Audioengine A2+ review

Designed for desktop use, and living rooms where even bookshelf monitors claim too much space, this compact Bluetooth speaker package from Audioengine punches above its weight when it comes to versatility and design. But can the A2+ also hit the right notes when it comes to musicality?

I fostered a pair, eager to find out if pint-sized speakers really can deliver a reassuringly big sound to match the best stereo speakers.

The Audioengine A2+ Bluetooth speakers are tailored for near-field listening. Measuring a mere 152 x 101 x 134mm, these titchy enclosures offer a wealth of connectivity, including Bluetooth aptX-HD, USB, and analogue stereo input/outputs via RCA phonos and 3.5mm minijack. They lack a digital audio input though.

Available in a choice of matte (blue or black), and gloss finishes (red or white), build quality is excellent. My glossy red review set oozed premium appeal, their reflective glossy finish contrasting beautifully with the black drivers.

The cabinets themselves have decent heft. Made from MDF, they stand just slightly taller than a Snickers bar and should be easy to accommodate on untidy desks, or even as part of a minimalist Hi-Fi setup.

The left speaker is the active model, with connectivity, built-in amplification and volume control, while the right is its passive partner. The power supply is separate from the active enclosure, thankfully the brick isn’t too large.

Each cabinet houses a 70mm aramid fibre woofer and 19mm silk dome tweeter, with venting at the base to enhance low-frequency performance.

Unsurprisingly, given their size, these speakers are not volume monsters. The system is rated at 15W RMS per channel at 4 ohms, with a peak power output of 30W per channel.

When it comes to system configuration, there’s the option of USB audio, stereo RCA inputs, and a 3.5mm minijack input. There’s also a subwoofer output should you want to add extra bass, in the form of Audioengine’s S6 subwoofer.

Despite this versatility, I expect most buyers will probably do the majority of their listening via Bluetooth. Here, aptX HD ensures high-resolution wireless audio streaming (when connected to an aptX HD compatible smartphone), though there's no Wi-Fi, unlike most of the best wireless speakers. My system was ready to connect as soon as it powered up.

Also included in the box are 2m of connecting speaker wire, a minijack audio cable, plus a USB lead to connect your PC. All of this, plus the speakers, comes packed in microfiber cloth bags for protection. There’s no remote control included (although you probably don’t need one).

Setup is nice and straightforward: just connect the passive right speaker to the powered left with the included speaker cable, connect the power brick, and you’re good to go.

It’s worth noting that the A2+ is not a smart system; there’s no voice assistance from the likes of Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

Straight from the box, the A2+ are an enjoyable listen, not least because they’re capable of true stereo imaging, something of a rarity in the predominantly one-box Bluetooth speaker market. Tracks like Stevie Nicks’ Edge of Seventeen showcase this well, with the choppy guitar riff anchored on the left and percussion neatly spread across the stage. Their spatial presentation is coherent and involving.

Clarity and detail are also good; the A2+ reward hi-res audio sources, finding subtle nuance in Pearl Jam’s Present Tense (24-bit/48kHz) and Radiohead’s sonically layered Burn the Witch (24-bit/48kHz). They definitely have a knack for detail retrieval.

Given their compact size, low frequency performance is understandably limited. Chase and Status’ thumping Baddadan lacks the visceral low-end thump associated with this drum and bass belter. If you want more slam, you’ll need to add that subwoofer.

The mid-range is the sweet spot here. From Dire Straits’ Sultans of Swing, where the interplay between tweeter and woofer handles intricate riffs effortlessly, to the soaring piano of In This Moment’s Into the Light, the A2+ system proves adept across genres – those treble highs always as clear as crystal.

I’d hesitate to call the A2+ speakers musical, though. I never felt myself carried away by its beats, and I was always aware sounds were emanating from the two shiny enclosures, rather than hanging in the air before me. That said, what the A2+ offers is precise and performative.

Loren Allred’s pleading vocals in Never Enough, from The Greatest Showman soundtrack, manages to elicit an emotional tingle, exactly as it should.

While 15W per channel is perfect for desktop use (Audioengine optimistically quotes 60W peak power output), these speakers struggle to serve larger rooms. They’re also quite directional, sounding sharpest when aimed squarely at eye/ear level, so position accordingly.

Audioengine A2+ review: Price & release date

• £255 / $269 / AU$449
• Launched August 2024

The Audioengine A2+ Bluetooth speakers are available now for £255 or $269 (US), which undercuts many of their main rivals, including the likes of the Kanto Ren, which are around twice the price.

The S6 subwoofer (£299 / $299) pushes up the system price quite considerably, though, and you certainly can find other Bluetooth stereo speakers for a similar price or cheaper, including from the likes of Edifier and Majority.

Audioengine A2+ review: Specs

Should you buy the Audioengine A2+?

Buy them if…

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Audioengine A2+ review: Also consider

How I tested the Audioengine A2+

Over the course of a week, I evaluated the Audioengine A2+ in various settings, focusing on near-field desktop use. Material was streamed via aptX HD Bluetooth and played through a wired high-resolution music player. Tracks ranged from classic rock to EDM and orchestral pieces, allowing me to assess tonal balance, clarity, and stereo imaging.

Speaker width was dictated by the supplied speaker cable which links the two enclosures, which were positioned at head height (or thereabouts) for optimal performance.

• First reviewed: March 2025
• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Sonus Faber Lumina II: Two minute review

Since the early 1980s, Sonus Faber has been creating high-performance, high-end loudspeakers and charging a (generally perfectly justifiable) arm and a leg for them. But in a move not many people saw coming, the company decided to democratize its ‘Made in Italy’ cachet by launching a pair of speakers that sell for an almost-mainstream $1,499 / £999 /AU$2,200 per pair. They’re called the Sonus Faber Lumina II.

In many ways, the Lumina II are Sonus Faber business as usual. The standard of build and finish is impeccable, the materials are premium (although the company’s customary use of real leather will no doubt alienate as many people as it excites), the look is sophisticated and understated. And, sure enough, there’s a little ‘Made in Italy’ sticker on the cabinet's rear, just to let you know you're dealing with something a little special even among the heady brands that make the best stereo speakers.

In many ways, the Sonus Faber Lumina II sound like their money’s-worth, as well as looking and feeling like it. They’re a balanced, insightful and nicely detailed listen, are able to organize a soundstage well, and with unarguable talent where frequency response and tonal fidelity are concerned. No, they’re far from the punchiest speakers around – they run out of meaningful puff quite early in the bass frequencies – and they’re not enthusiastic about bigger volume levels, either.

But for some people, the fact that this is Sonus Faber we’re talking about will be enough to overlook these (admittedly fairly mild) shortcomings. The harder-headed consumer, though, knows that the Sonus Faber Lumina II are far from the only choice at this sort of money – the likes of the KEF LS50 Meta loom large.

Sonus Faber Lumina II review: Price and release date

• Released June 15, 2021
• $1,499 / £999 / AU$2,199

The Sonus Faber Lumina II are on sale now, and in the United Kingdom a pair will cost you £999. In the United States, you’re looking at $1,499, while in Australia they’ll set you back AU$2,199.

Passive standmounting speakers at this sort of money are not exactly a rarity, of course. So, apart from the ‘handmade in Italy’ cachet, what does Sonus Faber have up its beautifully tailored sleeve?

Sonus Faber Lumina II review: Features

• 29mm ‘damped apex dome’ tweeter
• 150mm pulp/fibre mid/bass driver
• Front-facing bass reflex port

As a pair of small and (relatively) affordable passive loudspeakers, the Sonus Faber Lumina II aren’t exactly awash with features, but those they have are of high quality and are utterly fit for purpose.

So, reading from the top of the front of each speaker, there’s a 29mm tweeter of Sonus Faber’s own ‘damped apex dome’ design, which features a silk diaphragm and is mounted using a visco-elastic baffle to effectively isolate the vibration it produces from the cabinet. Below here there’s a 150mm mid/bass driver – a cone made from a combination of natural fibres and cellulose pulp. It sits in what Sonus Faber describes as an ‘ultra-free compression basket’, and the promise is of high linearity and dynamic performance.

