After weeks of rumors, Apple finally announced the AirPods 5 on September 9 at its "Surprise and Shine" iPhone Duo event.

Like the AirPods 4 before them, the AirPods 5 will come in two distinct flavors: a base model with ANC and a higher-end model with a wireless charging case and a volume slider on the stem.

Both versions of the AirPods 5 will be powered by the H2 Wireless Chip that offers personalized spatial audio and live translation, but is all that reason enough to upgrade from the now two-year-old AirPods 4? The answer isn't exactly clear cut.

AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: Price and availability

Because there are two AirPods 5 models, there are two prices: $129 / AU$219 for the base model and $149 / AU$249 for the higher-end model.

The AirPods 4, now a few years old, are obviously less expensive. They start at just $99 for the base model. Interestingly, however, the more advanced AirPods 4 with ANC is still sitting at $149. That's going to make the decision pretty easy if you need ANC.

My favorite Apple earbuds are the AirPods Pro 3, and those start at $249. It's a pretty big leap in price, but I think they're all-around a better option, especially when compared to the AirPods 4.

AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: Design

Admittedly, there's not a lot of difference on the design front. Apple claims the AirPods 5 offer "an all-new multiport acoustic architecture" but you certainly wouldn't know it just by looking at them.

The major design difference between the AirPods 5 and AirPods 4 can be found on the stems of the newer model. It's so small you'll likely miss it, but if you look close you'll see a touch-capacitive divot that acts as a volume slider. It's a very minor detail that the AirPods 5 take from the more-expensive AirPods Pro 3.

Speaking of nice-to-have features, the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case (the proper name of the more-advanced AirPods 5 model) do offer wireless charging (duh). You can use the same charger as the Apple Watch, Qi-compatible chargers or plain old USB-C if you don't already own a wireless charging mat.

AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: Controls

Besides the aforementioned volume slider functionality, both the AirPods 5 and AirPods 4 use touch sensitive stems to control your music.

Both pairs of true wireless earbuds can differentiate between squeezes and taps, but it's up to you to learn which one does what.

I've never been a huge fan of touch technology in earbuds and prefer to use my voice or my phone to control playback, but it's nice to have the option in a pinch.

AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: Sound quality

Here's where things are going to get a bit murky. Apple claims that, due to its improved sonic architecture, the AirPods 5 are going to sound better than the AirPods 4. Sound, as we all know, is subjective, and I can't really comment on their sound quality until I've heard them myself.

So until then, let's hear from someone who's listened to both.

Kate Kozuch, the Head of Video here at Tom's Guide was in Cupertino this week to check them out. According to her, the "bass was a noticeable improvement" on the AirPods 5. That counts for a lot in a pair of open earbuds like the AirPods.

Still, Kate didn't feel like there was a big enough difference between the two to warrant an upgrade. "This is coming from an AirPods 4 user: I don't think anyone needs to upgrade from AirPods 4."

If you want the best sound quality in a pair of wireless earbuds, then, your best bet is still going to be the pricier AirPods Pro series.

AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: Features

The AirPods 5 take some of the best features of the AirPods Pro (besides sound quality, obviously) and bring them down to a more affordable price.

Like the Pro, the AirPods 5 offer Spatial Audio support, live translation and "significantly improved" ANC. How significant? According to Apple, the AirPods 5 cancel out "50 percent more external noise compared to AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation." So pretty big.

Now, keep in mind that these are open earbuds, so the ANC isn't going to be world-class here. I'd still expect a pair of Bose over-ears to do a better job than the AirPods 5, but hey, I'll take any improvement we can get.

AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: Battery life

One of our biggest complaints against the AirPods 4 was that their battery life was a little lacking. You could get around 5 hours of listening with ANC off, and 4 hours when you turn it on. That's a lot less than the competition and it means having to constantly reach for a charger.

The base AirPods 5 don't seem to offer much of an improvement here, but the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case offer an additional hour with ANC turned on thanks to a redesigned battery.

Will an extra hour make or break the experience? Probably not, especially when rival earbuds like the Sony WF-1000XM6 offer around 8 hours with ANC turned on.

AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: Early outlook

If you're just getting AirPods for the first time, the AirPods 5 seem to be worth the extra $30 to get the ones with wireless charging.

If you're someone who already owns a pair of AirPods 4, however, it's not so cut and dry. Spatial audio, the audio slider and live translation are all great, don't get me wrong, but I'm not sure I'd toss out my old earbuds just to tap into them, especially when key areas like battery life haven't been improved all that much.

There are also some really great AirPods alternatives out there and, if you don't mind spending more for them, the award-winning AirPods Pro Series that I use every single day are some of the best wireless earbuds on the market. If you can, skip the AirPods and go straight for the AirPods Pro, but if the budget is tight, the base AirPods 5 will get you half the performance for around $100.

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Tribit has made some of the best cheap portable speakers in recent years, and I bet it was hoping for a homerun with the XSound Go. Sadly, it falls just short of greatness — but it’s not all bad. The XSound Go sports a humble, inconspicuous design and boasts up to 24 hours of battery life. Treble is vibrant, while vocals sound loud and clear, making the speaker good for acoustic tracks.

But the non-existent bass is a chink in the XSound Go’s armor. There’s no companion app or custom EQ to salvage it either, and the speaker isn’t dustproof. Oh, and it's prone to scratches and fingerprints. Even though it costs just $39, I think it’s worth spending a little extra on a more competent speaker, like the JBL Go 5.

For the complete breakdown, read my full Tribit XSound Go review.

Tribit XSound Go review: Specs

Tribit XSound Go review: Price & availability

The Tribit XSound Go first came out in August 2017, and since then, Tribit has released upgraded versions with internal hardware improvements. The 2026 version features Bluetooth 5.3 and USB-C connectivity. The price has remained the same, and the latest version costs just $39 / £39 at Amazon. We’ve also seen it drop to as low as $24 / £31 in the past.

This makes the XSound Go one of the cheapest Bluetooth speakers we’ve tested. It’s priced similarly to the Tribit StormBox Mini+ ($39) and the Tozo PE1 ($36). It’s also cheaper than the 8BitDo Retro Cube 2 ($49), the JBL Go 5 ($54), and the Sodapop ($68). There's also the pricier version of this speaker, the Tribit XSound Plus ($69).

Pound for pound, I’d recommend the JBL Go 5 above all else — yes, including the XSound Go. Let me tell you why.

Tribit XSound Go review: Design

The Tribit XSound Go sports a simple, humble, generic pill-shaped design. The speaker is available in black, blue and beige colors. I tested the black model and it looks… fine. It fits right into most spaces, and doesn’t look out of place on a coffee table. Branding is minimal, with ‘Tribit’ written across the front metal grille in off-white on the black version. If you want a more eye-catching speaker, the 8BitDo Retro Cube 2 takes the cake.

The outer shell features a matte, rubberized coating that gives the XSound Go a soft-touch, grippy feel. Frustratingly, though, this coating is prone to picking up fingerprints, marks and smudges. After unboxing the XSound Go and playing around with it a bit, I noticed my fingerprints were all over it. I put the speaker in my backpack to take it home, and the speaker looked scuffed. Quite annoying. I’d recommend picking up the JBL Go 5 instead if cosmetic wear-and-tear bothers you.

Aesthetics aside, the XSound Go is a highly portable speaker, measuring 6.7 x 2.3 x 2.2 inches and weighing 13.44oz. I’ve had no trouble carrying it in my day bag, and if you’re wearing a winter coat, you should be able to slip it into your pocket, too. The XSound Go is certainly more pocket-friendly than the bulbous Tribit StormBox Mini+.

Weatherproofing

The XSound Go is IPX7-rated which means it’s waterproof and can be submerged in 1m of water for up to 30 minutes. This means that you can use it poolside without any worries. That’s decent waterproofing but the XSound Go isn’t dustproof, so I’d advise against using it on dusty hikes or in the desert.

This is the same waterproofing as the Tribit StormBox Mini+ and the Tribit StormBox 2 ($67). If you want a dustproof speaker that can even withstand tumbles and falls, I’d recommend spending more on the IP68-rated JBL Go 5 or the IP67-rated EarFun UBoom L ($79).

Controls

Controls on the XSound Go are extremely straightforward. The physical buttons are located on the top, and are self-explanatory. You can use these to play/pause music, initiate Bluetooth pairing, swap between input sources, and of course, power the speaker on and off. I found them responsive in my testing, and all my commands were registered instantaneously.

Connectivity

As I mentioned earlier, the XSound Go utilizes Bluetooth 5.3 with support for the SBC codec. There’s no AAC, like on the Tribit StormBox Mini+, or LC3 like on the JBL Go 5. LC3 is a more advanced codec that streams high-quality sound at lower bitrates, making the JBL Go 5 the better choice. You get multipoint connectivity, at the very least, which enables you to connect up to two devices to the XSound Go at the same time.

If you buy two XSound Gos, you can pair them together to create stereo sound. It works exactly as it does on the Tribit StormBox Mini+ and Tribit XSound Plus. If you buy directly from Tribit, you can get two speakers for $71 / £71, saving you $9 / £9.

There’s also a 3.5mm port located around the back and protected by a rubber flap, and this can be used for wired playback.

Tribit XSound Go review: Sound quality

The Tribit XSound Go is fitted with two 40mm drivers and a passive radiator, and it’s got a total power output of 16W. That’s enough for listening in a small room, or at an intimate picnic or dinner party. Treble and mids are the XSound Go’s strong suits, and as I’ll discuss below, bass is severely lacking. To test the speaker, I listened to my favorite testing songs on Qobuz, the best music streaming service for audiophiles.

Good things first. ‘Open Arms’ by Little Simz ft. DEELA proved to be a great track to test the XSound Go’s ability to handle treble. The Afro-tech infused track features fast-moving percussion layers, and the XSound Go handled the sharp snares and claps extremely well. Each element sounded clean, and didn’t muddle together into a hiss. The aggressive hi-hats that maintain the track’s fast-paced energy didn’t sound too harsh, and they didn’t pierce through the rest of the soundstage either. The treble didn’t sound fatiguing at all.

I then listened to ‘Ice In My OJ’ by Hayley Williams, and was impressed with the speaker’s wide dynamic range. Hayley’s vocals sat front and center. Instead of becoming a messy blur with the frantic backing instrumentation, they sounded adequately separated. Her “I’m in a band” screams in the chorus didn’t sound harsh or painfully sibilant either.

Now let’s talk about the area the XSound Go really struggles in — and that’s bass. The speaker has a frequency response range of 80Hz to 20KHz, so it isn’t surprising that it fails to produce deep, rumbling sub-bass. But I felt like the easier bass was non-existent, too, which is disappointing. The distorted alternative R&B electronic bassline in ‘Baby Driver’ by 070 Shake lacked the low-end impact and oomph that drives the song. Through the JBL Go 5, for instance, the bassline sounds powerful and meaty, but I could barely hear or feel it through the XSound Go.

Similarly, the propulsive and consistent bassline in ‘One Inch Punch’ by Yin Yin sounded like it was pushed into the background. It sounded muddy, suppressed and like it was bleeding into the lower-mids, rather than tight and controlled. The otherwise crisp, rhythmic definition was lost, and this made the track lose its agility and groove. It’s surprising that the XSound Go struggles so much, when its sibling, the Tribit StormBox Mini+, doesn’t.

If you want a speaker that doesn’t sacrifice any aspect of the soundstage, I really can’t recommend the JBL Go 5 enough. It breezes past the XSound Go with its overall refined sound.

Listen along to my testing playlist on Qobuz, our favorite music streaming service for audiophiles.

Tribit XSound Go review: App

Though the Tribit app exists on iOS and Android, the XSound Go isn’t compatible with it. This means that you don’t get access to a custom equalizer or EQ presets. If you want a budget-friendly Bluetooth speaker with custom EQ, I’d recommend the Tribit StormBox Mini+, the JBL Go 5 or the Tribit StormBox Micro 3 ($64).

Tribit XSound Go review: Battery life

Tribit says the XSound Go can last up to 24 hours on a single charge and while playing on a “moderate” volume. This is the same as the pricier XSound Plus. Under typical use, the XSound Go should last you between 18 and 20 hours, according to the brand. To test the XSound Go’s battery life, I played music at 50% volume and after about 20 hours, I was prompted to charge it.

The XSound Go, then, trumps its competition when it comes to sheer mileage. In our testing, the JBL Go 5 lasted nine hours; the Tribit StormBox Mini+ died after 13 hours; and the Tozo PE1 netted 15 hours of playback time. The 8BitDo Retro Cube 2 outperforms the XSound Go with its 30-hour battery life, but you’d be sacrificing waterproofing if you went with the 8BitDo.

Tribit XSound Go review: Verdict

The Tribit XSound Go isn’t the worst speaker I’ve tested… but it’s also not the best. Don’t get me wrong: the speaker gets a few things right. The inconspicuous design helps it fit into most spaces, and it packs up to 24 hours of playtime. It doesn’t make treble sound fatiguing, and vocal-heavy tracks are a piece of cake for the XSound Go.

But the XSound Go sacrifices the bass. Lows feel non-existent or like they’ve been pushed into the background. Annoyingly, there’s no custom equalizer (as there’s no companion app) to fix it. The speaker isn’t dustproof either, when many of its competitors are, and it’s a fingerprint magnet.

If you want a better, fuller sound, I’d recommend its sibling, the Tribit StormBox Mini+. If you can swing a few extra dollars, the JBL Go 5 is a no-brainer as it’s better in nearly every aspect.

The best over-ear headphones don’t need to break the bank, and the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y almost prove that. Affordable at just $149, the Aventho Y boast effective active noise cancelation both indoors and outdoors. They come in a few fun colors, and they’re extremely comfortable for all-day wear. Promising up to 90 hours of stamina, the Aventho Y deliver on almost every front…. except for balanced sound.

Don’t get me wrong: the Aventho Y make vocals sound strong and clear, but the rest of the soundstage, not so much. It lacks openness and sounds mostly flat. You’ll need the companion app to customize the equalizer and salvage it. Call quality isn’t great either, as the headphones make you sound scratchy.

Should you still buy these cans? Read my full Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review to find out.

Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Specs

Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Price & availability

Announced at IFA in September 2026, the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y are the latest over-ears to join the brand’s extensive lineup of consumer headphones. Priced at $149 at Amazon U.S. / £129 at Polar U.K., the Aventho Y are Beyerdynamic’s cheapest lifestyle headphones, at the time of writing. The cans come in Blue Fusion, Liquid Black, Peach Blush, and Soft Jade colors.

The Aventho Y offer ANC, long battery life with user-replaceable battery packs, and are extremely comfortable. These are some of the cheapest mid-range ANC headphones we’ve tested, and they’re cheaper than the Sony WH-CH730N ($179), the Sennheiser Accentum ($179), the JBL Live 770NC ($199), and the Beats Solo 4 ($199).

Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Design

The Beyerdynamic Aventho Y make a strong first impression with their striking colors. The Peach Blush model I tested is certainly a looker, with light and airy accents that make them stand out in a market crowded with black and dark colors. The stylized “Y” engraved into each (large) earcup is a nice touch, and the subtle Beyerdynamic branding on the headband doesn’t draw much attention either.

The Aventho Y weigh just 11.14 ounces and even though they’re slightly heavier than my trusty Marshall Monitor III (8.8 ounces, $349), the difference isn’t that noticeable. They’re also heavier than their siblings, the Aventho 100 (7.76 ounces, $229), but the added weight is a decent trade-off if you want a user-replaceable battery and a more comfortable fit.

For easy transport, the Aventho Y are foldable so you can save some space in your day bag. A drawstring cloth bag is included in the box, too.

Weatherproofing

It’s normal for over-ear headphones to not have official IP waterproof ratings, but the Aventho Y do. These cans are IP53-rated, just like the Aventho 100, so they’re protected against dust and light water splashes. You should be just fine wearing them to the gym. In contrast, the JBL Live 770NC and the Sony WH-CH730N aren’t waterproof at all — JBL and Sony don’t specify that they are, at least.

Comfort

The Aventho Y are extremely comfortable headphones, and that’s thanks to their large, spacious earcups and cushioned headband. The ear cushions feature soft foam interiors, and they’re covered in soft leatherette. These ear cushions are magnetic so they can be twisted off and replaced if they get damaged.

Similarly, the headband’s metal frame uses the same leatherette cushioning for added comfort, and it relieves the pressure you’d otherwise feel on the top of your head. Having worn the Aventho Y for a six-hour stint, I can confirm that they’re suitable for all-day wear, as my ears didn’t overheat or feel sweaty.

Controls

Sporting a straightforward control scheme, everything, from volume to ANC, is adjusted via physical buttons and toggles on the Aventho Y’s earcups. You can increase or decrease the volume via the buttons on the right earcup. Located between these is a custom button which can be customized via the app to change tracks, enable voice assistant, and more. Controls for ANC and Bluetooth are on the left earcup. They’re all super straightforward to get a hang of.

Connectivity

The Aventho Y utilize Bluetooth 6.0 with support for SBC and AAC codecs. However, there’s no support for LC3, LDAC or aptX Lossless, and you’ll need to spend more on the Sennheiser Accentum if you want aptX. The lack of advanced codecs isn’t uncommon in this price range, though, as neither the JBL Live 770NC nor the Beats Solo 4 support them.

For those who want more versatile wireless connectivity, Beyerdynamic is planning on selling an optional 2.4GHz dongle (which can be handily stored inside one of the earcups) along with a detachable boom mic come October. Beyerdynamic is yet to officially announce sample rates for the dongle, but I’ve reached out to a representative to find out more. You can also use a USB-C cable for wired playback.

They also feature multipoint connectivity, enabling you to connect up to two devices simultaneously — I did so with my MacBook Air M2 and Google Pixel 10 Pro XL. The Aventho Y say “Multipoint” out loud to you when two devices are connected at once. You also get Google Fast Pair and as soon as I put the headphones into pairing mode, my Pixel recognized and connected to them immediately.

Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Sound quality

The Beyerdynamic Aventho Y ulitize a 45mm driver to cover a frequency response range of 20Hz to 20KHz (so the entirety of the average human hearing spectrum). To test the headphones, I listened to my array of testing songs on Qobuz, the best music streaming service for audiophiles — and I was left with mixed feelings.

Vocals are the Aventho Y’s strong suit. In ‘Cheers to Me’ by Self Esteem, Rebecca Lucy Taylor’s vocals felt raw and intimate. Each word sounded textured, every consonant felt sharp, and plosives never popped or bled into one another. The backing vocals panned wide to the far left and right, creating an immersive listening experience. As all the voices came together in the bridge, they sounded harmonious and powerful.

