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Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 review: an excellent record player with great built-in amp that’s ideal for beginner audiophiles

1:08 pm | July 30, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Hi-Fi Turntables | Tags: Apple Music | Comments: Off

Pro-Ject Juke Box E1: two-minute review

The Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 is here to change the reputation of all-in-one record players. These have a poor reputation, largely because they're usually built to a very low price, with all the sacrifices that entails. The Juke Box E1 is not like this, because Pro-Ject hasn't built this for budget, it's built it for convenience. This isn't a cheap-o system, and it doesn't look, feel or sound like one either.

The Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 takes the familiar and good-looking Pro-Ject Primary E1 turntable and adds a built-in phono stage, amplification and Bluetooth receiver to deliver an all-in one sound system – just add speakers. Or grab the bundle that Pro-Ject offers with matching speakers.

If you already have a decent amp, then you'd be better off with one of the stand-alone Pro-Ject E1s, but as a one-box option among the best turntables for beginners who are starting from nothing, this is exceptionally simple to set up and use, and it delivers an impressive performance across all kinds of music.

At £599 / $799 / AU$999, this is not a super-cheap purchase, but you'd need to spend the same or even more to get a good-quality turntable and separate amplifier of the same level of quality, so it's fair value and compact, in that regard.

However, if you think you'll become more ambitious in the future, a standard Pro-Ject E1 and separate amp might be more future-proof, since you could replace one without swapping the other.

Juke Box E1 from above — Despite its additional features the Juke Box E1 looks very similar to the E1, E1 Phono and E1 BT turntables. (Image credit: Future)

Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 review: price and availability

Released in February 2024
£599 / $799 / AU$999
£799 / $1,199 / AU$1,566

The Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 is available as a stand-alone unit without speakers for £599 / $799 / AU$999, or you can buy it in a bundle with the matching Pro-Ject Speaker Box 5 set of stereo speakers for £799 / $1,199 / AU$1,566.

The price here is more expensive than most other all-in-ones, but it's targeted at a different kind of buyer – one who's got more interest in audio and component quality, but is perhaps short on space or would prefer to avoid the hassle of separates.

The Juke Box E1 is the successor to 2018's Juke Box E, and it was released in early 2024.

Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 rear — All the key connections are round back where you'll find line and phono outs as well as the speaker outs. (Image credit: Future)

Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 review: Features

Includes its own amp
Can be used with external amps
You can stream to it over Bluetooth

The Juke Box E1 comes with an Ortofon OM 5E cartridge, which is also used to excellent effect in the standard E1: it's a good all-rounder and easily upgradeable. But the most significant features are inside, where you'll find both an integrated phono stage and 2x50W of Class D amplification. That makes this a full hi-fi system: just bring or buy speakers, no separates required.

The platter here is belt-driven to reduce mechanical noise and in addition to the outputs there's a line in so that you can connect another sound source. You can also stream from your phone via Bluetooth.

As with the E1 there's no start/stop automation: you set and lift the tonearm manually.

Features score: 4/5

Pro-Ject Juke Box E1: Audio performance

Musical, involving and entertaining
Decent bass and airy highs
Can go fairly loud

Having previously tested the Pro-Ject E1 we had a good idea of what to expect here when we connected it to the same speakers as before: Pro-Ject's turntables are very musical, and the E1 with the Ortofon OM 5E performs very well with a wide range of genres including classic rock and electronic pop.

As with the E1, the sound stage was clear and detailed, offering excellent separation of instruments with a largely neutral performance and a bit of warmth. It's the sort of turntable that makes you smile involuntarily as you listen. Bass guitars are tight rather than rubber band-y, layered vocals and synth pads are well positioned and you'll often hear details that other turntables can't deliver quite so well. Lushly recorded music is a particular pleasure, but we had fun annoying the neighbors with noisy guitar rock too. It's a very enjoyable listen.

What's different this time, of course, is that the Juke Box has its own phono stage and amplification – and if you buy the bundle, its own speakers. The amp is rated 2x50W at 4 ohms, and I was impressed by its performance compared to an affordable standalone option.

Whether you're using Pro-Ject's speakers or bringing your own there's a noticeable difference in spaciousness if you're streaming a song over Bluetooth rather than listening to it on vinyl. That's Bluetooth's fault rather than the amp and speakers' fault, but it does feel like you're not making the most of what the Juke Box can do.

Pro-Ject's own speakers have a frequency range of 55Hz to 20kHz, which is decent for relatively small bookshelf-sized speakers like these and only marginally narrower than the 52Hz to 28kHz of the Bowers & Wilkins bookshelf speakers I normally test with.

Like the B&Ws, they're two-way speakers with bass reflex ports and benefit from careful placement: too far from a wall and they can lack bass; too close and there can be too much of it. I preferred the sound of my B&Ws using the same built-in amp, finding them to be slightly wider and more airy, but the Pro-Ject speakers are still very lively and entertaining.

Audio score: 4/5

Juke Box E1 display — There's a status display in the lower right corner of the plinth, but because it's on top you can't see it from across the room. (Image credit: Future)

Pro-Ject E1 review: Design

It's a Pro-Ject E1, but chunkier
Still good-looking despite the added bulk
Retains the zen design of its siblings

As the name suggests, the Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 has a lot in common with its sibling, the Pro-Ject E1 – but while they look very similar, the Juke Box is a little more chunky because it's not just a turntable. It also has a significantly larger power supply.

This is the latest generation of the firm's award-winning all-in one, and as before it provides everything you need to enjoy vinyl apart from the speakers (unless you opt for the bundle that includes stereo speakers). What's different from the previous version is that there's a new tonearm, a new drive system for the sub-platter, and a switch to toggle between 33 and 45rpm.

The Juke Box has the same belt-driven ABS anti-resonant platter as the regular E1, but it's in a slightly different place, presumably because the interior needed to be repositioned to make room for the amplification circuitry. As with the previous Juke Box, there's a small LCD display in one corner of the plinth to show the selected input and its volume, and as before it's on top so it's only visible if you're looking down on the turntable.

In order to achieve something close to the zen-like simplicity of the normal E1, the Juke Box has hidden some of its controls. The speed switch has been relocated to underneath the front of the plinth, and the on-off switch is on the underside too. Speaker, line in and out and power connectors are round the back. There's a single volume control on the front and the inputs are switched by pressing it or via the included remote control.

There are four finishes: glossy white, red or black, and a walnut wood grain effect. All come with a clear acrylic dust cover. The cover is in a normal place but opening it will knock the Bluetooth aerial out of position.

Design score: 4/5

Juke Box E1 remote — The included remote is straightforward and slim, with a tendency to slide down the side of your chair. (Image credit: Future)

Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 review: Usability and setup

Extremely user-friendly
A small display shows input source
Included remote control

The Pro-Ject E1 on which the Juke Box E1 is based is an extremely user-friendly turntable, and the same applies here but even more so: where the E1 still needed to be connected to an amp, the Juke Box has one inside it. As with the E1, the tonearm tracking force is factory pre-set, so it's just a matter of assembling the Juke Box, putting the belt on the pulley, adding the platter and slip mat and connecting your speakers.

The other main difference here is the display, which standard E1 doesn't have. It's simple and effective, showing the volume level and input source. You can control the volume with the control dial or press it to change inputs.

Really, the only usability thing missing here is automatic operation, which would certainly be a nice pairing with how generally great this is for beginners – but not everyone wants it, so it's not a real issue that it's missing.

Usability score: 4.5/5

Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 review: Value

A decent price for a turntable/amp combination
Hard to find a good rival at this price

The Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 is roughly twice the street price of the regular Pro-Ject E1, but for that extra cash you're also getting a powerful amplifier. You'll really struggle to get a decent, separate amp for that amount of money, and of course an all-in-one is more convenient as it takes up less space. In that regard, this thing is excellent value – and having it be a Bluetooth receiver is the icing on the cake.

However, there's a question of the long-term value that it delivers because you obviously don't get any flexibility for future upgrades, if you think you'll want them. You can't swap the amp out for a more powerful one to pair with more capable speakers. You can't swap the turntable out for something with different options while keeping the amp.

If you don't think you'll need to make these changes in the future, or you just don't think you'll mind the cost, then no problem. But it does mean that the Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 is a double-edged sword when it comes to value – fantastic in the first instance, but with an issue as you get more ambitious.

Value score: 4/5

Buy it if...

You don't want separates
The Juke Box contains everything you need to play records apart from speakers, and Pro-Ject will happily sell you a set of those too.

You have eclectic tastes
The supplied Ortofon cartridge is a good option for all kinds of genres.

You appreciate style
Pro-Ject's turntables are beautiful things, even in this slightly more chunky size.

Don't buy it if...

You have a decent amp
The regular E1 model will be a better fit from this specific range.

You'll probably upgrade
If you think you might go down the audiophile road in future, separates offer better upgrading options.

You tend to lose things
The remote here is slim and easy to lose down the side of your chair.

Also consider

Pro-Ject E1
If want an affordable Pro-Ject option and have an amp already, then the amp-less sibling here, the E1, is an ideal option. It's super simple, it's warm and rich sounding, it's very well priced – and it comes in a version with a phono stage, or with Bluetooth, if you prefer. Here's our full Pro-Ject E1 review.

Lenco LS-410
We didn't exactly rave about this record player in our Lenco LS-410 review, but it one-ups the Pro-Ject by including speakers as well, so if you really want to save space and money, take a look.

Pro-Ject Juke Box E1: How I tested

Used over several weeks across a ton of records and with streamed Apple Music
Tested alongside the Pro-Ject E1
Tested with Pro-Ject's optional speakers as well as the reviewer's own; tested with and without integrated amp

I tested the Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 at home over several weeks alongside its sibling, the Pro-Ject E1, connected through its own amplifier to both Pro-Ject's own bundled speakers and to my own Bowers & Wilkins bookshelf speakers.

I also connected the Juke Box to my Onkyo amp, bypassing the Juke Box's own integrated amplifier; as expected it sounded identical to the E1. For both turntables I listened intensely to albums I already know inside out across a wide range of genres from the most luscious yacht rock to rowdy punk and slinky electronic pop.

First reviewed: July 2024
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Edifier Stax Spirit S5 review: excellent wireless over-ear planar magnetic headphones that don’t cost a fortune

2:13 pm | July 29, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Headphones | Comments: Off

Edifier Stax Spirit S5: Two-minute review

Edifier is no stranger to the idea of creating a product that, by rights, ought to cost a fair bit more than it’s charging – but with the Stax Spirit S5 wireless over-ear planar magnetic headphones, it might just have outdone itself.

Small and reasonably light where most planar magnetic designs are big and unreasonably heavy, the S5 also have a lot of cutting-edge wireless features. Bluetooth 5.4 with LDAC and aptX Lossless codec compatibility is not to be sniffed at, and neither is aptX Voice for telephony. Having said that, though, the lack of active noise-cancellation will put some people off – and the use of animal hide isn’t exactly going to widen the S5 appeal either.

But let’s imagine neither of these things concern you greatly. What you’re left with is a pair of comfortable, well-made, smartly presented and impressively specified wireless over-ear headphones with an absolute stack of positives where sound quality is concerned. These are as open, as detailed and as revealing a listen as of the best wireless headphones at anything like this price – and they basically demand an audition.

Edifier Stax Spirit S5 app three screenshots — (Image credit: Future)

Edifier Stax Spirit S5 review: Price & release date

Released July 10, 2024
Price: $499 / £499 / AU$949 (approx)

Obviously you’re not short of choice if you’ve this sort of money to spend on a pair of the best over-ear headphones. You don’t have to go very far along the alphabet to find brands as credible as Apple, Bose and Bowers & Wilkins with very similarly priced wireless over-ear headphones to sell you. Safe to say, then, that Edifier has its work cut out.

For quite a bit less, you could have the July 2024-release, five-star $279 / £229 / AU$479 Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 wireless over-ear headphones; the Sony WH-1000XM5 can be yours for a little more than that, at around $329 / £319 / AU$549; the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless (which arrived in August 2022) can be found for around $299 / £269 / AU$450 in today's money; the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are an excellent October 2023-issue pair with a price tag of $429 / £449 / AU$649.

Here's the thing: none of those is a planar magnetic design (praised for its ability to provide extra detail over traditional, dynamic-driver designs). And in case you missed them, the February 2022 Edifier Stax Spirit S3 are a very talented set of headphones indeed. So, plenty to consider.

Edifier Stax Spirit S5 on a wooden table — (Image credit: Future)

Edifier Stax Spirit S5 review: Specs

Edifier Stax Spirit S5 review: Features

Planar magnetic drivers
80 hours battery life
Bluetooth 5.4 with wide codec compatibility

Ordinarily I’d just start ticking off the many and various features these expensive new wireless over-ear headphones have – but in this instance I think it’s important to start with something they go without. Unlike pretty much every price-comparable rival, the Stax Spirit S5 don’t have active noise-cancellation.

Edifier suggests that the carefully ergonomic design of the S5 frame and of the earpads attached to it (more on those a little later) offers a lot of passive noise isolation. And that may be true, but for some people the lack of ANC will be a deal-breaker.

In every other respect, though, the Stax Spirit S5 are specified very thoroughly indeed.

The headline, of course, is the use of planar magnetic drivers to deliver sound. The overwhelming majority of wireless over-ear headphones, at any and every price, use dynamic driver technology (a conical diaphragm driven by a voice coil within a magnetic field) to create sound. The planar magnetic alternative (which uses an extraordinarily thin diaphragm, embedded with wires, suspended in a gap between two magnets that vibrate the diaphragm to produce sound) is less common for two very good reasons: cost and complexity.

The magnets need to be big enough to cover the entire surface area of the diaphragm, which usually results in a bigger, heavier and more power-hungry arrangement. The diaphragms fitted to the S5 are just 2μm thick, and are implanted with the second generation of Edifier’s ‘EqualMass’ wiring. By connecting different numbers of wires of the same width in a symmetrical structure, Edifier is confident that uniform driving force can be achieved - the diaphragm will move back and forth with the same momentum across its entire surface, and thus minimising distortion.

