Bowers & Wilkins’ first noise-cancelling headphones are the real deal. Tested at £330 Our Verdict: 5 Stars The PXs are a fantastic package, boasting excellent sound quality, successful noise-cancelling and a smart design For Transparent, detailed sound Excellent dynamics Impeccable sense of timing Clever, intuitive features Impressive noise-cancelling Good battery life Fine build Against Nothing significant Bowers & Wilkins’ performance in the headphone market is the sporting equivalent of a Gaelic footballer arriving in the Premier League and picking up the Golden Boot in their first season. Sure, there are similarities, but essentially it’s a different game with different opposition, different...
Score: 4.5 Stars Pros Tasteful design and robust construction Slick HEOS multiroom streaming Dolby Vision & HLG support Sparkling sound quality Cons Rivals offer more power and vigour Low-res menus Remote build quality Key Features Review Price: £429.00 7 x 145W power output HEOS multiroom streaming 4K/60p, Dolby Vision & HLG HDR support Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 and DTS:X decoding Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay, internet radio, Spotify Connect and DLNA What is the Denon AVR-X1400H? Denon’s latest 7.2-channel mid-range receiver has an even more impressive set of features than its predecessor, the awesome Denon AVR-X1300W. Its snazziest new trick is support for...
Pros Can sound better than a Sonos Play:5 Excellent mids Lots of wired and wireless options Cons Needs to be positioned carefully Subwoofer-style bass, not flat-friendly Key Features Review Price: £449 Google Home Wi-Fi Bluetooth Aux input Optical input Device charging What is the Riva Festival? The Riva Festival is a large £450 wireless multiroom speaker. It’s in the same price bracket as the Sonos Play:5 – and is from a name most people won’t have heard before. Confident. However, thee Riva Festival justifies its price through its even more realistic-sounding vocals than the Sonos, alongside a far more open approach to...
One of the best and most versatile headsets we’ve seen in a while. These cans are a revelation. After all my bitching and moaning in the last issue about how not one set of decent gaming headphones have come my way for a year, or more, these wonders arrive, and do it all. Comfort – check! You can wear them for hours and not for a second experience anything less than warm soft ear hugging bliss. Sound quality – big yes! Music is delicate and superbly balanced and defined, with tight bass doing what it should do and never making...
Score: 5 Stars Pros Excellent noise cancellation Adaptive noise cancelling totally works Comfortable, stable fit Auto-connect/disconnect Great sound Cons Charging case is a little chunky Key Features Review Price: £200 Wireless Noise cancellation Earbud design Adaptive sound control Charging case What are the Sony WF-1000X? Wireless earbud-type headphones are cool, but they don’t generally sound amazing. That’s because sound is often not the priority. The Apple AirPods, for instance, put a lot of emphasis on connection stability. The Jabra Elite Sport are designed for sports. But now we have the Sony WF-1000X, which happily take a sound-first approach. They’ve taken a few elements...
Denon AH-C160W wireless sports earphones review. After fuss-free wireless headphones? Find out why the Denon AH-C160W wireless sports earphones fit the bill. Recommended price: £149, denon.co.uk Category : sports earphones Our rating: five out of five Key features: -Great sound quality -Secure fit -Practical packaging In a nutshell: The Denon AH-C160W wireless sports earphones are a sleek and practical entry into the sport accessory market, using unique Earhook technology to make sure they stay firmly in place during your workouts. Why we like it: As far as practicality goes, the Denon AH-C160W earphones definitely hit the mark. They’re wireless, connecting to...
Our Verdict 4 Stars A near-complete hi-fi system that’s pleasing to use and capable of a big, expressive sound For Big, authoritative and solid sound Expressive, fluid midrange Wired and wireless connectivity Against Treble needs refining Timing lets them down Not many floorstanders can claim to stand on their own two feet (well, in this case four) quite as independently as the Wharfedale Diamond A2 speakers. With built-in amplification, these powered speakers could be considered as a just-add-a-source hi-fi system – a compact and practical substitute for the multiple boxes and racks that make up a room-hogging set-up of separates. Only...
Sony is flying high with this superb pair of noise-cancelling headphones… Tested at £330 Our Verdict: 5 Stars Sony’s on a roll with its premium noise-cancelling headphones. This is another pair that’s going to be tough to beat For Excellent timing Loads of detail Refined, smooth highs Punchy, confident lows Impressive noise-cancelling Against Touchpad controls take a little bit of getting used to With The Great British Bake Off returning to our screens, it only seems apt to start with a hi-fi based baking analogy. Sony had all the right ingredients in place with its MDR-1000X headphones. They mixed excellent audio quality over Bluetooth with...
Mid-Fi at its finest. The last time I reviewed an audio HiFi product was a few months back when I wrote about my love for the Devialet Phantom Gold system I purchased. That system is amazing, and rocks the house down. It can do so with grace, ease or all out grunt and force and remain composed while doing so. Many nights…yes, many nights I had a concert in my home thanks to those Gold Phantoms. Incredible. For many though, those are overkill and too expensive. What about if you just want a nice set of stereo speakers that do not...
Excellent sound quality from a standalone soundbar, just don’t expect the full surround effect Pros Decent bass without a subwoofer Highly flexible wireless connectivity Infrared passthrough Cons No HDMI connectivity Sound sometimes lacks subtlety A touch pricey The Yamaha YAS-306 is a standalone soundbar with an unusual twist. It comes without a subwoofer, normally a signal for below-par audio performance, yet it manages to pack a sonic punch far above its station. Packed into its chunky, understated case is not only a pair of 2.13in drivers and two 0.75in tweeters aimed at producing virtual surround sound, but also a pair...