But unfortunately, the Aventho Y struggle with almost every other aspect of the soundstage. Without any EQ adjustments and straight out of the box, the Aventho Y sound boxy, hollow and lack openness. The dark pulsating bassline that drives ‘2515’ by Wasia Project sounded like someone had turned the bass off. The song sounded closed-in and hollow, and it felt like it had lost its three-dimensionality. While the vocals still sounded defined, the rest of the track didn’t.

I then listened to ‘One Inch Punch’ by Yin Yin to see if the treble sounded just as flat as the bass. While the electric guitar solos shimmered, they didn’t possess the same clarity and vibrancy you get when listening to the song through a more capable set of cans. It also felt like all the instruments were pushed into the background. The bassline sounded dull as did the drums. Heavy tracks like ‘Put Me in a Padded Room’ by Icon For Hire sounded muddled and like the headphones were easily overwhelmed.

Luckily, though, I was able to salvage a lot of the sound quality by adjusting the Aventho Y’s equalizer through the companion app (more on that shortly). I fixed a lot of the issues by simply playing around with the 10-band EQ and finding my ideal sound. It’s great to have such extensive customization at your fingertips, but I wish the Aventho Y sounded balanced straight out of the box — like the Sennheiser Accentum or the JBL Live 770NC.

Listen along to my review with the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y testing playlist:

Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: App

The Aventho Y are accompanied by the Beyerdynamic app, available for free on iOS and Android. It enables you to customize the controls, adjust the level of ANC, enable Low Latency mode to minimize audio delays, choose an EQ preset, and customize the 10-band eqaulizer to your liking.

Beyerdynamic’s app is easy to use and it sports a clean interface without any intrusive pop-ups. That’s good because given that you need the app to fix the Aventho Y’s sound, I’d say it’s a necessity and not an optional download.

Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: ANC

The Beyerdynamic Aventho Y feature effective active noise cancelation that works well indoors and outdoors. Indoors, I wasn’t able to hear the kettle boiling, the clicking-clacking of mechanical keyboards, or other people talking. My partner had to wave several times to get my attention when I was testing the Aventho Y.

On a busy bus back from work, the Aventho Y managed to drown out the sound of people talking loudly. While I could hear the sound of the bus rattling, it wasn’t intrusive or too much, and the Aventho Y did a good job of ensuring I felt immersed in my tunes.

Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Call quality

Unfortunately, the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y’s call quality is quite disappointing. On a Google Meet team call, my colleagues winced when I started speaking — and they’ve heard me talk before so I know it isn’t me. I asked them how I sounded, and they noted that my voice was scratchy, distant, and “not great at all.”

To rule out the possibility that this was down to an unstable internet connection, I called my partner who said that my voice sounded muffled and she couldn’t understand my words very clearly. I’d recommend the Sennheiser Accentum if you want better call quality.

Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Battery life

An area the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y perform formidably is battery life. Beyerdynamic says that on a single charge, the Aventho Y can last up to 90 hours with ANC off, or 60 hours with ANC on. This is excellent, and the headphones outclass the Sennheiser Accentum (50 hours), the Sony WH-CH730N (50 hours) and the JBL Tune 770NC (44 hours) when ANC is enabled.

With ANC enabled and music playing at 50% volume, I left the Aventho Y running over a few nights. After approximately 50 hours, I had just 5% battery remaining. Beyerdynamic’s battery claims are, then, fairly reliable.

The Aventho Y feature a user-replaceable battery, which increases the longevity of the headphones. The manual specifies how to remove the battery carefully and safely, should you need to do so.

Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Verdict

The Beyerdynamic Aventho Y check almost every box. They boast up to 90 hours of battery life, effective ANC indoors and outdoors, a comfortable fit, a colorful design, and they come with a user-friendly companion app. Vocals are clear, strong and nuanced, yes, but everything else sounds flat — and that’s no bueno for a pair of headphones.

While the sound quality is salvageable thanks to the custom 10-band equalizer, it’s a shame that the Aventho Y don’t sound great straight out of the box. The bass sounds muddy and the treble struggles to shine. Call quality isn’t great either as several people noted that I sounded scratchy on their end.

Though the Aventho Y are fun-looking, comfortable and last a long time, it’s worth spending a little more on the likes of the JBL Live 770NC if you want solid sound as soon as you unbox the cans. At the end of the day, the Aventho Y deliver on some fronts but fall flat where it matters most.

If you're a parent looking for an alternative screen-free device for your kids, then there's a good chance you'll have heard of Yoto Player.

The card-based audio player with no microphone and no camera has been a breakout hit for both kids and preteens. There's no screen, just a mosaic-based display that calls up cutesy images related to whatever is playing. And thanks to the huge amount of content already available through Yoto's NFC cards, everything from Roald Dahl to KPop Demon Hunters and Bluey is available on the platform.

Today, Yoto announced its 4th Generation Yoto Player and Yoto Mini, three years on from the last iteration.

The headline feature for both players is a new physical "Green Button" that enables cardless playback of up to 20 items that parents can program via the Yoto app. There's also been a boost of internal storage up to 64GB, upgraded Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 6.1, and an IP67 durability rating for the portable Mini.

"This isn't just a new product, it’s a new platform — we’ve upgraded everything under the hood," said Ben Drury, CEO and Co-founder of Yoto. "We've spent three years building this foundation for the next chapter of Yoto — faster, more reliable, and with kids in control, just as they've always been."

The Green Button

The standout feature across both 4th Gen models is the new Green Button. This acts as a sort of 'favorites' option for kids to collect up to 20 stories, songs, podcasts, soundscapes or other pieces of content and play them without needing to put in a card.

Parents manage these shortcuts directly through the Yoto app, allowing separate playlists for morning routines and bedtime wind-downs. It also grants immediate access to digital-only app content, such as toothbrushing timers and sleep soundscapes.

Additional upgrades across both players

Better Connectivity Under the hood, both 4th Gen devices are equipped with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 6.1 for faster audio downloads and reliable wireless headphone or app pairing. They also have newer processors for faster performance.

Expanded Storage: Internal memory has doubled to 64GB, capable of holding over 1,000 hours of offline audio for travel.

Extended Warranty: All 4th Gen devices now ship with a standard two-year warranty.

Yoto Player vs Yoto Mini: Specific hardware upgrades

Alongside the core upgrades, each 4th Gen player is also receiving some specific hardware improvements tailored to what they're used for.

The larger stay-at-home Yoto Player 4th Gen has been given an upgraded full-panel night light supporting seven customizable colors, complete with dynamic day/night visual clock cues and Ok-to-Wake indicators.

The player's audio quality is enhanced via an acoustically engineered stereo speaker array, and charging is handled via USB-C or wireless charging bases. Yoto also confirmed a user-replaceable battery replacement kit will be made available in 2027 to extend device longevity.

Meanwhile, the portable Yoto Mini 4th Gen has been given a focus on ruggedness. Yoto has confirmed a new IP67 dust and water resistance rating, rendering it fully splashproof, puddle-proof, and drop-tested. Something that many parents will no doubt appreciate. The Yoto Mini 4th Gen maintains support for both 3.5mm wired headphones and Bluetooth pairing, alongside USB-C fast charging.

Yoto Player 4th Gen availability and pricing

Both devices are available for pre-order starting today via Yoto's direct store, with the Mini also listed on Amazon. The players will also be available through other retailers soon.

The Yoto Player 4th Generation is priced at £119.99 / $149.99 while the Mini is priced at $109.99 / £89.99.

The Yoto Mini 4th Gen will begin shipping September 30, 2026, while the full-sized Yoto Player 4th Gen will start shipping on October 15.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested the Toniebox and Yoto Player for 2 weeks, and they helped my kids cut down their TV time
• I tried a music hammock that vibrates to the beat of any song
• Sony just refreshed three of its most popular headphones with replaceable batteries and punchier sound

The AirPods family just got bigger. Apple officially unveiled its AirPods 5 at its "Surprise and Shine" keynote. And whereas most of the devices announced at the keynote included higher prices, the AirPods 5 are actually cheaper than their predecessors.

AirPods 5 preorders are available now for $129 with ANC at Amazon or $149 with a Wireless Charging Case at Amazon. That's cheaper than the AirPods 4 which cost $129 without ANC and $179 with ANC.

The AirPods 5 feature the same H3 Wireless Chip found in previous models, but usher in live translation, full support for Siri AI, and 50% more noise reduction than the previous generation. They'll be available in stores on September 18.

Currently, there are no AirPods 5 deals available. However, it's only a matter of time before a retailer like Amazon or Best Buy knocks $10 off. (For more Apple deals, make sure to check out our Apple Store coupons coverage).

Quick Links

• AirPods 5 w/ ANC: for $129 @ Amazon
• AirPods 5 w/ Wireless Charging Case: for $149 @ Amazon
• AirPods 5 w/ ANC: for $129 @ Walmart
• AirPods 5 w/ Wireless Charging Case: for $149 @ Walmart
• AirPods 5 w/ ANC: for $129 @ Best Buy
• AirPods 5 w/ Wireless Charging Case: for $149 @ Best Buy
• AirPods 5 w/ ANC: for $129 @ Apple
• AirPods 5 w/ Wireless Charging Case: for $149 @ Apple

Apple AirPods 5 preorders

Apple AirPods 5 — what's new?

The AirPods 5 have an open ear fit with next-gen adaptive EQ. You also get better Siri features, real-time Live Translation, and a durable design that can withstand rain. In terms of battery life, you'll get up to 4 hours with ANC or up to 20 hours with charging case. The upgraded AirPods 5 model has a touch sensitive stem that offers 5 hours of battery with ANC and comes with a wireless charging case, all priced at $149.

Apple claims they remove up to 50% more noise than the AirPods 4 with ANC thanks to the new multiport acoustic architecture and improved computational audio algorithms. There's also a new Transparency mode that more naturally represents voices and nearby sounds, helping users stay connected to their surroundings.

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Apple just announced the AirPods 5 alongside a bunch of other products at the "Surprise and Shine" event in Cupertino, California.

Packed with new features, the AirPods 5 definitely look like a worthwhile alternative to the latest AirPods Pro 3.

They have the open fit the previous models were known for, which is great for people who don't like the Pro's tips. Apple says they'll have the best ANC for this type of earbud, which is a big deal.

Apple Watch 5 quick info

• Price: $129 / AU$219 for the base model with ANC. $149 / AU$249 for the higher-end model with a wireless charging case and volume on the stem.
• Availability: Announced at the "Surprise and Shine" event; available for pre-order today
• Features: Live translation, full support for Siri AI, 50% more noise reduction than the previous generation,
• Under-the-hood: H3 Wireless Chip
• Battery life: Up to 4 hours of listening time with ANC on, up to 20 hours with the charging case

What makes the AirPods 5 stand out?

Apple announced some exciting new features for the AirPods 5, but perhaps the most exciting element is the lower price. The base model, now with active noise cancellation, costs only $129 / AU$218. That's the same price as the AirPods 4 without ANC.

At the same time, Apple announced an upgraded version, the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case, for $149 AU$249. That's cheaper than the high-end AirPods 4. In today's economy, prices don't drop often, so this is exciting.

As the name implies, it offers wireless charging, but it also has a force sensor with volume swipe, which the company says is a first for the open-ear form factor.

The other big change for the more expensive model is longer battery life. The cheaper model is rated to last about four hours with ANC on, while the upgraded model should last about five hours.

Obviously, audio quality is critical for any pair of headphones, and Apple is making some lofty promises. It described a "new multiport acoustic architecture and next-generation Adaptive EQ deliver richer, more detailed sound across an even wider range of ear geometries."

Apple is also integrating AI features like Live Translation and Siri AI, so you can take advantage of them at a lower price point.

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Sony announced three new pairs of headphones — well, new-ish. They're the upgraded versions, or refreshes, of their predecessors. After having sold 10 million units globally, the Sony WH-1000XM4 is being succeeded by the Sony WH-1000XM4C. And there's more: the Sony WH-CH730N is here to replace the three-year-old Sony WH-CH720N, and the Sony WH-CH530 now succeeds the budget-friendly Sony WH-CH520.

If that sounds like a lot to take in, don't worry: I'm here to break it down for you. The XM4C announcement comes hot on the heels of Sony celebrating 10 years of the WH-1000X series. That's right: the first model, the MDR-1000X, came out in 2016. Along with that milestone, Sony says it is also celebrating 80 years of audio innovation.

So, what's new, what's changed (and hasn't), how much do they cost, and should you buy them? Let me walk you through it.

WH-1000XM4C: 'A modern classic'

When the Sony WH-1000XM4 came out in 2020, they were an instant hit, and Sony says that the headphones that redefined its cans have sold over 10 million units globally. It's no wonder they're back in the form of the WH-1000XM4C — and they sound like a hoot. While the overall design and active noise cancellation remain unchanged, Sony is introducing a new lavender color, which looks gorgeous.

So what's new? Upgraded sound tuning thanks to 40mm drivers and Bluetooth 6.0, for starters. The XM4C inherits the XM6's and the 1000X The Collexion's tuning to deliver a versatile sound that outperforms the original XM4. Vocals are now richer and clearer, and the XM4C are meant to boast superior frequency separation and an expansive soundstage, alongside improved dynamics.

They also include a 10-band equalizer, gaming EQ, and Quick Access, which lets you launch your preferred music streaming service with headband gestures.

The biggest upgrade is user-replaceable batteries, keeping in line with the new EU battery regulations. This comes at a cost, though: the XM4C's battery life is rated at 27 hours, down from 30 hours on the original XM4.

For those wondering where the XM4C sits relative to Sony's other headphones, here's the answer. According to Sony, the 1000X The Collexion are "Luxury"; the XM6 are "Performance"; and the XM4C are "Classic Standard." They're designed for everyday use without sacrificing sound quality.

The Sony WH-1000XM4C are available for $299 / ~£220.

WH-CH730N: Now with 75 hours of battery life

The Sony WH-CH720N came out in 2023, and they're already getting refreshed — and the new WH-CH730N packs some big upgrades. Like the XM4C, the design stays mostly the same, but the CH730N now has a foldable design for easy transport, plus a cushioned headband.

They also feature stronger ANC and improved AI-powered call quality. They also include a 10-band customizable equalizer, DSEE music upscaling, and support for Sony's 360° Reality Audio. The battery is, again, replaceable, but unlike the XM4C, battery life has received a substantial bump. It's now up to 75 hours, up from 50 hours on its predecessor. Charging the CH730N for three minutes also yields an hour of playtime.

The CH730N utilizes Bluetooth 6.0 with Bluetooth LE and Auracast. Another new feature is Max Volume Control, which you can use in the app to cap the maximum volume and protect your hearing. In addition to black, blue, pink, and white, the CH730N now comes in beige as well.

The Sony WH-CH730N is available for $179 / ~£120.

WH-CH530: The new budget king?

When we reviewed the Sony WH-CH520, we awarded them 4.5-stars and noted they were fantastic value for money. We expect the new WH-CH530 to be just as good, if not better.

Out of the three refreshed models, the CH530 has received the fewest upgrades, but substantial ones nonetheless. They now come in coral (off-red/orange) and cobalt, as well as mint, pink, off-white, and black.

Battery life has received a five-hour bump, and the CH530 is rated for 55 hours (up from 50 hours). Three minutes of charge yields 90 minutes of playtime, which is excellent. Similar to the CH730N, the CH530 also gets Max Volume Control, Bluetooth LE audio, replaceable batteries, and AI noise reduction for calls.

The Sony WH-CH530 is available for $69 / ~£60.

Which headphones are you most excited for?

As someone who reviews the best headphones day in and day out and spends a lot of her time listening to music, it goes without saying that I'm very excited to try Sony's new cans. The XM4C, CH730N, and CH530 introduce notable quality-of-life improvements, including replaceable batteries and better sound tuning.

It remains to be seen whether these headphones impress me and my fellow reviewers, so we can't wait to get our hands on them. Personally, I'm most excited to check out the XM4C, especially in the lavender skin. Who knows, maybe they'll replace my trusty Marshall Monitor III? Stay tuned for full reviews!

More from Tom's Guide

• I listened to 10 of Sony’s new ULT party speakers together — and they offer something for everyone
• Sony WH-1000XM6 3 months later: here's my honest verdict on how Sony's flagship cans hold up
• I tested Sony’s $650 fashion headphones — the 1000X 'The Collexion' are more than just pretty

I’m a firm believer that everyone needs a pair of open-ear earbuds in their audio gear rotation, and if you’re still a skeptic, the SoundPEATS UU2 earbuds are the perfect affordable way to give ambient sound with your music a try.

These earbuds are excellent value for money — at less than $50, they also boast amazing sound performance that I’m more than happy to listen to all day long. They’re comfortable to wear and have button controls which are very responsive. Not to mention the 42 hours of battery life, which is some of the best on the market.

Unfortunately, there are some things that SoundPEATS could improve on. The UU2’s call quality isn’t the best; there’s some slight movement when wearing the earbuds for high-intensity workouts; and the companion app is clunky. If you’d like to find out more about the buds, you can keep reading this full SoundPEATS UU2 review.

SoundPEATS UU2 review: Specs

SoundPEATS UU2 review: Price & availability

The first thing to note is that these headphones have undergone a name change. They were previously named the POP Clip2, but now go by SoundPEATS UU2. The earbuds are available to purchase in the U.S. directly from the SoundPEATS website for $49 and in the U.K. on Amazon for £59.

These are the cheapest open-ear earbuds I’ve tested, but, in all honesty, when I listened to my music with them before knowing the price, I thought they would cost well over $100. But if it’s affordable audio gear you’re looking for, there are a couple of options depending on the fit you want.

The UU2 are clip-style earbuds, like the EarFun Clip 2 for $99. I find this the most comfortable style, especially for working out and all-day wear. And the Clip 2 earbuds have features like live translation and impressive call quality, which you don’t get with the UU2s. You can also get the original EarFun Clip earbuds, which have a great bass performance for $69. This will be better if you like listening to more bass-driven music.

Alternatively, you could look at a hook design. My favorite budget hook buds are the JLab Epic Open Sport for $114. They work best for high-intensity workouts like running, so if you need something that stays secure, these could be the buds for you. However, the sound quality is a mixed bag, and the UU2s offer a more consistent sound.

