Update: February 2024. The JBL Flip 6 is still the best Bluetooth speaker at a mid-range price for our money – partly thanks to a small price drop officially since its launch, and some good discounts during sales events. It puts out a lot of power from a small and easily portable package, and has a very durable design that doesn't need any delicate handling, which is always good for an outdoor speaker. It's still JBL's latest Flip speaker, and still get a big thumbs-up from us. The rest of this review remains as previously published.
JBL Flip 6: One-minute review
JBL’s Flip series of Bluetooth speakers have held a place in our guide to the best portable speaker for a long time, and the company’s latest model continues in that tradition.
The JBL Flip 6 is an easy-to-use, rugged, and well-connected speaker that sounds great and is easily capable of filling a room with your favorite music - or soundtracking outdoor parties or poolside get-togethers.
An IP67 dust and water resistance rating means you can happily take the Flip 6 to the beach, while its dual passive radiators ensure that the speaker has enough low-end oomph to deliver powerful bass when you’re outside and there are no walls for the soundwaves to bounce from.
Compared to its predecessor, the JBL Flip 5, the Flip 6 is a subtle improvement upon an already excellent Bluetooth speaker. It’s more robust and better suited to the outdoors, it uses the most recent Bluetooth version, and there’s a solid step up in sound quality; otherwise, these speakers are very similar, and we’d recommend looking out for great deals on the Flip 5 if you want to save some money.
That’s not to say that we don’t think the JBL Flip 6 is worth buying. Quite the contrary; it’s an ideal Bluetooth speaker for first-time users thanks to its simple controls, impeccable connectivity, and straightforward accompanying app. Simplicity is the name of the game with the JBL Flip 6, and as such you won’t find any built-in mics for voice assistants and phone calls, no charging port for your phone, no AUX-in for wired listening, and no Wi-Fi connectivity. This speaker simply plays your music, and it plays it well.
(Image credit: TechRadar)
JBL Flip 6 review: Price & release date
Released in December 2021
$129.95 / £129.99 (about AU$175)
The JBL Flip 6 was released in December 2021 and is available to buy now for $129.95 / £129.99 - that works out at around AU$175, though Australian pricing is yet to be confirmed.
That’s slightly more expensive than its predecessors, the JBL Flip 5, which cost $119.95 / £119.99 /AU$149.95 when it launched in August 2019 - but not by much.
JBL’s latest speaker is a lot cheaper than our favorite Bluetooth speaker, the Sonos Roam - though the Flip 6 doesn’t come with extra features like Wi-Fi connectivity that will have bumped up the price of the Roam.
At first glance, the JBL Flip 6 looks almost identical to the Flip 5, with a cylindrical build, wraparound grille, and bass radiators on each side that pulse as you play your music. Our model came in a striking red shade, but it’s also available in black, blue, and gray. The Flip 5 comes in quite a few more color options - including a camo pattern - but we wouldn’t be surprised if JBL introduced more shades for the Flip 6 down the line.
Small enough to carry in one hand and weighing 550g, the Flip 6 is easily portable, and comes with a sporty strap that you slip over your wrist.
The metallic-looking grille is flanked by rubberized end caps that give the bass radiators on each side of the speaker a bit of protection from bumps and scrapes, while a rubber foot at the bottom of the speaker stops it from rolling off whatever surface you place it on.
(Image credit: TechRadar)
In the middle of the grille is the JBL logo in big, bold letters - just above this you’ll find all your controls; PartyBoost, volume down, volume up, and play. We like the fact that these controls are raised and tactile - it’s easy to find them in low lighting or just feel for them if you can’t be bothered to look.
On the bottom of the speaker is where you’ll find the power and Bluetooth pairing buttons, which light up when you press them, along with a USB-C charging port. Unlike the JBL Charge 4, there’s no port to charge your phone from, so you’ll need to make sure your device is topped up before you leave home.
The Flip 6 feels just as rugged as the Flip 5, but this time JBL has introduced dust resistance alongside water resistance, for an IP67 rating. That means you can happily take the Flip 6 to the beach without needing to worry about a little sand or a splash of seawater breaking it.
(Image credit: TechRadar)
JBL Flip 6 review: Audio performance
Racetrack-shaped woofer and separate tweeter
Powerful bass
Can be harsh at high volumes
If you’re looking for a great-sounding Bluetooth speaker that can fill a room just as well as it can soundtrack an outdoor picnic, the JBL Flip 6 is an excellent choice.
A racetrack-shaped woofer delivers powerful bass and rich mid frequencies, while a separate tweeter provides high levels of clarity from treble tones. Those passive radiators on each end of the speaker extend the low end even further for satisfying, chest-thumping bass lines that never sound bloated or muddy.
Listening to Little Simz’ Woman, and the radiators pulse pleasingly as the vampy bass lines bounce around the mix. Simz’ relaxed rap delivery sounds clear amid the jazzy piano chords, while Cleo Soul’s lacelike vocal boasts a rich, lush quality as it floats above the rest of instrumentation.
(Image credit: TechRadar)
In spite of its small size, the JBL Flip 6 easily reaches loud volumes, and sound doesn’t distort as you crank it up, with a good handle of complex rhythms and time signatures.
Moving on to Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Soft Shock, and the driving rhythm section with trebly drums, pulsating synths, and hammering bass lines sounds tight and accurate, while Karen O’s floaty voice has a convincingly natural presence. Bumping this track up to the highest volumes did lead to some harsh treble sounds, but generally the audio performance is warm and well-balanced with an excellent sense of clarity.
If you want to boost the sound even further, you can use the PartyBoost feature to pair two compatible JBL speakers in stereo, or multiple speakers (up to 100, in fact) in mono for a wall of sound. It’s a shame you can only stereo pair it with other Flip 6 speakers (so the Flip 5 you have at home will only pair in mono), but that’s a small drawback in the grand scheme of things.
(Image credit: TechRadar)
JBL Flip 6 review: Battery life & connectivity
12-hour battery life
Bluetooth 5.1
Accompanying app
JBL says the Flip 6 should last for 12 hours of playback, which we found to be accurate in our tests. You can top up the battery within two-and-a-half hours with a USB-C cable.
Connectivity comes courtesy of Bluetooth 5.1, and pairing the speaker with our iPhone 13 mini was super quick and easy. We didn’t experience any annoying connectivity dropouts while we were using the Flip 6, and it’s possible to pair it with two devices at once, so you can take turns DJing with your friends.
The speaker is supported by the JBL Portable app, which allows you to check for software updates, adjust the equalizer settings with sliders for bass, mid, and treble frequencies, turn the feedback tone on and off, and read the user guide. You can also enable the PartyBoost feature via this app.
• Original review date: August 2020
• Newer Sony WH-1000XM5 now out
• Launch price: $349 / £349 / AU$549
• Target price now: $249 / £199 / AU$399
Update: February 2024. The Sony WH-1000XM4 might be getting on these days, but because you can regularly find them for so much cheaper than their launch, we think these still rule the roost in terms of bang for your buck. The 'target' price above is what you should aim to pay for these headphones, and we've seen them for cheaper than those prices, so they're not unrealistic at all. The Sony WH-1000XM5 have now been launched, but with a much higher price than the XM4 and without feeling like a huge leap in terms of sound or noise cancellation. So the WH-1000XM4 really hit the sweet spot if you can get them for our recommended prices, which isn't hard. We still rate them as the best headphones for most people – they've been bettered in many ways, don't get us wrong… but not for this kind of price. Plus the new version doesn't have the handy folding design for traveling! The rest of this review remains as previously published.
Sony WH-1000XM5: One-minute review
The Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Headphones are a wonderful pair of wireless noise-cancelling headphones in every way. That's why they're still up there among our pick of the best headphones of 2022, even though they were released in 2020 – and even though they've recently been superseded by the new WH-1000XM5.
We love that they deliver exactly what they promise and then some, thanks to their exceptional noise cancellation and cutting-edge codec support.
Granted, they haven’t seen a massive overhaul aesthetically from theSony WH-1000XM3 that were released back in 2018. However, the WH-1000XM4 headphones pack in a number of new improvements, including DSEE Extreme audio upscaling and multipoint pairing.
The Sony WH-1000XM4 support Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format, which enablesspatial audio on stereo headphones, plus the LDAC codec that can send a bitrate of up to 990 kbps. The unfortunate bit there, though, is that it no longer supports aptX or aptX HD, so your hi-res audio support mileage may vary.
Thanks to their extremely comfortable fit and great noise cancellation, we highly recommend the Sony WH-1000XM4 as the best headphones and the best over-ear headphones for most people, but particularly travelers or those with long commutes. However, they’re not great for workout enthusiasts who need a secure fit and water-resistance – or business people who require a best-in-class microphone for phone calls. For nearly everyone else, however, these are some of the best wireless headphones you can buy from a brand with an excellent track record in audio devices.
Since their release in August 2020, the Sony WH-1000XM4 have been given a few updates. For starters, Sony released a limited edition white colorway with a gold finish. The company also releases a firmware update to improve Bluetooth stability when the headphones are paired to multiple devices and to fix a bug which saw users struggle to connect the Sony WH-1000XM4 to Windows computers.
Read on for our full Sony WH-1000XM4 review, with everything you need to know about the best noise-cancelling headphones you can buy today.
Sony WH-1000XM5 review: Price & release date
Price: $349 in the US
Price: £349 in the UK
Price: AU$549 in Australia
Released in August 2020
The Sony WH-1000XM4 were announced on August 6, 2020 and while they come from Sony's flagship line, they are no longer Sony’s top-tier go to proposition simply because they've now got a younger XM5 sibling. These over-ear cans sit above the mid-range Sony WH-CH710N and true wireless Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds.
In terms of price, you’re looking at $350 / £349 / AU$549 or thereabouts – which is exactly what the Sony WH-1000XM3 launched in 2018 in the US, and £50 more expensive in the UK.
That puts the Sony WH-1000XM4 in the same price range as the Bose Noise-Cancelling 700 Headphones that come in at $339.99 / £349.95 / AU$599.95, and slightly less than the more upscale Bowers and Wilkins PX7 that cost $399.99 / £349 / AU$600 – but let's not forget, that model has now been superseded too, thanks to the arrival of the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2, which can be yours for a cool $399 / £379 / approx. AU$575.
They're also far cheaper than the Apple AirPods Max, which cost $549 / £549 / AU$899 – and since the Sony XM4s are now a slightly older model, we wouldn't be surprised if there are some tasty deals to be had soon…
(Image credit: Future)
Sony WH-1000XM5 review: Design
Imperceptible design changes since the 1000XM3
Sturdy build and comfortable padding
New SoC for improved noise cancellation
Lack any sort of water-resistance
Though the Sony WH-100XM4 have a slew of new components inside the headphones themselves, there’s not a major difference between them and their predecessors in terms of aesthetics. In fact, put them next to each other and you’d have a hard time telling the 1000XM3 apart from the 1000XM4.
That’s not the end of the world, though, as the design of the 1000XM3 is refined and subtle, allowing it to blend in on subway stations, planes and offices without drawing any attention.
In terms of materials, you’re mostly looking at a high-quality plastic build with supple pleather padding. The result is a product that feels mostly durable while remaining extremely comfortable to wear for an extended period of time.
Around the outside of the earcups you’ll find two physical control buttons for power/pairing and a button that cycles through noise-cancelling modes, as well as a 3.5mm aux. jack and a USB-C port for charging. The outer part of the earcups act as a touch-capacitive control panel that can be used to play, pause or skip music, and raise or lower the volume.
Inside the headphones is where the magic happens, though. Sony has swapped out the old system-on-a-chip (SoC) for a new one that promises better noise cancellation. Key to that, of course, is the Sony QNe1 Processor that constantly samples ambient audio to reactively adjust the level of noise cancellation. It’s an ingenious setup and design that separates it from the one-size-fits-all noise cancelling algorithm from other manufacturers.