The speakers stand on a little plastic plinth – there’s a little gap between the main cabinet and the plinth where a bass reflex port faces forwards. This makes the Lumina II nicely forgiving of positioning in your room, notwithstanding a few rather unusual positioning issues thrown up further down in the ‘design’ section.

The overall arrangement is good for a frequency response of 55Hz - 24kHz, according to Sonus Faber. Crossover is at an unremarkable 1.8kHz, sensitivity is an equally ordinary 85dB, and nominal impedance is four ohms. The manufacturer suggests that any worthwhile amplifier with 50 watts or more available should be able to drive the Lumina II without issues.

• Features score: 4 / 5

Sonus Faber Lumina II review: Sound quality

• Detailed and spacious presentation
• Organized and unflappable…
• …unless you decide to listen at bigger volumes

If you’re familiar with any of Sonus Faber’s products from the turn of the century onwards, the overall emphasis of the Lumina II sound isn’t going to come as much of a surprise. No matter the sort of stuff you like to listen to, and no matter the source of it, these speakers are a balanced, naturalistic and periodically absorbing listen.

The tonal balance of the Lumina II is carefully neutral, so a nicely organic recording like Nico’s The Fairest of the Seasons enjoys a true-to-life depiction of the small string section, acoustic guitar, and expressive and unmistakable vocal. There’s plenty of detail revealed and contextualized at every part of the frequency range, and the Sonus Faber travel from top to bottom in a smooth and undemonstrative manner. No part of the frequency range gets overstated and, apart from the very lowest frequencies, no part is underplayed. The crossover between tweeter and mid/bass driver is all-but imperceptible.

The speakers do good work with harmonic variations, and are quite explicit where soundstaging is concerned, too. There’s a respectable degree of dynamic headroom available, and a willingness to track even the smaller changes in attack or intensity carefully.

Switch to a copy of Aw, Shoot! by CMAT and the Lumina II’s ability to open up a fairly compressed and dense recording is straightforwardly impressive. It can create appreciable space on the soundstage, and where less accomplished speakers present this recording as a sort of aural wedding cake, with element piled on top of element, the Sonus Faber bring some order to bear. Detail levels are good all over again, and the ability to tease out the finer, more transient occurrences in a recording and let them enjoy a little breathing space is not to be sniffed at.

There’s appreciable bite and shine at the top of the frequency range, but nothing too threatening or hard-edged – there’s real refinement to the treble response here. The midrange is eloquent and revealing, and – up to a point – low frequencies are just as substantial and well-resolved as everything going on above them.

The Lumina II don’t so much run out of extension at the bottom of the frequency range – not by the standards of reasonably compact standmounters, anyway – as run out of conviction. There’s a lack of power and drive towards the bottom of their frequency response which can make for a slightly lightweight rendition of whatever it is you’re listening to. Low frequencies are nicely controlled, so rhythmic expression is convincing, but outright ‘punch’ is in rather short supply.

It’s equally safe to say that volume is a factor in the Sonus Faber comfort zone. At moderate volumes the Lumina II are a composed, insightful and well-organized listen, with talents that extend well beyond ‘unflappability’. But if you up the ante, volume-wise, a fair bit of that composure deserts them, along with some of their powers of organization. The can begin to sound just fractionally two-dimensional and ever-so-slightly stressed. Dial the volume down just a little and normal service is quickly resumed.

• Sound quality score: 4 / 5

Sonus Faber Lumina II review: Design

• Choice of three finishes
• Leather-covered sides and top surface
• 304 x 180 x 263mm (HxWxD)

Obviously you’ll make up your own mind as to the decorative potential (or otherwise) of the Sonus Faber Lumina II. What can’t be argued with is the quality of construction or finish – these are impeccably made loudspeakers. The company’s ongoing determination to cover a good portion of its speakers in leather (both sides and the top of this model) won’t sit well for those who’d prefer a vegan option, but as far as ‘craftsmanship’ is concerned, the Lumina II have plenty in evidence.

Each speaker is a tidy 304 x 180 x 263mm (HxWxD), and if you choose either of the ‘walnut with maple inlays’ or ‘wenge with maple inlays’ the front baffle is of multilayered wood with real wood veneer. The piano black alternative is glossy, all right, and also built of multilayered wood but it’s quite reflective, so is not perhaps the first choice for those who may wish to use their Lumina II as part of a home theater set-up in a darkened room.

At the rear of each cabinet there are four nickel-plated speaker binding terminals that can be used with bare wire, banana plugs or spade connectors. Biwiring or biamping is perfectly straightforward.

Although the configuration of the speakers makes them quite forgiving of room position, the liberal use of leather does not. The company is quite unequivocal: you should not position your Lumina II near windows or sources of heat, and they should not be exposed to direct sunlight. Perhaps lots of leather isn’t such a brilliant idea after all…

• Design score: 4 / 5

Sonus Faber Lumina II review: Value

‘Made in Italy’ seldom comes cheap, and in a market dominated by speakers that have been ‘designed and engineered’ in one place and then inevitably ‘made in China’, it’s quite a prestigious point of difference. And where materials, build quality and the standard of finish are concerned, it’s hard to argue that you’re not getting full value here.

And up to a point, that’s all true when it comes to sound quality, too. But a look at the ‘also consider’ section below lets you know that if you’re prepared to forgo a bit of the undeniable Sonus Faber cachet, better pound-for-pound performance is available…

• Value score: 4 / 5

Sonus Faber Lumina II review: Should you buy them?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Sonus Faber Lumina II review: Also consider

Sonus Faber Lumina II review: How I tested

• Connected to a Naim Uniti Nova, listening to Qobuz and Tidal tracks
• Also hooked up a Rega Apollo for CDs; Cambridge Audio/Clearaudio for vinyl

During my spell listening to the Sonus Faber Lumina II, they were powered by a Naim Uniti Nova streamer/amplifier capable of delivering 70 watts of power per channel. I also used the Naim for listening to Qobuz and Tidal, as it is both a streamer and an amplifier.

I listened to compact discs using a Rega Apollo player, and vinyl via both the Cambridge Audio Alva TT v2 and Clearaudio Concept turntables.

The Lumina II remained in my listening space for the test's entirety – the area is nothing too sophisticated, it’s a fairly ordinary (though not particularly reflective) room that works excellently for my purposes. Using this disparate sources, I listened to myriad different recordings, from a plenty of genres, and from a wide range of eras.

• First reviewed: February 2025
• Read more about how we test

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition: Two-minute review

The Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition is part of a great lineage. It’s been almost 20 years since the first Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin launched – back then it was an iPod dock with a 30-pin connector. It’s moved with the times, of course, so now this version offers aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec compatibility and the ability to host numerous music streaming and internet radio services within the ‘Music’ control app it has in common with other Bowers & Wilkins wireless audio products.

The look of the Zeppelin Pro is, of course, the look. The Zeppelin line is very much its own thing, and build quality and the standard of finish are predictably good. And when it comes to business, the Pro Edition features a reworked tweeter array and uses the titanium dome unit found in the class-leading B&W 600 S3 series of passive speakers. That's along with a couple of mid-range drivers and a relatively large (150mm) bass driver, plus 240 watts of power to drive them; the on-paper specification is promising to say the least.

And in practice, the Zeppelin Pro Edition makes good on that paper promise. It’s simple and quick to get it up and running, and once the listening starts in earnest there’s next-to-nothing to take issue with.

It’s a detailed, spacious and vigorous listen, able to tease out the finest details yet hit with real determination at the same time. The tonal balance is convincing, the frequency range is integrated smoothly, and there’s an openness to the presentation that’s far superior to any other one-box option among the best wireless speakers at this budget. It’s not the last word in dynamic expression, true – but nevertheless, the ‘plus’ column is far, far longer than the ‘minus’ where sound quality is concerned.