SoundPEATS UU2 review: Design

The SoundPEATS UU2 open-earbuds feel premium despite their sub-$50 price tag. They look very similar to the EarFun Clip 2, but have a shinier finish, which I think makes them feel a little more premium.

The case is small and fits in the palm of my hand, so it’s easy to slip into my pocket when I’m using the buds. They have an IPX5 durability rating, which means they’re protected from water splashes but not dust. This makes them ideal for walking outdoors in case you get caught out in the rain, but not for jogging on the beach in case you drop them in the sand. This kind of rating is standard for earbuds, but I would like to see some dust protection, as you get with the JLab Epic Open Sport.

Comfort

SoundPEATS say that the two Us in the name stand for ‘Ultra Comfort and Ultimate Freedom’; I’d have to agree. I could wear them all day long without them hurting since the buds are so lightweight at 0.18 ounces each.

When wearing the buds during lighter movement, such as yoga and Pilates, they felt very secure, but there is some slight movement during high-intensity workouts like running or HIIT, so keep this in mind. I found the Soundcore AeroClip earbuds to be more secure, but they are more expensive at $129.

Controls

The SoundPEATS UU2 are controlled using physical buttons. These were responsive and easy to operate, and you can even customize this in the SoundPEATS app, which I’ll talk more about later. I much prefer these controls to touch-sensitive controls, as when you're moving, there’s less chance of a missed command, as it takes more intent to click a button.

Connectivity

The SoundPEATS UU2 earbuds use the latest (at the time of writing) Bluetooth 6.0, which delivers better power consumption and connection stability. Codec-wise, they support SBC, AAC and LDAC audio codecs, the latter allowing hi-res wireless playback. They also support multipoint connection with up to two devices, which is ideal for when I’m working and need to switch between my phone and laptop for calls. It’s easy to connect multiple devices by using the SoundPEATS app.

SoundPEATS UU2 review: Sound quality

The SoundPEATS UU2 earbuds don’t provide ultimate high-end sound quality — we’re not talking Beyerdynamic AMIRON Zero ($179) performance here — but for the price tag, I really can’t ask for any more. They’ve blown me away. I tried out the EQ adjustment settings in the app, but ended up sticking with the default tuning as it was the best for me.

Firstly, I wanted to listen to the bass performance of the buds, because open-earbuds can often struggle with bass replication since the drivers are outside of your ear. However, I was impressed. I listened to Heads Will Roll by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the A-Trak remix, which relies on bass for a heavy club sound, with the vocals adding more structure. The bass was mostly clear, with some very slight distortion when increasing the volume. The synth also sounded great — exactly what I want from this song to feel motivated while working out.

Next, I listened to Favourite by Fontaines D.C. to test out the mid-range, because of its catchy guitar track and prominent drums. The track was bright and well balanced. I could hear the guitar in detail, and it was punchy and strong. The guitar and drums weren’t overpowering though, and the vocals still shone through.

To test the high-frequency performance, I listened to My Tears Ricochet by Taylor Swift. This song uses orchestral elements such as violin and choral harmonies. All of these elements were clear and balanced, leaving space for soft vocals to shine before the song builds into something more powerful. And even then, the earbuds held their own impressively.

SoundPEATS UU2 review: App

I usually love using an app with earbuds as it adds a layer of customization that makes the listening experience times better. However, I found the SoundPEATS app clunky, especially during the initial setup. With use, it became easier to navigate, but I much prefer apps like the one from Soundcore that are instantly usable.

That said, the app has some useful features. You can enable Spatial audio or make EQ and control adjustments. There’s also a drainage function, which helps expel moisture from inside the earbuds by playing low-frequency tones, effectively shaking out the water. I’m not sure how much this will actually help if you drop your earbuds into a pool for argument's sake, but it’s an interesting feature nonetheless.

SoundPEATS UU2 review: Call quality

To evaluate the call quality of the SoundPEATS UU2 earbuds, I carried out my usual test and called my mom. She let me know that I didn’t sound as clear as usual. This was disappointing, as these buds are very impressive in pretty much every other area.

If you want a pair of open buds for work calls that are still budget-friendly, I’d recommend the Soundcore Aeroclip, as they provide excellent microphone clarity without breaking the bank.

SoundPEATS UU2 review: Battery life

The SoundPEATS UU2 earbuds have very impressive battery life. They have a total playtime of 42 hours, which is two hours more than the EarFun Clip2. Again, I can’t believe the SoundPEATS buds are so cheap! This puts more expensive models, like the Beyerdynamic ZEROs, to shame, as they only have up to 20 hours of battery life!

The UU2s take an hour and 36 minutes to charge up, and the buds take 45 minutes to charge in the case. You can use the included USB-C cable to charge the case.

SoundPEATS UU2 review: Verdict

After testing using the SoundPEATS UU2 earbuds for two weeks, I’m still so shocked by the sub-$50 price tag. They are seriously excellent value for money. The sound performance blew me away, and apart from some slight bass distortion at higher volumes, they performed very well across a variety of genres. They’re comfortable to wear all day long, have responsive button controls and 42 hours of battery life with the charging case.

They have a few issues, but these are fairly minor — not to mention forgivable for $49. The call quality isn’t the best, and there’s some slight movement of the buds during high-intensity workouts. The app is also clunky to use. With that said, I really don’t think you can go wrong with these earbuds at this price point. They’re a solid addition to anyone’s audio gear rotation.

If I could buy one thing from IFA 2026, it would be the "Vibrating Music Hammock". Unfortunately for me (and you), you can't buy it. The Vibrating Music Hammock is designed by Parker Hertzberger, a designer from the Netherlands, and is more of a festival installation than a purchasable experience.

The Vibrating Music Hammock is oh-so fun. Effectively, it's a hammock with a steel frame that vibrates. The vibrations follow the bass and rhythm of any song (as long as it's bassy, of course), resulting in a completely immersive, cocoon-like experience. And yes, I would install this in my yard in a heartbeat if I could buy it.

IFA 2026 is full of innovative, weird, and wacky tech, from a drone + action camera combo to a vacuum cleaner for your vacuum cleaner. I even tried an AI-assisted espresso machine! Even though our Best of IFA awards didn't include a music hammock section, this is the music hammock of my heart.

So how does the vibrating music hammock work?

If you've ever been to a live concert, you'll know that you can feel loud bass. This is because low sound frequencies have more physical energy and carry more air. In essence, the vibrating music hammock commands these sound waves into a physical sensation. Imagine Thor wielding thunder — that's the music hammock with low-frequency sound waves.

Thanks to the steel frames, the sound waves travel through the hammock's fabric, and through your body.

As it's a sensory instillation, the vibrating music hammock is intended to immerse you in the music rather than behave like a traditional speaker. There's not much detail in the music, so don't expect one of the best speakers attached here — it's all about the vibes (literally).

My entire body vibrated to the rhythm of the electronic music on offer, and I honestly could've stayed there all day. I could've gone straight to sleep. My back no longer hurt. My feet stopped aching. This was utterly relaxing and immersive, like the music cousin of a sensory deprivation tank.

So why can't I just buy one?

As I mentioned earlier, this isn't a product you can simply buy and own. It's a festival or event experience. The designer, Parker Hertzberger, manually delivers, sets up, and mans the instillation throughout the event. I'm sure he's got better things to do than come to my backyard and build me a few hammocks.

Even so, I can't help but wonder if making my own vibrating music hammock might be easier than it sounds. It's fabric and steel, right? Famous last words.

I'll leave making vibrating music hammocks to the experts, but a girl can dream.

Would you like a music hammock in your backyard? Feel free to let me know in the comments.

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As a Formula 1 engine ripped through the center channel of the new Sonos Beam Ultra, I decided I simply was not audibly immersed enough. I picked up two Sonos Play speakers from a side shelf and set them down on a long table behind the couch.

Without touching a phone or digging through a settings menu, the Sonos system registered a subtle, satisfying "boop." The accelerometers inside the portables recognized they’d been placed down, fired off an imperceptible ultrasonic chirp to locate the soundbar and instantly reconfigured themselves into active rear surround channels.

But remembering I was in a public setting and should probably respect everyone else’s ears, I double-tapped the physical action button on the earcup of the new Ace Ultra headphones. The roar of the race track instantly lifted off the soundbar and dropped straight into my ears.

No Bluetooth pairing screen, no app lag — just an instantaneous network handoff.

After two years of software headaches, this seamless handoff felt like the turning point Sonos has so desperately needed.

Earning back trust with Sonos 27

It’s no secret that Sonos software has faced intense scrutiny from its most passionate users, primarily via Reddit, over the last two years or so.

But rather than dancing around the past, Sonos is framing its new operating system, Sonos 27, as a direct answer to that feedback. In fact, surveying the room, I learned that members of the Sonos Reddit community were actively participating in demos right alongside the media.

"We’ve been listening to customers all along, but especially in the last two years... we've learned a ton about what customers actually want," explained Andrew Sutherland, Sonos Senior Director of Product Management during an interview with me following the event.

"Internally, the way we're thinking about testing and releasing things has really been bolstered,” said Sutherland. “A really good example is the app redesign with tabs in the last three months, which has actually been behind a test that users can opt into and try out."

Beyond core stability and opt-in testing, Sonos 27 introduces open platform AI control via Model Context Protocol (MCP), letting users connect outside assistants like ChatGPT alongside Sonos' own voice engine or custom agents.

"It always comes back to choice and being an open platform for control," Sutherland said. "We don't really have skin in the game to say one intelligence should be used over the other."

Ecosystem-first hardware design

While competitors like Sony and Bose dominate commuter noise cancellation, Sonos is carving out a hybrid category with the $449 Ace Ultra: high-end cans designed to act as an instant extension of your living room system.

"These headphones are definitely the best headphones you can use at home, no doubt. But they're also the best headphones you can use away from the home," Brandon Holley, Sonos Interim Hardware Lead, clarified to me when I asked about Ace Ultra’s competition.

"We worked incredibly hard to make them light, but also extremely comfortable. So when you walk in the front door, it's an amazing experience that you don't need to leave at the front door."

Under the hood, bringing Wi-Fi system-linking directly into a wearable via Headphone Engine 2 required a complete internal redesign.

"You have to get into the radio. That means making sure you have space for the antennas, the radio, and moving electronics so the thermal design works," Holley said.

Acoustically, the Ace Ultra upgrades its predecessor's hardware for a custom-engineered 40mm driver optimized for sheer dynamic range.

"When you're creating sound, you're trying to transfer mechanical energy into movement of air. Power-to-weight ratio—if you want to think about it in terms of automobiles—that is king," Holley emphasized. "You want as much power as you can with as light of a diaphragm as you can make."

Meanwhile, on the Beam Ultra front, Holley revealed that fitting nine custom drivers (including two dedicated up-firing speakers) into the mid-size Beam Ultra meant engineering every component completely from scratch to solve cabinet displacement constraints.

The unseen magic of Sonos Fabric

The thread binding this new hardware generation together is Sonos Fabric, the underlying software capability that lets devices sense each other in physical space. Whether it's enabling portable speakers to act as instant, dynamic rear surrounds or letting headphones pull sound straight off a soundbar, Sonos’s goal is to eliminate manual configuration entirely.

"Fabric is the set of technologies that allows us to be able to do that," said Sutherland. "You shouldn't have to go into an app to set those things up or change them. It should just feel natural in your home. You almost don't want anyone to actually talk about Fabric, you just want it to happen."

When the roar of an F1 engine can jump from a soundbar, route through two self-configuring rear surrounds, and land straight in your headphones with a single tap (all without looking at a phone screen) I’m able to recognize what Sonos is actually fighting for at this moment in the company’s 20-plus-year history.

For loyalists who felt burned by Sonos' recent software missteps, Sonos 27 and this new hardware push send a clear message: Sonos is dedicated to making its ecosystem feel effortless again.

When the sound follows you from the soundbar to your headset without a single glance at your phone, you don't care how complex the underlying tech is. You're just glad it finally gets out of your way.

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Apple's huge "Surprise and Shine" is just days away and the first major event under the leadership of incoming CEO John Ternus' promises to be a big one. And now we have a fairly clear picture of what the company should announce.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has dropped a massive report that outlines everything Apple should release over the next year. And we expect 9 of those new devices to come at the Apple September event, including Apple's first foldable phone in the iPhone Ultra.

We've got a full breakdown of the devices likely headed your way, from the iPhone 18 Pro series and Apple Watch 12 to a new HomePad.

When is the Apple event?

Apple has slated its "Surprise and shine" event for Wednesday, September 9 at Apple Park. Typically, Apple would hold its event on a Tuesday, but this year it's coming right after Labor Day, meaning it's being pushed to Wednesday.

This has happened before and Apple's reasoning has been that the company doesn't want to ask attendees to travel on the holiday weekend. As an example, the iPhone 14 launched on Wednesday, September 7, following Labor Day on Monday 5.

The event is set to take place at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST and will be livestreamed on various social media platforms as well as Apple's own site.

iPhones generally go up for pre-order the Friday following the Apple event, but this year that's September 11. Gurman has reported that pre-orders will be pushed to Saturday, September 12.

New CEO John Ternus is expected to host the monster event, and his tenure appears ready to start with a bang.

iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max

This year, we believe that Apple will only launch the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. The entry-level iPhone 18 and iPhone 18 Plus reportedly won't debut until next spring alongside the iPhone 18e.

The design of the Pro models should look similar to last year's iPhone 17 Pro models. However, the Dynamic Island should be smaller, with a 24MP selfie camera. Rumors suggest the Pro Max model will also gain exclusive access new variable aperture lens and might also have a longer 6x zoom.

Both models should feature Apple's new 2nm A20 Pro chip and a new C2 modem. A recent leak suggests the A20 Pro could feature the largest ever GPU inside an iPhone, meaning better, more efficient performance. Speaking of performance, the latest rumors suggest the iPhone 18 Pro Max could pack a new battery somewhere between 5,391 mAh and 5,567 mAh, and if Apple pushes the silicon's efficiency performance closer to 30%, it could last over 23 hours on a single charge.

For more, see our iPhone 18 Pro vs iPhone 18 Pro Max comparison.

Unfortunately, analysts have predicted that the new iPhone 18 Pro models could cost between $200 and $250 more than the iPhone 17 Pro family. Here's hoping you have that extra money saved to cover the difference.

iPhone Ultra

The biggest announcement of the Apple event is sure to be the debut of the foldable iPhone Ultra.

An unboxing video from this week revealed a squat passport shape similar to the new Galaxy Z Fold 8, with a 7.8-inch foldable display and a 5.5-inch cover screen. Apple has allegedly made a crease-free display, one of the hangs up that stopped the company from making a foldable until now.

The Ultra could measure between 4.5 and 4.8mm when unfolded, making it one of the thinnest iPhones ever.

Inside, the Ultra would also feature the A20 Pro chipset and Apple's in-house C2 modem, plus a Touch ID fingerprint scanner in the power button — in lieu of Face ID. It's supposed to feature a fairly larger 4,883 mAh battery.

The rear panel should house two 48MP cameras horizontally positioned (wide and ultrawide) and two separate 24MP selfie cameras — one for the cover display and one for the interior screen.

Apple reportedly delayed releasing a folding iPhone until it could eliminate the crease in the display, but whether it's accomplished this remains to be seen. Even Samsung and Oppo, despite their long lead time, have only had moderate success.

One downside is that the iPhone Ultra price could be very expensive, costing anywhere from $2,000 to 2,500. And a recent leak suggests that iPhone Ultra may not be immediately available, with only "extremely limited" availability.

Just keep in mind that the iPhone Ultra could have a number of trade-offs versus the iPhone 18 Pro, including the lack of a telephoto zoom.

AirPods 5

The rumor mill has been excitedly leaking information about the AirPods Ultra, which could feature a camera that will feed into Siri to allow it to "see" the world. But according to a Mark Gurman report, we aren't expecting the AirPods Ultra until 2027 at the earliest.

Instead, we should get a slightly upgraded pair of AirPods 5. AppleTrack claims the design will be similar to the current AirPods 4.

Only two real upgrades have been suggested, including a better chip, volume control on the buds and a heart sensor similar to the Pro models. From a software side, the new AirPods 5 will likely take advantage of the more powerful Siri AI releasing this fall, though what features it gets remains to be seen.

Apple Watch 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4

Similar to the AirPods, the leakers have been fairly quiet about the next Apple Watches. We are expecting to see the Apple Watch Series 12 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4.

The designs shouldn't change too much, though Apple might offer a ceramic case option for the new watches. The biggest change might be a new kind of band attachment. This does mean that your old bands might not be compatible with the new watches.

AppleTrack suggests Apple will put a new S12 chip in the watches with a focus on speed and battery life, though exactly how fast and how much better was not revealed.

Both watches should get new health and fitness features. We already know that watchOS 27 will bring new AI features, an updated Workout Buddy and more useful data tracking. Plus, it should feature better integration with the upgraded Siri AI, which we've already seen in the iOS 27 beta.

Apple TV 4K

Apple hasn't released a new version of the Apple TV 4K since 2022. We're long overdue for an upgrade — even if it's only a more powerful chip for stronger performance.

Like everything else this year, don't expect new designs. It should look similar to older editions. Rumors have repeatedly suggested that the streaming box will feature the A17 Pro chip — the same as in the iPhone 15 Pro models. It should also get the in-house N1 chip for better Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Outside of chips, the big upgrade would be Siri AI, which could let you connect the Apple TV as a hub for smart devices. One rumor suggested that Apple might release a set-top box with a camera, which would allow for FaceTime calls and gesture-based controls.

AppleTrack suggests that the new Apple TV will be expensive, possibly costlier than the current edition, which is currently priced at $199 and $179 following price hikes this summer.

Smart Home

Since Apple Intelligence was introduced in 2024, rumors and leaks have hinted at Apple's ambitious plans to create a suite of smart home devices, and it all starts with revamped HomePods. The problem has been a lack of a viable AI-powered Siri, which will finally come to fruition thanks to iOS 27.

If it actually releases and works as pitched, this year could actually be the start of Apple Home.

HomePad Home hub

The totally redesigned HomePod would likely get a new name, the HomePad, because it's functionally an iPad stapled to a HomePod speaker.

Several different iterations of this device have been rumored, including one with a $1,000 robot arm. Currently, rumors claim it will launch in two versions: the iPad/speaker and a wall-mounted touchpad similar to the Google Nest Hub or Amazon's Echo Show 8.

The system would run a new HomeOS, based on watchOS. It could have a FaceTime camera for video calls and presence sensors to initiate smart home routines. The camera might enable face recognition that would display personalized displays based on the user.