The bad news here, however, is that the Sony WH-1000XM4 aren’t water-friendly - they’re not splash-proof, water-proof or even very water-resistant. Sony recommends keeping them dry and far away from any source of water that might damage them. That sounds like common sense - and fairly easy to achieve - but that does limit the places you can bring them: if you’re looking for a pair of running headphones, these aren’t them.
(Image credit: Future)
Sony WH-1000XM5 review: Features
Class-leading noise cancellation
Situational and conversational awareness
Multi-point pairing to connect to two devices
May pause the music if it hears you singing along
The Sony WH-1000XM3 were feature-rich upon release, full of inventive control schemes and intelligent applications of their noise cancellation technology. All that was great about the WH-1000XM3 headphones has carried over to the WH-1000XM4 successors, and with some all-new tricks, too. These aren’t just gimmicks either – they’re useful additions that actually work as advertised.
So let’s kick off with the brand-new stuff. First, and perhaps most importantly, Sony has refined its wireless noise-cancelling approach. Like all good design, it’s subtle to the point where you may not notice it at first (such was the strength of the previous system, anyway).
Key specs
Acoustic design: Closed
Weight: 253g
Frequency response: 4Hz to 40kHz
Drivers: 1.57-inch dome-type
Battery life: 30 hours
Active noise cancellation? Yes
Extra features: Speak to Chat, DSEE Extreme, 360 Reality Audio
But with the WH-1000XM4, you’re getting a much greater sense of noise cancellation in the mid-ranges – those sorts of areas where you get a low-level humming kind of sound that you could attribute to a fan, or air conditioning unit, or engine noise. It’s never fully silenced, but it’s remarkably quiet, and as soon as you have actual audio playing through the cans, you can’t hear the outside world at all.
Though high wind can still cause a bit of extraneous noise to come through, it’s otherwise among the best (if not, the best) noise-cancelling system we’ve heard from a pair of wireless headphones.
These noise-cancelling modes are intelligent, too – with your permission, the WH-1000XM4 headphones can learn where you are using geo-location access, and apply your preferred level of noise-cancellation or ambient sound passthrough depending on where you are. So, at home you may prefer a fully cancelled noise mode, while in the office you may want voices to come through.
With the feature activated, the Sony headphones play a small chiming tone when it’s reached one of your set locations, and dials the noise-cancellation up or back appropriately. Though GPS requirements mean it won’t be able to work during a subterranean commute, you can preset your station or travel hub in the accompanying Headphones Connect app, and have it activate your preferred noise cancelling settings whilst above ground before descending.
The best of the WH-1000XM4 features though are those that pander to convenience. They’re simple and effective additions. A sensor in the earcups will recognize when you take the headphones off, and pause music accordingly, resuming playback automatically when you replace them. If they’re paused for a few minutes (at a delay of your choosing), they’ll automatically switch off to save battery life. A new multipoint connection lets the headphones connect to two devices at once, intelligently switching between both as the requirement of each device dictates – say, to deliver a notification or answering a call.
Most impressive is a new Speak-to-Chat feature. With this option switched on, the headphones’ microphone will intelligently recognize when you’ve started talking, and pause your music while ramping up ambient noise being funneled into the cans. It’ll let you have a chat naturally without taking your headphones off, with a short pause occurring after you stop chatting before resuming music playback.
However, it’s a double edged sword, as it’s almost too effective – if you decide to break into song and sing along with your tunes with the feature activated, it’ll pause your track, ending your karaoke session. Convenient then – so long as you’re restrained with your vocal gymnastics.
(Image credit: Future)
Sony WH-1000XM5 review: Audio quality
Circumaural 40mm drivers
Warm and balanced, clear and powerful bass
Support for 360 Reality Audio for spatial audio
LDAC and AAC but not aptX or aptX HD
Sony’s using the same 40mm drivers in the WH-1000XM4 as it had in the WH-1000XM3, so tonally and in terms of mix, there’s not much to separate the WH-1000XM4 from the WH-1000XM3 headphones that preceded them. It’s a warm and balanced sound that does well to offer a wide soundstage when required and detail that can pierce through a powerful bass performance.
On the noise-cancelling front, Sony’s using its Dual Noise Sensor tech, making use of two mics in each earcup to suck in sound and analyse it with the QN1 noise cancelling processor. This allows the headphones to adjust its noise cancellation response imperceptibly quickly, at more than 700 times a second. It’s fantastically powerful, and never gets in the way of your tunes.
While aptX HD support would have been welcome, the Sony’s LDAC codec, present here, does a good job with devices that support it, pushing lots of detail through wirelessly. The introduction of DSEE Extreme, an AI-driven process that looks to restore detail from lossy compressed formats, does well to bring clarity to even the lower quality formats and files you may throw at the WH-1000XM4.
Sony’s still pushing its 360 Reality Audio offering too, which is its homegrown immersive audio format, putting you in the middle of a surround-sound mix, and it’s still impressive – even if actually accessing its library is limited to just a few streaming services, and the catalogue’s growth has been slow.
As ever, we put the headphones through their paces with a mixture of streaming services, file formats and spoken word clips, and the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones impressed across the board.
Jeff Buckley’s elegiac Last Goodbye shimmers into action, its slide guitar giving way to a warm bass groove and layers of acoustic guitars, jangling electrics and orchestral strings. It’s a complicated mix, but the WH-1000XM4 headphones do it justice, soaring with Buckley’s falsetto comfortably sitting at the fore.
Putting the bass to the test by jumping over to Bjork’s Army of Me, you can hear the can’s masterful management of bass frequencies, with the arpeggiated bass line walking through the song as the machine-like snare snaps through.
For something a little softer, Bright Eyes’ First Day of My Life has a great warmth – great vocal clarity is paired with sparkly finger picked guitars and a comforting, guiding double bass that never sounds flabby.
At the other end of the spectrum, Janelle Monae’s absolute banger Make Me Feel sounds supremely powerful on the WH-1000XM4 headphones. From the bop of the percussion to the wall of sound that accompanies the pre-chorus, it sees the Sony WH-1000XM4s firing on all cylinders, with expressive dynamics and clear and distinct separation between each instrument. It’s a pleasure at the best of times, and Sony’s cans bring out the best of the track.
From the perspective of a work-at-home, share-the-kitchen-table-with-a-flatmate user scenario, those around us did notice a substantial amount of noise leakage from the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones – enough to distract at even half their maximum volume level. You may not be able to hear the outside world, but it can hear what you’re listening to, so keep that in mind if you’re planning on taking these to a quiet office or library.
(Image credit: Future)
Sony WH-1000XM5 review: Battery life
No improvement on battery life compared to predecessors
30 hours with noise cancelling on / 38 hours with it off
Quick charging (five hours of charge after just 10 minutes)
Last just as long or longer than the competition
While the Sony WH-1000XM4 didn’t get a boost in battery life compared to their predecessors, you're getting a substantial 30 hours with noise cancelling turned on and around 38 hours with noise cancelling turned off.
At first, that number somewhat disappointed us – how could a product not improve battery life year-on-year? But then it dawned on us that now the headphones have speech detection, a new SoC and algorithm, plus new sensors, too. The fact that it remained the same in spite of adding a host of new features is actually kind of impressive.
Although the Sony WH-1000XM4 don't come with a battery life improvement compared to their predecessors, they do stretch their playback time as far as possible thanks to the new auto-on/off and play/pause sensor inside the earcup that can tell when you’ve taken the headphones off. It’s a huge boon to folks who might forget to turn off their headphones at the end of the day only to find that they’re dead 24 hours later.
The 30 hours should be enough to get you through multiple international flights or a few days to the office, but it’s also good to know that the headphones can be charged in a matter of minutes thanks to fast-charging. According to Sony, you can get about five hours of charge from 10 minutes of power and a full charge after about three hours.
So how do the Sony WH-1000XM4 compare to the competition? Quite favorably. The Bose Noise-Cancelling 700 only clocked in at around 20 hours of battery life with noise cancelling turned on, while the Bowers and Wilkins PX7 matches the Sony at 30.
Should I buy the Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Headphones?
Apple Music is the tech giant's music streaming service and our top choice if you love Apple products. Since its debut in 2015, Apple Music has rapidly expanded its catalogue to boast over 100 million tracks, aligning its library size with that of Spotify. Despite a smaller subscriber base than its streaming rival, Apple Music is a worthy competitor, brimming with features catering to music lovers.
Apple Music is geared toward helping you discover new tracks and artists, whether that’s through recommendations, curated playlists, music videos or its 24/7 digital radio stations. Granted, its playlists and social features aren't as fun to use as Spotify's, but suggested tracks and artists always hit the spot. Apple Music's advantage is its ability to integrate locally owned music with its streaming content, providing a unified listening experience.
Apple Music's offering includes Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos. Its catalogue is now also available to subscribers in Lossless Audio at no extra cost, and it sounds great as long as you have the right kit to listen to it. This commitment to high-quality sound positions Apple Music as a strong competitor against other services like Deezer, Amazon Music Unlimited, and Tidal, giving it a leg up over Spotify.
These days, many of the best music streaming services increasingly resemble each other. However, Apple Music still carves out its niche with unique features that affirm its status as an excellent Spotify alternative, especially for those deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem. While you can use Apple Music on most devices, it's optimized for a seamless experience across all Apple devices and further enhanced by Siri’s compatibility, offering convenience and ease for Apple users.
Apple Music review: Pricing and subscription
(Image credit: TechRadar)
$10.99 / £10.99 / AU$12.99 a month
One-month free trial
No free ad-based tier
There's no free ad-based tier for Apple Music like there is with Spotify. Instead, a subscription costs $10.99 / £10.99 / AU$12.99 per month for a standard user. However, this does come with a one month free trial to determine if it's right for you. This makes Apple Music the same price as Spotify Premium with access to the same amount of tracks.
Apple also offers a reduced student subscription for $5.99 / £5.99 / AU$6.99 and a family subscription for $16.99 / £16.99 / AU$19.99, which gives up to six people unlimited access and their own personalized music library and music recommendations.
Whichever type of subscription you choose, you'll also get free access to Apple Music Classical, a separate app dedicated solely to classical music.
Apple Music review: Specs
(Image credit: Future)
Apple Music review: Music library and content
(Image credit: Apple)
100 million tracks
Integrated with iTunes purchases
Separate app for podcasts
There are more than 100 million tracks available to stream on Apple Music at the time of writing. This is the same amount as most major rivals, including Spotify and Tidal. You’ll also find three radio stations with actual DJs playing music, Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits, and Apple Music Country.
There are no podcasts on offer within Apple Music – you’ll need the separate Apple Podcasts app for those – but there are thousands of music videos. There’s also a 24/7 music video channel called Apple Music TV. It’s ad-free and mostly plays videos along with some interviews and live performances, think of it as MTV in your pocket.
One thing I didn’t know you could get on Apple Music until I was digging around in my most recent testing was standup comedy. You won’t find an exhaustive selection of comedians here, but some well-known ones have audio-only standup work on the platform, my favorite being Maria Bamford.
What sets the streaming service apart from some rivals is that Apple Music combines the music you already have locally and in iTunes, whether that's what you've bought or ripped from a CD. This is great for bringing all your music together in one place. There's similar functionality on offer from rivals, but it doesn’t work as seamlessly and some require a third-party app.
In 2023 Apple launched Apple Music Classical. This is a separate app, but it’s worth mentioning here considering it’s free for all Apple Music subscribers. Apple says that Apple Music Classical has more than five million tracks, making it “the world’s largest classical music catalog”. I like that search functionality is detailed, catering to different versions and recordings, but there are plenty of ways in for classical beginners, like playlists, guides and even biographies of composers.