The S5 are no less lavishly specified elsewhere. They use Bluetooth 5.4 for wireless connectivity, and because they feature the Qualcomm QCC5181 SoC they support cutting-edge codecs like LHDC, LDAC and aptX Lossless – with an appropriate source of music they can serve up digital audio content of 16bit/44.1kHz resolution losslessly, as well as lossy 24bit/96kHz. aptX Voice is also on board, which is deployed in an effort to deliver best-in-class call quality. Multipoint connectivity is on the menu too, and those Android users with a device running ‘Marshmallow’ or later can benefit from Google Fast Pair.

Battery life is a whopping 80 hours from a single charge. Admittedly that’s measured when streaming AAC-derived stuff at midrange volumes, but surely the broad point is obvious: the S5 have better battery life than almost any of the other headphones you might be considering. And in the unlikely event they should require charging from flat, 15 minutes will buy you 13 hours and it takes just 90 minutes to get back to full.

Control happens using a fairly restricted selection of physical controls on the edge of the right earcup (just above the USB-C slot), or the rather more comprehensive ‘ConneX’ app that’s free for iOS and Android. The buttons handle ‘power on/off’ and ‘volume up/down’, and there’s also a ‘multi-function’, the exact function of which can be specified in the app. The app is also where you’ll find wide-ranging EQ adjustment options, selection buttons for the like of ‘game’ mode and multipoint pairing, and so on. The left earcup, meanwhile, features a single 3.5mm input - Edifier supplies both USB-C and 3.5mm cables to facilitate hard-wired listening.

Features score: 4/5

Edifier Stax Spirit S5 review: Sound quality

As detailed a listen as they come
Positive, entertaining and informative sound
High-frequency reproduction doesn’t enjoy big volumes

It doesn’t matter if you’ve listened to a recording plenty of times before now – I’m confident the Edifier Stax Spirit S5 will find some tiny aspect of it or detail within it that you’ve never heard (or, at least, noticed) before.

For me, it is a 24bit/192kHz FLAC file of Neil Young’s Borrowed Tune streamed via a digital audio player using the LDAC codec. The harmonic variations and dynamic fluctuations in the harmonica playing are fuller, more alive and more complete than I’ve ever heard before. And once it becomes apparent this pair of headphones is able to identify previously unsuspected nuance at the very edges of a recording, you’ll find yourself listening to tune after tune in order to discover what else you’ve been missing.

So yes, there are remarkable powers of resolution and detail retrieval here. But that’s far from the only talent the S5 exhibit. They’re a direct, positive and unequivocal listen, able to entertain just as readily as analyse. They seem willing and able to perform this way no matter the standard or resolution of the content you’re listening to.

Low-frequency information is deep, varied and has proper substance – but though there’s plenty of straightforward punch here, control is such that momentum levels are high and rhythms get described confidently. Midrange insight is equally impressive, and vocalists of every type have their character, motivations and, quite often, competence described in the barest terms – the S5 communicate with real eloquence, and allow a singer ample expression. And the top of the frequency range is similarly substantial, similarly varied and similarly informative – as long as you’re not listening at significant volume, anyway. Listen very loud and the top end can harden up more than somewhat.

Integration of the frequency range is nicely achieved, and the overall tonal balance is neutral-going-on-cool. There’s a stack of dynamic headroom available when a recording shifts up its intensity or volume, and the attention to detail extends deep into the most minor harmonic deviations.

The Edifier create a large and persuasive soundstage on which all of this can happen, too. It’s deep and wide, properly organised and explicit in its layout – so even a recording with numerous competing elements is easy to follow. Every aspect of a recording gets a little pocket of space in which to operate, and there’s sufficient elbow-room at every stage. But despite the spacious nature of the layout, a recording is still unified into a coherent whole.

As far as noise reduction goes, Edifier is correct when it says that there’s a fair amount of passive isolation offered by the way the Stax Spirit S5 fit. Certainly if you’re listening at home, not much below a distant car alarm is likely to disturb you. But if you’ve experienced headphones with active noise-cancellation, using the S5 while out and about is going to seem peculiar – and not in a good way.

Sound quality score: 4.5/5

Edifier Stax Spirit S5 review: Design

347g
Comfortable and easy to wear
Liberal use made of animal hide

Just as the ‘features’ section started with a bit of a downer before rallying strongly, so it is with ‘design’. Edifier cares not for the concerns of vegetarians or vegans - that much is obvious from the use of cow hide for the backs of the S5 earcups and lambskin for one of the two sets of earpads it provides. It’s a weird decision to have come to, and those who find the use of these materials distasteful are well within their rights to ignore the Stax Spirit S5 from here on out.

By prevailing planar magnetic standards, the Stax Spirit S5 are agreeably compact and, at 347g, impressively lightweight. The clamping force, the hanger arrangement and the padding at the contact points is all nicely judged - and the ‘cooling’ mesh earpads that Edifier supplies as an alternative to the lambskin numbers take much longer to heat your ears during use, too.

The headband adjustment mechanism feels solid. The headphones are hinged to the point that they’ll fold helpfully small, so the supplied travel case is a fair bit smaller than the norm. The ‘shades of black’ finish is pleasingly realised, too, so not only are the S5 comfortable over the long haul but they don’t make you look in any way ‘try-hard’ while you’re wearing them.

Design score: 4/5

Edifier Stax Spirit S5 review: Value

Excellent sound-per-pound value
No ANC
Use of leather will mean a 'no' for some users

These are not Edifier’s most affordable planar magnetic over-ear headphones – but nevertheless, at $499 / £499 they’re a fair bit more affordable than the majority of planar magnetics out there. Take into account the great wireless specification, also factor in the lack of active noise-cancellation, consider the build quality and the use of questionable materials, and last but not least the way they sound… the S5 represent unarguable value for money where sound quality is concerned, and cover plenty of bases besides.

Value score: 5/5

Should I buy the Edifier Stax Spirit S5?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Edifier Stax Spirit S5 review: Also consider

The Audeze LCD-1 planar magnetics cost even less than the Edifier Stax Spirit S5 (hurrah!) but their open-backed design makes them unsuitable for public listening, sadly. FiiO’s FT5 planar magnetics are more affordable than the S5, too – but although they sound splendid, they are (for want of a better description) massive, which is going to put some prospective customers off. They’re not wireless, either.

If you can bring yourself to consider dynamic driver designs too, however, a whole world of possibilities opens up – Apple AirPods Max, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, Bowers & Wilkins Px8, Sonos Ace… the list goes on.

FiiO FT5
FT5 planar magnetics are less expensive than the S5, too – but while they sound great, they are, for want of a better description, massive, which is going to put some prospective customers off. They’re also not wireless, either.
See our in-depth FiiO FT5 review for more

How I tested the Edifier Stax Spirit S5

Wireless and wired connections
Various different sources 3: numerous file types and resolutions
Numerous file types and resolutions

Of course, wireless headphones tend to be used wirelessly - and so I listened to the Stax Spirit S5 connected wirelessly to an Apple iPhone 14 Pro and a FiiO M15S digital audio player. I also listened to the headphones when wired directly to an Apple MacBook Pro and to the same computer via an iFi iDSD Diablo 2 headphone amplifier. Lots of different music, of lots of different file types and sizes, and a fair few different Bluetooth codecs, were deployed too - and listening happened both indoors and out in the real world.

First reviewed: July 2024
Read more about how we test

Beats Pill review: a Bluetooth speaker with style, great sound and… too few buttons

1:30 pm | July 28, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Hi-Fi Wireless & Bluetooth Speakers | Tags: Beats Pill | Comments: Off

The Pill is back! Beats' 2012 capsule creation was long overdue an update, wasn't it? Yes, Apple's Beats-branded Bluetooth speaker has been through several iterations in the 12 years since its debut, but even the most recent of those was back in 2015 (and was discontinued by Apple in January 2022). This left a gaping hole in the Bluetooth speaker space. Cut to June 25, 2024, and, following a few careful and thoroughly on-brand celeb leaks, a 2024 Beats Pill finally dropped. And it's cheaper than it was in 2012! But let's not get ahead of ourselves – pricing comes later.

Is the new Beats Pill worthy of a spot in our best Bluetooth speakers buying guide? In so many ways, yes. Right off the bat: the glow-up has worked – it looks great. It's rounder and more tactile: there's a sense of pride in carrying it around. It feels as if it should have a Bang & Olufsen plate on its metal grille and be far more expensive than it is.

It sounds really good for its size too. This is thanks in no small part to the reworked acoustic architecture under the hood: there's a new single and totally reengineered racetrack woofer (the 2015 Beats Pill+ featured a dual woofer design), helped by stronger neodymium magnets. Apple says the 2024 Beats Pill can drive 28% more motor force to "displace 90% more air volume" and while I don't have a Pill+ to hand to test that claim, I can tell you that the Pill sounds much bigger and more spacious that it's hotdog-esque dimensions would lead you to imagine. It easily provided the tunes for a gathering of six people.

The high notes are handled by a redesigned solo tweeter (again, just the one, not the two you'd find in the older Plus model) secured in its own housing and the entire array – and metallic grille surrounding it – is now angled up by 20 degrees, so its improved output hits you in the right way. This Pill is also 10% lighter than the last one since Beats has managed to knock 68g / 2.4oz off the weight.

Beats Pill speaker in the sun — (Image credit: Future)

Let's get to the sound first: it's good. The Beats Pill's enviable sonic chops are the reason it gets four stars. The bongo drums at the start of Shed Seven's Dolphin (from a nice Flac file on my laptop via USB-C for better-than-Bluetooth audio – more on this later) start off every bit as quiet as they should, building to Rick Witter's crisp, energetic and nuanced vocal. Jangly guitars, driving bassline and Alan Leach's uncompromising drum fills are all given due diligence in a cohesive mix that still lets those bongos shine as the track intensifies.

John Frusciante's Omission, from Shadows Collide with People celebrates every supplementary musical passage with zeal and finesse even over Bluetooth 5.3 (and even though only SBC and AAC are supported, so no higher-res codecs). The track's tambourine, female backing vocals, synth, keys and percussion are not only revealed but expertly showcased with texture, in a soundstage that I can only describe as reverent. The album continues to Shift Sync and I'm happy to note a healthy and head-noddingly accurate bass thump from the Beats Pill, too.

OK, if you're prepared to pay about $30 more for the JBL Charge 5 (and prepared to cart around something that's 332g heavier, or slightly more than a bag of flour) you'll get a sound that's a touch meatier, broader and dynamically agile through the rise and fall of each note. However, the 2021-release JBL is neither as premium-looking nor as perfectly portable, and the Charge 5's 20 hours of playtime is beaten by the Pill's 24-hour stamina. Also, the Pill can be used as a speakerphone during calls, which is a feature I really like and one that seems to be dying out – the JBL Charge 5, for one, has no built-in mic so can't do it.

Where the JBL model has the upper hand, though, is when it comes to daisy-chaining multiple speakers from its family via the PartyBoost function. Your options for beefing up the Beats Pill's audio is to pair two of them, in either 'Amplify' or 'Stereo' modes – ie. mono or stereo. So if you had visions of purchasing eight or so perfectly paired Pills to dot around your home, you'll be disappointed.

The Pill supports super-snappy one-touch pairing on both Android and iOS now, plus Find My (on iOS) or Find My Device (Android). Instructions on setting this up can be found by scanning the QR code supplied in the packaging, but a dedicated app might have been an idea on iOS. This is an Apple product in a Beats jacket, so certain Apple ecosystem perks (iCloud pairing to any device within your iCloud account, audio hand-off to your Apple Watch if your iPhone dips out of range) are here.

The thing is, there's no dedicated EQ tab or way to check for remaining juice in the Pill other than by pressing the power button quickly (more on this incoming), which makes a picture of the Pill pop up on my iPhone with a battery life percentage. That said, I like that once paired, my iPhone's volume slider becomes Beats-branded.

For extra usability bits and pieces on Android, you're directed to the Beats app (requires Android 8.0 or later). For iPhone and iPad users, Beats clearly feels its integration with iOS gets the job done. I'm not sure it's a great decision, though I accept that AirPods don't have a dedicated app on your iPhone either, and, let's face it, they're rather popular.

The big ace up the Pill's sleeve is that you can use the included USB-C charging cable to charge other portable devices from the Pill, or to enjoy lossless audio from your laptop, phone, or other digital music sources. It's a great USP if you value audio quality. However, it leads me on to my main gripe with the Beats Pill. Look at its top plate and you'll see just four buttons: two for volume, a power/pairing button and a central button. That's simply not enough buttons – especially when you remember there's no iOS app to speak of.

Let me explain. The power button alone has no fewer than six functions, three of which involve holding it down for a different number of seconds, to make the Pill take effect (as it were). A fourth involves holding it down while simultaneously plugging it into another device quickly (!) so it doesn't think you mean something else. You need to hold the power button down for 0.8 seconds or less to check the battery; more than 0.8 seconds but less than 3 seconds to turn it on or off; more than 3 seconds to initiate pairing. Holding the button down while simultaneously plugging its USB-C port into a source device (which, again, you must do quickly and decisively) should initiate USB-C audio.

You know what I'm going to say. I often initiated Bluetooth pairing when I meant to turn it off. This is because, after a few presses that didn't register for more than 0.8 seconds, I got a little more heavy-handed and overcooked it. And USB-C audio was only achieved after several attempts where once again, the Pill thought I wanted to initiate pairing rather than hook up a wired connection to my laptop. There's no dedicated 3.5mm port on the Pill and I couldn't get the USB-C cable to work with a 3.5mm dongle to a set of headphones, or a Lightning dongle to my iPhone 12 Pro on the other end of the cable, so it really is true USB-C to USB-C only.

The Pill's central button handles playback in the usual way (one press for play/pause, two to skip, three to go back) but also can be long-pressed at the same time as the central button on another Pill, to pair them. I didn't test this since I only had one review sample, but again, an app where you see the paired speaker (and what, in which mode, it's connected to) would have helped here.