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition review: Price and release date

• Costs $799 / £699 / AU$1,349
• Launched in late 2024

The Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition is on sale now, and in the United Kingdom it costs £699. American customers will have to part with $799, while in Australia it’s more like AU$1,349.

You’re not short of choice where wireless speakers at this sort of money are concerned, of course. The excellent Naim Muso Qb Gen 2 is down to this sort of money nowadays, and things like JBL’s Authentics 500 are well worth considering too…

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition review: Features

• Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX Adaptive codec compatibility
• 240 watts powering a five-driver array
• 35Hz - 24kHz frequency response

In most respects, the Zeppelin Pro shares a feature-set with the 2021 incarnation of the Zeppelin. Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX adaptive codec compatibility, 240 watts of Class D grunt powering a five-driver array, compatibility with the exemplary Bowers & Wilkins ‘Music’ control app, a claimed frequency response of 35Hz - 24kHz… so far, nothing has changed.

In fact, the only major difference where features are concerned is regarding 40 percent of the driver array. The Zeppelin Pro uses the same 150mm low-frequency driver and the same pair of 90mm ‘FST’ (fixed suspension transducer) mid-range drivers as the 2021 model – although the mid-range drivers have had their cone damping upgraded in an effort to minimize cone break-up.

The tweeters in the Zeppelin Pro, though, are 25mm versions of the titanium dome design that’s currently in use all across the company’s 600 S3 range of full-size passive loudspeakers. This, it’s fair to say, is an upgrade on the double-dome tweeters fitted to 2021’s Zeppelin. Revised digital sound processing is deployed to take account of the new and improved tweeter line-up.

As with previous Zeppelins, the Pro features built-in multi-room functionality - it can be paired with other Zeppelins or members of Bowers & Wilkins’ ‘Formation’ range of wireless speakers (in case anyone remembers them). The Pro can also be used in conjunction with any of the company’s current (and excellent) line-up of wireless headphones and earbuds.

And as with previous Zeppelins, the Pro is only part-smart. Bluetooth connectivity is all well and good, of course, and the fact that it can sit on your home network and access your favourite streaming services (or, at least, some of them) is good news too – but there’s no DLNA or UPnP compatibility, so network connectivity only takes you so far, and the speaker has no truck with voice assistants either.

• Features score: 4.5 / 5

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition review: Sound quality

• Wide and organized presentation
• Punchy and detailed in equal measure
• Dynamic, but not to the extent separate speakers

Everything’s relative, of course, but while the idea that the Zeppelin Pro creates a true sense of stereo separation is hard to get behind, there’s no denying it generates a wider and more spacious sound that pretty much any other price-comparable single-unit wireless speaker is capable of.

It’s this openness that’s the most immediately striking thing about the way the Bowers & Wilkins performs. You’d never confuse it for the sound of two stereo speakers, of course, but whether it’s playing a 16bit/44.1kHz file of The Wedding Present’s Dalliance or a 24bit/96kHz equivalent of Summon the Fire by The Comet Is Coming, the Zeppelin Pro musters a big, well-organised and entirely convincing soundstage on which a recording can fully express itself.

There’s a gratifying amount of attention paid to the spaces between instruments and voices, and the amount of elbow-room each element of a recording enjoys makes for a coherent and easy-to-follow presentation.

Low-frequency impact is significant, and there’s good control of the attack of bass sounds at the same time – so the low end doesn’t blur, and rhythms are confidently described. The mid-range benefits a great deal from the overall spaciousness – vocalists of all types and all competences get the chance to properly communicate, for better or for worse.

And at the top of the frequency range, the reworked tweeter arrangement allows for plenty of substance to accompany the top-end bite and attack the Zeppelin Pro can muster. Integration of the frequency range is smooth and unobtrusive, despite the numerousness of the drivers here.

The Pro maintains a nicely neutral tonality throughout, and manages to invest every part of the frequency range with plenty of broad and fine detail. It does good work with high-frequency transients, and gives the bottom end lots of texture and variation where lesser speakers can just thump along monotonally. And the mid-range is absolutely alive with personality – there’s an eloquence to the way the Bowers & Wilkins hands over a voice that is never less than engaging.

Only a slight inhibition during the bigger dynamic shifts in volume and/or intensity prevent the Zeppelin Pro from scoring full marks here. If ever a band indulged in the ‘quiet/LOUD/REALLY DAMN LOUD’ dynamic, it’s The Wedding Present – but when the angst really gets into full swing the Bowers & Wilkins just can’t quite breathe deeply enough to give it the fullest expression.

It’s not that everything happens at a fixed level of attack, you understand – it’s just that there’s greater distance between the most contemplative and most fierce moments in the recording than the Zeppelin Pro is able to describe.

• Sound quality score: 4.5 / 5

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition review: Design

• Choice of two new finishes
• Choice of 15 (!) downlight colors
• Still looks like a Zeppelin

If you’ve seen one Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin, you’ve seen 'em all – which is not meant to be any kind of a put-down. In one guise or another, it’s a product that’s been in production for almost two decades, and it’s rapidly approaching ‘classic’ status – and the way it looks hasn’t done any harm in this respect.

So the Zeppelin Pro is recognizably a Zeppelin, and at 210 x 650 x 194mm it’s the same dimensions as the 2021 model. You’ll need a decently sized surface to stand it on, although at 6.6kg it’s hardly a burden where weight is concerned.

The speaker wears its relative bulk quite lightly, though, and this is helped in no small way by the two finishes – both new – in which it’s available. My review sample is in ‘solar gold’, and ‘space gray’ is also available. And within the stable, logical and extensive control app, there are no fewer than 15 different ‘ambient light’ colors with which to illuminate the speaker’s foot (and, if you’re anything like me, expose exactly how long it’s been since anyone did any dusting around here). Or you can turn it off altogether, of course.

• Design score: 5 / 5

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition review: Usability and setup

• Bowers & Wilkins ‘Music’ control app
• Some physical controls
• Swift and stable wireless pairing

The Zeppelin Pro is ‘just’ a wireless speaker, and as such it doesn’t take long to set up – unpack it, plug it in, let the ‘Music’ control app (free for iOS and Android) discover it, connect it to your local network, and you’re in business.

The control app is fairly thoroughly specified. As well as Bowers & Wilkins’ curated content, it’s also able to let you integrate your favourite music streaming service(s) – as long as they’re Amazon Music, Deezer, NTS, Qobuz, SoundCloud or TIDAL. Spotify Connect and AirPlay 2 provide alternative ways of getting music over to it. Internet radio is available via Last.fm and TuneIn.

EQ adjustment (or, more accurately, bass and treble adjustment) is available, and the app also lets you update firmware as and when, and for some reason has a switch to allow aptX Adaptive reception to be switched on or off.

There are a few physical controls at top of the rear of the speaker, too. ‘Bluetooth pairing’, ‘volume up/down’, ‘play/pause’ and ‘power on/off’ are all available.

• Usability and setup score: 5 / 5

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition review: Value

• Bowers & Wilkins devices are always of a very high standard
• Not as pricey as some B&W devices, but just as impressive
• Excellent specs and sound

If you know Bowers & Wilkins, you know there’s seldom any issue regarding the standard of build and finish of any of its products – and that’s as true of the Zeppelin Pro Edition as it is of a pair of its passive speakers costing tens of thousands of pounds.

Add in thorough specification, nicely executed control options and an intangible, but definite, pride of ownership and we’re well on the way to calling this wireless speaker ‘very decent value for money’. The way it sounds simply confirms things.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition: Also consider

How I tested the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro Edition

I positioned my review sample on the top shelf of my Blok Stax 2G equipment rack, and then because it was preventing my turntable from sitting there I also positioned it on a necessarily large bookshelf.

I used my Qobuz and TIDAL accounts to stream music of many different varieties and file sizes, and I also checked out some favorite internet radio stations using TuneIn.

