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CMF Headphone Pro could easily cost twice as much – and even if the sound is fun and fierce (rather than fully fledged fantastic) they’re still a great buy

5:28 pm | November 12, 2025

CMF Headphone Pro: two-minute review

Anyone familiar with Nothing and/or its affordable sub-brand CMF (often written as "CMF by Nothing", but the company has seemingly dropped the last two words of its traditional moniker for this particular product) knows that a normal-looking set of headphones was never going to be on the brand's bingo card.

And true to form, the CMF Headphone Pro neither look normal nor behave normally for the level – and I mean that in a good way. They're modular, with the option of buying extra ear pads if you want an even more striking look (pistachio with orange, anyone?) and there are three thoroughly abnormal on-ear controls, too, including an 'Energy Slider', an excellent 'Multi-function roller' and an 'Action button'. All of which I'll get into later.

How's the sound? Actually, really good for the level – easily as detailed, nuanced and energetic enough to skip to the top of our best cheap headphones guide. And while they won't compete with the more flagship models in our best headphones roundup for neutrality or audiophile-grade insight (and the noise nixing won't challenge pricier sets from Bose, Cambridge or Apple in our best noise-cancelling headphones list), there's clarity, a great circumaural delivery, two types of spatial audio, LDAC and hi-res wired connectivity.

And all of this means I can't – nay, won't! – pick too much fault for the money, especially when I've compared them to Nothing's original Headphone (1) and actually preferred the audio in the newer cans…

CMF Headphone Pro in pistachio green held in a hand or hung on a barbell, being pushed up by a carved frog — (Image credit: Future)

Oh, and that's before I get granular on the fact that the CMF Headphone Pro include one of the most detailed hearing tests of any set of cans I've ever tried at the level, which the headphones use to create a remarkable personal profile for your listening. It's something I thoroughly recommend you take soon after buying them.

OK, your EQ is limited to three tabs if you want to create a preset yourself, you don't get a hard-shell case (or even a USB-C charger) in the box and the 'Energy Slider' feels a little surplus to requirements when they're a bit bassy to begin with (although some will love it – particularly grime and drum 'n' bass fans). But the battery life is nothing short of excellent for the money and for me, the sound quality more than atones for these minor drawbacks.

All in all, you could do so much worse for $99 / £79 – and having seen a few healthy discounts already, I find myself recommending them even more urgently…

CMF Headphone Pro review: price & release date

$99 / £79 / AU$179
Launched on September 29, 2025

The CMF Headphone Pro launched on September 29, 2025, with a list price of $99 / £79 / AU$179, but in the UK I've already seen them discounted to £49 (at the time of writing, Black Friday approaches). This is huge because for that money you won't regret this purchase, I assure you.

At their regular list price, the CMF Pro Headphone's closest competition is likely the 2024 1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51 at $89 / £99 / AU$130, which also boast a great battery life and perhaps edge it for ANC efficacy, but the build is a tad flimsier, including the buttons. Also the 1More's app is neither as seamless or enjoyable and to be honest, the design doesn't exactly wow me – not like the CMF Headphone Pro's does, anyway.

Meanwhile, Nothing's own flagship Nothing Headphone (1) launched on July 15, 2025 with asking fees of $299 / £299 / AU$549 – ie. at least triple the price of the CMF Headphone Pro, depending on where you're buying. So, you know, food for thought there…

CMF Headphone Pro review: Specs

Drivers	40mm (nickel-plated diaphragms; 16.5 mm copper voice coil; dual chamber design)
Active noise cancellation	Yes (low; mid; high; adaptive)
Battery life	50 hours ANC on; 100 hours ANC off
Weight	283g
Connectivity	LDAC, AAC, 3.5mm - 3.5mm hi-res certified
Frequency range	20Hz-20kHz
Waterproofing	None

CMF Headphone Pro either beside Nothing Headphone (1) or on a table, with the accessories in the box — (Image credit: Future)

CMF Headphone Pro review: features

Excellent Personal Sound curation
Class-leading battery life
Premium-feel companion app

Here's the thing with the CMF Headphone Pro: they surprise you at every turn. The Nothing X companion app is slick, chic and helpful. Make no mistake, the experience here is thoroughly Nothing, which is to say that it still feels premium, rather than budget-grade.

The excellent hearing test software – which takes roughly three minutes and involves struggling to listen to ever-quieter tones piped first into your left ear, then your right – creates a graph of your hearing in each ear, then one of the best Personal profiles I've had the pleasure of testing at this level.

Aside from support for the more hifalutin LDAC Bluetooth codec, the CMF Headphone Pro also offer wired 3.5mm Hi-Res certified listening, albeit only when they're powered on, rather than passively. I hooked them up to my FiiO M15S (which is a fair bit smaller than the FiiO M23 player) and Teenage Fanclub's Satan was every bit as jagged, petulant and angsty through the ragged intro as I could've wished for, even at 45 per cent volume.

There's a dual connection toggle in the app which essentially means multipoint is on the menu and why you'd ever toggle it off I don't know – it becomes essential very quickly for chopping and changing between music from my phone and team meetings on my laptop.

CMF Headphone Pro: three screen-grabs of the Nothing X app — (Image credit: CMF)

Also here in the Nothing X app, you'll find noise cancellation in low, mid, high, adaptive and off increments, as well as a transparency option. The transparency profile in particular is very good, augmenting nearby voices in a useful way and without making frequencies within my music go tinny and unpleasant.

The ANC is fine rather than fantastic at dulling extraneous noise (the claim is up to 40 dB noise reduction, although that feels optimistic to me), but it does so without upsetting my music's timbre and detail. Ultimately I'd rather have it than not, which is not something I say about all budget noise-nixing software and at this level that's more than good enough. Serious, weapons-grade active noise cancellation really does still require climbing further up the food chain, because I've yet to find anything for this money that offers Bose-grade ANC. OK? OK, good to make that clear.

While I'm on the subject of mics (because these are imperative for the aforementioned ANC), the Headphone Pro come with three of the what Nothing calls "HD microphones" and with that same metallic wind-resistant mesh around each of them, they do look almost identical to those on the Nothing Headphone (1). Aside from ANC, these mics provide Clear Voice Technology in a bid to keep your voice sharp in calls. Now, I've been told my dulcet tones were indeed audible and clear in calls, but perhaps because the cups are quite big and the padding so ample, passive isolation is also good to the point that I could barely hear my own voice when talking. There's no sidetone-adjacent tech to boost your own speech either. Would I expect that at this level? No, but it's my job to point it out as a very minor issue.

Elsewhere, there are two flavors of device- and streaming service-agnostic spatial audio: cinema mode or concert mode. Cinema mode broadens the soundstage a touch, for clear dialog and decent pew-pew bullet effects in movies; concert mode is all about plonking you in the middle of a concert. Neither offers a dynamic, head-tracked presentation with your phone as the source device, mind, but I still enjoyed concert mode for lowering me into the melee a touch more.

Features score: 4.5/5

CMF Headphone Pro review: sound quality

Punchy, expressive and zealous – a true circumaural listen
Nuance and detail with both wired and LDAC listening
Limited in-app EQ options; energy slider gives mixed results

I'll talk a lot about the energy slider to amp up the treble and bass in the 'design' section of this review, below (since this unusual button is a key part of the headphones' design) but know this: if you want the most detailed, layered, unadulterated sound, you should probably leave this kind of tinkering alone.

There's a low lag toggle in the app to minimize issues when watching content, but I keep that off to test the sound over LDAC. And here, Billie Eilish's WILDFLOWER is emotive, textured, layered and underpinned by inky-deep and resonant keys.

Uh Oh by Tate McRae is a great test of the CMF Headphone Pro's bass impact and, let me tell you, if you like to feel a beat in your molars, these headphones can oblige. It's a head-nodding, cohesive mix with snap and crisp leading edges of notes, particularly through those zealous bass registers.

Switching to Girls Like You by Maroon 5 and I hear the intentional blurring of the axe in the intro, with Adam Levine's vocal upfront, up-close and central in an expansive and exciting soundstage. It’s Amazing to Be Young by Fontaines D.C. is a similar story – and here I perceive treble elements in the intro that lesser headphones can’t reach, along with oft-overlooked happier inflections is Grian Chatten's voice.

It's an emotive mix overall, but Nothing has just about stayed on the right side of faithful here, rather than succumbing to parlor tricks to get you in the feels – unless you want to deploy those with the slider. Every Other Freckle by alt-J is a good one to to prove this. I really get the sense that Joe Newman wants every other freckle, even at 50 per cent volume, with certain lines (like ‘let me be the wallpaper that papers up your room’) jumping out more readily in what is a highly complex track.

Did I listen against the original Headphone (1)? I did. And while the presentation is a touch more neutral in the inaugural (and much more expensive) product, I did feel that the CMF opens the audio out just a touch more. It's also a more full-throttle listen to boot.

Could the CMF Headphone Pro offer even more detail – even more nuance through the rise and fall of each musical passage? Yes, of course, but if the ultimate in audiophile sound quality had been achieved for this money we could all go home. There are compromises in terms of true neutrality and an ounce or two of clarity here and there over much pricier options. But know this: for the money, these headphones sound a lot better than I expected.

Sound quality score: 4.5/5

CMF Headphone Pro review: design

Nothing isn't afraid to be different – but no cassettes on your ears here
Extension arms are silent; comfort is good
On-ear controls work well, but the Energy Slider is a tad gimmicky

If you'd asked me to sketch what I thought a set of headphones made by Nothing's budget sub-brand CMF should look like, I can confidently tell you that I would not have drawn the CMF Headphone Pro.

Where the CMF Buds Pro 2 are all angular lines, slightly odd circle and grid motifs, brushed matte plastic (available in dark gray, blue, or red and with a silver rotary dial in the corner of the case), the CMF Headphone Pro come in totally different light green, light gray or darker gray glossy finishes with a resoundingly cushioned, polyurethane synthetic leather and memory foam build across the headband and ear pads.

My review sample is giving two tubs of pistachio ice cream and, for me, the build quality is rock solid for the level. The band is comfortable over the crown of my head, extends silently and offers decent clamping force without ever hurting. The ear cups are generously padded and rotate to lie flat (although they don't concertina up into the band for easier storage) and the buttons are not at all flimsy.

So let's explain what's going on with those, shall we? On the left ear cup, in between two mics you'll find power/pairing, your 3.5mm in and an 'Energy Slider'. The function of this solid little slider can be switched between 'Bass Tuning' and 'Treble Tuning' in the Nothing X app.

I cue up Kehlani's Folded to toy with the bass slider and ramping things up does augment the low end, albeit to the point of marginal bloating – but hey, it's a way of replicating that authentic 'standing just a little too close to a big (possibly blown?) sub at a gig' feel. Switching to the treble option and the track does sound a little too sweet and even tinny when moving the slider through its range, but then I know from various hearing tests that my own ear hones in on treble frequencies in most mixes. Having been on the fence about all of this for a week or so, I've decided that it does add novelty and for some grime tracks it might be a winner.

On the right ear cup and above the USB-C port, there's a little circular button with a red dot at the center. In the X app, this is simply called 'Button' and your options here are a single press or long press. A single press can handle voice assistant access, noise control, spatial audio profiles or even switch the mics on or off (there's another on this ear cup). A long press? That can perform any function from this same menu.

But above this is where I think Nothing has really knocked it out the park, because this brings me to the 'Roller' in the controls menu. And as well as being able to roll this to quickly tweak the volume (seems like a small thing but really isn't – especially when you're on the go) you can press and hold it to scroll through noise-cancellation profiles, single press it to pause and resume playback or answer/hang up on calls, double press to skip a track or triple press to go back.

There's no IP rating for rain or dust ingress, which isn't unusual at the level (or even a rung higher up) but because you also only get a simple fabric bag for transportation, you might want to think carefully about taking these out in the rain.

One other thing: you get a 3.5mm cable in the box, but no USB-C charger cable – much less an actual wall plug for it. In 2025, you almost certainly have one of these already in the wings, waiting for the job, but if you were hoping for an extra (or one in the CMF Headphone Pro's winsome pistachio green, say), you'll be disappointed.

Design score: 4.5/5

CMF Headphone Pro review: value

An excellent all-round budget package
No charger or hard-shell case – but these are minor omissions
As a sound-per-pound proposition, there's top value here

I mean look, for this money I struggle to argue with even basic headphones, provided they sound good for the level. But the CMF Headphone Pro are not basic headphones – just see the hearing test software and extra on-ear controls for that. They're a lot better than basic and a lot better than their fee suggests.

Market saturation does of course drive pricing and here, that's very good for us.

OK, those wanting bubble-of-silence ANC will not find their ideal set of cheap headphones here (the ANC is adequate, it just isn't shutting out the entire world), but those wanting zealous, bass-blasting sound and/or a quirky design that actually is not a case of style over substance just found a great inexpensive option to step out with.

Value score: 4.5/5

Should I buy the CMF Headphone Pro?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Features	Excellent battery life, LDAC, top-tier app, adequate ANC	4.5/5
Sound quality	Big bass energy and commendable detail, with phenomenal hearing tests for the level	4.5/5
Design	Finessed, yet unusual – even among CMF by Nothing's other audio gear. You love to see it.	4.5/5
Value	Great audio, incomparable design, OK ANC, amazing battery life and a super-low price.	4.5/5

Buy them if…

You’re after a budget buy – but with good sound
With a list price of $99 / £79 / AU$179, but dropping even as I type, CMF by Nothing has aimed these headphones squarely at the budget market and priced them to sell out quickly. And given the audio quality and hearing test software to create a profile just for your ears, you won't find me suggesting you don't buy them…

You love on-ear whistles and bells
I actually really enjoyed playing with the various sliders and rollers on the CMF Headphone Pro – and while they're not exactly a gateway audiophile-grade sonic clarity, they do mean you can tweak the volume easily without grabbing your oh-so-pinchable phone, on the commute.

You like to style your own way
These headphones are not the same as the swathes of Sony dupes out there in the budget sector. And if a striking mint-or-pistachio green hue isn't enough for you, CMF sells alternate ear cups in a striking orange color for a nominal fee ($25 or £19). Mint!

Don’t buy them if…

You want bubble-of-silence ANC
The CMF Headphone Pro's solution is acceptable for the money, but it won't nix jet-engine noise on your next long-haul flight. For that, though, you'll need to climb the ranks a little, with something like the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) or the Apple AirPods Max. And by "climb the ranks", I mean that there'll be a surcharge.

You want auto-off when you remove them
No dice here, sadly, but it's perhaps the one area where they're lacking in terms of features I'd hoped to see.

You need to hear your own voice in calls
Certain pricier cans offer tech called 'sidetone' or similar, to pipe the sound of your own voice into your ears as you converse on calls. The CMF Headphone Pro don't have this, but the good news is that it's only an issue when the passive isolation is as good as it is in these headphones…

CMF Headphone Pro review: also consider

	CMF Headphone Pro	1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51	Earfun Wave Pro	Sony WH-CH720N
Price	$99 / £79 / AU$179	$89 / £99 / AU$130	$79.99 / £79.99 (about AU$13)	$149 / £99 / AU$259
Drivers	40mm (nickel-plated diaphragms; 16.5 mm copper voice coil; dual chamber design)	40mm dynamic	40mm dynamic	30mm dynamic
Active noise cancellation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Battery life	50 hours ANC on; 100 hours ANC off	65 hours ANC on; 100 hours ANC off	55 hours ANC on; 80 hours ANC off	35 hours ANC on; 50 hours ANC off
Weight	283g	246g	268g	192g
Connectivity	Bluetooth version not stated; LDAC, 3.5mm	Bluetooth 5.4, 3.5mm	Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm	Bluetooth 5.2, 3.5mm
Frequency range	20Hz-20kHz	20Hz-40kHz	20Hz-40kHz	7Hz-20kHz
Waterproofing	None	None	None	None

1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51
Head over to our best headphones guide and our pick of the budget cans is the product you see written in bold, above this sentence. They're a bit normal, looks-wise, but after that there's nothing average about their performance – including the stamina. The ANC probably just edges it over the CMF Headphone Pro, too, although the build quality and companion app don't feel as good. Read our full 1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51 review to learn more.

Earfun Wave Pro
For quite some time, the Earfun Wave Pro also held the title of best budget option in our guide to the best over-ear headphones – and it’s not difficult to see why. Think similarly stupendous battery life, above-average sound and a neat design, all at a temptingly low price. Not into the quirky aesthetic of the CMF Headphone Pro? Read our full Earfun Wave Pro review.

CMF Headphone Pro review: How I tested

Tested for four weeks
Used at home, on the Eurostar to Paris, at the (blustery) beach
Predominantly tested using Tidal and Apple Music, or wired to my FiiO DAP

I tested the CMF Headphone Pro over a period of four weeks, using my MacBook Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and LDAC-toting FiiO M15S as source devices.

I listened to everything from my heavy rotation Three Bean Salad podcast on a long walk on Weymouth's blustery beach, to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska '82 Outtakes on the Eurostar train to Paris from London. I listened in both wired and wireless modes and found much to celebrate in terms of audio chops across the frequencies and energy.