Apple Music review: Apps and compatibility
(Image credit: Apple)
Great integration with Apple devices
Siri support
Minimal app design
I enjoy using the Apple Music app, especially on my iPhone, it looks good and much less cluttered than Spotify’s with a clean and simple UI. Album artwork is big and takes center stage and I also like that you can choose between light and dark modes.
The Mac app is similar and looks nice with that extra screen real estate to make the artwork shine. You can use it on non-Apple devices, like a PC or Android phone. As you might expect, the experience feels a little less intuitive, but still works well.
Apple is constantly updating the app to make it more user-friendly. For example, you can now favorite tracks, which are added to a new Favorite Songs playlist in your Library.
There are also several features that you won’t find in competing music streaming apps, like Apple Music Sing, which is more commonly known as Apple Music’s karaoke feature. This allows you to see lyrics for songs and adjust the volume of the vocals, meaning you can sing along while watching the lyrics as they’re highlighted.
You can use Siri to operate the Apple Music app. This is why it’s a no-brainer for those who like Apple products and Apple’s smart assistant. You can ask Siri to play anything on Apple Music, which is great if you’re already used to using voice commands in your home.
A Listen Now section on the app – which works pretty much the same across all devices – is like a personalized dashboard filled with recommendations based on your tastes and listening history.
Browse is where you can find updated playlists, new releases, radio stations and trending songs. This feels somewhat personalized, but is more of a hub for all the fresh, new content you might miss if you only follow recommendations. Within Browse the service highlights its Spatial Audio tracks that also support Dolby Atmos, this is good news if you’re listening with headphones or speakers that’ll make the most of it, like the Airpods Pro.
There’s also a tab dedicated Radio, which is where you’ll find the Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits, and Apple Music Country stations.
Next, you’ll find your Library. This is where all of the music you’ve downloaded and saved to your device is kept, as well as everything you’ve saved, added to a playlist and played. It’s all divided up by Playlists, Artists, Albums, Songs, Music Videos, Genres, Compilations, Composers and what you have Downloaded.
The search bar works well for locating everything on Apple Music, as well as your own tracks. You can even type lyrics in here if that's all you remember.
Apple Music review: Playlists and recommendations
(Image credit: Apple)
Big focus on curation and recommendations
You can download tracks for offline listening
Spotify has the edge with discovery playlists
When you first sign up, Apple Music encourages you to select your favorite genres so it can better recommend music, and it gets started straight away. There’s a big focus on curation and recommendations. According to Apple, although an algorithm powers these recommendations, playlists are sometimes curated by a team of experts.
Top Picks For You sit at the top of your Listen Now homepage. This is a good recommendation source, featuring your Station, think of this as your own radio show based on artists you love, a Discovery Station, for only new music you haven’t listened to but Apple Music assumes you’ll like, and a Heavy Rotation Mix. There are also new releases here that the streaming service things you might like. You’ll find these mixes and stations will feature tracks from an artist, as well as similar artists and tracks you might not have listened to before.
Sign up for Apple Music via the desktop app and you’ll be asked to choose your favorite genres to get started. (Image credit: TechRadar / Apple)
Spotify might still have the edge with its super popular customized playlists – we love Daylist and Spotify Wrapped – but there’s a lot to love about Apple Music’s recommendations too. There’s also a Favorites Mix, which is always guaranteed to be packed with artists I love, as well as a Get Up! Mix, which I put on whenever I head to the gym.
You can download tracks and playlists for offline listening. According to Apple Music you can download up to 10,000 songs, but obviously that will depend on how much storage space you have left on your device too.
Apple Music review: Sound quality
(Image credit: Apple)
Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio
Crisp and clear sound
Apple Music added lossless streaming and Spatial Audio a few years ago, as well as support for Dolby Atmos. Apple Music’s lossless music streams will top out at 24-bit/48KHz. The hi-res, lossless streams on offer top out at 24-bit/192KHz. It says that it streams at the highest quality by default and reduces it if you’re streaming on the move.
Apple didn't charge for this uplift in quality and now matches rivals like Amazon Music Unlimited, Qobuz, and Tidal with their hi-res audio offerings. So it enters the space of Spotify alternative streaming services for those who are sick of waiting around for Spotify to launch its HiFi service, which has been promised for years.
We've always been impressed with the sound quality on offer at Apple Music. More recent tests show that to still be true with crisp, clear and reliable audio.
Without a good set of headphones or speakers it can be hard to tell the difference between Apple Music and a rival like Spotify, especially when you're listening via Bluetooth. But with wired and lossless, Apple Music is noticeably better – this highlights the importance of high-end equipment. You have to have a wired connection (for headphones or speakers) or be streaming over Wi-Fi for lossless, and the hi-res lossless tracks require an external DAC than can support 24-bit/192 kHz.
Spotify is our favorite music streaming service. First launched in 2008, it has a library of more than 100 million tracks, 5 million podcasts and, thanks to a recent new update, more than 200,000 audiobooks. This extensive range of content has propelled Spotify to over 602 million users worldwide, including 236 million paying subscribers.
But Spotify's appeal extends beyond its vast library. The platform has an intuitive interface and an exceptional recommendation engine that tailors playlists to individual tastes. It's also constantly evolving, with new and innovative features being introduced regularly, alongside social tools that simplify content sharing. Plus, its compatibility across a broad range of devices ensures that users can enjoy Spotify virtually anywhere.
Despite its dominance, Spotify faces serious competition from the best music streaming services, particularly for those seeking audiophile-grade sound quality. Services like Tidal and Apple Music offer superior, lossless audio tracks, with Apple Music presenting a solid ecosystem for Apple lovers. Other contenders include Deezer, YouTube Music and Amazon Music Unlimited, as well as artist-centric platforms like Bandcamp and SoundCloud that give artists more control over their music.
But Spotify still stands out as one of the most popular streamers around. Its unique value proposition lies in its expansion into podcasts and audiobooks, continual platform enhancements, and personalized playlists that resonate deeply with users, affirming the Spotify’s knack for understanding user preferences. This evolution from a streaming service to a highly personalized entertainment hub makes Spotify an unmatched choice for most people.
Spotify review: Pricing and subscription
Spotify is constantly adding new features to its offering, like DJ, which knows your music tastes better than you do. (Image credit: Spotify)
Free plan has ads
Premium tier costs $10.99 / £10.99 / AU$12.99 a month
Specialized plans for families
Spotify has two main subscription offerings: Free or Premium. Spotify’s Free plan doesn’t cost you anything, but serves up ads between tracks as a trade-off. Users with the Free plan also have access to less features and restrictions on what they can play. For example, a Free subscription means you can only shuffle songs in an album, playlist or radio station when you’re using the Spotify app on your phone. You can’t pick a specific song and play it. You also won’t be able to save tracks to listen to offline.
Spotify’s Premium subscription comes with a one month free trial. After that, it costs $10.99 / £10.99 / AU$12.99per month. Premium subscribers enjoy unrestricted access to any song, album, playlist or radio station, in addition to the ability to add music to their library, create personalized playlists and download music for offline listening – all ad-free. Premium also upgrades the audio quality to 320Kbps, enhancing your listening experience.
Spotify offers several specialized Premium subscriptions, like Premium Duo ($14.99 / £14.99 / AU$17.99), which gives you two Premium accounts as long as you both live at the same address. There’s also Premium Family ($16.99 / £16.99 / AU$20.99), accommodating up to six Premium accounts with features tailored for family use, like kid-friendly content options.
Spotify review: Specs
Spotify Kids looks like Spotify, but is simpler, more fun, and colorful. (Image credit: Spotify )
Spotify review: Music library and content
One of the most recent new additions to Spotify has been audiobooks – there are currently 350,000 audiobooks on the platform. (Image credit: Spotify)
100 million tracks, it's rare anything is missing
5 million podcasts
200,000 audiobooks
Spotify often updates its library size, and as of the latest count, it has over 100 million tracks. Despite a history of some artists pulling their music from the platform over various concerns – including dissatisfaction with compensation – the major have returned. It’s rare to search for a song on Spotify and not find it.
Reasons for removing their music have varied over the years, but criticism has often centered on the ways Spotify has unfairly compensated creators. Some make the argument that Spotify steers listeners away from piracy and towards legal music consumption, fostering new music and artist discovery in the process. But we get why people might prefer purchasing music directly or using platforms, like Tidal and Bandcamp, which are known for granting more control and higher royalties to artists.
In its quest to be the ultimate audio application, Spotify introduced podcasts in 2015 and has expanded that offering to host an impressive selection of over five million podcasts, which have become a central feature of the app. Unlike the traditional 'subscribe' model, Spotify users 'follow' podcasts, with new episodes appearing on your home screen. Spotify might be known for curating personalized music playlists, but it applies similar algorithmic ingenuity to suggest podcasts, too.
Spotify added audiobooks in late 2022 and now Premium subscribers have access to 200,000 titles through a dedicated section of the app, mirroring the music section's layout. Users can explore new and trending books, browse by genre or popular authors, and find selections suited to activities, like commuting. While dedicated book apps have their loyal users, Spotify's foray into podcasts has proven that it can successfully capture and satisfy audience preferences in new content domains, suggesting a promising future for audiobooks on Spotify.
Spotify review: Apps and compatibility
This is what Spotify looks like across all of your devices. (Image credit: Spotify)
Easy-to-use apps
Interface looks a little dated
Spotify Connect for seamless streaming
You can use Spotify through its apps on desktops, mobile phones, and tablets, as well as via a web player. Although the web player offers a decent experience, it lacks the polished feel of the apps, making some actions, like playlist creation, feel clunky.
Within the Spotify apps, users navigate through three primary sections: Home, Search, and Your Library. While there are slight variations across different platforms, the core experience is the same. The Home section primarily features personalized playlists and recently played tracks, alongside occasional podcast and audiobook suggestions and trending music.
The Search function allows users to explore the vast Spotify catalogue, including tracks, albums, artists, playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks, with the option to filter by genre or activity, such as Chill or Workout. Your Library houses all saved content, including playlists, podcasts, audiobooks, albums, and artists, with sorting options like recent additions, listens, alphabetical order, or creator.
Spotify's apps on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone are known for their stability, user-friendliness, and regular updates aimed at enhancing intuitiveness. The interface, which is a grid-like design similar to other streaming platforms like Netflix, facilitates easy navigation amidst an extensive selection of media.
However, Spotify's design has remained unchanged for years, and may feel a little outdated to some users. I also find that sometimes I’ll log in and love the overwhelming amount of options at my fingertips and other times it all feels too cluttered.
A significant advantage of Spotify over most of its rivals is in its broad compatibility with a range of devices and platforms, including sound systems, TVs, car stereos, game consoles, and wearables like the Apple Watch.
Spotify Connect provides a seamless user experience by enabling streaming to speakers and other devices over Wi-Fi directly from the cloud. This feature is accessible by tapping the speaker icon within the app and allows playback on Spotify Connect-compatible devices, such as speakers and soundbars. Spotify's integration with smart assistants, like Alexa and Google Assistant, also works really well and more often than not delivers precise and efficient voice-controlled navigation.
Spotify review: Playlists and recommendations
All Spotify users look forward to Spotify Wrapped at the end of each year, a social sharing event that's always fun. (Image credit: Spotify)
Incredibly fun and accurate playlists
Packed full of recommendations
Top social features to share personalized content
One of the biggest draws of Spotify is its personalized playlists and recommendations. You can easily make your own playlists but, interestingly, the playlists generated by Spotify dominate my listening habits. This speaks volumes about the platform's precise and engaging recommendation system.