For more check out our HomePad rumor roundup.

HomePod mini 2

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, long a reporter of the rumored HomePod updates, believes that a new HomePod mini could launch this September alongside the rumored HomePod Home hub.

A new HomePod mini might debut, but it probably won't be as big of an upgrade as the Hub. Most rumors suggest that it will feature a new chip and audio improvements. The current version debuted in 2020, and like the Apple TV 4K, is long overdue for an update.

Like the HomePad, it will use Siri AI to run smart home routines, though only through voice commands.

Apple's future products

While the Surprise and Shine event will take the headlines next week, Gurman's report reveals a total of 41 devices that Apple could launch over the next three years.

This includes everything from an OLED iPad mini and M6 Macs to a MacBook Neo refresh and the iPhone Air 2. There is even speculation on devices that could launch in 2028 and beyond. We'll get into all that elsewhere but for now, here's what should round out the year.

Other Apple devices slated for 2026

Outside of new M6 chips, the big updates on this list are all about adding OLED to Apple's Mac lineup. If Apple sticks with its usual schedule, these will launch around October, maybe early November at the latest.

• iPad mini with OLED screen: Outside of chips, the iPad mini has retained the same design since 2021. An OLED display would be one of the biggest updates in years. It should making gaming, watching media and general tasks more enjoyable. Though with everything getting more expensive don't expect the same $599 price tag.
• M6 iMac refresh: We've already seen the M6 chipset in action with the announced M6 Mac mini, which proved efficient. The iMac should get a similar update this fall.
• M6 14-inch MacBook Pro refresh: Like the iMac, we're only expecting a chip update from the M5 to the M6, but it should prove powerful.
• First MacBooks with touch display and OLED: Like the iPad mini, MacBooks might finally get a touch display and OLED panel this year. However, it will likely feature the M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, not the M6. Additionally, it might get a new name, MacBook Ultra, and a higher price tag.

Will you be tuning in to Apple's event? Let me know which device you're most hyped for in the comments.

More from Tom's Guide

• iPhone Ultra exclusive: Gurman on price, release date rumors and 'day one' weapon against Android
• 'We're not changing it': MapQuest hits No. 1 in App Store after refusing to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America
• iPhone Ultra and 18 Pro Max unboxed ahead of Apple event — these could be the final designs

The Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) aim to deliver premium noise cancellation and comfort for commuters and frequent flyers. Sitting in the premium mid-tier of the category, they replace the first-generation QuietComfort Headphones and bring over standout features like Immersive Audio, from the pricier Ultra series.

But it's a crowded market, and I can’t confidently say these are the best headphones $350 or so can get you when the Sony WH-1000XM5 are permanently discounted for less. The lack of wear detection means you have to manually power them down to save juice, and a 24-hour battery life is merely middle of the pack.

On the positive side, Bose absolutely nails the comfort and ANC, providing 10 levels of highly effective noise isolation and plush padding that makes wearing them for hours a breeze. The addition of a color-matched 3.5mm-to-USB-C cable for lossless audio input is also a massive win for the variety of ways you can enjoy these cans.

Find out more in my full Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) review.

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) review: Price and availability

• $359 MSRP but expect discounts
• Competes closely with higher-end Bose models on sale

The Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) costs $359 at Amazon, direct at Bose, and other major retailers. While this still feels like a steep initial asking price, it is highly likely that it will eventually settle closer to $299 during sales events. For context, the original QC Headphones have dropped as low as $229.

Bose's higher-end QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen Headphones have also been on sale for as low as $369. Meanwhile, the first-generation QuietComfort Headphones are still available and often discounted to around $250. You have to weigh the price against the newly added features, which I’ll elaborate more on now, starting with design.

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) review: Design

• Supremely comfortable with plush padding
• Intuitive physical buttons
• Folds into a convenient carrying case

Aesthetically, the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) maintain a familiar, somewhat plasticky build, but they are offered in a massive color selection. I tested the light green (officially, Eucalyptus Green) and it adds a fun, seasonal pop to an otherwise traditional frame.

Bose has become a master at the color game recently, regularly doing splashly color drops across its lineup of audio products, so I’d expect an even greater selection of options coming soon.

What these headphones might lack in premium metal flair, they more than make up for in sheer wearability. They fold up conveniently into an included carrying case, though I’ve already resorted to hooking them around my luggage when traveling to save space.

The headphones are not IP-rated for weatherproofing. This means there is absolutely no guaranteed protection against water or dust. I generally hate when people wear over-ear headphones to the gym, (specifically, AirPods Max) and it's especially risky here. They are not safe for workouts or getting caught out in the rain. Waterproofing over ears is difficult, so typically you need to spend more on something like the $899 Noble Audio FoKus Artemis or $1,250 Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95 to get an IP-rating.

Comfort

Comfort is where these headphones truly shine. The earcups feature just the right amount of plush padding, and Bose extended the padding almost fully around the headband, whereas the previous generation only padded the top quarter.

There are no clamping issues here; speaking from experience on my recent cross-country flights, they are genuinely comfortable to wear for 8-plus hours without experiencing pressure or fatigue.

Controls

I love that Bose stuck with physical buttons, as they are overall intuitive and highly satisfying to touch. All playback and volume controls sit on the right earcup, while the power, Bluetooth, and ANC toggles are on the left. Because they are physical, there is no risk of accidentally changing the volume when I brush my hair out of the way or lean against a plane pillow.

But there is a major downside: they lack wear detection. With no on-head detection, you have to physically turn them off, or the battery will just continue to drain. Call me crazy, but I firmly believe $300+ headphones should have some version of this feature.

Connectivity

These headphones are equipped with Bluetooth 5.4, a notable step up from the previous model's Bluetooth 5.1. It’s still behind the latest Bluetooth 6.0, though, which other mid-range headphones like the JBL Live 780NC launched with in 2026.

Multipoint connectivity works flawlessly; I enjoyed great auto-playback detection while seamlessly switching between my iPhone and iPad.

While they do not feature LDAC, they do support USB-C lossless audio input up to 24-bit/48kHz, and Bose thoughtfully includes both color-matched 3.5mm-to-USB-C and USB-C-to-USB-C cables nestled inside the carrying case.

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) review: Sound quality

• Bose’s Immersive Audio added
• Lossless USB-C support
• Warm bass but slightly capped treble

Bose hasn't upgraded the actual drivers here, yet these headphones somehow manage to sound better than the original QC Headphones. The biggest addition is the Immersive Audio feature with head tracking, which was previously exclusive to the Ultra series.

When listening over Bluetooth, the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen)’s overall profile is warm and engaging. To test the bass and soundstage, I played Milky Chance's Stolen Dance. The intro beats were incredibly punchy. While the soundstage isn't the absolute largest I've heard, the depth and separation during the bass drum build-up in Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car hits beautifully, offering a controlled, thick low-end.

Moving to the mid-tones, I cued up Bon Iver's Wash. to see how the headphones handled instrumental separation. The contrast between the layered vocals and the piano had a haunting, distinct clarity. Mid-tones are powerful and well-defined, and listening to David Bowie’s Heroes revealed excellent instrumental distinctions that kept his voice sounding true to the original recording.

However, the treble and higher vocals can feel a bit restrained. When testing Michael Jackson’s P.Y.T., the high notes were slightly capped, reinforcing the fact that the highs here don't have quite the same sense of openness. Tracy Chapman's angelic voice on Fast Car has definitely sounded a bit brighter on other high-end models, establishing that while these cans offer great bass, they are somewhat limited on the highs.

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) review: App

• Clean and easy to navigate
• 10 levels of ANC adjustment
• Controls for Immersive Audio

The companion Bose app is simple, professional and essential for getting the most out of these headphones. Available on iOS and Android, it allows you to tweak connections, check battery life, and apply basic EQ tailoring.

I also found a little easter egg that suggests inventive names for your headphones based on the color, if you’d like them labeled as something other than the comparatively-sterile product name.

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) review: ANC

• Incredibly effective isolation
• 10 adjustable levels
• Immersive audio modes

Bose continues to be one of the best in the business when it comes to ANC, and the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) easily earn their name. The ANC here is next-level effective. While testing on flights, I felt completely tuned out from the roaring engines and cabin chatter. I even switched between these, the Sony WH-1000XM6, and the Apple AirPods Max 2, and found the Bose to be noticeably stronger at blocking out environmental noise.

While the app offers Bose’s signature 10 levels of ANC adjustment, the implementation is so subtle that I rarely wanted anything less than full effectiveness.

The added Immersive Audio feature offers excellent "Still" and "Motion" modes, providing a spatial audio experience that acts as a fantastic alternative to standard stereo listening. People are usually torn on this kind of feature, but I’ve personally liked Bose’s implementation of it since I tested the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds.

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) review: Call quality

• 24 hours maximum
• Drops to 18 hours with ANC and Immersive Audio
• Middle of the pack performance

Bose rates the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) battery life at up to 24 hours on a single charge, which drops to up to 18 hours if you have both noise canceling and Immersive Audio activated. In real terms, this means you can get through a few days of commuting or a very long international flight, but it sits squarely in the middle of the pack.

For comparison, the Ultra version gets up to 30 hours, and rivals like the Marshall Monitor III or CMF Headphone Pro can reach up to 100 hours.

In my testing, the battery drained exactly as expected based on Bose's claims. I used them heavily with full ANC and Immersive Audio engaged, and the resulting 18 hours of playback felt a bit limiting if you're someone who often forgets to charge their devices. The lack of wear detection exacerbates this issue, as leaving them powered on while fumbling to disembark will quickly eat through whatever juice you have left.

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) review: Verdict

The Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) are an incredibly comfortable set of travel cans that successfully integrate the excellent Immersive Audio feature from the brand's flagship lineup. They provide some of the absolute best noise cancellation on the market, easily hushing noisy plane cabins, and the tactile physical buttons are a joy to use when you need to make quick adjustments on the fly.

But the lack of wear detection is a frustrating omission that requires you to babysit the power button, and a 24-hour battery life feels quite average given the $359 price tag when compared to modern stamina champions. Additionally, the lack of an IP rating means you'll want to keep these strictly for commuting and desk work rather than gym sessions.

Ultimately, if you prioritize wearing comfort, physical controls, and world-class ANC over battery longevity, these headphones are a solid travel companion.

If you’re looking for some of the best computer speakers to upgrade your desk setup, then look no further than the Kanto UKI bookshelf speakers. Though compact they may be, quiet they are not, with a room-filling sound that excellently replicates mids and treble.

The controls are simple to get to grips with, and the diverse range of connectivity options means you can use them for everything. From wirelessly streaming from your phone to connecting to a turntable, these speakers are incredibly versatile.

On their own, the speakers struggle to replicate bass and have a narrow soundstage, but these issues can be fixed with additional purchases of a sub and speaker stands. To find out more, you can keep reading this full Kanto UKI review.

Kanto UKI review: Specs

Kanto UKI review: Price & availability

The Kanto UKI bookshelf speakers are available for $269 from Amazon U.S. and £262 from Amazon U.K. The speakers come in five different colors, including Onyx, Chalk, Cornflower, Pumice and Sage, which I tested.

Kanto also offers the Kanto Ora bookshelf speakers for the higher price of $349. These speakers only come in black, but they offer a wider soundstage and studio sound for music production or mixing. There are also the Kanto Ora4 for $399, which are the same as the Ora but powered.

A cheaper way to upgrade your desk setup is the JBL 104-BT speakers for $199. They have a wide sound but struggle in the low end. I personally don’t think they look as good as the Kanto speakers, but they do the job just fine.

If you’re short on space and need to save some space (and money), the Creative Pebble Pro speakers cost just $69. The speakers have powerful bass, but I prefer the soundstage of the Kanto UKI speakers.

Kanto UKI review: Design

The Kanto UKI speakers are an undeniably stylish duo that has brightened up my desk. I tested the Sage colorway of the speakers, and since my room is decorated with a lot of green furniture, they fit right in.

Each of the speakers measures 6.5 x 4.4 x 4.3 inches, so they’re very compact. They’re smaller than the Edifier R1280T speakers ($149), which measure 9.2 x 7.7 x 5.7 inches. If you’re short on space, the Kanto speakers are a no-brainer.

They are made from partially recycled hard plastic and feel very sturdy. The front of each speaker has an exposed tweeter and woofer.

At the back of each speaker, there’s a thread for mounting it to the Kanto SU2 speaker stands, which are available for $29. This addition will lift the speakers off the desk, giving you more space and reducing surface reflections, enhancing the quality of your playback. Adding these stands made the listening experience ten times better, and I recommend this addition to anyone who buys these speakers.

Controls

The controls on the speakers are very minimal and simplistic, but that makes the experience straightforward. They remind me of the ones I had with my family PC in the 2000s. There's one knob on the front of the main speaker that you press to switch connectivity options and turn to adjust volume.

At the back of the main speaker, you’ll find the Bluetooth button and a small left/right switch. By toggling this switch, you can switch between the left and right output speakers, meaning you can arrange them however you like on your desk. This made it easy for me to arrange my setup according to where the power outlets in the room are.

Connectivity

At the back of the main speaker, you’ll see all of the ports for the different connectivity options. You can listen to music using Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C or RCA inputs, giving you versatility to use them with computers, phone streaming, or hooked up to a record player. There is also a 3.5mm headphone output port at the front of the speaker.

The speakers need to be connected to power when in use. There’s a six-foot four-pin speaker connector included in the box to connect the left and right speakers.

Kanto UKI review: Sound quality

I listened using the Kanto UKI speakers connected to my computer via USB-C. I’ve enjoyed listening to my music with the bookshelf speakers every day. Overall, the sound from these speakers is very warm, and the reproduction feels very natural. On their own, they’re perfect for casual listening but lack a wide soundstage; however, when I added the Kanto SU2 Desktop Stands to the setup, the sound was transformed.

When speakers are placed directly onto a surface like your desk, the sound can be subject to reflection. This means that they begin to sound muffled. But with the addition of speaker stands that can direct the sound upwards, this muffled sound is reduced, and sound reflection diminishes. These stands are a saving grace for these speakers.

To test the bass performance, I listened to Nightmare Tripping by Don Broco. This song relies heavily on the deep bassline, but that wasn’t replicated very well here. Some of the depth was lost, with more focus being put on the vocals. But this is to be expected with these speakers as they bottom out at 80Hz and are primarily designed for detailed listening, prioritizing the mids performance. But a deep bass performance is still achievable if that’s what you’re looking for, as you can pair the speakers with a small sub offered by Kanto, such as the Sub6 for $299.

The mid-performance was impressive. I listened to Wheels by the Foo Fighters. This song is country-esque (for the Foos) and features powerful drums and a bright electric guitar. The drums were well defined throughout the song, and the electric guitar also sounded very clean.

Finally, I listened to Next To Me by Kingfishr to test the treble and vocal performance. This song is soft and acoustic, lending itself to showcasing the more delicate performance of the speakers.

The vocals and harmonies throughout the song were clear with good separation. The guitar and harmonica also showed off the bright sound of the speakers and the warmth they can replicate.

I also used the speakers while watching Invincible, an action TV show, and was impressed by the level of detail and how the sound effects moved between the speakers.

Kanto UKI review: Verdict

The Kanto UKI bookshelf speakers have been a great addition to my desk setup. I can listen to them all day and know I’ll get an enjoyable, consistent sound. The simple controls make it easy to make quick volume adjustments or switch over connectivity.

The diverse selection of connectivity options is ideal if you want to use the speakers connected to a PC, wirelessly to your phone, or with a more bespoke setup with a turntable. The small size means they’re easy to store, and the cute design and color options are the cherry on top.

Unfortunately, these speakers struggle with deep bass tracks, but you could spend a little extra on the Kanto Ora instead if that bothers you. The narrow soundstage also won’t be ideal for anyone looking for desktop speakers to support music production or mixing. With that said, these speakers are ideal for casual, everyday listening while working.

The Noble Audio FoKus Artemis are the latest over-ear ANC headphones from high-end, although slightly niche IEM manufacturer Noble Audio. The Artemis follow up the FoKus Apollo Pro, adding an extra set of drivers to take the tally to three: each side now has a dynamic, a planar magnetic, and a balanced armature driver.

There’s also a slew of other upgrades, from Bluetooth and codec compatibility to water resistance. Most importantly, they sound utterly, and I mean utterly divine — those triple drivers aided by a clever personalized EQ that compensates for per-ear hearing loss.

Even so, they’re not perfect. At $899, these cans are competing with some serious players — your Bang & Olufsens; your Bowers & Wilkinses. While premium, the Artemis can’t quite match the luxurious build or polished companion apps of rivals.

But do the Artemis still rank as some of the best noise-canceling headphones for audiophiles? Find out in my full Noble Audio FoKus Artemis review.

Noble Audio FoKus Artemis review: Specs

Noble Audio FoKus Artemis review: Price & availability

As I mentioned above, at $899 / £799, the Artemis are pricey enough to mix it with the big boys — the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95 ($1,250 / £879), and the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 ($799 / £675). I own both the H95 and Px8 S2, so I’ve tested all three.

In short, if all you care about is sound, the FoKus Artemis edge it, with greater audio finesse thanks to the triple-driver array and excellent personalized EQ. If, however, you want a holistic luxury package for your close-to-a-grand, it’d have to be the H95. The Px8 S2 are the cheapest of all three but still feel more luxurious and put-together than the Artemis, plus they sound fantastic.

In the U.S., the Artemis are in pre-order at Noble Audio as I write this, although they're already becoming available via its established retailers in Britain.

Noble Audio FoKus Artemis review: Design

There’s no denying: the FoKus Artemis are hella pretty headphones. The glorious swirling matte patina on the outer cups is borderline addictive to behold. The sliders and earcup hangers are polished to a semi-matte, with a muted, syrupy luster as the light catches them. The hangers feel reassuringly chunky, I ought to add.

But while the Artemis look charming and feel premium, they don’t convey luxury, which I’d expect at this price. As I mentioned above, when you charge $899 for headphones, there’s nowhere to hide, and some incredibly fierce competition. Noble is splashing around in Bowers’ and B&O’s paddling pool — and that means it’s a pool constructed entirely of titanium and lambskin leather.

The Artemis simply cannot match the opulence of the other two, who leave no detail without attention. The Artemis’ milled edges are just that little rougher; the etching slightly less sharp; the ear pads (while comfy) not nearly as pillowy-soft. The buttons look plasticky and cheap, while the legends look either very slightly mis- or double-printed on both my test units — you wouldn’t find a basic error like that on a set of Bowers, no siree, and I’m pretty sure someone at B&O would be facing a firing squad for it.

