen late into the night. It's a step-up model from the budget LX3BT with a better cartridge, mat and finish quality.

For the price, it's hard to overstate just how organised, detailed and rhythmically capable the Sony is. It sounds open and musically cohesive too.

So if you're looking to step into the vinyl waters and want an easy but excellent-sounding turntable to start with, this Sony is a great place to begin.

6 astonishingly good hi-fi speaker deals

There aren't a huge number of hi-fi deals around this week, but our deputy editor Andy Madden has managed to find 6 great deals on stellar hi-fi speakers.

These include huge savings on floorstanders from Bowers & Wilkins, Focal and Wharfedale, and money off KEF's LSX II wireless speaker system. They're not the cheapest deals this Prime Day, but £500 to 50% discounts on premium to high-end speakers is pretty compelling.

You can check out Andy's full list of deals here: Hi-fi speaker deals are thin on the ground this Prime Day, but I've tracked down 6 of the best worth a closer look

And I've picked my three favourites below:

The best headphones deals under £150? We've got you covered

Our senior staff writer Harry McKerrell loves a good pair of headphones, be it wired or wireless. The best Prime Day deals this year are on wireless earbuds and headphones, and he's handpicked his favourite ones – and they're all under £150 too.

His choices span budget models to the best noise-cancelling ones and are divvied up according to price and type, with huge discounts on B&W, Rode and Sony models, some of which are five-star Award-winners too!

Check out his recommendations here: I've tested dozens of headphones – these are the 6 best Prime Day headphones deals I recommend for under £150

JBL's beefy Charge 6 is perfect for summer and the great outdoors

With the sunny, summery weather comes beach parties, BBQs and more time in the great outdoors – and you wouldn't want to be stuck outdoors without any music, would you?

JBL's portable and rugged Bluetooth speakers are great for taking your favourite tunes out with you, and the latest Charge 6 is one of the best-sounding options yet. With all-day battery life, wired lossless listening, IP68 water/dust resistance and a powerful sound that balances punch and scale with dynamism and subtle detail – the Charge 6 is a fantastic little Bluetooth speaker.

It also comes in a variety of colours, all of which tend to be experiencing different price drops across this Prime Day week. Most of the colours are down to £129, but we've spotted the white finish even lower at £100 – although at the time of writing, it's the purple finish that's cheapest at £109 at Amazon.

Our advice? Check back in a couple of hours to see if that price goes lower, and remember to check all colourways.

Hi-fi deal alert: save £600 on this stunning Sonus Faber wireless system

It's not often you get deals on beautifully crafted Italian hi-fi. Sonus Faber's Omnia all-in-one wireless system impressed with its style, sophistication and stunning sound quality when we reviewed it a few years ago, nabbing five stars in the process.

It boasts all the popular streaming platforms you could ask for, has HDMI ARC for connecting it to your TV, and delivers an wonderfully open and spacious sound brimming with crystal-clear detail.

You'll need a fair bit space to accommodate it in your home, but it's still more space-saving and neater than a traditional hi-fi separate system with trailing cables, and that wooden panel with elegant, minimal light strips is lovely to behold.

The best part? That premium £1599 price tag has come down considerably, thanks to this tasty £600 discount, meaning you can grab the Omnia for just £999 at Peter Tyson right now.

Sony's five-star XM6 wireless earbuds are on sale for the first time

Well, this is exciting. Sony's most current premium wireless earbuds – the WF-1000XM6 – managed to move the sonic needle even further by delivering a fantastic performance. We tested them earlier this year and gave them a full five stars for their wonderfully natural, insightful sound, exceptional clarity and precision, excellent noise-cancelling and all-round feature-packed performance.

The shape the earbuds have been reworked for a more ergonomic fit and the case is rather large, but the WF-1000XM6 are unbeatable when it comes to sound quality. This is the first time we've seen them drop in price – thanks to Prime Day, you can snap them with a £50 saving for £199 at Amazon.

Vinyl deals, anyone?

I'll be honest: there hasn't been a lot of good vinyl deals during this Prime Day.

Which is a shame, as there usually are a good few discounts on classic records and new releases during these sales events, and I often take the chance to stock up my record collection when I spot a saving. But Amazon's vinyl deals this week are woefully sparse, and the only album that has caught my eye is Raye's This Music May Contain Hope for £27.68, which has the brilliant, catchy mega-hit song Where Is My Husband!