Spotify curates many playlists that it then distributes to users based on their individual listening patterns. For instance, a playlist titled My Life is a Movie is currently featured in my Home section and has been recommended to me and shared with more than two million other users.
However, beyond these broader recommended playlists, Spotify offers uniquely personalized compilations that are for your eyes only. For example, Discover Weekly presents a new assortment of tracks every Monday, tailored to your tastes yet unexplored by you. The Daily Mix series adapts to your varying moods, and Your Time Capsule nostalgically predicts tracks you might have cherished during your teenage years. And there are so many more.
A recent addition that has captured my interest in a major way is Daylist. This dynamic playlist changes every few hours and is personalized to reflect your listening habits throughout the day, adding a layer of excitement to each login. Spotify also generates whimsical titles for these playlists based on the included tracks. For instance, my 'Sensational Rhythmic Tuesday Morning' playlist perfectly aligns with my usual gym routine, embracing party tunes, techno, and vibrant hip-hop. Daylist never fails to match my musical needs, meaning most of the times I open Spotify these days I’ll head right there.
Spotify's DJ is a personalized AI guide that knows you and your music tastes better than you do. (Image credit: Spotify)
Finally, another new recommendation feature I think is worth mentioning is Spotify's AI DJ. Rather than a curated playlist, Spotify says it's best to think of it as your own AI DJ, which you start playing and it picks out tracks based on the time of day and listening habits, but shakes things up to keep the listening experience fun and exciting. For example, it'll play fresh new tunes you might like, old songs you haven't listened to in a while and much more, announcing its choices as it goes.
These personalized playlists have revolutionized music listening for many, encouraging exploration within Spotify's recommendations rather than seeking out specific tracks or artists. While there's a risk of becoming trapped in a particular music genre, by including new songs and creators in these playlists it keeps the experience fresh.
Spotify's vibrant graphics and tailored playlists are designed to encourage social sharing. The platform simplifies the process of sharing playlists on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Telegram, or directly with friends via WhatsApp or SMS.
When Spotify lifts the lid on a big social campaign, like Spotify Wrapped (the details of all the tracks and genres you listened to over the past year), it even creates a personalized web experience that animates your listening stats and creates really great-looking social graphics for you to share and celebrate your musical journey over the past year.
Spotify review: Sound quality
Better quality with premium
No lossless or high-res
Spotify HiFi promised but years late
Spotify Premium subscribers listening on desktop, mobile or tablet apps can choose between five sound quality levels: automatic (depends on your network connection), low, normal, high and very high. At the low setting, music streams at 24kbps. At the normal setting, music streams at 96kbps, which sounds a lot better than MP3 at 129kbps. Switch to the high-quality setting and the bit-rate bumps up to 160kbps. Most users will be happy at this level, since any compression trade-offs aren't obvious.
The very high setting uses 320kbps, which is perceptually close to lossless. Spotify doesn't offer any lossless or hi-res streaming, which is one reason that audiophiles might want to look elsewhere. Deezer and Tidal are two other options for those who want the best quality available. Deezer's Premium hi-fi subscription costs $11.99 / £11.99 / AU$11.99 a month and lets you stream lossless 16-bit FLAC files.
If you want more, go with Tidal. With a $9.99 / £9.99 / AU$11.99, Tidal HiFi subscription you can stream lossless 16-bit FLAC and ALAC audio, but there are also thousands (but not millions) of Tidal Masters files that stream at 24-bit. Tidal HiFi Plus is even better and for $19.99 / £19.99 / AU$23.99 a month you can stream up to 24-bit, including HiRes FLAC, Dolby Atmos, and more.
Spotify has clearly realized that in order to keep up with the competition, it needs to offer a way for people to upgrade their sound quality, which is the reason it’s been promising to launch Spotify HiFi for years now. This is Spotify’s answer to Deezer and Tidal’s high-quality offerings.
It’s difficult to predict what Spotify HiFi will be like, how much it will cost or if it'll ever materialize as it's been promised for more than three years. Spotify initially said that HiFi would be available as an upgrade for premium subscribers and would offer CD-quality, lossless audio at upwards of 1411kbps. This is more than four times the amount of data you currently hear when streaming a song.
• Original review date: June 2021
• Newer Sony WH-1000XM5 now out
• Launch price: $279 / £250 / AU$449.95
• Official price now: $199 / £199 / $359
Even three years after their launch, we still rate the Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds highly among the best wireless earbuds, because price cuts over the years (and the fact that their successor, the Sony WH-1000XM5 actually came with a price rise) means they still offer fantastic value. The particular balance of noise cancellation, sound quality and features is unbeatable at the discounted price you can often find them for during sales events – we've seen them at $160 / £180 / AU$260 during Black Friday. You can't do better at that price – though obviously, these days, if you pay more you'll get a better overall package. The rest of this review remains as previously published.
Sony WH-1000XM4: Two-minute review
The Sony WF-1000XM4 are smaller, lighter and greener than previous wireless earbuds in the line – oh, and the Sony WF-1000XM4 also sound even more articulate and immediate than the model they replace.
It’s true to say there’s no one area (with the possible exception of control-app excellence) in which they truly lead the field; but if you want to beat them for their combination of sound quality, noise-cancelling and battery life you’ll have to buy three pairs of noise-cancelling earbuds.
In every respect, the Sony WF-1000XM4 are either ‘very good’ or ‘very good indeed’ –and taken as a complete package they’re very difficult to lay a glove on.
Compared to their predecessors, the Sony WF-1000XM3, the new wireless earbuds offer enough quality-of-life features to make them worth upgrading to, even if they are slightly more expensive.
A more compact design means the Sony WF-1000XM4 are more comfortable and easier to carry around, while the accompanying app makes it simple to adjust the controls and your EQ settings, rivalling the best headphones.
Meanwhile, features taken from the over-ear Sony WH-1000XM4, including Speak-To-Chat, DSEE Extreme audio upscaling, and adaptive noise cancellation, mean you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more comprehensively-specced pair of wireless earbuds, even when seeking out the best wireless headphones.
While other true wireless earbuds surpass the Sony WF-1000XM4 in particular areas – noise cancellation, for example – no other model comes close to offering such excellent quality across the board. That’s why the Sony WF-1000XM4 are hands-down the best true wireless earbuds you can buy today.
Read on for our full Sony WF-1000XM4 review.
The Sony WF-1000XM4 are the best true wireless earbuds you can buy today. (Image credit: TechRadar)
Sony WH-1000XM4 review: Price & release date
Available now, released June 8, 2021
$279.99 / £250 / AU$449.95
The Sony WF-1000XM4 are on sale now, priced at $279.99 / £250 / AU$449.95, and when you consider that the outgoing WF-1000XM3 started life at a nominal $230 / £220 / AU$399 back in 2019, with the last few pairs currently available for around $170 / £150 / AU$200, that price seems fair enough.
In terms of the competition, the WF-1000XM4 compares pretty favorably with alternative designs from the likes of Bose, Grado and Sennheiser, and looks a bit of a bargain next to Bowers & Wilkins’ outstanding (and dizzily priced) PI7.
The charging case is 40% smaller than the Sony WF-1000XM3. (Image credit: TechRadar)
Sony WH-1000XM4 review: Design & controls
Smaller than predecessors
Outstanding control app
Touch controls
The outgoing WF-1000XM3 gave us plenty of reasons to recommend them, but ‘discretion’ was not high on that list. The earbuds were big, and so was their charging case, and Sony has wisely chosen to try and reduce some of this bulk in this new model.
Key specs
Acoustic design: Closed
Weight: 7.3g
Frequency response: 20-40,000Hz
Drivers: 6mm
Battery life : 8 hours (earbuds) 16 hours (charging case)
The charging case is a full 40% smaller, while the earbuds themselves are 10% smaller. The fact that they’re still among the heftier examples of this type only serves to illustrate how big the WF-1000XM3 were – but at least the new charging case might conceivably slip into a trouser pocket, while the earbuds don’t protrude from the wearer’s head like a prop in a sci-fi movie.
(Sony has taken a big chunk out of the packaging, too. The box the WF-1000XM4 arrive in is 40% smaller than the WF-1000XM3 box, and it’s entirely paper-based, recyclable and eco-friendly.)
The earbuds come with some of the features first shown on the Sony WH-1000XM4 over-ear headphones. (Image credit: TechRadar)
The WF-1000XM4 incorporate some of the features first showcased on last year’s WH-1000XM4 over-ears: active noise-cancellation that can ascertain what you’re doing and where you’re doing it in order to adapt to your circumstances; fast pairing for Android and Windows devices; and ‘speak to chat’, which simply requires you to make a noise in order to pause your music so that you can have a brief chat without removing the earbuds. Noise cancelling is augmented by new polyurethane eartips (small, medium and large are all provided) designed to provide improved passive noise reduction.
Your one-stop-shop for controlling the WF-1000XM4 is Sony’s fully featured, fully stable Headphones app. Here’s where you can fiddle with all the features (both great and small) that are partially duplicated on the capacitive touch surface of each earbud. In the app you can decide what you’d like the left and right earbuds to control: ‘volume up/down’, ‘play/pause/skip forwards/skip backwards/summon voice assistant’, ‘active noise-cancelling on/off/adaptive’, or the rather less helpful ‘nothing assigned’.
There’s also EQ adjustment (the numerous presets include one racily titled ‘Excited’), with space for a custom preset or two, and the option to turn auto-pause and DSEE Extreme on or off. Here’s where you can submit pictures of your ears, too, in an effort to help Sony optimize those music streaming apps that offer 360 Reality Audio or Dolby Atmos, and where you can decide whether you’d like your Bluetooth connection to prioritize sound quality or connection stability.
The app allows you to adjust the EQ settings of the earbuds. (Image credit: TechRadar)
Control is also available via the big three voice assistants – Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa – which can be summoned via their established ‘wake’ words. No matter your assistant of choice, the WF-1000XM4 prove sharp-eared and alert to instructions, even in unpromisingly noisy environments.
There are three mics in each earbud, taking care of active noise-cancelling, call quality, and interaction with voice assistants. A combination of feed-forward and feed-back mics capture the wearer’s voice directionally (from the mouth), though the feed-forward mics will automatically mute when adverse conditions (wind noise, most likely) are detected. Sony has also included a bone conduction sensor, which picks up voice vibration, but doesn’t register it as ambient sound.
There are three mics in each earbud, taking care of active noise-cancelling, call quality, and interaction with voice assistants. (Image credit: TechRadar)
Sony WH-1000XM4 review: Audio performance and noise cancellation
Balanced, driving, poised and convincing sound
Pretty good noise cancellation
Great dynamic and rhythmic ability
Positioning the WF-1000XM4 comfortably takes a little longer than it really should – we found them a little fiddly to insert, and felt they should fit more deeply in the ear than is the case – but once it’s done you can set up the touch controls, the EQ levels and the myriad other options to your liking. All done? Good. Time to stick some music on.
We kicked off our testing with a Tidal Masters file of Burner by Ross From Friends, and the WF-1000XM4 immediately impressed. They don’t give any area of the frequency range undue prominence, they don’t let any details go unnoticed, and they don’t let rhythms or tempos hang around. There’s vigor and enthusiasm to their presentation, but it’s tempered by unarguable control.
Down at the bottom end, the earbuds freight bass sounds with substance, texture, and an absolute stack of detail. There’s drive and momentum to spare here, but the WF-1000XM4 never lose the run of themselves – there’s an equal amount of poise to go along with it. Entry into and exit from bass notes is clean and well-defined, which helps prevent the bottom end smearing up into the midrange.