Beats Pill speaker outside on a sunny day — (Image credit: Future)

For the money, which is $149.99 / £149.99 / AU$249 (ie. $50 less than the 2012 original) I need you to know that this is a great-sounding, great-looking, well-featured Bluetooth speaker that, thanks to its IP67 rating, is also one of the best waterproof speakers I've tested for sound.

For me, its dimensions and aesthetic (available in Red, Black, or this gorgeous beach-ready 'Champagne Gold' hue) are quite beautiful and I took greater pride in producing it from my bag than I did many of the similarly-priced, 'rugged' and fabric-jacketed rival speakers I've tested to date. If you're a fan of the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) or slightly newer Beosound Explore for looks and sound, you'll love the Beats Pill.

Beats Pill review: Price and availability

Priced $149.99 / £149.99 / AU$249
Released June 25, 2024

The Beats Pill officially arrived on June 25, having been artfully teased in the weeks beforehand. That price pleasantly surprised me since, well, this is still Apple and the 2012 inaugural model cost $50 more.

Competition is the key driver there, obviously – there's a lot of it about in 2024. For looks, its closest rival is the excellent – but older and significantly more expensive – May 2020-issue Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1. For size and relative newness, you might look to the May 2024-release Sonos Roam 2, which costs $30 / £30 / AU$50 more. That speaker will also hook up to your Sonos system, but it only has a battery life of 10 hours compared to the Beats' 24 hours. Lastly, the JBL Flip 6 can now be yours for around $109 / £99 / AU$169 because it's a 2022 product – and we like it a lot. The downside is that although the Flip offers multiple-speaker PartyBoost connectivity, it's 'just' a Bluetooth speaker otherwise. You don't get the speakerphone capability, ability to charge other devices, or USB-C audio passthrough you get with the Beats Pill.

Beats Pill review: Specs

Should I buy the Beats Pill?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Beats Pill review: Also consider

How I tested the Beats Pill

Tested the speaker for over two weeks
Listened over a wired USB-C connection to a Mac and via Bluetooth to iPhone
Tested in a variety of spaces and over calls, to test the speakerphone chops

I tested the Beats Pill for over two weeks. As is our way at TechRadar, I listened to the TechRadar testing playlist, which includes various hi-fi certified testing tracks (think complex instrumentals, thumping basslines and ethereal vocals), plus my own ever-changing playlists. These span everything from tried-and-tested Joni Mitchell favorites to Eminem's new album because why not? Music, too, is ever-evolving – as are we.

The bulk of my testing was done using my iPhone 12 Pro (yes, I'm still using a Lightning port – but so many of us are!) and my MacBook Pro, which helped me better test it for the iOS ecosystem user.

Oh, and because I'm committed to the cause, I tested that 24-hour battery life claim at 50% battery. How did I sleep? Intermittently, although I had placed the Beats Pill in a cupboard in my apartment, as far from my bed as possible. I even lined said cupboard with a few pillows. It was still playing 23 hours after my battery test began. I was impressed… a little tired, but impressed.

First reviewed: July 2024
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Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI review: affordable over-ear headphones with a spatial audio secret

11:30 am |

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Headphones | Comments: Off

Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI: Two-minute review

The Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI headphones are an interesting proposition. With active noise cancellation, a ‘spatial holography’ mode known as Super X-Fi and a choice between wired and wireless listening (so, it's tough to know whether they'd be better pitched as some of the best wireless over-ears, the best wired headphones or best noise-cancelling headphones, for example) they have a host of advanced-looking features in a stylish package, all for less than $100.

As a manufacturer of affordable audio hardware, Creative is in the difficult spot of trying to bring premium features to a low price, so there are corners cut in places. However, even the mild levels of noise cancellation are useful for softening outside noise, while a substantial battery life (up to 70 hours) means these cans last a lot longer than some higher-end headphones (cough, AirPods Max, cough). The support for Bluetooth 5.3 certainly helps to increase power efficiency and ensure these headphones last longer, too.

The stereo sound is somewhat to be expected for the price, though Creative’s proprietary SXFI feature does push your tracks harder, ensuring the headphones offer more than the sum of their affordable parts. While we had some issues using these headphones to watch TV shows or Twitch streams, music recreation over a phone or laptop was still lively for what you pay for.

Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI review: Price and release date

Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI headphones on a white table — (Image credit: Future)

$99.99 / £89.99 / AU$69.95
Launched in May 2024

The Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI headphones retail for $99.99 / £89.99 / AU$69.95, having been released in May 2024.

As inexpensive as that may seem (when you consider something like the Sennheiser HD 620S headphones, which arrived on June 6 and retail for more than triple that, at $349.95 / £299.99 / AU$599) that MSRP is actually a little more than last year’s Zen Hybrid 2, which doesn’t make use of Creative’s spatial tech, but can now be found for as little as $49.99 / £59.99 in the US and UK.

Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI review: Specs

Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI review: Features

Adaptive ANC and Ambient Mode
SXFI app
Bluetooth 5.3

On paper, the Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI headphones pack a lot of premium-sounding features at a very non-premium price.

To start with, there’s active noise cancellation, or ANC, with a button that lets you cycle between ANC (blocking outside noise), adaptive ANC (responding dynamically to variable outside noise), ambient listening (letting all the outside noise in), and no ANC at all. It’s great to see ANC here, but none of these modes feel overly distinct: there’s a minor benefit to listening with ANC, but the effect is quite limited, only mildly softening the sound of traffic of chatty commuters, while the lack of passive isolation in the headphones’ casing means that the ambient mode isn’t much different: you’re hearing most of what’s going on.

There’s also Creative’s SXFI, or Super X-Fi spatial audio tech, which is intended to capture “the listening experience of a high-end multi-speaker system in a professional studio”, by virtually upscaling its stereo audio into something approaching three-dimensional sound. There’s a dedicated SXFI app you need to download, before building a personalized sound profile based on the size and shape of your ears, but it is available for both desktop and mobile.

Elsewhere, you get the option to use either a wired (3.5mm) connection, or a wireless one through the power-efficient Bluetooth 5.3 standard – given the gradual fade-out of wired consumer audio, it’s great to have the option if you’re sporting older source devices or prefer a more reliable, wired connection.

Features score: 4 / 5

Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI review: Design

Great to look at
Light, with a cloth carry case
Built-in buttons are hard to parse

For sub-$100 headphones, the Zen Hybrid SXFI look better than they should. They’re constructed with a muted black-gray plastic and a metal headband, with plenty of cushioning for the top and side of the head. The cushioning uses an artificial leather for a soft surface, which held up in our tests but looks like it could feasibly flake a little over time.

They’re also pleasingly lightweight, at just 271g, making them easy to wear for long periods and carry around without too much burden – aided by the soft gray cloth bag that comes included.

The left earcup carries a single USB-C port for charging, but the right earcup is where most of the action happens. You’ll find a power button, volume controls, and buttons for both ANC (active noise cancellation) and SXFI (spatial audio), as well as a 3.5mm headphones jack for those favoring wired connections.

While wearing the headphones, it’s a little hard at first to figure out which button you’re touching, given they’re all clustered together on the same ear and use the same kind of buttons – no toggles or touch controls to vary things here – though some muscle memory will no doubt help the longer you use them.

Design score: 4 / 5

Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI review: Sound quality

Clear and crisp audio
40mm drivers, but light on bass response
SXFI makes for much more interesting sound

More than anything else, the Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI headphones are fun to listen to. They feature clear, crisp audio, with a solid mid-range frequency response (100-10,000Hz, so lacking both deep 20Hz lows and the 20kHz highs from some other consumer headphones).

The bass is a little lacking – to be expected at this price – though the sizeable 40mm drivers do offer some presence in tracks where the bass is meant to be more prominent. Overall, a decent, if unremarkable audio performance for sub-$100 over-ear headphones.

The issue is that Super X-Fi, Creative’s spatial audio tech, ruins the standard stereo experience.

To clarify, switching SXFI on immediately levels up the audio, causing more resonant vocals and a sense of three-dimensional audio moving and echoing through space – not on the same level as Dolby Atmos audio, per se, but certainly giving the feeling of a sphere of audio around your head, aided by the SXFI app’s analysis of your head and ears.

Creative’s website states that “Super X-Fi captures the listening experience of a high-end multi-speaker system in a professional studio, and recreates the same expansive experience in your headphones,” using “computational audio intensive techniques to custom fit audio, for every individual, through a sophisticated Head and Ear-Mapping process.”

It’s effectively a form of virtual upscaling, a kind of cheat code to prop up cheaper drivers with some software trickery. But it works! Having switched SXFI on and off a few hundred times in my testing, it’s now hard to listen to anything without it, even though it increased my listener fatigue – after a couple of hours of listening with SXFI, I really needed a break. So, SXFI makes the audio more impactful, but possibly for shorter bursts than the standard stereo experience.

My major complaint with these headphones was in watching TV shows or Twitch streams. Across various devices, the Zen Hybrid SXFI struggled to recreate anything other than dialogue tracks, with atmospheric soundtracks disappearing entirely. You’ll be fine for music through your phone, but maybe give Netflix a miss.

Sound quality score: 3.5 / 5

Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI review: Value

Sennheiser HD 620S headphones showing metal headband — (Image credit: Future / Henry St Leger)

Medley of premium features
Sub-$100 price
Looks better than you’d think

The Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI headphones are certainly good value – thanks to a host of advanced features including ANC, Super X-Fi audio, and the latest Bluetooth 5.3 standard. Not to mention a stylish design that suggests a somewhat higher asking price.

Its active noise cancellation leaves a little to be desired, but for the price there’s no doubt that its inclusion, and the little help it gives you, is still useful – while SXFI audio still helps to make sure these over-ear headphones sound better than they likely should for the price.

Value score: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI?

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI review: Also consider

How I tested the Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI

Tested for 2 weeks
Used at home, on commutes, and in public cafes
Predominantly tested using Spotify service on OnePlus 8

I’ve worked as a tech reporter and reviewer for seven years now, including a substantial stint at TechRadar as its News & Features Editor. I’ve tested countless headphones and covered audio tech in London, Las Vegas, Berlin and Shanghai.

My first over-ear headphones, back in 2009, were made by Creative, so I have a long history with the brand, and was excited to test out their products a full 15 years later.

I spent two weeks testing out the Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI headphones on several modes of transportation: flight, train and bus, as well as walks in my neighborhood. I primarily used my Android smartphone, a OnePlus 8, for testing, but switched to a Macbook Air for wired listening also.

First reviewed in July 2024

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Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: incredible value wireless over-ear headphones that last and last (and last)

2:27 pm | July 26, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Headphones | Comments: Off

Editor's Note

• Original review date: July 2024
• New 'Special Edition' P100 made its debut August 1, 2025
• P100 SE launch price: $299 / £249 (AU$510 approx.) – so $20 / £20 more
• New blue colorway, DynamEQ toggle and cushier headband

Update: August 2025. The Melomania P100 have had a refresh a year after their launch, in a new SE – or 'Special Edition' – model. This adds DynamEQ software (a toggle in the Melomania app to automatically adjust bass and treble, to "maintain a full and natural sound at low volumes"), a slightly cushier headband and a new blue finish.
Beyond that and a minor change to the font on the headband, the two models are identical.
The newer set is also $20 / £20 more than the excellent originals were at launch, although we've seen the originals on sale for $239 / £199 at the time of writing. Our in-depth experiential on the P100 SE is the place to go for more on the relatively minor refresh. For us, the smart money still goes on these splendid originals. The rest of this review remains unchanged.

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100: Two-minute review

The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 wireless over-ear noise-cancelling headphones enter a sector of the market as cutthroat as they come – that of best noise-cancelling headphones. It’s a category that’s been ruled (at least in the under-$350 sub-sector) by Sony's XM-suffixed cans for some time now, but Cambridge Audio reckons it’s got what it takes to snatch the crown.

And, on paper at least, it’s off to a great start. Specification, from Class AB amplification to aptX Lossless compatibility, is impressive. Battery life, at up to 100 hours if you leave the ANC alone (not a typo, we mean one hundred), is the best around. Having Matt Berry as one of your options for ‘audible feedback’ is nothing less than a stroke of genius.

And the good news keeps coming. The P100 are flawlessly built and finished, from materials that are both tactile and reasonably up-market. Comfort is good. Ignore the relative size of the travel case and there’s nothing to take issue with here.

To seal the deal, the sound they make is endlessly listenable. There’s a stack of detail, a wide-open soundstaging, vaulting dynamic potency and an engaging, lively overall attitude that will keep you coming back for more. And with that epic battery life, of course, there’s plenty of ‘more’ to enjoy.

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100's companion app, three screen grabs — 'Southwark' is the one you want, on the right there… (Image credit: Cambridge Audio )

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: Price & release date

Released on July 15, 2024
Priced $279 / £229 / AU$479

The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 wireless over-ear headphones have been available via Cambridge's website since they were announced on July 3, 2024, but every other stockist has had to wait until July 15 to offer them for sale.

At $279 / £229 / AU$479 they’re keenly priced when you consider how extensively they’re specified, that’s for sure – but don’t go thinking that there aren’t impressively specified alternatives from equally well-regarded brands at very, very similar money. Chief of those would be the Sony WH-1000XM5, which can be yours for a little more than the P100 these days (rather than a lot more, which is what they were when they launched), at around $329 / £319 / AU$549.

Then, there's the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless, which arrived in August 2022 and can be found for even closer to the Cambridge Audio P100's price, at around $299 / £269 / AU$450 in today's money.

However, at the risk of stating the blinkin' obvious, the P100 are brand new July 2024 cans. And a quick glance at our Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones review proves that Cambridge has priced them ever-so aggressively; Bose's top-tier October 2023-issue over-ears arrived with a price tag of $429 / £449 / AU$649. Food for thought, then.