Our newest staff writer, Ioan Hazell, has found a better option, though: HMV's 3 for £66 vinyl multibuy offer, which gives you a much wider range of choices and genres, and can cut down the price of expensive records considerably when you buy a trio of albums. For instance, if you buy The Cure's Show at £49.99, The Verve's red vinyl edition of A Northern Soul at £45.99, and Elliott Smith's Figure 8 at £43.99 – you could make a whopping saving of £73.97 with this HMV offer.

Check out his thoughts and more favourite records picks from HMV here: Want to stop using streaming services but find physical media too expensive? This great vinyl deal might be the secret to building your record collection

Bowers & Wilkins brings the heat this Prime Day

It's been a good Prime Day for Bowers & Wilkins fans. The Pi6 and Pi8 wireless earbuds have already enjoyed major discounts, as have quite a few of the brand's very enviable hi-fi speakers.

Of all of the wireless headphones deals we've seen this Prime Day, though, this has to be one of the very finest. The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 are down to just £255 at Amazon, a massive saving of £144 that ranks among the deals of the year. It's one of the best B&W discounts, if nothing else.

You'll have to get the Px7 S3 in their rather stylish white colourway to end up with the lowest price possible, but that's hardly a great loss – it looks lovely to our eyes.

Time to boost your turntable's performance?

Now could be the perfect time to show your turntable some love with this excellent Prime Day deal on Cambridge Audio's Duo phono preamplifier. It's a compact, well-specified and dynamic performer which could help breathe new life into an ageing deck.

Not only does it support both moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges, but it also features an integrated headphone amplifier, which is handy for late-night listening sessions. It has been reduced from £299 down to £249 at Amazon.

Beat Apple's HomePod price hikes!

In case you'd missed it, Apple has just hiked the prices of some of its older products, including its HomePod wireless speakers. The HomePod 2 has gone up to £349 from £299, while the HomePod Mini is now £129, up from £99.

The good news is that you can still beat these higher prices at John Lewis for the Home Pod 2 and AO.com for the HomePod Mini at the time of writing. We don't know how long they'll stay at these prices, but it might be wise to act sooner rather than later, before the new prices stick.

Classic five-star system gets a solid price cut!

Anyone looking for an affordable all-in-one could do a lot worse than this hi-fi classic. Denon's D-M41DAB micro system has been charming us for years, and it continues to offer not just a huge chunk of nostalgia, but excellent sound quality too.

Normally, we see discounts just for the electronics, so it's good that this deal includes the matching Denon bookshelf speakers, which are ideal partners. There's Bluetooth, DAB, optical inputs and a headphone output on the main unit, and it's perfect if you've got a stack of CDs that need playing. For just £323 for the complete package over at Amazon, we think you'll be more than satisfied.

AirPods Pro 3 or AirPods 4 with ANC?

You've probably come across deals for both the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 with ANC this Prime Day. The former are available for £175 at Amazon, while the latter are a little cheaper at £125. But what are the differences, and which should get your money?

If you want the best, most complete Apple wireless earbuds experience, then the AirPods Pro 3 would get our vote. They sound better, their active noise-cancellation is more effective, the battery life is longer, and they have extra features that befit their flagship status and higher price tag.

However, for those who don't need 'the best' at everything and much prefer an open earbud design that doesn't burrow into your ear canal, then the AirPods 4 with ANC are a solid choice for iOS users, even if they aren't the last word in sound quality.

An Amazon Dot is the obvious choice for bargain hunters

It wouldn't be Prime Day without deals on Amazon's own tech and there's plenty of money to be saved and value to be had if you want a cheap wireless speaker from the online shopping giant.

There's a 48% discount on its latest (and best) 5th Generation Echo Dot smart speaker. For the money, it's got plenty going for it, including a smart design (pardon the pun) and sound quality that punches well above its weight and size. It supports a range of streaming services, such as Amazon Music, Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music, and you've obviously got Alexa built in to do your bidding.

We're half way through Amazon's Prime Day 2026, which is running all week – but have the best deals already gone live?

Over the past couple of days, we've spotted a host of great deals on five-star wireless headphones, Bluetooth speakers and even huge savings on traditional hi-fi products. From budget Sony headphones starting at £29, a huge £500 discount on Bowers & Wilkins floorstanders, a tasty 25% off a five-star turntable and more – there's a deal for everyone.