The Sony WF-1000XM4 have drive and momentum to spare. (Image credit: TechRadar)
The midrange itself is equally information-rich – listening to Kate Bush’s Lake Tahoe, the ability of the WF-1000XM4 to identify and incorporate the tiniest details or the most fleeting transients into a much broader picture was obvious. ‘Communicative’ may seem a redundant word when discussing a person’s singing voice, but here it’s absolutely appropriate: if they’re anything, the WF-1000XM4 are communicative.
The handover from midrange to top end is smooth and naturalistic, and treble sounds themselves have plenty of shine and bite without ever getting shouty about it. Both Kate Bush and Ross From Friends are more than happy to pile on the high-frequency information, but the WF-1000XM4 control it as deftly as they do the rest of the frequency range.
(All of the above assumes an unchanged EQ setting, we should point out. Sony is slightly unusual in allowing the end-user to fiddle endlessly with the sound of their earbuds, but the most natural and convincing sound comes from the WF-1000XM4 when their EQ is flat.)
The handover from midrange to top end is smooth and naturalistic. (Image credit: TechRadar)
Dynamically, too, there's little to criticize. The WF-1000XM4 are capable of switching from ‘ear-splitting’ to ‘almost silent’ and back again in an instant, and even the most subtle harmonic dynamics of Bush’s piano-playing are given full description too. As far as rhythmic certainty and expression goes, their combination of control and attack ensures that, like James Brown, they’re always on the good foot. All of this is helped no end by convincingly natural timing and unity of presentation.
The active noise cancelling is a success of the slightly more qualified kind. The problem for every other pair of ANC true wireless earbuds is that the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds have demonstrated that it’s possible to utterly reject external sounds, without leaving any counter-signal and without impacting on the quality of the music you’re listening to.
The WF-1000XM4 can’t quite pull off the same trick – but they certainly minimize the impact of ambient noise on your listening experience. They may not be the market leader where noise-cancellation is concerned but, for most of the people most of the time, they’re extremely capable.
The noise cancellation is very good, but it's just beaten by the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds. (Image credit: TechRadar)
Sony WH-1000XM4 review: Battery life and connectivity
Eight hours onboard battery life
Wireless charging
Bluetooth 5.2
Even within the new and reduced physical dimensions of the WF-1000XM4 there’s much more going on than there was before. Connectivity is now via Bluetooth 5.2, which means simultaneous transmission to the left and right earbuds, and (when using Sony’s bespoke LDAC codec) Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification.
Bluetooth 5.2 should, in theory, mean better battery life, too – but the best-case real-world scenario of 24 hours (between eight and 12 in the earbuds, depending on whether active noise cancellation is on or off, plus another couple of charges in the case) is really nothing special. Still, at least the WF-1000XM4 are Qi charging pad-compatible, and five minutes plugged into an outlet will deliver another hour of action.
As well as LDAC, the WF-1000XM4 are compatible with SBC and AAC codecs – but there’s no sign of aptX in any of its guises. They also incorporate DSEE Extreme capability, in case you’re a believer in an algorithm supposedly capable of extracting high-resolution sound from a standard-definition digital audio file (we've never been entirely convinced).
Should I buy the Sony WH-1000XM4?
The Sony WF-1000XM4 are ideal if you're looking for a pair of excellent all-rounders. (Image credit: TechRadar)
Buy them if...
Don't buy them if...
Sony WH-1000XM4 review: Also consider
Not convinced by our Sony WF-1000XM4 review? Here are three more pairs of true wireless earbuds to consider.
First reviewed: June 2021
See where the Sony WF-1000XM4 rank in our guide to the best earbuds.
Update: January 2024. We still rate Beats Fit Pro as some of the best workout headphones, because they have such a great fit and lightweight design, despite coming with lots of useful features for both iPhones users and Android. They pretty much always have a discount now, keeping them as a decent value even though they're older, though there's no doubt that you get vastly better noise cancellation and sound quality from newer buds, including Apple's AirPods Pro 2 – but then, those aren't as well-fitted or sweatproof for exercise. The rest of this review remains as previously published.
Beats Fit Pro: Two-minute review
Think of the Beats Fit Pro as the Apple AirPods Pro, but with a few key differences. The most obvious difference is design. The Beats Fit Pro have a prominent wing tip, which ensures they’re secure in your ears when you’re exercising. There’s also a custom-designed driver in the Fit Pro, which means your music sounds bassier in comparison to the AirPods Pro, as well as slightly better 6 hours battery life.
However, as well as being more than a year old now, a few niggling issues prevent the Beats Fit Pro from competing with the buds in our best true wireless earbuds guide. For example, while the Fit Pro have active noise cancellation akin to the AirPods Pro, they’re not quite as powerful as other earbuds from Bose and Sony. Especially considering Bose has taken the top spot in our best noise-cancelling earbuds guide with the excellent Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2.
Another issue is the wing tip. Yes, this holds them in place and some people will find it secure and comfortable. But for others, it adds extra pressure to the outer ears that can become uncomfortable to wear over a prolonged period. If you prefer the more standard style of ear hooks, take a look at ourBeats Powerbeats Pro review.
Finally, like all Apple-owned buds, Android users won’t get the full experience (i.e. spatial audio and hands-free voice assistance) that iOS users get and for their price this means we can only really recommend these buds for people with an iPhone.
So, while the Beats Fit Pro deliver better results than the similar-looking Beats Studio Buds, and are a solid choice for working out, there’s still room for improvement. Read on for our full Beats Fit Pro review.
Beats Fit Pro review: Price & release date
They cost $199 / £199 / AU$299
Slightly cheaper than the Apple AirPods Pro
The Beats Fit Pro became available to buy in November 2021 in the US and January 2022 in other markets. They cost $199 / £199 / AU$299.95.
This makes them slightly less expensive than the Apple AirPods Pro ($249 / £249 / AU$399). For a cheaper option, take a look at our Beats Studio Buds review, which cost $149.99 / £129.99 / AU$199.95.
For what you're getting, they're good value—especially considering the fact that they come with noise cancellation and the H1 chip.
Beats Fit Pro review: Design
Secure fit thanks to wing tip design
IPX4 water-resistance rating makes them sweat-proof
While the Beats Fit Pro don’t reinvent the wheel—or in this case, the wing tip—they do implement it in a way we’ve not yet seen before. By making it a part of the earbuds and giving it extra flexibility, it’s able to latch onto the inner ear to keep the buds more secure.
Previously, other earbuds have gone for the wrap-around design and while we think that style is more comfortable, there’s something very stylish about the fin being directly attached and inside the ear.
To help you get that perfect seal, the Beats Fit Pro come with two additional sets of different-sized ear tips in the box, and it’s well-worth taking the time to find out which of them fit best.
Speaking of fit, these buds do honestly do a great job of staying in your ears. At no point in our review did the buds so much as move a millimeter once they were seated properly. However, because the fit was so exact it did put some pressure on the ears—especially after wearing them for a while.
(Image credit: Future)
Beats Fit Pro Specs
Weight: 5.6g (earbuds), 55.1g (case) Battery life: 6 hours (with ANC) additional 18 hours with charging case Colors: Purple, grey, white and black Water resistant: IPX4-rated Case charging: USB-C
That’s particularly important because the Beats Pro Fit are targeted at workout enthusiasts and even come with an IPX4 water-resistance rating that should make them sweat-proof. They’re not waterproof, however, so do be careful with them near a pool or on the beach, and they don't have dust resistance either, so keep them out of the sand.
On the outside of each bud, there are the touch controls that allow you to play or pause music and skip between tracks. A long hold will turn on ambient listening mode that will turn off noise cancellation while a second long press will turn it back on.
The controls can be a bit sensitive so you’ll have to be careful when putting the earbuds into and taking them out of your ears—trust us, it’s very easy to unintentionally hang up an important phone call or blast music in your ear without meaning to do it.
We’ll talk about them in more detail below, but it’s worth pointing out here that there are a total of six microphones on both earbuds that help pick up your voice and block out incoming noise. There’s also a redesigned driver and ventilation system that helps the bass range sound weightier, and the aforementioned H1 chip inside here that will enable a number of neat features for iOS devices.
Finally it’s worth quickly talking about the redesigned case that’s much smaller than the one that came with the Powerbeats Pro. It easily slides into a pocket and its smooth exterior feels great to hold, just don’t let it slip out onto the sidewalk or floor as it might pick up a few scratches. (Whoops!)
(Image credit: Future)
Beats Fit Pro review: Features
Four colours to choose from
They have the Apple H1 chip
While it’s not exactly a feature, we definitely appreciate having the option to pick between four colors for the Beats Fit Pro. Not only does it come in the classic Beats Black and Beats White color ways, but you can also select between a stunning Sage Grey with light green accents or Stone Purple that’s lavender with dark grey accents.
Of course, the main reason you’re paying a bit more for the Beats Fit Pro than the Beats Studio Buds is because the former have the H1 chip. That allows them to access hands-free Siri as well as spatial audio support on Apple Music, Apple TV and FaceTime.
The other reason these cost more than some other earbuds is because they have active noise cancellation that will block out some outside noise. In practice we found that they weren’t quite as adept at this as the Sony WF-1000XM4 or Bose QuietComfort Buds, but they do a decent job blocking out conversations happening in another room when you’re working from home.
While Beats designed the earbuds to work with both Android and iOS devices, Android users won’t be able to access the entire suite of features. Specifically, they’ll be locked out from an always-listening assistant and spatial audio.
Those aren’t exactly deal breakers considering how many earbuds don’t have access to spatial audio at this point—and Beats does make a pretty great Android app that will let you customize their controls – but these snags might persuade you to pick a more Android-friendly option like the Sony WF-1000XM4 instead.
(Image credit: Beats)
Beats Fit Pro review: Audio performance
The sound is excellent
Good call quality
Gone are the days of Beats earbuds sounding like blown-out car speakers with enough bass to shake your skull. The new sound profile Beats has gone with keeps things exciting with elevated highs and lows and good overall clarity.
To put the earbuds through their paces we checked out INDUSTRY BABY by Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, which is available in Dolby Atmos on Apple Music. Right off the bat you hear the driving bass line but it’s followed by a vocal track that moves depending on which way you’re facing. Look left, and the vocal track moves to the right earbud. Turn right and the opposite happens. Being able to dynamically change the audio mix as you move your head is electrifying—giving you a concert-like experience anywhere.
Much of this is due to the way Beats are tuned and Apple’s H1 wireless chip—but the newly-designed driver inside the earbuds does help give them a slightly larger soundstage than previous Beats earbuds.
Apple Music has thousands of Dolby Atmos-mixed tracks that deliver a spatial audio experience on true wireless earbuds that really sounds great—INDUSTRY BABY is just one of many songs that really flaunts the sound profile of the new Fit Pro.
The caveat we’d make here is that, despite their impressive performance for their size, the spatial audio on the Fit Pro doesn’t replace the immersive sound you get from a true Dolby Atmos speaker system. However, it’s a big step up from traditional wireless earbuds.
As far as call quality is concerned, the Beats Fit Pro use five of the six microphones to accurately portray your voice to your recipient and the results are good overall. People we spoke to said we sounded relatively clear, though the volume was a bit softer than when we used speakerphone.
What that tells us is that these earbuds probably won’t be the ideal solution for business professionals who need crystal-clear audio in their calls, but would be absolutely fine for someone who just takes the occasional call or two on their earbuds.
(Image credit: Future)
Beats Fit Pro review: Battery life
Six hours per charge with 18 hours in the charging case (with ANC)
No wireless charging
According to Beats, the Fit Pro have some of the best battery life of any of their earbuds—with ANC on you’re looking at around 6 hours per charge with 18 hours in the charging case. That’s around an hour-and-a-half more per charge than the AirPods Pro and is a significant improvement on Apple’s flagship true wireless earbuds.
The Fit Pro will last even longer with ANC turned off—though, if you’re using them for talking instead of listening to music, the battery life will be a bit shorter.