Cambridge Audio P100 on a wooden table in the sun — Striking wooden ear cups in an otherwise so-very-Grado build (Image credit: Future)

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: Specs

Drivers	40mm Dynamic (closed back)
Active noise cancellation	Yes
Weight	330g
Battery life	100 hours (ANC off); 60 hours (ANC on)
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX Lossless; USB-C to USB-C audio, USB-C to 3.5mm (cables supplied)

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: Features

Class AB amplification
Up to 100 hours of battery life
Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX Lossless compatibility

No matter what else happens during the course of this review, there’s no arguing with the way Cambridge Audio has specified the Melomania P100. And just because the company has plenty of previous where the features-per-pound ratio is concerned, that’s no reason to take it for granted – instead, let’s just take a moment to marvel at what these headphones offer relative to the money they cost.

Battery life is as good a place as any to start. I won’t pretend I wasn’t mildly sceptical about the quoted figures when these headphones first arrived, but having lived with them for a good while, and on a number of different continents, I can’t disagree. The P100 will run for 60 hours with active noise-cancellation switched on, and an epic 100 hours if it’s switched off. Yes, you have to be listening at unremarkable volume levels – but the fact remains, these numbers are achievable. And they’re way beyond what the vast majority of price-comparable rivals can offer. And should you be negligent enough to allow the worst to happen, five minutes on the power is good for a couple of ANC-enabled playback or four hours with it switched off.

The technology taking advantage of this prodigious battery life is equally impressive. Wireless connectivity, for example, is taken care of by Bluetooth 5.3 and there’s multipoint connectivity along with aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless codec compatibility – so as well as lossy 24bit/96kHz file-streaming, there’s lossless 16bit/44.1kHz resolution available to those with an appropriate source player.

Unlike most Class D-toting alternatives, the Melomania P100 use hi-fi-tastic Class AB amplification – the same sort of technology deployed in its hugely successful CX range of full-size stereo amplifiers. This is used to power a couple of 40mm full-range dynamic drivers made from a three-layer composite arrangement of polyurethane sandwiched between polyether ether ketone.

A total of six mics take care of active noise-cancellation, voice-assistant interaction and telephony – Cambridge Audio has deployed Qualcomm cVc echo-cancelling and noise suppression technology in an effort to maximise call quality. The ANC itself is a hybrid system, with ‘low’, ‘mid’ and ‘high’ settings available alongside a ‘transparency’ mode.

Features score: 5/5

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: Sound quality

Lively, detailed and confident presentation
Nice tonal balance
‘Very good’ ANC = ‘not class-leading’ ANC

Some wireless headphones at this sort of money like to make it obvious that certain things are beneath them. Some wireless headphones will take a 320kbps MP3 file from Spotify’s free tier and basically hold it up for ridicule. The Melomania P100 are not those headphones.

Obviously they prefer some 16bit/44.1kHz FLAC file action from Qobuz or Tidal. Obviously they prefer being hard-wired to a DAC/headphone amp churning out the 24bit/192kHz stuff even more. But they don’t judge – give them what you’ve got and they’ll do their best with it.

And ‘their best’ turns out to be very agreeable indeed. During the course of this test I listened to (for example) Jersey Girl by Tom Waits as a 320kbps MP3, Salt in the Wound by boygenius as a 16bt/44.1kHz FLAC file and a 24bit/192kHz FLAC file of David Bowie’s Sound and Vision – and the Melomania P100 are never less than entertaining and quite often impressively insightful.

Dynamic headroom, for instance, is considerable – so where the broad strokes of ‘quiet’ modulating to ‘loud’ are concerned, the Cambridge Audio are more than capable of keeping up. It doesn’t matter the increase in intensity, the P100 can track it without discernible stress. And the more subtle harmonic variations apparent in a voice or an instrument from note to note are picked up on just as readily. But while the P100 extract and contextualise a huge amount of detail from any given recording, they’re not analytical for the sake of it. More than anything, they’re an energetic and thoroughly engaging listen.

From the top of the frequency range to the bottom, the Cambridge Audio are convincingly integrated and unwilling have any favorites. The bottom end is substantial, and it packs a punch – but there’s control to go along with the presence, and attack is so straight-edged that rhythms are expressed with real confidence. The opposite end has plenty of bite, but it’s not in any way thin or undernourished. There’s substance to treble sounds (as well as a whole lot of variation) to balance out their brilliance. And in between, the midrange manages to secure a little pocket of space in which to operate without sounding estranged from the rest of the frequency information – and has an eloquent, revealing way with a vocalist that allows character and attitude full expression.

Soundstaging is good, both in the simple size and impressive definition of the area. And despite the amount of room that’s available, there’s a tight unity and togetherness about the way the P100 present a recording. Tonally, the sound is fractionally warmer than ‘neutral’ – but this is a characteristic much more than it is a shortcoming.

Really, it’s only where active noise-cancellation is concerned that the Cambridge Audio are anything less than fully and quite aggressively competitive. The ANC here is very acceptable, don’t get me wrong – it will do a job on external distractions of all types, and without leaving a counter-signal or shift in tonality in its wake. But there continues to be no two ways about it: if you want the best noise-cancellation available at a given price (and you don’t mind some sacrifices in other areas) you buy a pair of Bose.

Sound quality score: 4.5/5

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: Design

Vegan leather earpads and headband
Black or white finishes
Physical, rather than touch, controls

Sensibly, there are no shocks to be had where the design of the Melomania P100 is concerned. They look, and feel, like a reasonably upmarket pair of wireless over-ear headphones. Although personally, I much prefer the black finish to the white – it’s more harmonious, somehow.

Anyway, the P100 are very agreeably built and finished, from a nice mixture of memory foam and vegan leather for the (detachable) earpads, more vegan leather on the outside of the headband with sturdy, nicely padded fabric on the inside. The adjustment mechanism is concealed inside the headband, and the arms, yokes and outer portion of the earcups are all of aluminium. An all-in weight of 330g is pretty ordinary by prevailing standards, and the nicely judged clamping force means the headphones are comfortable on the head for a good long time. Certainly for longer than it takes for the earpads to heat your ears up, that’s for sure.

There are a few physical controls distributed around the edges of each earcup. On the left there’s a slider that covers ‘power on/off’ and ‘Bluetooth pairing’, and a button that allows you to cycle through your ANC options (‘off’, ‘on’ or ‘transparency’) or summon your voice assistant. There’s also a USB-C socket for charging the battery, and it can also be used for data transfer – Cambridge Audio supplies nice USB-C / USB-C and USB-C / 3.5mm cables in the P100’s robust, but not especially compact, travel case. On the right earcup is the usual three-button strip, dealing with ‘play/pause’, ‘skip forwards/backwards’ and ‘volume up/down’.

Other functionality is accessed via the ‘Melomania Connect’ app that’s free for iOS and Android. Here’s where you check for firmware updates, check on battery life, and select the level of noise-cancellation you’d prefer. It has a seven-band equaliser with half-a-dozen presets and the facility to save plenty of your own custom settings. It’s where you can switch ‘automatic play/pause’ on or off and enable ‘gaming mode’ (which will reduce latency to less than 80m/s). And it’s where you get to select the sort of audible feedback you’d like – switch it off, have tones tell you what’s what, or choose from one of nine different languages.

Actually, there’s no difference in the language if you select ‘English’ or ‘Southwark’, but the latter, as with the Melomania M100 true wireless earbuds, is voiced by actor Matt Berry. This is as worthwhile a unique selling point as I think I’ve ever encountered – I’ve been using these headphones for quite a while now and am still nowhere near bored of hearing “device one… disconnected” delivered in the fruitiest voice imaginable.

It’s worth taking a moment to appreciate Cambridge Audio’s commitment to ‘circularity’ of design here. The P100 packaging is plastic-free and 100 percent recyclable. The battery and the earpads are replaceable by the end user, using standard tools. 50% of the plastics used in the construction of the headphones, and 100 percent of the rare earth neodymium in the drivers, are recycled. None of which is to be sniffed at.

Design score: 4.5/5

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: Value

Remarkably thorough specification
Frankly staggering battery life
Great across-the-board sound quality

When you line the Melomania P100 up against pretty much any price-comparable competitor (and quite a few that cost a bit more), the value for money they represent can’t really be argued with.

Specification is ahead of the curve, battery life is as good as it currently gets, build quality and the standard of finish can’t be argued with. And the sound they make – detailed, direct and endlessly listenable – is profoundly competitive too.

Value score: 5/5

Should I buy the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100?

Section	Notes	Score
Features	User-replaceable batteries, a 100-hour battery and Matt Berry are just three excellent USPs here	5/5
Sound quality	Lovely tonal balance, detail and energy – good ANC (rather than amazing)	4.5/5
Design	Very well built and comfortable; the case is just a touch big	4.5/5
Value	So aggressively priced for what they are; remarkable	5/5

Buy them if...

You enjoy unusual specification
Class AB amplification is most certainly the path less travelled for wireless headphones.

You’re a frequent flyer
The battery life that’s available here should be enough to last you for the longest of long-haul journeys.

You like an in-depth app
There’s plenty to involve yourself with here, not least a very effective seven-band EQ.

Don't buy them if...

You want class-leading ANC
The best the Melomania P100 can offer is ‘very good indeed’...

You like capacitive touch controls
So voice control, physical buttons and a nice app aren’t enough for you?

You try to travel light
The P100 don’t fold all that small, so their travel case will take up a chunk of your hand-baggage allowance

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: Also consider

	Cambridge Audio Melomania P100	Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones	Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless
Price	$279 / £229 / AU$479	$429 / £449 / AU$649	$349.95 / £300 / AU$549
Drivers	40mm dynamic	35mm dynamic	40mm dynamic
Active noise cancellation	Yes	Yes	Yes
Quoted battery life	100 hours (ANC off); 60 hours (ANC on)	24 hours (ANC on)	60 hours (ANC on)
Weight	0.73lb / 330g	0.6 lb / 250g	0.65 lb / 293g
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.3; aptX Lossless; USB-C audio; USB-C to 3.5mm also supplied	Bluetooth 5.3, Snapdragon Sound, 2.5mm audio jack, USB-C for charging	Bluetooth 5.2, aptX Adaptive, 3.5mm jack, USB-C
Frequency range	Not listed	Not listed	6Hz - 22kHz
Other features	Melomania app support, Matt Berry, user replaceable batteries	Immersive Audio spatial audio, Bose Music app support, wear detection, multi-point connectivity	Sennheiser app support, USB-C audio, multi-point connectivity

Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless
These can also offer aptX and USB-C audio support, and a the 60-hour battery life is long – if not as long as the Cambridge Audio P100. We love them, they're excellent for the money – but you won't get Matt Berry on voice prompts.
Here's our full Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless review.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
If you want the best ANC in the business, plus proprietary spatial audio profiles to mix right into it, Bose's flagship over-ear proposition could be for you. You'll need to pay quite a bit more, take a big hit on battery life and forego USB-C audio though…
See our in-depth Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones review for more info.

How I tested the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100

Using iOS and Android devices
Using a variety of Bluetooth codecs
With music of many types

During well over a week of pretty much constant use, the Melomania P100 were connected to a MacBook Pro, an iPhone 14 Pro and a Samsung Galaxy S23 in order to listen to as many different codecs and sources of music as realistically possible. The music, naturally, was of many different file types, sizes and styles. Active noise-cancellation was tested by taking the Cambridge Audio with me on several journeys on public transport – which also helped me test the claims for battery life.

First reviewed: July 2024
Read more about how we test

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: great earbuds that took the wrong leaf from the AirPods playbook

5:50 pm | July 25, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Earbuds & Airpods Gadgets Headphones | Tags: ANC, Samsung Galaxy Buds | Comments: Off

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro: Two-minute review

People are quick to label any stem-toting wireless earbud as ‘AirPods clones’ but Samsung isn’t doing itself any favors to deflect the term with its Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. They look like what you'd get if you threw Apple’s earbuds and a Toblerone into a blender. Can we see past their oh-so-familiar design if they're the best earbuds out there? Of course. But let's not jump the gun.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are Samsung’s new-for-2024 top-end earbuds, launched alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 at a launch event in July of the year, and they fill a void in the company’s line-up given that the Buds 2 Pro were getting long in the tooth.

If you know anything about Samsung’s line-up, you’re probably expecting big things from a product boasting the Korean tech giant’s name, as well as the word ‘Pro’ thrown in for good measure, and you won't be left high and dry with the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.

Frankly, these earbuds sound fantastic, with some of the best sound in any earbuds I’ve tested. The V-shaped audio means you’re getting meaty bass but also defined treble, so whether you’re listening to the highest opera or the lowest synthwave you’re going to be enjoying your music.

There’s no need to worry about background noises getting in the way either, with the powerful noise cancellation of the buds doing an amazing job at eradicating noises around you. I was really impressed with how the Buds 3 Pro didn’t just reduce the prominence of noises around me, but stopped me noticing many of them at all.

And I know I’ve been down on the AirPods’ – sorry, the Galaxy Buds’ – design, but it’s a popular shape in the wireless earbuds sector for a reason. The Buds 3 Pro are comfortable to wear, are light enough that they stay stuck in your ear and look pretty svelte too.

Some issues from our Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have been fixed too, including my personal sticking point: the low battery life. The Buds 3 Pro last a little longer in use but the case battery life has seen more noticeable increases, making the 3 Pro much better suited for longer journeys.

That’s a lot of praise, but it’s worth noting that the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro aren’t for everyone. Not only is the high price prohibitively expensive for those who aren’t die-hard audiophiles (or get the Buds as part of a purchase incentive with a Galaxy phone), but some of the really cool features are locked behind an annoying wall.

This wall is ownership of a Samsung Galaxy device – not any old Samsung blower but a recent Galaxy S, Galaxy Z or Tab S device too, as per our handy compatibility explainer. If you don’t have such a device you can’t use Samsung's new AI features such as the language interpreter, improved codec support, the voice restorer or the smart dynamic ANC. Sure, it makes sense that the translation feature would only be available using AI computation on a Galaxy phone (and the levelled-up 24-bit/96kHz streaming support over Bluetooth uses Samsung's new and proprietary SSC UHQ codec), but dynamic ANC is commonplace in earbuds at half the Buds 3 Pro’s price.

