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I review premium headphones for a living – even I was surprised how great this budget gaming headset sounds
7:00 pm | October 19, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming Gaming Accessories | Comments: Off

Turtle Beach Atlas 200: two-minute review

The Turtle Beach Atlas 200 is a wired gaming headset. Available for $69.99 / £59.99 for the PC version and $59.99 / £49.99 for the PS5 and multiplatform versions, it sits firmly at the affordable end of the market. But don’t let the cheap price fool you: this is a surprisingly capable headset.

I’ll admit that the multiplatform version I tested here is not the most feature-packed headset I’ve ever gotten my hands on. While its 3.5mm jack means you’ll enjoy lossless audio, it can’t offer the hi-res audio its PC-focused stablemate can. Nor does it offer selectable sound profiles, EQ settings, or driver software. It’s an uncomplicated product, in every sense of the word.

When I stuck it on my head, though, any concerns I had about its feature set melted away. That’s because the sound it’s capable of happily rivals any of the best wired gaming headsets at this price range. Trying it out with Hades II, I was impressed with how clear it was, capturing the swish and slash of combat perfectly. Meanwhile, the crack of my rifle while taking out opponents on Counter-Strike 2 felt deeply convincing with plenty of low-end heft.

The Atlas 200’s soundstage also feels well apportioned – the stereo field feels nice and broad, while the separation of different sounds helps sound effects stand clear from atmospheric noise and background music. The only real criticism I have here is around the headset’s claimed spatial audio: while its audio definitely feels immersive, there isn’t quite the same height and rear-firing effects you’ll get from true Dolby Atmos style headphones. However, I imagine the immersive PC Audio enhancements offered by the PC version’s USB Audio Adapter go some way toward rectifying this.

And the Atlas 200’s foldaway mic offers yet more pluses to help compensate for this. Not only is it easy to flip away, but during my testing, this automatically muted any sound reaching our testing laptop. The mic is also crystal clear – thanks to its effective noise gate, I found that clacking keys and even the music I was listening to was very thoroughly quashed, making it far easier for those you’re gaming with to hear your every oath and utterance.

This is only the start of Turtle Beach’s smart design with this headset. Its plush memory foam ear cups and floating headband make it super comfortable to wear, even over longer periods. I often find the clamping force of many cheaper headphones makes my ears ache after not too long, but the Atlas 200 didn’t crush my cartilage.

There is one small misstep for me, though. Given that the headset’s height is adjusted by moving a velcroed strap on the inside of the headband, it’s impossible to adjust its height on the fly. This isn’t helped by the fact that the Atlas 200 seems to be designed with the larger head in mind – while my swollen dome happily fit it on every setting, colleagues of mine with more diminutive noggins did find the earcups sat quite low on even the tightest setting.

Despite this, though, it’s hard for me to argue that the Turtle Beach Atlas 200 is anything but an accomplished budget gaming headset. It sounds very credible for the price, and it’s all kinds of comfortable – at least if you have a capacious cranium. Fundamentally, if you’re looking to only spend around $50 / £50 on a gaming headset, I’d happily urge you to snap it up.

The Turtle Beach Atlas 200 sat on top of a cylinder, with the mic folded up, in front of a pink background.

(Image credit: Future)

Turtle Beach Atlas 200 review: price & availability

  • Launched on September 12, 2025
  • List price: PC – $69.99 / £59.99; PS5 and multiplatform – $59.99 / £49.99

Released on September 12, 2025, the Turtle Beach Atlas 200 is available now. The price you’ll pay is based on which platform you’re buying for: the PC version has a list price of $69.99 / £59.99, while the PS5 and multiplatform versions both have a list price of $59.99 / £49.99. Each version has slightly different specs, so bear in mind everything I’ve said in this review pertains to the multiplatform version.

In terms of additional options, the Atlas 200 PC and multiplatform versions only come in black. However, the PlayStation 5 offers black or white colorways – naturally, the latter is an excellent choice if you’re keen for your console to match your headset.

Turtle Beach Atlas 200 review: specs

Price

$59.99 / £49.99

Weight

9.9oz / 280g

Compatibility

Any device with a 3.5mm jack

Connection type

Wired (3.5mm)

Battery life

N/A

Features

Flip-to-mute mic with noise reduction

Software

N/A

A closeup of the Turtle Beach Atlas 200's earcup, volume control dial and 3.5mm cable.

(Image credit: Future)

Turtle Beach Atlas 200 review: design and features

  • Supremely comfortable
  • Height adjustment not well designed
  • PC-exclusive version offers far more features

Slipping on the Turtle Beach Atlas 200 for the first time, I was pretty impressed with its build quality. Despite being pretty affordable as gaming headsets go, they’re comfortably, even luxuriously, made. A featherlight 9.9oz / 280g build, floating headband, and memory foam ear cushions meant that they were comfortable even during epic gaming sessions – I often find cheaper headphones can make my ear cartilage ache after an hour or so, but these never outstayed their welcome.

Turtle Beach also claims that their ProSpecs technology means they offer ‘glasses-friendly’ comfort. Despite not being a specs-wearer myself, I asked my colleague Nikita Achanta from Tom’s Guide’s reviews team to give them a go, and she found them perfectly comfortable even with glasses.

One element of their design I find less persuasive, though, is how you adjust the height of that floating headband. As you need to unstick, adjust, then restick the velcro straps on the headset’s inside, it’s basically impossible to change their height while you’re wearing them, meaning I often had to use trial and error to get the right setting.

The headset’s height range is also not great – you can adjust its height by an inch / 2.5cm, max. Exercising some radical self-awareness here, I have a pretty big head, yet the Atlas 200’s entire height span seems to fit me pretty comfortably. This made me suspect that if you’ve got a smaller nut than I, you may struggle to find a cosy fit. And, indeed, when I asked Cesci Angell, my littler-noodled colleague, how she found them, she remarked they did sit a little low for her liking.

A closeup of the Turtle Beach Atlas 200's floating headband and adjustment mechanism.

(Image credit: Future)

Fortunately, Turtle Beach doesn’t make this mistake elsewhere. The Atlas 200’s foldaway mic, for example, is simple to adjust, clicking firmly into place in three positions – up, out, and halfway between – with a satisfying clonk. It’s also poseable, making it easier to curve it to sit in the perfect position in front of your mouth when it is in use.

When it comes to features, the Turtle Beach Atlas 200 is uncomplicated to the point of being almost no-frills. Its chunky 50mm Nanoclear drivers offer an expansive frequency range of 20Hz - 20kHz and are optimized for spatial audio. Meanwhile, it offers no wireless connectivity, although its wired 3.5mm cable means you can enjoy lossless quality audio and can hook it up to any gaming device.

But that’s largely your lot: unlike its platform-exclusive PC version, the multiplatform version doesn’t offer high-fidelity audio, sound profiles, or driver software for tweaking settings. And on-device controls are limited to a single volume dial, which does at least offer granular control over the loudness of your game audio.

  • Design & features score: 4 / 5

A closeup of the inside of Turtle Beach Atlas 200's earcup.

(Image credit: Future)

Turtle Beach Atlas 200 review: performance

  • Expressive audio and wide soundstage
  • Mic does great job of isolating voice
  • Spatial audio not that convincing

But no matter how comfortably a headset is designed or how fully featured it is, that’s all irrelevant if it doesn’t have the aural grit to back it up. So does the Turtle Beach Atlas 200 deliver the goods?

At first, I wasn’t entirely sure. Firing up Hades II, I was impressed with how the wind noises surrounding me were crisp and immediate without being overly bright. Meanwhile, the mids were deftly handled, rendering the background music competently while allowing the slashes and impact of combat to cut through. But there was one element I was unsure of: bass, with it sounding decent but not necessarily booming like that of the Corsair HS55 Stereo.

That is, until I dived into Counter-Strike 2. Not only was the whizzing of the bullets rendered by the treble, but the heft of the low end ensured the combat I was plunged into felt sufficiently visceral. Every time I popped off a headshot, the boom of the sniper rifle in my hands made it feel every bit the instrument of death it should be.

Stereo separation is also impressive on the Atlas 200. During the opening titles of Clair Obscure: Expedition 33, I felt like I was submerged right in the middle of the soundtrack, with the piano sitting slightly to the left, beautifully textured strings to my right, and the vocals right down the middle. Once I’d gotten into the game, this persisted, with the cranking of mills around me in the opening moments perfectly positioned in the space.

A closeup of the Turtle Beach Atlas 200's foldaway mic.

(Image credit: Future)

Possibly the only thing I’d question about the Atlas 200’s performance is its ‘optimized for 3D audio’ claims. Yes, elements are well separated, but I’ve plenty of experience testing some of the best headphones for spatial audio, and I did not get the same sense of height or rear-firing audio that you can get from the Epos H3 wired headset, for example. Triangulating would-be assassins in Counter-Strike 2 often took a good half a second of wheeling around, so I would moderate your expectations of how immersive this headset actually is.

Fortunately, that foldaway mic did not disappoint. I tested it out by recording audio while playing some games, and it works perfectly, cutting out all registered noise the second I folded it away, making it great when you need moments of privacy. On top of that, its noise gate works well in minimizing background sounds – even while typing, I couldn’t really discern any of the clack of the keys in my recording.

Keen as ever to try to push things to breaking point, I even tried cranking out some drum & bass while testing, but the Turtle Beach was wise to my tricks. There was naturally a little pump of some trebly beats in the background that coincided with the syllables I spoke, but the gate kept things deathly silent in between, doing an impressive job of maintaining the clarity of my words.

  • Performance score: 4 / 5

A hand holds the Turtle Beach Atlas 200 in front of a pink background.

(Image credit: Future)

Turtle Beach Atlas 200 review: value

All in all, I was seriously impressed with how the Turtle Beach Atlas 200 performed. Yes, it makes a few promises its specs can’t cash – I’m not totally swayed by its 3D sound credentials, for example – but it also offers excellent comfort and really rather decent sound.

And that’s before you even consider its cost. With a price of $59.99 / £49.99, this wired gaming set is very much at the affordable end of the market, and yet it never feels cheap – to the contrary, what it can do is actually pretty impressive for the price. If sound performance is your big priority in a budget headset, the Atlas 200 should make you very happy indeed.

  • Value score: 5/5

Should I buy the Turtle Beach Atlas 200?

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design & features

Although it packs a limited feature set, the Atlas 200 gets high marks for its comfy, well-built design.

4 / 5

Performance

Aside from average 3D performance, the Atlas 200 sounds impressive and has a great quality mic.

4 / 5

Value

Once you view these strengths through the lens of the Atlas 200's price, it's pretty clear: this is a fantastic value headset.

5 / 5

Buy it if…

You want awesome audio for a great-value price
For a headset that costs a mere $59.99 / £49.99, the Atlas 200 offers great audio, with accurate treble, expressive mids, and colossal bass.

You want excellent comfort
If this headset is comfy even on my fussy ears, that should mean you’ll find them soft and forgiving enough to wear for even longer gaming sessions.

Don’t buy it if…

You’ve got a small head
With the Atlas 200’s quite large height only being adjustable by about an inch, it doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for those who have smaller heads.

You want loads of features
The Turtle Beach Atlas 200 doesn’t have all that many extra capabilities. If you’re looking for sound profiles, true 3D audio, wireless connectivity, or customizable settings, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

Turtle Beach Atlas 200 review: also consider

Turtle Beach Atlas 200

Corsair HS55 Stereo

Epos H3

Price

$59.99 / £49.99

$59.99 / £49.99

$55 / £57.82 / AU$104.31

Weight

9.9oz / 280g

9.6oz / 284g

9.5oz / 270g

Compatibility

PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck

PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck

PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck

Connection type

Wired (3.5mm)

Wired (3.5mm)

Wired (3.5mm)

Features

Flip-to-mute mic with noise reduction

Flip-to-mute mic

Flip-to-mute mic

Software

N/A

N/A

N/A

Corsair HS55 Stereo
Another budget banger, this wired gaming headset has a list price of $59.98 / £49.99 but also offers excellent sound and superb comfort. The only criticism we did find however, is that its low-end can occasionally overplay its hand, so it might be one for pure bass-heads only.

Read our full Corsair HS55 Stereo review.

Epos H3
Slightly pricier than the Atlas 200 but also slightly nice-ier, the Epos H3 is our top pick for the best wired gaming headset for a reason. It sounds fantastic for a headset that costs under $100 / £100 and is super comfortable to boot. However, its 3.5mm cable is proprietary and hard to replace, so if you’re prone to losing things, you might wanna give this one a miss.

For more information, read our full Epos H3 review.

How I tested the Turtle Beach Atlas 200

  • Used the headset over several days
  • Tried it out on a variety of devices and games
  • Tested out the mic by recording while gaming

I tested the Turtle Beach Atlas 200 over the course of several days. First, I used it while playing multiple games on several different platforms, including on PC and Steam Deck. I played Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to test out its capabilities with soundtracks, Hades II for general effects, and Counter-Strike 2 to try out its surround sound capabilities.

I also tested the foldaway mic by recording myself while gaming. Not only did I test out its general audio quality, but I also tried out its flip-to-mute functionality and assessed how well it filtered out background noise by typing and playing music.

In terms of my expertise, I've been reviewing audio gadgets for over five years and have gotten hands-on with dozens of cutting-edge headphones. I've also been a committed gamer for 35 years, first cutting my teeth on Super Mario Bros. and Alex Kidd in the halcyon days of 8-bit gaming. Now I regularly game on PC, Steam Deck, PlayStation 4 Slim, and Nintendo Switch 2.

  • First reviewed: October 2025
  • Read more about how we test
I used the Honor Magic V5 for a week and it put a spell on me
5:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Honor Phones Phones | Tags: , , , | Comments: Off

Honor Magic V5: Two-minute review

The Honor Magic V5 with a pond in the background

(Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

The Honor Magic V5 is a truly impressive folding phone. It’s the thinnest booklet-style folding phone ever, with two excellent displays, a design that expertly balances ergonomics and aesthetics, and fantastic battery life. Its rear camera system stands up to some of the best folding phones, while its internal hardware is as powerful as you’d expect from a device marketed on its multitasking capabilities.

The first thing you notice about the Honor Magic V5 is just how thin it is. At just 4.1mm thick (not including the sizeable camera bump), the Magic V5 is thinner than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, Google Pixel 10 Pro, and even the region-locked Oppo Find N5, only beaten by the tri-folding Huawei Mate XT (another China exclusive). It’s so thin that it’s made me ask whether folding phones should keep getting thinner – its 7.95-inch inner screen really does disappear into your hand thanks to that ultra-thin frame.

Speaking of displays, the Magic V5 sports two excellent panels. Its 6.43-inch cover screen strikes a nice balance between compact and useable, and its 20:9 aspect ratio isn’t far off that of the iPhone 17 or Samsung Galaxy S25. The inner display measures 7.95-inches, with an approximate aspect ratio of 18:19.5.

That almost-square display is one of the best I’ve used on a folding phone, and makes reading articles, watching videos, taking photos a real joy. I also can’t get over just how similar the viewing experience is between the two displays – that’s a hard thing to nail given the change in material between the glass cover screen and plastic inner display, but Honor has done an excellent job.

The winning streak continues when it comes to the Magic V5’s battery, which is huge not only for a folding phone, but for a smartphone in general. With incredible engineering and straight-up alchemy, Honor has fit a 5920mAh battery into this phone – that’s larger than the battery in any comparable folding phone, and it's even bigger than the battery in the current-gen iPad mini. Charging is fast, battery life is long.