Overall, that battery life is on par with other noise-cancelling earbuds—which is great—and falls just a bit short of other true wireless earbuds without ANC.
The silver lining here is that the buds support fast charging that will restore about an hour of listening time after only five minutes on the charger and will be fully charged in around an hour.
The only real disappointment on the battery life front is that the Fit Pro don’t support wireless charging like the AirPods Pro which means you’ll always have to keep a USB-C charging cable close at hand when you want them to be recharged.
(Image credit: Future)
Beats Fit Pro review: Verdict
It's hard not to compare the Beats Fit Pro to the Apple AirPods Pro. They've got the H1 wireless chip and active noise cancellation, the two best features of the AirPods Pro at a big discount. The AirPods Pro do have wireless charging, but that’s a relatively minor feature to be missing out on. Especially considering the Beats Fit Pro have a better battery life.
The Beats Fit Pro aren't perfect. Noise cancellation could be better and we felt they weren't as comfortable after a few hours of us. Although Beats has gone above and beyond to make Android users feel welcomed with its adoption of USB-C, one touch pairing and the Beats app on the Google Play Store, there’s still no always-listening assistant for Android users or spatial audio support.
But these are a great pair of true wireless earbuds that we think are best-suited to workout-loving iOS users because they'll work well in the office and at the gym thanks to their sporty design and you'll get the most from them with an iPhone.
Beats Fit Pro review: Also consider
If our Beats Fit Pro review has you considering other options, here are three more true wireless earbuds to ponder.
• Original review date: July 2021
• Launch price: $99 / £99 (approx. AU$185)
• Official price now: $89 / £99 / AU$119
Update: February 2024. Stock seems to be running down on the Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 in some countries, and these days these earbuds have been largely surpassed by more advanced entries among the best budget wireless earbuds. You can get fantastic sound and solid active noise cancellation (something the Lypertek lack totally) from the Sony WF-C700N at around the same price, or you can get ANC and a bunch of other smarter features from the Earfun Air Pro 3 for cheaper than the Lypertek. However! The battery life here remains fantastic – these noise cancelling buds can only dream of 10 hours from the buds, and 80 hours in total including the case. So they still have something to recommend them, but generally we'd suggest looking to the Sony or Earfun options. The rest of this review remains as previously published.
Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0: One-minute review
When we first reviewed the original Lypertek PurePlay Z3 true wireless earbuds (then known as the Lypertek Tevi), we were blown away. We couldn’t believe that a pair of headphones that sounded as good as they did, with the battery life they offered, could be sold so affordably and be the product of a company we’d hardly heard of. They were so good, we made them our headphone product of the year, as well as including them in our look at the best true wireless earbuds.
Dial the clock forward a couple of years, and we’re now looking at their successors, the Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 true wireless earbuds. They’re very similar to the originals, with a few key improvements, and yet still come in at the same affordable price point the originals did – $99 / £99.
This gets you everything we loved about the original PurePlay Z3 (detailed balanced sound, a whopping 80 hours total battery life from its petite USB-C charging case, and a comfortably fitting bud with physical buttons), and adds wireless charging, a powerful new LDX Audio mode, improved app functionality and a hear through ambient mode. This is one of the best cheap headphones to buy in 2022.
(Image credit: Future)
For the most part, it’s an improvement across the board and one of our top picks of the best wireless earbuds, as well as the best headphones. LDX Audio adds a well-tuned, full bodied sound for those that want more oomph than the near-reference default, wireless charging works a treat, EQ features respond well to tweaks and battery life remains stellar.
However, app connectivity is patchy at best, and the ambient hear through mode is pretty much useless in comparison to the competition from the likes of Sony’s noise cancelling WF-1000XM4.
And yet, with the price still rock-bottom low, and nothing to detract from the quality standard the originals set out, with a few notable improvements, they remain must-have earbuds, more than a match or headphones two or three times the price. Get them.
Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 review: Price and availability
The Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 is out now, priced at $99 / £99 (about AU$185). That’s not a penny more than their predecessors, despite a raft of new features being included. And though they don’t feature active noise cancellation, they more than challenge rivals many times the price. That includes the Apple AirPods Pro ($249 / £249 / AU$399) and Sony WF-1000XM4 ($279.99 / £250 / AU$449.95). They are a total steal.
Design
From the outside, not much looks very different about the Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 compared to its 1.0 predecessors, and that’s indicative of the product as a whole in many respects – this is a refinement on that top-notch original, rather than a revolutionary new direction.
Again, you’ll find ovoid, stemless earbuds sitting within a pill-shaped, fabric covered case, complete with a removable carrying strap. Both white and black versions of the PurePlay Z3 2.0 are available, and each features USB-C charging and four LED indicator lights to show battery levels. The earbuds securely fit into the case with a magnetic snap, which will start them charging from the case’s own internal battery – removing them from the case will start the Bluetooth pairing process, and once they’ve been paired once, you won’t have to perform the process again unless you’re looking to pair additional devices with the headphones.
(Image credit: Future)
The case (being just a touch too big for a comfortable trousers pocket fit), is quietly attractive, and makes use of its size to fit in a gigantic battery. You’re already getting a solid ten hours of playback from the buds themselves, but there’s an additional 70 hours to be had by recharging them in the fully-juiced charging case. That’s a whopping 80 hours total battery life before you’ve got to plug the cable back into case. And, in a first for the line, there’s wireless charging support too here. These are top-class battery specs, in case you were in any doubt.
In terms of the earbuds themselves, they’re lightweight and comfortable in the ear. Each can be paired with small, medium or large silicone ear tips, or Flexifit foam tip that expands slightly in your ear for a tighter seal and better passive noise cancellation. That’s worth pointing out as, due to the budget nature of the earbuds, there’s no active noise cancellation here. Still, with strong volume levels and a snug fit, ambient noise was very rarely a concern with the PurePlay Z3 2.0. IPX7 waterproofing makes these safe for a quick splash in the shower, though note that the case is not similarly protected.
(Image credit: Future)
Both earbuds also feature physical buttons, controlling volume, track selection, play, pause, call response and hear-through mode activation. They’re far more reliable than touch-sensitive buttons (and preferred here as a result), though pushing them without driving the earbuds further into your ear takes some practice.
Internally there is an improvement too, with the introduction of Bluetooth 5.2 support. This allows for SBC, AAC and aptX codecs to be handled without fuzz, with the Qualcomm QCC3040 chipset allowing for improved battery life even to offset the introduction of the afore-mentioned LDX Audio mode.
The original Lypertek Tevi, or PurePlay Z3, excelled when it came to bringing a clear, neutral sound to your ears. Just shy of what we’d consider reference or audiophile quality, they were revelatory when considering their price point. And that base-level, out of the box tuning remains present here. Making use of 6mm graphene drivers, there’s an identical level of clarity to the Z3 2.0, presenting an unbiased sound that favours studio intentions rather than ramping up any individual frequencies. As a result, we’ll point you to our original Lypertek PurePlay Z3 review for a detailed rundown of the out-of-the-box sound of the Z3 2.0.
However, despite it being a preferred way of listening for audio connoisseurs, it’s not always the right tuning for every scenario. What about if you’re down the gym, and want a little more bass? Or generally want a punchier, more-powerful sound, even if that’s at the expense of balance?
(Image credit: Future)
That’s where the PurePlay Z3 2.0’s new LDX Audio mode comes in, accessible from the also-new accompanying app. Switching on LDX Audio in the app is a bit like hitting an overdrive button – raising the volume of less-present frequencies (particularly bass tones), widening the soundstage.
It results in a more energetic, dynamic delivery, and one that certainly is a noticeable departure from the stock tuning. They are two very distinct sound profiles, and both have their merits – I found myself switching between the two depending on the listening situation, favouring LDX Audio when out and about, while going for the stock tuning when indoors and intently listening to songs and albums. What neither is lacking in is clarity – the PurePlay Z3 2.0 does well to highlight details, and does well to avoid distorting when even at high volumes. They’re simply a pleasure to listen to.
Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 review: Features
It’s more of a mixed bag when it comes to new features.
First the good – the LDX Audio mode, as mentioned, is excellent, and is accompanied in the app by an equally-impressive EQ option. As well as a number of presets, from Rock to Jazz, Pop to R&B, there are also presets that favor Bass or Treble response. That’s in addition to two custom slots for your to save your own tunings. They make a noticeable impact, really letting you refine the sound to your tastes.
(Image credit: Future)
But other features aren’t as impressive. A "Hear Through" mode, which is intended to let you hear more of your ambient surroundings via the earbud mics without interrupting playback, is pretty much useless, not making anywhere near the impact needed to make you comfortably more aware of what was going on around you. A Find my Earbuds feature was similarly patchy, while the app itself sometimes struggled to identify and connect to the headphones at all – even without any nearby wireless devices to potentially cause confusion.
Despite some failings here, it’s hard to be too critical of the PurePlay Z3 2.0 though. Managing to bring more to the table than earlier models (mostly positively too), and still retaining the same price point, they remain an overall improvement to an already-impressive package.
Should I buy the Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0?
Buy it if...
Don’t buy it if…
Looking for the best earbuds? Check out where the PurePlay Z3 2.0 rank.
Update: February 2024. Despite its relative age (although anything released within the past 10 years hardly qualifies as 'old' for a turntable – this is heritage physical music) the Technics SL-1500C is still emphatically one of the best turntables on the market. And it's not even the iconic SL-1210! What it is, is a direct-drive turntable built to listen to music (rather than to DJ with) and in the years since its release it has become a benchmark for quality at the price – a price which has actually risen owing to the proposition's success and desirability. Features? It's got a switchable phono stage so it'll work with your amp plus nice hefty buttons, but ultimately this is a deck for the purist and vinyl archivist. For clarity, in January 2024 Victrola's record turntable with repeat function arrived, but the firm's 2023 Victrola Stream Carbon can also work with your Sonos multi-room wireless setup, so the category has seen some breakthrough vinyl-meets-wireless tech since the Technics landed. Do you need any of that, or is wired analog audio still the star in your house? That's up to you. The rest of this review remains as previously published.
Technics SL-1500C: one-minute review
The first time Technics died, it was a long and unnecessarily drawn-out affair. Parent company Panasonic inexplicably lost patience and faith with the brand around the turn of the century (despite it being one of the few true icons of consumer electronics) - starting its slow demise and leading to fewer and fewer Technics-branded products coming to market.
By 2010 it was official: Technics was no more. Anyone who’d ever visited a nightclub or danced to a DJ set was a little bit heartbroken.
But, in 2015, Panasonic had a change of heart, and Technics was reborn. And while many enjoyed the reborn audio brand, things weren’t quite the same - the first fruits of the brand’s resurrection were both uncharacteristically expensive and a bit misguided.
...Until now. Meet the budget-friendly Technics SL-1500C that will only set you back £899 / $999 / AU$2499. It's still not the most affordable turntable on the market, but it's first the reborn Technics has so far delivered to really remind listeners of what they loved about the brand in the first place.
Technics SL-1500C Turntable review: design
To most people, the words ‘Technics turntable’ means Technics SL-1210 - but the Technics template was set down long before the company designed The World’s DJ Deck, and it would seem strange were they to mess with the formula now. So, naturally, they haven’t.
That’s not to say the SL-1500C is a facsimile of the SL-1200/SL-1210. It’s not built as a DJ deck, but rather as just a record player, so it doesn’t feature pitch control, target light, stroboscope or the other ‘hands-on’ bits ‘n’ bobs that make the SL-1210 look such a purposeful machine.
But the SL-1500C has the same hefty aluminium top-plate, the same aluminium-with-complicated-composite chassis and the same overweight, utterly inert and resonance-rejecting aluminium platter. In fact, here the platter’s substantially rubberised to make it even more efficient.