I can’t pretend it was any kind of hardship to do this for well over a week…

• First reviewed: February 2025

Q Acoustics 3020c: Two-minute review

The Q Acoustics 3020c is one design in a five-strong range of (relatively) affordable new speakers from the British brand's 3000c series. Four different finishes are available, and no matter which one you prefer it will do justice to a braced, elegantly curved cabinet that’s just slightly longer than it is tall. Satin nickel driver surrounds behind magnetically attached grilles only add to the impression of a thoughtful and quite upmarket design.

A driver array consisting of a 22mm soft dome tweeter that’s decoupled from the main speaker baffle is bolstered by a rear-facing bass reflex port. Sat below is a 120mm mid/bass driver of the ‘continuous curved cone’ design that Q Acoustics first introduced in a far more expensive range of passive loudspeakers than this one. Claimed frequency response of 60Hz - 30kHz is the result and, if accurate, should be more than adequate for people who don’t prioritize ‘bass, and plenty of it’ over everything else. As well as the reflex port, the rear panel also features a single pair of extremely low-profile cable binding posts.

In action, the Q Acoustics 3020c prove a forthright, detailed and surprisingly assertive listen. No matter the type of music you listen to, and no matter its source, they sink their teeth in and let it know who’s boss immediately. Detail levels are high, drive and attack is plentiful, and both the tonal balance and the integration of the frequency range are completely convincing. Their stereo focus is impressive, their soundstaging abilities even more so, and the sort of momentum and urgency with which they can imbue a recording is always striking.

They’re not the heftiest speaker this sort of money can buy, it’s true – the low-frequency stuff they generate is taut and straight-edged, but could conceivably be punchier. And when it comes to dynamic expression, there’s a slight lack of headroom apparent. Because their default position is to be reasonably intense to start with, any changes in intensity are necessarily inhibited – just a touch, to be fair, but it’s a trait nevertheless.

Neither of these things prevent the Q Acoustics 3020c being a thoroughly enjoyable and quite invigorating listen, though, which warrants entry to our best stereo speakers roundup. Anyone with this sort of money for a speaker of this sort of size needs to hear them.

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Price & release date

• Released August, 2024
• Priced $499 / £399 / AU$899

The Q Acoustics 3020c are on sale now, and in the United States they sell for $499 per pair. In the United Kingdom, they go for £399, while in Australia you’re looking at AU$899.

It’s an eye-catching price, for sure, and exciting when you remember just how much excellence Q Acoustics has demonstrated at the loudspeaker entry level. But competition is fierce: from Dali and Elac to KEF and JBL, there are numerous well-regarded alternatives – and they're far from alone...

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Features

• 120mm mid/bass driver
• 22mm decoupled soft dome tweeter
• 60Hz - 30kHz frequency response

Like most passive loudspeakers, the Q Acoustics 3020c aren’t exactly overburdened with features. A couple of drive units, a helpfully positioned bass reflex port and some speaker binding posts are about all that can be expected – and sure enough, that’s about all the 3020c have.

Mind you, this being Q Acoustics those features are thoroughly implemented and entirely fit for purpose. The 22mm soft dome tweeter, for instance, is hermetically sealed and mechanically isolated from the baffle from which it protrudes. To all intents and purposes it’s floating, which prevents pressure modulations both from the energy it’s producing and from the mid/bass driver beneath it. The chamber it sits in is vented in an effort to minimize distortion, and has a lower-than-usual crossover point in order to make integration with the mid/bass driver as smooth as possible.

The mid/bass driver itself is a 120mm design of the ‘continuous curved cone’ type Q Acoustics first introduced on much more expensive loudspeakers than this one. Its continuous curve profile offers well-controlled frequency response, enhanced low-frequency dynamics and excellent dispersion characteristics – Q Acoustics suggests it offers the bass performance of a more common conic design with the midrange control of a flared cone design. The best of both worlds, in other words.

There’s a modestly sized bass reflex port venting from the rear of the cabinet, just above a single pair of extremely low-profile cable binding posts – Q Acoustics provides port bungs to help ensure the 3020c’s low-frequency activity is appropriate no matter where in your room they end up being positioned. The arrangement is good for a frequency response of 60Hz - 30kHz, according to the manufacturer, and with nominal impedance of six ohms and sensitivity of 87dB, the 3020c shouldn’t be any kind of problem for an amplifier to drive.

• Features score: 5/5

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Sound quality

• Positive, upfront and informative sound
• Impressive powers of resolution
• Not as out-and-out punchy or dynamic as they might be

Sit up straight and pay attention – that seems to be the 3020c's attitude when it comes to sound. This is an assertive and direct pair of loudspeakers, and while it has a range of talents to reveal, what’s most immediate about the 3020c is, well, just how immediate it is.

Once through a copy of Fela Kuti’s Water No Get Enemy makes the point in unequivocal fashion. There’s plenty of harmonic dynamism on display, a really impressive amount of detail retrieved at every turn, but it’s the sheer bite and attack of the recording, the blare and the stridency, that the Q Acoustics really zero in on. This kind of positivity could, if imperfectly deployed, seem like raucousness – here it’s more a kind of urgency. Music-making is a serious business, according to the 3020c, and there’s really no time to pussyfoot.

If this makes the Q Acoustics sound in any way uncouth, be assured that’s not the case. Their tonality is judged nicely – they’re a neutral and uncolored listen, from the top of the frequency range to the bottom. The integration of the two drivers is smooth, the contributions of the bass reflex port are careful, and the inputs of each area of the frequency range are properly balanced and entirely convincing. Details both broad and fine are confidently identified and contextualized throughout, and the minutiae of tone and texture is readily available as a result.

The soundstage the 3020c can create is large and properly organized, and there’s great stereo focus even when a recording is as packed with contributors as Fela Kuti’s. Switching to something on a much smaller scale – Anastasia Coope’s Woke Up and No Feet, for instance – allows the Q Acoustics to demonstrate how adept they are at opening up a recording and making each element available. That's even if, as with this recording, it’s lo-fi and lacking in separation in the first place.

The lower frequencies aren’t the meatiest you ever heard from a pair of speakers at this sort of money, it’s true, but there’s no arguing with how well controlled they are. There’s an almost martial observation of bass attack and decay, and the result is a spring-heeled approach to rhythmic expression that keeps momentum levels high and means music really drives along. If that’s the trade-off for a slight lack of outright punch and substance, it seems fair enough to me.

What’s just a touch less easy to accommodate is a slight lack of dynamic potency. It’s not as if the 3020c ignore changes in volume or intensity during the course of a recording, but they don’t breathe quite as deeply as some alternative designs when it comes to making these shifts completely obvious. They’re direct and attacking by default, and it seems this doesn’t leave them quite as much room for manoeuvre as is absolutely ideal. In isolation it’s a shortcoming that almost doesn’t register, but when you’re competing in an arena as fierce as these Q Acoustics are, even the mildest weaknesses get pounced upon.

• Sound quality score: 4.5/5

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Design

• 279 x 175 x 281mm (HxWxD)
• 5.5kg
• Choice of four finishes

The 3020c are not the first Q Acoustics loudspeakers to be longer than they are tall – but just because it’s a familiar design trope that’s based on sound engineering principles, that doesn’t make it seem anything less than slightly strange. It certainly rules out the possibility of positioning the 3020c on a regular shelf-sized shelf, and it means there will be significant overhang when positioned on a speaker stand with an ordinary top plate.

Where build and finish are concerned, we’re on equally familiar Q Acoustics ground, which is an uncomplicatedly good thing. The curved cabinet corners look good, the satin nickel driver trim gives a premium impression (as well as being a magnet for fingerprints) and the vinyl wrap covering the MDF cabinet is flawlessly applied. The outside is available in satin black, satin white or walnut as well as the oak of my review sample, while the inside features the point-to-point bracing the company has been perfecting for some time now.