The Honor Magic V5 is the strongest contender to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. The Magic V5 outclasses Samsung’s latest booklet foldable in so many ways, and where Samsung does take the lead it isn’t by much. At £1,699 the Magic V5 decisively undercuts the Z Fold 7, which starts at £1,899 – though like all other Honor phones, the Magic V5 is unfortunately unavailable in the US. That limited availability will keep it off of our lists of the best phones and best folding phones, but if you’re looking for a folding phone in the UK or Europe, the Honor Magic V5 should be a serious contender.

Honor Magic V5: Price and Specs

The Honor Magic V5 with some foliage in the background

(Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)
  • Not available in the US
  • Costs £1,699 in the UK (512GB of storage)
  • Comes in three colors, including a unique gold option

Like all Honor phones, whether you can get the Honor Magic V5 depends on where you live. It’s not available in the US, but can be bought online or through carriers in the UK, Europe, and other regions.

In the UK, the Honor Magic V5 costs £1699.99 for the model with 512GB of storage – there are no other configurations to choose from. Honor is bundling a 66W power adapter and Magic Pen stylus in the UK – though as there is no stylus in the box, I'm not going to cover the accessory in this review.

Let’s address the elephant in the room – £1,699.99 is a lot of money for a phone. However, the Honor Magic V5 does manage to undercut its rivals quite significantly. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 starts at £1,899.99, while the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold starts at £1,799.99 – and both come with 256GB of storage, half of what the Honor Magic V5 offers.

And when you consider the Honor Magic V5’s impressive hardware specs, class-leading thinness and design, and impressive camera system, the value for money becomes even more apparent.

As for colors, the Magic V5 comes in Black, Ivory White (an online-exclusive option) and Dawn Gold, which has an eye-catching ripple effect on the rear panel. The specs below are for the Ivory White model I tested; the other two colors are actually a little thicker, at 4.2mm unfolded and 9mm folded, and are slightly heavier at 222g.

Honor Magic V5 specs

Honor Magic V5

Dimensions (folded):

156.8 x 74.3 x 8.8 mm

Dimensions (unfolded):

156.8 x 145.9 x 4.1 mm

Weight:

217g

Main display:

7.95-inch LTPO AMOLED

2172 x 2352, 120Hz, 403ppi

Cover display::

6.43-inch LTPO OLED

2520 x 1080, 20:9, 120Hz, 404ppi

Chipset:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite

RAM:

16GB

Storage:

512GB

OS:

Android 15 / MagicOS 9

Primary camera:

50MP, f1.6, 23mm

Ultrawide camera:

50MP, f/2.0, 13mm

Telephoto

64MP, f/2.5, 70mm (3x)

Cover Camera:

20MP f2.2

Inner Camera:

20MP f2.2

Battery:

5,820mAh

Charging:

66W wired, 50W wireless

Colors:

Ivory White, Black, Dawn Gold

  • Value score: 4 / 5

Honor Magic V5: Design

Honor Magic V5, top edge, red tree in background

(Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)
  • Looks simply phenomenal, and feels built to last
  • Very comfortable to use
  • Large camera bump and slightly noisy hinge

The Honor Magic V5 is the best-looking phone I’ve ever reviewed. This is a truly gorgeous piece of technology, and it’s clear that maximal attention has been given to achieving as much symmetry and ergonomic balance as the folding phone form factor will allow. The Ivory White color model is also the world’s thinnest folding phone at just 4.1mm thick when opened (not counting the substantial camera module). It’s a technical wonder that has me asking whether folding phones actually need to get any thinner.

Besides thinness, I noticed that the Magic V5 goes further than its contemporaries in providing a more comfortable experience. In the past, I’ve used folding phones with sharp edges and awkward bumps that make them uncomfortable to use for long sessions. On the Magic V5, Honor has flattened and rounded all the corners around the hinge, as well as the edges of the hinge itself – the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is almost as svelte, but has much sharper edges. The outer corners of the phone are also rounded off, which makes the unit very comfortable for one-handed or unfolded use.

Functionally, that hinge works well. It feels light to open, but not loose – it takes no real effort to open but won’t wobble much when partially unfolded.

The Honor Magic V5's smoothed hinge and corner

Check out those rounded corners - this is the first foldable I've used that feels actually comfortable. (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

As for construction, the Honor Magic V5 is composed of an aluminum chassis and a woven fiber rear panel that feels as solid as glass or ceramic materials used in other phones. The cover display is glass and the inner display is plastic, with raised plastic bezels housing the magnets that keep the phone snapped shut. Moreso than any other folding phone I’ve used the Honor Magic V5 lays totally flat when opened – and the crease on the inner display is so minimal that I had to remind myself to look for it when I set the phone up for the first time.

The camera housing is also superbly designed, and perfectly walks the line between subtlety and flair with its all-black coloring, textured metal ring, and octagonal bracketing. The phone also sports dual IP58 and IP59 dust and water resistance ratings – better than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 but not quite dust-sealed as the IP68-rated Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Fresh water shouldn’t be an issue, but keep it well away from fine dust, gravel, and sand.

The Honor Magic V5 is a wonder of engineering and the most comfortable folding phone I’ve ever used. I’m a large guy with a pretty big handspan, so I sometimes found it a bit difficult to get enough purchase on the phone to get it open, but I’m sure this experience varies.

However... after my test period for this review had concluded and about two months of use in total, I noticed that the inner screen protector had begun to separate from the folding display. That's not the type of thing we want to see from any folding phone, especially after such a short period of use. For now, we can't say whether this is a design flaw or just a one-off issue: we've contacted Honor directly to ask for comment and another test unit.

  • Design score: 5 / 5

Honor Magic V5: Displays

  • 6.43-inch cover display
  • 7.95-inch folding display
  • Both display have near-identical pixel density and top out at 3000 nits

The displays on the Honor Magic V5 are wonderful. The 6.43-inch cover display is amongst the sharpest and most vibrant screens I’ve used, and the 7.95-inch inner display is bright and immersive – what’s more, the viewing experience feels very consistent when switching between the two displays, something other folding phones have struggled to achieve.

In fact, when I unfolded the phone for the first time, I had to remind myself to look for a crease in the inner screen. It’s a far cry from the view-warping creases of folding phones from even a few years ago – I also noticed that, unlike some folding phones, the Magic V5 unfolds nearly perfectly flat, which makes it even easier to get lost in the expansive inner display.

In terms of technical specs, the Honor Magic V5’s cover display sports a resolution of 1060 x 2376 pixels, with 404 pixels per inch, while the inner display has a resolution of 2172 x 2352 pixels at 403 pixels per inch. What’s more, both panels top out at an absolutely ludicrous 5000 nits of brightness. Of course, those are theoretical limits, and your actual experience won't reflect those potentially harmful levels.

Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Magic V5 offers a sharper, higher resolution inner display, but can’t quite match the resolution and pixel density of the Galaxy’s cover screen.

Of all the folding devices I’ve used, the Magic V5 feels the most frictionless when switching between the two displays. Naturally, the glass cover display is a tiny bit sharper and looks a touch clearer, but Honor has calibrated these panels such that there’s little noticeable difference in color, brightness, or detail.

If there is an issue with the Honor Magic V5’s 7.95-inch folding display, it’s the issue common to all folding phones – that being that its larger screen space isn’t always efficiently used. Videos with a typical 16:9 aspect ratio can’t fill out the almost-square panel, and games often struggle to find a suitable safe zone (particularly first person games like Call of Duty). The inner screen is wonderful to look at, and perfect for reading, scrolling, and video calls, but a proper tablet might be better for streaming the best new shows.

  • Display score: 5 / 5

Honor Magic V5: Cameras

The Honor Magic V5's camera island

(Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)
  • 50MP main camera
  • 64MP telephoto camera with 3x zoom
  • 50MP ultra-wide camera
  • Twin 10MP selfie cameras

Folding phones have, until this year, had slightly weaker camera systems than their slab-phone counterparts – but times are changing. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 launched with a 200MP main lens, resetting expectations for the types of pictures that folding phones can produce.

The Honor Magic V5 sports three great rear cameras that come very close to producing flagship-standard images. Across a variety of shooting conditions I was able to take great photos with the Magic V5 – I was particularly impressed by how much detail the sensors captured; even noisy scenes with lots of foliage were reproduced with good definition, even if the contrast sometimes left me wanting. The image stabilization is also great all the way out to the maximum 100x digital zoom.

However, I found the post-processing could be fairly aggressive, and was often unsure of how much AI had impacted the final image, especially at long zoom ranges. That’s something to keep in mind if you prefer your photos to be a true reflection of the camera’s abilities, as there’s no way to fully disable the image processing pipeline.

The Magic V5 sports a triple-camera array housed on its rear panel, composed of a 50MP main camera, 50MP ultra-wide camera, and 64MP 3x telephoto camera. This gives the phone a lot of range and flexibility for still photography – the telephoto camera in particular strikes a nice balance between reach and usability for portraits and tighter landscape shots. Photos from all three cameras are bright and vibrant without looking unrealistically colorful, though there are some more vibrant profiles to choose from.

The Honor Magic V5 unfolded with the camera app open

Taking photos with the inner screen's huge viewfinder is a real joy. (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

Taking photos with the inner display is really intuitive – that 8-inch panel makes for a great viewfinder, and the unfolded frame allows the phone to rest steadily in-hand. However, I found the default camera app a little bit clunky, with some quick options (most notably aspect ratio) hidden behind an in-app menu.

The Magic V5 supports video shooting at 720p, 1080p, and 4K resolutions at either 30fps or 60fps. That large display is a boost for shooting video too, with plenty of blank space around the 16:9 frame to place your thumbs (though, for some reason, some controls are still placed over the viewfinder).

One of the only true let-downs on the Magic V5 is its pair of selfie cameras. The inner and outer displays house identical punch-hole 10MP selfie cameras that prove lacking in almost every situation. This is allayed by the rear camera selfie feature, which uses the cover display as a viewfinder, but that won’t always be the most convenient option.

Honor Magic V5: Camera samples

  • Cameras score: 3 / 5

Honor Magic V5: Software and AI

The Honor Magic V5 in splitscreen mode

(Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)
  • Android 15 with MagicOS 9
  • Honor AI and Google Gemini
  • Comprehensive multitasking tools

Like other Honor phones, the Magic V5 runs MagicOS 9, an Android iteration based on Android 15. As far as Android interfaces go, MagicOS sits somewhere between the speed and looseness of OnePlus’ OxygenOS and the stiffer, more structured feel of Samsung’s OneUI. It does the job.

As you might have guessed, the Honor Magic V5’s software shines brightest when it comes to foldable-specific features – the phone has a large suite of multitasking tools that allow for split screen and multi-windowed usage.

You can use a maximum of three apps at once in split screen mode (with one partially hidden off to one side), with another open in a floating overlay. To activate split screen mode you can either drag another app up from the taskbar or hold the bar that appears at the top of the screen. You can also open a single floating window when the phone is folded.

The situations that call for this level of multitasking are honestly pretty rare, but this is still an impressive amount of flexibility that helps the Honor Magic V5 feel like more than just a really big phone. Similarly to Apple’s Stage Manager tool for iPadOS, groups of windows stay together when you swipe up to see your opened apps, and I found it pretty easy to swap between split screen, multi-window, and full-screen modes with the on-screen buttons and contextual menus. However, some software isn't optimized for the folding display; I can give a pass to Honor on third party apps, but even pre-installed Google-made apps like YouTube sometimes gave me weird UI glitches. Luckily, this isn't too common.

MagicOS has a few more tricks up its sleeve. The phone can drive an external display at up to 1080p with the Magic Desktop feature, which is similar to Samsung’s DeX environment and allows for desktop-style usage with a keyboard and mouse. Back on the touchscreen, certain apps have a pull-down tab on the homescreen icon itself, which allows you to, say, quickly glance the time in another timezone or type down a quick note.

The phone is also loaded with AI tools from both Honor and Google (via Gemini, Circle to Search etc). These are found all over the OS, from generative note writing to AI image editing, and an uncanny feature that generates short videos from still images (first seen on the Honor 400 earlier this year). I personally found that Honor has been pretty heavy handed with implementing AI, to the point that it can be harder to find basic functions. For example, to crop an image in the photo gallery, you have to select “AI Edit”, which is now the catch-all term for photo editing.

  • Software and AI score: 4 / 5

Honor Magic V5: Performance

Crossy Road open on the Honor Magic V5

(Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset
  • 16GB of RAM
  • Never slow, but does heat up a bit

As is typical for high-end folding phones, the Honor Magic V5 is fully loaded with top-end internal hardware, which translates to consistently great performance across multitasking and gaming. It’s got the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and a full 16GB of RAM – that’s as good as it gets for Android phones, so you won’t come up against hardware constraints. The Magic V5 also comes with 512GB of storage, so no matter which configuration you choose you’ll have plenty of space for photos, videos, and apps.

I was able to make full use of the Magic V5’s software capabilities thanks to this array of high-end silicon. I never encountered any stuttering in the UI, and loading various apps was snappy and seamless, whether in full-screen or in MagicOS 9’s multitasking modes. There’s no lag when switching between apps or in games like Call of Duty Mobile – everything just runs, which is, in fairness, what you want from a phone that costs this much.

However, all that power in such a thin frame does mean the Magic V5 gets pretty warm. It never got uncomfortably hot, but it did seem to warm up very quickly compared to flagship slab phones. This is an these common to thin phone designs, as we’ve recently seen with the iPhone Air – the Magic V5 never got uncomfortably hot, but heat can have negative effects on battery life and potential performance over time, so it's something to keep an eye on.

With that said, I reviewed the Oppo Find N5 earlier this year – another ultra-thin folding phone with a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset – and didn’t notice much in the way of heat.

  • Performance score: 4 / 5

Honor Magic V5: Battery

The Honor Magic V5 USB-C port

(Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)
  • 5820mAh battery capacity would be impressive on a slab phone, let alone a foldable
  • All-day battery life with plenty to spare
  • 66W wired charging with 50W wireless charging

By some miracle of physics, the Honor Magic V5 has a 5,820mAh battery. Let’s put that into perspective – the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a 4,400mAh battery, the OnePlus Open has a 4,805mAh battery, and the Honor Magic 7 – a flagship slab phone – has a 5,650mAh battery. Folding phones are typically consigned to smaller batteries due to their split construction, but the Honor Magic V5 sports cells that add up to a fractionally smaller total than a massive Pro-grade cameraphone. It’s really quite something.

This translates to excellent battery life. I’ve used a few folding phones that sport ‘all-day’ battery life, but the Honor Magic V5 gets through a full day of mixed use so effortlessly that I might not think about recharging until midway through the next day. The phone supports 66W fast wired charging with Honor’s proprietary charging kit, but as there’s no brick in the box I could only test it with third party chargers (I got up to 80% in just under an hour with a 40W brick). The handset also supports an impressive 50W power draw in wireless charging. That’s much higher than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and many slab phones.

I will concede that the Honor Magic V5 seems to chew through battery a bit faster than slab phones, but the phone’s low-power mode is a real lifesaver when you’re caught away from an outlet. I felt fine leaving the house in the morning with around 50% charge, knowing that this would carry me through half a day or more of mixed use very comfortably. Of the folding phones I've used, this has the best battery life for sure.

Folding phones are known to be less efficient with their battery capacities than their slab phone contemporaries, as the cell is typically split between the two halves of the phone. That the Honor Magic V5 offers such impressive battery life is testament to Honor's engineering prowess.

  • Battery score: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Honor Magic V5?

Honor Magic V5 score card

Attribute

Notes

Rating

Value

The Magic V5 isn't cheap by any means, but offers more than the competition for less money.

4 / 5

Design

The thinnest and most comfortable folding phone on the market, and beautifully built too.

5 / 5

Displays

Two beautiful and remarkably consistent displays.

5 / 5

Cameras

Three great rear cameras that get close to flagship standard. Selfie cameras are terrible.

3 / 5

Performance

Never slows down, even in the throes of multitasking. Warms up quickly.