There’s a felt-like material on the back of the Artemis earcups, which unless cossetted will doubtless grubby up quicker than you can say ‘balanced armature’. And the headband fabric looks uncannily like that on the Jabra Evolve3 75 conferencing headset I tested recently — there’s nothing overtly wrong with it, and it’s perfectly comfortable… but $900 to look like you’re on a work call?

By $500 headphone standards, the Artemis sure are lovely. But Noble has chosen the $900 mark, so by that yardstick shall these cans be measured, and shall they ever-so-slightly disappoint.

Still, the Artemis boast some worthy design features. The earcups and battery are replaceable, theoretically benefitting longevity. IP52 dust-/water-resistance means they’ll survive a light shower and the odd workout — although I dread to think what that earcup felt will look (not to mention smell) like once sweated into. You can replace the earcups on both the Px8 S2 and H95, but only the latter is water resistant (also IP52) and neither can have their batteries replaced (not by you anyway).

The Artemis come with a hardened fabric carry case. It’s a little slimmer than the Px8 S2’s equivalent and wholly easier to travel with than the H95’s chunky, scratch-magnetic hard-shell case. I’ve travelled with all three and prefer the Artemis’ case, as it took up the least space in my bag.

Controls

Their cheap-ish looks aside, I’m a big fan of the Artemis’ buttons and controls. They’re reliable, unfussy and sensibly positioned, which is all I really want and need. I had no issues locating and operating the Artemis’s controls by touch, even while walking around Copenhagen on a press trip. Sure, I like the physical and touch controls on my Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H100 and H95, but how many do I really use day-to-day? Four: power, volume, playback and ANC.

Connectivity

The Artemis use Bluetooth version 6.0, providing greater connection stability and lower power consumption than earlier versions. Even the Apple AirPods Max 2 launched in 2026 with the older version 5.3, so (unfortunately) the latest iteration isn't something you can take for granted.

The Artemis support hi-res codecs, including LDAC, aptX HD, and now aptX Lossless — an upgrade from the Apollo. Again, you can’t take these for granted, as the $2,500 B&O H100 only support basic AAC/SBC codecs, meaning no hi-res wireless.

The Artemis also pack wear detection with customizable auto-off timing, multi-point connectivity and smartphone control via a (rather janky) companion app. You can also run the cans truly lossless via USB-C, and there’s a USB-C 3.5mm adapter included.

Annoyingly, multipoint didn’t work too well during testing — when taking work calls, I occasionally had to turn the Artemis off and on again for Google Meet to recognize them as an audio/mic source. Could be a Meet issue, though.

Noble Audio FoKus Artemis review: Sound quality

I tested over Bluetooth using AAC, and over USB-C in hi-res on Qobuz. As I mentioned above, the Artemis sound insanely good. The three-driver setup comprises a dynamic driver for bass and mid-range impact; a planar magnetic driver for super fast response, particularly in the mid- and upper ranges; and a balanced armature driver for fine treble detail. It’s a heavenly ménage à trois.

Treble is ultra-precise, airy, and rarely fatiguing — I was caught out a couple of times by songs with inherently sharp treble baked into their master, although admittedly I was hungover on both occasions. For the most part, though, I found the treble comfortable enough for hours on end.

The balanced armature (BA) drivers and ultra-responsive planars offer exceptional detail. In Blusher’s Your Love Is My Drug, I heard every minute enunciation, every mouth noise, every lip smack, and the gentlest whisps of the breathy vocals during harmonies. The balanced armature drivers also help with airiness and space — the subtle pop of interference at the start of Queens of the Stone Age’s Medication was imaged perfectly, crackling upward and forward in my left ear like a firing nerve ending.

Vocals steal the show, though. They sound mesmerizing across the board, always perfectly isolated from percussion and other mid-range noise. In Stereophonics’ Just Looking, Kelly Jones’ voice commanded the track, his husky vocals floating around my head like tobacco smoke in an 80s dive bar — I almost forgot the song had a riff and drum track.

That fast mid-range response also works wonders elsewhere, with strong instrument and tonal separation. Guitars sound fantastic. I could hear the individual plucks and natural stringy timbre during the acoustic guitar bridge of Porter Robinson’s Cheerleader. Distorted stuff works, too, with bags of texture and definition in sludgy metal riffs.

The Artemis aren’t overly bassy headphones — no Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 tuning for the masses. But when you need the bass, it’s there, impactful and well-controlled. The powerful warbles of Burn Water’s Ikigai were thick, rich and velvety-textured.

Sub-bass response isn’t the strongest, at least not on my personal EQ. The last 20 seconds of Sohn's Antigravity — essentially just a wave of the deepest sub bass you can get before feeling rather than hearing it — sounded fairly thin. But that stuff is tricky for pretty much all headphones I’ve tested save the $2,200 Beoplay H100 and $4,500 Audeze LCD5-S.

As I mentioned above, these headphones are surprisingly spacious for closed-backs, but there’s an extra mode to supposedly increase three-dimensionality: Audiosphere, available in either Subtle (weak) or Immersive (strong) settings. Like most software-based 3D modes I try, it’s pretty poor, making everything sound metallic and echoey rather than actually increasing spatiality.

Listen along to my audio testing playlist on Qobuz, our favourite music streaming service for audiophiles.

Personalized EQ

The Artemis’ standout software feature is undoubtedly its personalized EQ, courtesy of the audio algo-nerds at Audiodo, a Swedish company specializing in personal EQing. The personalized EQ runs a hearing test and then adapts the EQ profile to your individual ears, compensating for any hearing loss at different frequencies in one ear or the other. As a tinnitus sufferer, motorcyclist and former DJ, this is exactly what I need!

I was blown away by the results. My personal EQ was highly effective, brightening up the treble and bringing noticeable space to the sound without compromising anything else.

There’s also a standard 10-band EQ, plus various presets. I like that your EQ is also saved onboard the headphones, too, so if your app goes kaput (which, spoiler alert, it probably will), your chosen EQ should remain on the cans... and yes, that is some not-so-subtle foreshadowing.

Noble Audio FoKus Artemis review: App

The Artemis’ Achilles heel (staying on the mythical trend) is its app. It’s a little unpolished, with a few slightly awkward something-to-English direct translations (“Go test” and the “Setting” menu), plus a somewhat boxy, dated and disconcertingly left-justified interface.

However, a more concerning issue during testing was the app’s jankiness. It sometimes failed to recognize the headphones at all, and once thought they were Noble’s Karma open earbuds. It also crashed each time I tried to update the Artemis — not ideal given my first test set was running early firmware.

I flagged this to Noble’s representative and the manufacturer quickly patched the iOS app, which is fine, although after the update one of my two personal EQ profiles was overwritten by a duplication of the other (thankfully, the one I preferred). It’s not exactly confidence-inspiring.

At $899 and in 2026, I’d expect a little more polish given the smartphone app is so pivotal to the Artemis’ user experience — personalized EQ and updating et al. The B&O app, by contrast, is wonderful and feature-packed, while the B&W app is fairly basic but at least reliable and slick.

I should mention that, thankfully, despite the jankiness, I could still use the FoKus app fairly reliably to customize the Artemis at a fundamental level (controls, ANC levels, etc), and most importantly use the EQ. Given the EQ is saved onboard the headphones, after setting that you can mostly live without the app anyway until you need to tweak EQ or update the cans.

Noble Audio FoKus Artemis review: ANC

The FoKus Artemis’ ANC is pretty good. I took the headphones on a flight to Copenhagen, and they cut out enough hubbub in the busy departures terminal for me to get on with some work in peace. On the plane, they competently drowned out the noisy Airbus A320 I flew on, the people behind me talking, plus a passenger on my row snoring. They couldn’t cut the noise of a screaming kid behind me on the return flight though, which the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 did last time I flew (returning, coincidentally, from Copenhagen).

The Artemis did a respectable job in daily life, too, cutting most traffic noise while walking around the Danish capital. I didn’t get along with the pressure levels at times, as the ‘High’ ANC setting occasionally made me feel nauseous, but your mileage will vary based on individual ear anatomy.

Noble Audio FoKus Artemis review: Call quality

For the Artemis, Noble did away with the Apollo’s detachable boom mic, which is a good thing. This is a set of ANC headphones, not a gaming headset. The new internal mic does a fairly good job for calls. I called my wife, who reported my voice sounded clear and natural, if not a little bit thin.

She noted, however, that the Artemis mic picked up literally every single background noise, from rustling paper to unwrapping a parcel to merely pulling my keys from my pocket. Apparently this was very distracting, and with no environmental noise cancelation on the mic, there was nothing I could do about it.

Noble Audio FoKus Artemis review: Battery life

Noble promises 55 hours of battery life with ANC off and 35 with ANC on. This sits between the 38-hour and 30-hour ANC figures of the H95 and Px8 S2 respectively. It’s a lot better than the 20 hours you can expect from the AirPods Max 2.

Real world results will of course vary based on your individual usage and whether you’re using USB-C for playback. In real terms, though, I used the Artemis extensively over a three-day press trip without charging them and was left with around 50% left, so there’s more than enough juice for a short trip away, and you’ll very likely be able to find a power socket in that time anyway.

The Artemis also have a neat trick up their sleeve: take off the left ear pad and you’ll see a battery held in place with a screw! That means you can replace the battery yourself, theoretically increasing the Artemis’ longevity. We’ve seen this before on the Sennheiser Momentum 5, but it’s not commonplace. Of course, it relies on Noble still making these batteries whenever in the future you need to replace yours. Despite questionable upsides, though, there are certainly no downsides to this.

Noble Audio FoKus Artemis review: Verdict

The FoKus Artemis aren’t perfect. When you’re being charged $899, you deserve a certain level of polish that, unfortunately, isn’t quite there in places. Admittedly, most of this is fairly minor, like the Artemis’ overly sensitive mic, or their lacking the sheer opulent finish and attention to detail of similarly priced rivals. The amateurism of the companion app is more worrying, though, given its importance to the headphones’ core operation. Thankfully that’s something which can be improved over time (and really needs to be, Noble, if you’re reading).

That said, I’m still head over heels in love with the FoKus Artemis, and there’s no question that they deserve my recommendation. Because that sound — mah gawd. It's what these cans are all about. Fire them up, sort out your personalized EQ, and you’ll quickly realize what you’ve paid for. The sound is simply exquisite, with detail, space, power in abundance, yet balance. The $900 finesse lacked elsewhere is made up for in triumphant fashion by just listening to the things. And that’s a compromise I can live with.

When I tested the $39 JLab JBuds Mini last year, I thought they were nearly perfect. Definitely some of the best earbuds you can buy. The one flaw? No ANC.

Thankfully, JLab has rectified that in 2026, and that's not the only thing we've been treated to. Not only do the new JLab Mini ANC have ANC (how could you tell?), they also come in a gorgeous splash of fun colors. No white here. Just earbuds that actually make me feel joyful. Oh, and here's a major plot twist — the earbuds have Apple-accredited Find My. As someone who loses her AirPods about six times a day, this is a lifesaver.

While they retail for $42.99, so around $3 more than the non-ANC version, these buds are still a steal. $43 for ANC, Find My, great sound quality, and a mini fit that doesn't hurt my ears? Sign. Me. Up. I tried them out at IFA 2026, so here's what happened.

The JLab JBuds Mini ANC are 20.3 mm x 13.2 mm x 21.3 mm. I can't find any earbuds smaller than this, but there's always a chance they aren't the definite "smallest" earbuds.

What's the ANC actually like?

Alright, I'm not going to pretend these $43 miniature earbuds rival the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Gen 2 or anything, because that would be untrue. The ANC is good. I tested the earbuds in a busy conference hall, with people walking past me, people talking, and just general life noise. I could hear a slight hum of chatter beneath my music, but the buds blocked out 95% of all conversations and 100% of high-frequency sounds like my typing.

I haven't yet tested them on public transport, but if the performance in a loud convention center is anything to go by, I'll be in my own silent bubble on my journey home.

And sound quality?

Like the original JLab JBuds Mini, the sound quality is great for the price. Again, you're not getting AirPods Pro 3 quality here, but that's not the point. If you expect $250 sound quality on $43 earbuds, that's kind of on you.

In "Mandalay" by Amyl and the Sniffers, the grungey female vocal was textured and evocative, and the bass and percussion were pleasantly balanced. The instrument separation was okay, but the grubby guitars did tend to blend into one another. Even so, for $43, I was really impressed.

The warm vocals in "Leave Me Alone" by Deki Alem flowed across the soundscape like a river of velvet, rich and comforting. There was a touch of dampening in the percussion, but nothing that would disappoint me for $43.

Finally, the frenetic, anxious guitars in "Coming on Strong" by Bloc Party raced around the soundstage, layered deftly under the hi-hats and vocals. Sure, the soundscape could have been wider, but again, these are $43 earbuds. I really don't think you can ask for much more — and I almost wouldn't want to. I'm so impressed with the JLab JBuds Mini ANC.

Final thoughts

All I can think about is how excited I am to write my full, comprehensive review of the JLab JBuds Mini ANC. I was blown away by the performance — and the $43 pricetag — and I can't wait to get stuck into reviewing them.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested the Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless — sorry AirPods, these are the earbuds to beat in 2026
• I tried Sonos Ace Ultra, and it does something your Bluetooth headphones can’t
• I listened to 10 of Sony’s new ULT party speakers together — and they offer something for everyone

The Sennhesier Momentum 5 True Wireless are the audio brand stalwart’s latest flagship Bluetooth earbuds — but I know the question on your lips is, “Well, are they best earbuds of 2026?” Yes, the Momentum 5 TW are definitely in the running.

Thanks to the rich, complex, well-balanced, and vivacious sound quality, the Momentum 5 True Wireless are, without a doubt, one of the best-sounding sets I’ve had the pleasure of putting in my ears. Ever. Warmer than AirPods Pro 3 and XM6 but more nuanced than Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2, the Momentum 5 TW are seriously ones to beat.

Not only do they sound fantastic over run of the mill codecs, they also come packed with aptX Lossless and Dolby Atmos head tracking for summer immersive movies. Might these be the perfect earbuds for you? To find out, keep reading this Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless review.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless review: Specs

Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless review: Price & availability

The Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless earbuds are $299 from Amazon U.S. and £249 from Amazon U.K.

This places the earbuds within the premium lifestyle bracket. Think your Apple AirPods Pro 3, your Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, your Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Gen 2, your Sony WF-1000XM6. I’ve also recently tested the Status Audio Pro X, which sound utterly divine, and the Technics AZ100, another non-big-name high performer.

For your $299, you get excellent sound, including aptX Lossless support, Snapdragon Sound, and Dolby Atmos-optimized head tracking (great for movies), and lovely ANC. While $300 is, objectively, a large amount of money, this price is expected for flagship Sennheiser wireless earbuds.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless review: Design

The Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless are your typical bean-shaped earbuds, with a large nozzle that sits in your concha. This is great for those who don’t get on with stem designs, like AirPods Pro 3. If you’re more of the Bose QC Ultra Gen 2 or Sony WF-1000XM6 persuasion, you’ll like the Sennheiser Momentum 5 TW.

I tested the lovely dark blue (“Denim”) colorway, as you can see from the images, which is sleek and premium. I have nothing bad to say about the aesthetics of these earbuds.

You also get five tip sizes — they’re all silicon with no foam buds, so sorry to any silicon haters in the house. I used the smallest size because I have weirdly small ears… subtle foreshadowing.

The buds themselves are IP54-rated, which isn’t as waterproof as the AirPods Pro 3’s IP55, but better than Bose QC Ultra Earbuds Gen 2’s IPX4 rating. In real terms, this means you’d be able to wear the Sennheisers on a run or during a light rain shower without breaking them.

Comfort

If you’ve got small ears, the Momentum 5 TW won’t be for you. The bean-shaped nozzle is so large that it made my ears ache after around five minutes. However, my normal-ear-sized colleagues reported that they were comfortable, so this is solely a small-ear issue.

Controls

Controls are easy and customizable. A single tap pauses the music on the right ear and adjusts ANC on the left ear. A double tap skips ahead, and a long press changes volume. Of course, if you don’t like these default commands, you can customize them in the Sennheiser Smart Control Plus app.

Connectivity

I was incredibly pleased to see Bluetooth 6.0 on the Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless. You’d think in 2026 all new earbuds would release with the latest Bluetooth version, but this is not the case. Apple launched the long-awaited AirPods Max 2 with 2021’s Bluetooth 5.3. Eesh.

Thankfully, Sennheiser has bucked this trend and “treated” us to Bluetooth 6.0. In real terms, this means it’s more reliable, has a longer range, and can transmit higher-res files faster. I was able to get out of my apartment and up the stairs before the earbuds disconnected from my iPhone 16 Pro.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless review: Sound quality

To test sound quality, I listened to a range of genres on Qobuz, our best music streaming service for audiophiles.

Spoiler alert: the Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless sound awesome.

First, I played 'Roslyn' by Bon Iver and St. Vincent. I could feel every vibration of the acoustic guitar, each chord change reverberating in my brain. The layered vocals were dreamy, atmospheric, and evocative, and the bass notes flowed along the side of the soundscape beautifully.

Next, I switched up genre to 'iPod Touch’ by Ninajirachi. The deep synth bassline thumped through the earbuds without overpowering the higher-pitched female vocals or the snapping hi-hats. Each housey piano chord was layered gracefully underneath the vocals and melted into the mid-track EDM breakdown. In this section, the glitchy, over-processed bass felt alive, and every squeaky sound effect was present over top of the soundscape. This song sounded awesome. Deep bass was also powerful yet balanced in ‘Wifey Riddim (George Daniel remix)” by Shygirl and 'space cadet' by sim0ne.

Finally, I went for something heavier. 'Punishers' by Die Spitz is an atmospheric guitar-led track with immersive growly guitars and crunchy bass. The sub-bass was clear and controlled with zero grinding or cutting out. The female vocals were powerful and layered perfectly at the top of the track, with zero tinniness from the snare drums or cymbals. On top of this, the soundscape was expansive and wide, and truly immersed me in the music.

To test the Dolby Atmos head tracking, I watched 'Twilight' on Apple TV. The Dolby Atmos performance was intriguing, but it didn’t impress me enough to claim I can’t live without it. I could hear dialogue from the far edges of the soundstage, and footsteps sounded like they were coming from below me. Of course, this is a nice feature to have, but I’m not sure I would get much use out of it. If you’re an avid laptop/phone movie watcher, this is a fantastic feature, but it’s not really for me.