I maxed out the battery and got 49.5 hours from them using ANC too – which, given their 50-hour claim at 50 per cent volume is no meat feat.

I've been testing audio products full time since 2019, first on TechRadar's sister publication What Hi-Fi? as a lowly Staff Writer, then Senior Staff Writer at TechRadar and, since early 2024, Audio Editor (hey, career progression is gradual sometimes in journalism… and that's fine when you've got music).

First reviewed: November 2025
Read more about how we test

Topping’s new DAC, headphone amp and preamp just toppled a few key players to sit with the top of the class

1:30 pm | November 8, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Hi-Fi | Tags: DAC, LDAC | Comments: Off

Topping DX5 II: Two-minute review

The DX5 II is the product that Chinese specialist Topping hopes is going to force its name into the ‘affordable desktop audio’ conversation – and so it’s specified it accordingly and then priced it in the most aggressive manner imaginable.

A selection of digital inputs and a wider selection of balanced and unbalanced outputs mean the DX5 II can function as a DAC and headphone amp, like many of the best portable DACs we recommend can, but it can also become a preamp for use with a traditional stereo system or a pair of powered speakers – which your average portable DAC definitely can't do. So, this is new ground for many a headphone amp-owner.

ESS Sabre digital-to-analogue conversion with a native resolution of 32bit/768kHz and DSD512 means the DX5 II is as high-resolution a device as these things ever get. A variety of finishes, each one tidily realised and each one complementing an impeccable standard of build and finish, means the DX5 II won’t lower the visual tone of your system or your desktop. A selection of desktop Topping technologies designed to maximise sonic performance act as the cherry on top.

And no matter if you use it as a DAC, a preamp or a headphone amp, the DX5 II has an awful lot to recommend it where sound quality is concerned. It creates a big, open soundstage and organises it carefully. It’s detailed and dynamic in equal measure, and it controls low-frequency information to the point that rhythms are delivered with real positivity. It’s eloquent through the midrange, and its top-to-bottom frequency response is smooth too. In fact, there’s only a suggestion of overly bright treble response that represents a tiny fly in a great big vat of sonic ointment.

Topping DX5 II review: Price and release date

The Topping DX5 II on a light-wood table, showing the VU meter, ports and just-seen remote — (Image credit: Future)

Launched on June 10, 2025
Priced $299 / £299 / AU$499

The Topping DX5 II is on sale now, and in the UK it goes for £299. Those numbers apply in the United States too, where it sells for $299 (subject to tariff fluctuations) while in Australia it will set you back AU$499.

A quick comparison then: it's a fair amount of product for the money. FiiO's pocketable BTR17 portable Bluetooth DAC/headphone amplifier sells for just a little less, at around $219 / £179 / AU$329 – but it's a portable little beast rather than a 'desktop' option.

The USB DAC iFi GO Bar Kensei is more, at $499 / £449 / AU$769, while the five-star iFi hip-dac 3 is less, at $199 / £199 / AU$349. All of which is a roundabout way of saying, there's certainly a market for the Topping DX5 II at this price, if it can take care of business.

Topping DX5 II review: Features

ESS Sabre 32bit/768kHz and DSD512 DACs
Bluetooth 5.1 with aptX Adaptive and LDAC compatibility
Balanced and unbalanced outputs

If Topping has attempted to build the DX5 II down to a price, it’s in no way obvious from the way the device is specified. There are similar products costing a fair bit more than Topping is asking that don’t tick as many spec boxes.

Consider the array of inputs and outputs, for instance. The DX5 II can accept digital audio information via coaxial or optical (which both top out at 24bit/192kHz), USB-B (a giddy 32bit/768kHz and DSD512), or Bluetooth 5.1 with SBC, AAC, several aptX standards (up to and including Adaptive) and LDAC. It’s worth mentioning that Windows PC users will need to install a driver to make use of that USB-B socket. Once the digital audio information been converted to the analog equivalent (which I’ll get to in a moment) it can come out again via single-ended stereo RCAs or balanced stereo XLRs (for connection to powered speakers or the amplifier of a traditional stereo system), or via a trio of headphone outputs – balanced XLR, balanced 4.4mm and single-ended 6.3mm.

Conversion to analog from digital is handled by a couple of ESS Sabre ES9038Q2M two-channel DAC chips – one attends to the left channel, the other to the right. They include ESS Sabre’s latest ‘Hyperstream IV’ architecture that’s intended to suppress noise and deliver optimal dynamic range – and their native 32bit/768kHz and DSD512 resolution is about as hi-res as hi-res ever gets out in the real world. To further suppress noise and distortion, Topping has developed a bespoke current-to-voltage conversion module that should also make the DX5 II compatible with a very wide selection of headphones and powered speakers.

And on top of this, Topping has included its own ‘X-Hybrid’ headphone amplification technology. It’s a fully balanced four-channel design with three stages (discrete input, op-amp -based gain stage, discrete output). This optimised circuit topology is designed to offer extended dynamic range, optimum efficiency and low distortion – and it should mean the DX5 II has no problem driving even the most uncooperative and power-hungry headphones.

Now, the free ‘Topping Tune’ software: it was only available for Windows PC at the time of testing, but it’s now also available for Mac OS users and provides access to Topping’s new ‘PEQ’ (parametric equaliser) algorithm that allows control of bandwidth, frequency and gain across ten definable bands. It means multiple audio profiles can be created, saved and uploaded to the DX5 II, target curves can be defined and imported – and different profiles can be applied to specific inputs, so the ultimate sound of headphones or speakers can be individually tuned by the Topping.

Features score: 5 / 5

Topping DX5 II review: Sound quality

Great sense of space and detail
Dynamic and punchy when required
A hint of top-end brightness

In virtually every respect, the Topping DX5 II does straightforwardly impressive work. So much so, in fact, that I might as well deal with the one aspect where it doesn’t outright excel – which should leave plenty of space for me to explain just what’s so likeable about it.

The top of the frequency range is just a little flimsy and bright when compared to everything else that’s going on underneath it. There’s an overly bright quality to the treble reproduction here, a sort of latent edginess that means the DX5 II is just slightly pickier about partnering equipment than it otherwise would be.

And with that out of the way, let’s get to all the good stuff.

The DX5 II is an open, detailed and considered listen, with the sort of soundstaging ability that makes even a complex recording like The Birth and Death of the Day by Explosions in the Sky easy to follow on a granular level. This recording also allows the DX5 II to demonstrate its considerable dynamic headroom – the distance between the moments of greatest intensity and attack, compared to the quietest and most contemplative moments, is significant.

The Topping is also alert to the dynamics of harmonic variation, too – and, in fact, shows a great facility for detail retrieval in every circumstance. It can identify, reveal and quite carefully contextualise even transient or minor details in a mix. And this goes a long way towards creating the sensation that you’re in full receipt of everything a recording has to offer.

The tonality of the low frequencies and the midrange is tidy and naturalistic, and the frequency response from the very bottom to the very top is smooth and even. Low frequencies are deep and textured, and carry a huge amount of information along with very pleasing tonal variation – and they’re controlled at the point of attack, too, so rhythmic expression is assured. The DX5 II punches into bass sounds, rather than slurring, and it observes the decay of those same sounds very carefully too.

The midrange is equally well-realised. The voice during a 24bit/96kHz FLAC file of Ghostpoet’s Off Peak Dreams is characterful and attitudinal, and there’s a tremendous amount of fine detail regarding technique and tone revealed at the same time as information about intention and emotion. The Topping communicates through the midrange in the most articulate manner, and as a result voices always sound direct and positive.

All of the above is true no matter what you’re asking the DX5 II to do. As long as you take a moment’s care with your choice of headphones, as long as the system you’re introducing it into doesn’t share the same latent treble tendencies, it’s a deft and remarkably accomplished performer.

Sound quality: 4.5 / 5

Topping DX5 II review: Design

44 x 190 x 155mm (HxWxD)
Black, silver or white finishes
Properly built and finished

It’s become apparent lately that ‘desktop’ is a relative term – but Topping really means it when it describes the DX5 II as a desktop device. At a neat 44 x 190 x 155mm (HxWxD) it isn’t going to get in the way, even if your desktop is as untidy as mine.

The standard of build and finish is exemplary, and the DX5 II even feels good in a matte-finish, square-edged kind of way. The little indent around the rear of the fascia adds a tiny hint of visual interest, and the Topping looks very presentable in any of the black, silver or white finishes that are available.

Design score: 5 / 5

Topping DX5 II review: Usability and setup

2-in full-colour display
Remote control handset
Legible and sensible on-screen menus

There are some physical controls on the fascia of the DX5 II – they’re grouped to the right of the crisp, full-colour screen that occupies the centre. Three rectangular buttons take care of input selection, accessing set-up menus, and cycling through the various display options for that screen, while a larger turn/press dial takes care of volume and menu navigation.

Options for the screen consist of a ‘spectrum analyser’ (which is sure to remind readers of a certain age of a graphic equaliser from back in the day), a readout of volume level, file format and file resolution, or a virtual VU meter (which is one for readers of an even more certain age). There’s a choice of colour and adjustable brightness, but in every circumstance the display is legible and crisply rendered, so navigating menus is always straightforward.

The Topping is also supplied with a little remote control handset that is, predictably, a lot less visually interesting and a lot less tactile than the control interface on the device itself. And unlike the DX5 II itself, there’s no choice of finish available – it comes in traditional black.

Usability and setup score: 4.5 / 5

Topping DX5 II review: Value

Judge it on the physical size of the product and the DX5 II can seem quite expensive. Consider it in terms of its specification and it suddenly seems much more realistically priced. And then think about its functionality, its flexibility and the highlights of its performance and the Topping starts to look like a bit of a bargain.

Value score: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Topping DX5 II?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Features	Comprehensively specified – it'll even work as a preamp	5/5
Design	Small, svelte and useful enough to slip onto even the untidiest of desks	5/5
Sound quality	Dynamic, punchy and detailed, if just a tad bright on occasion	4.5/5
Value	It would be wrong to argue with the sound-per-pound value here	4.5/5

Buy it if...

You want to up your desktop audio game
The difference the DX5 II can make to the sound of your laptop really needs to be heard

You have a traditional audio system that could do with some digital smarts
High-quality Bluetooth streaming can be yours, no matter how old-school your stereo system

You have some nice headphones that need the best bringing from them
The Topping is ready and able to drive the most demand and/or most high-achieving headphones around

Don't buy it if...

You have headphones that are lively at the top of the frequency range
The resulting sound could easily be interpreted as ‘too much of a good thing’

Topping DX5 II review: Also consider

It’s pretty plain that the iFi Zen DAC 3 is the product the DX5 II needs to topple – or, at the very least, compete hard with if it’s going to be a viable option.

The iFi is a nice-looking, properly built and handily specified device, and it’s capable of extremely clean, confident and full-bodied sound. Which, of course, are all things that equally apply to the Topping machine…

How I tested the Topping DX5 II

I tried a bit of everything, basically – I used the DX5 II on my desktop, connected it to my laptop via USB, and plugged in a pair of high-end IEMs via the balanced 4.4mm headphone output.

I connected it to my reference stereo system using its single-ended RCAs and its balanced XLR outputs – this way I was able to use it as a DAC for my CD player and, with it wirelessly connected to my smartphone, as a Bluetooth receiver. And I tried out these various roles and functions for a working week or more.

First reviewed: November 2025
Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Topping’s new DAC, headphone amp and preamp just toppled a few key players to sit with the top of the class

1:30 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Hi-Fi | Tags: DAC, LDAC | Comments: Off

Topping DX5 II: Two-minute review

Topping DX5 II review: Price and release date

Launched on June 10, 2025
Priced $299 / £299 / AU$499

Topping DX5 II review: Features

ESS Sabre 32bit/768kHz and DSD512 DACs
Bluetooth 5.1 with aptX Adaptive and LDAC compatibility
Balanced and unbalanced outputs

Features score: 5 / 5

Topping DX5 II review: Sound quality

Great sense of space and detail
Dynamic and punchy when required
A hint of top-end brightness

And with that out of the way, let’s get to all the good stuff.

Sound quality: 4.5 / 5

Topping DX5 II review: Design

44 x 190 x 155mm (HxWxD)
Black, silver or white finishes
Properly built and finished

Design score: 5 / 5

Topping DX5 II review: Usability and setup

2-in full-colour display
Remote control handset
Legible and sensible on-screen menus

Usability and setup score: 4.5 / 5

Topping DX5 II review: Value

Value score: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Topping DX5 II?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Features	Comprehensively specified – it'll even work as a preamp	5/5
Design	Small, svelte and useful enough to slip onto even the untidiest of desks	5/5
Sound quality	Dynamic, punchy and detailed, if just a tad bright on occasion	4.5/5
Value	It would be wrong to argue with the sound-per-pound value here	4.5/5

Buy it if...

You want to up your desktop audio game
The difference the DX5 II can make to the sound of your laptop really needs to be heard

You have a traditional audio system that could do with some digital smarts
High-quality Bluetooth streaming can be yours, no matter how old-school your stereo system

You have some nice headphones that need the best bringing from them
The Topping is ready and able to drive the most demand and/or most high-achieving headphones around

Don't buy it if...

You have headphones that are lively at the top of the frequency range
The resulting sound could easily be interpreted as ‘too much of a good thing’

Topping DX5 II review: Also consider

It’s pretty plain that the iFi Zen DAC 3 is the product the DX5 II needs to topple – or, at the very least, compete hard with if it’s going to be a viable option.

How I tested the Topping DX5 II

I tried a bit of everything, basically – I used the DX5 II on my desktop, connected it to my laptop via USB, and plugged in a pair of high-end IEMs via the balanced 4.4mm headphone output.

First reviewed: November 2025
Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

I tested the AirPods Pro 3 and the ANC is even better than before – and that’s before I get to the improved fit and heart-rate monitor

4:52 pm | October 24, 2025

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

Apple AirPods Pro 3: Two-minute review

Apple's AirPods Pro 3 are doubtless the biggest earbuds release of the year – figuratively and in terms of the furore surrounding them, that is, rather than physically (they're nice and small, as it happens). They're still ice-white only, and they'll still prefer an iPhone, iPad or MacBook over an Android device any day of the week – yes, they'll work with Android, but you'll miss even some of the more commonplace perks if using them this way, such as device switching and a quick way of checking the battery.

So know this: I wrote the bulk of this review while using the AirPods Pro 3 with an iPhone 15 Pro Max, otherwise known as the oldest iPhone that is still able to support Apple Intelligence. Why is that important? Because without it you'd miss key perks such as Live Translation (one of the headline features) and personalized fitness insights, for example.

This time around you get five ear tips in the box, although Apple has performed some wizardry with the shape of the driver housing, so they should slip right into your ear and stay there without too much fuss – at least they did for me, and for several others on the TechRadar team. Are these some of the best earbuds on the market for fit and novel features (I will mention heart-rate monitoring; I will also go into Live Translation at length, later) then, as well as claiming the best in-ear active noise cancellation? Oh, without a doubt.

These particular AirPods have very few snafus, but it's my job to mention the small issues I had. My AirPods Pro 3 review sample has refused to acknowledge the existence of the iPhone 12 Pro Max I've tried to pair them with several times, on the grounds that said phone is a non-Apple Intelligence option, and performing a reset is now quite a bit more fiddly than it was previously. This is because the button on the back of the case is now gone. Instead, you have to double-tap the front of the case to do a factory reset, but without touching the front of the case while flipping the lid. If that sounds tricky, it is.

Also, there's still a slight stamina niggle for me. Don't get me wrong: Apple has improved the battery life here, claiming up to eight hours from the earbuds with ANC on, which is up from six hours for the AirPods Pro 2. But this, of course, is without Spatial Audio, heart-rate monitoring and a few other bells and whistles deployed (which you may not have checked before leaving the house, because without a dedicated app to click, some of these toggles feel buried away in your phone's settings). I found the battery life a bit lower than that in real life, at around 5.5 hours in my testing, so it's fine, rather than fantastic.

All of this aside, the AirPods Pro 3's sound is both zealous and head-turning (especially with dynamic head-tracking on), bringing your music to your ears with panache and, hang it all, joy. And let me be clear: these ice-white buds can do this thanks largely to the neatest near-silent ANC performance I've ever experienced using an iPhone source device. And that's worth this kind of money for your next long-haul flight – or heck, even your commute, as far as I'm concerned.

Apple AirPods Pro 3 review: Price and release date

Apple AirPods Pro 3 held in a hand, with beige woollen background — (Image credit: Future)

Released on September 9, 2025
Priced $249 / £219 / AU$429
Available in white or… white again

Both the inaugural AirPods Pro and the follow-up AirPods Pro 2 were priced at $249 / £249 / AU$399 when they first appeared, so the fact that AirPods Pro 3 came with a $249 price tag when they hit shelves on September 19 come as a surprise to nobody.

What is a touch odd is the quoted pricing in other regions, because the AirPods Pro 3 are priced £219 in the UK (I double-checked so you don't have to) and AU$429. So, while they're £30 cheaper in the UK, they're AU$30 more expensive in Australia. I don't make the rules…

On the one hand, plenty of the best wireless earbuds have risen in price in the last few years in line with inflation, but the fact that Apple made a point of hanging on at the same price as the original AirPods Pro from 2019 – in the US at least – and even reduced them in the UK, is quite surprising.