And, of course, the SL-1500C is a direct-drive design. Technics has almost always preferred this technology for its record players (not just its DJ decks), and here it’s using a fearsomely over-engineered motor intended to resistance the restless ‘cogging’ effect that can afflict some direct-drive Technics-wannabee turntables. It’s engaged using the big ‘on/off’ dial and big ‘stop/start’ button familiar from the SL-1210.
(Image credit: Panasonic)
Technics SL-1500C Turntable review: Features
Technics has gone to significant lengths to make the SL-1500C as user-friendly and painless as possible. Niceties start with the Ortofon 2M Red cartridge that’s pre-fitted to the detachable headshell - it’s simplicity itself to attach or detach it from the S-shaped tonearm.
It stands on four hefty (the word ‘hefty’ springs to mind a lot when trying to describe the SL-1500C) rubberised feet. They’re pliant and have quite a lot of articulation so, while - you should always put your record player on a sturdy shelf, where it can avoid vibrations - the SL-1500C isn’t as unsettled by less-than-perfect positioning as some price-comparable but less, yes, hefty rivals.
It’s also fitted with a switchable phono stage. Not every stereo amplifier has the necessary oomph to make a record player audible (though every mixer attached to an SL-1210 does), but because the SL-1500C is packing sufficient pre-amplification it’s compatible with any amplifier you care to mention.
There’s even a switchable auto-stop feature. When the needle reaches the run-out groove it can, if you so desire, return to its resting ‘off’ position. Such pandering to the user is not something you’d ever catch an SL-1210 indulging in.
Like Technics turntables of old, the SL-1500C has big ‘33.3’ and ‘45’ rpm speed-selection buttons - and, like Technics turntables of old, pressing them at the same time delivers 78rpm performance. Ideal for the true vinyl archivist.
(Image credit: Panasonic)
Technics SL-1500C Turntable review: Performance
There’s really only one place to start with a Technics record player, and that’s with some thumping dance music. So it’s out with a ‘much-loved’ (for which read ‘slightly knackered’) copy of deadmau5’s single-sided Lack of a Better Name to find out if the SL-1500C is worthy of its illustrious brand name.
The short answer is ‘yes’. The slightly longer answer is ‘yes, all day long’.
Much of what is so prized in the vinyl format - the warmth, detail and texture of its sound, the rhythmic surefootedness, the sense of integration and unity of performance - is here in the SL-1500C, and in good measure. But that’s not what is so initially remarkable about the way this Technics goes about music-making.
Many an otherwise-excellent record player overplays its hand where low frequency information is concerned. The temptation to overstate the luxurious warmth and substance of vinyl-derived bass seems almost impossible to resist - but the SL-1500C is made of sterner stuff. It absolutely snaps into low-end sounds - it doesn’t wallow, it doesn’t drone. Instead, it draws an unarguably straight edge at the start of bass notes and doesn’t let their decay hang around. The result is a sound that has all of the body and momentum vinyl-fanciers delight in, but none of the overhang. The SL-1500C is a snake-hipped listen where too many of its nominal rivals have the bass equivalent of muffin-top.
And above this gloriously well-controlled bottom end, the news continues to be good. One grinding gear-changing from deadmau5 to Ella Fitzgerald’s Dream a Little Dream of Me allows the Technics to showcase its keen eye for the detail and nuance of a vocalist’s delivery. Fitzgerald’s pure tone and impeccable phrasing is served up explicitly by the SL-1500C - her voice is utterly packed with character, and occupies centre-stage in the most natural manner imaginable.
(Image credit: Panasonic)
To complete the nap hand of frequency response expertise, the Technics has sufficient bite and attack at the top end to make the fiercer moments of Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden properly forceful, but there’s never any suggestion things could get splashy or in any way out of control. The same LP highlights the SL-1500C’s confident manner with both high-level ‘quiet/loud/quiet’ dynamics and the low-level harmonic dynamics of Mark Hollis’s piano- and organ-playing.
Sound-staging is impressive, with recordings given plenty of elbow-room for individual instruments to make their presence felt. There’s depth and height to the Technics’ stage, as well as width, but despite all this breathing-room there’s no lack of unity to the sound the SL-1500C delivers. And no matter whether you choose to listen to the cramped, claustrophobic beats of Burial’s Untrue or the wide-open elegance of Brian Eno’s Another Green World, the Technics remains completely authoritative.
Overall, there’s remarkably little to take issue with here. Some alternative turntables (from the likes of Rega and Pro-Ject) will extract even more detail, and manage rhythms and tempos with even more assurance. But they don’t have electronic speed change, or direct drive, or a phono stage, or the build quality to survive a medium-sized detonation.
And they don’t say ‘Technics’ anywhere on the top-plate, either.
Technics SL-1500C Turntable review: Final verdict
It’s been a bit of turbulent start for the reimagined Technics brand, but with the SL-1500C it seems the company is beginning to find its line and length. This isn’t the most out-and-out accomplished turntable you can buy in purely sonic terms, but it’s not far off - and it’s more robustly made, better specified and has greater cachet than any price-comparable alternative.
Deezer may not be the most popular music streaming service, but it’s been around since 2007 and even though the space has become more and more competitive over the years, it’s still well worth checking out today. It’s a solid option if you don’t need all of the social features and constant recommendations that Spotify offers but would like a boost in audio quality without having to pay for Tidal’s HiFi Plus.
With more than 120 million tracks, Deezer has a bigger music library than many of its rivals and a bunch of added features, too, including a selection of podcasts, quizzes and a Shazam-like clone called Songcatcher. What sets it apart from rival Spotify is it offers a bump up in audio quality at 1411kbps, which makes it similar to Tidal’s HiFi tier and Apple Music.
It doesn’t feel like Deezer knows your music personality inside out in the same way Spotify does, but there are some good curated suggestions and a constantly-updated playlist of recommendations called Flow. There are several premium options to choose from that come with a one-month free trial. But there’s also a completely free tier with ads and some restrictions – although rumors online suggest this might be coming to an end in several regions.
In terms of design, Deezer’s user interface doesn’t feel quite as ‘put together’ as its rivals, it’s much more minimal. But at the same time, there’s something refreshing about how simple it is. That’s the big appeal of Deezer in my opinion, it may not have the bells and whistles of Spotify, but if you own one of the best wired headphones and want good quality music – and you’re not as interested in social features or a broad selection of fun playlists – it might be well worth your time.
Deezer review: Pricing and subscription
(Image credit: Deezer)
Free version with ads
Premium is $11.99 / £11.99 / AU$13.99 per month
One month free trial
There’s a free version of Deezer that has ads and a couple of restrictions – you can only shuffle songs rather than play whatever you like. It’s great there’s a free version as it’s likely to convert a lot of non-paying users into premium subscribers. However, according to several online reports, Deezer has emailed users in some countries recently saying this free tier will be coming to an end in 2024. We’ll update this review when we get official confirmation, but for now it still seems to be available in most regions.
The Premium Deezer tier removes any restrictions and costs $11.99 /£11.99 / AU$13.99 per month. Like Spotify, there’s also a Duo option available for $15.99 /£15.99 / AU$17.99 that’s aimed at couples, bringing you two individual accounts that can be used across up to 5 devices. If a few people in your household use Deezer, the service’s Family subscription plan ($17.99 / £19.99 / AU$21.99) allows for up to six individual accounts across up to 13 devices, offering optional kids’ profiles that let you keep an eye on what your children are listening to.
In an earlier version of this review, we said Deezer was a good value option but it’s upped its prices over the years. Rather than being cheaper than its rivals, it’s now a little more expensive than Spotify and Tidal’s HiFi option, which are both only $10.99 / £10.99 AU$12.99.
Deezer review: Specs
Deezer review: Music library and content
(Image credit: Deezer)
120 million tracks
160,000 podcasts
Infinite recommended music with Flow
Like most music streaming services, Deezer has added more and more tracks over the years. Right now it says it has more than 120 million, which is more than rivals Spotify and Tidal, which say they currently have 100 million.
Like Spotify, Deezer has added podcasts to its offering. There are more than 160,000 available to listen to at the time of writing and there’s a good selection. During testing, I could find all of my favorites, but it’s worth checking if your top ones are available. If they’re not, head on over to Spotify where there are currently more than 5 million podcast titles.
There were no audiobooks available when I was testing Deezer in the UK, they could be found via the search bar but couldn’t be played. This is likely because Deezer does offer a limited audiobook library, but only to users in certain regions, including Germany and The Netherlands.
Thanks to a tie-in with Tune My Music, a third-party app, you can easily import your entire music collection from other streaming services, including your playlists and favorites. You can also bring MP3s from other sources to Deezer via the web version and listen to all of your music in one place. With a Premium subscription you can also download any tracks, albums, playlists and podcasts for offline listening, which is ideal for travel.
There are a couple of cool extras available alongside Deezer’s music library, including a selection of live radio stations, music quizzes – with themes like 90s Rap, Disney and TikTok Hits – as well as a feature called Songcatcher, which is Deezer’s answer to Shazam. These are all ultimately nice additions, but definitely not enough to pull you away from a rival music streaming service.
Deezer review: Apps and compatibility
(Image credit: Deezer )
Desktop, mobile, or web player
Chromecast and AirPlay support
Available in 185 countries
Deezer is available to use via a desktop app, mobile app, and a flash-based web player. You can download the mobile app for Android, iOS devices, and Windows 10 mobiles and tablets. Deezer is also compatible with a range of smart watches, smart TV platforms, wireless speaker systems such as Sonos, car interfaces, and the Xbox. There’s also support for Chromecast and AirPlay, which means you can send your music to even more devices.
While I preferred using the app, the Deezer web player works well, offering a stripped-back version of the platform in your browser. Deezer’s user interface looks similar to the likes of Spotify and Apple Music with a dark background and grids of tracks and album artwork, but the design here is a little more minimal and somehow less elegant – which might be due to some of the font choices. However, I like that there are bright pops of color accents throughout, as well as when you play a track. Deezer seems to select a shade from the album artwork – or at least it looks that way – and uses it as the background color while you play the track.
The experience is a little different depending on how you’re listening, but for the most part you’ll find a menu along the bottom of the screen and the first option is Home, which is populated with a wide selection of content. Including your favorite artists at the top, followed by a section called “Mixes inspired by…” which consists of new tracks similar to your favorites. While I was testing out the Deezer app, there was always a solid recommendation here for me.
(Image credit: Deezer)
You’ll also find “Made for you”, which is filled with curated playlists and it’s where you’ll find Flow, as well as a bunch of Daily playlists to accommodate different moods. Deezer also serves up general playlist recommendations, like Electronic Soundtracks, and fresh new releases. In a section called “Go beyond streaming” you’ll find everything that isn’t music, like podcasts and other extras.
Along from Home, you’ll find Explore which feels a little repetitive to me. Suggestions are divided by genres, but also moods, which are helpful, like “Feeling Sad”. The next option in the menu bar is Favorites, which is where tracks you’ve favorited and your playlists live, as well as albums, artists, podcasts, shaker groups, and any downloaded music. Search is where you’ll find a search bar, allowing you to search across track titles, artists, albums, playlists, lyrics, podcasts and podcast episodes. The Songcatcher feature lives here, too, which works well whenever you’re out and about and want to know what a track is – I like using this when I’m watching a move or TV show, too.
Deezer review: Playlists and recommendations
(Image credit: Future)
Flow is good, not great
Not as fun as Spotify
Keeps things simple
Like Spotify, Deezer uses its recommendation algorithm to suggest music you might enjoy, which results in a number of specially curated playlists and different suggestions for different moods and activities, like Girl Power, Chill and Workout.