Overall, the Momentum 5 TW sound excellent. Given Sennheiser’s reputation, you’d expect its earbuds to sound good, but I can attest for it right now: the Momentum 5 TW are richer than AirPods Pro 3, and warmer than Sony WF-1000XM6. They’re more detailed than Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Gen 2, and just as fun and vivacious as the Status Audio Pro X.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless review: ANC

The ANC on the Momentum 5 True Wireless is good, but not jaw-droppingly good. If you’re after “ANC so good you feel lonely” (thanks to my colleague Nikita for the everlastingly good quote), you’d be better off with the Bose QC Ultra Gen 2.

All that being said, the Momentum 5 True Wireless still block out the majority of environmental noise. When I was walking around the city, I could hear low frequency rumbling engines and some high-frequency sounds like car horns, but most chatter was blocked out. When I tested with a city noise track on YouTube played at 67dB, I couldn’t hear the track at all.

This is more than enough for everyday usage; if you’re needing earbuds for commuting or office work, you’ll be fine. If you live next door to a construction site, though, I might recommend the Bose instead.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless review: Call quality

To test call quality, I called my boyfriend. As mentioned earlier, I love how the earbuds switch to transparency during phone calls; this means I can actually hear the volume of my voice. The earbuds also announce when the call is ended, which is a nice touch.

He reported my voice sounded perfectly clear, with zero metallicness or echoing. When I played a city white noise track at max volume (from my laptop), he couldn’t hear it at all. This is a fantastic performance; I’m really impressed.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless review: App

The Sennheiser Momentum 5 TW use the Sennheiser SmartControlPlus app, which is fantastic. The layout is clean and easily navigable, and the app itself has a plethora of interesting, effective functions. You can test the ear tip fit, make a personalized EQ, activate head tracking, rename the earbuds, and control transparency levels.

As mentioned in “Call quality”, you can customize the earbuds to turn off ANC during phone calls, which is a useful feature for walking around the city.

A new feature is “Sound zones”, which is like Sony’s Adaptive Sound Control. In short, you can set the earbuds to turn ANC on or off depending on your location. In theory, you could turn off ANC as soon as you arrive home, or turn on ANC when you arrive at the bus stop. I don’t really lean towards these kinds of features — I’m more than happy to simply tap the touch control on the earbud — but it’s nice to have if you’re the sound-zone-inclined.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless review: Battery

Here’s one for the eco-conscious amongst you: the Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless have replaceable batteries. Yes, replaceable batteries! Just like the new Sennheiser Momentum 5 headphones, which I reviewed earlier this year, you can also replace the batteries on the TW earbuds.

Sennheiser rated the battery for up to 12 hours in the buds and then 40 hours overall in the charging case. I tested the Sennheiser Momentum 5 for a whole weekend and then three working days, and I had to recharge the case once. I did have all the bells and whistles turned on, though: Dolby Atmos head tracking, ANC on max, playing with all the features like custom EQ. I’m sure normal listening wouldn’t use this much battery.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless review: Verdict

I’m really, really impressed with the Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless earbuds. Not only do they sound divine, they also boast a multitude of fun, useful features like head tracking, integrated Dolby Atmos, personalized sound, and sound zones. For me, sound quality is King, and I’m pleased to report that if you’re a fellow sound snob, you’ll get on just fine with these buds.

While I wish the fit was more accommodating for fellow tiny-eared folk, “it’s not you, it’s me” is actually relevant here — normal-to-large-size ears will be fine with the snug bean-shaped fit. Unfortunately, I won’t be replacing my AirPods Pro 2 with the Momentum 5 TW due to the size issue, but it’s a me problem.

If you value premium sound quality, a sleek design, and a bunch of cool features, the Sennheiser Momentum 5 True Wireless will be the earbuds for you.

Electronic music remains one of the most diverse and forward-thinking genres around. That loose term covers everything from party-starting dance music to vibey ambience that's perfect for kicking back and relaxing. Then there are some albums that remain uncategorisably strange and elusive.

For this list I've picked out 15 classic albums that I love, all of which are available right now on vinyl and listed in order of price. There are canonical classics here, like Kraftwerk's The Man Machine and Aphex Twin's first Selected Ambient Works LP; floor fillers like Daft Punk's Discovery; modern pop classics like Charli's Brat, and much more.

Really, though, this list could have been five times the length and still not featured every great electronic album. Check out the list below and see if any of your favorites are there.

Labor Day weekend is almost here — and in celebration of the holiday, Bose is offering some pretty impressive deals on some of the best headphones and best waterproof Bluetooth speakers on the market.

If you're in the market for some new gear from the popular audio brand, you're in luck: Amazon is currently knocking up to 45% off Bose devices. Looking for a new speaker? I recommend the Bose SoundLink Micro on sale for just $79. When it comes to headphones, you can't go wrong with the Bose QuietComfort Headphones for $199, which are currently $160 off.

These rare Bose discounts are bound to disappear soon, so we recommending adding to cart ASAP. Keep scrolling to check out the rest of my favorite picks from the Labor Day sale.

Quick Links

• shop all Bose deals on Amazon
• Bose SoundLink Micro: was $129 now $79
• Bose SoundLink Flex (Gen 2): was $159 now $129
• Bose Ultra Open Earbuds: was $299 now $199
• Bose QuietComfort Headphones: was $349 now $199
• Bose SoundLink Max: was $399 now $329

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It’s easy to look at the new $449 Sonos Ace Ultra and wonder why anyone needs living room headphones when standard TV Bluetooth and other playback hand-off options already exist.

I’ll take it one step further. I’ve historically been skeptical of "at-home" headphones. I don't have kids sleeping down the hall or roommates to tip-toe around during a late-night movie binge, so headphones have always felt like a tool for travel, not my couch.

But after trying out the headset alongside the Beam Ultra in a living room setting, I believe it reveals a fundamental shift in flexible listening. The Ace Ultra bypasses traditional Bluetooth constraints entirely to operate in respect to the rest of a Wi-Fi-connected, whole-home audio system.

No, your Bluetooth headphones can’t do this

Connecting standard Bluetooth headphones to a smart TV comes with major trade-offs, including potential lip-sync latency, compressed audio, limited range and the general annoyance of digging through settings menus when you want to switch back to your TV speakers.

The Ace Ultra takes a different approach. With dedicated Headphone Engine 2 silicon, it can connect to your local Wi-Fi network rather than relying solely on a Bluetooth connection to your phone or TV. This enables uncompressed, zero-latency spatial audio.

And instead of applying a generic virtual surround filter, TrueCinema room calibration uses living room spatial data to map audio to the exact physical acoustics of your room. Because it streams over Wi-Fi, you can walk throughout your entire house without audio stutters or range limits. This made the Ace Ultra feel less like a pair of headphones connected to a TV and more like another endpoint within the Sonos network.

No, the original Sonos Ace also couldn’t do this

While it’s true that the original Sonos Ace released in 2024 introduced TV Audio Swap, that feature was strictly a point-to-point link locked to a single soundbar. The Ace Ultra breaks out of that single-room boundary through the broader architecture of Sonos 27, what Sonos is calling the latest software version of its system.

Through new Headphone Linking capabilities, the headset interacts directly with your whole home setup. Walking up to virtually any Sonos speaker in your house and tapping the physical action button on the earcup instantly pushes or pulls whatever audio is playing in that room.

The TV does not need to be on, an app does not need to be opened and your phone can be completely turned off in another room.

I think Apple has the closest version of this kind of hand-off implementation between its Homepod speakers and mobile devices, but again, you still need to physically tap your iPhone to the speaker to initiate the switch even if using AirPlay. You also cannot directly hand off audio from a HomePod to AirPods with a button press on the headphones themselves. Sonos is doing something genuinely distinct by making the headset an independent network node.

Yes, you can use them outside of your house, too

Even if you think you’ll rarely use the direct system-linking in your living room, the Ace Ultra makes a strong case as a travel-first flagship. In a loud event space packed with overlapping audio demos, the physical hardware excelled where traditional commuters care most.

Powered by a 10-microphone array, the noise cancellation cuts through heavy ambient room noise while maintaining clean separation between vocal and instrumental layers.

Sonos re-engineered the custom 44mm driver with a lighter, stiffer diaphragm, optimizing the power-to-weight ratio to deliver crisp dialogue, broad dynamic range and deeper bass.

You get up to 35 hours of battery life with ANC enabled. And beyond Wi-Fi linking, the headset offers Bluetooth, USB-C and 3.5mm wired options, finished in new matte colors.

At $449, the Ace Ultra delivers the acoustic isolation, long-haul comfort and battery life required to go head-to-head with travel staples from Sony and Bose.

But by removing the phone as the middleman and turning the Ace Ultra into a physical extension of your home network, Sonos is making a compelling case for keeping its headphones on when you walk back in through your home’s front door.

More from Tom's Guide

• Sonos is ready to steal back the soundbar crown with the new Beam Ultra
• I just set up the ultimate Sonos surround system
• Change these Sonos soundbar settings immediately

Today, on 1 September 2026, Sony introduced three new party speakers: Sony ULT Tower 5, Sony ULT Tower 7, and Sony ULT Tower Max. They build on the success of the previous generation of ULT Tower speakers, like the Tower 10, while introducing new, fun features that bring parties, DJ sets, and karaoke sessions to life.

The second generation features a new design philosophy and more sophisticated reactive lighting, a new ULT button on the front of each speaker (for changing EQ presets), 360° sound, and better, more powerful drivers. Battery life has been improved across all three speakers, too, as has durability and portability.

I love testing party speakers because I love headbanging to my favorite tunes. Could the ULT Towers make me love them more than I adore the Marshall Bromley 750 and the Marshall Bromley 450? While I haven't had time to do full reviews of the new speakers, I've spent just under an hour listening to them at a pre-launch event. In fact, I listened to 10 of them together. My first impressions? Quite positive, so allow me to share with you what I think of the Tower 5, Tower 7 and Tower Max.

Meet the ULT Tower Max, Tower 7 and Tower 5

The Sony ULT Tower Max, Tower 7 and Tower 5 are bass-first party speakers that, according to Sony, deliver the most powerful bass yet in the brand's ULT Power Sound series. All three speakers are designed for music lovers, and they combine deep bass, high sound pressure, and party features for an unforgettable experience.

Regardless of the speaker you buy, you'll be getting XLR, RCA, USB-C and USB-A connectivity for hooking up mics for karaoke, DJ mixers, as well as instruments — making the ULT Towers perfect for nearly every occasion. Each speaker is also fitted with four handles and wheels for easy transport... though you may still need another pair of hands to help with the gargantuan Max.

The Tower Max, Tower 7 and Tower 5 are IPX4-rated so they're splash-proof. I'm surprised that they aren't more water-resistant, like the IP54-rated Marshall Bromley 750. That will limit the speakers' use outdoors — but really, you shouldn't be using electronic devices in the pouring rain anyway.

Sony has worked with four acclaimed (and Grammy-nominated) hip-hop sound creators — Dot Da Genius, Daru Jones, DJ Dready, and Dennis "ROC.am" Jones — to fine-tune the ULT Towers' driver setup and sound profile. As a result, the speakers deliver distortion-free sound across the volume scale.

The Tower Max packs three 280mm woofers, two mid-range drivers, and four tweeters, so you're getting a lot of power. The Tower 7 is fitted with a single 280mm woofer, two mid-range drivers, and four tweeters, too. Lastly, the Tower 5 features a 230mm woofer, two mid-range drivers, and two tweeters. That's a lot for the lineup's smallest speaker!

You also get a customizable 10-band equalizer with all three speakers, and the new ULT button on the front grille now lets you swap between EQ presets. These include ULT1 (deep bass, low frequency sound), ULT2 (rumbling bass), Flat (true-to-source), and Live (spacious).

There's really no dearth of features, which is excellent. And the ULT Towers sound like great value for money, too, as they aren't that expensive. I was personally quite surprised when the Sony representatives shared the retail prices with me. The Tower Max is the most expensive of the lot, at $1,499 / ~ £1,300; the Tower 7 is the mid-range option, at $649 / ~ £600; and the Tower 5 is the cheapest option, at $449 / ~ £400.

So, what do they sound like?

Driver sizes and specifications are all for naught if the speakers don't sound great — and in my short time with the Sony ULT Towers, I thought they sounded fantastic. At the pre-launch event, the Sony representatives played songs from different genres to show what the Tower Max, Tower 7 and Tower 5 were capable of.

Regardless of the song they played, I found myself grinning from ear to ear. All three speakers sounded beautiful. The bass sounded rich and meaty with plenty of low-end impact, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ULT2 EQ preset which made me feel the bass in my chest, temples and deep within my soul.

The Sony representatives played a song by Dua Lipa, too, and though I'm personally not a huge fan of hers, I couldn't help but tap my feet and bob my head along to the tune. I believe that's a true sign of a competent party speaker. If it can make you dance to artists you don't care for, it's done its job.

I also listened to two Tower 7s together in stereo mode with left and right channels. When 'Money' by Pink Floyd started playing and the sound of cash registers and coins traveled between the speakers, I was left extremely impressed. The high-pitched coins didn't sound like they were piercing through the soundstage. The treble sounded shiny and vibrant but not overzealous or fatiguing.

Finally, I listened to an electronic track on 10 ULT Towers all at once. It's not everyday you get to do something like that — how many of us have such extravagant setups in our basements, eh? The wall of speakers sounded phenomenal. The room-shaking bass made me feel like I was at a gig or a music festival.

Looking ahead...

So, Sony's latest generation of party speakers sounds excellent — on paper and in real-world use. The Tower Max, Tower 7 and Tower 5 offer something for everyone, and given how affordable they are (especially the Tower 5), they offer bang for your buck. That's based on my first impressions, of course, and it's subject to change when I do my in-depth testing.

Speaking of, I'm really looking forward to putting the Tower Max, Tower 7 and Tower 5 through their paces. Do these party speakers sound like they'd be up your street? Let me know in the comments below!

The Sony ULT Tower Max, Tower 7 and Tower 5 will be available to buy from Amazon U.S. and U.K., Best Buy, or directly from Sony.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested the Marshall Bromley 450 and the Marshall Bromley 750 party speakers — and the winner surprised me
• There's no better party speaker on the planet than the brand-new Marshall Bromley 450
• As a guitarist and an audiophile, this is the all-in-one speaker I’ve been waiting for

Sonos is no stranger to the world of soundbars. The Sonos Arc Ultra is widely regarded as one of the best soundbars on the market — but its $1,100 sticker price makes it a tough sell when wallets are stretched thin.

That’s where the new Sonos Beam Ultra coms in. Announced early at an event in New York City on September 1, the new mid-range soundbar sports two dedicated up-firing drivers and a redesigned center channel that deliver clearer dialogue.

From everything I've seen on it, the Beam Ultra is a compact 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos soundbar that fits everything I love about its more-expensive sibling into a $700 price point. Here’s what makes it the soundbar to watch when it becomes available on September 29.

Big sound, small package

The current-generation Sonos Beam (2nd Gen) does a great job with its 5.0-channel configuration — but the Beam Ultra uses nine speakers, including the two additional up-firing drivers, that are going to make a world of difference for surround sound movie soundtracks.

While the new Beam Ultra won’t ship with any satellite speakers or subwoofers, the Beam Ultra is compatible with the whole Sonos ecosystem including, of course, the Sonos Sub and Sonos Sub Mini that can be used for a meatier low-end.

Sonos says the newly designed center channel driver enables clearer dialogue and can tap into four levels of AI Speech Enhancement for even more pronounced mids, as well as a Night Sound mode when you want to cut back on any wall-rattling frequencies.

Last but not least, Sonos says the new Beam Ultra will support the brand’s Trueplay technology that takes an aural image of the room and adjusts the output of the sound accordingly. It’s a handy feature, though one that never quite matches the effects of proper sound dampening in my experience.

The Beam Ultra offers both brains and brawn

In addition to its revamped internals, the Sonos Beam Ultra will leverage the company’s new Sonos 27 smart platform. Those words might scare you considering that the last time the company launched a new smart platform, it went so poorly that it cost the CEO his job — but Sonos 27 feels like it could actually make the platform better overall.

Key features in the latest platform are Sonos 27voice and Sonos 27mcp. The former is Sonos’ new voice assistant that will live (I assume) alongside Alexa, while the latter allows you to connect your Sonos ecosystem to any outside AI assistant or agent.

Eventually, Sonos will allow users to design their own custom agents — with a matching persona and voice — but details on that are relatively slim at the moment.

Finally, anyone who uses Sonos portable speakers like the Move 2 or Sonos Play will be able to use them in a future update as surround sound speakers for the Beam Ultra. This feature, dubbed Sonos Fabric, uses high-frequency sound that enables Sonos products to “sense each other” and “adapt to the moment.”

We'll certainly test that ourselves when the feature becomes available at some point in the future.

Sony, eat your heart out

Sonos isn't the only one going after the more modest soundbar market — this is Sony, Samsung and LG's bread and butter.

Each year, the trio of TV-makers deliver a half dozen of sub-$1,000 soundbars into the market, and every year they get gobbled up during sales events like Black Friday and, to a lesser extent, Super Bowl Sunday.

On paper, the Sonos Beam Ultra delivers a lot of value — potentially a whole lot more than what the competition offers — but $700 is still a pretty hefty chunk of change.

Is it worth the scratch? We'll know more after we hear it for ourselves at the New York event and bring it into our own homes for comparison testing sometime around its September 29 launch date.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested Noble's high-end IEMs and they boast an unbelievably wide soundstage — but are the Iris worth $699?
• I tested the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 + subwoofer — and recommending it is a no-brainer
• Before you buy your next pair of speakers, make sure you know this one essential difference

Sonos is giving its audio operating system a huge update that adds several AI tools and a speaker sensing tool that could change how you use your speakers: Dubbed Sonos 27 and announced at an event in NYC, this is the latest version of the company's control app and promises to be open and adaptable.

"We built our system around a shared love of music and the belief that nothing sets the mood like great sound," CEO Tom Conrad said in a press release. "Sonos 27 takes that further, bringing acoustic engineering, adaptable software, intelligence and design together in a way only Sonos can."

The last time Sonos attempted an overhaul, the controversial redesign cost CEO Patrick Spence his job. After public outcry, it took nearly a year for Sonos to bring the app back to an acceptable state. Here's hoping history isn't about to repeat itself with Sonos 27.

What's new with Sonos 27?