There’s a final design flourish in the use of magnetically attached grilles. Not only do they cover slightly less than the entirety of the front baffle (leaving the casual ‘Q’ logo exposed), but they don’t require any visible fixings – the baffle looks unsullied when the grilles are removed.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Setup and usability

• Position the speakers securely on a shelf or stand…
• Attach speaker cable using plugs or bare wire…
• ... And away you go

Just as with ‘features’, there’s really not a lot involved in the set-up or subsequent usability of passive loudspeakers. It’s really not rocket science, and it shouldn’t take long before you’re up and running.

So, you’ll need to position your speakers securely – they are supplied with little rubber feet in order to decouple them from the surface on which they stand. Ideally, you’ll be further from them than they are from each other when you’re listening, and ideally they’ll be ‘toed in’ just a little towards you. You’ll need to attach them to your amplifier using half-decent speaker cable.

After that, it’s just a question of putting some music on and letting them do their thing…

• Setup and usability score: 5/5

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Value

It’s hard to suggest the Q Acoustics 3020c don’t represent value for money. Even in terms of the amount of stuff your $499 / £399 / AUS$899 buys, they’re impressive – these are reasonably big cabinets by prevailing standards, build quality is impeccable and the standard of finish is top-tier, too.

And when it comes to sound quality, the 3020c – while being a quite specific flavor – have a whole stack of talents that will keep you listening long after you should have stopped and started doing something else.

It’s really only those listeners who want to be able to hear the low-frequency stuff from another room who might disagree.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Q Acoustics 3020c?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Q Acoustics 3020c review: Also consider

The Elac Debut 3.0 DB63 have a rather ungainly model name, but at around $470 / £369 per pair they’re cracking value for money. Not as visually sleek as the 3020c if you ask me, but they have the all-around sonic talent to really take the fight to the Q Acoustics.

How I tested the Q Acoustics 3020c

• Connected to a Naim Uniti Star and a Cambridge Audio EXA100
• Connected using QED XT speaker cable
• Playing a wide variety of music from a number of different sources

During my time with the 3020c the only amplification to hand was, to be absolutely honest, somewhat overspecified. But by the same token I know the way they sound pretty well, so was perfectly comfortable hooking the Q Acoustics to both the Cambridge Audio and the Naim devices using a QED speaker cable that falls just as readily into the ‘overkill’ category.

I listened to vinyl records, CDs and music streamed from Tidal in the course of the test – of all styles and types.

First reviewed: November 2024

Read more about how we test at TechRadar

Dali Rubikore 2: Two-minute review

A longstanding concept in hi-fi (and indeed many other product categories) is that of ‘trickle down.’ The idea is simple enough; technology and design ideas that first appear in the flagship products is gradually made available at more terrestrial levels as time goes on. It’s a very important dynamic because, while many people will move upward through a product range as time goes on, rather fewer of them will make it all the way to the top. Bringing flagship technology down to a level more people can access is very important – and many of the best stereo speakers we've tested have been able to do just that. 

The Dali Rubikore range is a physical manifestation of the trickle down concept, indeed the ideal is so important to the their existence it is reflected in the name. The replacement for the long running and highly regarded Rubikon series of speakers and some of the advancements are derived from the Kore (stylised to 'KORE') technology that first saw use in the Kore floorstander which is yours for a brisk $110,000 / £85,000. The resulting speakers have their name revised to reflect this and are now the Rubikore range of which the Rubikore 2 is the only standmount model. 

The Rubikore 2 pitches in at $4,000 or a little over £2,000; a key price point for standmount speakers and one which is contested by a very large number of companies. To stand out from the pack, the Dali will need to be very good indeed. The omens are good; The Kore technology is used to improve some already very capable drivers, the claimed measurements look excellent and the range has some up to date thinking in terms of multichannel as well as having some very attractive finishes. Does this on paper ability translate to real world greatness? 

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Price and release date

• Launched in May 2024
• £2,200/$4,000/$4,200 AUD

The Rubikore range debuted in May 2024 with the wraps being taken off at the High End Show in Munich. The range comprises a pair of floortanding models, the standmount seen here, an LCR (a speaker engineered to be both a centre speaker and also operate as a stereo pair) and an on wall speaker. This range spans from £1,200 for the Rubikore On Wall to £6,000 for the Epikore 8. This is a fair amount of money but rather less than what Dali is asking for the Kore. 

The Rubikore 2 is available in the UK for £2,200. It is $4,000 in the USA and $4,200 in Australia. This price does not include a stand and neither does Dali make a dedicated version for the Rubikore 2. In a large number of the stock images, you’ll see the Rubikore 2 sat on stout bits of furniture which will work up to a point but you should budget for a pair of stands to get the best from them. I used a hefty if cosmetically unspectacular Custom Design stands throughout for testing. One positive attribute is that all four finishes have the same price, with none commanding a price premium.

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Specs

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Features

• Kore Technology 
• Clarity Cone Midbass driver 
• Continuous flare bass port 
• Lightweight dome tweeter 

As a passive speaker, the Dali is not as sophisticated as powered and active designs but, given it’s a relatively small speaker made out of fairly well established materials, there is a surprising amount going on inside them. Dali has used the enormous amount of data gained the development of the Kore speaker to improve the Rubikore models. Obviously, there are many parts of a $110,000 speaker that don’t make it down to this level, but a number of ideas do.

This is most apparent in the drivers. The Rubikore 2 uses a 6.5inch (155mm) mid bass driver that employs technology that Dali refers to as Clarity Cone. The cone itself is made from Dali's preferred wood fiber; something that have been doing for a very long time but here you can see a pattern on the cone itself. This increases the stiffness of the cone as a whole and improves the breakup behaviour. Behind the driver, Dali's Soft Magnetic Compound is used as it reduces eddy currents and other unwanted effects, lowering distortion overall. 

This driver is helped by a rear firing bass port that employs a continuous flare along its length (that is to say it isn’t the same diameter along its length). This helps to keep the flow of air out of the port quieter as the diameter increases as the air accelerates allowing it to expand. This port helps the Rubikore 2 to reach down to 50Hz at a +/-3dB measurement – a usefully demanding way of measuring this.   

This mid bass driver is partnered with a soft dome tweeter that is built around the principles of reducing mass; a very desirable attribute in a high frequency driver. Traditionally, tweeters used a substance called ferrofluid to cool them but this adds mass and increases the response time. The Rubikore 2’s 1.2 inch (29mm) dome does without this to reduce the mass. The Rubikore 2 is the only member of the Rubikore family to not partner the dome tweeter with a ribbon device although given that the quoted upper frequency roll off is 26kHz (or, quite a bit higher than human hearing actually goes), this is unlikely to be a huge issue. 

The crossover for the two drivers hands over between them at 2.8kHz (relatively high by the standards of many rivals) and is quite unusual in 2024 terms because it supports biwring should you wish. Sensitivity is in keeping with most things at the price at 87dB/w but this is achieved at a slightly trickier 4 ohm impedance which means this isn’t a truly difficult speaker to drive but needs a little power to do its best work. The cabinet that houses everything is a relatively conventional type made of MDF sections; although something that is quite unusual is that both the front and rear panels have a gentle curve to them. The cabinets are extensively braced and substantial things though and the whole speaker feels usefully solid. 

• Features score: 4/5

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Sound quality

• Excellent bass 
• Tonally superb
• Some limits to soundstage and quiet running 
• Consistently good fun 

Placed on stands with absolutely no toe in applied (Dali is adamant that its speakers should point dead ahead), the Rubikore 2 doesn’t need vary long to start to impress. The first and most immediately noticeable aspect of the performance is the bass extension and the scale that goes with it. The Dali gives Ben Howard’s Every Kingdom a weight and authority that makes the performance utterly convincing. This album is not a bass monster but plucked bass notes and the sparse percussion it possesses are given a weight you feel as well as hear and the effect this has on the believability of the track is considerable. 