And the huge news is that because of this pricing, Apple's flagship earbuds will actually come at the lower end of the premium earbuds market, depending on region. I know!

What of direct competition at the level? Your rivals are perhaps most pressingly the older AirPods Pro 2, which can now be yours for around $159 / £169 / AU$349, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 (which are a fair bit pricier, at $399 / £349 / AU$599), the Technics EAH-AZ100 which are $299 / £259 / AU$478 or perhaps the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) for $299 / £299 / AU$450.

So you see, Apple's actually gone quite aggressive with the pricing here, when you look at it like that…

Apple AirPods Pro 3 review: Specs

Drivers	'Custom high-excursion' Apple driver with new multiport acoustic architecture and revised driver angle
Active noise cancellation	Yes
Battery life	8 hours (buds, ANC on); 6.5 hours (buds, heart rate sensor on); 24 hours (case)
Weight	5.6g (buds); 44g (case)
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.3 (H2 chip)
Waterproofing	IP57

Apple AirPods Pro 3 review: Features

Heart-rate monitoring
Live Translation is really fun (once set up)
Your fitness app may not support HRM natively though

There are plenty of features here to get through folks, but I want to start on the one no other AirPods are getting any time soon: heart-rate monitoring. Simply by wearing them, that extra black little bar on the inside neck of the bud plus the built-in movement sensors can track 50 workout types with just AirPods Pro 3 – ie. no Apple Watch needed – to give you a heart-rate reading as long as you're wearing at least one earbud.

According to Apple: “AirPods Pro 3 introduce a custom photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that shines invisible infrared light pulsed at 256 times per second to measure light absorption in blood flow.”

Believe it or not, this is actually a different solution to the one found in the also-ticker-taking (and also made by Apple) Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, launched in February 2025. You need to be wearing both earbuds to get a reading there, because when you do, a green LED light sensor in each earpiece pulses over 100 times per second, then measures the light reflected back to calculate how many times your heart is beating per minute. See?

I had heard that my heavy-rotation free Seven app (of 'seven-minute workout' fame – because lunchtime is rarely the full hour in journalism) would simply work with AirPods Pro 3's heart-rate monitoring in-app, but alas, it does not. In fact, at the time of writing, Apple hasn't published a full list of third-party fitness apps that support AirPods' heart-rate monitoring natively. But I still know that my heart-rate went up from its resting 60 BPM to 117 BPM during that short workout, because your reading can be found in the Health app – or you can simply ask Siri to tell you your heart rate whenever you like (once you've turned it on and sorted out the correct permissions within Siri) provided you've got the breath to speak.

Apple is clearly using AirPods' newest trick to send you to its free Fitness app (or better still, its paid-for Fitness+ offering) because even in the free variant, 19 types of activity are clearly displayed with simple Apple Music integration, your AirPods icon in the top right, your choice of three 'workout buddy' voices for personalised encouragement using Apple Intelligence and a little heart icon as if to scream 'heart-rate logging here folks – just get going!' I'm a little disappointed to see no aerial silks/hoop or pole dance activities listed here, Apple (both are hugely popular) but this review is about AirPods Pro 3 rather than the suite of offerings within Fitness, and AirPods' help in facilitating all of this data accumulation does add a lot of value to your purchase.

Three screen grabs from iPhone using AirPods Pro 3, one showing the live translation feature — (Image credit: Apple)

Now, Live Translation: once you get it up and running, it's excellent. I say 'once you get it up and running' because there are various hoops you need to jump through and barriers to pass (and tricks I used) before it'll work properly. And you should do these when you first set up your AirPods if you'd like to get at it quick enough so that when the time comes, the poor bar-tender you're trying to talk to doesn't get cold feet and run away while you're telling them to hang on.

So, you need: your AirPods Pro 3 (although it is also available in AirPods 4 (ANC) and AirPods Pro 2); iPhone 15 Pro or later; iOS 26 or later; Apple Intelligence turned on; the Translate app downloaded (and the language modules you want downloaded) plus the latest AirPods Firmware version. In addition to this, I customised the iPhone Action button on my iPhone 15 Pro Max to start Live Translation – because I found it marginally quicker and more reliable than pressing both stems of my AirPods Pro 3. But do either of those things once you've got everything running and you'll feel like James Bond in Casino Royale, dropping in on local gossip at the tables in Venice's Hotel Danieli.

Luckily, I have a Spanish-speaking other half to deploy. He spoke to me about his plans to play tennis that night until 10pm (see the left screen-grab, below). The English version of his Spanish prose was piped vocally into my ears with very little delay, as well as appearing on my iPhone as a transcript. It is remarkably good.

Elsewhere, Apple's fit- and hearing tests are back (you do the first, before you can take the second) and very thorough they are too. Since I answered the hearing test honestly (stay with it; it's worth it), I cannot in good faith test the hearing aid help in action, because I do not require it. But what is very useful is Conversation Awareness, which you simply toggle on in the AirPods Pro tab of your iPhone's settings. Then, when you talk, your music volume is lowered and background noise is reduced so that you can easily converse.

It's worth noting that both of these features (Live Translation and Conversation Awareness) are not popular with some of the team, because they encourage wearing AirPods constantly – and some of us (myself included) find this rude. Perhaps in time the pet peeve of a friend or colleague refusing to remove their earbuds when talking to me will cease to annoy me, but I'm not so sure…

AirPods Pro 3 three screen grabs showing translation on the left, heart-rate in the center and the fit test on the right — (Image credit: Future)

Features score: 5 / 5

AirPods Pro 3 on a woollen background, held in a hand — (Image credit: Future)

Apple AirPods Pro 3 review: Sound quality

Enjoyable, emotive audio with personalised spatial audio on
Vocals nicely textured and three-dimensional
Not the last word in detail and neutrality, but that's not the point

Please, please take Apple's excellent ANC performance in the AirPods Pro 3 as read – it's almost scarily good at sucking the noise out of your ears, but without the actual sucky, wind tunnel, nauseating effect you can sometimes get with similar levels of noise-nixing. I found toggling on Apple's 'Adaptive' audio less effective (it felt just a touch laggy at picking up low-level noise when I'd have liked the AirPods to cancel it) so I chose to keep noise-cancelling and conversation awareness on, at my desk. And it eased me into my day in a cocoon of silence that very little could breach.

Sonically, you can expect an expansive, exuberant soundstage that allows bass registers ample space to rumble with regimented clout. The detailed Spanish guitar intro of Daddy Yankee's Toy Hermoso is textured through the mids and feels as if the guitarist is by my left ear, but as the reggaeton beat comes in, it's a toe-tapping and head-nodding mix that has me dancing at my desk like I'm in a Cuban salsa club – especially with head-tracked spatial audio on.

Cueing up Rema's FUN, the intentionally warm and static-filled intro is faithfully relayed, and as the dynamics and speed of the track build, I'm once again dancing in my seat.

For neutrality and detail (that 'integrated hi-fi versus fun' debate), it's worth pointing out that you'll get a little more from both the Technics EAH-AZ100 and the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 – think the breathy delivery of Taylor Swift's vocal in Elizabeth Taylor, which feels just slightly more human and detailed in the rival buds. But if you prioritise immersive, vigorous impact, I find the AirPods Pro 3 even better than the also-excellent Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) – and that's not a statement I make lightly.

Sound quality: 4.5 / 5

Apple AirPods Pro 3 review: Design

Vastly improved fit
Loss of the case button is a misstep
Could do with a dedicated app now

As mentioned (and pictured below), the AirPods Pro earpiece shape has been reworked this time around. The angle of the neck has been tweaked quite significantly and I'm a huge fan. Simply put, they fit well – and by that I mean securely, even when I shake my head – for me now, and that has never been the case with any AirPods until this iteration.

An IP57 rating means the buds are also dust resistant and waterproof to a depth of one meter for up to 30 minutes, which is noteworthy.

The case is a touch taller and wider but less deep now. The LED light is now undetectable when it's not on, which makes for a sleek look. Also sleeker but for me less helpful is the loss of the reset button on the back of the case. I say this because when upgrading my iPhone to a model that supports Apple Intelligence to test these earbuds, I found myself needing to reset the AirPods. And that's no longer as easy as it once was, because double-tapping the front of the case with the lid flipped, but not touching the front of the case (so that said case registers my tap attempts) isn't a simple maneuver.

My one minor gripe here concerns the supporting software – because software design is still a 'design' issue, for me.

Yes, you can pull down on the Control Center on your iPhone to see the basic AirPods bubble, at which point you can check your listening mode, conversation awareness status and spatial audio profile. Then, you can go into your AirPods Pro tab, in Settings, to check the current state of more general features such as the Hearing Health tab, call controls, head gestures, enabling charging case sounds, automatic ear detection to pause your music when you remove one, and so on.

But given that so many of AirPods Pro 3's newer features require extra taps and navigation to alternate apps (there's the Translate app for your language modules, the Health app to see your heart-rate data, the Fitness app to see that heart-rate increase as you exercise) I wonder whether at this point it might make sense to have one dedicated AirPods Pro 3 app to rule them all. I'm speculating, but I'd definitely like to try that, because the current solution will doubtless have you consulting Apple's support pages in an effort to find how – or more importantly, where – to toggle on what you need…

Apple AirPods Pro 3 either worn by a man standing in front of a red-brick wall, or on a table with gray twine cover — (Image credit: Future)

Design score: 4.5 / 5

Apple AirPods Pro 3 review: value

The best ANC earbuds on the market for iPhone owners
Not the most original choice… but the best

Popular taste doesn't always mean good taste, does it? And I say that as a fan of pop music. Value is also an odd thing to quantify, since whether or not these represent value for you will hone in on possibly three things. Firstly, do you want the best ANC for your iPhone? Because here, AirPods Pro 3 are doubtless the best noise-cancelling earbuds on the market – Apple said they're twice as good as AirPods Pro 2, and I can vouch for that claim.

Secondly, do you value the extra battery life offered here over the Pro 2 – even though it's far from the the best on the wider market. For reference, the Technics EAH-AZ100 (which we called "good rather than great for battery") can offer up to 12 hours from the buds on a single charge with no ANC deployed, while AirPods Pro 3 can only manage a maximum of 10 hours before needing to be charged.

And thirdly, how much do you want your earbuds to take your heart-rate and use that reading within workouts (yes, even vocally, thanks to Apple Intelligence's virtual buddies)?

It's worth noting that I think AirPods Pro 3 are also the best earbuds for small ears Apple has made, because of the newer fit – and I found myself loving the Live Translation feature at home (although it's not exclusive to the Pro 3), since my other half speaks Spanish.

So, I'll leave all of that with you. For me personally though (and putting my minor queries with the case and software support to one side) there's great value here.

Value: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Apple AirPods Pro 3?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Features	Heart-rate monitoring and Live Translation add to an extensive suite of perks for newer iPhone owners	5/5
Sound quality	Zealous, powerful and immersive audio backed by excellent ANC	4.5/5
Design	The tweaked shape and repositioned neck on the driver housing is a huge hit	4.5/5
Value	Simply the best iPhone earbuds for ANC on the market – if not the longest-lasting	4.5/5

Buy them if…

You work out (or you care about heart health)
If you don't have a subscription already, Apple will prompt you to try out Fitness+ for free, but even if you stick with free workouts – or you just like asking Siri "what's my heart-rate" – it becomes a very useful tool, very quickly

You want bubble-of-silence ANC from your iPhone
Simply put, no other buds do it quite like this if your source device is an iPhone

You have bilingual friends and family
Ha! We can all understand your French, Spanish, German or Portuguese conversations now…

Don’t buy them if…

You own an Android
It may go without saying, but for this money (and for the number of features that slip away for it) you'll be better served with a Bose, Technics or Bowers & Wilkins product.

You need long-haul flight stamina
The battery life isn't awful (and it is better than the AirPods Pro 2), but compared to rivals it can certainly be beaten – the Technics EAH-AZ100 last two hours longer on a single charge with no ANC, for instance.

You want Lossless audio support, LDAC or aptX
No dice here, friend. If you need Apple Music's Lossless support from an iPhone, AirPods Max do it (using the USB-C wire), but if you want aptX or Sony's higher-resolution Bluetooth audio codec (LDAC), look to the Cambridge Audio Melomania A100.

Apple AirPods Pro 3 review: Also consider

	Apple AirPods Pro 3	Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)	Technics EAH-AZ100	Cambridge Audio Melomania A100
Drivers	'Custom high-excursion' Apple driver with new multiport acoustic architecture	10mm	10mm free-edge dynamic	10mm Neodymium dynamic
Active noise cancellation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Battery life	8 hours (buds, ANC on; 10 hours with ANC off); 6.5 hours (buds, heart rate sensor on); 24 hours (case)	6 hours (earbuds, ANC off; 4 hours with it on) case not specified	12 hours (earbuds, ANC off); 17 hours (charging case)	11 hours per charge; up to 39 hours with the case
Weight	5.6g per bud	7.7g per bud	5.9g per bud	4.7g per earbud
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.3	Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX Lossless / Adaptive	Bluetooth 5.3 with LDAC and LC3 compatibility	5.4 with LDAC and aptX Lossless
Waterproofing	IP57 case and earbuds	IPX4 earbuds only	IPX4 earbuds only	IPX5 earbuds only

Technics EAH-AZ100
An option with slightly better stamina that also offers excellent sound quality and decent noise cancellation – plus LDAC higher-resolution Bluetooth support if you've got a Sony device. Here, you even get multi-point to three brand-agnostic devices (rather than the standard two) and the classy finish makes them nothing short of a joy to own – even though they won't take your heart-rate. Get the full picture in our Technics EAH-AZ100 review.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)
They've got excellent streaming-service agnostic immersive audio profiles, wonderful ANC for Android phones as well as iPhones and a colorful look. Some may find the buds a touch big and there are no guided hearing tests, but if it's the best ANC and an Android phone companion you seek, you've found the best there is. See our full Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) review for more.View Deal

Cambridge Audio Melomania A100
Cambridge Audio also offers a premium listen in its latest earbuds with good ANC. No heart-rate monitoring or Live Translation, of course, but if it's an integrated hi-fi listen you seek, add them to your list – and they'll last longer than the Bose option. Read more in our Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 review.

How I tested the Apple AirPods Pro 3

Tested for three weeks
Tested walking along Seaham beach, on a packed Eurostar train and at home

I used AirPods Pro 3 for three weeks while compiling this review, and my testing involved listening to podcasts and music, as well as watching streamed movies from various devices and streaming platforms – including Android and Apple sources.

I listened at home, during several sea-glass hunting walks in County Durham and on a busy train to Paris – and let me tell you, with these as both a musical companion and live translation tool, they eased my journey no end.

My background as a professional dancer meant I was very interested in what AirPods Pro 3 made of my heart-rate and overall fitness (still got it, friends) and my seemingly insatiable need to move to music is what drives me to search for faithful timing, precision, clarity and good old fashioned fun in recorded audio.

First reviewed October 2025.

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Nothing Ear (3) earbuds look fantastic next to my phone and the ANC is solid –but I’m not sure the audio quality is good enough for this money

11:35 am | September 26, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Earbuds & Airpods Gadgets Headphones | Tags: ANC, Apple Music, LDAC, Sony Xperia | Comments: Off

Nothing Ear (3): Two-minute review

Okay, so it's still hard to stop oneself from playing a game of Spot the Difference concerning Nothing's earbuds offering – but what of it? Apple's AirPods lineup is much the same, no? The problem is that this time (unlike Nothing's last major earbuds release, which came in at $50 / £30 cheaper than their older siblings) there's a price hike involved; and simply put, I'm not quite sure the extra perks here do enough to justify the extra outlay.

Sure, I'd say the new Nothing Ear (3) are they still among the best earbuds of the year – but one option in the duo of buds they replace has dropped so low in price that they've actually jumped into our best budget earbuds buying guide. So you see, to build a case for paying quite a bit extra for the new Ear (3), they'd need to be quite a bit better – and that's where I'm struggling.

To put the pricing into context, their closest rivals now would no longer be Sony's class-leading WF-C710N, which sell for around $120 / £100. No, at $179 / £179 / AU$299, the Nothing Ear (3) aren't exactly rubbing shoulders with the likes of the $299 / £299 / AU$450 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), but they have moved up a level – and it's tough company to keep.

There's no head-tracked spatial audio support (the device- and service-agnostic spatial audio option is either 'Static' or 'off') in the Ear (3), and although the ANC is solid and a new 'Super Mic' is fun to play with in calls, it hasn't become the new must-have earbuds feature for me – and if it was going to appeal to anyone, someone who remembers a world of landline phones only was probably the Nothing Ear (3)'s best shot.

My biggest gripe is the battery life, which I'll explain fully later. That said, I experienced no small sense of pride when wearing and showing off the Ear (3), thanks to the new aluminum 'elevated' build quality and finish – along with the return of the fidget-spinner case detail.