4 / 5

Software

MagicOS 9 is loaded with multitasking and AI tools. It can be a little complicated at times, but flexibility is always welcome.

4 / 5

Battery

A larger battery than most flagship slabs keeps things moving all day. No notes.

5 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a powerful all-in-one device

The Honor Magic V5 has enough hardware power and software flexibility to get through most everyday tasks with ease. It's a great pick for light productivity/View Deal

You want a beautiful phone

The Honor Magic V5 is the thinnest folding phone on the global market and looks absolutely gorgeous. Everything in its construction looks and feels premium.View Deal

You want a cheaper folding phone

At £1,699.99, the Honor Magic V5 costs a lot. That said, it's cheaper than the competition from Samsung and Google, and is possibly even more capable. View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You're on a budget

Despite the above, the Honor Magic V5 is still several hundred pounds more expensive than even the best slab phones. View Deal

You keep it simple

The Magic V5 has two screens, a suite of multitasking tools, an abundance of AI, and a total of five cameras. If you don't need loads of power, you might be better off saving some money on a simpler phone. View Deal

You want a familiar experience

The Honor Magic V5 runs MagicOS 9, which is a variant of Android, but those who value familiarity might prefer the simplicity of a Google Pixel or a phone in the well-known Samsung ecosystem. View Deal

Honor Magic V5: Also consider

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7

I've spent most of this review recounting the ways the Honor Magic V5 beats the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but if you're after a more familiar software experience, class-leading cameras, or Samsung DeX, you'll only get it with the latter.

Read our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review View Deal

iPhone Air

If you just want a thin, light, and powerful phone but don't think you'll use the folding display that much, the iPhone Air is the new thin and powerful handset that's got the entire tech world talking about it.

Read our iPhone Air review View Deal

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold

The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold isn't the thinnest or most powerful folding phone, but it is the only one on the market that offers IP68 certification (that means it's dust sealed and submersion resistant). Our phones go everywhere with us, so durability is something to seriously consider.

Read our Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold review View Deal

How I tested the Honor Magic V5

I used the Honor Magic V5 for an extended review period, culminating in a week-long stint as my daily driver. I used the Magic V5 to make calls, send messages, scroll through the internet and social media, play games, take pictures, and shoot video. I made sure to balance my use between the cover screen and folding display, and found that both screens could handle most tasks very well.

I welcomed this Blueair for extra-large rooms into my home, and it’s the most attractive air purifier I’ve ever seen
4:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Air Quality Computers Gadgets Home Small Appliances | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Blueair Blue Signature: two-minute review

The Blueair Blue Signature is a furniture-inspired air purifier for extra-large rooms, available from Blueair, Amazon, and other third-party retailers.

You can purchase the Blueair Blue Signature for a list price of $449.99 / £369, but it’s worth keeping an eye out for discounts to maximize the value. I’ve not spotted any in the UK so far, but at the time of writing, US customers can get a $50 discount at Blueair, bringing the price down to an even more reasonable $399.99.

A woman has just pressed the power button on the top of the Blueair Blue Signature.

(Image credit: Future)

While the mid-gray Light model is more to my preference, the navy blue Dark model I’ve been testing does a great job of blending into the room, rather than standing out like other white plastic air purifiers often do.

Like many of Blueair’s purifiers, the Blue Signature features an easy-to-clean fabric pre-filter, which is available in a range of colors to help it blend in with your decor.

At 15.5 inches / 39.4cm in diameter, there’s plenty of room to plonk down the remote or a magazine, but as I learned from my experience, you’ll need to be mindful about placing anything that could scratch the tabletop.

The Blue Signature is satisfyingly lightweight considering its size, making it easy to unbox and set up. I found it to be a little low for my liking, but this may well be down to personal preference.

The filter has been removed and has been placed next to the Blueair Blue Signature.

(Image credit: Future)

There are two bases that can be purchased separately, a chrome ring or some wooden legs, that’ll increase its height and enhance its furniture-style aesthetic. Their prices are a hard pill to swallow, however, at a cost of $99.99 / £99.99 and $79.99 / £79.99, respectively.

The motion-activated controls on the top of the Blue Signature are responsive and easy to use, and remote controlling the purifier is straightforward on the well-designed Blueair app.

The app contains a host of useful features, including controls, automations, settings, and color-coded air quality graphs for up to a month of PM1, PM2.5, and PM10 readings.

In addition to the four fan speeds, there are three modes available. These are Auto mode, which sets the Blue Signature to purify at speed one until contamination is detected, Eco mode, which operates the same as Auto, but the purifier remains idle, and Night mode, which lowers the purifier to its lowest speed and turns off most of the lights.

There’s a useful AirSense automation that provides a quick freshen up twice a day when the Blue Signature is in Auto or Eco mode, which runs regardless of the ambient air quality, though it can be turned off if desired.

The Blueair Blue Signature's display reads

(Image credit: Future)

In terms of performance, I was very pleased with the Blue Signature’s efforts. It promptly detected and cleared the contamination caused as a result of my spraying dry shampoo from a couple of feet away, and displayed the readings in the graphs on the app.

It appears that the Blue Signature does a better job of tackling odors than other purifiers I’ve tested, as it made short work of removing the fragrance from the dry shampoo following my testing.

The Blue Signature operates satisfyingly quietly despite its power, maxing out at just 55dB at top speed, and giving readings as low as 27dB on speed one, which is quieter than a whisper.

As the brand makes some of the best air purifiers, it hasn’t come as a surprise that there’s so much to love about the Blueair Blue Signature. It has many useful features and performs well at a pleasingly low volume for the price, making it the perfect choice for larger spaces, without being conspicuous.

Blueair Blue Signature review: price & availability

  • List price: $449.99 / £369
  • Launch date: Mid 2025
  • Available now in the US and UK

The Blueair Blue Signature has a list price of $449.99 / £369, and is available to purchase directly from Blueair or at Amazon.

This is a pretty good price considering it’s designed for large rooms, supports WiFi connectivity, and can detect and react to PM1, PM2.5, and PM10, meaning it’ll jump into action whether ultra-fine or coarse particles are present.

What’s more, I’m already seeing some great deals appearing in the US, with Blueair offering a $50 off the price at the time of writing, so you can pick the Blue Signature up for just $399.99. I’m yet to spot a deal in the UK just yet, but you never know.

Blue Signature 4.0 replacement filters look a little pricey at $99.99 / £99.99 each, but Blueair states that these filters can last up to a year, and their RealTrack algorithm calculates the lifetime left on your filter based on the fan speed, usage time, and pollution levels, meaning it should offer a more accurate expiry date compared to other models.

It’s worth noting that while the all-singing-all-dancing 7-stage filter uses Blueair’s HEPASilent technology, it’s not a true HEPA filter, though Blueair has insisted that their filters are actually more effective and operate at lower volumes.

A woman is removing the filter from the Blueair Blue Signature.

(Image credit: Future)

I tested the Blueair Blue Signature without any accessories, but there’s the option of two different stand formats if you want to make it look more like a piece of furniture.

These don’t come cheap, however, with the wooden legs, referred to as the Leg Base in Wood, costing $79.99 / £79.99, and the Ring Base in Chrome costing an eye-watering $99.99 / £99.99. As nice an addition as these would make, I must admit that I consider these grossly overpriced, which is a shame, as they would greatly improve the aesthetic.

Accessories aside, considering the Blue Signature’s reliable performance, easy filter replacement, and simple controls, this Blueair purifier offers plenty of bang for your buck, even at the full list price, making it well worth your consideration.

  • Value score: 4.5 out of 5

Blueair Blue Signature review: specs

Type

Air purifier table

Fan speeds

1-4

CADR (Clean air delivery rate)

Pollen 450 cfm

Dust 434 cfm

Smoke 455 cfm

Air changes per hour (ACH)

4.8

Filter

Multi-layered HEPASilent filter with activated carbon

Particle sizes detected

PM1, PM2.5, PM10

Dimensions

15.5 x 15.5 x 17.2 inches / 39.4 x 39.4 43.7cm

Weight

13.2lb / 6kg

Control

Touch controls / App

Timer

Yes

Additional modes

Auto, Night, Eco

Extra features

Tabletop, machine-washable pre-filters

Blueair Blue Signature review: design and features

  • Pleasantly lightweight for the size
  • Four fan speeds, three purifying modes
  • The material of the tabletop surface could be better

The furniture-inspired design of the Blueair Blue Signature makes it pleasingly subtle for an extra-large room air purifier.

The Blue Signature comes in a choice of Light and Dark models, the former being a mid-gray color, and the latter being a navy blue, which is the model I’ve tested.

Both models come with a color-coordinated machine-washable pre-filter, a Nordic Fog with the Light, and a Midnight for the dark. At the time of writing, the Blue Signature Light model doesn’t appear to be available at Blueair in the UK, but it can be purchased from Amazon.

If you feel like mixing things up, there are four other pre-filter colors to choose from, which include a couple of neutral colors, a blue, and a green. Each pre-filter has a list price of $24.99 / £24.99, so it’s not too much of an outlay if you want to change up the color, or have a spare to put on while the other is in the wash.

The fabric pre-filter of the Blueair Blue Signature air purifier has been partially rolled down.

(Image credit: Future)

Although rather large, at 15.5 inches / 39.4cm in diameter, the Blue Signature is surprisingly easy to maneuver, as it weighs only 13.2lb / 6kg, and I could use the gap between the pre-filter and the top section to carry it about.

The Blue Signature’s 17.2 inches / 43.7cm height might prove a little low to use as a side table for some, but it’s not inconveniently short. The wooden legs would definitely prove beneficial here, but I think I’d rather prop it up on something than pay that price for the four-legged base.

The smooth matte plastic on the top of the air purifier makes it look like what it is, the top of an appliance, rather than an item of furniture. I would have liked to have seen a slightly more premium finish, but it offers plenty of surface area for placing mugs, books, and remote controls.

Speaking of controls, the touch controls on the top of the Blue Signature are pretty nifty, as the motion-activation means they disappear along with the display. They’re pleasingly simple to use, and include buttons for power, Auto mode, night mode, a display lock, and cycling through the four fan speeds. It’s quick and easy to change the settings on the app, too, so I could switch modes without needing to move out of my comfy spot on the sofa.

The Blueair Blue Signature's display shows a reading of PM2.5.

(Image credit: Future)

There’s a steady blue light under the top surface of the air purifier when the air quality is rated as excellent. It changes color depending on the level of contamination, and is automatically dimmed when the Blue Signature is put into Night mode.

When Auto mode is enabled, the Blue Signature fan runs at speed one consistently, increasing the speed to suit whenever the Blue Signature detects PM1, PM2.5, or PM10 contamination.

I appreciate that the air purifier continues to purify at a low speed despite the air quality registering at a good level, as many air purifiers simply idle on Auto mode, so they fail to react and purify the surrounding air of contaminants they aren’t capable of detecting, such as VOCs.

Lastly, there’s an Eco mode, which works much the same as Auto mode, except it sits dormant until contamination is detected, thereby conserving energy.

  • Design & features score: 4.5 out of 5

Blueair Blue Signature review: app

  • Quick and easy device syncing
  • Simple and straightforward interface
  • Provides access to air quality graphs, settings, and automations

Adding a new device can be a headache in some cases, but as the Blueair app detected the Blue Signature straight away, I simply needed to select it and follow the instructions to connect it to my WiFi, which it did with no issues.

The Blueair app is simple to navigate, and the settings are easy to access and adjust on the dashboard for the Blue Signature. For day-to-day control, there’s a simple slider to amend the fan speed, buttons to enable each of the three modes, and the display lock function.

Three phone display screenshots from the Blueair app.

(Image credit: Blueair / Future)

There’s a useful feature linked to the Auto and Eco modes called AirSense, which means that my air purifier would stir into action for ten minutes at 10am and 6pm every day, though it can run for as long as twenty-five minutes if the air quality is a little lower.

This is particularly helpful if you plan to keep your air purifier set to Eco mode, as the air will still get a little freshen up twice a day. If you’d rather it didn’t embark on these mini cleaning sprees, it’s easy to turn off in the device settings.

There’s also a schedule feature, which can be used to set the air purifier to power on in a chosen mode at set times on your choice of days, before turning off at an allotted time.

The Blueair Blue Signature's display shows a leaf alongside the word Eco.

(Image credit: Future)

Another nifty automation is the Welcome Home feature, which powers on the Blue Signature when you’re approximately fifteen minutes away from home, based on your location and specified transport method.

A color-coded graph makes it easy to review the collected air quality data on the Blueair app. There’s a different graph for PM1, PM2.5, and PM10, with the option to view the readings over the course of a day, week, or month.

Overall, the app provides all the essentials in an easy-to-navigate interface, and all functions appeared responsive, bar the few moments it can take for the graph to update and reflect the real-time air quality readings.

  • App score: 4.5 out of 5

Blueair Blue Signature review: performance

  • Quick and easy setup
  • Prompt detection and contamination clearing
  • The dark tabletop appears to scratch easily

Getting the Blueair Blue Signature setup was a quick and simple process, as it was just a case of plugging it in and setting it up on the Blueair app.

I didn’t feel quite as comfortable using the Blue Signature as a side table as I did with the SwitchBot Air Purifier Table, as it felt a bit wrong putting things down directly on top of an air purifier, and the material looks like it’d mark and scratch easily.

While the dark blue table top collected fingerprints easily, they wiped off without much effort. This was a relief, as some darker-colored matte surfaces can prove notoriously difficult to remove fingerprints from.

Some books and a pair of headphones have been placed on top of the Blueair Blue Signature air purifier.

(Image credit: Future)

Sadly, it got a bit scratched not long into my testing. Presumably, this was from me balancing the plug on it as I pulled it out of the box, though it was only the plastic part of the plug in contact with the surface, which is a concern considering it’s meant to be used as a tabletop.

These scratches were only really visible when caught in the light however, and likely more noticeable due to the dark coloring of the plastic. Either way, I’d definitely recommend enforcing the coaster rule in your house if you plan to use it as a table.

The UK plug is pictured on top of the Blueair Blue Signature air purifier, with the EU plug adapter sitting alongside.

(Image credit: Future)

All of the modes worked as expected. Night mode reduced the fan to its lowest speed and extinguished the indicator light, the display, and most of the touch controls, though curiously, the Night mode and power button remain illuminated.

In terms of purifying performance, I was pleased to find that the Blue Signature only took around sixteen seconds to detect the dry shampoo I’d sprayed around two feet away.

After detecting the contamination, the air quality rating was updated to “very polluted”, and so the Blue Signature ramped up the fan speed. The air quality returned to “good” levels around twenty seconds from detection, and was back to “excellent” after a further minute, at which point the fan speed was reduced back to its lowest setting.

The power and Night mode icons are still illuminated while the Blueair Blue Signature is in Night mode.

(Image credit: Future)

The Blue Signature appeared to clear odors better than other air purifiers I’ve tested. While the strong smell of the dry shampoo usually lingers long after the air purifier I’m testing has dealt with the particulate contamination, it was cleared fairly quickly by the Blue Signature.

This may well be down to the fact that the Blue Signature runs at its lowest fan speed in Auto mode, rather than simply idling, meaning it could prove a good option if reducing ambient odors is on your list of priorities.

I was impressed by the Blue Signature’s low volume too, finding that it operated quieter overall than the majority of the air purifiers I’ve tested to date. The loudest reading I recorded was 55dB when it was running at top speed, making it no louder than a conversation, and it operated at just 27dB on fan speed one, which is quieter than a whisper.

The Blueair Blue Signature air purifier is pictured without its fabric pre-filter.