Sonos 27 comes with two AI features, Sonos 27voice and Sonos 27mcp, both of which utilize AI to change how controlling Sonos systems works.

Voice is a Sonos-built assistant for music and mood curation. The company is also introducing Sonos Custom Agents, which would allow users to create their own AI agents through the system, "each with its own model, persona and voice." Mcp lets you connect an outside AI chatbot to your Sonos system, including OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Sonos claims you could ask ChatGPT to play music anywhere in your home without leaving your AI chat.

Sonos didn't provide many details in its press release on how Custom Agents or AI assistant integration will actually work or how you'll connect them to your system, but these details are likely to be discussed during the event in New York City.

Other more interesting features

One of the more interesting features Sonos announced is called Sonos Fabric, a system capability that is supposed to enable Sonos devices to "sense each other" and then adapt to positioning.

According to Sonos, the positioning technology uses high-frequency sound to sense a speaker's location and then adapt its role in the system based on that.

Why is this necessary? It specifically enables portable surround sound features that let the Move 2 or Sonos Play become rear surrounds when they're moved into position. (It's unclear whether this will be added to non-portable speakers.)

Another new feature launching in Sonos 27 will allow linking the Sonos Ace Ultra (also unveiled today) directly to your speaker system, letting you push or pull sound to and from speakers and your headphones. This is launching in early access to start, so you'll need to sign up for that.

Finally, Sonos is adding new features that are supposed to make the app "more intuitive to navigate." Sonos claims these new features were shaped and tested by the Sonos community; hopefully it doesn't break the app like the last update.

So when will it be available?

Sonos 27 will be available for all Sonos S2 products, though some features are only available on certain devices. (More details to come soon.)

The new app navigation features rolls out on September 8, and Sonos 27mcp launches in early access at the same time.

This will all roughly align with the launch of two new Sonos products — the Sonos Beam Ultra soundbar and Sonos Ace Ultra headphones — that launch on September 29. The Beam Ultra is an updated version of the Sonos Beam Gen 2 mid-sized soundbar that will come in at $699, while the Sonos Ace Ultra headphones are a sequel to the original Sonos Ace that will cost $449 at launch.

Both are available for pre-order now.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested Noble's high-end IEMs and they boast an unbelievably wide soundstage — but are the Iris worth $699?
• I tested the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 + subwoofer — and recommending it is a no-brainer
• Before you buy your next pair of speakers, make sure you know this one essential difference

The Labor Day weekend is almost upon us and the sales have already started. Best Buy is running a wide-range of offers at the moment including one focused on Sonos speakers and soundbars. If you've been planning to upgrade your home entertainment setup, now is a great time to do so.

Amid the items on offer are Sonos Era 300 Smart Speaker, which we rated 4.5 stars out of 5, as well as the Sonos Sub Mini Wireless Subwoofer, which we gave the full 5 stars. These are great devices that will bring high quality audio to your TV and movie-viewing experience, as well as making music really pop. Check out all nine of the available Sonos deals below.

Noble Audio is no stranger to making expensive, high-end audio gear that makes your ears smile. Having spent a week listening to my favorite tunes through the Noble Audio Iris, I have to say, they’re phenomenal. Intricately and beautifully designed, the Iris are a sight for sore eyes, and they’re built well, too. That’s not even the best part. The Iris boast an extremely wide soundstage with airy treble and accurate imaging.

The Iris are ridiculously comfortable IEMs, too, and you can wear them all day long with no problem. But let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the eye-watering $699 price tag. Are they worth the premium when the bass lacks a punch (but that’s down to their neutral-sounding tuning) and plug replacement is a little finicky? I’m almost convinced that they are.

To find out if these are the best wired headphones for you, read my full Noble Audio Iris review.

Noble Audio Iris review: Specs

Noble Audio Iris review: Price & availability

Noble Audio’s headphones, earbuds and in-ear monitors (IEMs) rarely come cheap, and the same goes for the Noble Audio Iris. These IEMs retail for $699 and can be bought directly from the American manufacturer. The Iris launched in July 2026 alongside the Vanguard, which are slightly cheaper at $325.

Though they sound extremely expensive, the Iris are some of Noble Audio’s cheapest IEMs, with the next most expensive IEMs, the Lu Ban, retailing for $1,399 — and the Kronos, at $4,500, are the brand’s priciest monitors. Given that context, the Iris are Noble Audio’s budget-ish IEMs.

The Iris find themselves competing with other high-end IEMs, like the Sennheiser IE 600 ($699) and the Shanling Moria ($699). Are the Iris worth the money? Oh hell yes! But if you can’t afford them, the Sivga Lyrebird ($149) and Sennheiser IE 200 ($149) are phenomenal budget-friendly IEMs.

Noble Audio Iris review: Design

The Noble Audio Iris are some of the most beautiful in-ear monitors I’ve laid my eyes on. When I first unboxed them, I couldn’t stop staring at them. They feature a blue CNC-machined Micarta (a durable material made by stacking layers under heat) shell. Noble Audio’s crown insignia is engraved on and adorns each ear piece. Given their name, you can tell that they’ve been inspired by an iris flower.

In addition to looking downright gorgeous, the Iris are built extremely well and they feel solid — and let’s be honest, you wouldn’t expect any less for the premium you’re paying. The anti-tangle cable is made of high-purity copper and it looks and feels great. Similar to other IEMs, the cable can be detached from the ear pieces and replaced with another if it gets damaged.

Weatherproofing

Similar to other IEMs I’ve tested, the Iris aren’t waterproof or weather-sealed. This isn’t uncommon for IEMs, though the Beyerdynamic DT 30 IE ($159) are IP54-rated splash-proof — but they don’t sound anywhere near as good as the Iris. Since Noble Audio doesn’t specify an IP rating, I wouldn’t recommend wearing the Iris in the rain or during sweaty workouts. But that’s not really what IEMs are designed for anyway.

Comfort

When I first held the Iris in my palm, they felt substantial and a little heavy, and I was concerned that they wouldn’t feel very comfortable for extended wear. Boy, was I wrong. The Iris are supremely comfortable IEMs. Each ear piece weighs 0.5oz, so while they’re slightly heavier than the Sennheiser IE 600 (0.21oz each), they don’t feel unwieldy.

They fit snugly in my ears, and the braided cable wraps comfortably around each ear. The Iris didn’t fall out of my ears, even when I was bobbing my head. I wore them for a six-hour stretch without feeling any discomfort.

Controls

The Iris don’t feature an in-line remote for controlling playback, so you’ll need to use your smartphone, laptop or other audio source to play, pause, rewind and skip tracks. Again, not uncommon with IEMs.

Connectivity & drive

As is the nature of wired IEMs, the Iris need to be driven, or powered, by a power source, and there are two ways of doing so. In the box, you’ll find a 3.5mm plug as well as a 4.4mm one, and you can easily swap between the two as and when needed. The 3.5mm plug is handy for using the Iris with your laptop, while the 4.4mm jack (which separates audio into left and right channels to keep interference to a minimum) can be used with a DAC/amp, like the FiiO K11 R2R ($175).

In theory, the Iris’ termination plug should be super easy to remove. All you need to do is unscrew the bolt and then pull out the one that’s already attached, line up the four alignment pins correctly, and push it in. Et voilà. But I struggled to do so, and so did three of my coworkers. There’s a joke in there somewhere, along the lines of, “How many tech journalists does it take to unscrew a bolt?” It’s worth noting, though, that this could be down to my Iris being a pre-production sample, and this may not apply to everyone. Just try not to overtorque the fastener.

Noble Audio Iris review: Sound quality

Unlike the Sivga Lyrebird which use a quad-driver setup, or the Noble Audio Vanguard with their triple-driver configuration, the Noble Audio Iris utilizes a single 10.2mm custom dynamic driver. The single driver eliminates crossover distortion as it handles the entire frequency spectrum on its own. The Iris also features a three-layer diaphragm and a triple-chamber acoustic structure to reduce distortion and improve sound clarity.

All of these elements come together to deliver an astonishing, sublime listening experience that makes the Iris (almost) worth their asking price. I tested the Iris by listening to my favorite tunes on Qobuz, the best music streaming service for audiophiles, using the 4.4mm jack plugged into the FiiO K11 R2R.

When listening to ‘Time’ by Pink Floyd, I immediately appreciated the Iris’ wide soundstage which gave the track’s layered production plenty of room to breathe. Imaging feels extremely accurate as the individual percussion hits, guitar lines and atmospheric details occupied well-defined positions. The opening clocks felt especially immersive, spreading naturally across the soundstage rather than forming a flat wall of sound. Instrument separation feels excellent, too, and I felt like I was finding new details in my favorite song of all time.

I then listened to ‘Misty Mountain Hop’ by Led Zeppelin to see how the Iris handled the upper frequencies and crunchy guitar slides. The IEMs gave me newfound appreciation for the track as they reproduced the energetic character accurately, and there was plenty of sparkle in the percussion. The bite of the guitar came through with precision without making the song feel overly sharp or unpleasant.

Billie Eilish’s ‘BITTERSUITE’ proved to be an excellent test for the Iris’ mid-range, and one the IEMs passed with flying colors. Vocal presentation feels beautiful, as Billie’s haunting vocals sat front and center, sounded natural, and the Iris ensured that the instrumental arrangement didn’t get lost either. Everything felt well-balanced. I loved how textured and smooth the vocals sounded, with subtle inflections and breathiness coming through without sounding exaggerated.

The only area where the Iris fall short of perfection is bass, as I found out when listening to ‘Baby Driver’ by 070 Shake. The Iris made the track’s pounding bassline sound tight and controlled, but it lacked the oomph and pronounced rumble I thoroughly enjoyed through the Sivga Lyrebird. This was especially apparent in the distorted, electronic bassline leading up to the second verse. It’s supposed to drive the alternative R&B track but instead, the sheer force of it felt subdued. This isn't a flaw, per se, as much of Noble's gear is tuned to sound neutral, but just a pre-purchase consideration if you like meaty bass.

Listen along to my review with the Noble Audio Iris testing playlist:

Noble Audio Iris review: Verdict

The Noble Audio Iris are seriously impressive in-ear monitors, and after a week of testing, I can (almost) see why they cost as much as they do. They look drop-dead gorgeous, feel incredibly well made, and, most importantly, sound brilliant. The soundstage is extremely wide. The treble is oh-so-crispy. The mids are refined. The imaging is accurate. What more could you want?

Punchy bass, I suppose. The Iris make bass sound tight and controlled but they lack oomph — although this isn’t a dealbreaker as the Iris are tuned to sound neutral. It’s also great that you can swap between 3.5mm and 4.4mm plugs, but try not to overtorque the bolt.

And there’s the small matter of the price. $699 is a serious investment, even if the Iris are comparatively affordable by Noble’s standards. If all you care about is spacious, balanced and highly detailed sound, the Iris warrant a recommendation. At the end of the day, they’re beautiful, comfortable, and a joy to listen to.

As someone who’s always listening to music and looking for the best headphones to replicate the sound of my favorite artists, I was excited to test out the Grado SR325. I’m a big fan of detailed sound, and the Grados deliver it in abundance.

They have amazing vocal reproduction while also delivering detailed mids performance, so you can take in your favorite guitar riffs and drum fills. I found them best for mellow music, but they perform well across the board.

But while the design is sleek and retro, I had some issues. The on-ear style of the headphones isn’t for me. I found them uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time, and the cheap foam padding made this even worse. To find out more about the headphones, you can keep reading this full Grado SR325 review.

Grado SR325 review: Specs

Grado SR325 review: Price & availability

The Grado SR325 headphones are available in the U.S. on Amazon for $350 and in the U.K. on the Grado website for £349. When it comes to open-back headphones, you’re likely to be forking out a fair bit of cash for great sound, so that’s to be expected.

For around the same price, you can pick up the FiiO FT13 ($329). These cans provide a deep, rich sound with impeccable instrument separation. Similarly, the Meze 99 Classics Gen 2, which cost $349, can provide an even cleaner sound. The Mezes are over-ear headphones with a light headband, making them comfortable to wear for long periods, unlike the Grados.

The Meze Audio 105 AER are another solid choice, offering warm sound, some of the best clarity you’ll find, and much better comfort. That’s all for $299, which makes them a true no-brainer when compared with the questionable sound and $350 price tag of the Grado SR325.

Grado SR325 review: Design

The Grado SR325 are on-ear headphones with an open-back design. They have built-in wires, so there's no need to plug in each time you listen. The headphones look sleek with black aluminum details and a faux leather headband. I think they look great and more than a little retro, but the headband feels flimsy as it’s not very thick. The headphones don’t fold and don’t come with a case either, so you’d need to invest in a headphone stand to ensure they stay in tip-top condition.

Comfort

While the Grado SR325 are comfortable to wear for short listening sessions, I would much rather use a pair of over-ear headphones like the FiiO FT13 ($329) for comfort over extended periods of time. The on-ear style Grado headphones rest directly on my ears, making the cartilage ache, which is annoying if, like me, you want to listen to music for hours on end. Also, the cheap, thin foam used to cover the earcups is uncomfortable and a little bit scratchy. It reminds me of the foam covering on the Gadhouse Wesley headphones, which are significantly cheaper at $69. For $350, I expect more care to be taken with the comfort of the Grado cans.

The headphones weigh 14 ounces and didn’t feel too heavy, but the top of my head became sore where the headband was resting after about 45 minutes because there’s not much padding.

Connectivity

The Grado SR325 headphones have built-in wires connected to both earcups that merge into one aux wire. You have the choice between a 3.5mm jack or a 6.3mm adapter when connecting to your device.

While listening, I used the FiiO K11 R2R DAC to power the headphones, and my colleagues also tested the cans with the iFi hip-dac 3 and FiiO K15. While the SR325 aren’t very hard to drive and can be powered by your laptop or phone, using a good DAC ensures they’ll sound their best, and I could hear a stark difference between listening with and without.

Grado SR325 review: Sound quality

The Grado SR325 headphones have a very interesting sound profile. It’s a sound I completely enjoy, and they accentuate different areas from other audiophile headphones I’ve used, but this original sound is fuzzy, adopting an analog tone, like a cup of tea on an autumn afternoon.

I listened using Qobuz, one of the best music streaming services, and used the FiiO K11 R2R desktop DAC to amplify the sound. The headphones offer a well-rounded sound across most genres. They thrive with simpler, acoustic music, but they also enhance layers in more complex tracks.

Firstly, I listened to Music On The Radio by Empire Of The Sun to test the bass performance. While it didn’t deliver the same depth of bass I can expect from my everyday drivers, which are the Sony WH-1000XM6, I was able to appreciate all of the layers of the track without the bass becoming crackly or overwhelming. This means the headphones strike a good balance and allow me to hear more of the vocal performance. Bass certainly takes a backseat, but it’s still there, gently warming the track from the bottom up.

To test out the mid-range performance, I listened to Birds by Turnstile, as it has a prominent guitar riff complemented by heavy drums. The hi-hats stood out between the verse and the chorus, and the guitar riff was incredibly powerful when it kicked in. The soundstage wasn’t as wide as when I listen using my Beyerdynamic DT 270 Pro, but the level of detail made up for that.

Finally, to test the treble performance of the Grados, I listened to The Last Man On Earth by Wolf Alice. This song focuses on the vocal performance before exploding with the addition of harmonies, drums, and bass. The vocals were bright throughout and so detailed that I could hear every breath. When the drums kicked in, I experienced some very slight fuzziness, but that’s why I think these headphones do a better job with simple tracks.

Overall, I think the Grado SR325 headphones are a great option for detailed listening, especially for people who like detailed tracks.

Grado SR325 review: Verdict

The Grado SR325 headphones have a sleek-looking, retro design that is sure to look great next to any audio setup. My favorite thing about these cans is the amazing vocal replication. The mid-range is also exceptionally detailed, with guitar riffs taking the forefront where needed. The warm sound makes these cans very pleasant to listen to.

And while the sleek, retro design looks good, I can’t help but notice that the foam padding on the earcups feels very cheap. This doesn’t help that the on-ear style is uncomfortable for long listening periods.

Overall, these headphones are a great choice, but for $350, you may be expecting a little more comfort with your sound.

If you want to stream hi-res audio without spending a small fortune, the Beyerdynamic DT 30 IE are worth a look. There’s a lot to like about these in-ear monitors. They’re very light and extremely comfortable for all-day wear, and they’re IP54-rated to withstand splashes and sweat. In addition to that, the DT 30 IE are good for gigging musicians as they boast excellent instrument separation and tight, meaty bass.

But they aren’t perfect. Unfortunately, the DT 30 IE suffer from an all-too-plasticky feel. While the bass is commendable, the mids and treble could have been more refined and textured. And given that they face fierce competition at their price point, do they do just enough to edge out their rivals?

For the complete breakdown, and to find out if these are the best wired headphones for you, read my full Beyerdynamic DT 30 IE review.

Beyerdynamic DT 30 IE review: Specs

Beyerdynamic DT 30 IE review: Price & availability

The Beyerdynamic DT 30 IE in-ear monitors (IEMs) enable you to stream hi-res audio without breaking the bank. Launched in June 2026, they have a retail price of $159 / £99 at Amazon.

They’re priced similarly to the Sivga Lyrebird ($149), the Sennheiser IE 200 ($149) and the gaming-first Sony Inzone E9 ($149). As you’ll soon see, the DT 30 IE are good for some people but not for everyone — and it might make more sense to buy any of the aforementioned alternatives if you fall into the latter category.

Beyerdynamic DT 30 IE review: Design

The Beyerdynamic DT 30 IE are good looking, with each earpiece fitted with a transparent shell that lets you see the IEMs’ inner workings or hardware. They don’t look and feel as premium as the Sivga Lyrebird, though, which feature wooden faceplates and CNC-machined aluminum housing. The DT 30 IE feel quite plasticky, and I’d recommend the Lyrebird if that’s a dealbreaker.

Also unlike the Lyrebird, the DT 30 IE don’t feature a specialized anti-tangle cable — but to ensure they don’t get bunched up in your pocket, Beyerdynamic happily includes a carry case for the IEMs. Regardless, the DT 30 IE’s 1.4m Kevlar-reinforced cable feels sturdy and durable. It’s detachable from the ear pieces, too, which means that you can use a different MMCX cable if the stock one gets damaged.