Is all of this enough to make the Ear (3) a hit? Perhaps, when you consider that the splendid hearing tests remain, along with advanced EQ tabs and LDAC support – all of which make the sound engaging, if a shade off excellent for dynamic nuance and treble clarity. Oh, and it's worth noting that if you have a Nothing phone, that Super Mic becomes a quick transcription tool, which admittedly makes it much more useful (I don't have a Nothing handset, so I'm typing out this review, dear reader)…

Nothing Ear (3) being tested on a commuter train late at night — (Image credit: Future)

For anyone scratching their heads as to how many Nothing earbuds iterations we're into now (because it certainly isn't three), Nothing fully admits its earbuds naming strategy to date may not have been the smartest. So to explain, the Ear (3) is an update on the flagship Nothing Ear primarily, but also on the Nothing Ear (a), which both launched in April 2024 on the self-same day – with the cheaper pair still sitting happily at the tippy-top of our best budget earbuds guide.

And here's my problem with that: a quick scan of current prices reveals that the aforementioned five-star Nothing Ear (a) are currently available for $89 / £69, which means they're half the price of the new Ear (3). And honestly, that makes the newest set even harder to recommend…

Nothing Ear (3) review: Price & release date

Released on September 18, 2025
Priced $179 / £179 / AU$299

The Nothing Ear (3) come in black or white finishes (no yellow this time around), and at this pricier level – Nothing's previous flagship Nothing Ear arrived with a list price of $149 / £129 / AU$249 – their closest competition may even be Apple's AirPods Pro 3, which retail for $249 / £219 / AU$429.

Yes, there's still a $70 / £40 difference between Apple's new top-tier AirPods Pro and Nothing's best buds, but if your budget stretches a bit further it does bring Apple's flagship earbuds into the conversation. And given that those AirPods now offer heart-rate monitoring, live translation and better stamina, Nothing is squaring up against some stiff competition.

Nothing Ear (3) review: Specs

Drivers	12mm custom driver
Active noise cancellation	Yes
Battery life	Buds: 5.5hrs (with ANC; up to 10 hours without) Total with case: 22hrs (ANC on; up to 38 hours without)
Weight	5.2g per earbud
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.4 with LDAC, USB-C
Frequency range	20Hz–40 kHz
Waterproofing	IP54 buds
Other features	New Super Mic case, 3 mics per earbud, Nothing X App support, Custom EQ with Advanced options, Static Spatial Audio, Personal Sound (Audiodo)

Nothing Ear (3) screen grab of three app images, showing the personal sound curation software — (Image credit: Nothing)

Nothing Ear (3) review: Features

'Static' spatial audio and Personal Sound curation
Total Radiated Power (TRP) up 15%; Total Isotropic Sensitivity (TIS) up 20%
'First of its kind Super Mic' in the charging case

Like many of tech's heavy-hitters (Samsung, Sony, Apple, I'm looking at you), Nothing would love to snag you and embroil you in its ecosystem with the promise of walled garden perks – and here, Nothing really does start to come into its own.

The ace up the collective sleeve of Nothing's earbuds prior to now has been that for owners of the Nothing Phone (3), the Phone (2), Phone (1) and Phone (2a) – because Nothing has been far more sensible concerning the naming of its handsets – Nothing has offered instant access to ChatGPT via a pinch-to-speak motion on the stems. Now, users of a Nothing smartphone can use the Super Mic on Nothing Ear (3)'s case to capture transcription of your voice notes, which will sync to your on-device 'Essential Space' for easy location.

Nothing calls Super Mic a "first of its kind" breakthrough, and although it initially struck me as very similar to the 'record' button on the Viaim RecDot earbuds, there are of course those aforementioned walled-garden perks.

Otherwise, Nothing's Super Mic is quite like those little clip-on wireless mics that content creators like to hold very close to their mouths (does this look a bit silly to anyone else?). Nothing calls Super Mic a "breakthrough dual-microphone system driven by ambient-filtering technology."

In a nutshell, the dual MEMS beamforming mics built into the case are designed to hone in on your voice, cutting through surrounding noise (up to 95dB is the claim) for clearer capture in calls or notes – and in my tests, it worked well. On a very blustery day on the cliffs and beaches of the UK's 'Jurassic coast' in Dorset, I found using the Super Mic over the three-mics-per-bud in the earpieces a welcome aid; "much better" was the general feedback from calls.

You're also getting Bluetooth v5.4 (the older set used 5.3), and LDAC support for hi-res audio (the Sony-developed codec that lets you stream high-resolution audio up to 32-bit/96kHz over Bluetooth at up to 990kbps), which is a valuable inclusion at any level, but will benefit Android users most since iPhones can't support LDAC natively.

There's now onboard spatial audio wizardry too, irrespective of your phone or the music service you're streaming from – but only the 'static' kind (so you don't get to use your phone as a fixed-point source device) and in my tests, it was a little clunky and not quite as immersive or convincing as similar offerings from Bose, LG or of course Apple.

However, you do get in-ear detection (to pause music when they're out and resume it when they're in), an Auto-Transparency mode to make transparency kick in whenever you're on a phone call, an ear tip Fit Test, Find My earbuds (which issues a trigger sound from whichever earbud you've lost), a Low Lag toggle for gaming, issue-free multipoint to two devices, a Bass Enhancement toggle, an 8-tab EQ graph that lets you adjust both gain and the actual frequency of certain registers (provided you're prepared to switch off the spatial audio augmentation), and Personal Sound.

This last perk is perhaps my favorite, because the tests only take around three minutes – they involve sounds at different frequencies being piped into each ear, getting gradually quieter until you tap the screen to say you hear nothing – but the result (a fully curated personal sound profile) is very good indeed.

Now, the noise cancellation: hit ANC (rather than 'Transparency' or 'Off') and you can pick from High, Mid, Low, and Adaptive profiles. High is not bad at all – and it shouldn't be when the claim is 45dB (effective to 5kHz). The Transparency option is still signified by a woman exhaling, and it's still one of the best prompts in the business (aside from Matt Berry in Cambridge's headphones and earbuds), and it too is perfectly acceptable. But here's the thing: I did not find any of the ANC profiles better than on the Nothing Ear (a), which makes sense because that 45dB claim is the same as the older model.

And when that older model is now half the price of these newer earbuds, you have to be asking yourself if a Super Mic in the case and spatial audio that doesn't offer dynamic head-tracking is worth the extra outlay.

Features score: 4.5 / 5

Nothing Ear (3) review: Sound quality

LDAC adds to the performance (but the spatial audio can be beaten)
Forward, full-bodied sound
A shade off excellent for dynamic nuance

Occasionally in hi-fi circles, you'll come across the 'integrated hi-fi listen versus fun and exciting' sonic debate concerning portable audio. It boils down to this: do you want a faithfully accurate, neutral representation of a recording with everything as intended, or an energetic, potentially more emotive version of the track?

In the second option, certain frequencies might be augmented just slightly, to give you the 'feels' of a live gig from small drivers fitted into your ear. And the odd thing is that what you may think you want may not actually be what your ear prefers (as mystical and strange as that may sound)…

Anyway, the Nothing Ear (3) sit firmly in the latter camp. What you'll get here is excitement, energy, bass clout and oomph. Those with a Sony smartphone (I'm still using the Sony Xperia 1 IV, because it isn't broken, so why would I fix it?) will find LDAC codec files are delivered with extra expanse and detail over more 'vanilla' Bluetooth streaming, but the tuning is the same regardless – very little has been held back.

Streaming Fontaines D.C.'s Starburster is a head-nodding celebration of the track, where drum fills and Grian Chatten's voice leap two-footed into each ear with all of the bite and impetus the group could possibly want, but there is a downside. Some lesser backing vocals and sloping string elements occasionally get lost just slightly; it's hard to compete when so much emphasis and energy is placed on sounds at the forefront.

Yes, there are plenty of ways to tweak things more to your liking in the Nothing X app and here, the eight-tab EQ graph is the place to go – it does help. What I personally would leave well alone is the Bass Booster. It isn't necessary – this is a meaty listen from the box. Also, I'd tone down the treble; I know my own ear is sensitive to these frequencies, but nevertheless, stream Kate Bush's Army Dreamers and if you're anything like me you'll hear occasional harshness through the treble that can become a little wearying.

Sound quality score: 4 / 5

Nothing Ear (3) three screen-grabs from the Nothing X app, showing how to use the new super mic — See how Ear (a) is just slightly bigger than Ear (2), across the board? (Image credit: Nothing)

Nothing Ear (3) review: Design

Solid, cool, pocketable case with 'TALK' button
IP54 earbuds are secure – but the comfort levels can now be beaten
Nothing's design language is even more striking now

After switching out to the smaller ear tips (you get four in total now: an XS, S and L options are supplied in addition to the pre-fitted M set), Nothing's ear tip fit test tells me I've nailed the fit.

I say that if you've got smaller ears I really would encourage you to try before you buy – and my guide to the best earbuds for small ears is worth consulting – because I found the driver housing just that little bit harder to accommodate this time around. It could be because of that larger 12mm driver (and "patterned diaphragm" which Nothing claims gives these buds "a 20% larger radiating area when compared to the previous generation"), or it could be because said earpiece is mounted at a slightly different angle to the stem now – see a close-up of Ear (3) next to the Ear (a) above – but they weren't as comfortable this time.

Nothing Ear (3) on the left, Nothing Ear (a) on the right, on a wooden table in close-up, to show marginal tweaks to the design — (Image credit: Future)

On this, readers might simply remark "Well, they're based on AirPods, can't really knock them for that – Apple did it first" but here's the thing: AirPods are different now! You might not have spotted it because it's all very new (and the heart-rate monitor and live translation perks have hogged headlines), but the AirPods Pro 3's fit has been completely reworked. I'm working on a full review of those too (they keep me chained up in TR HQ you know) but even at this early stage and during my testing, I can tell you that for me, the AirPods Pro 3 are much comfier than the Nothing Ear (3) now.

Nothing's pinch stems still work really well, but again (and at the risk of sounding like a broken record) it's only as good as the older, cheaper Nothing set. You can still customize what the morse code short- and long-press combinations do for each stem – including volume – and they also work with gloves on, unlike a lot of touch-capacitive solutions.

Now, the new case. If you've got a metallic-finish smartphone, the Nothing Ear (3) are going to look glorious beside it. Aesthetics really is one of Nothing's strong suits, and these earbuds are the ace in the pack. 'Elevated' is the word Nothing's team keep repeating on this; and it's true, they look more high-end now. There's a new custom Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) antenna, engineered to just 0.35 mm thick, that now runs along the still-see-through stems of the earbuds to keep connections stronger than ever. It's the same, but refined – it looks like a more expensive version of what was there before.

And if it's elevation we need to be focusing on, the charging nest is the thing that's, er, risen the most. It is now crafted from a block of 100% recycled aluminum and CNC machine finished through 27 processes. Nano injection moulding also "fuses the metal and transparent plastic without glue, achieving tight ±0.03mm tolerances for a seamless, compact body" according to Nothing, so there's no glue anywhere here. And the shiny 'TALK' button is placed directly under a nice snappy magnet where the case opens. Nothing assures me it has been positioned so that you won't cover it with your hand, and the green light-up LED to denote that you're recording is a strong touch.

Design score: 4.5 / 5

Nothing Ear (3) earbuds beside a phone with the advanced EQ filter showing — Rarely have I had so many colleagues strike up a conversation with me over a set of earbuds (Image credit: Future)

Nothing Ear (3) review: Value

Great-looking earbuds
LDAC adds sound-per-pound value
…but this is higher-end territory, and the Nothing Ear (a) still exist

The older Nothing earbuds were near-rivals for Sony's cheaper earbuds, but that's no longer the case: Sony's excellent affordable WF-C710N cost $119 / £100 / AU$189, so they're in a different category to the $179 / £179 Nothing Ear (3).

And although there's a lot to enjoy in the Ear (3), unless you have a Nothing handset for transcription features, the Super Mic really is just a better mic for calls and certain voice notes – it doesn't support WhatsApp voice notes (yet), which I explain in more depth in my early Ear (3) experiential.

The personalization is very very good, but the audio has suffered a little for me in this iteration, becoming a little harsher through the treble on occasion, probably due to the slightly bigger driver and tweaked acoustic architecture.

Value score: 3 / 5

Should I buy the Nothing Ear (3)?

Section	Notes	Score
Features	Solid spec sheet, but the Super Mic is really only a standout feature if you own a Nothing phone	4.5/5
Sound quality	Zeal and get up and go to a fault? Almost. They're vigorous and exciting, but there's occasional treble harshness	4/5
Design	Beautiful design language, but the earpieces are no longer among the comfiest around	4.5/5
Value	Given the price of older iterations, it's hard to see huge value for money here	3/5

Buy them if...

You're a content creator
The Super Mic could be just what you're looking for to glean better voice capture – and the general aesthetic of the Nothing Ear (3) is more than Instagram-worthy

You have a Sony or Android phone
Does your phone support LDAC? Hurrah! LDAC is also back in the Ear (3), and that means better-quality wireless audio from your device on the go

You prioritize style
Hey, there's nothing wrong with that! I loved wearing these (and using the case) during my testing. Make no mistake, these are good-looking earbuds.

Don't buy them if...

You have small ears
If your concha (aka ear-well) is particularly bijou, you may struggle here. I find them that bit harder to wear compared to the Ear (a), which were already on the slightly larger side. You have been warned!

You want head-tracked spatial audio wizardry
No dice here; you get a static profile it's true, but it's not as immersive or detailed as something like the LG Tone Free T90Q (head-tracked using Dolby Atmos), or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), an admittedly premium proprietary offering that combines adaptive sound profiles with head tracking.

You're on a tight budget
The thing is this: most of the things I loved in the cheaper Ear (a) are still here in the Ear (3), and when those still exist –and for big discounts – the smart money is arguably still on the 2024 product… View Deal

Nothing Ear (3) review: Also consider

	Nothing Ear (3)	Nothing Ear (a)	Sony WF-C710N
Price	$179 / £179 / AU$299	$99 / £99 / approx AU$192	$119 / £100 / AU$189
Drivers	12mm custom	11m custom	5mm
Active noise cancellation	Yes	Yes	Yes
Quoted battery life	Buds: 5.5hrs (with ANC; up to 10 hours without) Total with case: 22hrs (ANC on; up to 38 hours without)	Buds: 5.5 hrs (9.5 hours without ANC Total with case: 24.5 hrs (42.5 hrs without ANC)	8.5 hrs (ANC ON) / Max. 12 hrs (ANC off); up to 30 hours with the case
Weight	5.2g	4.8g	5.2g per earpiece
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.4 with LDAC, USB-C	Bluetooth 5.3, LDAC, USB-C (no wireless charging)	Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C, Sony 360 Reality Audio, AAC, SBC
Frequency range	20kHz-40kHz	5000Hz range	20Hz-20kHz
Waterproofing	Yes, IP54	Yes, IP54 earbuds; IPX2 case	Yes, IPX4
Other features	Static spatial audio, Super Mic case feature, Personal sound profiles, advanced EQ		Sony 360 Reality Audio

Sony WF-C710N
If you want Sony's 360 reality Audio support as well as its LDAC hi-res codec, this money buys you that – and by "this money", I mean "cheaper than the Nothing Ear (3)". The build is plastic and doesn't feel anywhere near as premium as Nothing Ear (3), but then, they are cheaper…
Read whether it matters, in our full Sony WF-C700N review

Nothing Ear (a)
I'm putting these here because for the money, they're exceptional – and at half the price of Nothing's premium set, I'm struggling to see why you would pay double the price. Is wireless charging support, a Super Mic, static spatial audio and/or a more advanced EQ tab worth the extra outlay? That's up to you, of course, but to me the smart money may still be with the 2024 set – especially since I prefer the slightly more detailed, marginally less full-bodied audio in the Ear (a). View Deal

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)
You'll have to part with a bit more money to get it, but scale that food chain and you can get the QCUE (2nd Gen) and enjoy really, really good ANC and remarkable spatial audio that works in conjunction with those talented spatial sound profiles.
Learn more in our in-depth Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) review

How I tested the Nothing Ear (3)

Nothing Ear (3) three screen-grabs from the Nothing X app, introducing the new super mic — (Image credit: Nothing)

Tested for two weeks, listened against AirPods Pro 3, Bose QCUE (2nd Gen) and Technics EAH-AZ100
Listened at work (in the office, walking on a beach, on a train) and at home
Listened to Tidal, Qobuz, Apple Music and Spotify on an iPhone 15 Pro Max, MacBook Pro and heard LDAC on Sony Xperia 1 IV

The Nothing Ear (3) became my primary musical companions for 13 days – after a thorough 48-hour run-in period.

They accompanied me to London (walking brusquely from St. Pancras Station to Waterloo owing to strike action on the London Underground and my need to get a train back to Dorset in 43 minutes!) and at home – where I actually missed delivery of a review sample owing to the efficacy of Nothing Ear (3)'s ANC.

It goes without saying that to better test the comfort levels (and battery life claims), I followed TechRadar's meticulous methodology testing. I also used TechRadar's reference playlist (spanning everything from hip-hop to folk music) on Apple Music and Tidal, and also my own musical selections and podcasts. I wore the Ear (3) to watch YouTube videos (mostly about the Austrian singer Falco, since you ask) from my MacBook Pro.