Tonally, the Rubikore 2 is a class act. Across standard challenges like voices, violins, cellos and pianos, it has managed to sound consistently right. This is not a showy or attention grabbing speaker. It doesn’t go in for the sort of emphasis on parts of the frequency response that is superficially impressive but that becomes wearying after a while. Instead it presents a frequency response that feels even and consistent and allows the music to generate its own emphasis. The astonishing Emily King track Forgiveness on her Scenery album is presented with King being the absolute focus of your attention. Everything else that should there is there but it’s subsumed by what the recording regards as the important part and the Dali following those instructions perfectly. 

Something else that is very welcome is that the when the quality of the material being played drops, the Dali still maintains a level of realism and overall quality that is extremely impressive. A blast through Greta van Fleet’s Anthem of a Peaceful Army delivers a healthy dose of the ‘I can’t believe it’s not Led Zeppelin’ sound without drawing too much attention to the limitations of the mastering as a whole. Instead the Rubikore does a fine job of making things sound usefully exciting and energetic, with a very pleasing level of get up and go to its overall performance. 

So far so good, but there are some areas where the Rubikore 2 is less effortlessly composed. It had the misfortune of following Tannoy’s odd but immensely talented Autograph Mini through testing and while it convincingly beats the Tannoy in terms of bass extension, it simply doesn’t create the same almost three dimensional soundstage of the material being played. Some of this is a bit of a puzzle because viewed objectively, the Dali isn’t doing anything wrong. The handover between the mid bass and tweeter is seamless and there is no real perception of congestion to the sound, even when very complex material is being played. Nevertheless, the Dali tends to produce a sound that sits between the two speakers rather than extends beyond it. 

There is also an element of the Dali's performance that might be a benefit or a negative depending on your listening situation. For what is a relatively compact device, the Rubikore 2 is capable of playing impressively loud and sounding effortless while it does so. Even rivals that boast a similar driver complement can struggle to match the way that the Dali handles the huge crescendo of Public Service Broadcasting’s Broadcasting House. Without sounding strained or pushing the limits of the cabinet, the Dali simply keeps hitting hard and sounding utterly composed while it does so. The caveat to this is that at lower levels, the Rubikore 2 sounds a bit on the safe side. If you don’t have the scope to open the taps every now and again, some of the abilities of the Dali will be less easy to enjoy. 

When you do give them a bit of level though, the Dali is consistently good fun. This isn’t simply fun in the ‘play fast music and nod your head’ ideal but an ability to get to the crux of the emotional content of the material being played. It’s the difference between listening to My Baby’s Tribulations and thinking, ‘that’s a nice song’ and sitting there rapt at one of the most stunning vocal arrangements I’ve had the pleasure of listening to.  

• Sound quality score: 4.5/5

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Design

• Four finish options 
• 350 x 195 x 335 mm
• 9.5kg each 

Dali is a Danish brand and while I’m not sure that some sort of official document exists to the effect that no Danish brand is allowed to make unattractive equipment, it does seem to be a rule they all work to. The Rubikore 2 is elegantly proportioned, with a pleasing ratio to the width and depth that is balanced by the size of the drivers contained within it. There are four finish options, including two wood veneers that have been chosen to complement both the proportions and the drivers very well. Even the white of the review samples; a finish I’m not traditionally enthused about, looks good against the contrast provided by various sections of the speakers. 

This effect is enhanced by just how well made and finished the Dali is. These aren’t cheap speakers but even so, the care that has gone into how they have been assembled and finished is impressive. About the only thing I can really say against them is that, where the vast majority of rivals use magnetic tabs for the grilles, the Dali still uses lugs. They’ve cleverly used screw fittings to hide some of the holes but there is still a visible one above the tweeter which looks a little unsightly. 

• Design score: 4.5/5

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Value

As noted a few times so far, $4,000 is not the sort of figure that most of us lose down the back of the couch, but it’s hard to argue with the feel or quality of the Rubikore 2 for this money. This is a brilliantly made and finished speaker that is built in Europe and comes with a five year warranty. It does a fine job of avoiding the nagging feeling of buyer’s remorse when you unbox them which is no bad thing. They will require decent quality equipment to partner them but not to the extent where they won’t improve an existing system of slightly less expensive electronics, so long as there is sufficient power to drive them. 

• Value score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Dali Rubikore 2?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Dali Rubikore 2 review: Also consider

The curious but lovely Tannoy Autograph Mini is the same price as the Dali. The product under review here completely demolished it in terms of bass extension and scale, but the stereo image it can produce is something that the Dali cannot match. The Monitor Audio Studio 89 is slightly less money but comes laden with technology and striking looks as well as an ability to resolve fine detail that very little near the price gets anywhere near. Outside of speakers we have looked at, Bowers & Wilkins, Neat and PMC are all formidable contenders at this price point and will keep the Dali honest. 

How I tested the Dali Rubikore 2

The Dalis were placed on a pair of Custom Design stands and run in a system built around a Naim Supernait 3 integrated amp; a slightly more expensive device than the Dali but able to deliver plenty of power and show what the Rubikore 2 was doing at any given time. 

Source equipment took the form of an Eversolo DMP-A8 streamer. This formidable digital front end offers superb UPnP streaming but also has an HDMI ARC connection allowing an LG OLED to be connected and routed through the system to the Dali. I tend to use the Eversolo via the Roon software platform because I control most things through that and tend to prefer it. 

I also made use of not one but two turntables under testing. The first is a resident Rega Planar 10 using the company’s newly released Nd7 moving magnet cartridge. The second was the newly released Pro-Ject Debut Evo 2 for which the Dali acted as a test speaker. Both turntables used a Cyrus Classic Phono for the phono stage. Material used has been a variety of styles and genres via The test material has been FLAC, AIFF, Tidal, Qobuz and Spotify as well as some vinyl. 

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Ultimate Ears Miniroll: Two-minute review

Parties in 2024 are about to get a bit bassier with the new Ultimate Ears Miniroll, a small-form Bluetooth speaker that wants to find its way onto our list of the best party speaker by virtue of the fact that it’s much smaller than all of its rivals.

A revival of the UE Roll from 2015 and UE Roll 2 from a year later, this is now Ultimate Ear’s smallest speaker by a country mile (and also a good few inches). It sits alongside the sonically superior, but much less totable, Wonderboom 4, as well as UE’s more pricy alternatives. Yes, that’s right, it’s not just small but it’s affordable too.

You only have to pay $79 / £69 / AU$99 for the UE Miniroll so it undercuts most of the competition, although a few other major audio brands also have lightweight party speakers like this for roughly the same (or less).

‘Miniroll’ is a funny name – the new UE speaker is bigger than the Roll and Roll 2, and probably doesn’t have any link to the sponge treat manufactured by former chocolate company (and now faux-chocolate company) Cadbury’s.

But while Cadbury’s has sadly gone downhill in the eyes of many, Ultimate Ears has only improved on the formula of its older speakers. The sound offers loads of bass, marking a notable improvement in audio capabilities over the previous two Rolls. The use of a USB-C port and a longer battery life also make this a more tempting option for people who may consider buying older tech.

Some of the best features of the Roll are here too. I found the carry strap incredibly handy, as I could attach the Miniroll to bags, pieces of furniture or even body parts (well, my wrist) to make it easy to carry around. 

The speaker isn’t perfect though, as there’s no smartphone app to bring extra features or offer customization. There’s no equalizer either, something many rival party speakers offer, which will likely put off people who’d find the bass just a little 'too much'. I also wished there was a way to skip or rewind songs, as many other speakers offer, to stop me having to use my phone for these tasks.

Some may also find the max volume a little too low for ‘parties’, especially since bass doesn’t carry as well as treble, though I guess ‘intimate social gathering speaker’ doesn’t have the same ring as ‘party speaker’. I can see this being a great pick for hikers or picnickers who want some tunes, or group runners who blast music to get everyone through that pre-breakfast 5k, rather than for traditional house parties or gatherings.