(Image credit: Future)

While the tabletop may leave a little to be desired, all in all, the Blueair Blue Signature performed really well. Its capacity to purify an extra-large room's worth of air, in-app features, quick detection, and contamination tackling make this a great air purifier for the price, and, ignoring my personal preferences on its suitability as a table, it looks a whole lot more attractive than any large-scale air purifier I’ve come across to date.

  • Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Should I buy the Blueair Blue Signature?

Section

Notes

Score

Value for money

The Blue Signature offers great performance, an attractive design, and a pleasant user experience for the price. I just wish it wasn’t so expensive to buy the base accessories to complete the look.

4.5/5

Design & Features

This furniture-inspired air purifier manages to stand out from the crowd without disrupting the decor. It’s easy to use, pleasingly lightweight, and has a large surface area for placing items.

4.5/5

App

The Blueair app makes it super simple to operate the Blue Signature. Its interface is attractive and easy to understand, making it easy to access the features and air quality graphs.

4.5/5

Performance

The Blue Signature reacted quickly during testing and made quick work of clearing the contamination. It also did a better job of clearing the strong fragrance of the dry shampoo than other air purifiers I’ve tested.

4.5/5

Buy it if...

You don’t want a typical-looking air purifier
With a choice of fabric colors and optional bases, this air purifier is your best bet if you’re looking for something that’ll look more like a piece of furniture than an appliance.

You want constant purification
Many air purifiers simply idle quietly in the background when the air quality is considered good based on what they can detect. It’s nice to have the option of constant purifying here, especially as it seems to aid in odor removal.

You appreciate nifty automations
The Blue Signature offers some useful automations, including scheduling, powering on when you’re 15 minutes from home, and twice-daily ramped up purifying with AirSense.

Don't buy it if...

You want VOC detection
While the Blueair does a great job of detecting particulates, it doesn't register the presence of VOCs (volatile organic compounds), like some more premium options do. However, the good news is that the filter is still capable of filtering them, which is another reason why the consistent purifying in Auto mode is beneficial.

You don’t like lingering lights
Although not glaringly bright, it’s a shame the power and Night mode icons aren’t extinguished when said mode is triggered. This may only be a minor niggle for some, but it’s worth bearing in mind if you can’t stand any light at bedtime.

You don’t want to pay a premium for a pretty base
The Blue Signature looks good as-is, but the furniture aesthetic would be nicely enhanced when teamed with one of the bases on offer. I just wish that these extras weren’t so eye-wateringly expensive.

Blueair Blue Signature review: Also consider

Blueair Blue Signature

SwitchBot Air Purifier Table

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09

Type

Air purifier table

Air purifier table

Purifying tower fan

Price

$449.99 / £369

$269.99 / £299.99

$749.99 / £549.99

Fan speeds

4

3

10

Modes

Auto, Eco, Night

Auto, Sleep, Pet

Auto, Night mode, Diffused mode

Filter

Pre-filter, 7-stage HEPASilent with activated carbon

Pre-filter, HEPA and activated carbon

HEPA H13 and activated carbon

App support

Yes

Yes

Yes

Dimensions

15.5 x 15.5 x 17.2 inches / 39.4 x 39.4 43.7cm

11.4 x 11.4 x 16.5 inches / 29 x 29 x 42cm

8.7 x 8.7 x 41.3 inches / 22 x 22 x 105cm

Weight

13.2lb / 6kg

10.7lb / 4.9kg

10.4 lbs / 4.7kg

SwitchBot Air Purifier Table
If you love the idea of a multi-functional air purifier but haven’t got the budget spare for the Blue Signature, then this SwitchBot alternative might be for you. Its wood-effect tabletop offers plenty of space for a mug and remote, and comes with the bonus of an integrated wireless phone charger. It only detects and reacts to PM2.5 or smaller, but it operates just as quietly as the Blueair, and makes for a great lower-cost alternative. If you’d like to learn more, have a read of my full SwitchBot Air Purifier Table review.

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09
This Dyson air purifier requires a lot more investment, but it’s a fantastic choice if you want to get a clearer view of your air quality data. I love the attractive gold and white coloring, and can’t help but be impressed by its ability to detect and react to more than the standard PM contaminants, namely, VOCs, formaldehyde, and nitrogen dioxide. And, while it can’t be used as a table, it does operate as a bladeless fan. To find out more about this 4.5-star rated purifier, check out my full Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 review.

How I tested the Blueair Blue Signature

  • I tested the Blueair Blue Signature over a few weeks
  • I explored the Blueair app and tested the modes and features
  • I tested the purifier's detection and reaction speeds

After assembling the Blueair Blue Signature and syncing it to the Blueair app, I tried out the onboard touch controls and app-based controls before having a good explore of the different settings and features.

Along with using the Blueair Blue Signature passively in my home, I also conducted our standard testing procedure of spraying dry shampoo from around two feet away to assess its performance. I then assessed the air quality readings on the app to ensure they were aligned.

I measured the sound levels emitted from different fan speeds and modes, and compared these readings to the measurements I’ve taken from other air purifiers.

I wanted to love Skullcandy’s workout headphones, but one big issue makes them a poor fit
1:30 pm |

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

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active: Two-minute review

Gym-goers or athletes who also care about their music quality surely know how few over-ear headphones are designed specifically for fitness; our list of the best workout headphones doesn’t have a single pair and my own fondness for them is tempered by just how rare they are. Most buyers instead have to buy workout earbuds, or repurpose normal over-ear headphones for their workout needs (and get very warm ears).

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active are a welcome addition to the anemic market segment, coming with a few features and design considerations which make them a step above rivals… though there are some curious deficiencies too.

You’d think US-based audio company Skullcandy would be a prime fit for workout headphones, due to its emphasis on bassy products and funky designs, and it is – its website has an entire section dedicated to ‘Gym & Workout Headphones’. But those are, like most companies’ offerings, just headphones that can be used to exercise. The Crusher 540 Active is different, as it’s designed intently for that purpose.

The ‘Crusher’ in the name points to one of the cans’ best features and the selling point for every member of this line. The 540 Active has a bass slider which can increase the bass from ‘normal’ to ‘quite bassy’ to ‘my head is shaking’, boosting the low end in an ill-tuned but energetic way. If you’re a gym user who loves bass-heavy thumping audio to help you push yourself to the max, this is a fantastic addition.

Dedicated Skullcandy fans might scroll down and notice that the Crusher 540 Active sounds startlingly similar to another pair of cans from the company called the Crusher Evo, and they cost exactly the same in most regions. I too was baffled by how similar these cans are and apparently fans were too, prompting Skullcandy to write a Reddit post detailing the differences.

The differences lie in a few design considerations: the soft pads can be removed and easily washed, perfect for people who get sweaty at the gym, and the band was designed to have a tighter clamp fit. This latter point, unfortunately, doesn’t have a noticeable effect, and the 540 Active frequently fell off my head at the gym when I was lying down. This could be a deal-breaker for some people, depending on your workout routine.

Audio-wise, you’re getting what you pay for; these headphones sound good but not quite great. However, the app offers perhaps the best personal audio test I’ve used in headphones so far, and the ability to crank the bass to 11 would make a nuanced audio design moot anyway.

I’ve mentioned a few features that I like so far, and they’re definitely the highlights of the Skullcandy, but beyond the bass and personal audio modes there’s a noticeable lack of extra features. I was surprised when first looking at the app to see how few tools were offered – but perhaps it’s best that you don’t use the app much, given the connection problems I had (more on these later).

You’re probably still wondering if I recommend the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active as workout headphones, and after testing them for several weeks, I’m not too sure either. They were great for running, great for workouts where I stayed upright, and good for general listening. But I found myself pre-emptively removing them during my gym sessions when I had to do a prone exercise, due to the fit – so you’ll have to ask yourself what your fitness life looks like and whether you need to do such workouts, before buying them.

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Price and release date

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)
  • Released in summer 2025
  • Costs $209.99 / £169.99 / AU$349.99
  • Few similar rivals

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active were released in summer 2025, and you can pick them up for $209.99 / £169.99 / AU$349.99.

At that price they match the Crusher Evo and aren’t too far off other over-ears from the brand, slightly cheaper than the Crusher ANC 2 and more than the Hesh 540 ANC, so they’re a mid-range pick within Skullcandy's oeuvre.

Here’s where I’d normally compare the headphones to other options on the market going for the same thing, but the over-ear workout headphone market is so slim that there aren’t really any bespoke options to speak of.

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Specs

Drivers

40mm

Active noise cancellation

No

Battery life (ANC off)

40 hours

Weight

312g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.0

Waterproofing

NA

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Features

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)
  • Bass slider for extra... bass
  • 40 hours of battery
  • Useful sound personalization

It might offend some that I’m going to discuss the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active’s titular feature in this section rather than the ‘sound quality’ one, but at the end of the day the crushing bass is more of a novelty and a boost mode than it is a genuine way of refining your music.

I’m talking about the slider on the Active’s left cup, my allusion to which in the ‘design’ section may have raised eyebrows (if you didn’t read the introduction and haven’t seen any of Skullcandy’s Crusher headphones before).

This slider lets you control how bassy your music is, with the lowest setting matching other workout headphones and the highest one literally making the cans shake on your head. I was blown away by just how bassy music can get if you pick the right track and turn the mode to full; it felt like walking into a sticky nightclub from one of London’s late-night streets.

Audiophiles won’t like this mode, as this boosted bass is somewhat formless and unreliable in what it augments, but I found it infectiously fun to play around with nonetheless. There’s an inescapable novelty to having your head literally shake as you listen to ridiculously-amplified house or hip-hop. Some music just isn’t affected by the boost though, especially acoustic and classical tracks, but it was great fun to see just how the Crusher 540 would affect a song.

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)

There’s no ANC here to cut out the chaos of a gym, but I found the earcup cushions were pretty good at blocking out a lot of noise passively anyway.

The battery life clocks in at 40 hours according to Skullcandy, which is, roughly speaking, an average figure for over-ear headphones, but given the lack of active noise cancellation it might come off a bit low.

On your phone or tablet, the Skullcandy app gets you some extra tools (not the Skull-IQ app which I’ve used for the brand’s earbuds, as that won’t work – judging by Play Store reviews, lots of people have made the same mistake as I). I had a few connection problems wherein the app wouldn’t pick up the paired headphones, but usually hard-closing and reopening it fixed the issue.

The app offers you a Personal Sound listening test to apply an automatic EQ to your music, and it’s one of the simplest and easiest examples of this test that I’ve ever used, as you’re simply prompted to select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on whether you can hear a series of beeping tones played. Its analysis of my hearing also matched what other tests have told me, so it seems fairly accurate.

You can also use the app to switch between three standard EQ presets: music, podcast (which boosts treble but strips bass) and movie which reduced treble slightly. There’s no custom EQ for you to make your own mix, so audiophiles will have to rely on SkullCandy’s judgements.

Various EQ modes are the only features you get from the app, so if you were hoping for a smorgasbord of extra tools, you’ll be disappointed.

  • Features score: 3.5/5

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Design

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)
  • Plenty of buttons on cups
  • Doesn't clamp onto head strong enough
  • Cups are removable for cleaning

On the surface, the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active might just look like your standard over-ear headphones, but the devil’s in the detail.

Just look at the cups, for one example of that – they’re loaded with far more buttons and dials than you’d usually see. The left cup has the USB-C charging port, a 3.5mm jack, the aforementioned bass slider and a surprisingly-small power button while the right cup has volume up, play/pause and volume down. Neat touches like slightly-different-feeling buttons ensure it’s easy to work out via touch what you’re reaching for.

The design changes continue to the material, with intentional picks for the gym-going intended buyer. According to Skullcandy, the foam cups have a coating to protect them against sweat, and can be easily removed and cleaned if you do get them mucky – I found them really simple to remove although reattaching them was a lot more fiddly. The band is designed to avoid grime as much as possible.

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)

Thanks to the breathable material, and the cans’ light body, I found the headphones comfortable to use, even if I was exercising and sweating. The brand deems the cups ‘Sweat & Water Resistant’ although I couldn’t find an official IP rating anywhere.

Skullcandy’s also using a tech here which it calls Clamp Force Secure Fit, designed to give the cans a rigid fit so they’ll stay on your head when you’re working out, but while that’s great in theory it didn’t work in practice. The headphones would regularly slip off my head when I was prone, which is quite frequent depending on my workout routine, and I found myself taking them off every time I needed to lie forward or backward. That’s not exactly ideal for gym use, although I didn’t face the problem when staying upright or running.

A neat (though small) design trait is that you can fold the cups in on the body to make the headphones more portable – I wish more brands would let you do this.

You can buy the Crusher 540 Active in black, white or pink, which is a much more slender list of offerings than Skullcandy’s other Crushers (the ANC 2 has 10 options listed on the brand’s site, while the Evo has six).

  • Design score: 3.5/5

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Sound quality

  • 40mm drivers per cup
  • Scooping bass, especially with slider
  • Vocals lack some sparkle

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)

I’ve already mentioned that the bass slider lets you turn the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active into a head-worn sub-woofer, but for the purposes of this section let’s imagine I’ve got the slider set to its lowest setting.

Even when bass is stripped out like this, it’s still a prominent part of the sound mix – these are workout headphones after all, and ones made by Skullcandy no less, so scooping bass is part and parcel of what you’re paying for. The mids benefit from this to an extent too, though there were a few times in my testing when I found vocals lacking the power and sparkle that some other headphones lend to treble.

As you can probably expect from the price, you’re not getting the most crystal-clear audio quality or nuanced sound stage, and I did hear some distortion on certain songs. But those all reflect the changed priority values that gym-going or jogging users will want, and I wasn’t disappointed at all when listing.

Skullcandy says that both cans have 40mm drivers in them, which is the same as the Crusher Evo. Having heard the 540 Active and understanding how they tick all the workout-headphone boxes, the company’s confirmation that these are the Evos but tweaked for exercise users, makes total sense.

  • Sound quality: 3.5/5

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Value

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)
  • Paying for novel features...
  • ... which won't be for everyone

At $209.99 / £169.99 / AU$349.99, the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active aren’t the cheapest over-ear headphones in the world (although they’re certainly not premium models). That price isn’t going to the workout features – the Evo costs the same amount – and as I’ve already discussed, these didn’t always tick the boxes as workout headphones anyway.

What you’re actually paying for is the novel bass feature, which is what separates the Crusher 540 Active from other headphones you might be considering. And if this feature sounds great, then the price is certainly justified.

However if you don’t think you’ll make good use of the bass slider, or think the novelty will wear off quickly, there are other over-ears to pick up which are cheaper – and may perform just as well, or better, for a workout.

  • Value: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active?

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

The bass slider and listening test are great, though more features would have been appreciated.

3.5/5

Design

The loose grip hurts the suitability for workouts, but otherwise the design is fine.

3.5/5

Sound quality

While the sound quality is just decent, it's exactly what exercise-minded buyers will want.

3.5/5

Value

If you're buying the Skullcandy for the extra features, it's decent value, but other buyers will be paying unnecessarily more.

3.5/5

Buy them if…

You’re a huge bass-head
Some people stopped reading this review when I mentioned a bass slider which gets your head literally shaking. I probably don’t need to tell you to buy Crushers if that sounds like a fantastic selling point to you.

You sweat a lot
The easily-removable and cleanable ear pads will be great news to people who sweat a lot, as you’ll be able to easily freshen up your cans.

You’re not great at tweaking EQ settings
No equalizer here, but the personal audio mode will help you find your perfect audio mix without you faffing over buttons and sliders.View Deal

Don’t buy them if…

You’ll need to lie down with them
Wearing these rules out sit-ups, press-ups, bridges, skull crushers, and more – if your workout routine relies on these, then maybe earbuds are best.

You’re not interested in fitness
Well done for reading a whole fitness headphone review without wanting headphones for this purpose, but some of the unique features here will only benefit people doing a workout.