I’ve been testing audio products for well over five years. As a dancer, aerialist and musical theater performer in another life, sound quality, fit, and user experience have always been imperative for me personally, but having heard how wonderful ANC can be when done well, I know what I'm listening out for here also.

First reviewed: September 2025

I tested these chic sub-$100 true wireless earbuds, but their lacklustre sound is too hard to ignore

12:30 pm | August 5, 2025

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

Final Audio ZE3000 SV: Two-minute review

The Final Audio ZE3000 SV arrive in a very competitive sector of the best budget earbud market equipped to compete. A combination of app and touch control, very decent battery life, some swanky new 10mm dynamic drivers (that word in conjunction with a port to keep pressure levels within the earbuds acceptable), and a light, comfortable design all bode very well.

Then you realize the app and the touch controls don’t really do as much as you’d like. And that Final Audio has deliberately tuned the active noise-cancellation to impact as little as possible on sound quality rather than to impact as much as possible on external sounds. As a result, you start to wonder if perhaps spending $99 on a pair of ZE3000 SV might not be as good an idea as spending it on, say, a pair of Sony’s excellent WF-C710N.

Fortunately, the Final Audio reassert themselves, to an extent, when it comes to audio performance. No, the ZE3000 SV aren’t the most exciting listen you’ve ever experienced, and for some people this lack of audio energy will be enough to rule them out of the best earbuds race, irrespective of budget. But they are balanced, detailed, fairly dynamic and very revealing of the minutiae of a recording. Their midrange reproduction, in particular, is naturalistic and convincing, while low-frequency presence is impressive too. Or, at least, it is provided you’ve made sure the earbuds fit just so.

Final Audio ZE3000 SV review: Price and release date

Final Audio ZE3000 SV ANC wireless earbuds on a white surface — (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

Released on February 27, 2025
Priced $99 / £89 / AU$169

The Final Audio ZE3000 SV have been on sale since the very end of February this year, and in every territory in which they’re on sale, they’re aggressively priced. That’s not the same as saying they have a clear shot, of course – very similar money to this buys well-regarded alternatives from the likes of JBL, Nothing and Sony, to name just three…

Final Audio ZE3000 SV review: Specs

Type	True wireless in-ear
Drivers	10mm ‘F-Core SV’ dynamic
Active noise cancellation	Yes
Battery life	7 hours (earbuds, ANC on), 28 hours (including charging case)
Weight	4g per bud
Frequency response	20Hz - 20kHz
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.3 (SBC, AAC, LDAC)
Waterproofing	IPX4
Control	Touch; app

Final Audio ZE3000 SV review: Features

10mm ‘F-Core’ SV dynamic drivers
Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC, AAC and LDAC codec compatibility
28 hours of battery life (including charging case) with ANC on

The Final Audio ZE3000 SV use Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless connectivity, and have multipoint connectivity if you need to connect them to two devices at once. They’re compatible with the LDAC codec as well as the bog-standard SBC and AAC alternatives, so an appropriate source player will be able to stream at half-decent quality.

Once audio information is on board, it’s delivered to your ears by a couple of newly developed 10mm ‘F-Core SV’ dynamic drivers. Final Audio is claiming a frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz from this new design, and they work in conjunction with ‘F-Link’ port technology in an effort to optimize acoustic pressure within the body of the earbud.

Active noise-cancellation is a four-stage system: ‘off’, ‘on’, ‘wind-cut’ and ‘ambient sound’. With ANC on, you can expect around seven hours of action from the earbuds, and there are a further three full charges stored in the case. Ten minutes charging via the case’s USB-C slot should be good for around an hour's listening.

You can use the capacitive touch surface on the left earbud to toggle between ‘on’ and ‘ambient sound’. The left earbud also takes care of ‘skip backwards’ and ‘volume down’, while the right earbud is in charge of ‘play/pause’, ‘skip forwards’ and ‘volume up’.

The Final Connect control app is similarly brief – there are no playback controls here, and no ability to embed a streaming service. All you get, in fact, is the ability to check for firmware updates, an indication of remaining battery life, full ANC control, and access to a seven-band equaliser with storage space for one custom setting. You can also switch ‘gaming mode’ on or off. Final reckons latency is down below 60m/s when it’s engaged.

Features score: 4/5

Screenshots of the Final Audio ZE3000 SV in-ear headphones app — (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

Final Audio ZE3000 SV review: Sound quality

Balanced, detailed and quite direct sound
Decent dynamism and good low-end presence…
Provided you’ve got the fit just right

Some earbuds at the more affordable end of the market like to make things as exciting as possible, a sort of sonic grabbing by the lapels that seems designed to make you ignore their shortcomings in favor of marveling at their vigor. The Final Audio ZE3000 SV are not those earbuds.

They have plenty going for them in terms of sound quality, of course. A listen to Ty Segall’s version of Hot Chocolate’s Every 1’s a Winner reveals them to be a nicely balanced and quite informative listen, able to extract and present even quite fine details buried in the mix. They control their low frequency presence well, so bass sounds hit respectably hard but don’t overstay their welcome or drag at the rhythm. The midrange is open and natural-sounding, so voices get to reveal a lot of their character as well as their tone. And the top of the frequency range is, again, open and detailed, and has just about enough substance to balance out its shine – there’s a reasonable amount of crispness to the way the earbuds attack treble sounds, even if they’re just slightly rolled off in absolute terms.

Frequency integration is smooth, and the tonal balance is quite neutral too. There’s a decent amount of dynamism on display too, both where the big shifts in volume and the more subtle harmonic variations are concerned. And the ZE3000 SV can lay out a soundstage in a clear and easy-to-understand manner, keeping plenty of elbow room between every competing element of a recording but at the same time delivering it as a whole.

Final Audio ZE3000 SV wireless earbuds place on an Apple iPhone 14 Pro — (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

All the above depends very much on your achieving a correct fit with the earbuds, though. Every true wireless or wired in-ear monitors require a decent fit in order to sound its best, but the Final Audio ZE3000 SV are more fit-dependent than any other earbuds I’ve heard in a long time. It’s just as well the company provides so many pair of eartips – you're gonna need them.

Still, at least you can take active measures to ensure the ZE3000 SV sound as good as they can. What you can’t do is mitigate their fundamental sonic attitude, which is rather matter-of-fact and undemonstrative. It’s one thing to not be one of those ‘eyes out on stalks’, ‘excitement at all costs’ listens, but it’s quite another to go too far the other way. With a little more energy and animation to their presentation, the ZE3000 SV would be an even more competitive proposition.

Mind you, if their active noise-cancellation got anywhere close to ‘cancellation’ they’d be more attractive, still. Yes, it’s true that Final Audio’s decision to ensure its ANC algorithms don’t impact on sound quality means the ZE3000 SV sound exactly the same whether it’s switched on or off, but it’s so light-touch in its effectiveness that it almost seems worth some sonic disruption for ANC that does what it’s supposed to do.

Sound quality: 4/5

Final Audio ZE3000 SV in-ear headphones on a white surface — Note the stabilizer fins and separate tips (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

Final Audio ZE3000 SV review: Design

4g per earbud
‘Shibo’ textured finish
Five sizes of eartip included

What do you want from your true wireless in-ear headphones' design? If you’re anything like me, you want them to be small, light and comfortable, and ideally with a good range of eartip sizes to help with the fit. If that sounds familiar, you’ll be very pleased indeed with the design of the ZE3000 SV.

The little pebble-shaped earbuds themselves are a nicely ergonomic shape, and at 4g each are no kind of burden. A choice of five differently sized pairs of eartips helps to achieve a secure and comfortable fit, and the ‘Shibo’ finish that Final Audio has been so keen on lately not only makes them look mildly distinctive but also helps when taking them out (either of the charging case or of your ears).

The charging case itself is similarly compact, similarly light and, thanks to that aforementioned ‘Shibo’ finish, is less likely to show any marks or scuffs than is usual. A single tiny LED on its front face lets you know what the state of play is.

The standard of build and finish is very acceptable indeed. The ZE3000 SV may be necessarily lightweight, but that doesn’t translate to a feeling of flimsiness. The earbuds’ IPX4 rating lets you know that things have been properly screwed together.

Design score: 5/5

Final Audio ZE3000 SV wireless earbuds in their carry case — (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

Final Audio ZE3000 SV review: value

Good specification, build and finish
Lots to like in audio terms
Need greater sonic liveliness

‘Nice’ is not automatically faint praise, and the Final Audio ZE3000 SV are a nice product. They're well-made, properly finished, competitively specified, comfortable to wear, and quite pleasant to listen to in any number of ways. Judged against their obvious rivals from the likes of the Sony WF-C710N and Nothing Ear (3), the ZE3000 SV are an interesting option and represent, I suppose, the path less traveled.

Unless you’re easily overstimulated, though, the earbuds’ lack of sonic animation has to count as a negative when you're talking about outright value for money.

Value: 4/5

Bird's-eye view of the carry case for the Final Audio ZE3000 SV wireless earbuds — (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

Should I buy the Final Audio ZE3000 SV?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Features	Four ANC options, solid capacitive touch possibilities and good battery life, but limited app functionality	4/5
Sound quality	Balanced and detailed, natural-sounding midrange, but only if the fitting is spot-on	4/5
Design	Comfortable, with excellent standard of build and finish, lots of (necessary) eartips	5/5
Value	A solid product, nicely finished, but lacks sonic liveliness	4/5

Buy them if…

You like a long listening session
The Final Audio ZE3000 SV have the battery life and the comfort to keep you listening for hour after hour.

You have a decently specified source of music
LDAC codec compatibility means access to one of the better forms of Bluetooth streaming.

You value understatement
Between their compact dimensions and the ‘Shibo’ finish, the ZE3000 SV manage to look unusual and subtle at the same time.

Don’t buy them if…

You crave sonic stimulation
‘Grown up’ is a perfectly valid audio attitude, ‘slightly dull’ not so much.

You like full control
Both the touch controls and the app give partial, rather than complete, control over the ZE3000 SV.

Your ears are of peculiar dimensions
The Final Audio rely even more than most earbuds on the fit being exactly right if they’re to sound their best

Final Audio ZE3000 SV review: Also consider

	Final Audio ZE3000 SV	JBL Live Beam 3	Nothing Ear (3)	Sony WF-C710N
Drivers	10mm ‘F-Core SV’ dynamic	10mm dynamic	11mm dynamic	5mm dynamic
Active noise cancellation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Battery life	7 hours (earbuds, ANC on); 28 hours (charging case)	Up to 12 hours (buds), up to 48 hours total	5.2 hours (buds); 24 hours (case)	8.5hrs (ANC on) 12hrs (ANC off); plus 30 hours in the case
Weight	4g per bud	5g per bud	4.62g (buds); 51.9g (case)	5.2g (per bud)
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.3 (SBC, AAC, LDAC)	Bluetooth 5.3 with LDAC, USB-C	Bluetooth 5.3	Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C (SBC, AAC)
Waterproofing	IPX4	IP55	IP54	IPX4

JBL Live Beam 3
Solid audio quality and great battery life add to the appeal of the JBL's remote screen control, but the standard of ANC detracts from it more than somewhat.
Read more in our JBL Live Beam 3 review.

Nothing Ear
They score over the Final Audio where low-end heft and excitement are concerned, and they’re attractive lookers in a kind of ‘try hard’ way. Meager battery life is an obvious down-side, though.
Get the full picture in our Nothing Ear review.

Sony WF-C710N
Now routinely available for less than £100, these junior Sonys have the beating of the Final Audio where noise-cancellation and energy of sound are concerned. No LDAC, though, and they’re not as visually sophisticated as the ZE3000 SV, either.
Get the full picture in our Sony WF-C710N review.

How I tested the Final Audio ZE3000 SV

Connected to a FiiO M15S and Apple iPhone 14 Pro
Used indoors and outdoors
With a range of music and of file types

I made the Final Audio ZE3000 SV my default true wireless earbuds for well over a week during the course of this review.

When listening outdoors I almost always used my iPhone 14 Pro as a source (using the AAC codec) – it’s loaded with Presto, Spotify and Tidal apps, so there’s plenty of accessible music.

Indoors, I tended to link it to my FiiO M15S DAP using LDAC. The player has a lot of very hi-res music stored locally, so I was able to listen to everything from DSD128 and 24bit/192kHz FLAC down to 128kbps stuff.

First reviewed in August 2025.

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Learn more specifically about how we test earbuds at TechRadar

FiiO’s wireless little BTR17 headphone DAC and amp is a tour de force at a very attainable price

4:00 pm | August 2, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Hi-Fi | Tags: DAC, LDAC | Comments: Off

FiiO BTR17 review: Two-minute review

Another day, another intriguing FiiO product. Today it’s the BTR17 portable Bluetooth DAC/headphone amplifier, and it seems safe to say it represents another day of FiiO business as usual.

The BTR17 is small, but it’s packed with functionality and specified in a way that seems beyond the tiny physical confines of the device itself. Between Bluetooth 5.4 with top-of-the-shop codec compatibility, a pair of ESS ES9069Q DACs, an disproportionate amount of power when used as a desktop headphone amp, decent battery life, the ability to deal with enormously high-resolution digital audio files, and a choice of balanced or unbalanced headphone outputs, it’s obvious FiiO has endeavoured to do the right thing here.

And that impression of ‘good intentions’ becomes even stronger when you hear the BTR17 in action. There are qualitative differences, of course, between using the FiiO as a wireless receiver and using it as a dongle hard-wired to a smartphone or laptop – but what doesn’t alter no matter the circumstances are the broad strokes of its sonic character.

And generally, it’s a character that’s fast, insightful, properly controlled and very satisfying to listen to. Or, at least, it is if you’re not expecting comparable bass power to the bass speed that’s on display here - the FiiO BTR17 is a rapid, direct listen, but it’s far from the chunkiest sound around. Investigating your options in the menus can bring about some changes in character, but they’re exclusively to the detriment of the device’s fundamental character and attitude.

Come on then, is it still one of the best portable DACs available for this money? Yes, with one caveat (which I'll come to).

If the balance is not to your taste, you’ll look elsewhere/. But those who value speed and dexterity of sound as much as (if not more than) straightforward ‘wallop’ will enjoy the BTR17 no end.

FiiO BTR17 review: Price and release date

FiiO's BTR17 DAC/amp in black, on a gray table, showing PCM resolution in yellow font — (Image credit: Future)

Launched in early November 2024
Priced $219 / £179 / AU$349

The FiiO BTR17 portable Bluetooth DAC/headphone amplifier is on sale now, and in the United Kingdom it sells for no more than £179. In the United States it’s currently $219* and in Australia you’re looking at AU$329. So no matter the territory you’re shopping in, the BTR17 seems notable value for money.

If you don't mind wired connections of course, the world isn't exactly hunting high and low for an affordable USB DAC (see the pricier $499 / £449 / AU$769, the iFi GO Bar Kensei, the iFi Go Link Max at just $79 / £79 / AU$139 the five-star iFi hip-dac 3 at $199 / £199 / AU$349 for starters). But nevertheless, the combination of price and wireless specification could win out here…

(*subject to tariff-related change on a seemingly daily basis.)

FiiO BTR17 review: Features

32bit/768kHz and DSD512 support
Bluetooth 5.4 with LDAC and aptX Lossless compatibility
650mW + 650mW balanced power for headphone amplification

It shouldn’t really come as any kind of surprise at this point that FiiO has specified one of its products in a manner that might easily shame an equivalent product from an alternative brand. And yet I find I’m still mildly startled but just how far into town FiiO has gone with the BTR17.

Regardless of the way the digital audio information gets on board, either by USB-C or via Bluetooth, it’s dealt with by a pair of ESS ES9069Q DACs that are able to handle every major file type up to 32bit/768kHz and DSD512 resolution. If you decide to go with Bluetooth, you have the luxury of the 5.4 version with codec compatibility all the way to LDAC and aptX Lossless – the use of a Qualcomm QCC5181 Bluetooth chip to do the necessary means the FiiO is LE Audio-compliant, too.

Use the BTR17 in ‘desktop’ mode with its ‘power in’ USB slot connected to a source of USB power (FiiO provides a little length of monocrystalline silver- and copper-plated eight-strand USB-C / USB-C cable to ensure clean power and accurate data transfer)and it can churn out a substantial 650mW + 650mW of balanced power. This is the sort of output more commonly associated with bigger desktop headphone amps, and is ample to drive even quite truculent headphones.

If you’re using battery power rather than USB-C power, the BTR17 will run for anywhere between seven hours (making a Bluetooth connection, using a power-hungry codec, driving balanced headphones via the 4.4mm output and listening at hefty volume) and ten hours (in ‘phone’ mode, at modest volume, driving headphones via the unbalanced 3.5mm output and listening to stuff of no more than 16bit/44.1kHz resolution). Charging from ‘flat’ to ‘full’ is a 90-minute job.

Unsurprisingly, there’s more – just as there was with the older FiiO BTR7 Bluetooth DAC (which is not to be confused with the newer model you're reading about today). The BTR17 has a three-stage, ten-rail power supply, and it has multi-stage architecture of the type FiiO fits to its pricey digital audio players. It has a ‘driver-free’ mode that means it can connect to a PS5, a Switch or something like that directly, without the need for downloaded drivers. It has integrated DC output and temperature detection to protect the device if conditions take a turn for the abnormal. And I could go on - but let’s just wrap this section up by saying FiiO has laid in on, specification-wise, with a trowel here.