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Price and release date

• Released in September 2024
• Costs $79 / £69 / AU$99

The Ultimate Ears Miniroll was unveiled and released in mid-September 2024, ready for an outdoor party speaker to be almost obsolete in the wintery northern hemisphere.

The price of the Ultimate Ears Miniroll is $79 / £69 / AU$99, so it’s the cheapest wireless speaker currently offered by UE, and is one of the more affordable options on the market. It also undercuts the two UE Roll models which went for $99 / £99 / AU$149.  The Wonderboom is the closest sibling in price at $99 / £89 / AU$149.

In fact, if you’re looking for a party speaker as compact as the Miniroll, the market’s not burgeoning with good-quality options. Your best alternative is the even cheaper (but not quite as chic, and a little older now) Tribit Stormbox Micro 2 (now available for $59 / £59 or around AU$85) followed by the JBL Clip 5, which sells for $79 / £59 / AU$89, so both are actually a bit cheaper in most regions.

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Specs

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Features

• Can link up to other Minirolls
• No equalizer or app
• 12 hour battery life

The Ultimate Ears Miniroll struggles most in the features department because… well, there barely are any.

Unlike with some other UE speakers, the Miniroll doesn’t have a smartphone app, so it doesn’t let you utilize features of some of its rivals. There’s no equaliser, for example, or even different EQ presets for you to toggle between. You can’t change audio codec, fiddle with Bluetooth options or use a ‘find my speaker’ function.

There’s no outdoor mode either, which in other UE devices (it's the 'tree button' on the underside of the Wonderboom 4) strips bass in favor of treble to make the speaker easier to hear over distance. Of all the missing features this is the one I would have liked to see most – as with any bassy speaker, quality (and audibility) quickly drops off if you walk away from the Miniroll.

One thing you can do is connect the Miniroll to its siblings, in order to sync up multiple speakers. However unlike many other UE devices (but like the Wonderboom), you can only pair it to others of its make – ie, other Minirolls. So while your Boom, Megaboom, Everboom, Epicboom and Hyperbooms might all be having their own little party, the Minirolls will have to form their own shindig. According to UE the Miniroll can pair to an unlimited number of other Minirolls though, as long as your budget is equally infinite.

The battery life stretches to 12 hours on a single charge, which is longer than most parties I get invited to. Its a lasting power which positions the Miniroll as a handy device for people going on hikes or camping, as does its design.

Charging is done via USB-C, with a little port just above the strap.

• Features score: 3/5

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Design

• Small compact body
• Incredibly handy carry strap
• IP67 protected, survives up to 1.2m drop

The key selling point of the Ultimate Ears Miniroll is its design – it’s mini and feels lovely in your hand. A little pebble of a gadget, it weighs only slightly more than a smartphone at 279g, and measures 122 x 105 x 48 mm so it’s incredibly slender.

If you don’t trust measurements, trust me: it’s really easy to carry around whether it’s in the hand, strapped to a bag, inside said bag, or even slipped into a pocket (yes, it fits in my pockets, although that really muffles the audio).

Strapping it to a bag comes thanks to a rubbery strap, which is locked to the Miniroll at one end and is hooked and removable at the other. This gives you lots of versatility in how you attach the Miniroll to things, especially with a gap in the strap letting you hang it from objects. This was my preferred way of using the speaker, hanging it from doorknobs or cupboards – the multitude of ways to position the speaker is great for positioning it in rooms or attaching it to various rucksacks. Ultimate Ear's promotional material even shows someone attaching it to a dog.

One annoying element of the design comes into play here though, in combination with the speaker’s heavy bass (more on that later). Sometimes when on certain objects, the natural vibrations from the bass would cause the speaker to wobble, and it fell off boxes I put it on several times. Likewise when I hung it up, it’d sometimes shudder from the bass and start to sway – I can’t put it on my bedroom door because the bass makes it repeatedly knock into the wood panel. It’s an odd situation and I had to always think about where I placed the Miniroll.

On the top of the Miniroll are a volume up and volume down button, which should surprise no-one given that the buttons are a giant + and -. The edge of the speaker has the power button as well as the play/pause one, which can also be held to enable pairing with other Minirolls (more on that later). There’s no button to skip or restart tracks so you’ll have to rely on your phone for that.

If you’re worried about damage, the speaker is IP67 rated – that means it’s totally protected from dust particles and can be immersed in water for a depth of a meter for up to half an hour. It’s drop-proof but only up to 1.2 meters, which is something else to bear in mind when placing the speaker – my rucksack is higher than that off the floor and so are most of the tables I’d put it on.

As you can see from the pictures, I tested the pink Miniroll – Calming Pink, as UE calls it – and there’s also black (Gentle Black), blue (Majestic Blue) and white (Revive Gray).

• Design score: 4/5

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Sound quality

• (No need to) turn up the bass
• Volume not suitable for large parties
• Lack of equalizer limits appeal

I’ve referred to the Ultimate Ears Miniroll as a ‘party speaker’, but I should qualify that ‘party’ part of the phrase – this isn’t for big gatherings in Beverly Hills mansions or beach parties with hundreds of people. Think ‘D&D party’ size – this isn’t the loudest speaker in the world and it will best suit medium- to small-sized groups.

In my (very studious) tests, the Miniroll sounded decent at up to 5 meters distance, but when I got to 10m it was hard to hear parts of the song (partly from the volume, but partly from other sounds being more prominent). I found the Miniroll great for playing music in my bedroom, but unlike some other speakers I’ve tested, its sound didn’t carry through my entire (two-person) flat. If you’re going on a trip with this attached to your bag, you’d better keep your friends close if they want to hear music.

The UE Miniroll isn’t so quiet that it’s going to disappoint you, but you need to temper your expectations in keeping with its size – UE does have bigger speakers if you want to entertain a large number of listeners.

In terms of the audio itself, the Miniroll is a bassy little creature, and I was pretty surprised by just how much bass the thing eked out. I’ve already written about how it literally vibrates from what it’s putting out!

The bass is admittedly a little muddy, and the sheer nature of physics means it doesn’t carry that far (thanks, physics), but bass-heads near to the speaker will really pick up what it’s putting down.

As with any bass-heavy speaker, treble and mids suffer the consequences of this heavy lean, and both lack an extra ounce of detail – they also distort a little at higher volumes. However, balanced treble and audiophile-quality mids aren’t something it'd be truly fair to demand from party speakers at this price. It’s certainly not necessary for the Macarena.

• Sound quality: 3.5/5

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Value

• Form factor makes it appealing for portable music
• Some users might prefer other speakers

The Ultimate Ears Miniroll fits its niche really well: it’s cheaper and more portable than many other Bluetooth speakers, with a decent battery life, sufficient protection from life’s bumps and a really handy strap. With that in mind it’s hard to argue that the Miniroll isn’t good value – it’s much better for a certain type of user than other options in the market.

However, if you’re just looking for an affordable Bluetooth speaker for your house or garden, you can find options with better audio and a couple of extra features for a similar price. They just lose portability as a trade-off.

• Value: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Ultimate Ears Miniroll?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Ultimate Ears Miniroll review: Also consider

How I tested the Ultimate Ears Miniroll

• Tested for two weeks
• Tested at home and on some trips

I tested the Ultimate Ears Miniroll for over two weeks, during which time I used them alongside my Android smartphone.

Most of the testing was done at home but I also took it on a few day trips and picnics to see how well it works outdoors. Mostly I used the speaker for music streaming but I also tested it with spoken word podcasts a little bit as well.

I've been reviewing audio products at TechRadar for 5 years, including other Ultimate Ears products.

• First reviewed in October 2024

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3: Two-minute review

Time flies, doesn’t it? This is now the eighth generation of Bowers & Wilkins’ entry-level 600 Series of loudspeakers, and the 607 S3 is the smallest and most affordable member of the range. It’s also the most expensive cheap loudspeaker the company has ever made.

A glance at the specification (25mm double-dome tweeter, 130mm Continuum mid/bass driver, and a whole stack of upgrades both where crossover and cabinet construction are concerned) and at the standard of build and finish lets you know where that money has gone, though – and goes some of the way to explaining why they'll enter our best stereo speakers roundup very soon. 