You want funky-looking cans
Skullcandy specializes in funkily-colored or -designed headphones, but the 540 Active are some of its few options that don’t come in all sorts of patterns and hues.

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Also consider

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active

SkullCandy Crusher Evo

Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2

Earfun Wave Pro

Drivers

40mm

40mm

6mm

40mm

Active noise cancellation

No

No

Yes

Yes

Battery life

40 hours

40 hours

14 hours (buds) 56 hours (case)

80 hours

Weight

312g

312g

5g (buds); 47.5g (case)

268g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.0

Bluetooth 5.0

Bluetooth 5.3

Bluetooth 5.3

Waterproofing

NA

NA

IP68

NA

Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2
The Jabra Elite 8 Gen 2 cost more than the Skullcandys and are in-ears instead of over-ears, but sound great and offer top noise cancellation. I include them here as we rank them as our best workout earbuds.

See our full Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 review

Earfun Wave Pro
When I tested these older earbuds, I took them to the gym a few times and they worked fine. They have memory foam cups which won’t be damaged as much by sweat, have a fantastic battery life so you can forget charging them much, and sound really good for the price. Most importantly, they’re quite cheap.

See our full Earfun Wave Pro review

How I tested the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active

  • Tested for at least three weeks
  • Tested at home, on runs and at the gym

I spent at least three weeks testing the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active before writing this review. They were paired to my Android phone for the entirety of it, using Spotify, Netflix and a few other apps.

I did a lot of the testing at my local gym and on runs around my local area, as I've mentioned. I also listened at home, on public transport and on walks too.

This isn't my first Skullcandy review for TechRadar although I didn't test the original Evo. I've been reviewing devices for the brand for six years now including in-ear, open-ear and on-ear headphones.

  • First reviewed in October 2025
I wanted to love Skullcandy’s workout headphones, but one big issue makes them a poor fit
1:30 pm |

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

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active: Two-minute review

Gym-goers or athletes who also care about their music quality surely know how few over-ear headphones are designed specifically for fitness; our list of the best workout headphones doesn’t have a single pair and my own fondness for them is tempered by just how rare they are. Most buyers instead have to buy workout earbuds, or repurpose normal over-ear headphones for their workout needs (and get very warm ears).

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active are a welcome addition to the anemic market segment, coming with a few features and design considerations which make them a step above rivals… though there are some curious deficiencies too.

You’d think US-based audio company Skullcandy would be a prime fit for workout headphones, due to its emphasis on bassy products and funky designs, and it is – its website has an entire section dedicated to ‘Gym & Workout Headphones’. But those are, like most companies’ offerings, just headphones that can be used to exercise. The Crusher 540 Active is different, as it’s designed intently for that purpose.

The ‘Crusher’ in the name points to one of the cans’ best features and the selling point for every member of this line. The 540 Active has a bass slider which can increase the bass from ‘normal’ to ‘quite bassy’ to ‘my head is shaking’, boosting the low end in an ill-tuned but energetic way. If you’re a gym user who loves bass-heavy thumping audio to help you push yourself to the max, this is a fantastic addition.

Dedicated Skullcandy fans might scroll down and notice that the Crusher 540 Active sounds startlingly similar to another pair of cans from the company called the Crusher Evo, and they cost exactly the same in most regions. I too was baffled by how similar these cans are and apparently fans were too, prompting Skullcandy to write a Reddit post detailing the differences.

The differences lie in a few design considerations: the soft pads can be removed and easily washed, perfect for people who get sweaty at the gym, and the band was designed to have a tighter clamp fit. This latter point, unfortunately, doesn’t have a noticeable effect, and the 540 Active frequently fell off my head at the gym when I was lying down. This could be a deal-breaker for some people, depending on your workout routine.

Audio-wise, you’re getting what you pay for; these headphones sound good but not quite great. However, the app offers perhaps the best personal audio test I’ve used in headphones so far, and the ability to crank the bass to 11 would make a nuanced audio design moot anyway.

I’ve mentioned a few features that I like so far, and they’re definitely the highlights of the Skullcandy, but beyond the bass and personal audio modes there’s a noticeable lack of extra features. I was surprised when first looking at the app to see how few tools were offered – but perhaps it’s best that you don’t use the app much, given the connection problems I had (more on these later).

You’re probably still wondering if I recommend the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active as workout headphones, and after testing them for several weeks, I’m not too sure either. They were great for running, great for workouts where I stayed upright, and good for general listening. But I found myself pre-emptively removing them during my gym sessions when I had to do a prone exercise, due to the fit – so you’ll have to ask yourself what your fitness life looks like and whether you need to do such workouts, before buying them.

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Price and release date

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)
  • Released in summer 2025
  • Costs $209.99 / £169.99 / AU$349.99
  • Few similar rivals

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active were released in summer 2025, and you can pick them up for $209.99 / £169.99 / AU$349.99.

At that price they match the Crusher Evo and aren’t too far off other over-ears from the brand, slightly cheaper than the Crusher ANC 2 and more than the Hesh 540 ANC, so they’re a mid-range pick within Skullcandy's oeuvre.

Here’s where I’d normally compare the headphones to other options on the market going for the same thing, but the over-ear workout headphone market is so slim that there aren’t really any bespoke options to speak of.

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Specs

Drivers

40mm

Active noise cancellation

No

Battery life (ANC off)

40 hours

Weight

312g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.0

Waterproofing

NA

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Features

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)
  • Bass slider for extra... bass
  • 40 hours of battery
  • Useful sound personalization

It might offend some that I’m going to discuss the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active’s titular feature in this section rather than the ‘sound quality’ one, but at the end of the day the crushing bass is more of a novelty and a boost mode than it is a genuine way of refining your music.

I’m talking about the slider on the Active’s left cup, my allusion to which in the ‘design’ section may have raised eyebrows (if you didn’t read the introduction and haven’t seen any of Skullcandy’s Crusher headphones before).

This slider lets you control how bassy your music is, with the lowest setting matching other workout headphones and the highest one literally making the cans shake on your head. I was blown away by just how bassy music can get if you pick the right track and turn the mode to full; it felt like walking into a sticky nightclub from one of London’s late-night streets.

Audiophiles won’t like this mode, as this boosted bass is somewhat formless and unreliable in what it augments, but I found it infectiously fun to play around with nonetheless. There’s an inescapable novelty to having your head literally shake as you listen to ridiculously-amplified house or hip-hop. Some music just isn’t affected by the boost though, especially acoustic and classical tracks, but it was great fun to see just how the Crusher 540 would affect a song.

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)

There’s no ANC here to cut out the chaos of a gym, but I found the earcup cushions were pretty good at blocking out a lot of noise passively anyway.

The battery life clocks in at 40 hours according to Skullcandy, which is, roughly speaking, an average figure for over-ear headphones, but given the lack of active noise cancellation it might come off a bit low.

On your phone or tablet, the Skullcandy app gets you some extra tools (not the Skull-IQ app which I’ve used for the brand’s earbuds, as that won’t work – judging by Play Store reviews, lots of people have made the same mistake as I). I had a few connection problems wherein the app wouldn’t pick up the paired headphones, but usually hard-closing and reopening it fixed the issue.

The app offers you a Personal Sound listening test to apply an automatic EQ to your music, and it’s one of the simplest and easiest examples of this test that I’ve ever used, as you’re simply prompted to select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on whether you can hear a series of beeping tones played. Its analysis of my hearing also matched what other tests have told me, so it seems fairly accurate.

You can also use the app to switch between three standard EQ presets: music, podcast (which boosts treble but strips bass) and movie which reduced treble slightly. There’s no custom EQ for you to make your own mix, so audiophiles will have to rely on SkullCandy’s judgements.

Various EQ modes are the only features you get from the app, so if you were hoping for a smorgasbord of extra tools, you’ll be disappointed.

  • Features score: 3.5/5

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Design

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)
  • Plenty of buttons on cups
  • Doesn't clamp onto head strong enough
  • Cups are removable for cleaning

On the surface, the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active might just look like your standard over-ear headphones, but the devil’s in the detail.

Just look at the cups, for one example of that – they’re loaded with far more buttons and dials than you’d usually see. The left cup has the USB-C charging port, a 3.5mm jack, the aforementioned bass slider and a surprisingly-small power button while the right cup has volume up, play/pause and volume down. Neat touches like slightly-different-feeling buttons ensure it’s easy to work out via touch what you’re reaching for.

The design changes continue to the material, with intentional picks for the gym-going intended buyer. According to Skullcandy, the foam cups have a coating to protect them against sweat, and can be easily removed and cleaned if you do get them mucky – I found them really simple to remove although reattaching them was a lot more fiddly. The band is designed to avoid grime as much as possible.

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)

Thanks to the breathable material, and the cans’ light body, I found the headphones comfortable to use, even if I was exercising and sweating. The brand deems the cups ‘Sweat & Water Resistant’ although I couldn’t find an official IP rating anywhere.

Skullcandy’s also using a tech here which it calls Clamp Force Secure Fit, designed to give the cans a rigid fit so they’ll stay on your head when you’re working out, but while that’s great in theory it didn’t work in practice. The headphones would regularly slip off my head when I was prone, which is quite frequent depending on my workout routine, and I found myself taking them off every time I needed to lie forward or backward. That’s not exactly ideal for gym use, although I didn’t face the problem when staying upright or running.

A neat (though small) design trait is that you can fold the cups in on the body to make the headphones more portable – I wish more brands would let you do this.

You can buy the Crusher 540 Active in black, white or pink, which is a much more slender list of offerings than Skullcandy’s other Crushers (the ANC 2 has 10 options listed on the brand’s site, while the Evo has six).

  • Design score: 3.5/5

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Sound quality

  • 40mm drivers per cup
  • Scooping bass, especially with slider
  • Vocals lack some sparkle

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)

I’ve already mentioned that the bass slider lets you turn the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active into a head-worn sub-woofer, but for the purposes of this section let’s imagine I’ve got the slider set to its lowest setting.

Even when bass is stripped out like this, it’s still a prominent part of the sound mix – these are workout headphones after all, and ones made by Skullcandy no less, so scooping bass is part and parcel of what you’re paying for. The mids benefit from this to an extent too, though there were a few times in my testing when I found vocals lacking the power and sparkle that some other headphones lend to treble.

As you can probably expect from the price, you’re not getting the most crystal-clear audio quality or nuanced sound stage, and I did hear some distortion on certain songs. But those all reflect the changed priority values that gym-going or jogging users will want, and I wasn’t disappointed at all when listing.

Skullcandy says that both cans have 40mm drivers in them, which is the same as the Crusher Evo. Having heard the 540 Active and understanding how they tick all the workout-headphone boxes, the company’s confirmation that these are the Evos but tweaked for exercise users, makes total sense.

  • Sound quality: 3.5/5

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Value

The Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active on a sofa.

(Image credit: Future)
  • Paying for novel features...
  • ... which won't be for everyone

At $209.99 / £169.99 / AU$349.99, the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active aren’t the cheapest over-ear headphones in the world (although they’re certainly not premium models). That price isn’t going to the workout features – the Evo costs the same amount – and as I’ve already discussed, these didn’t always tick the boxes as workout headphones anyway.

What you’re actually paying for is the novel bass feature, which is what separates the Crusher 540 Active from other headphones you might be considering. And if this feature sounds great, then the price is certainly justified.

However if you don’t think you’ll make good use of the bass slider, or think the novelty will wear off quickly, there are other over-ears to pick up which are cheaper – and may perform just as well, or better, for a workout.

  • Value: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active?

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

The bass slider and listening test are great, though more features would have been appreciated.

3.5/5

Design

The loose grip hurts the suitability for workouts, but otherwise the design is fine.

3.5/5

Sound quality

While the sound quality is just decent, it's exactly what exercise-minded buyers will want.

3.5/5

Value

If you're buying the Skullcandy for the extra features, it's decent value, but other buyers will be paying unnecessarily more.

3.5/5

Buy them if…

You’re a huge bass-head
Some people stopped reading this review when I mentioned a bass slider which gets your head literally shaking. I probably don’t need to tell you to buy Crushers if that sounds like a fantastic selling point to you.

You sweat a lot
The easily-removable and cleanable ear pads will be great news to people who sweat a lot, as you’ll be able to easily freshen up your cans.

You’re not great at tweaking EQ settings
No equalizer here, but the personal audio mode will help you find your perfect audio mix without you faffing over buttons and sliders.View Deal

Don’t buy them if…

You’ll need to lie down with them
Wearing these rules out sit-ups, press-ups, bridges, skull crushers, and more – if your workout routine relies on these, then maybe earbuds are best.

You’re not interested in fitness
Well done for reading a whole fitness headphone review without wanting headphones for this purpose, but some of the unique features here will only benefit people doing a workout.

You want funky-looking cans
Skullcandy specializes in funkily-colored or -designed headphones, but the 540 Active are some of its few options that don’t come in all sorts of patterns and hues.

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active review: Also consider

Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active

SkullCandy Crusher Evo

Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2

Earfun Wave Pro

Drivers

40mm

40mm

6mm

40mm

Active noise cancellation

No

No

Yes

Yes

Battery life

40 hours

40 hours

14 hours (buds) 56 hours (case)

80 hours

Weight

312g

312g

5g (buds); 47.5g (case)

268g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.0

Bluetooth 5.0

Bluetooth 5.3

Bluetooth 5.3

Waterproofing

NA

NA

IP68

NA

Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2
The Jabra Elite 8 Gen 2 cost more than the Skullcandys and are in-ears instead of over-ears, but sound great and offer top noise cancellation. I include them here as we rank them as our best workout earbuds.

See our full Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 review

Earfun Wave Pro
When I tested these older earbuds, I took them to the gym a few times and they worked fine. They have memory foam cups which won’t be damaged as much by sweat, have a fantastic battery life so you can forget charging them much, and sound really good for the price. Most importantly, they’re quite cheap.

See our full Earfun Wave Pro review

How I tested the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active

  • Tested for at least three weeks
  • Tested at home, on runs and at the gym

I spent at least three weeks testing the Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active before writing this review. They were paired to my Android phone for the entirety of it, using Spotify, Netflix and a few other apps.

I did a lot of the testing at my local gym and on runs around my local area, as I've mentioned. I also listened at home, on public transport and on walks too.

This isn't my first Skullcandy review for TechRadar although I didn't test the original Evo. I've been reviewing devices for the brand for six years now including in-ear, open-ear and on-ear headphones.

  • First reviewed in October 2025
The PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless Controller for Xbox frustrates with distracting RGB lighting and trigger locks that aren’t fit for purpose
11:00 pm | October 18, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming | Tags: , , | Comments: Off

PowerA Fusion Pro for Xbox: One-minute review

It brings me no pleasure to find that the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless Controller for Xbox is the most disappointing product I’ve tested in the brand’s catalog to date. PowerA is admittedly a brand I’ve had mixed feelings about in the past. Sometimes it provides real winners, like the PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller, which I consider a solid alternative to the official Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. Other times it doesn’t quite hit the mark, like we’ve seen recently with the PowerA Advantage Switch 2 Wired Controller and indeed the Fusion Pro for Xbox here.

First and foremost, the best Xbox controllers should provide a satisfying play experience with minimal frustrations, but this PowerA pad is loaded with them. From its awkward d-pad and abrasive textured grips, to obnoxious Lumectra RGB lighting and trigger locks that simply don’t work most of the time, this is a controller that tries and fails to punch above its weight class with an absurdly high price tag to match.

It’s not all bad. You at least get a carry case and charging dock included in the box. Battery life is reasonably strong, and a neat audio switch lets you adjust headset volume or mute your mic in an instant. I also love PowerA’s quick-twist thumbsticks here, which provide three adjustable height levels. Plus, they’re Hall effect, meaning they’ll be able to resist stick drift much longer than traditional analog sticks. Still, these high points don’t do enough to outweigh the myriad frustrations I have with this controller.