Features score: 5 / 5

FiiO BTR17 review: Sound quality

Great sonic momentum and rhythmic positivity
Detailed and insightful
‘All or nothing’ EQ and filter adjustments

I’ve heard a few DAC/headphone amp devices lately that have sounded muscle-bound and barrel-chested in the manner of a bulldog. The FiiO BTR17, by way of happy contrast, is more of a greyhound.

There’s a rapidity, a kind of entirely naturalistic momentum, to the FiiO’s sound no matter if it’s receiving its digital audio information wirelessly via Bluetooth or through one of its USB-C sockets. A fleet-footed recording like Broadcast’s Black Cat fairly motors along – the BTR17 expresses the rhythm with complete conviction, and the tune stays on the front foot as result. There’s nothing forced about the way it’s presented, though - it doesn’t hang around, but neither does it feel like it’s being prodded forwards.

Part of this impression comes from the way the BTR17 handles the leading edge of low-frequency sounds – there’s no overhang or slurring, instead the FiiO snaps into bass information with real purpose. There are some minor issues at the bottom of the frequency range, and I’ll get to those – but there’s no arguing with the speed this little device can invest a recording with.

This is not at the expense of organisation, either. The FiiO creates a decently spacious and easy-to-understand soundstage, and can spread out even complex recordings to the point that individual elements are easy to highlight. There’s plenty of detail available at every part of the frequency range, and the BTR17 is just as attentive to fleeting and/or very minor occurrences as it is to the broader strokes. The upshot is a presentation that seems very much like it’s the complete picture.

Overall tonality is, in almost every circumstance, quite carefully neutral and uncolored, so if you play a warm and sepia-coloured recording like Johnny Too Bad by The Slickers, or a blue-ish and low-temperature number like Floating World by Zodiac Free Arts Club, what goes in is what comes out. The BTR17, left to its own devices, seems perfectly happy not to stick its oar in.

Integration of the frequency range is good, too, with no area being overplayed. I’ve heard plenty of products like this that will ramp up the bottom end or shove the midrange forwards, but that’s the FiiO’s scene at all.

There’s not an awful lot of meat on the low-frequency bones here, though. The BTR17 can dig fairly deep and hit reasonably hard, but low-end substance is in fairly short supply. Of course, a positive knock-on of this trait is that speed and manoeuvrability I’ve already discussed – but there’s also a downside which anyone who’s interested in bass for the sake of bass will already have worked out for themselves.

There are options in the device’s menus to finesse the EQ settings, of course, and also to investigate various filters – you might think this slightly flyweight presentation could be mitigated somewhat this way. But the effects of each are mild in the extreme, right until the moment they become rather ham-fisted and end up spoiling the carefully shaped low-frequency response. You can make the BTR17 sound weightier than it really wants to if you set your mind to it – but you’ll be affecting its speed and rhythmic positivity at the same time. And not in a good way.

Sound quality: 4 / 5

FiiO BTR17 review: Design

87 x 41 x 16mm (HxWxD)
Black or blue finishes
73g

When a product is sincerely intended to be ‘portable’, design has to take a back seat to ‘getting everything into a package as small and light as is realistically possible’. So apart from the little ledge beneath the 33mm screen on the front of the BTR17 and the mildly interesting ‘turn/push’ control at the top left, its 87 x 41 x 16mm (HxWxD), 73g chassis is entirely unremarkable. And that’s the case regardless of which of the black or blue finishes you choose.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the build quality here, though, nor the standard of finish. The BTR17 is almost entirely plastic, but it’s reasonably tactile and seems made to last.

Design score: 5 / 5

FiiO BTR17 review: Usability and setup

Tiny physical controls
Full-colour screen
Staggeringly in-depth control app

The BTR17’s 33mm display may look unhelpfully small, but it’s a crisp, full-colour IPS job and manages to legibly confirm file type or Bluetooth codec, sample rate, EQ setting, battery life and volume level all at the same time. It also gives access to menus that allow adjustment to gain gradients, audio filters, a choice of EQ presets, screen brightness and so on.

You navigate the menus using the rotary control on the top left edge of the BTR17. It feels and looks good, and operates with pleasant positivity – and it also gives access to volume control, ‘play/pause’ and telephony functions. There are other controls arranged beneath it down the edge of the machine – they are, inevitably, very small, and their labelling is even smaller. But take the time to commit their functions to memory and you can deal with ‘skip forwards/backwards’, ‘power on/off’, select ‘Bluetooth’, ‘phone’ or ‘PC’ your usage mode, and switch ‘desktop’ mode on or off.

Those usage modes have a big part to play in the BTR17’s battery life. In ‘PC’ mode, it’s powered by the computer it’s connected to. In ‘phone’ mode, its internal battery contributes to power supply, which reduces the load on your smartphone. In ‘BT’ mode, all the power is coming from the FiiO’s internal battery.

Physical connection to a computer or a smartphone is via one of the two USB-C slots on the bottom of the BTR17. Either can be used for charging and for data transfer, and one is also for power input when the device is in ‘desktop’ mode. At the opposite end of the device, meanwhile, there are Back in the mainstream world, there are a couple of headphone outputs - one is an unbalanced 3.5mm socket, the other a 4.4mm balanced equivalent.

There’s a huge, almost unnecessarily extensive, amount of functionality available in the ‘FiiO Control’ app. Want to adjust the ‘double-click’ function of those physical ‘skip forwards/backwards’ buttons, or create a custom EQ using a ten-band equaliser, or switch ‘distortion compensation’ in a couple of harmonic ranges on or off, or adjust the channel balance between ‘left’ and ‘right’? This is where you do it. If you want a slider to control the length of time the BTR17’s screen stays on, or how bright it is, or how long it stays switched on while it’s at rest, you can do it here too. Unless you’re the sort of person who can’t rest until they’ve customised the minutiae of their audio equipment’s set-up and performance, it is likely to seem like overkill.

Usability and setup score: 4 / 5

FiiO BTR17 review: Value

You can't pick fault with the value for money
Performs its duties admirably

Obviously it’s important to judge ‘value’ on a basis other than that of ‘how much stuff do I get?” – because while the FiiO BTR17 is necessarily small and light, it’s got a lot of functionality and it performs really well.

Most USB DAC/headphone amps at this sort of money don’t have a wireless aspect to their performance. Very few have a display or a control app, and fewer still have the sort of alacrity of sound the BTR17 can summon. Its sonic attitude will not be for everyone, but for those who are partial, there is excellent value for money to be had here.

Value score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the FiiO BTR17?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Features	Even allowing for FiiO being FiiO, this thing is comprehensively specified	5/5
Design	It's super small and still has a useful screen	5/5
Sound quality	Detailed, agile, neutral – just could be a tiny bit punchier	4/5
Value	It would be an error to argue with the sound-per-pound value here	5/5

Buy it if...

‘Speed’ and ‘detail’ do it for you where sound is concerned
There’s a dexterity and insight to the way the FiiO presents music that is quite habit-forming after a while

You enjoy a through specification
FiiO has laid it on with the proverbial trowel here - there are alternative products costing much more than this that aren’t specified as impressively

You enjoy an even more thorough control app
'Granular’ is too weak a word to describe the level of influence the app lets you exert over the BTR17

Don't buy it if...

You’re after low-frequency substance
The bass sounds the BTR17 generates are detailed, straight-edged and deep - but they’re not as weighty as some listeners will require

You don’t like having to make choices
What do you want the buttons to do? How long do you want the screen to stay on? How bright would you like it? Decisions, decisions…

Your eyesight isn’t all it used to be
This is a necessarily small product, so don't be surprised if the display and, especially, the physical controls seem all-but invisibleView Deal

FiiO BTR17 review: Also consider

The iFi Go Link Max is a great-sounding USB-C DAC/headphone amp that’s compact and well-made – but it doesn’t have Bluetooth connectivity.

Helm Audio’s Bolt USB-C DAC/headphone amp is another great performer and no hardship at all to listen to – but, again, there’s no wireless functionality here.

How I tested the FiiO BTR17

Used while working, while commuting and in the car
Listened in wireless Bluetooth mode, and using wired options

I used the BTR17 as a desktop DAC/headphone amp, connected to my Apple MacBook Pro. I used it connected to an Apple iPhone 14 via its USB-C socket, too, which allowed me to use wired headphones with a device with no headphone socket – and I also connected it wirelessly via Bluetooth to the smartphone, just for the sake of completeness.

I also found it a useful device when in a car with no wireless connectivity – Bluetooth from my smartphone to the FiiO, and the out of the BTR17’s 3.5mm unbalanced headphone socket to the ‘aux’ input of the in-car audio system. In every circumstance, no matter the type of connection or the type of music playing, the little FiiO was always a speedy and revealing listen.

First reviewed: August 2025
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I tested the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen thinking they couldn’t better the originals for ANC – but wow, was I wrong

4:55 pm | July 25, 2025

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

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen: Two-minute review

I've been wanting Bose to lighten up a bit for years where its earbuds are concerned and with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen, the usually oh-so-serious audio heavyweight got the memo. Would you look at that 'Deep Plum' hue?

When setting up the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen (try saying that three times in quick succession after 5:30pm) you're prompted to rename them if you'd like – and someone on Bose's payroll clearly had a jolly old time coming up with cheeky suggestions such as "Cherry Wine", "Burgundy Buds" or "Sonic Sangria". You love to see it. (They're also available in black and white, naturally.)

But that's far from the end of the fun times where this particular Bose vintage is concerned. These buds are the most sonically exuberant listen I've heard to date in this type of form factor, a fact only enhanced by their rock-solid, near-impenetrable active noise cancellation (ANC), which you can usefully tweak on a slider when creating Bose's hugely successful 'Modes' (more on that later).

This time around, you also get wireless charging from the box and multi-point connectivity that works seamlessly, something the original Ultras bizarrely lacked on their release. Some of the best earbuds on the market then? Oh absolutely.

But not everyone will be wholly happy with the update. If you were expecting a complete design overhaul from the inaugural late-2023 Ultras (which were not too dissimilar in design to the September 2022-issue QuietComfort Earbuds 2), you're still not getting that.

My colleague in Australia, Sharmishta Sarkar has been waiting for a rework there for some time now – and to be clear, she means an alternative to wedging the buds in with stability bands because these silicone accessories eventually wear out (even though a total of three, in different sizes and separate from the interchangeable tips, has been provided in the box). Anyone who wanted Bose to take its smaller QuietComfort Earbuds 2024 design and Ultra-fy it for 2025 (are you out there?) will also be disappointed.

I am not disappointed. The ovoid nozzle actually slips happily into my bijou ear canal and serves up exciting, expansive audio that nixes more low-level constant noise than anything else I've tested on the market. And with the (admittedly incremental, but still welcome) upgrades Bose has given me in the QuietComfort Earbuds Ultra 2nd Gen, I'll be thoroughly recommending them to anyone who'll let me for some time.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen review: Price and release date

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) in purple color, next to some flowers of a similar shade but held in a hand — (Image credit: Future)

Released on June 12, 2025
Priced $299 / £299 / AU$450
Available in black, off-white and 'deep plum' (pictured)

Key things to note here: they're newe,r and while they're not cheaper, they're also not more expensive than what's gone before them. Bose has generously carried over the original Ultra Earbuds' 2023 launch price (which was the same as the prices listed above) to 2025 and ignored inflation, although you can now find the older set for nearer $220 / £199 / AU$399.

Why mention this? Because if the deep plum limited colorway and wireless charging as standard don't matter to you, you might think the smart money goes on the older set. I actually disagree, as you'll see, but there's definitely a case to be made for it…

In terms of direct competition, your rivals at the level are of course AirPods Pro 2 which can be yours for around $50 / £70 less than the Bose (though often drop to being much cheaper), the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 (which are pricier, at $399 / £349 / AU$599), or the Technics EAH-AZ100 which are virtually the same price as the Bose depending on where you live, at $299 / £259 / AU$478.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen review: Specs

Drivers	9.3mm dynamic
Active noise cancellation	Yes, plus Immersive audio and 'Modes'
Battery life	6 hours (earbuds), 24 hours (total)
Weight	7.7g per bud
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.3
Waterproofing	IPX4

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen review: Features

Up to 24 hours of battery (up to 6 from the buds)
Excellent and useful Modes options
Option to switch off on-ear controls

Via a few clicks within the Bose companion app, Bose has added (drumroll)… the ability to switch off on-ear controls with this iteration. Why you'd want to switch off the capacity to scroll through your listening modes (you can customize the long-press function too, if you'd rather use it to switch source devices manually, access your voice assistant or deploy a hotline to Spotify), stroke the stem to alter volume or tap to pause and play your tracks is strange to me – but if you want to, you can now. And you couldn't before.

Now: Modes. It's not new, but I was a huge fan of the feature in the original Ultra Earbuds and I still love it now. What are these Modes? Essentially, you can combine however much of Bose's excellent ANC or ambient passthrough you want on a slider – although take note, the solo slider starts at full transparency or awareness and goes through to maximum ANC – along with Immersive Audio.

You can pick whether you want Immersive Audio on or off, 'Still' (so you can move your head around your source device and feel the different sounds being piped into each ear accordingly) or in 'Motion' (which means that whichever way you turn your head, the three-dimensional immersive soundstage will not change).

There are three presets from the box: Quiet (max ANC, Immersive Audio off); Aware (max Ambient passthrough, Immersive Audio off); and Immersion (max ANC, Immersive Audio set to 'Motion'). I created a fourth preset: Work. Here, I set ANC to 75% and select 'Still' under Immersive Audio. This way, all but the most important noises are gone at my desk, and said desk is my fixed audio source – so I'm less tempted to leave it!

The thing is, if these profiles didn't do exactly what they promised to do, you'd say they were surplus to requirements. But because they genuinely enhance the listening experience better than any similar solutions currently offered by rivals (for me, it's better than JBL Spatial Sound, for example), they're emphatically worth using and celebrating.

On the ANC, Bose says there are new AI algorithms included this time, for better filtering of sudden noise spikes via its ActiveSense system. What I can tell you is that I've never heard more effective ANC in a set of noise-cancelling earbuds. Better than the outgoing model? Yes. I even missed my own doorbell while testing (which meant an extra journey to collect my next review product) – and my music was not loud.

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The QCUE and QCUE 2 next to each other, outside on a sunny day, showing their similarities — Not to hammer the point home, but from a design perspective, there's a new wax guard and… not much else, to differentiate the original QCUE (left) from the QCUE 2 (right) (Image credit: Future)

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It's not all great news: your Bluetooth version is still 5.3 (when 6.0 now exists) and although you get Snapdragon Sound again, which means aptX Adaptive is on the menu as well as aptX Lossless, you've still got to be using an Android non-Samsung device with a compatible Qualcomm chip (see our aptX explainer for more on that tricky business).

None of that is Bose's fault, of course, but it is a roundabout way of saying that LDAC would've been a great addition this time around – especially when cheaper options such as the Nothing Ear (a) proudly offer it.

Also, the three-tab EQ graph is relatively basic compared to some flagship options and there are no listening tests to augment certain frequencies to create your own 'Personi-Fi' type profile – which is a feature of the JBL Live Beam 3, for example.

However, that doesn't mean there's no sonic tailoring whatsoever in the QCUE 2 – just that you might not be aware of it. CustomTune is a feature that actually made its debut in the QuietComfort Earbuds 2, but it's worth noting nonetheless, because I think it's a big part of what makes the sound and ANC so effective.

Basically, that thwomph sound in each ear when you put them on? It's not performative. What's happening is that this test sound travels through your ear's unique canals, bounces back to the buds nestled within them and is picked up by the microphones.

Then, Bose's CustomTune tech gets to work, potentially amplifying some frequencies while pulling back a touch others, depending on the architecture of your auricles. It's just that you don't take an active part in this test, in the way you do with lengthier tests offered by the Nothing Ear, for example.

Battery life? It's fine, but not exceptional. In my tests, I managed to get the promised six hours from them with my 'Work' mode deployed, but not a minute more – and that's largely because I found (unlike many rivals) they're able to play relatively loud and I was able to listen at just under 45% volume at my desk.

Features score: 4.5/5

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen review: Sound quality

Loud, zealous, crisp and expansive audio
Excellent across the whole frequency range
Immersive Audio is beautifully handled

Let's take the excellent ANC performance as read (scroll back if you missed that). Sonically, the QCUE 2nd Gen are also a rare treat across the frequencies, with a layered and expansive soundstage that allows bass registers ample space to rumble and clack, midrange vocals and instruments to sound textured and fully realized, and treble trills to soar unaffected above it all.

If you love a considered hip-hop album (and I really do) you'll find much to celebrate here. I cue up OutKast's Stankonia and through the Bose buds Gasoline Dreams is an emotive romp filled with guitar kerrangs, drum fills and sonic articles lesser earbuds cannot unearth. Big Boi sounds extra indignant; Andre 3000's playful Georgian twang is just that bit more noticeable.