It’s always been possible to buy less expensive loudspeakers than Bowers & Wilkins, but if you bite the bullet and spend the money, it won’t take long for your investment to seem very wise indeed.

By the standards of a compact standmounter, the 607 S3 produce a remarkably open and assertive sound. They have scale and rigorous soundstaging on their side, frankly unlikely dynamic headroom and an excellent facility for detail retrieval. They seem to like every single genre of music, too - and not just in an analytical, “here’s every shred of information” kind of way. They’re an energetic and entertaining listen that seem fully aware that the business of listening to music is meant to be as enjoyable and emotionally rewarding as possible.

So yes, you can spend your money on a bigger, louder loudspeaker than this - of course you can. But if you’re not trying to fill a great big space with sound, and if you want to put your foot on the ownership ladder of one of the biggest names in the business, the 607 S3 absolutely demand your attention.

Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3 review: Price & release date

• Released September 3, 2023
• Priced $899 / £549 / AU$1,149 (approx)

The Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3 standmount speakers were unveiled in September 2023 alongside three other S3-suffixed 600-series models, and in the United Kingdom they’re routinely available at £549 per pair. In the United States they go for $899 tops, while in Australia they sell for AU$1149 or something very like it.

So while this is the most affordable way to acquire a new pair of Bowers & Wilkins passive stereo loudspeakers, you’ll never mistake the 607 S3 for being especially cheap – profoundly credible alternatives from profoundly credible brands like Dali (see the five-strong Dali Rubikore range), Monitor Audio (check out our Monitor Audio Studio 89 review) and Q Acoustics (see the M40 HD for starters) many of which can be had for less money than this. So what makes the 607 S3 so special?  

Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3 review: Features

• 25mm titanium double-dome tweeter
• 130mm Continuum mid/bass driver
• Rear-firing bass reflex port

Yes, the 607 S3 is the junior member of the most affordable Bowers & Wilkins passive loudspeaker line-up. But don’t imagine that status means that it’s had less attention paid to its features than all of its other, more expensive, siblings.

The tweeter arrangement, for example, is now built mostly from titanium (rather than of aluminium as it has been in previous 600-series models). It’s a 25mm decoupled double-dome design, using a thin (25µm) dome reinforced by a 30µm ring, and the switch to titanium allows (according to Bowers & Wilkins) for greater refinement and detail at the top of the frequency range. 

The tube-loading assembly in which the tweeter sits is longer than previously (in an effort to minimise the rearward standing waves that result from the twitter’s activity), and the tweeter itself is protected by a grille the design of which is derived from the company’s flagship 800 Signature series of speakers. This, too, is deployed in an effort to create greater space and refinement in the tweeter’s output.

The tweeter sits closer to the mid/bass driver beneath it than previous – the 130mm Continuum assembly is mostly carried over from the previous 600 Signature series, but now it features a beefed up motor assembly derived from the 700 S3 range. And the eagle-eyed will notice it’s a little higher up in the cabinet and a little closer to the tweeter as a result - Bowers & Wilkins reckons it improves integration between the drivers and allows the mid/bass unit to generate a little more energy.

At the rear of the cabinet there’s a bass reflex port positioned above some newly upgraded speaker cable terminals (they’re intended to offer a cleaner signal path). And on the inside, the cabinet bracing is upgraded – so rigidity is improved. The crossover components have been upgraded too, in an effort to bring even greater transparency to the sound.  

• Features score: 5/5

Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3 review: Sound quality

• Refinement and entertainment in fairly equal measure
• Dynamic and detailed in every circumstance
• Careless system-matching will be exposed

‘Zest’ is an underused word in hi-fi, I think, so let’s start there. No matter the sort of music you like to listen to, the Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3 deliver it with zest. Oh, they can do the ‘insight’ and ‘analysis’ things with the best of their price-comparable rivals, but what sets them apart from those alternative designs is the zest and enthusiasm of their delivery. There’s nothing feral about these loudspeakers, but there’s an energy and a desire to entertain that is a fair bit more difficult to come by.

So it doesn’t matter if you try out a nice big hi-res file of David Bowie’s Hallo Spaceboy or a CD-standard file of Anastasia Coope’s Woke Up and No Feet, the results are – broadly speaking – the same. Low-frequency activity is given decent depth and notable speed, along with plenty of variation; the 607 S3 have no difficulty expressing rhythms in a convincing manner. The midrange is open and eloquent, so these two profoundly idiosyncratic vocalists have their character and attitude made apparent. Midrange projection is good too, so there’s always a pocket of space for a singer to operate in – even though they’re always nicely integrated into the overall presentation, rather than sounding remote or removed.

There’s plenty of dynamic headroom available, so the Bowie tune gets its changes in attack and intensity described faithfully. Detail levels are very high in every respect, so the smaller harmonic variations and changes in emphasis in the recording are paid attention to as well. And thanks to a soundstage that’s bigger than the physical size of the speakers might seem capable of creating, it’s easy to follow these fluctuations no matter where they occur. 

They’re an upfront and fairly assertive listen, the 607 S3. And in almost every way, these are welcome and actually quite valuable traits – it generally translates into a vivacious, spirited and engaging presentation. But it also means that a moment’s care with system-matching is in order, because the Bowers & Wilkins have high-frequency characteristics that are not beyond provocation. 

The treble sound the 607 S3 produce is just as detailed, just as convincing and just as nicely tonally balanced as all of the information below it. But in a system with treble-forward amplification, being fed by a source player with similar characteristics, the result can easily become rather too much of a good thing. The Bowers & Wilkins are quite assertive enough at the top of the frequency range without being goaded.

But in every other respect, feel free to throw caution to the wind. The 607 S3 are musical and entertaining, poised and attentive, dynamic and detailed in equal measure, and seem to enjoy every single one of your favourite styles of music. They may not have the out-and-out scale of the bigger speakers this sort of money can buy – how could they? – but when it comes to musicality, energy and, yes, zest, it’s hard to know how your money could be any more wisely spent.        

• Sound quality score: 5/5

Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3 review: Design

• 300 x 165 x 207mm (HxWxD)
• Choice of three finishes
• 4.65kg

You can’t really expect much by way of ‘design’ to happen where (relatively) affordable standmounting speakers are concerned – and, sure enough, not much has happened here. That’s not to say the 607 S3 aren’t harmonious lookers, or aren’t built and finished to a very high standard – they are. It’s just that they look exactly as you’d expect.

At 300 x 165 x 207mm (HxWxD) they’re the smallest stereo speakers in all of Bowers & Wilkins-land, and at 4.65kg they aren’t going to put any kind of pressure on your shelves or wall-brackets if that’s how you decide to position them.

Equally, a choice of black, white or light(ish) oak vinyl-wrap finishes isn’t going to startle anyone. The oak finish comes with a contrasting white front baffle, which is about as close to a design flourish as the 607 S3 get. 

• Design score: 5/5

Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3 review: Value

You can buy bigger, more imposing loudspeakers for this sort of money – and I mean both physically and sonically. But if you’re in the market for a compact, high-achieving standmounter at this kind of price, it’s hard to know how to better spend your cash. Add in the excellent standard of build and finish, along with the ‘if you know, you know’ brand logo, and the 607 S3 represent very good value indeed.

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Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3 review: Also consider

If the size of these cabinets is a big attraction, then the only-slightly-larger and similarly priced Dali Oberon 3 are well worth a listen – they don’t have quite the vim of the 607 S3. That said, the splendid Monitor Audio Studio 89 do – although they're quite a bit more expensive. 

Want something smaller, wireless, and slightly cheaper? The Ruark MR1 MkII Bluetooth stereo speakers are worth a look. 

But if you’re after a physical representation of the money you’ve spent (and you have an appropriately sized space in which to put them) the Wharfedale Diamond 12.3 have plenty to recommend them beyond how very large they are.