Similar to the Sennheiser IE 200 and the Sivga Lyrebird, you wrap the DT 30 IE’s cables around your ears to ensure they don’t fall off. I found that the cable stays the shape you mould it into, for a secure fit, and the IEMs didn’t fall out of my ears. To ensure a perfect fit, Beyerdynamic includes six pairs of eartips, of varying sizes, in the box: three silicone for a balanced seal, and three foam for more comfort (and some degree of passive noise cancelation).

Replacing the tips on the ear pieces is a walk in the park too — unlike on the budget Dunu Titan X ($39) where it took me 30 minutes to do so. On the DT 30 IE, it took me just under a minute to pull off the eartips and replace them. Quick, easy and painless.

Weatherproofing

Wired earbuds and IEMs are rarely weatherproof, but the DT 30 IE are. Unlike the Sennheiser IE 200 and the Sivga Lyrebird, the DT 30 IE carry an IP54 rating, which means they’re resistant to dust and water splashes. Beyerdynamic says that this makes the DT 30 IE suitable for use by musicians during sweat-inducing and intense concerts. You should be fine wearing them to the gym.

Comfort

The DT 30 IE are ridiculously comfortable IEMs, thanks to each ear piece weighing just 0.09oz. I’ve worn them for four straight hours without any discomfort. The DT 30 IE are lighter than all of their $149 competitors, like the Sivga Lyrebird (0.22oz each), the Sennheiser IE 200 (0.14oz each), and the Sony Inzone E9 (0.16oz each).

Controls

Similar to other IEMs I’ve tested and studio monitors designed for music professionals, the DT 30 IE don’t feature any in-line buttons to control playback, so you’ll need to use your audio source for changing tracks.

Connectivity & drive

The DT 30 IE are wired IEMs, so you don’t get Bluetooth or 2.4GHz connectivity as you do with the best wireless earbuds. This means that they need to be powered, or driven, by a power source. They come fitted with a 3.5mm plug that you can use with your phone, laptop, or a DAC/Amp. If you want to use them with a mixing console or bodypack system, like a mic transmitter, you’ll need to buy a dedicated 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter separately.

Beyerdynamic DT 30 IE review: Sound quality

The Beyerdynamic DT 30 IE feature a single 11mm dynamic driver setup and they cover a frequency response range of 5Hz to 20KHz. For the most part, music sounds excellent through the DT 30 IE, and these IEMs reproduce most sounds accurately. I tested them by listening to my usual mix of testing songs on Qobuz, the best music streaming service for audiophiles.

We’ll kick things off with what the DT 30 IE do well. Basslines through the DT 30 IE sound powerful but controlled, and that was the first thing I noticed when listening to ‘2515’ by Wasia Project. The track’s dark electronic textures felt like they had a tangible weight to them, while the bass and kick drum packed a convincing punch. The song sounded powerful without becoming muddy. Each note stopped and started cleanly, remaining disciplined, while retaining its texture.

Pink Floyd’s ‘Money’ showed off the DT 30 IE’s great instrument and layer separation. Each clink and mechanical sound in the opening cash register loop remained distinct rather than blending together. All the instruments occupied their own spaces, such as Roger Waters’ iconic bassline and the melodious saxophone, but they gelled well together to deliver an immersive listening experience.

I then listened to ‘A&W’ by Lana Del Rey to test the IEMs’ mid-range. The DT 30 IE handle the abrupt shift between low-end heavy beats and Lana’s textured vocals well, with the transitions sounding seamless. I appreciated being able to hear the whispered words and easy-to-miss ad libs. However, I wasn’t entirely convinced by the way the DT 30 IE reproduced the upper mids. The vocals in the mid-range sounded flat and lacked body.

Similarly, I wasn’t a massive fan of the treble. In Yin Yin’s ‘Elma,’ the percussion, cymbals and higher-pitched instrumental details were present, yes, but they lacked the razor-sharp quality and sheen I experienced when listening to the same track through the Sivga Lyrebird. The track almost sounded smooth around the edges when in reality, it’s energetic and sparkly.

If you want a pair of IEMs that boasts powerful bass and good instrument separation, the DT 30 IE are sure to please. But if you want a pair that doesn’t compromise on every other part of the soundstage, I’d recommend the Sivga Lyrebird or the Sennheiser IE 200.

Listen along to my review with the Beyerdynamic DT 30 IE testing playlist:

Beyerdynamic DT 30 IE review: Verdict

The Beyerdynamic DT 30 IE are some of the most comfortable in-ear monitors I’ve had the pleasure of testing. They’re so light that you forget you’re wearing them, and they’re IP54-rated which makes them more versatile than some of their competitors. There’s plenty to enjoy sound-wise, too, as the DT 30 IE deliver punchy bass and excellent instrument separation.

However, the mid-range and highs sound a little flat and one-dimensional, which makes the Sivga Lyrebird better value for money. The ear pieces have a plasticky feel and look, too, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

The DT 30 IE are a solid choice if bass and comfort are your priorities, but if you want a more balanced, detailed sound, or a more eye-catching design, there are better similarly-priced options available.

The Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 is Sony’s mid-range soundbar with true Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X. If you’ve got a compatible Bravia TV, you even get access to IMAX Enhanced sound. Of course, it’s also a stellar “smart”(ish) home product, with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth streaming from various music streaming services.

As typical with the Theater Bar line, you can get the 7 with or without the subwoofer. I tested the model with the subwoofer. If you want a Sony Bravia experience for less than $1,099, you could check out the $349 Sony Bravia Theater Bar 5, but this isn’t compatible with Sony’s wireless subs.

With crystal-clear dialogue, powerful bass, and impressive surround sound, could the Bravia Theater Bar 7 be one of the best soundbars of 2026? You bet. For the full story, keep reading this Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 review.

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 review: Specs

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 review: Price & availability

The Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 + Sub is $1,099 from Amazon U.S. Without the sub, you’re looking at $869 from Amazon U.S. I tested the subwoofer version, so that’s the model I’ll be discussing today.

In the U.K, the soundbar alone is £699 from Amazon U.K. You can’t buy the soundbar and subwoofer in one bundle in the U.K., but the overall price would be £948 — the sub is £249.

If you change your mind post-purchase and decide you want the subwoofer, you can buy it for $329/£249 at Amazon. This subwoofer is compatible with: Bravia Theater 7, 8, and 9, as well as the Bravia Theater Trio and Quad, and the HT-A7000, HT-A5000, HT-A3000, and STR-AN1000 amps. Theoretically, you could get the Bravia Bar 7 and use the Subwoofer 9 ($898). Sony also offers the Theater Bar 5, 6, 8, and 9, which range from $349 to $1,498.

In comparison, this is a pretty average soundbar price. It’s not particularly good value or poor value. You can get the Samsung QS90H, an all-in-one soundbar (yes, including a built-in sub that’s actually powerful), for $999, or the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar for $1,099.

If you want something a little cheaper but still good, I’d recommend the $449 Polk Audio Signa S4 or the $699 Samsung Q600F.

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 review: Design

The Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 is relatively compact, making it ideal for TVs 55 inches and under. I tested it with a 55-inch LG G6, and it looked divine. Like most high-end soundbars, the Theater Bar 7 is effectively a long rectangle covered in a fine dark gray mesh. There’s no logo on the front, only a soft white light on the bottom right. No, you can’t tell it’s an expensive Sony soundbar from one glance, but you don’t buy a soundbar for the branding. You buy it for the sound.

Thankfully, as you’ll soon discover, it sounds great.

Controls

In terms of controls, there’s a physical remote with a few basic commands. You can increase or decrease volume, turn it on and off, and toggle night, sound field, and voice modes. Of course, you can also control inputs.

This is effectively the same as the phone app, but the phone app, of course, has more advanced settings, which I’ll get into soon.

Features

Like Samsung soundbars, most of the Theater Bar 7’s USPs reside within compatible Bravia TVs. Unfortunately, I had to test with an LG G6 (boo-hoo me, I got to use one of the best TVs of 2026, right?)

As any soundbar worth its salt should have, the Theater Bar 7 has a night mode and voice mode. Night mode reduces bass so you can watch blockbusters at 3am without receiving a noise complaint from your neighbors, while voice mode accentuates dialogue without making it sound unnatural.

There’s also a sound field mode. This effectively widens and raises the sound, which majorly improved my overall experience while watching movies.

The Bravia Connect app has a litany of advanced features, which I’ll dive into now.

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 review: App

The Theater Bar 7 uses Sony’s Bravia Connect app. While the app looks incredibly basic, almost bordering on careless, it boasts a range of advanced features.

As you can see, there’s a room calibration setting, much like on the JBL Bar 1300X MK2 and the Samsung QS90H. This sends out a pulse of sound and calibrates the audio based on your watching space.

You can also adjust the sound field height. I set mine to the max, which benefited the flying scenes in “Top Gun: Maverick” massively.

Of course, you can also play music directly through Spotify or Qobuz Connect. You can also turn on DSEE Ultimate, an AI-assisted upscaler. If you’re an audio nerd, there’s no shortage of fun things to play with in Bravia Connect.

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 review: Sound quality

I test every soundbar in the same room, with “Top Gun: Maverick” on 4K Blu-ray, various other Blu-rays, TV on basic Netflix, and music.

Movies

As always, I started with “Top Gun: Maverick”. I customized the sound field height to max, upped the bass to 10, and turned on sound field and voice mode. The soundbar balanced in-scene sounds like jet engines with the soundtrack well.

However, some, but not all, high-frequency sounds were lost in the bass-heavy “Danger Zone” soundtrack. Despite this, louder details like whooshing steam and engine takeoff sounds were clear. Only the softer whipping of ropes melted into the background.

Even so, the bass on “Danger Zone” was excellent, and the vocals sauntered across the soundstage with unbelievable clarity.

In the first dog-fighting scene, I could feel the planes flying overhead and around me. The screeching jet engines rumbled through the soundbar without overpowering the soundtrack, which flitted underneath the fighter jets with grace. Even the radioed dialogue was perfectly audible.

Throughout the movie, I never struggled to hear dialogue, even in flying scenes. Every word was perfectly clear. Every note in the piano-led soundtrack twinkled across the soundscape like a beacon. Ocean waves and whistling wind sound effects were woven underneath dialogue beautifully. This was a fantastic viewing experience — just like the movie theater.

Next, I watched “Michael”. I needed to evaluate how the soundbar handled both dialogue and in-movie music beyond the soundtrack. Again, dialogue was crystal clear; perhaps this is TMI for some, but I could even make out the sound of saliva in the actors’ mouths.

The soundbar handled this movie excellently. Every performance was rich and immersive, with powerful yet controlled bass and exceptional clarity across the guitars, percussion, and vocals. Switching back to quiet, introspective scenes felt natural.

Finally, I watched “Oppenheimer”. The sound effects during the space dust clips (I’m not sure how else to describe them) glimmered and glitched in a way that made me feel like I was floating in the aether. The string-heavy soundtrack took control of the scenes and held tight, making me feel like I was also a physicist spinning out of control.

The softer detail sound effects like chirping birds and quacking ducks, as well as the crinkling of fabrics brushing together, also came through strongly.

TV

To test TV performance, I watched “Interview with the Vampire” on basic Netflix, as you’re not always going to be watching 4K Blu-rays.

Even on basic Netflix, I could still hear soft in-scene sounds like the fluttering of wings or the subtle intake of breath. Dialogue, again, was clear and never overpowered the soundtrack. Action scenes, such as when Lestat transfixes his human prey in the speakeasy, were clear.

Diegetic (in-scene) sound effects like chirping crickets and crackling fires were audible over dialogue, no matter how softly spoken.

Overall, this performance was excellent. I really have no issues with this soundbar at all, except the slight muffling of high-frequency details in “Top Gun: Maverick”.

Music

Music performance is okay. It’s neither the worst soundbar I’ve ever heard or the best — the best is still the Bose Smart Soundbar (2024). Vocals had a tendency to feel quite pinchy, and bass was strangely lackluster. But, I digress — soundbars aren’t made to play music. They’re designed to be the center of your home cinema.

I listened to “Knocking at the Sky” by The Last Dinner Party. While the soft “la la” notes right at the end sounded great, the bombastic chorus was muddled and the vocals pinched in my ears. There was a disappointing amount of tinniness in the percussion, too.

Electronic music fared a little better. “If you wanna party, come over to my house (Eli Escobar remix)” by Fcukers was clearer and didn’t hurt my ears. The pulsing synth and warbling synth details were both full-bodied and confident, but the bass synth fell flat for me. There just wasn’t any intensity, likely due to the lack of bass.

Lastly, I switched to something heavier: “Red40” by Die Spitz. This guitar-led metal-punk-indie track is usually propulsive and insistent, but the vocals were squashed into the guitars and the kick drum didn’t carry any weight.

I was disappointed by this music performance because of how utterly excellent the movie and TV experience was, but you can’t win them all, and this is a soundbar — not a speaker.

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 review: Verdict

The Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 is a fantastic soundbar. With the subwoofer, you get powerful, controlled, and immersive bass, and the soundbar itself has a knack for delivering crystal-clear dialogue balanced perfectly over top of a dramatic OST. In terms of movie and TV performance, I really have nothing bad to say. Other than the tiny suppression of some high-frequency sounds in “Top Gun: Maverick”, the Bar 7 gets applause all round from me.

Sure, the app could look a little nicer — it’s nothing compared to the aesthetic of SmartThings — but are you going to be spending that much time simply looking at it? It works well and is reliable, with zero connectivity issues, and for me, that’s enough.

Whether you buy the subwoofer or not, I’m sure you’ll be incredibly pleased with the Theater Bar 7. It’s reliable, powerful, and immersive. For me, that’s all I want from a soundbar.

I wish I had bought myself better speakers growing up. For the better part of my late teens, I used a hand-me-down portable boombox that I used to play burned CDs from friends. It's not like these days where you can just pick up one of the best Bluetooth speakers and be done with it.

Still, had I known about better audio products — and the differences between active and passive speakers — I would’ve traded out that boombox in a heartbeat.

So let’s break down the differences between speakers, starting with the most obvious distinction: How do speakers get power and information to play your favorite music?

Passive vs Active Speakers: Major differences

If you’re just encountering these terms for the first time, the words “passive” and “active” might bring to mind two very different-sounding pairs of speakers — one pair that’s loud and aggressive, and another that’s quieter and muffled.

Thankfully, 'passive' and 'active' doesn’t refer to how the speakers sound, but rather how their internal components work and whether or not they require external amplification. That, in a nutshell, is the biggest difference between the two: Passive speakers require external amplification whereas active speakers come with an amplifier built in.

When it’s framed like this, you might immediately be drawn to active speakers — they sure sound like a lot less work — and you wouldn’t be wrong.

Since a manufacturer has done all the hard work of pairing the drivers to an amplifier, you don’t have to spend the time looking at specs sheets to make sure you’re not overdriving or under-driving them. However, by choosing to go with active speakers, you’re missing out on the secret advantage of passive speakers. (Hint: Changing out amplifiers at the drop of a hat is actually a benefit, not a curse.)

The other major difference is how these speakers actually get the sonic information passed over to them. On active speakers, information is obtained wirelessly, over optical audio or via a set of phono cables. Passive speakers use traditional speaker wire. We’ll get into the pros and cons of each in just a minute.

Active speakers: Pros, cons and sound quality

The main advantage of active speakers is that they work right out of the box without any additional hardware. These days, most active speakers come with a number of wireless connectivity options built in like AirPlay, Chromecast Built-in, Spotify and Tidal Connect, alongside many more.

On the backside of the main speaker (we call this the lead speaker or, in some cases, the master speaker) are a plethora of ports. Here you’ll find your standard phono inputs, usually a sub-out if you want to connect a separate subwoofer, optical in and, if you’re lucky, an HDMI port that allows you to connect the speakers to your TV without an AV receiver.

Active speakers are connectivity rich and easy to set up, so what’s the downside? The downside is that the speakers will always sound the same — which isn’t bad if you’re the kind of person who likes to set it and forget it. Tinkerers, however, won’t love this.

Sound quality will vary from speaker to speaker, obviously, and it's hard to give a broad sweeping generalization about the technology. However, if I had to give one, I'd say the majority of active speakers I've heard follow a v-shaped curve with big, bold bass response and sparkling highs. It's not that the mid-band frequencies are lost entirely; I just feel like they're less prominent in the active speakers I've owned.

Passive speakers: Pros, cons and sound quality

This is going to sound like some wine-swilling non-sense, but different components impart different sonic signatures — and that includes speakers themselves. This comes down to a number of factors including the amplification technology, the digital-to-analog conversion and the DSP (digital signal processing), all of which vary from device to device.

When talking about speakers and their sound signatures, we sometimes shorthand this chain as tuning, and herein lies the true joy of buying passive speakers: You’re able to tinker the tuning to your exact specifications. In the audio world we have plenty of default tunings, but not everyone’s ears are shaped the same, nor are our music preferences the same. Being able to tailor the sound to your liking is a huge benefit for folks with specific preferences.

The bad news is that not all music components aren’t interchangeable — and it is possible to cause damage to your audio equipment by mismatching it. This is a lot of fun for some folks, and a very stressful situation for others.

As far as sound quality is concerned, it will again vary between speakers and the components used to drive them. The difference between one system and another can be extreme. Still, I've found properly crafted passive systems to be more nuanced than their active counterparts.

When I listen to my passive speaker setup, I find new aural details I hadn't heard before in my favorite songs. (Billie Eilish's "WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?" is filled with small details that are totally lost on some speaker systems.)

Passive vs Active Speakers: Recommended models

If you just want easy, plug-and-play speakers with lots of features built right in, you should go for a pair of active speakers. There are plenty to choose from, but some of my recent favorites are the affordable Edifier S880DB MKII and the pricier — but much more powerful — Klipsch The Nines II. You can also go for floorstanding models like the Fluance Ai81 Elite.

If you want to build out a modular system piecemeal to allow for upgrading down the road, then you want some good passive speakers. As mentioned earlier, picking out a pair is a lot harder because it will depend entirely on the receiver or amplifier you decide to pair them with.

If the idea sounds daunting, you can always buy a system in a box that pairs passive speakers with a receiver for you, like the Yamaha YHT-4970U 5.1-Channel Home Theater System. This is an affordable way to get started with home theater audio.

For music aficionados wanting a good starter package, pick up the Bluesound Powernode and a pair of KEF LS50 Meta speakers. This way you’re getting both the modularity to upgrade down the line and the convenience of a streaming setup in one package.

Recommending systems can be difficult as tastes vary so much from person to person, but building the reference system of your dreams is a lifelong pursuit that many folks — myself included — wholeheartedly enjoy.

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