Switching to Ozzy Osbourne's Bark at the Moon (thank you, Ozzy), the complex layers of laughter, driving guitars and bass are faithfully captured and held dutifully in a cohesive but energetic mix – and when that guitar glances from left to right through the soundstages, it whooshes past each ear like a Tokyo bullet train.

For detail, they're also very good, and while there will always be that old argument about integrated, neutral hi-fi sound versus fun and excitement, for me, Bose has absolutely aced the sonic treatment here.

For detail and neutrality, you'll get just a little more from the aforementioned Technics EAH-AZ100, but for bass impact and zeal, the Bose buds take it. And there's so little in it this time around, I cannot dock any stars.

Sound quality: 5/5

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen review: Design

Excellent mics for call-handling
On-ear touch controls work very well
Winning 'deep plum' finish

As mentioned (and pictured), the earbuds and case are extremely similar to the older model in terms of size, shape and driver array. What I didn't mention before is that there is a small difference to the build, and it's the addition of something Bose calls an embedded ear wax guard, to prevent any of the stuff produced naturally by our ears (let's not be weird; a healthy body creates ear wax) finding its way beyond the casework and into the driver housings.

I cannot say I had this issue with the older set, but having seen a few Reddit threads that mention it, it's a sensible addition from Bose.

Bose also promises improved voice pickup from the four mics per bud and thus improved call quality this time around, and I think the company has made good on that claim. It was a sore point in the older set, and this time callers felt I sounded much clearer and more present.

You can also tweak how much of your own voice you'd like to hear in the app (something rival Technics calls 'Sidetone') and it is beneficial if you prefer to hear a little more of your dulcet tones in calls, to avoid shouting at your recipient.

In the Bose app, there's a fit test to work out whether you've got the correct tips and fins fitted, and although it's quick and relatively rudimentary (I passed first time with the pre-fitted options, no issue) I did find the buds secure and comfortable during my testing.

Basically, if you've liked the fit of Bose's flagship earbuds to date, it's more of the same here. OK, in today's money the charging case could be considered a touch on the large side. For me it's no biggie, since its flat underside means it sits happily in my hand and in my bag without issue.

Design score: 5/5

Three screengrabs from the Bose app, using the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen — (Image credit: Bose)

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen review: value

Simply the best ANC earbuds on the market
…but not the cheapest

Value is an odd thing to quantify here, since it really is horses for courses. I keep coming back to this: there will be those out there who simply want the best noise-cancelling earbuds on the market, that also do great things with their music. This is that pair of earbuds.

No, they're possibly not the absolute best earbuds for small ears (although to clarify: I had no issue with fallouts and I have bijou ears, but they do protrude more than rivals) nor do they ask you various questions about what you're hearing and when you stop hearing certain frequencies to create sound profiles.

If you want to take an active part in augmentation, you'll be better served by AirPods Pro 2 or Nothing Ear. That said, not everyone wants this – and for me, the overall sound quality here is so good I wouldn't touch it anyway.

Value: 5/5

Should I buy the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Features	Excellent ANC and now, wireless charging. Every perk is class-leading	4.5/5
Sound quality	Immersive audio is wildly fun and engaging but even with all profiles off, the sound is zealous and powerful	5/5
Design	A case of 'it wasn't broken, so we didn't fix it' but the added wax guard is a nice touch	4.5/5
Value	Simply the best earbuds for ANC on the market – and that's worth paying for	5/5

Buy them if…

You need class-leading ANC in earbuds
I've never heard bubble-of-silence noise cancellation in earbuds quite like it – no, not even in the older set.

You like immersive, head-tracked audio
With Bose's earbuds, you get to choose whether you want your own personal surround-sound performance fixed or moving, and in conjunction with whatever level of ANC you want.

You like vivacious, dynamic, pro-active audio
Want your grime tracks with a thumping bassline? Bose can give it to you and then some. If I had to use just one word to describe the audio performance here, I'd go with 'powerful'.

Don’t buy them if…

You've already got the Ultras
If wireless charging doesn't matter to you, you're not fully sold on the new color, the incremental upgrade in the inaugural set's very good ANC isn't a deal-breaker and, er, wax buildup has never been an issue for you, you might give this update a miss.

You prioritise stamina
The battery life here isn't terrible exactly, but compared to certain rivals, it can certainly be bettered – the Technics EAH-AZ100 lasted a lot longer on a single charge, for example.

You want LDAC
No dice here, friend. If you need Sony's higher-resolution Bluetooth audio codec, look to the Cambridge Audio Melomania A100.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen review: Also consider

	Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)	Technics EAH-AZ100	Cambridge Audio Melomania A100
Drivers	10mm	10mm free-edge dynamic	10mm Neodymium dynamic
Active noise cancellation	Yes	Yes	Yes
Battery life	6 hours (earbuds, ANC off; 4 hours with it on) case not specified	12 hours (earbuds, ANC off); 17 hours (charging case)	11 hours per charge; up to 39 hours with the case
Weight	7.7g per bud	5.9g per bud	4.7g per earbud
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX Lossless / Adaptive	Bluetooth 5.3 with LDAC and LC3 compatibility	5.4 with LDAC and aptX Lossless
Waterproofing	IPX4 earbuds only	IPX4 earbuds only	IPX5 earbuds only

Cambridge Audio Melomania A100
Cambridge Audio also offers an excellent listen in its latest earbuds with good ANC. No immersive audio profiles (Cambridge doesn't believe in tinkering with recorded music in that way) but if it's an integrated hi-fi listen you seek, add them to your list – and they'll last longer than the Bose option. Read more in our Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 review.

Technics EAH-AZ100
Another option with better stamina that also offers excellent sound quality and decent noise cancellation. Here, you even get multi-point to three devices (rather than the standard two) though, and the classy finish makes them nothing short of a joy to own. Get the full picture in our Technics EAH-AZ100 review.

How I tested the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen

Tested for two weeks
Tested at home, walking along a crowded beach and on a packed train

I used the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen for two weeks when writing this review, and my testing involved listening to music, podcasts and watching streamed movies from various devices – including Android and Apple sources.

I listened at home when working and taking calls, during several beach-combing walks and on a busy commuter train – and let me tell you, with these as my musical companion, it was no hardship.

I've been testing audio products full-time since 2019, firstly over at our sister publication What Hi-Fi? as a staff writer (locked in our hi-fi testing facility for two years, I was), then as senior writer at TechRadar and, since early 2024, audio editor. My background as a professional dancer is what drives me to search for faithful timing, precision, clarity and good old fashioned fun in recorded music.

First reviewed in July 2025.

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I reviewed the Sony ULT Field 3 Bluetooth speaker and it left me disappointed, for one key reason

5:30 pm | June 30, 2025

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

Sony ULT Field 3: two-minute review

The Sony ULT Field 3 is one of the latest portable Bluetooth speakers to enter a market stuffed to the gills with options. This one promises “impressive power”, “easy portability” and a build quality that'll play your music “anywhere, in any weather”. But with rivals such as JBL and Ultimate Ears going all-in on the whole rough-and-ready portable speaker thing, it begs the question… can Sony outdo its red-hot rivals?

At a glance, you may well think so. This speaker is packed with a ton of features. We’ve got multi-point, customizable EQ, environment optimization and, of course, ULT mode for enhanced bass output. That’s all very neat, and as always, Sony has done a great job with its Sound Connect app, which enables you to access all of these features and more.

This is also a highly durable speaker, with excellent build quality, IP67 dust and waterproofing and an adjustable strap, meaning it’s easy to transport and play in any environment. But, in order to outdo the best Bluetooth speakers around, the thing that truly matters in my book is sound quality.

Unfortunately for the Field 3, this is the one key reason that it fails to stake its claim as a class-leading option. Even with ULT mode on, which plays to the speaker’s strengths – beefy low-end output – you’ll notice significant compression at higher volumes, some harshness in the treble range and a slight lack of nuance.

Even if you want a more balanced listen, the ULT-off tuning simply didn’t cut it in my experience. You can achieve decent audio using the Sound Connect app’s seven-band equalizer, but still, you can’t expect well-separated, perfectly balanced audio.

And given the list price of this speaker – just under $200 / £180 / AU$330 – I think that middling sound quality is pretty disappointing. Some issues, like limited bass extension and mono-only sound (unless you pair to a second Field 3 model) are typical for a speaker of this size – but I’d still expect clearer, more controlled audio from a Sony product at this cost.

Again, a serviceable listen is certainly achievable on the Field 3. But some aspects are more than serviceable. More than anything, that includes battery life, which is very good for a speaker in this weight class. You get up to 24 hours with ULT on – admittedly not playing at high volume, though. Still, the Field 3 should have plenty of juice to last a long listening session, and it can even charge external devices with its USB-C port – which is a most welcome inclusion.

When all’s said and done, the Sony ULT Field 3 has some strong qualities, but just doesn’t have enough sauce to stand out in a talented crowd. Perhaps if it gets a juicy price cut in sales events I’d be able to say it’s worth checking out. But for the moment, I’d suggest looking elsewhere for a summer-ready Bluetooth speaker. Other models, such as the JBL Charge 5 or even the smaller, yet Wi-Fi-enabled Sonos Roam 2 would be better picks, just to name a couple.

Hand adjusting the strap on the Sony ULT Field 3 — (Image credit: Future)

Sony ULT Field 3 review: price and release date

$199 / £179 / AU$329
Launched in April 2025

The Sony ULT Field 3 launched alongside its sibling, the Sony ULT Field 5 in April 2025. It has a list price of $199 / £179 / AU$329, but there’s good news – I’ve already seen it on sale for less through various online retailers. In the UK, for instance, Sony has already run a slashed-price offer, which allows you to pick the ULT Field 3 up for less than £160, so keep your eyes peeled for a bargain buy.

You can grab the ULT Field in three different colorways: Black; Forest Gray; and Off White. The variant you chose should have little to no impact on the price you pay for this model.

Sony ULT Field 3 review: specs

Drivers	1x 86 x 46mm woofer, 1x 20mm tweeter
Dimensions	10.1 x 4.4 x 3.1 inches / 256 x 113 x 79mm
Weight	2.6lbs / 1.2kg
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.2
Battery life	24 hours
Waterproofing	IP67

Buttons on top of the Sony ULT Field 3 — (Image credit: Future)

Sony ULT Field 3 review: features

ULT mode for enhanced bass output
Sound Field Optimization
Great battery life

As is typically the case with Sony, you’re getting a solid suite of features on the ULT Field 3. You get the standard stuff like multi-point connectivity, fast-pairing and multi-speaker pairing – which unlocks stereo mode – but there’s so much more to uncover.

Perhaps the main attraction is the ULT mode, which gives bass a gigantic boost. It’s well worth having this on if you want the most powerful, party-ready sound available, but I’ll drill into that a little more later. You can also listen with ULT mode off or set your own custom EQ using a seven band equalizer.

Another audio-related feature that interested me was Sound Field Optimization. This essentially detects noise from your surroundings and fine-tunes audio output to be as clear as possible for your environment – something that’s particularly useful in busier outdoor areas.

But if you dive into the Sony Sound Connect app, there’s a little more at your fingertips. There’s STAMINA (yep, in all caps) mode, which provides a boost to battery life while restricting elements like different sound modes. There’s also an option to prioritize connection quality over sound quality or control playback from your music apps.

One more feature that you don’t always find is an integrated mic that enables hand-free calling. I tested this out and found that my voice came through clearly and my friend's speech on the other end of the line never had any noticeable tinniness or distortion.

Does the ULT Field 3 have the most fleshed out feature-set I’ve ever seen? Well, not quite. There’s a distinct lack of EQ presets, no LED lights or similar, no Auracast over Bluetooth LE audio and omission of wired listening.

Still, there’s plenty overall – even a USB-C charging port that can juice up external devices or serve as a medium to charge the speaker itself. While we’re here, let’s talk battery life too. I was impressed with the ULT Field 3’s playtime – in fact, it’s one of the best things about this speaker. You get up to 24 hours of battery life – of course, if you’re listening at high volumes with ULT mode on, that’s gonna be lower. But still, this speaker is more than capable of keeping the tunes bumping well into the early hours.

Features score: 4/5

Tab on reverse side of the Sony ULT Field 3 open, exposing USB-C port — (Image credit: Future)

Sony ULT Field 3 review: sound quality

Standard ULT-off tuning sounds poor
But with it active, you get improved, bass-heavy audio
No advanced codecs, not even LDAC

OK, to be frank, I was initially pretty disappointed with the audio performance of the Sony ULT Field 3. I started off by listening with ULT switched off and tuned into Black Eye by Allie X which sounded… underwhelming. The meaty drum machine lacked its bite, taking the rhythmic bounce of the track down a peg. At higher volumes, the vocals had a slightly tinny edge to them too. But much of this could be rectified.

Yes, I simply pressed the ULT button and things vastly improved. The deep bass of that drum machine reared its lovely head, finally giving the track some much needed uplift in the low end and, in turn, I was gifted a more full-sounding delivery. In addition, dance tracks like Last One Standing by Kolter and Sidney Charles sounded better this way, with strong low-end output and decently crisp vocal sections.

But even with ULT mode on, I did encounter some issues. All songs sounded noticeably compressed as I gradually pushed the volume higher and higher. By the time I’d reached 80-100%, there was little breathing room for each instrument, resulting in quite a muffled, narrow sound. Treble especially could get pretty harsh with loudness pushed to the max. At medium volume, I’d argue that vocals, percussion and strings were all relatively clear, and the audio can just about fill a medium-sized room. But don’t expect phenomenal separation or microscopic levels of detail even here.

On that note, you won’t get any ‘hi-res’ Bluetooth codecs with the Sony ULT Field 3. Even Sony’s proprietary LDAC has been left out. Then again, this is more of a fun and convenient party speaker rather than a device pitched at audiophiles. And there are a ton of great alternatives if you want a more revealing listen – just look at the Bose SoundLink Max (or newer, smaller, cheaper SoundLink Plus) for instance.

There are a couple of other issues I ran into that are worth noting. Even with ULT mode on, the speaker didn’t quite have the might to handle dark sub bass. For example, The Boys Are Back In Town by Yung Gravy – marked by imposing deep bass running throughout – wasn’t replicated all too well. The speaker just didn’t quite have that extension in the low-end to make every boom sound ultra-clear, with the deepest notes tailing off a bit, even in ULT mode. For a speaker of this size, that’s fairly common – but it’s worth considering if you want the ultimate bass-heavy audio companion.

Speaking of that, there’s a seven-band equalizer that you can access via the Sound Connect app, which does enable you to forge a better sound than the standard ULT off tuning. But that’s it. There aren’t any other presets, which is pretty disappointing if you just want a swift way to adjust the sound to you. There’s also no EQ test, as seen on Sony’s recent smash hit headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM6.

Still, with a custom calibration, I did find that tracks with more emphasis on vocals – rather than big booming bass – could sound fairly clear. Rains Again by Solji had solid balance across the frequencies, with expressive vocals and soft strings coming through with enhanced clarity. And for tracks like this, where ULT mode will afford too much emphasis to the low-end, that quality is most welcome. All in all, decent audio is achievable with the ULT Field 3, but it’s far from the best-sounding speaker I’ve tested.

Sound quality score: 3/5

Sony logo on the Sony ULT Field 3

(Image credit: Future)

Sony ULT Field 3 review: design

IP67 dust and waterproof rating
Adjustable and detachable strap
Looks-wise not my fave, but fairly compact and durable

The Sony ULT Field 3 is certainly designed to be a rugged, outdoorsy speaker and it serves that purpose nicely. That’s largely thanks to its up-to-scratch IP67 rating, which means it's both dustproof and able to survive 30 minutes of underwater submersion, up to one meter – something I’d expect from any of the best waterproof speakers.

On top of that, there’s a really solid feel to the Field 3. It has a robust, durable, and fairly chunky build – if you dropped it I think it might break the ground rather than the other way round. Weighing in at 2.6lbs / 1.2kg, it’s got some serious weight for its size. Overall, it really does feel as if the ruggedness of this speaker is its selling point, rather than sound quality.

No matter the environment, you’ll be able to take the Field 3 around with ease, thanks to a fabric strap that’s pre-attached to the speaker (it can be removed). Some models like the Tribit Stormbox Lava come with a handle that you can swap in for transportation over shorter distances – something I would’ve liked to have seen here – though you can adjust the strap to make it shorter for handheld use if you’d prefer.

In terms of looks, I wasn’t loving the Field 3, though that’s fully down to personal preference. I just didn’t quite dig its rounded brick-like aesthetic and the color options were a bit on the bland side for me, but you might love it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

And there’s certainly stuff here that I do like, including simple yet effective button controls, a tab hiding the USB-C port, and a decently compact build. So yes, plenty to admire about the Field 3 as far as design goes – especially if you want something that’s ready to brave any setting, from living room through to the beach.

Design score: 4/5

Sony ULT Field 3 with strap attached — (Image credit: Future)

Sony ULT Field 3 review: value

Audio not good enough for the price
A lot of rivals can still offer the ruggedness too
Ultimately overshadowed in a tough market

The Sony ULT Field 3 is by no means an inexpensive speaker. At $199 / £179 / AU$329, it’s not quite in the premium tier, and its sibling the ULT Field 5 will come at a substantially higher price. But there are tons of similarly sized rivals offering great sound, build quality and features at a similar – or even lower price.