PowerA Fusion Pro

(Image credit: Future)

PowerA Fusion Pro for Xbox: Price and availability

  • List price: $169.99 / £149.99 / AU$199.95
  • Comparable in price to the Nacon Revolution X Unlimited and Razer Wolverine V3 Pro
  • There are plenty of cheaper and better options available for Xbox and PC

I’d feel a bit more comfortable recommending the Fusion Pro for Xbox if it weren’t for that eye-watering price tag. At $169.99 / £149.99 / AU$199.95, it’s bordering on the premium territory of Xbox pads like the Nacon Revolution X Unlimited and Razer Wolverine V3 Pro.

If the Fusion Pro provided a stellar controller experience, the price would be an easier pill to swallow. The issue for PowerA is that there’s no shortage of superb Xbox and PC-compatible controllers like it that are available for less than half of its price, including the 8BitDo Ultimate 2, GameSir Kaleid, and even the official Xbox Wireless Controller.

PowerA Fusion Pro for Xbox: Specs

Price

$169.99 / £149.99 / AU$199.95

Weight

1.44lbs / 0.65kg

Dimensions

6.1 x 4.2 x 2.4in / 156 x 107 x 61mm

Compatibility

Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC

Connection type

Wireless (2.4GHz), Wired (USB-C)

Battery life

Around 30 hours

PowerA Fusion Pro for Xbox: Design and features

The initial package out of the box is promising. The PowerA Fusion Pro for Xbox comes with a carry case and bespoke charging dock, both incredibly useful accessories that I welcome with any gamepad. Both are solidly made, too. Especially the charging dock, which is well-built, unintrusive, and can sit in any gaming setup ready to charge your pad up via USB-C. The carry case, meanwhile, is sturdy and has a compartment for the USB-C cable.

The pad itself bears a striking resemblance to the official Xbox Wireless Controller, which certainly isn’t anomalous in the wider Xbox controller market. It does feel slightly weightier than Microsoft’s pad, owing to inclusions like trigger locks and a magnetic charging dock connector.

Carrying on with the good, the controller’s quick-twist thumbsticks are genuinely brilliant. Turning them clockwise raises the thumbstick shaft, while lowering it when turned counterclockwise. There are three height levels here, and I personally found the middle setting to be the most comfortable. They lock firmly in place after adjusting, too, so there’s no unnecessary fiddling.

Besides a handy headset audio adjustment switch, that’s about where my praise ends for the PowerA Fusion Pro. To that end, I simply could not get on with the abundance of RGB lighting here. By default, a bright rainbow effect coats the controller, revealing a preset tribal-esque silhouette. It’s a nice pattern, but I found it to be really distracting during play.

You can change the RGB pattern profile (or switch it off entirely) via a dedicated button on the rear of the controller. I opted to keep it switched off, as some of the other pulse-like patterns weren’t much better.

The overall feel of the controller leaves much to be desired, too. The textured grips feel just a little too rough on my hands, making for rather uncomfortable long play sessions. The d-pad is also fairly listless, feeling fine on one end while awkwardly spongy and hard to press on the other. Admittedly, this could be an issue with my unit specifically, but something to keep in mind if you’re planning on buying.

PowerA Fusion Pro

(Image credit: Future)

PowerA Fusion Pro for Xbox: Performance

Despite my criticism, I can at least say the PowerA Fusion Pro does get the job done as a controller. If you can ignore the awkward d-pad and abrasive textured grips, performance is perfectly reasonable across the board.

A major gripe here, though, is that the 3-step trigger locks just don’t work. When set to the midpoint, you have to squeeze the triggers really quite hard to register the press. And on the most acute setting, the triggers stop working entirely.

This was the case across multiple games I tested with the controller, including Halo Infinite, Fortnite, and Final Fantasy 14 Online. I like a shallow trigger in games like these, as it lets me fire weapons (or access hotbars in the latter’s case) a good deal quicker, but I was unable to do this on the Fusion Pro.

On a more positive note, the Fusion Pro’s battery life exceeded my expectations, coming in at around 25-30 hours when used wirelessly via a 2.4GHz connection. I tested the controller over the course of a week, across both Xbox Series X Digital Edition and PC, and found I didn’t have to charge the controller until my very last few sessions with it. Impressive stuff, and beats many other Xbox controllers - both cheaper and pricier than this one - on battery life overall.

PowerA Fusion Pro

(Image credit: Future)

Should I buy the PowerA Fusion Pro for Xbox?

Buy it if…

You really, really like RGB
I can’t lie, the RGB pattern itself on the PowerA Fusion Pro is really quite lovely, and I like the underlying tribal-like pattern. For me, it’s just a bit too distracting during gameplay, but might be worth checking out if you like color-filled controllers.

Don’t buy it if…

There are better, cheaper options available
You don’t have to spend a fortune on a quality Xbox or PC pad. Most GameSir and 8BitDo controllers, for example, come in well under $100 / £100 while still being replete with desirable features.

Also consider...

I’m being honest here; the PowerA Fusion Pro for Xbox would be a hard sell at most price points. Consider these two excellent alternatives if you’re currently shopping for a new Xbox and/or PC gamepad.

PowerA Fusion Pro

Nacon Revolution X Unlimited

8BitDo Ultimate 2

Price

$169.99 / £149.99 / AU$199.95

$199.99 / £179.99 (around AU$229)

$59.99 / £49.99 (around AU$90)

Weight

1.44lbs / 0.65kg

0.72lbs / 0.33kg

0.54lbs / 0.25kg

Dimensions

6.1 x 4.2 x 2.4in / 156 x 107 x 61mm

6.5 x 4.5 x 2.2in / 164 x 115 x 56mm

5.7 x 4.1 x 2.4in / 147 x 103 x 61mm

Compatibility

Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC

Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC

Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC

Connection type

Wireless (2.4GHz), Wired (USB-C)

Wireless (2.4Ghz, Bluetooth), Wired (USB-C)

Wireless (2.4Ghz, Bluetooth), Wired (USB-C)

Battery life

Around 30 hours

Around 10 hours

10-15 hours

Nacon Revolution X Unlimited
A superb premium controller and one of the brand’s best-ever. This Xbox and PC controller’s unique selling point is its handy on-board LCD display, which lets you quickly customize aspects of your pad and gameplay sessions, including button mapping and headset volume. It’s a real winner for the price.

Read our full Nacon Revolution X Unlimited review

8BitDo Ultimate 2
For a more budget-friendly choice, I can’t recommend the excellent 8BitDo Ultimate 2 enough. Pleasant and subtle RGB ring lights, drift-resistant TMR thumbsticks, and sublime build quality make this one a real budget powerhouse.

Read our full 8BitDo Ultimate 2 review

PowerA Fusion Pro

(Image credit: Future)

How I tested the PowerA Fusion Pro for Xbox

  • Tested for one week
  • Played several games across Xbox and PC
  • Compared to competitors from Razer, Nacon, 8BitDo, and more

I used the PowerA Fusion Pro for Xbox for a week in order to write this review. During that time, I played a wide range of titles on Xbox Series X Digital Edition and PC, including Fortnite, Silent Hill f, Tekken 8, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and much more besides.

Given this controller’s high price point, I compared it directly to similarly priced Xbox gamepad competitors like the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro and Nacon Revolution X Unlimited. These pads are slightly pricier, but offer more satisfying play with better build quality and high-end features (not to mention trigger locks that actually work).

Even then, I found a lot more to love with cheaper controllers, including the GameSir Kaleid and 8BitDo Ultimate 2. Both offer sublime features like Hall effect or TMR thumbsticks, clicky microswitch-powered buttons, and a tasteful amount of RGB that isn’t overly distracting to the eye.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed October 2025

I’ve been testing Shark’s new combo fan and heater, and the cooling is superb but the warming underwhelms
10:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Air Quality Computers Gadgets Home Small Appliances | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat: two-minute review

Product info

This model may have slightly different names and product codes in different territories:

US: Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat TH202
UK: Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat TH200UK

For this review, I tested the US version. There may be minor differences between different countries' models.

I love to consolidate appliances where I can, which is why when I heard about the launch of the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat, I knew I had to try it. Earlier this year, I tested the TurboBlade, a unique tower fan outfitted with arms with vents that blast out cold air and can be adjusted in height, orientation and direction for 360-degree cooling coverage. The Cool + Heat uses the same basic design but adds a small heater between the two fan arms.

There's a massive selection of settings to explore in this combo heater and fan. There are 10 fan speeds and three special fan modes (Sleep Mode, BreezeBoost, and Natural Breeze mode). As a heater, the Thermo IQ mode lets you adjust the temperature between 60-90 degrees Fahrenheit, and there's also a Focus mode for quick room heating, and a Comfort mode for all-day comforting warmth.

Whether cooling or heating, you can choose between 45, 90, and 180-degree oscillation. There's no companion app, but you can adjust most settings using the remote control. Notable exceptions are the arm and vent positions, which have to be shifted by hand, and shifting between hot and cold modes, which requires the flipping of a physical switch. (You can't use the fan and heater together.)

The TurboBlade is one of the best fans I've tested, delivering effective, directional cooling (head to my Shark TurboBlade fan review for my full take on the original model). However, the heating functions left me a little underwhelmed. I expected the heat to come from the arms themselves (arguably the product's USP), rather than a small, fixed central vent, the maximum temperature was cooler than I'd ideally want, and the warming wasn't any more effective than that delivered by my cheap space heater. In all likelihood, you'll have to use it for long periods of time on cold days to keep a room warm. Not to mention, the vents go in one direction, so you'll need to use the oscillation function to ensure the hot air is evenly dispersed.

At list price, the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat is a premium buy (and $100 more than the fan-only TurboBlade). It's quite pricey considering the product can't be controlled by an app and adjusting between the fan and heater isn't hands-free. If you're thinking of buying one, I'd keep an eye out for a deal.

Read on to see how the TurboBlade Cool + Heat performed during various tests.

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat in reviewer's living room

(Image credit: Future)

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat review: price & availability

  • List price: $399.99 / £299.99
  • Launch date: September 2025
  • Availability: US / UK

The Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat launched in September 2025, just eight months after the original Shark TurboBlade was introduced to the market. In the US, the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat comes in three colors – charcoal, white, and dove – and is priced at $399.99.

At time of writing the Cool + Heat has also appeared on the Shark UK website, but is showing as out of stock. The price listed is £299.99. Shark has a presence in Australia but I don't have details on when or if it'll also be available there. The original version of the TurboBlade, without heating, has a list price of $299.99 / £249.99.

Dual-purpose heater-fans are not a new idea – there are plenty on the market, with prices ranging between $40 and $750. The $399.99 price tag puts this fan on the higher end, although there are no other bladeless tower fans with similar designs, so if you love the windmill-style build, it may just be worth the premium price.

That said, I think this price would be easier to swallow if the fan was outfitted with app control, or at the least the capability to adjust the arms, vents, and switch between the fan and heater with the remote. Luckily, Shark isn't afraid of a sale, so hopefully you'll be able to avoid paying list price if you're savvy about when you buy.

You'll find Dyson's heater-fans in a similarly lofty price bracket. Options include the Dyson Hot+Cool Jet Focus AM09 for $469.99, or the Purifier Hot+Cool HP1 (which throws in air purification too) and costs $659.99 / £549.99 / AU$899. (Head to TechRadar's Dyson fan guide for a breakdown of how the options compare.)

  • Value for money score: 3.5 out of 5

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat specs

Size (L x W x H):

13.8 x 11.8 x 45.9 in / 35.1 x 30 x 116.6cm

Cord length:

6ft / 1.8m

Weight:

19.8 lbs / 9kg

Fan speeds:

10

Oscillation:

45, 90, or 180 degrees

Fan modes:

Natural Breeze, Sleep Mode, BreezeBoost

Heater modes:

Thermo IQ, Focus mode,Comfort mode 

Heater temperature range:

60-90F in Thermo IQ mode (equivalent to 15.6-32C)

Controls:

Touchscreen buttons, remote

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat review: design

  • Multidirectional fan arms and vents that can be adjusted extensively
  • Fixed, centrally located heater with vents that open and close
  • Bigger than you'd expect, and heavy

The Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat arrived in several pieces, but took less than five minutes to set up thanks to easy-to-understand instructions. The tower fan features a base and a bladeless fan that comprises two arms at the top of the telescopic pole. These arms can be adjusted horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, and the vents on the arms can also pivot so that air blows up, down, or straight on.

A heater sits between the arms of the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat. The arms can only emit cool air, and the heater – hot air. Above the heater is a vent slider and a switch. The switch must be turned to the blue dot to use the fan, and the red dot to use the heater. If it's turned toward the red dot, you must also use the vent slider to open the heater's vents.

Close up of heater vent on Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat

(Image credit: Future)

Although the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat comes with a remote control, not everything can be controlled by remote. You can set the oscillation to 45, 90, or 180 degrees with the remote, or adjust the angle of the base to your preference. You can also use the remote to set a timer, change the fan speeds, or swap between various heater or fan modes. However, if you want to go from heating to cooling (or vice versa) you'll need to flip the switch manually, you can't adjust the arms and vents of the fan using the remote either.

The remote control is compact and has a digital screen that shows the different modes in use, fan speeds, and oscillation degrees. When not in use, the remote can be stored on the magnetic top part of the fan where instructions are printed. There is also a digital touchscreen on the base that lets you turn the appliance on/off, adjust the display panel brightness, the heater temperature, fan speeds, and oscillation settings. Unfortunately, if you want to utilize one of the six special modes, you'll have to use the remote.

Close up of touchscreen on Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat

(Image credit: Future)

Speaking of modes, the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat is equipped with three fan modes (Sleep, BreezeBoost, and Natural Breeze), and fan speeds between 1-10. The heater has three heat functions: ThermoIQ, which lets you set the desired temperature, as well as Comfort and Focus. Focus is a boost mode for the heater, Comfort delivers soothing warmth over multiple hours.

The SharkTurbo Blade Cool + Heat is bigger than you might expect– check the dimensions before buying – and at 19.8 lbs / 9kg it's not the easiest to move between rooms. If you are shifting it about, make sure the top and base are locked in place or the two will break apart when you move the product from room to room (I learned this the hard way).

  • Design score: 3.5 out of 5

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat review: performance

  • Fan airflow reaches up to 30 ft / 9m away on highest fan speed
  • Heater less hot and less powerful than I'd hoped
  • Cooling is still excellent, with lots of adjustment options

Earlier this year I tested the Shark TurboBlade, and I was a big fan of the unique bladeless fan design and the way you could adjust the vents in different directions. When I heard the brand had taken the same fan and added a heater, I had to test it.

There are differences between the Shark TurboBlade and the TurboBlade Cool + Heat beyond the fact that it has an additional heater. For one, the Cool + Heat has a digital touchscreen on the base that lets you adjust four things: power, brightness of the display panel, oscillation settings, fan speeds, and Thermo IQ temperature.

I opted to use the remote so I didn't have to keep walking back and forth to the fan. The remote fits on the magnetic strip on the top of the back of the fan, and it's the only way to activate the special modes. If I could have my way, the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat would come with app integration too, or at least a remote with the capability to adjust the vents and arms of the fan. I found it frustrating that I had to walk over to the fan and manually shift things about if I wanted to change the angle of air.

Tester controlling the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat with remote

(Image credit: Future)

Let's talk about the fan before we dive into the heating function. The arms can be adjusted horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Combine that with the fact that the vents can be adjusted up, down, or straight on and, you can achieve 360-degree fan coverage of a room. I found this feature extremely useful in my kitchen, where it grows especially warm when I'm cooking on the stove or with the oven.