Yes, Apple is also known for its closed ecosystem, which bans Android phone users from using AirPods' best features (Find My, head-tracked Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos and so on), but did Samsung really need to take that leaf from Apple’s book?

None of these features are highlights of the buds, either, and you’d get a similar experience using the Buds 3 Pro when paired to any other mobile. Take that as you will.

One other ‘scandal’ that I should probably flag in this introduction is that many early adopters of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro found themselves breaking the eartips in a range of dramatic ways. This is because the proprietary system which connects the tips to the buds holds onto them too tightly, and the tips themselves are pretty fragile, so it’s easy to accidentally rip the tips when you’re trying to replace them with a different size. I’ve found a way to reliably replace them which you can read about below, but it’s indicative of the manufacturing issues which caused the buds’ release to be delayed.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: Price and release date

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro against a leafy background. — (Image credit: Future)

Unveiled on July 10, 2024, alongside Buds 3
Cost $249 / £219 (roughly AU$380)
Price increase over 2022 Buds 2 Pro

The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro were announced on July 10, 2024 alongside other products, including the non-Pro alternatives. At the time of writing, release date delays mean you can pre-order them, but in the UK at least Samsung's checkout informs you to 'Order now to receive from 22 August'.

You can pick up the buds for $249 / £219 (roughly AU$380, with exact Australian pricing pending), so they’re pricey buds which also present a small price hike over their $229 / £219 / AU$349 predecessors. The Buds 3 are much cheaper at $179 / £159 / AU$229, but at a time when competition is fierce and most manufacturers are shaving extra dollars (or pounds) off new propositions, a $20 increase is a bold strategy from Samsung.

Depending on where you live, these buds are therefore as expensive as, or slightly cheaper than, the $249 / £229 / AU$399 AirPods Pro 2 – but bear in mind that the Apple earbuds' advanced age means they're now regularly available for less than those quoted prices.

You’ll be able to find more competitors below, but know for now that these are some of the priciest earbuds that general consumers might opt to buy. Deep-wallet audiophiles have plenty more options though.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: Specs

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: Features

6-hour buds battery, 30-hour with case, longer with ANC off
Noise cancellation is heavy-duty and impressive
Galaxy-exclusive features aren't all that handy

One of our biggest gripes with the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro was their limited battery life; you’ll be glad to know that the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro improve on that staying power. It’s not a huge increase, but it’s something.

According to Samsung the buds will last for 6 hours if ANC is turned on, and an extra hour on top of that if it’s off. After my testing, I’d concur with this estimate – though when I tried to do unbroken playback tests, the buds would turn off when out of my ear for 15 minutes, even when auto-detect was turned off. The charging case rounds those totals up to 26 (ANC on) or 30 (ANC off) hours of stamina, and you can charge this case wirelessly as well as with a USB-C cable.

I can see how some people would consider 6 hours still far too short for an earbud's battery life, and I’m in the same camp. That’s why the battery life isn’t on the review’s ‘cons’ list any more, but hasn’t made it to the ‘pros’ one.

So what of that ANC, or Active Noise Cancellation? Generally, it’s really great – the buds throw a blanket over whatever background noise is going on when you’re trying to listen to music. I’ve just moved into a flat backing onto a rail line and I could rarely tell when trains were passing when using the earbuds. This was on the maximum intensity mode, of course, but the others work well if you still want some surrounding awareness.

The Samsung Wearable app does offer two further modes: Ambient and Adaptive (the latter exclusive to Samsung users, more on that later). Ostensibly the former is to allow certain background noises to penetrate a mid-level noise cancellation, while the latter changes your ANC based on your environment, but in practice these both seemed to have exactly the same result.

Wearable, the Buds’ companion app, is a little barebones compared to the wider world of earbuds tie-in software. It lets you tweak with the ANC, change on-ear controls, tweak with an equaliser and do a few other small tasks, but I didn’t find myself using it very much. In fact, of the two phones I tested the Galaxy Buds alongside, for one of them (the non-Galaxy one) I didn’t even download the app, and found the buds worked just fine.

So let’s get onto that Samsung-related issue, which you’ve already seen listed in the ‘cons’ section of the review.

The Galaxy AI features, which include the adaptive ANC, a feature which restores crackling voice in poor-quality calls and a much-touted live audio translation feature, are all exclusive to people who own a top-end Samsung smartphone. Already, non-Samsung users may be closing their web page… but this ‘con’ isn’t as much of a ‘con’ as you’d think, for better or worse.

As I’ve mentioned, the adaptive ANC didn’t seem to add much, and I didn’t get to test the call quality improver since I didn’t experience any bad phone calls over testing. I tried to use the translation feature but I couldn’t see how the buds really added anything to the apps’ equation. The way it’s meant to work is that you can say something in one language and it’s translated into another, so two people who speak different languages can maintain a conversation. And that’s true without the earbuds, so you don’t need to buy them to use the feature.

This is all to say, the Galaxy AI features aren’t really that important in the overall picture of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, so your lack of a Samsung smartphone shouldn’t put you off buying the earbuds. Some other exclusive features that don’t fall under the Galaxy AI umbrella include multipoint pairing to two Galaxy devices only, better quality audio using Samsung's 24-bit/96kHz new SSC UHQ codec, and audio casting to various devices. I only used the Buds alongside one Samsung device so couldn’t use most of these.

It’s a shame that Samsung has opted to put some of the features you’re paying for behind a pay-wall, especially when perks like adaptive ANC and multi-point pairing are commonplace in cheaper earbuds, but I don’t imagine many Samsung customers will use these either feature.

A few Galaxy Buds 3 Pro features are open to everyone, and they’re pretty handy. The 360 audio works well for immersive sound, with head tracking adding a little bit for those who don’t find it disconcerting, plus an earbud fit test helps you work out which tips to use (if you think you can handle changing them!).

The buds pack Bluetooth 5.4 which is reliable and can let you listen over relatively long distances from your phone. Through the entire testing process I didn’t have a single issue with drop-outs or connection problems.

One final thing I want to flag is that, unlike the vast majority of earbuds, wear detection doesn’t come enabled by default. For a large part of the testing I thought the buds didn’t have it; they do, you just need to toggle it on in the app.

Features score: 4/5

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: Design

AirPods lookalikes with Toblerone stem
Sit comfortably in ears, but replacing tips is a nightmare
5.4g per bud and 46.5g for case, with IP57 protection

For the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, Samsung has steered away from the pebble-body design ethos of the Buds 2 Pro towards a more AirPods Pro-like design, featuring a tip, a small body and stems that point down towards the floor.

The design is close in plenty of ways to those Apple ones, with tips that point down at an angle, the clean white design of the default model and even the silver trim around the edges of the stem. The only major difference is that instead of being rounded, the stem is prismic like a Toblerone chocolate bar.

White isn’t the only color option, as there’s also a black one for sale, and each has a small hint of color in the form of red and blue dots that correlate to spaces in the charging case, so you know which bud goes where.

The stems also have what Samsung is calling a 'blade light', or a small LED strip over the ridge to act as an indicator. Of what? I couldn’t tell, and given that you can’t see the earbuds when they’re in use, it seems like a gimmicky feature to me. You can use the stems for controls too: swiping up and down to change the volume was easy but due to the prism shape of the stem, trying to pinch it to pause music was a faff.

Each earbud weighs a gentle 5.4g and I found they fit quite comfortably and reliably in the ear, never falling out or causing earache from the weight. They’re IP57 rated, which means they’re protected from dust to a limited degree, and will survive immersion in water of up to 1 meter deep for a short amount of time.

A major problem with the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, that we’ve already covered extensively, pertains to replacing the eartips. Samsung uses a home-brewed clasping system to hold its tips in place, that’s similar to something Apple does but is different to the vast majority of earbuds manufacturers.

To put it simply, the eartips are held in place incredibly firmly, and are pretty hard to remove from the buds when you want to change sizes. People have reported tearing the tips when trying to remove them, and I gouged out a chunk with my nail by accident when trying to do the same. I found that the best way to remove the tips is to pinch as near to the buds themselves as possible when pulling, but honestly if you are worried about the risk of breaking your earbuds, you may consider looking at the non-Pro options instead.

The other design aspect of the Buds 3 Pro is the case, a lightweight 46.5g plastic container that’s not too big. It has an LED charging light, USB-C charging port, reset button; the usual accoutrements. As a fan of see-through charging cases I was happy to see a little viewing port in the Buds’ case.

Design score: 3.5/5

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: Sound quality

Bass-heavy sound
Treble is lacking
Equalizer lets you tweak sound to an extent

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are some of the best wireless earbuds I’ve tested for sound, and they’ve got a grocery list of fancy-sounding technologies to back up that statement.

There’s the Samsung Seamless Codec, which compresses and decodes music of up to 24-bit/96kHz when used with Samsung Galaxy S23 or later, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 / Z Flip 5 or later, or Tab S9 series. The company calls this Ultra High Quality Sound (note the caps!) and it cetainly is that. Then, there's the two-way speaker which includes both a woofer and tweeter, plus Adaptive EQ which uses AI to detect your listening and tweak the equalizer as a result (another Galaxy-locked device which curiously I couldn’t find on my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra).

Whatever jargon Samsung throws at you, and however much you understand it, there’s one thing to say for sure: the Buds 3 Pro sound great.

The Buds have a V-shaped sound, which means that both the bass and treble are elevated and distinct, while the mids are just a little stepped back. Some could consider this the optimal type of sound signature as it caters to both bass-heads and treble fans. Listening to a song, you can appreciate the bassline and drum kicks just as much as the vocal melody or guitar solo, and music is dynamic and full of energy as a result. It creates a wide sound stage and you feel that different instruments are really around you.

If I were being pedantic, I’d say the that the treble sounds just a little more elevated than the bass, and you can ‘feel’ the bass a bit more than you can ‘hear’ it, but this is nit-picking for sure.

As is the natural effect of V-shaped audio, mid sounds are a little further back in the mix. I’m personally a fan of the mids (a mid fan? Or does that sound like I’m only half a fan?) so this was a shame, but I found the equalizer was handy and let me bring them up in the mix. The presets will also be useful here.

I was impressed by the maximum volume of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro: too many earbuds think an audible level of output is optional, but Samsung clearly disagrees. You can get a nice meaty output if you want, and I didn’t linger too long in the higher-volume areas for fear of harming my hearing.

Sound quality: 4.5/5

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: Value

Top-tier earbuds that come with a fittingly high price
More affordable options exist

It’s hard to keep a straight face when considering the value proposition of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, given that they’re some of the most expensive earbuds designed for general consumers.

There’s no doubt that these are top-end earbuds, especially in the audio quality and noise cancellation departments, and if money is no concern then you’re looking in the right place for your new set of buds.

But if you want to make sure your cash goes as far as it possibly can, there are a plethora of more affordable options that offer competitive sound, a bigger range of features and a longer-lasting battery life. Plus, most let you change the eartips without shredding them…

Value: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro?

Buy them if...

You have a diverse music taste
I found the Buds 3 Pro's sound profile was just as appropriate for rock as it is for jazz, hip-hop, folk, classical, spoken word and so on.

Don’t buy them if…

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: Also consider

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro

Tested for 2 weeks
Tested at home, in the office and on walks

I used the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro for over two weeks to test them, and together we enjoyed a wide range of trials and tribulations.

Paired alongside (varyingly) a Xiaomi Mi Note 10 or Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, I used them in the office, on walks around neighbourhoods of varying noise levels, on trains, on a run once and also while in my new flat (that backs onto a railway and is also under a flight path. I know).

They got to cancel a lot of noise, and I generally relied on the top-tier form of ANC on the Buds 3 Pro as a result. In terms of EQ, I generally relied on the default option but did play around a little bit for testing purposes.

I mostly listened using Tidal, Spotify, Netflix or YouTube, mainly relying on the former for testing with music and audio books.

My tech reviewing history for TechRadar spans more than five years now, including countless earbuds and other Samsung products; in fact the first ever launch event I attended was for the original Samsung Galaxy Buds (and the Galaxy S10). So I've got a wealth of experience with gadgets such as this.

First reviewed in July 2024

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Activo P1 music player review: Astell & Kern audio quality for considerably less cash

1:30 pm | July 23, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Portable Media Players | Tags: AAC, DAC, LDAC | Comments: Off

Activo P1: One-minute review

The outside says Activo but at heart this is an Astell & Kern hi-res audio player with all that implies: superb sound, impressive specifications and excellent performance. It doesn't look quite as expensive or as eye-catching as its parent brand's players but it's what's inside that counts, and what's inside here is very good: the same amplification as more expensive players and an ESS ES9219Q SABRE Dual-DAC. There are multiple connections including aptX HD and LDAC on supported hardware, and while the built-in storage isn't enough for much hi-res audio you can add SD cards with capacities up to 1.5TB.

The most important thing is how this player sounds, and in that department it deserves the full five stars: as a music player it sounds superb, and in DAC mode it's a useful audio upgrade for your computer – so yes, it'll easily advance to our roundup of the best MP3 players in the entry-level space. There's a built-in equalizer that you can use to craft complex EQ curves but during our testing we tended to leave that feature off because the P1 sounded so good across multiple genres. In addition to its local playback, the P1 also works with all the key streaming services and includes full Play Store support.

If you're looking for a player to drive Apple headphones, this isn't the device for you: its high quality wireless streaming is in formats that Apple doesn't support and as a result you're missing out on some of the fun, even with AirPods Max. But with compatible headphones or a wired connection to your headphones or hi-fi this is a wonderful audio player and music streamer that delivers a performance you'd normally expect to pay a lot more to experience.