One of Deezer’s standout features is Flow, which serves up an automated mix based on your tastes. It combines your favorite tracks with new recommendations and other songs you might have forgotten about. You’ll need to ‘favorite’ at least 15 tracks before the Flow playlist appears on your home screen, but when it does it’ll fast become a staple and probably the first playlist you tap when you open the app.
I found Flow to be a really fun listen. No, it didn’t get my tastes right with every track, but most were the kind of songs I’d want to listen to throughout the day, especially as I’m working. This suited me as, unlike Spotify’s playlists, Flow is played in an “infinite” stream of music, meaning you’ll have an easy way to listen to music with very little thought required on your part.
Deezer has some good social features and you can share what you’re listening to straight to Instagram and Facebook stories. However, as it doesn’t have as many users as Spotify, you might feel like you’re missing out when a new and fun update hits, like Spotify Wrapped, or the way everyone is still sharing their unhinged Spotify Daylist playlist titles. These points are all a testament to Deezer being a more simple option. This means a less sociable and fun experience, which is bound to be a red flag for some and exactly what others are looking for.
Deezer review: Audio quality
(Image credit: Deezer)
Ranges from 128kbps to 1,411kbps
CD quality music
The same as Tidal HiFi and Apple Music
There are three different streaming quality options for Deezer listeners. Standard streams at 128 kpbs, High Quality at 320 kbps and High Fidelity at 1411 kbps (FLAC), which Deezer says requires a high-speed connection. You have the ability to adjust the audio quality settings and set presets for when you’re listening over Wi-Fi as opposed to using your phone’s mobile data – handy, if you’re keeping an eye on your data usage.
This High Fidelity option is lossless, which means you get CD-quality streaming and FLAC music across any device that you’re listening on, including Deezer’s desktop app, web player, iOS, Android, and Xbox.
How does this compare to other streaming services? Deezer's High Fidelity setting is the same as what’s on offer from Tidal HiFi, also delivering a similar listening experience to Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited. However, it’s better than Spotify’s 320kbps. You'll only get better than that by opting for Tidal's HiFi Plus offering, which brings you 9,216kbps or 24-bit/192kHz.
During testing, I was using wired high-quality headphones with an iPhone 14 Pro and Deezer’s music certainly sounded more immersive, offering a clearer and more detailed listen when I was comparing the quality options, as well as when I was comparing tracks to their equivalent on Spotify. However, the key thing to remember here is that if you’re not using higher-end audio equipment, then you may not notice a significant difference between the audio on offer from Spotify and Deezer. This is probably one of the reasons why Spotify is still such a popular option, even though services like Deezer and Tidal offer a bump up in audio quality.
Amazon Music Unlimited is a high-quality music streaming app to rival audiophile-grade services, like Tidal, at a good price.
If you’re a little confused by Amazon’s music streaming naming conventions, you’re not alone. There used to be Amazon Music Unlimited and Ultra HD and Amazon Music HD. But now you’ll find everything under the Amazon Music Unlimited umbrella.
What’s more, there are a few different tiers here, all offering different things. Amazon Music Free gives you free access to some top playlists and has ads. Then there’s Amazon Music Prime, this gives you access to 2 million songs ad-free and some playlists and stations. It’s included with Prime at no additional cost.
Then there’s the service we’re reviewing here, Amazon Music Unlimited, which is Amazon’s premium music subscription service. It has more than 100 million tracks, like most rivals, and brings you lossless FLAC audio qaulity up to 24-bit/192kHz, while Spotify, for example, only offers 320kbps.
It’s arguably the best value music streaming service if you want lossless audio. And the good news is that if you already have a Prime membership, you’ll get the music streaming service for $9.99 / £9.99 / AU$11.99, making it a cheaper option than all of the competition.
If you have Amazon products there’s great Alexa integration and even the option to buy the streaming service so you can listen to it on just one smart device. But even if you’re not already bought into everything Amazon, this is still a good value option with hi-res audio and a solid library of tunes.
Amazon Music Unlimited review: Pricing and subscription
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Discount for Prime members
A (sort of) free version with restrictions
A 30-day free trial
As a quick recap, anyone can access Amazon Music Free. But that has ads and restrictions. Amazon Music Prime is free for Prime members and that gives you access to 2 million songs ad-free. But if you want the premium subscription service, Amazon Music Unlimited, you’ll need to pay.
Prime members can get Amazon Music Unlimited for $9.99 / £9.99 / AU$11.99 with a monthly subscription or $99 / £99 (roughly AU$190, although annual pricing isn't shown on Amazon's site) a year with an annual subscription. If you’re not a Prime member, you’ll need to pay $10.99 / £10.99 / AU$12.99 a month. If you sign up for the monthly subscription, you’ll get a 30-day free trial and, at the time of writing, those in Australia can get a free trial that lasts three months.
For $5.99 / £5.99 / AU$6.99 month you can listen to Amazon Music Unlimited on a single Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Look, Amazon Tap or Fire TV device. This is a really nice option for anyone who knows they only really like listening on one device.
There’s also the option of a family plan, but only for Prime members and each person will need an Amazon account. This allows six different people to listen to music all at once and costs $16.99 / £17.99 / AU$20.99 per month or $159 / £179 (AU$242) a year. Amazon Unlimited for Students is available for $5.99 / £5.99 / AU$6.99 per month.
Amazon Music Unlimited review: Key specs
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Amazon Music Unlimited review: Music library and content
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More than 100 million tracks
Good selection of podcasts
Save for offline listening and local files
There are more than 100 million songs in the Amazon Music Unlimited library at the time of writing and these are a mix of HD and Ultra HD quality. This is the same amount as Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music.
Amazon added podcasts to the streaming service a few years back, and a lot of my favorites are available. But do check your go-to podcasts are available before signing up, as the choice feels limited compared to Spotify.
You can download music to listen to later via offline playback. I found this to work very well, and it was good knowing if I lost a data or Wi-Fi connection, I could keep listening. But remember that those high-quality audio files take up more space on your device.
You can also store music you already own locally within the Amazon Music Unlimited app and import playlists from other streaming platforms with the help of a service like SongShift or TuneMyMusic.
Amazon Music Unlimited review: Apps and compatibility
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Web browser, desktop app, and mobile app
Integration with home audio devices
Interface not as slick as Spotify
You can stream Amazon Music Unlimited via your web browser, but it works the best in a desktop app or mobile app on iOS, Android, Mac and Windows devices. It’s also integrated into a range of home devices, including speakers, amplifiers, and soundbars. As you’d expect, this includes all of Amazon’s Echo products, Sonos speakers, Fire TV devices, and more.
The desktop app isn’t as slick or good-looking as Spotify or Tidal. But it offers a very similar user experience with a grid-like design displaying album and playlist artwork in full color across the screen that allows you to swipe horizontally through playlists, tracks and albums. The color palette is simple, with dark grey and some bright blue accents.
In the menu you’ll find Home. This is where you’ll find recently played tracks, album and playlist recommendations, and sections dedicated to the latest tracks. The following section is Find, which is both a search and music discovery section where you can browse by genre and audio quality. Library is where your music is stored, including what you’ve listened to recently and your saved playlists, artists, and tracks. The final section is Alexa, and you need to grant Amazon microphone access to your phone for this to work – so be sure you’re happy with that before you agree.
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The bar that runs along the bottom of the screen has playback controls, and there’s the option to send your music to a connected device – like an Echo speaker.
There’s also a three-dot ellipsis next to playlists, albums and tracks that expands features and brings up menus. This keeps the interface clean and presents a range of options, including adding to queue, adding to a playlist, downloading or sharing – this opens up a link and social media with more options in the mobile app, including Instagram Stories.
At times I actually prefer the look of Amazon Music Unlimited’s app more than Spotfiy’s because it’s simply less cluttered and jammed with text and content. So even though it may not be as slick-looking as other services, its minimal design, easy-to-use controls, and menus make it straightforward. For that reason, this would suit someone who hasn’t dipped their toe into music streaming before.
Unsurprisingly, Amazon Music Unlimited works with Alexa and it does work remarkably well to surface new music. You can ask Alexa to play tracks or playlists, or ask for specific genres and types of music, and Amazon’s voice assistant will access Amazon Music Unlimited to play a mix for you.
Amazon Music Unlimited: Playlists and recommendations
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Good playlist recommendations
Algorithm not as intuitive as Spotify
Create your own playlists
You can create your own playlists with Amazon Music Unlimited – just head to Library > Playlists. However, the service also makes many good playlists for you, too. Many aren’t personalized to you but do surface good suggestions, and you can find many of these recommended in the Home section of the app.
The ones that are personalized are My Discover Mix, a new playlist delivered to you every Monday with fresh new tracks. Think of it like Spotify’s Discover Weekly. Then there’s My Soundtrack, a constantly updated radio station tailored to your tastes, this is like Deezer’s Flow feature. I liked this and felt it definitely got better the more I used the app, bringing me a mixture of tracks I already like and fresh new ones.
Overall, Amazon Music Unlimited’s recommendations felt right for me and surfaced great new tracks in My Discovery Mix and provided a great soundtrack for me to work and not have to worry about moving between playlists with My Soundtrack.
The playlists don’t feel quite as fun as Spotify’s recommendation engine and there are less to choose from and none that are updated daily – I say this because I’m a big fan of Spotify’s 'Daylist'. However, if you don’t need all of that and just want a couple of fresh ways to discover new tracks you’ll find that here with Amazon Music Unlimited.
Amazon Music Unlimited review: Audio quality
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HD and Ultra HD
Encoded in FLAC
Dolby Atmos and Sony 360RA
Amazon Music Unlimited brings two types of audio quality. There’s HD and Ultra HD, and both are hi-res audio quality in a FLAC format. You’ll also find some standard quality tracks of up to 320kbps, which matches Spotify.
The lossless High Definition (HD) songs on Amazon Music HD have a bit depth of 16 bits and a sample rate of 44.1kHz. This is what’s called CD quality. You can stream many other songs in Ultra HD on Amazon Music HD, with a bit depth of 24 bits, sample rates ranging from 44.1 kHz up to 192 kHz, and an average bitrate of 3730 kbps. This is better than CD quality and puts Amazon Music Unlimited in line with the audio quality on offer from Tidal HiFi Plus and Qobuz.
As a quick refresher, lossless audio allows you to hear the full range of sound from recordings that have been mastered from better-than-CD quality music sources. This means the sound you hear from Amazon Music Unlimited more closely replicates the quality that the musicians and engineers were working with in the studio when recording compared to the highly compressed versions you might find on many other services.
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There are also songs – no word on the exact number at the time of writing – remixed in Dolby Atmos and Sony 360RA 3D Audio formats. However, you’ll need the right equipment to experience these formats – the Amazon Echo Studio smart speaker is one device that can handle both spatial audio technologies.
Spotify currently offers a bitrate of up to 320 kbps. These audio files are compressed, and won’t reveal as much detail as less highly compressed sources. When comparing the two streaming services, this difference in quality is noticeable. Expect more detail, immersion and better performance from Amazon Music Unlimited.
This is because Amazon Music Unlimited brings you the original recording served up with a much higher quality sound. Or at least it’ll try to based on your network, which device you’re listening on, and whether you have the best headphones and speakers – they’ll need to support HD and Ultra HD playback to make the most of the sound quality on offer.
When you’re browsing Amazon Music Unlimited, you’ll see that every track is labelled with a quality badge. Click on this in the desktop or mobile app, and you’re shown what the quality of the track is, what quality the device you’re using is capable of bringing you, and what it’s playing at right now. If you’re not getting the quality you expect, take a look at your settings.
This is a great way to prove you’re getting the quality you want – especially if you’re an audiophile and want to make sure you’re getting the best of the best consistently.