You can also set the oscillation at 45, 90, or 180 degrees, or simply adjust the angle and have it blow in one spot in the room. There are no sensors to prevent the fan from hitting walls or furniture, so you'll want to keep it clear of other objects.

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat in reviewer's living room

(Image credit: Future)

In 'BreezeBoost' mode, the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat's airflow can be felt as far as 30 feet / 9 meters away, but is much more noticeable at 20 feet / 6 meters. I didn't really need to adjust the fan speed higher than a 5 most of the time. Even a 3 fan setting was sufficient to keep me cool, though I appreciate having the option to increase the airflow right up to 10, or use the BreezeBoost mode on really hot days.

Sleep Mode provided some in-room circulation that I enjoyed at night. Best yet, it wasn't any louder than my ceiling fan. The Natural Breeze Mode mimics natural winds by randomizing the airflow. It is a lovely feature to use indoors when I'm not particularly hot but appreciate a 'breeze' every few seconds or so.

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat in reviewer's living room

(Image credit: Future)

When it comes to the heater, I have mixed opinions. I assumed that the brand would make hot air come out of the arms, but that's not the case. Instead, the designers placed a small rectangular heater in between the arms. If I wanted to use the heater, I had to physically go up to the TurboBlade, flick the switch to heater mode and open the vents.

For the most part, I used the Thermo IQ heater setting, which essentially lets you adjust the hot air between 60-90 degrees Fahrenheit (equivalent to 15.6-32 degrees Celcius – although I assume that'll be rounded up or down when this model comes to the UK). I also utilized the other two modes – Comfort and Focus. I can see buyers using the Comfort mode if they plan to spend a few hours in a room and just want some additional warmth. Focus is better equipped to warm up a room quickly.

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat next to its box in reviewer's home

(Image credit: Future)

The heater airflow isn't that strong. In fact, it didn't matter which mode I used, I could only feel hot air from a maximum of 10 feet / 3 meters away. The airflow from the fan is significantly stronger.

Plus, if you want to feel the full force of the heater, you have to be situated to the left of the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat, because that's where the vents are angled. For that reason, it's necessary to use the oscillation feature when using the heater.

The heater has a maximum temperature of 90F, which is somewhat average on the wider market. I recently tested the Dreame AirPursue PM20 and it has a maximum heater temperature of 104F. I know that some space heaters have a 90F temperature maximum, but for the price, I expected the temperature to be a little higher.

Close up of heater switch on Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat

(Image credit: Future)

I tested how quickly the temperature rose in a room with the doors shut. In Thermo IQ mode, with the target set to the 90F maximum temperature, the room temperature rose from 77 to 83 degrees Fahrenheit in 10 minutes. I ran the same test in the Focus mode and found that the room went from 76 to 84F within 10 minutes. In both cases, it would have taken much longer for the room to heat if I had left the doors open.

It should be noted that my house is very old so I have little insulation and 10-foot ceilings. The room might grow warmer faster if your ceilings are lower and your house is more modern.

As someone whose home gets exceptionally cold in the winter, the heater element could be helpful but I'm not sure if it would be more effective than the small space heater I currently have. I also wish you could use the fan and the heater at the same time – using the lower fan speeds to circulate hot air around a room would have been invaluable.

Like the TurboBlade, the TurboBlade Cool + Heat has a timer that can be set on 1, 2, 4, or 8 hours. I rarely used this feature, but it's a nice option to have. I also like being able to mute the chime on the appliance, and how little maintenance there is beyond dusting the defense panel occasionally. If I could make some slight adjustments to the design, it'd be to add wheels to the bottom of the base. At almost 20 lbs / 9kg, it's not easy to move the fan and heater between rooms. Wheels could alleviate this and make it more accessible to those who may not have the strength to move it as easily.

  • Performance score: 3.5 out of 5

Should you buy the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat?

Attribute

Notes

Rating

Value

A premium-priced fan and heater with lots of modes and settings. I'd expect app control at this price, and there are cheaper, as-effective heater-fan options about. Perhaps wait for a deal.

3.5 / 5

Design

A tower fan with two adjustable arms and a heater centered between them. Rather heavy and bulky. Remote control can adjust most (but not all) settings.

3.5 / 5

Performance

Cools the room quickly thanks to the multidirectional vents and arms, but heater is less impressive. Specialty modes are fun and useful.

3.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a combo fan and heater

Rather than crowd your space with a fan and a heater, you could invest in one product – the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat – which can do both things.

You want an ultra-adjustable fan

In fan mode, the arms and vents of the fan can be angled to blow cool air vertically, diagonally, and horizontally, or even in two directions at the same time. There aren't too many adjustment options for the heater, but you can still make use of the three oscillation settings.

You enjoy a fan and heater with multiple modes

The Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat has six special modes – three for the fan and three for the heater. Adjust the fan speeds and the heater temperature settings to your preference, and you can take advantage of Sleep Mode, BreezeBoost, and Natural Breeze mode for the fan, as well as Thermo IQ, Comfort, and Focus mode for the heater.

Don't buy it if...

You want a really strong heater

While the heater is a nice addition, it's not as effective as I would've liked. The max temperature isn't that hot, and warm air doesn't blow out as forcefully as the cool air from the fan. You'll need to use the oscillation function to ensure the hot air is evenly dispersed, too.

You want complete hands-free control

If you want to switch between the fan and the heater on the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat, you'll have to do it by hand on the appliance itself. Not to mention, the arms and vents can't be adjusted with the remote.

You want maximum value for money

If you forgo the unique adjustable armed design, there are plenty of other products on the market that heat and cool equally as well at a more affordable price. While the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat has some cool special features, it lacks some things I'd expect at this price – app control, for one. Perhaps it's best to wait until this product is on sale.

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat vs TurboBlade

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat (reviewed)

Shark TurboBlade

Size (L x W x H):

13.8 x 11.8 x 45.9 in / 35.1 x 30 x 116.6cm

11.8 x 31.6 x 44.8 in / 29.9 x 80.2 x 113.9cm

Cord length:

6ft / 1.8m

6ft / 1.8m

Weight:

19.8 lbs / 9kg

15 lbs / 8.8kg

Fan speeds:

10

10

Oscillation:

45, 90, or 180 degrees

45, 90, or 180 degrees

Fan modes:

Natural Breeze, Sleep Mode, BreezeBoost

Natural Breeze, Sleep Mode, BreezeBoost

Heater modes:

Thermo IQ, Focus mode,Comfort mode 

N/A

Heater temperature range:

60-90F in Thermo IQ mode (equivalent to 15.6-32C)

N/A

Controls:

Touchscreen, remote

Buttons, remote

Shark TurboBlade

The original TurboBlade doesn't have any heat functions – it's purely for cooling. There's also no touchscreen on the base, nor a display on the remote control. Otherwise, the two are very similar, with the same fan options and settings.

Read my full Shark TurboBlade review

How I tested the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat

I tested the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat for over a week in my house in Texas in September. It was still pretty warm outside, so while I used the fan most of the time to aid in cooling down my home, I made sure to test the heating element to provide a full breakdown of how it works and how quickly it warms a room. I tested all the special modes, and compared the performance to other similar appliances I've used.

Read more about how we test

  • First reviewed October 2025
Frankenstein is the Mary Shelley adaptation of my dreams – and it’s now my new favorite del Toro movie
4:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Entertainment Gadgets Streaming | Comments: Off

The stubborn part of me was convinced I would always consider Pan's Labyrinth to be the finest Guillermo del Toro movie. Then the new Netflix movie Frankenstein was unleashed, and it changed everything.

When someone as great as del Toro can outdo himself, it makes me even more hopeful for his future as a filmmaker. Once again, he made me cry with a sympathetic, tense, and utterly beautiful movie, the kind of offering that makes me remember why I fell in love with film in the first place.

Yes, it really is that good. Literature lovers among us may be concerned that it doesn't retell Shelley's story to the letter, but you needn't be, as del Toro's version offers a different perspective and does it very well.

Indeed, he even spoke about this in an Empire interview where he said, "The best moments in my mind of Frankenstein, of the novel, are yet to be filmed". So he set out to tell said best moments, resulting in this beautiful movie.

I really do mean it when I say beautiful, both in terms of its story and how it looks visually. I'm used to del Toro's movies being well-crafted, and he was right to partner with cinematographer Dan Laustsen, who he worked with on the Oscar-winning The Shape of Water.

Alexandre Desplat has composed many of my favorite scores, such as The Grand Budapest Hotel and again, The Shape of Water, so there's some familiar names here, and this makes for a beautiful collaboration. A movie like this shines when there's a great score alongside it, and trust me, you'll get that here.

That's not the only similarity Frankenstein shares with The Shape of Water, either, as both made me cry a lot. I do tend to cry at many movies, admittedly, but no one tugs at my heartstrings quite like this guy. I will always be obsessed with del Toro's sympathetic lens and how he crafts his characters.

Jacob Elordi's The Creature is as captivating to watch as it is heartbreaking. We see the world through his eyes, a technique I always love, which was done wonderfully in Leigh Whannell's Wolf Man, too. Forcing us to see things from a seemingly impossible perspective, a place we will never be, is jarring and makes for an excellent narrative device.

It's not all doom and gloom, though, as his signature brand of wonder does shine brightly at times. Amid the horrors, there's hope and innocence, something that brings me back to his movies over and over. We get to see as much light as we do darkness, taking us on a rollercoaster of ups and downs. While it is a bleak story, of course, it's balanced with this overarching feeling of empathy that stays with you long after you leave the theater.

Frankenstein is best seen on the biggest screen possible

Victor Frankenstein is played equally as brilliantly by Oscar Isaac, embodying the spirit of a man who is ostracized but refuses to give up, a complicated man who has long been the subject of many literary debates. He's a traumatized, obsessed man, rich in complexities. This comes across brilliantly in Isaac's performance.

The entire ensemble is excellent, with huge names like Mia Goth (she really is a star, like her iconic horror character Pearl professes), Charles Dance, Ralph Ineson, and Christoph Waltz rounding out the cast. Nobody is wasted here; I was impressed by every role.

This is only elevated by beautiful costumes and set design, which have transportive powers at the best of times, but I couldn't believe that 2 hours and 30 minutes had passed. It really does fly by, and I can't wait to watch it all over again.

I urge people to go and see Frankenstein as soon as possible. Its arrival on Netflix does mean more people will get to see it, but it's best experienced in theaters if you can. It's a cinematic feast for the eyes and should be seen on the biggest, loudest screen possible.

When it does arrive on Netflix, I highly recommend checking out del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities, too, to further satisfy your grisly cravings. What better way to celebrate Halloween than that?

You might also like

I love this headphone amp/DAC’s confident sound, but it’s far from the only game in town
12:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers DACs Gadgets Hi-Fi | Comments: Off

FiiO QX13: Two-minute review

Another day inevitably brings another FiiO product – and today’s FiiO product is the QX13 USB headphone amp/DAC. It’s an established product type, sure, but anyone with even a passing interest in the company knows FiiO seldom does things by halves.

So $219 / £199 / AU$349 buys a small, beautifully made device built from either carbon fiber or aluminum, and fronted by some heftily toughened glass. On the inside there’s the usual FiiO over-engineering, from the ESS SAbre DAC arrangement to the Texas Instruments amplification, and on the outside there are a couple of audio outputs, and a small and extremely informative full-colour display (ideal for those who can read all the way down to the bottom line in the opticians without any help). FiiO even provides a protective leather case that attaches magnetically to your iOS or Android device in the interests of both tidiness and swankiness.

Connect via USB-C to a smartphone, games machine, laptop or anything else that could do with an audio leg-up, and the improvements are both obvious and wide-ranging. In almost every respect, but especially where soundstaging, detail retrieval and dynamic impetus are concerned, the QX13 is a significant step on in quality.

If it wasn’t for the device’s tendency to hit treble sounds with quite such vigor, it would be approaching ‘ideal’ and be part of the best portable DACs around.

FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC in its magnetic protective casing on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

FiiO QX13 review: Price and release date

  • Release date: July 2025
  • Price: $219 / £199 / AU$349

The FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC is on sale now, and in the United States it sells for $219. In the United Kingdom it's around $219, while in Australia it goes for something like AU$349.

This puts it towards the top of the ‘USB headphone amp/DAC dongle’ market but, as we shall see, FiiO has done its best to make that price seem fair enough…

FiiO QX13 review: Features

  • ESS Sabre ES9027SPRO DAC
  • Texas Instruments op-amps
  • Powerful ‘desktop’ mode

You’ve got to hand it to FiiO – it hasn’t let the requirement for the QX13 to be as compact as possible prevent it absolutely piling on the specification.

At the heart of the product is an ESS Sabre ES9027SPRO digital-to-analog conversion chipset. Capable of dealing with resolutions up to a giddy 32bit/768kHz and DSD512, it features eight channels arranged in parallel and a couple of low-noise ES9312 regulators dealing with output matching on each audio channel. Amplification is provided by half a dozen Texas Instruments op-amps arranged to reduce crosstalk and minimize interference.

Thanks to this optimized layout and also to the efficiency of its heat dissipation, the QX13 can deliver comparable power to full-size headphone amplifiers when it's in ‘desktop’ mode. Meanwhile, its high-precision power regulator can adjust the headphone amplification where gain and output power is concerned, in real time.

Part of the efficiency of the heat dissipation is thanks to the carefully shielded digital and analog boards. This also, of course, allows for more precise signal processing at every stage. Once it’s decoded from digital to analog, the signal passes through several stages of expansion and enhancement in an effort to deliver as complete an account of the information as possible.

There’s more, of course – there’s always more when FiiO is involved. The use of XMOS crystal oscillators allows the QX13 to be compatible with the 10-band lossless PEQ that’s available via the web or the Android FiiO control app. UAC 1.0 mode means the QX13 is compatible with PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and other gaming devices. It’s compatible with the company’s compact ‘ESTICK’ power bank.

But by now you get the picture – FiiO seemingly has a limitless supply of kitchen sinks it’s prepared to throw at every device it manufactures.

Features score: 5 / 5

FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

FiiO QX13 review: Sound quality

  • Positive, detailed sound
  • Spacious and organized presentation
  • Rather over-confident high-frequency reproduction

Unsurprisingly, the FiiO QX13 passes the first test (‘does it improve on the unassisted sound of the average laptop or smartphone?’) in quite some style. It’s an altogether fuller, more convincing and more enjoyable listen than you can achieve simply by plugging your headphones into the output socket of a device like this.

It’s a remarkably open and organized listen. The soundstage it creates during a 24bit/96kHz FLAC file of Paul Simon’s 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover is expansive, carefully controlled and equally carefully laid out. Each element of recording relates naturalistically to each other, but each has a discrete pocket of space in which to operate; the sound is at once focused, unified and spacious. The spaces between each element are given the necessary prominence, and the QX13 keeps these silences very dark indeed.

Frequency response is fairly even. From the bottom end to the very top, the FiiO gives every area more-or-less equal emphasis – it’s slightly tilted towards the higher frequencies, but not fatally so. And at every point, it identifies, retains and reveals an impressive amount of detail. If there is minor, fleeting information regarding tone or texture in a recording, the QX13 has no problem placing it in convincing context.

It’s similarly adept when it comes to the dynamics of harmonic variation in a voice or an instrument, too, and where the broad dynamic shifts in intensity during a 16bit/48kHz FLAC file of Beak’s Carob Honey are concerned, the QX13 fairly steams through them. The amount of dynamic headroom it has available is significant.

The bottom of the frequency range is tightly controlled, and the attack and decay of individual notes and/or hits is so closely observed that rhythmic expression is confident and direct. The midrange communicates in the same positive, eloquent way; there’s really no mistaking a vocalist's attitude when they’re described by the FiiO.