There's also a lot of deals that aren't worth your time, so the expert hi-fi and audio team at What Hi-Fi? (that's us!) are here to help guide you through all the duds. We're only highlighting the really good deals on products we have personally tested and genuinely recommend – we don't want you spending money on something we wouldn't spend our own cash on!

Also, remember that specialist hi-fi retailers also run their own deals alongside the giant store's sales event, with some offering huge savings on more traditional hi-fi separates. Always wanted a pair of premium floorstanders or a fancy Sonus Faber speaker system, or want to see if that desktop DAC is any cheaper? This might be your time to shop.

We're here all week – Prime Day (week) ends on Friday 26th June – and we'll be sharing plenty of advice, tips and fresh deals that you don't want to miss if you love a bargain.

If you are also interested in picking up a saving on a TV or Dolby Atmos soundbar, also make sure to check out our Amazon Prime Day 2026 home cinema deals live hub.

Prime Day quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• Richer Sounds: big savings on top-rated hi-fi
• B&W speakers: £500 off at Sevenoaks
• Sony budget headphones: now only £29
• Bluetooth speaker: 35% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Earbuds: save £90
• Cambridge Audio: lowest-ever price on five-star amplifier
• AirPods: cheapest deals yet
• Technics: £70 off Award-winning wireless earbuds
• Wireless earbuds: first discount on premium buds
• Sevenoaks: shop all the latest hi-fi and AV deals
• Sonus Faber system: save £600
• Peter Tyson: lowest prices on hi-fi floorstanders
• Amazon: browse the latest vinyl and CD deals

Meet the team

Good morning, everyone! Kash here from What Hi-Fi?'s hi-fi and audio team, and we'll be bringing you curated deals on the best audio gear as Prime Day continues into its third day this week.

Everyone in the team is on hand to hunting down deals and letting you know if they're worth it or not, so meet the people who will be running this live hub:

With Amazon Prime Day in full swing, it can be hard to sift through all the deals thrown your way, and see if they're worth the dent in your budget.

What if your budget is really tight and you can only consider deals under £50, or you simply can't go over a strict £150 limit? Don't worry, we're here to help.

I've been reviewing products at What Hi-Fi? over 14 years, and I love seeing a good discount on a product we've tested and genuinely recommend. So I've combed through the best audio and home cinema Prime Day deals currently live, to narrow down your choices to a select few that are worth your attention.

Every deal below is under £200, with clear price segments to make your choices easier. You'll find more details about the products below, but first, check out these excellent savings on products (many of which are five star-rated!) enjoying a Prime Day deal right now.

Deals under £50

Deals under £100

Deals under £150

Deals under £200

If you're looking for a cheap and cheerful deal under £50, you've got plenty to choose from. Nearly all of Amazon's Fire TV Sticks are enjoying a discount this week, but I've highlighted the HD version as it's the cheapest – just £16.99!

If you want 4K picture and Dolby Atmos, you can spend a little more for the five-star Fire TV Stick 4K Max for £38.

If we're sticking with Amazon, you can't go wrong with this 45% discount on the latest (and best) 5th Generation Echo Dot smart speaker. It's nicely made, Alexa is useful and it sounds decent, too.

Sony's headphones are having a fantastic week of discounts, but I've stuck with the very cheapest options here. The five-star WH-CH520 on-ear headphones are a robust on-ear pair that gets the basics right for just £30 (!); spend a little more and you'll gain the noise-cancelling talents of the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning CH720N model – both offer really enjoyable sound quality for very little money.

If you or your kids have been eyeing up a pair of AirPods, the standard AirPods 4 (without eartips) are the cheapest option yet under £100 – a pretty good bargain considering how expensive Apple products tend to be.

The AirPods with ANC are also on sale, but we would point you two the great alternatives from Bose and Sennheiser here if you're looking to spend between £100-£150. Both offer great sound, high comfort levels and decent battery life – it's simply a matter of preference, but you'll be well served with either option.

JBL's Flip 6 Bluetooth speaker is another great bargain we'd encourage you to snap up – its detailed, dynamic sound and excellent rhythmic ability alongside a rugged, portable build make them great to use outdoors (and indoors).

Don't think you can't get a proper hi-fi deal with such strict budget limits! The iFi Go Blu is a tiny portable DAC that you can put in your pocket to help boost the sound quality from your smartphone or laptop, and you can use wireless and wired headphones with it. For just £129, it's a great little audio gadget.