Activo P1 using Apple Music — Third party apps retain their own interfaces and don't integrate with the play history feature. If you're a subscriber you can get the same lossless audio as you'd get on your smartphone app. (Image credit: Future)

Activo P1 review: Price and release date

Priced at $430 / £399 / AU$ tbc

The Activo P1 launched on 22 July 2024. It is much cheaper than its parent brand's siblings. In the UK, for example, Astell & Kern's entry level digital audio player, the SR35, currently retails for £599 (or $649) owing to its 2023 release date, but has a recommended retail price of £799 (or $799). The Activo P1 has a similar specification for $440 / £399. It's not a budget player by any means, because of course that figure is still a lot of money to most of us. But it's a lot less than you'd typically pay for this specification.

Activo P1 interface — The interface is very Android, and that's no bad thing as there's zero learning curve. The Play Store app is included. (Image credit: Future)

Activo P1 review: Features

Bluetooth 5.3; SBC, AAC, aptX HD and LDAC codec compatibility
32bit/384kHz and DSD256
Wired and wireless DAC

The P1 has an ES9219Q SABRE Dual-DAC. Its built-in amplifier is based on the Astell & Kern Teraton Alpha system, which promises exceptional clarity and detail and which you'll also find in the Astell & Kern SR35. It's powered by an octa-core processor and delivers up to 20 hours of battery life; there's dual-band Wi-Fi, 64GB of internal memory and an SD card slot supporting capacities up to 1.5TB. You'll fill the internal storage in no time if you're listening to hi-res audio files but it's fine for more compressed formats and SD cards are cheap to add.

The USB-C connection isn't just for fast charging; this device can also be connected to a Mac or a Windows PC and used as a wired DAC. There's also a Bluetooth DAC option.

The P1 has native DSD256, 32bit/384kHz support and plays almost every audio file format going, including WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF and MQA.

You can listen to music in several ways. In addition to its own music playing app, the Activo also comes with a collection of third party options including Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz and Apple Music. It also has the Play Store so you can add additional apps.

You can listen to your own tracks via the internal or SD card storage; you can stream from third party apps on the device; or you can use the device as a DAC for your computer with built-in upsampling. That latter option is likely to be a big improvement over many computers' built-in audio, and listening to tracks we know particularly well – such as tracks I'd recorded myself and played directly from Logic Pro X – there was a noticeable expansion of the sound stage, more air in the top end and a tightening of the lower frequencies. The detail was impressive: I could hear my own plectrum on the bass guitar in tracks normally too busy for such details to stand out. If you're a musician, the P1 in its wired DAC mode would be a worthwhile addition to your mixing toolkit.

Features score: 5 / 5

Activo P1 review: Sound quality

Engaging and spacious sound
Extensive EQ options
Audio upsampling with multiple modes

Listening in lossless CD quality over wired headphones Charli XCX's close-miked vocal in 360 feels so close it's almost indecent, while Simple Minds' anthemic New Gold Dream is wonderful. It's so clear that you can easily hear details such as the slightly discordant note sliding in at the beginning of each synth loop before the drums come clattering in and the bass begins its glorious grind. Taylor Swift's Willow is bright, lively and feels like it's happening in the room around you, as does Talk Talk's gossamer Desire, its spaciousness and minimalism feeling incredibly compelling.

The P1 really sings with well separated recordings, whether that's the rainy songs of The Blue Nile, Pet Shop Boys' sad bangers, The Cult's knowing AC/DC homage or Peter Gabriel's live work. Classic remasters such as The Rolling Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want are grin-inducingly good, and Peter Buck's Rickenbacker really chimes on early REM tracks.

Activo P1 equalizer — You can fine-tune the audio with the included 20-band equalizer but we found that we only really needed to tweak poorly recorded tracks. (Image credit: Future)

There are lots of options here for controlling the Digital Audio Remaster (DAR) upsampling and shaping 20-band EQs, but with very few exceptions – older, less well recorded tracks mostly – we didn't feel that the standard sound needed tweaking.

The presence of third-party apps means it's easy to do an A/B comparison between streaming and local hi-res music, so for example Broken Chanter's chiming telecaster guitar, Luminous's kitchen-sink production and HiFi Sean's euphoric house are noticeably more detailed and more vivid in high quality FLAC than from streaming services when listening on wired headphones.

The sound quality you get will depend on what you're listening with, so for example if you connect a set of Apple AirPods Max via Bluetooth rather than with a cable a message will pop up to let you know you're listening in AAC: the sound is still very good but that protocol isn't the best quality the P1 can deliver. For non-Apple headphones the P1 supports aptX HD and LDAC for high quality streaming. When we listened to identical songs with wired rather than AAC wireless the difference was evident, with songs feeling less boxy and more spacious.

Sound quality score: 5 / 5

Activo P1 side view — By Astell & Kern standards the design of the P1 is rather muted, but it's straightforward with sensibly located controls. (Image credit: Future)

Activo P1 review: Design

A little 'beige' by A&K standards
Straightforward button controls
Mostly operated by touchscreen

Astell & Kern players are typically made with a brutalist eye – all angles, rotary dials and shiny surfaces. This player is slightly less attention-grabbing. Its casing is a mix of aluminium and white plastic, it's a little smaller than its siblings and its interface is light grey rather than the darker tones of the Astell & Kern software.

On top you'll find two connectors, one 3.5mm output and one 4.4mm balanced, and the microSD card slot and USB-C connector are on the bottom edge. Holding the device with its 4.1-inch touchscreen facing you its volume controls are on the top left and the power/wake and menu buttons are on the right.

Third party apps don't integrate with the device's interface, so for example the songs you play through those apps won't be added to the recently played carousel and the apps' interfaces vary from service to service – but they work well and deliver the same features as their smartphone counterparts. Apple Music, for instance, looks like, works like and delivers the same lossless audio as its iPhone version.

The interface is snappy enough in everyday operation but it's a little slow to boot up, taking between 30 and 51 seconds to launch from a cold start. And the P1 gets warm during sustained use; not frighteningly so, but it heats up enough that you could use it as a hand-warmer in winter.

Design score: 4 / 5

Activo P1 review: Value

When you consider the pedigree here, $440 / £399 is good value for money: the Astell & Kern A&norma SR35 has an RRP of $799 / £799 and a street price of $649 / £599 for the same battery life and Bluetooth codec support. The A&K player is more advanced and customizable, but unless you're listening on truly exceptional headphones, I'm not sure paying nearly double the price (at full RRP) would give you nearly double the delight. If you want to upgrade your computer's audio or get a good quality hi-res audio experience, the P1 is very good value.

Value score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Activo P1?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Activo P1 review: Also consider

How I tested the Activo P1

Tested for over a week
Tested with streamed and hi-res downloaded content
Tested with wired and wireless headphones

I tested the Activo P1 over a period of several weeks in multiple modes: as a DAC and headphone amp for my M2 Mac, which I use for music production; and for listening to music with a mix of wired and wireless headphones including Philips Fidelio X2HR, Apple AirPods Max and Bose QuietComfort earbuds. I listened to a mix of compressed and lossless streaming audio and a selection of FLAC, WAV and AIFF files across multiple genres.

First reviewed in July 2024

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FiiO M23 portable music player review: delicate yet muscular, assertive yet subtle, lavishly detailed and vaultingly dynamic

5:00 pm | July 22, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Portable Media Players | Tags: LDAC | Comments: Off

FiiO M23: One-minute review

Yes, your smartphone is a very convenient way of enjoying music while on the go – but anyone who takes sound quality seriously knows that ultimate portable performance doesn’t come from a device that’s more about its camera than its audio quality. That comes from a dedicated digital audio player. And as luck would have it, we have tested some of the best MP3 players currently on the market.

The FiiO M23 arrives as a fairly large, lavishly specified and beautifully constructed digital audio player with a number of technological highlights. It’s ready to power wired or wireless headphones, or to act as a USB DAC in a desktop audio system. And it’s ready to handle anything you care to throw at it – any file type, any file size, any genre of music – with confidence, poise and positivity.

So it’s capable of extracting a huge amount of detail from a digital audio file, and contextualising it on a large, well-defined soundstage. It can punch hard if your music demands it, but never in an uncontrolled manner, and it can give the emotion and attitude in an unaccompanied voice absolutely explicit expression. Aside from some extremely rare operation glitches, it’s hard to lay a glove on the FiiO M23. Know this: it’s the real deal.

FiiO M23 review: Price and release date

FiiO M23 on a wooden table — (Image credit: Future)

Released March 2024
Priced at $699 / £649 / AU$1,249

The FiiO M23 digital audio player is on sale now, and in the United Kingdom it goes for £649. American customers will have to hand over $699, while in Australia you’re looking at something like AU$1,249 if my understanding of exchanges rates is correct.

The M23 has some competition at this price, of course – not least from FiiO itself. But it’s Astell & Kern that is its most obvious rival: the May 2023-release A&K A&norma SR35 goes for $799 / £799 / AU$1,299 while the company's June 2022-issue A&K A&norma SR25 MKII still sells for $749 / £699 / AU$1,099. And frankly, either option has plenty to recommend it. So it’s game on…

FiiO M23 review: Features

Twin AKM DACs
THX AAA 78+ amplification architecture
5500mAh battery

Space on the internet is, to all intents and purposes, limitless. But I reckon I could make quite a big dent in its capacity if I discussed every one of the FiiO M23’s many, many features at length. So it’s probably best to just get an overview – I promise it will let you know just how serious FiiO in general, and the M23 in particular, is…

The M23 is powered by a big 5500mAh battery that’s good for over 10 hours of playback from a single charge. A dual-mode fast-charging system means extreme fast-charging speeds (up to 30W) are available if the battery level is very low – and once the battery approaches its fully charged state, the M23 switches to a more sedate fast-charging state. The result of this arrangement, says FiiO, is much-improved charging times with no impact on the long-term health of the battery.

Internal memory is a just-about-adequate 64GB, and a microSD slot on the bottom of the player will accept cards of up to 2TB – which means you should be able to load a lot of big hi-res files as long as you invest in a microSD card. Obviously, the M23 will support your favourite music streaming service(s) as well as storing content on its local memory. Like all FiiO digital audio players, the M23 uses an amended version of Android as an operating system; Android 12 in this instance. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor makes the FiiO is fast and responsive in its operations, and some careful reskinning means the OS doesn’t eat into that internal memory too much.

Digital-to-analogue conversion is handled by a pair of AKM DAC chipsets – the AK4191EQ and AK4499EX operate in tandem, keeping the digital and analogue stages entirely separate and utilising ‘DWA routing’ technology to keep the signal-to-noise ratio to a bare minimum. And they allow the M23 to deal with digital audio files of almost every type (including MQA) up to a resolution of 24bit/384kHz and DSD256.

Amplification comes courtesy of FiiO’s latest refinement of the popular THX amplification design. Taking the THX AAA 78 (which it uses in its very competitive M11 Plus and M11 Pro models) as a starting point, FiiO has finessed the architecture to the point that it’s now called THX AAA 78+ – and can, in theory, offer more power with minimal distortion and even greater precision.

These are the headlines and hi-res music chops where the M23’s features are concerned. FiiO is understandably pleased with and proud of its unified hi-fi audio architecture, its bespoke Digital Audio Purification System, its four-stage 20-rail power supply, its 28 high-capacity polymer tantalum capacitors, and lots more… but surely you get the point by now: FiiO has never been anything other than painstaking and extraordinarily thorough where its digital audio players are concerned, and the M23 has enjoyed the same sort of engineering effort.

Features score: 5 / 5

FiiO M23 review: Sound quality

Direct, deft and engaging sound
Dynamism and insight to burn
Mildly and very occasionally glitchy

There’s an awful lot of positives associated with the way the FiiO M23 goes about resolving and delivering digital audio files. So for no other reason than contrariness, I’ll start with its very occasional operational foibles.

The M23 will sometimes pause, at random and without any user input. It happens very, very rarely, but not so rarely that you wouldn’t notice. And even less often it feels the need to chop into the first half-a-second of a digital audio file, starting playback just fractionally further forward than 0:00 – this seems to happen, on the odd occasions that it happens, when listening to some newly cued-up content, never when a playlist or an album is in progress. It’s hardly a dealbreaker, but equally it’s unlikely to be what you’re expecting from your shiny new digital audio player.

And with that out of the way, I can talk about all the many, many ways the M23 is an impressive-sounding machine.

In every circumstance, and with every type and size of digital audio file, the M23 sounds delicate yet muscular, assertive yet subtle, lavishly detailed and vaultingly dynamic. It seems perfectly willing to engage with any type of music you care to listen to, and is even prepared to tolerate downmarket sub-16bit/44.1kHz content if you absolutely must. It seems basically impossible to throw it out of its positive, confident stride.

A 24bit/96kHz FLAC file of Big Swimmer by King Hannah makes the point in fairly unequivocal style. The M23 sound is open and organised, with a carefully neutral tonal balance and a deft way where integration of the frequency range is concerned. There’s tremendous dynamic and harmonic variation to the strum of the unaccompanied guitar during the intro, an absolute stack of detail both broad and fine to the idiosyncratic, close-mic’d vocal, and appropriate crunch and bite to the second guitar when it joins in with the deep, textured bass. The recording sounds absolutely unified, the obvious result of performers responding and reacting to each other, rather than of individuals doing their own thing. It sounds like a performance, a demonstration of sonic togetherness.

Switching to a DSD64 file of Les McCann’s profoundly swinging I Can Dig It allows the M23 to show what it’s got where rhythmic expression, low-end fidelity and midrange expression are concerned. And it’s safe to say the FiiO has got more than enough – it communicates in the most articulate way, punching through the low-frequency information while keeping momentum high and keeps a close eye on the brilliance of the percussion that can easily get out of control in less capable hands. And again, the sense of engagement, of performance and of unity, is absolutely tangible.

And it’s worth noting that while FiiO offers a good amount of end-user adjustment – using the touch-screen you’re able to adjust the EQ frequency point, gain and bandwidth, and fine-tune the response curve to suit your preferences – the changes to the overall sound it’s possible to make are modest. At its heart, the M23 knows what it wants to sound like – which is, it turns out, not a bad thing at all.