Value for money is simply not the ULT Field 3’s strong-suit. That's mainly because audio quality is pretty disappointing. You can definitely achieve a decent listening experience with ULT on for bass-heavy tracks, or custom calibration for softer genres and podcasts, but still – there are some issues, like underwhelming sound with ULT off and prominent compression at high volumes that hold this model back.

When you have rivals like the JBL Charge 6 on the market that offer impressive audio, an even higher IP rating and the same battery life, there simply aren’t many reasons to recommend the Field 3.

Is this a bad speaker? No, no it’s not. The ULT mode is the key draw, offering solid bass response for a speaker of this stature. You also get a ton of playtime and great protection against the elements. But I’d argue that’s not enough given the competition from, of course JBL – but also the Sonos Roam 2 (below), Ultimate Ears Everboom, and Tribit Stormbox Lava.

Value score: 2.5/5

Should I buy the Sony ULT Field 3?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Features	Some omissions, but great battery life, environment optimization is a nice touch.	4/5
Sound quality	Needs ULT on to sound its best, at high volumes compression is noticeable.	3/5
Design	It's not the sleekest, but the Field 3 is rugged and ready for any environment.	4/5
Value	Average audio at a not-so-cheap price makes the Field 3 a tough sell.	2.5/5

Buy it if...

You want a speaker capable of handling any environment
I have no doubts that the Sony ULT Field 3 is capable of enduring almost any setting, thanks to its brilliant IP67 dust and waterproof rating. That means it can even survive being dunked underwater for 30 minutes – pretty impressive. If you want to bring your music anywhere and everywhere, the Field 3 has you covered.

You need a speaker with plenty of battery to go around
One of the best things about the ULT Field 3 is undoubtedly its battery life. You can get up to 24 hours here, which is enough to keep the tunes blasting throughout a beachside bash or house party for the ages. You can also use the Field 3 to charge external devices via its USB-C port, so when it comes to power, this really does have it all.

Don't buy it if...

You want great all-round audio
In terms of sound quality, the Sony ULT Field 3 is unlikely to wow you. Without ULT mode on, bass sounds too thin, but even when it is active you’ll notice a lot of compression at high volumes and treble especially can get quite harsh. I’d recommend checking out our guide to the best party speakers if you want a more sonically talented alternative.

You’re on a budget
The ULT Field 3 simply isn’t great value – particularly when it’s not on sale. You can do better for $199 / £179. But you don’t even have to spend that much. If you want a great speaker without having to spend all too much, I’d recommend checking out options like the five-star JBL Flip 7, or for something a little larger, the Anker Soundcore Boom 2.

Sony ULT Field 3 review: also consider

	Sony ULT Field 3	JBL Charge 5	Sonos Roam 2
Price	$199 / £179 / AU$329	$179.95 / £169.99 / AU$199.95	$179 / £179 / AU$299
Drivers	1x 86 x 46mm woofer, 1x 20mm tweeter	1x 30W woofer, 1x 10W tweeter	1x tweeter, 1x mid-woofer
Dimensions	10.1 x 4.4 x 3.1 inches / 256 x 113 x 79mm	8.7 x 3.76 x 3.67 inches / 221 x 96 x 93 mm	6.6 x 2.4 x 2.4 inches / 168 x 62 x 60mm
Weight	2.6lbs / 1.2kg	2.1lbs / 960g	1lbs / 440g
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.2	Bluetooth 5.1	Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi
Battery life	24 hours	20 hours	10 hours
Waterproofing	IP67	IP67	IP67

JBL Charge 5
If you’re looking for a great-value rival to the Sony ULT Field 3, the JBL Charge 5 is right up there. You get well-balanced, clear audio, plenty of power and a highly durable design. Its battery life is very good, but not quite as high as Sony’s speaker and we still noticed distortion at peak volume. But overall this is a great speaker. With the Charge 6 recently arriving (review coming soon, and we’re expecting great things), you’re also able to pick the Charge 5 up at a massively cut price right now. I’m talking $139 / £119 – that’s amazing value! Read our full JBL Charge 5 review.

Sonos Roam 2
This one’s something a little different, but well worth checking out. Yep, the Sonos Roam 2 is a fair bit smaller than the ULT Field 3, weighs less than half of Sony’s speaker and can’t come close in terms of battery life. But still, I’d choose it over the ULT Field 3, personally. You get surprisingly powerful, yet rich sound quality, Wi-Fi connectivity for seamless streaming, and the same IP67 ruggedness. We’ve also seen it on sale for less than $140 / £140 in 2025, so keep an eye out for juicy deals if you’re sold on this Sonos speaker. Read our full Sonos Roam 2 review.

Sony ULT Field 3 review: how I tested

Sony ULT Field 3 on table against pink background — (Image credit: Future)

Tested for one week
Mainly used in our music testing facility at Future Labs
Predominantly tested using Tidal

I put the Sony ULT Field 3 to the test for a one week period (after a thoroguh run-in of 15 hours), tinkering with all of its features, blasting hours worth of tunes and assessing all aspects of its design. I predominantly tested in our music testing room at Future Labs in order to judge audio quality in an isolated, controlled environment.

When listening to music, I mainly used Tidal, but I occasionally played songs via Spotify too. I initially streamed tracks from our carefully curated TechRadar reference playlist, but I also listened to music from my own personal library.

I’ve tested all sorts of audio gear during my time here at TechRadar, from flagship headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM6 through to home cinema products like the Marshall Heston 120. I’ve reviewed a large array of speakers along the way from brands like Sony, LG and JBL, so I have a strong understanding of the ULT Field 3’s rivals, as well as what it takes to stand out as a strong candidate in a highly competitive market.

First reviewed: June 2025
Read more about how we test

I tested Cambridge Audio’s all-new Melomania A100 earbuds and now I’m even crazier about music

11:00 am | June 26, 2025

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

Cambridge Audio Melomania A100: two-minute review

Until now, Cambridge Audio’s TWS earbuds efforts have been ‘pretty good’ – but this is a market in which ‘pretty good’ tends not to be good enough. And so the company is back with what is quite obviously a very concerted effort, in the shape of the new Melomania A100.

Here, $149 / £119 or its regional equivalent buys a pair of true wireless in-ears that travel in a very neat charging case, that follow the ‘stem’ style of design and that can be had in black or white finishes. It also buys high specification (Bluetooth 5.4 wireless connectivity with LDAC and aptX Lossless codec compatibility, Class AB amplification, nearly 40 hours of battery life, 10mm Neodymium dynamic drivers) that you’d be glad to see on a product costing twice as much. And by way of an encore, it buys a raft of control options that include an endlessly entertaining appearance by Matt Berry. Some of the best noise-cancelling earbuds around? And perhaps even some of the best earbuds irrespective of noise-nixing, then? For sure.

Most of all, though, money put Cambridge Audio's way for these particular buds buys insightful, controlled and thoroughly entertaining sound. The A100 manage to combine levels of insight that are the best around in this market with an energetic and engaging attitude that makes the description ‘musical’ entirely valid.

As far as value for money is concerned, not to mention a thoroughly enjoyable audio experience, the Melomania A100 are currently there to be shot at.

Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 on white background — (Image credit: Future)

Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 review: Price and release date

Release date: June 26, 2025
Price: $149 / £119 / AU$TBC (but around AU$249)

At the time of writing this review, the Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 wireless in-ear headphones are on sale from today (June 26, 2025) and in the United Kingdom they cost £119. The price in the United States is $149, and while no Australian pricing is confirmed as yet, it seems something around AU$249 is likely.

It’s an aggressive price from a company that’s most recently been making waves with equipment a fair bit further up the food chain, but that’s not the same as saying the A100 are without serious competition. Sony (another brand that can hold its own at the high end) will sell you a pair of its very accomplished Sony WF-C710N buds for pennies less than £100, just as a ‘for instance’. So these earbuds have to do a bit more than show up wearing an attractive price to get a seat at the top table…

Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 review: Specs

Weight:	4.7g per earbud
Drivers:	10mm Neodymium dynamic
Battery life:	11 hours per charge; up to 39 hours with the case
Bluetooth:	5.4 with LDAC and aptX Lossless

Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 review: Features

Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless and LDAC
Six-mic array for ANC and call-handling
Class AB amplification; 10mm Neodymium dynamic drivers

In the context of the asking price, the Melomania A100 are very impressively specified indeed. There are true wireless earbuds costing plenty more than this that don’t look as good on the page.

For example, the Cambridge Audio use top-of-the-shop Bluetooth 5.4 for wireless connectivity, and are compatible with aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless and LDAC codecs. Multipoint connectivity is available too, and the array of six mics that handle noise-cancellation, telephony and voice-assistant interaction are bolstered by Clear Voice Capture echo-cancelling and noise suppression.

There’s Class AB amplification on board, an unarguable step up from the Class D alternative that’s way more common in products like this. A dual-core Qualcomm Kalimba DSP minimises distortion and maximises clarity, and a pair of 10mm Neodymium drivers serve up the sound.

Screengrabs of the Cambridge Audio Melomania A100's companion app — (Image credit: Cambridge Audio)

In the most advantageous circumstances (volume down, ANC off and so on) the earbuds will run for a healthy 11 hours between charges, and you can eke out as much as 39 hours when the power in the charging case is taken into account too. Charging from ‘flat’ to ‘full’ takes around 70 minutes, and just 10 minutes on the mains power (there’s a USB-C slot on the case) should hold you for over three hours of playback (provided you keep that ANC switched off).

And because portable products like this need a degree of hardiness, of course, the A100 are IPX5-rated. Which means they should be absolutely fine in any realistic environment.

Features score: 5 / 5

Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 review: Sound quality

Energetic and entertaining sound
Detailed and dynamic in equal measure
Some trifling low-end integration issues

The temptation that’s been succumbed to by any number of true wireless in-ear headphones of similar price to the Melomania A100 is to ramp up low frequencies in the name of ‘excitement’ and let the idea of ‘balance’ go out of the window. This Cambridge Audio product, though, is a bit more sensible than that – and as a consequence, it’s ultimately a far more accomplished listen.

Leave the EQ settings in the app well alone and the A100 are quite neutral where tonality is concerned and have an almost ideal frequency response. High frequencies have bite and shine during a listen to Daniel Avery’s Diminuendo, but have sufficient substance and variation to prevent any suggestion of hardness or edginess. And at the opposite end of the frequency range there are similarly high levels of detail, and control that’s sufficient to allow very decent rhythmic expression. Bass sounds punch with determination, but their speed and variation means they never drag at the momentum of a recording.

Switch to a file of Last Night by Arooj Aftab and the midrange is revealed to be open and eloquent – the A100 can communicate a voice’s character and attitude in the most direct manner. Detail levels are, as elsewhere, impressively high, and there’s real positivity to the way the A100 ties the frequency range together. In absolute terms it could be argued that the lowest frequencies sound just slightly remote from the lower midrange and everything above that, but the commonality of their tone mitigates this quite significantly.

The soundstage the Cambridge Audio can generate is large, well-defined and carefully controlled – so even an element-heavy recording like Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue as performed by the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein sounds open and carefully laid out. There’s elbow-room for every performer and a fairly explicit description of relative on-stage positions.

There’s plenty of dynamic headroom available for when the orchestra really ramps up the intensity, and the dynamics of harmonic variation are carefully attended to during the solo piano passages too. Transient response is good, and the result is an overall presentation that sounds very much like the complete picture.

All of the above might serve to make the Melomania A100 seem rather analytical – and there’s no denying they can peer into a recording and return with all sorts of pertinent observations. But primarily they’re an engaging and entertaining listen, and a pair of earbuds that give the strong impression that they’re just as keen on your favourite music as you are. It’s by no means easy to combine ‘analysis’ with ‘entertainment’ so that each discipline is properly attended to – and that’s the case no matter how much you’re charging – so Cambridge Audio is deserving of both congratulations and admiration.

And where active noise-cancellation is concerned, the Melomania A100 can go toe-to-toe with the best of their price-comparable rivals. The system doesn’t alter the sound of the earbuds in any way, it doesn’t betray itself with counter-signal or any sort of audible disruption – and it does a very agreeable job on all but the loudest and/or deepest of external noises. There’s a second tier of ANC that sits below the uncanny silence that’s available from a pair of Bose noise-cancellers – and these Cambridge Audio earbuds are now a part of it.

Sound quality score: 5 / 5

Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 review: Design

45 x 61 x 25mm, HxWxD (charging case)
4.7g (earbud)
Choice of black or white finishes

Unlike previous Cambridge Audio true wireless models, the Melomania A100 are from the Apple-inspired ‘dangly stem’ school of design. The earbuds are notably neat and tidy and, thanks to a selection of eartip sizes and a trifling 4.7g weight, fit comfortably even for the longest listens. ‘Neat and tidy’ covers the charging case too, which is 45 x 61 x 25mm (HxWxD) – this slender design does mean the earbuds are slightly trickier to get out of the case than they otherwise would be, but it’s not much of a price to pay for such pocket-friendly dimensions. The standard of build and finish is impressive in every respect, and the look is good no matter if you choose the black or white finish.

I might as well go with the word ‘impressive’ to deal with operability here, too. The A100 have a capacitive touch surface at the top of the stem of each–- a combination of presses and holds gives control of most playback controls, and lets you cycle between your ANC options or summon your voice assistant too. Interactions are swift and reliable, and the ‘Melomania’ control app gives the chance to customise the effect each sequence of presses or holds has.

The control app also has decent extended functionality. Six EQ presets are joined by a seven-band equaliser that allows you to store quite a few custom settings, while a defeatable ‘dynamEQ’ setting does its best to maintain full-range response at lower volumes. You can select between ‘transparency’, ‘normal’ and ‘noise-cancelling’ for ANC, and within this last option you can choose between ‘low’, ‘medium’ or ‘high’. Switching for ‘gaming mode’, ‘wear detection’ and ‘sleep mode’ are all available too – and within ‘audible feedback’ there’s the greatest Easter egg in any app anywhere ever. ‘Off’ and ‘tones’ are both options, and there are eight different languages to choose from too… but the eleventh option (‘Southwark’) lets your audible feedback be delivered by Matt Berry in highly fruity fashion.

Even without this delightful touch, though, ‘Melomania’ is a useful, stable and easy-to-navigate control app that’s only missing the ability to integrate music streaming services to be completely ideal.

Design score: 5 / 5

Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 review: Value

Great specification
Secure ergonomics
Excellent sound quality for the money

With the Melomania A100, Cambridge Audio has hit it so far out of the park it’s basically lost forever.

These true wireless earbuds are specified well beyond what any price-comparable alternative can offer, they’re comfortable, have battery stamina on their side, and each of their control options is well-implemented and effective. Oh, and they sound as good as anything else you can buy at anything like this money. Currently they offer the best value for money of any wireless earbuds you can buy for $149 / £119 – and by a wide margin.

Value score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Cambridge Audio Melomania A100?

Section	Notes	Score
Features	Excellent codec support; geat mic array	5 / 5
Sound quality	Stunning clarity for the money – best at the level by some degree	5 / 5
Design	Solid, ergonomic, thoughtfully made	5 / 5
Value	The best sound-per-pound wireless design on the market	5 / 5

Buy them if…

You have a good source player
Top-end codec compatibility and exemplary sound quality make the A100 the perfect partner

You favour well-tailored clothes
The charging case is about as slim and easy to carry as these things ever get. So you won’t need to compromise your outfit

You enjoy added value
If you know who Matt Berry is, then you know his appearance as an ‘audible feedback’ option will prove endlessly satisfying

Don't buy them if…

You like properly extended functionality
If you want your heart-rate monitored, your steps counted and what-have-you, there are alternative designs that have you covered

You’re not a monochrome type of person
Lots of price-comparable rivals are available in many more finishes than just ‘black’ or ‘white'

Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 review: Also consider

Sony WF-C710N
Until the start of this review, Sony’s still-excellent WF-C710N were your default £100-ish TWS choice, and they still have plenty going for them where sound quality is concerned. They’re made to look a bit limited by the A100’s spec-sheet, though…
Read our full Sony WF-C710N review

Technics EAH-AZ80
…And Technics’ slightly older flagship AZ80 might come down a bit closer to this pricing now too (owing to the arrival of their newer AZ100 siblings), but they're nowhere near it yet. The feature set and fit is fantastic, but you're still paying a lot more…
See our full Technics EAH-AZ80 review

How I tested the Cambridge Audio Melomania A100

Connected to an iOS smartphone and an Android DAP
Using a variety of digital file types and sizes
In a number of environments

Naturally, iOS devices don’t acknowledge wireless sound quality beyond the AAC codec – but happily my FiiO DAP does, and so I was able to let the Melomania A100 show what they’re capable of when it comes to optimum sound quality.

The DAP also features lots of genuinely high-resolution content on its local memory, as well as duplicating the music streaming service apps loaded onto the Apple smartphone, so I was able to listen to different digital audio file types and sizes.

I did this indoors and outdoors, in very quiet environments and in places where even the best active noise-cancellation struggles – and I did so for well over a week, because listening to these Cambridge Audio earbuds is really no kind of hardship.