Spend a little more – but still keeping things under £200 – and you can nab the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning WiiM Pro Plus music streamer that we recommend during every sales period. It will imbue your old hi-fi system with cutting-edge streaming powers, and is so slick and easy to use.

For AV fans, Xgimi's adorable little Vibe One portable projector is fantastic option even at full price. It delivers a detailed, natural picture with good dark levels – ideal for impromptu late-night movies and World Cup watch parties in the garden.

And the most 'expensive' deal here is a corker of a bargain: the Award-winning, five-star Hisense Dolby Atmos wireless system offers impressive weight, scale and a convincing Atmos effect – all for under £200!

Prime Day quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• Richer Sounds: big savings on top-rated hi-fi and TVs
• B&W speakers: save hundreds at Peter Tyson
• Best Prime Day TV deals: LG, Samsung, Sony and more
• Sevenoaks: shop all the latest hi-fi and AV deals

MORE:

Prime Day 2026 LIVE: the best headphone, speaker and vinyl deals picked by our hi-fi experts

The "unbelievable" LG OLED TV deal I wrote about two days ago has been beaten – time to buy!

I would swap a week's worth of Tesco meal deals for these cheap £30 Sony headphones

When you're looking for a great Prime Day deal, what you're really after is the cheapest price for a very good product. While we've spotted gigantic speaker savings and great OLED TV discounts, those price tags still number in the hundreds.

So what's the best cheapest Prime Day deal this week? That would be the Sony WH-CH520. These budget wireless headphones already won us over thanks to their blend of talents we tested them at full price (£49) but they're now available for just £30 at Amazon.

Only £30 for five-star Sony headphones! If you regularly peruse the glorious Tesco meal deals for your work lunches, this amounts to about seven meal deals. Even more if you're a Clubcard holder.

Which one is better value? The meal deal is invaluable – a sandwich, a snack, a drink! – but I would happily swap it for a plainer home-made lunch for a week, just so I could spare that £30 to invest in these ultra-budget Sony headphones.

It would be a good investment in the long run: these wireless headphones have a massive battery life of 50 hours, are comfortable and lightweight to wear, and they sound balanced, informative, and engaging. As a travel companion on my commutes, they would be just as invaluable, keeping me fed on a diet of new and much-loved songs.

As we said in our review: "You can’t really expect the Earth when you’re paying this much for a pair of headphones, but what’s remarkable about the Sony WH-CH520 is how little compromise they demand of you, both in terms of audio performance and ergonomics. "

If you're keeping a strict eye on your budget – as you have to be in today's rising cost-of-living crisis and hectic lives – it can be an indulgence to spend money on a pair of wireless headphones. And when you do, you want to make sure you've got your money's worth – you don't want to spend it on something that will disappoint you.

And these cheap Sony five-star headphones, with a Prime Day deal that makes them ever cheaper, won't disappoint. They are undoubtedly great value and worth indulging in.

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The KEF speakers I use with my Bluetooth turntable aren't discounted for Amazon Prime Day – but I highly recommend them anyway

I'm a hi-fi expert and I’ve found 12 amazing audiophile-friendly deals you won't find on Amazon this Prime Day

We all know Amazon isn't the best place to find really good hi-fi deals. Equally, you might not want to fork out for a subscription just for Prime Day, or maybe you're just not keen on buying from the giant online retailer anyway.

If you are a hi-fi fan or embarking on your home audio journey, I would always recommend heading to one of the specialist retailers.

They can give you dedicated advice, help with set up, and there's usually a friendly (real) person on the phone who can help with any query too. It's a personal touch that I've always appreciated whenever I've bought from these specialists in the past 14+ years since I started reviewing audio products.

Happily, these specialist retailers – such as Richer Sounds, Peter Tyson, Sevenoaks in the UK – also offer some tremendous deals on hi-fi that you won't find anywhere on Amazon. If you're looking for gigantic savings on some premium floorstanders, discounts on What Hi-Fi? Award winning products, or even some money off a lovely turntable – then you're in luck.

Below, I've highlighted a dozen deals on hi-fi products that the What Hi-Fi? team (including myself) have tested and can personally recommend.

If you've got the budget, why not take the plunge and upgrade your system, and bag a fantastic bargain along the way? Happy shopping, and be rest assured that Amazon could never match these deals.

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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

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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

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Also consider the Sony WH-CH720N

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