Sound quality score: 4.5 / 5

FiiO M23 review: Design

Stainless steel or blue titanium finishes
137 x 76 x 18mm (HxWxD); 299g
5.5in 720 x 1440 display

At 137 x 76 x 18mm (HxWxD) and 299g the FiiO M23 cannot be described as ‘portable’ in the same way your smartphone is ‘portable’. It’s properly well made, of course, from tactile and overtly upmarket materials, and is finished to an extremely high standard - and those pointed edges that might otherwise damage your pocket-linings or the inside of your bag are smoothed off by a protective silicone case that comes with the ‘blue titanium’ finish. If you prefer the ‘stainless steel’ finish that’s available as an alternative, it’s supplied with a leather case that does a very similar job. But either way, there’s plenty of the M23.

The front of the player is taken up almost entirely by a 5.5in display. It’s bright and crisp, as its 720 x 1440 (18:9) resolution suggests it should be, and there are plenty of options regarding font size, brightness and so on to be investigated in the player’s ‘settings’ menu.

Design score: 5 / 5

FiiO M23 review: Usability and setup

3.5mm and 4.4mm analogue outputs; 3.5mm digital coaxial output
Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX HD and LDAC codec compatibility
‘D-Mode’ battery bypass

Every side of the M23 features a control, an input or an output that contributes to its overall usability. But just because it has a lot of facilities in this respect, it’s never less than logical and quite friendly – and consequently very easy to operate.

On one edge of the chassis there’s a strip of three buttons taking care of ‘play/pause’, ‘skip forwards’ and ‘skip backwards’ On the other there’s a power button - it’s edge-lit to indicate the size of digital audio file the player is dealing with. There’s also a ‘multifunction’ button, the specific function of which is straightforward to define. And in between there’s that volume control arrangement FiiO has become so fond of lately: it’s a carbon-fibre strip/rocker, and you can either slide a finger up or down, or press on either end to make your adjustments.

There’s also a ‘hold’ switch to prevent any unwanted actions being carried out, and a switch to put the M23 into ‘D-mode’. ‘D-mode’ means desktop mode – when it’s switched on, the player is completely powered by an external power source plugged into one of the two USB-C sockets on the bottom, and the battery is bypassed altogether. Which means you can use your M23 as desktop equipment without worrying about the effect you’re having on the battery. The other USB-C socket is for data transfer, and allows the FiiO to act as a USB DAC.

On the top edge of the M23 there are 3.5mm unbalanced or 4.4mm balanced outputs - these sockets can also be used to hard-wire the M23 to an amplifier or what-have-you, of course. The 3.5mm socket is hybrid, in fact, and can also act as a digital coaxial output in case you want to bypass the M23’s DAC circuitry altogether. And there are wireless possibilities too: dual-band wi-fi is on board, and the FiiO can both transmit and receive using Bluetooth 5.0 that’s compatible with SBC, AAC, aptX HD and LDAC codecs in both directions.

As well as the physical controls, of course, there’s that big touch-screen. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor ensures it’s quick and responsive, and the FiiO-ised version of Android 12 allows easy access to as many streaming services or what-have-you as you may require.

Usability and setup score: 5 / 5

FiiO M23 review: Value

Always a tricksy question, isn't it? On the one hand, you can grab an inexpensive MP3-specific portable audio player for a fraction of the price of this hi-res model, if you just want something not your phone. On the other, Astell & Kern's top-tier Ultima models sell for somewhere in the region of $2,399 / £1,999 / AU$3,599.

If you've read (particularly the Features section of) this review, you will have deduced that the sound-per-pound value of FiiO's proposition is high. It isn't the most pocket-friendly player around in terms of its dimensions, but where your wallet's concerned, it's a talented thing for this money.

Value score: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the FiiO M23?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

FiiO M23 review: Also consider

Astell & Kern SR35
It's a little more expensive than the FiiO M23, but it isn’t difficult to imagine being able to justify the extra expense. This is, as is established Astell & Kern practice, a thrillingly direct and informative listen – and it follows the eccentric A&K design template too.
See our full Astell & Kern A&norma SR35 review

How I tested the FiiO M23

Tested for two weeks
Listened to both streamed and downloaded content
Tested with both wired and wireless headphones

I loaded up my Tidal and Qobuz accounts and I filled the player with plenty of high-res content, from 24bit/96kHz files and up to DSD128. I used elite over-ear and in-ear headphones (see also IEMs) via the 4.4mm and 3.5mm outputs, as well as considerably less expensive true wireless earbuds connected via Bluetooth.

I used it, reader. However serious a product's spec sheet is, if the player is too fiddly to use on my commute it won't be getting good scores for 'usability' now, will it? I investigated its myriad features and listened to a variety of music, for several hours every day for a fortnight. And then, as tends to happen with these things, I had to return the FiiO M23 to its rightful owners and move on…

First reviewed in July 2024

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Ultimate Ears Everboom review: a very capable, jack of all trades Bluetooth speaker

5:30 pm | July 14, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Hi-Fi Wireless & Bluetooth Speakers | Comments: Off

Ultimate Ears Everboom: Two-minute review

It would have been very easy for the Ultimate Ears Everboom to falter. Given UE’s storied reputation among the best Bluetooth speakers around, we knew the Everboom would be a solid speaker, but sandwiched between the Ultimate Ears Megaboom (now into its fourth iteration, launched alongside this model) and the inaugural 2023 Ultimate Ears Epicboom it would be easy to get lost in the noise. Would people opt for the more affordable downgrade or be compelled to bypass this and pick up the beefier party-ready option?

That would be a shame, because the Everboom finds its niche as a near-powerhouse that isn’t a challenge to carry around – in large part thanks to its surprisingly lightweight 960g build and metal carabiner clip replacing the Epicboom’s flimsy strap.

Sonically the Everboom isn’t perfect – at max volume subtle distortions creep in, and audiophiles will notice tunes aren’t as expansive and neutral as when using more premium speakers – but to say it gets the job done would be an understatement. Whether you’re looking to keep guests entertained at a party or kick back to a podcast after a long day, the Ultimate Ears Everboom’s room-filling 360-degree sound has your back. It can do so for hours too, with a decently long 20-hour max battery life.

And if things go awry at the party, the Everboom is designed to survive smaller drops and lengthier dunks – it’s IP67 rated and floats – which makes it the perfect companion on an adventure where anything can happen.

The Ultimate Ears Everboom clipped to a bag using its karabiner — (Image credit: Ultimate Ears)

Just note that the Everboom lacks music over Wi-Fi support (unlike the Sonos Roam 2, say) and doesn’t have a 3.5mm aux port, which means your only option is a Bluetooth connection for playing tracks, and you won't be disappointed.

At $249.99 / £249.99 / AU$349 there’s a lot of competition. For your home you could snag a Sonos Era 10 from our best wireless speakers list, you might like the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) from the best Bluetooth speakers we’ve tested, or you could go for the more affordable route and pick up the UE Wonderboom 3 (or recently released Wonderboom 4) for $99.99 / £89.99 / AU$149.

Then again, the Ultimate Ears Everboom does stand up for itself, boasting a ruggedness and performance combination that many rivals can’t match. Whether you’re after a new best party speaker, or simply want an all rounder audio gadget then you’ll find the Everboom won’t steer you wrong.

Ultimate Ears Everboom review: Price & availability

Released in US and UK June 26, 2024
Released in Australia July 22, 2024
$249.99 / £249.99 / AU$349

The Ultimate Ears Everboom launched in June 2024 in the US and UK at $249.99 / £249.99, landing a little later on July 22 in Australia at AU$349.

This places the speaker firmly between the UE Megaboom models at $199.99 / £169.99 / $349.95 (at least in the US and UK, we’re not sure why the Australian prices of the two models are the same) and the pricier UE Epicboom that released at $349 / £340 / AU$499 in terms of cost, performance, and size.

There are currently two color options to choose from: the Charcoal Black with lime accents, and Azure Blue with light blue accents. Later in the year Ultimate Ears will launch two further colorways: Raspberry Red with light blue accents and Enchanting Lilac with lime accents.

Ultimate Ears Everboom review: Specs

Ultimate Ears Everboom review: Design

Big but still portable
IP67 dust and waterproof rating
Carabiner clip is a useful tool

As with all other current Ultimate Ear speakers (and plenty of rival options these days), the Everboom has an IP67 waterproof rating. This means it’s dustproof and can survive for up to 30 minutes submerged in water at depth of up to 1m – though because this speaker also floats (I checked; it does in my bathtub) you shouldn’t ever have to go diving deep to find it.

We wouldn’t recommend using the speaker while it’s floating, as the audio quality takes a noticeable hit, but this feature makes it a perfect option for outdoor parties. Has someone accidentally kicked the Everboom into the pool? Has it fallen off your boat into the lake, or has the sky let loose a torrential downpour? With these features it’s easy to rescue the speaker well before it can get damaged – just remember to give it a rinse in clean freshwater if it's taken a dip, to prevent long-term salt or chlorine damage.

The Ultimate Ears Everboom floating in a bath — (Image credit: Future)

It also has a familiar aesthetic design – especially to the ovaloid Epicboom. It features the same iconic large volume buttons on its front face, and basic controls on its top face – one button each for power, Bluetooth, Outdoor Boost, and play/pause. The USB-C port can be found at the back on its base with a nifty guard to keep water out.

Though the similarities with the Epicboom end when it comes to portability. The Everboom is smaller than UE’s Epicboom at just 11.0 cm x 8.5 cm x 20.5 cm and fairly light – coming in at 960g – though it is nevertheless going to be a challenge to shove this speaker into an already well-stocked bag if you want to travel with it – which is where the nifty carabiner clip comes in.

You can either secure it to a rucksack’s exterior, or (as I’ve frequently used it) clip it onto a belt loop to easily carry the Ultimate Ears Everboom with you wherever you go; with the added benefit of simultaneously enjoying music or podcasts through your speaker without giving up a free hand to carry it.

Design score: 5/5

Ultimate Ears Everboom review: Features

20-hour battery life
App unlocks a megaphone and equalizer
No 3.5mm port, or microphones

The Ultimate Ears Everboom is full of neat features, though to access a lot of them you’ll need to install the UE Boom app on your phone (it’s available on iPhone and Android).

This is true for the equalizer – a control panel that lets you choose presets for specific listening experiences such as “Bass Boost” or “Podcast/Vocal”, and gives you the option to customize the Everboom’s sound profile as you see fit; PartyUp that lets you pair multiple compatible Ultimate Ears speakers to play music through them all at the same time, and if you have two Everbooms they’ll work as a stereo pair; and the new Megaphone feature (which has arrived to other UE speakers too) which lets you talk into your phone’s mic to blast a message through your Everboom.

The Ultimate Ears Everboom in the UE Boom app — (Image credit: Future)

You don’t need the app for every tool though. An in-built NFC feature lets you instantly pair the Everboom to an NFC-compatible smartphone (running Android 8.0 or later) by touching it to the speaker’s top. There’s also an Outdoor Boost mode which diverts power away from frequencies that don’t travel well outdoors so the speaker can get a little louder (reaching a max of 91dBC instead of 90dBC).

The UE Everboom does lack a few features. You won’t find a 3.5mm port, or any microphones (removing any potential for this doubling as a smart speaker) – and it also lacks Wi-Fi connectivity.

Lacking these tools won’t be a deal breaker for many, but the Ultimate Ears Everboom doesn’t do a lot beyond being 'just' a Bluetooth speaker – albeit a great one.

Features score: 3.5/5

Ultimate Ears Everboom review: Sound quality

Having a neat design and nifty features is certainly a bonus to any sound system, but we all know the most important factor to any speaker is its sound; on this front the Ultimate Ears Everboom serves up a storm.

Firstly, this thing can get monstrously loud with its max 90dBC volume (91dBC using Outdoor Boost, more on that in the Features section). This is louder than you’ll ever really need – for context, while using the Everboom in my flat I hover around two-fifths of the max volume and have only ever cranked it louder while I’m outdoors ignoring some tests I did for this review (apologies to my neighbors if you’re reading this weren’t out at work like I hoped you all were when I cranked the Everboom up).

The Ultimate Ears Everboom's carabiner says — This carabiner is 'Not For Climbing' (Image credit: Future)

Secondly, the Ultimate Ears Everboom delivers a very compelling audio performance, proving it can deliver quality not just quantity. Admittedly at the loudest volumes we detected a little distortion creeping in, but at most normal listening levels you're served a well mixed sound buffet.

Sabrina Carpenter’s pop hit Please, Please, Please is crafted with precision – her vocals are bright and crisp; the bombastic Tokyo Drifting by Glass Animals is delivered with an emphatic albeit not overpowering bass; meanwhile the instrumental layers in the jazz standard Caravan (I recently rewatched Whiplash, and the soundtrack has been a recent musical obsession of mine) are simultaneously distinct yet not at war with each other. Though there were occasions I felt the sound could be fuller and more warm.

Lastly, this speaker’s 360-degree soundstage can’t go unnoticed. It’s hardly a unique feature of modern Bluetooth speakers, but its ability to serve the same high-quality performance in every direction is nevertheless commendable.

Sound quality score: 4/5

Ultimate Ears Everboom review: Value

At $249.99 / £249.99 / AU$349 isn't the priciest Bluetooth speaker out there, but isn't what we'd call budget either. Materials and design-wise it does look and feel premium, and while it lacks high-end fetaures like Wi-Fi connectivity, that's hardly the end of the world.

In terms of sound there are speakers that offer a better overall performance at this price (even though the Everboom does a great job), but they lack the portability and/or the ruggedness and waterproofness afforded by the the Everboom making it something of a jack of all trades.

If that's what you're after it's solid value, but if you're searching for a speaker that is better for at-home sound and can piggyback on your home's Wi-Fi network, you'll want something different – perhaps from Sonos, perhaps one of our best wireless speakers recommendations.

Value score: 4/5

Should you buy the Ultimate Ears Everboom?