From the lowest frequencies to the highest, there’s a common tonality to the QX13’s presentation that creates a strong impression of singularity and of ‘performance’. At the top of the frequency range, though, the FiiO overplays its hand just a little. It attacks high-frequency information with absolute zeal, and it doesn’t take much (even a mild lack of sympathy where source machine, content or partnering headphones are concerned will do it) for treble sounds to become slightly hard and overly assertive.

This is what I mean by ‘slightly titled towards the higher frequencies’, and it’s this trait that means the QX13 doesn’t pass the second test (“does it represent value for money when judged against its peers?”) with anything like the same breeziness as it does the first. That this FiiO has a fistful of sonic talents is not up for question, but whether it’s the best-sounding device of its type and price must remain a live question.

Sound quality score: 4 / 5

Display of the FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC, showing speed playback options, on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

FiiO QX13 review: Design

  • Carbon-fiber or aluminum construction
  • Magnetic leather case for ultimate iPhone convenience
  • 64 x 31 x 13mm (HxWxD)

You’ve two choices where the finish of your QX13 is concerned: carbon-fiber or aluminum.

The former consists of 21 layers of material that adds up, according to FiiO, to a device that’s six times stronger than steel. This version of the QX13 weighs in at just 33.7g, whereas the aluminum alternative is a whole 39.2g, but it does feature a laser-engraved rear panel that, suggests FiiO, makes for an ‘elegant yet advanced’ appearance. Mind you, you won’t be seeing much of either material if you slip the QX13 into its protective leather case. FiiO has, in one of those ‘so simple it’s brilliant’ moments of inspiration, made the case magnetic - so it will cling to your iPhone in the manner of a MagSafe. If you’re an Android user, there’s a magnetic ring provided in the packaging to perform the same function.

The little 64 x 31 x 13mm (HxWxD) device is beautifully made, no matter the material you prefer, and the standard of finish is very good, too. FiiO is to be congratulated on its use of third-generation Corning high-strength glass for the majority of the front panel – its scratch-resistance is second to none.

Design score: 5 / 5

Cover for the FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

FiiO QX13 review: Usability & setup

  • 50.5mm IPS screen
  • Hybrid 3.5mm output
  • 60- and 120-step volume adjustment scales

As far as setting up the QX13 goes, things couldn’t really be more straightforward. It features two USB-C sockets, one of which is for charging the battery and the other for data transfer – both can be connected simultaneously, and FiiO provides a short length of braided USB-C / USB-C cable to help.

There’s a switch to engage or disengage ‘desktop’ mode, and at the top of the device there are 3.5mm and balanced 4.4mm output sockets. The smaller one can be specified as an SPDIF if you want to connect your QX13 to a larger system digitally, so it’s just a question of making the necessary connections and away you go.

Or, at least, away you go provided you have the required dexterity to get the FiiO set up to your satisfaction. The screen is bright and clear, most certainly - but it tries to include too much information in one go (file type, file size, volume level, mode confirmation, UAC type, EQ setting, you name it). The set-up menus themselves are typically FiiO in their thoroughness but the size of the font that’s been used is necessarily small, and the few physical buttons available to navigate them are small too.

Ideally you’ll have eyes like a hawk and fingers like cocktail sticks. Otherwise there could be a fair bit of back-and-forth to get what you want, and some squinting to ensure you’ve got it once the device is functioning.

Usability & setup score: 3.5 / 5

3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced ports of the FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

FiiO QX13 review: Value

You can’t judge the value for money of a product like this on the basis of the amount of stuff your money buys – a portable USB DAC/headphone amp needs to be small and light. No, you judge it on the way it’s made, the way it’s finished, the way it’s specified and, most importantly, the way it makes your USB-C device and headphones sound.

And in all these respects, it’s very decent value for money indeed, but the quirks of its audio character mean it’s not quite the no-brainer FiiO was undoubtedly hoping for.

Value score: 4 / 5

FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

Should you buy FiiO QX13?

Buy it if...

Your USB-C-equipped device could do with some audio assistance
The QX13 improves on the native sound of smartphones and laptops to quite a degree.

You have some good wired headphones
And if you have some good wired headphones on a cable that terminates in a balanced 4.4mm connection, even better.

You admire some thorough (and small-scale) engineering
How does FiiO squeeze it all in? It’s a question as old as electricity itself…

Don't buy it if...

Your eyesight isn’t all it might be
Some of the information displayed on the screen is beyond ‘tiny’.

Your fingers are of similar size to those of King Charles III
The physical controls require deft, rather than sausagey, digits.

You’re especially sensitive to high-frequency sound
The FiiO attacks the top of the frequency range in quite determined fashion.

FiiO QX13 review: Also consider

Helm Audio Bolt
It’s not as thoroughly specified as the FiiO QX13, but the Helm Audio Bolt is not to be underestimated where audio quality is concerned. If you can live without a display and a magnetic holster, this is a very compelling alternative.
Read our in-depth Helm Audio Bolt review to learn more

Magnetic case of the FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

How I tested the FiiO QX 13

  • Various headphones
  • Various audio file types and sizes
  • Various sources of music

I mostly used the FiiO QX13 with my Apple MacBook Pro, but I also tried it out with a Google Pixel 8 smartphone and a FiiO M15S. Two of these three products benefited no end from the QX13’s d-to-a conversion and headphone amplification.

I listened to plenty of music of various genres, various file sizes and types, and I listened for well in excess of a working week.

First reviewed October 2025

I love this headphone amp/DAC’s confident sound, but it’s far from the only game in town
12:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers DACs Gadgets Hi-Fi | Comments: Off

FiiO QX13: Two-minute review

Another day inevitably brings another FiiO product – and today’s FiiO product is the QX13 USB headphone amp/DAC. It’s an established product type, sure, but anyone with even a passing interest in the company knows FiiO seldom does things by halves.

So $219 / £199 / AU$349 buys a small, beautifully made device built from either carbon fiber or aluminum, and fronted by some heftily toughened glass. On the inside there’s the usual FiiO over-engineering, from the ESS SAbre DAC arrangement to the Texas Instruments amplification, and on the outside there are a couple of audio outputs, and a small and extremely informative full-colour display (ideal for those who can read all the way down to the bottom line in the opticians without any help). FiiO even provides a protective leather case that attaches magnetically to your iOS or Android device in the interests of both tidiness and swankiness.

Connect via USB-C to a smartphone, games machine, laptop or anything else that could do with an audio leg-up, and the improvements are both obvious and wide-ranging. In almost every respect, but especially where soundstaging, detail retrieval and dynamic impetus are concerned, the QX13 is a significant step on in quality.

If it wasn’t for the device’s tendency to hit treble sounds with quite such vigor, it would be approaching ‘ideal’ and be part of the best portable DACs around.

FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC in its magnetic protective casing on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

FiiO QX13 review: Price and release date

  • Release date: July 2025
  • Price: $219 / £199 / AU$349

The FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC is on sale now, and in the United States it sells for $219. In the United Kingdom it's around $219, while in Australia it goes for something like AU$349.

This puts it towards the top of the ‘USB headphone amp/DAC dongle’ market but, as we shall see, FiiO has done its best to make that price seem fair enough…

FiiO QX13 review: Features

  • ESS Sabre ES9027SPRO DAC
  • Texas Instruments op-amps
  • Powerful ‘desktop’ mode

You’ve got to hand it to FiiO – it hasn’t let the requirement for the QX13 to be as compact as possible prevent it absolutely piling on the specification.

At the heart of the product is an ESS Sabre ES9027SPRO digital-to-analog conversion chipset. Capable of dealing with resolutions up to a giddy 32bit/768kHz and DSD512, it features eight channels arranged in parallel and a couple of low-noise ES9312 regulators dealing with output matching on each audio channel. Amplification is provided by half a dozen Texas Instruments op-amps arranged to reduce crosstalk and minimize interference.

Thanks to this optimized layout and also to the efficiency of its heat dissipation, the QX13 can deliver comparable power to full-size headphone amplifiers when it's in ‘desktop’ mode. Meanwhile, its high-precision power regulator can adjust the headphone amplification where gain and output power is concerned, in real time.

Part of the efficiency of the heat dissipation is thanks to the carefully shielded digital and analog boards. This also, of course, allows for more precise signal processing at every stage. Once it’s decoded from digital to analog, the signal passes through several stages of expansion and enhancement in an effort to deliver as complete an account of the information as possible.

There’s more, of course – there’s always more when FiiO is involved. The use of XMOS crystal oscillators allows the QX13 to be compatible with the 10-band lossless PEQ that’s available via the web or the Android FiiO control app. UAC 1.0 mode means the QX13 is compatible with PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and other gaming devices. It’s compatible with the company’s compact ‘ESTICK’ power bank.

But by now you get the picture – FiiO seemingly has a limitless supply of kitchen sinks it’s prepared to throw at every device it manufactures.

Features score: 5 / 5

FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

FiiO QX13 review: Sound quality

  • Positive, detailed sound
  • Spacious and organized presentation
  • Rather over-confident high-frequency reproduction

Unsurprisingly, the FiiO QX13 passes the first test (‘does it improve on the unassisted sound of the average laptop or smartphone?’) in quite some style. It’s an altogether fuller, more convincing and more enjoyable listen than you can achieve simply by plugging your headphones into the output socket of a device like this.

It’s a remarkably open and organized listen. The soundstage it creates during a 24bit/96kHz FLAC file of Paul Simon’s 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover is expansive, carefully controlled and equally carefully laid out. Each element of recording relates naturalistically to each other, but each has a discrete pocket of space in which to operate; the sound is at once focused, unified and spacious. The spaces between each element are given the necessary prominence, and the QX13 keeps these silences very dark indeed.

Frequency response is fairly even. From the bottom end to the very top, the FiiO gives every area more-or-less equal emphasis – it’s slightly tilted towards the higher frequencies, but not fatally so. And at every point, it identifies, retains and reveals an impressive amount of detail. If there is minor, fleeting information regarding tone or texture in a recording, the QX13 has no problem placing it in convincing context.

It’s similarly adept when it comes to the dynamics of harmonic variation in a voice or an instrument, too, and where the broad dynamic shifts in intensity during a 16bit/48kHz FLAC file of Beak’s Carob Honey are concerned, the QX13 fairly steams through them. The amount of dynamic headroom it has available is significant.

The bottom of the frequency range is tightly controlled, and the attack and decay of individual notes and/or hits is so closely observed that rhythmic expression is confident and direct. The midrange communicates in the same positive, eloquent way; there’s really no mistaking a vocalist's attitude when they’re described by the FiiO.

From the lowest frequencies to the highest, there’s a common tonality to the QX13’s presentation that creates a strong impression of singularity and of ‘performance’. At the top of the frequency range, though, the FiiO overplays its hand just a little. It attacks high-frequency information with absolute zeal, and it doesn’t take much (even a mild lack of sympathy where source machine, content or partnering headphones are concerned will do it) for treble sounds to become slightly hard and overly assertive.

This is what I mean by ‘slightly titled towards the higher frequencies’, and it’s this trait that means the QX13 doesn’t pass the second test (“does it represent value for money when judged against its peers?”) with anything like the same breeziness as it does the first. That this FiiO has a fistful of sonic talents is not up for question, but whether it’s the best-sounding device of its type and price must remain a live question.

Sound quality score: 4 / 5

Display of the FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC, showing speed playback options, on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

FiiO QX13 review: Design

  • Carbon-fiber or aluminum construction
  • Magnetic leather case for ultimate iPhone convenience
  • 64 x 31 x 13mm (HxWxD)

You’ve two choices where the finish of your QX13 is concerned: carbon-fiber or aluminum.

The former consists of 21 layers of material that adds up, according to FiiO, to a device that’s six times stronger than steel. This version of the QX13 weighs in at just 33.7g, whereas the aluminum alternative is a whole 39.2g, but it does feature a laser-engraved rear panel that, suggests FiiO, makes for an ‘elegant yet advanced’ appearance. Mind you, you won’t be seeing much of either material if you slip the QX13 into its protective leather case. FiiO has, in one of those ‘so simple it’s brilliant’ moments of inspiration, made the case magnetic - so it will cling to your iPhone in the manner of a MagSafe. If you’re an Android user, there’s a magnetic ring provided in the packaging to perform the same function.

The little 64 x 31 x 13mm (HxWxD) device is beautifully made, no matter the material you prefer, and the standard of finish is very good, too. FiiO is to be congratulated on its use of third-generation Corning high-strength glass for the majority of the front panel – its scratch-resistance is second to none.

Design score: 5 / 5

Cover for the FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

FiiO QX13 review: Usability & setup

  • 50.5mm IPS screen
  • Hybrid 3.5mm output
  • 60- and 120-step volume adjustment scales

As far as setting up the QX13 goes, things couldn’t really be more straightforward. It features two USB-C sockets, one of which is for charging the battery and the other for data transfer – both can be connected simultaneously, and FiiO provides a short length of braided USB-C / USB-C cable to help.

There’s a switch to engage or disengage ‘desktop’ mode, and at the top of the device there are 3.5mm and balanced 4.4mm output sockets. The smaller one can be specified as an SPDIF if you want to connect your QX13 to a larger system digitally, so it’s just a question of making the necessary connections and away you go.

Or, at least, away you go provided you have the required dexterity to get the FiiO set up to your satisfaction. The screen is bright and clear, most certainly - but it tries to include too much information in one go (file type, file size, volume level, mode confirmation, UAC type, EQ setting, you name it). The set-up menus themselves are typically FiiO in their thoroughness but the size of the font that’s been used is necessarily small, and the few physical buttons available to navigate them are small too.

Ideally you’ll have eyes like a hawk and fingers like cocktail sticks. Otherwise there could be a fair bit of back-and-forth to get what you want, and some squinting to ensure you’ve got it once the device is functioning.

Usability & setup score: 3.5 / 5

3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced ports of the FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

FiiO QX13 review: Value

You can’t judge the value for money of a product like this on the basis of the amount of stuff your money buys – a portable USB DAC/headphone amp needs to be small and light. No, you judge it on the way it’s made, the way it’s finished, the way it’s specified and, most importantly, the way it makes your USB-C device and headphones sound.

And in all these respects, it’s very decent value for money indeed, but the quirks of its audio character mean it’s not quite the no-brainer FiiO was undoubtedly hoping for.

Value score: 4 / 5

FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

Should you buy FiiO QX13?

Buy it if...

Your USB-C-equipped device could do with some audio assistance
The QX13 improves on the native sound of smartphones and laptops to quite a degree.

You have some good wired headphones
And if you have some good wired headphones on a cable that terminates in a balanced 4.4mm connection, even better.

You admire some thorough (and small-scale) engineering
How does FiiO squeeze it all in? It’s a question as old as electricity itself…

Don't buy it if...

Your eyesight isn’t all it might be
Some of the information displayed on the screen is beyond ‘tiny’.

Your fingers are of similar size to those of King Charles III
The physical controls require deft, rather than sausagey, digits.

You’re especially sensitive to high-frequency sound
The FiiO attacks the top of the frequency range in quite determined fashion.

FiiO QX13 review: Also consider

Helm Audio Bolt
It’s not as thoroughly specified as the FiiO QX13, but the Helm Audio Bolt is not to be underestimated where audio quality is concerned. If you can live without a display and a magnetic holster, this is a very compelling alternative.
Read our in-depth Helm Audio Bolt review to learn more

Magnetic case of the FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

How I tested the FiiO QX 13

  • Various headphones
  • Various audio file types and sizes
  • Various sources of music

I mostly used the FiiO QX13 with my Apple MacBook Pro, but I also tried it out with a Google Pixel 8 smartphone and a FiiO M15S. Two of these three products benefited no end from the QX13’s d-to-a conversion and headphone amplification.

I listened to plenty of music of various genres, various file sizes and types, and I listened for well in excess of a working week.

First reviewed October 2025

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