Buy it if…

You want a waterproof speaker that sounds great
Looking for a speaker that’ll keep you entertained and survive accidental dips into the pool/ sea / lake? The Everboom could be just what you need.

You need something portable
This speaker isn’t the smallest, but it weighs less than 1kg and with its carabiner clip it’s exceptionally easy to carry around.

You after something that looks fun
I don't know what it is, but the UE speakers’ iconic huge + and - volume controls and colorful fabric-jacketed designs scream fun to me – and a lot of us here at TechRadar – and we could all do with more fun in our lives.

Don’t buy it if…

You want one of the best wireless speakers
This speaker has Bluetooth connectivity but lacks the ability to connect to Wi-Fi to stream music directly from your favorite music streaming services like some rivals.

You need something wired
If you’re after a speaker that can support a wired 3.5mm connection, this is the gadget you need.

You’re on a budget
The Everboom is one of UE’s pricier speakers, and while it does offer decent value for money options like the Wonderboom 3 (or new Wonderboom 4) could be a better option if you’re on a budget.

Also Consider

Ultimate Ears Epicboom
If you can afford to splash out a little more and value sound quality over portability then the UE Epicboom might be more up your street with its bulkier design but more impactful audio drivers.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom
At the time of writing we’ve not yet tested the new gen 4 model that recently launched, but the Wonderboom 3 is our pick for the best waterproof speaker out there. It’s cheaper than the Everboom and smaller, but won’t match its performance abilities.

Sonos Roam 2
Sonos is a well-known name in the audio game for a reason, and you can’t go wrong with its Wi-Fi enabled speakers. Not only can the Roam 2 fit into any existing Sonos setup, it’s also portable and Bluetooth compatible.

How I tested the Ultimate Ears Everboom

Tested for two weeks
Listened against the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom, and Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and Sonos Sub
Used at home, in a garden, and on the beach

To get a sense of this portable speaker's energy and stamina, I made sure to test it in a variety of environments to match up with how you might want to use it. I spent a lot of time with it at home but also took it outside into my garden and on a quick trip to the beach to see how it fared sonically and how often it needed charging.

This also included dropping it into a filled bathtub to make sure it floats as Ultimate Ears had promised – and thankfully it did, otherwise this would have been a short review. Quick note, make sure you dry it before leaving it on your desk as I came back to quite the puddle.

Music-wise I made sure to put the Ultimate Ears Everboom through its paces using a wide array of genres – everything from hip-hop to metal, as well as podcasts and a couple of films – to see if this speaker would get tripped up anywhere.

Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2: Two-minute review

In the ten minutes between me receiving the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 review unit, and actually turning them on, I received the news that Jabra is pulling out of the headphone market. These second-gen wired earbuds have thus become the last pair it’s going to sell and support.

That gives this Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 review a somewhat elegiac undertone: is this a well-tuned swan song from the legacy audio company, or an out-of-tune dying rasp? Since you’ve already read the verdict (or at least the star-rating) above I won’t press this dichotomy – we're veering towards the latter. They aren't among the best earbuds we've ever tested.

Jabra’s parent company GN cited increasing competition in the wireless earbuds market as one of the key reasons it was leaving the fray, and it’s easy to see why the company thinks that, as the 10 Gen 2 simply aren’t competitive enough.

Before we get further in, though, let’s first unpick that name: these are the successors to the Jabra Elite 10, which were only nine months old when these Gen 2 buds came out. As the name suggests, the Elite 10 stood at the top of Jabra’s line of true wireless earbuds, with a meaty price to signify it.

However, when I started testing the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2, I didn’t look up the price, and based on the sound quality and feature set made a guess as to what I thought the price would be. Lo and behold, the buds actually cost about twice what I would’ve guessed. Simply put, their price is too high for what you’re getting, when you consider how competitive the true wireless earbud market is – no wonder GN is stepping back.

The most telling issue is that the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2’s sound quality just isn’t great. Music has more peaking than a meringue tray bake, with acoustic guitars and hi-hats struggling to emerge from something of a white-noise melee despite this, while mids turn tinny to become the most prominent in the mix. Treble stands its ground fairly well, but bass is all but lost in this sadly confusing recipe.

The sound isn’t bad, it’s just not… Elite.

Unfortunately, the fit isn’t very reliable when you’re in motion either; the buds often become loose and needed to be pushed back in when I walked outside.

A potential saving grace, and one that could have been in a hail-Mary feature for Jabra, is a little perk that lets you plug the case into any other device using an in-box cable so you can stream audio straight from the device to the buds. However as we’ll get to later, this is only situationally useful and didn’t work properly lots of the time.

It’s a shame that the Elite 10 Gen 2 are so disappointing, because some aspects of them are really impressive. I usually hate on-ear buttons, but the Jabras have easily the best I’ve ever used – they’re easy to find and press, and you don’t have to push so hard that the buds end up half-way to your eardrum before the song pauses.

The app has a range of soundscapes you can turn on to get some peace and quiet and detox for a little bit. White noise, chattering crowds, rain, there are a range of options for you to choose from.

And while the earbuds themselves don’t have a great battery life, the case really does, so you can rely on it to keep you charged up for a weekend away… as long as you’re happy frequently returning the buds to their case to get them charged back up.

So there are parts of the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 to like and other aspects that are disappointing; as consumer products then, they’re fine, but as the earbuds we’ll remember Jabra by, they are uninspiring reminders of a departing giant.

Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 review: Price and release date

Unveiled in June 2024
Premium price at $279.99 / £259.99 (roughly AU$420)

The Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 were unveiled in June 2024 and put on sale shortly afterwards. A single day after the June 11 release, Jabra announced that they would be its last earbuds (alongside the Elite 8 Active Gen 2, which were shown off at the same time).

You can buy the Elite 10 Gen 2 for $279.99 / £259.99 (roughly AU$420), which makes them $30 / £30 more expensive than their predecessors. In Australia, there’s not been a confirmed release for the Gen 2 just yet, but the first-gen models cost AU$379.

At that price, these are Jabra’s most premium true wireless earbuds, ahead of the Elite 8 Active Gen 2 which are slightly less top-end and the Elite 5 which are mid-range offerings.

You can pick up our highest-rated earbuds for about that price – the Technics EAH AZ80 go for $299 / £259 / AU$499 and, for the iHeads, the AirPods Pro 2 actually come in at slightly less than that. So it’s an incredibly competitive market segment.

Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 review: Specs

Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 review: Features

Can plug case into other devices to stream audio
6-hour buds battery, 36-hour with case
App has some features, including soundscapes

I’m going to start with the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2’s signature feature: using a cable included in the box, you can plug the case into any device that has a 3.5mm headphone jack or USB-C port, and immediately stream audio from the device into your earbuds.

In practice, this didn’t always work, and when it did it wasn’t ideal. Not all devices recognized the Elites, and sometimes I just couldn’t use the feature – on other devices I had to manually change the audio output to the device, which was annoying and fiddly.

When it did work, it… well, worked as intended: I used the feature to stream music from an MP3 player and from my iPad (with less effort than actually setting up the Bluetooth itself). Other than when I was intentionally using the feature to test it, though, I found myself totally ignoring it: it simply doesn’t seem that useful.

Two examples Jabra gives for the feature's handiness include for TV viewing and on a treadmill. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a treadmill with any kind of music port (maybe it’s just the gyms I go to?) and my TV has this thing called a ‘speaker’ which is a bit better for audio. The other use case, which it’s touting more than the others, is on planes for in-flight entertainment. I can see the point, but between the middling noise cancellation and low max volume, there’s no way you’re going to hear subtle dialogue in your movie over the sound of the engines and air-con.

The feature becomes less impressive when you remember that plenty of over-ear headphones have 3.5mm jacks and will naturally block out lots of background noise by virtue of their design. Many of them also have ANC and spatial audio like the Jabra. Check out our list of the best noise cancelling headphones for some great options – just make sure that they come with a 3.5mm cable in-box to save you buying one separately.

Okay, so I’ve torn apart the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2’s key feature, how do they fare beyond that? Uh… fine, I guess.

The battery life isn’t amazing, but it’s not the worst I’ve seen: with the buds, you’re getting just over 6 hours of listening time with ANC on or 8 hours with it turned off. Using the case you can get 27 hours of playback total with ANC and 36 hours with it turned off, which is actually pretty good compared to some rivals.

There are two modes of active noise cancellation on the Jabra: first is the standard one. It’s okay for removing the worst of background noise, but it doesn’t cut it for louder environments. If you’re on a train or by a busy road it’ll barely make a dent in what’s around you.

Then there’s ‘hearthrough’, which is supposed to allow certain sounds in, to keep you safe. It generally worked well, pulling through nearby noises that the standard ANC mode removed. One thing that confused me was that in the app, the hearthrough mode gives you a slider to change the intensity. I could never tell if this corresponded to how much background sound was allowed through, or how much was cancelled out.

And there’s my segue to the app: Sound+, as it’s called, gives you the basic features that most Bluetooth headphone tie-in apps offer. You can change the ANC, turn on spatial audio, fiddle with an equalizer and also turn on a range of background soundscapes if you want to relax. None of these are new to earbuds but they all work well, with the Elite 10 giving accurate head tracking for the spatial sound and the range of soundscapes being pretty impressive.

Features score: 3.5/5

Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 review: Design

Fairly small earbuds, average-sized case
Easy-to-press on-bud buttons
Five color options, IP57 rated

The case for the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 is fairly standard as wireless earbuds go, and is nigh-on identical to the first-gen version. It’s a small clamshell that houses the buds, which has space for a USB-C port to charge with (and for one other feature…).

It’s a lightweight case, weighing 46.6g and measuring 19.6 x 18.8 x 28.2mm. It’s made of plastic but feels nice and smooth in the hand. However the pinkish-beige color of our test unit showed up marks, stains and smears very easily, and I had to wipe the unit a few times to clean it.

The four other color options will likely avoid this problem, all being darker. There’s the greenish-blue Denim, brown Cocoa, black Titanium Black and also black Gloss Black.

Then onto the music machines themselves: these are small bean-style buds with a tip and a little oval body. They weigh 5.5g so they’re basically average for earbuds like this – weight is doubly important for bean-style wireless earbuds like this as, if they’re too heavy, it can make them prone to falling out of your ears.

When I was sitting still, the buds fit fine and were totally comfortable; when walking they sometimes got a little loose, requiring me to push them back into position, but it didn’t happen nearly as often as on some other earbuds I’ve tested.

Each bud has a button on it – if you look at the pictures, this is the large silver panel, and it only takes a slight depress to press. Of all the earbuds I’ve ever tested, this is one of the easiest to use as it’s easy to hit the button due to their large size, and the fact you only need a little bit of pressure to trigger them ensures you’re not jamming the buds right up your ear canal every time you want to pause a song.

Design score: 4/5

Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 review: Sound quality

Tinny audio
Bass lost in the mix
Equalizer fixes some issues

The Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 are by no means the worst-sounding wireless earbuds I’ve tested, but when you consider how much you have to pay for them, they’re not great.

The main problem, that I noticed as soon as I started to test the Jabras and that never abated through testing, is simply that audio sounds quite tinny.

This peaking is most noticeable in parts of songs that are prone to peaking: drum cymbals and hi-hats, acoustic guitar rhythms, shakers and other background percussion, sometimes vocal harmonies. But it would also show up where I wasn’t expecting it: the vocal lines of some songs would show symptoms, as would electric guitar solos or piano accompaniments.

For some kinds of music, this was noticeable but not a big issue. But for some songs, particularly in folksy or acoustic-heavy genres, it drastically reduced the quality: tunes like Langhorne Slim and the Law’s Strangers or City of the Sun’s W. 16th St missed the edge that made me love them in the first place.

Treble is audible in the Elite 10 Gen 2’s mix but I don’t see bass-loving audiophiles enjoying the Jabra either – lower-frequency sounds struggle to be heard in the mix by default.

If there’s a bigger problem than its sound quality, though, it’s that the Jabra Elites are just too quiet. At max volume and with noise cancellation turned up to max, it can still be quite hard to hear music when you’re in a busy environment. I’m writing this paragraph while on a train, and I had to give up on podcast listening because I was losing every couple of words — music doesn’t sound great either if you can only hear the most prominent instruments and lines!

You’d hope that the Jabra app would solve some of these issues, but let’s rule the latter out straight way: there are no volume controls in Sound+. There is an equalizer, though.

Using this equalizer, I managed to fix a few problems with the buds; boosting the bass reduces the impact of the tinny sound to a degree. It wasn’t a fix-all cure, but if you know what you’re doing with equalizers, you might be able to improve the sound quality somewhat. There are some presets too and I’d recommend trying out the Bass boost, Energize or Smooth options first.

Sound quality: 3/5

Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 review: Value

Wait for a discount
There are better-value alternatives

At their current asking price, the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 just don’t offer you good value for money.

Their feature set, battery life and design are all on par with earbuds that cost half as much, while the sound quality is actually worse than many cheaper rivals that I’ve tested – it’s just incredibly hard to recommend the buds.

That’ll change if you can find them seriously discounted in sales, but at their asking price, there’s no way these offer decent value for money.

If you’re about to say “yes, but I need the wired audio feature” follow my advice from the features section – find over-ear headphones that have a 3.5mm jack. You’ll thank me later.

Value: 2.5/5

Should I buy the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2?

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Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 review: Also consider

How I tested the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2

Tested for 2 weeks
Tested at home, in the office, on walks and on holiday

I tested the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 for just over two weeks, which included plenty of natural and real-life testing, and standardized TechRadar tests too – including our new mic test.

I mainly used the headphones paired to either my Android phone or iPad, but using the wired cable I tested it briefly alongside my laptop, computer, MP3 player and another smartphone. Testing was generally for music or TV shows but also on podcasts and phone calls.

My tech testing experience at TechRadar spans over five years, and recently it's been largely focusing on audio products; I've tested plenty of the true wireless headphones that you might consider alongside the Jabra.

First reviewed in July 2024

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