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Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell review: mostly great, slightly frustrating

6:00 pm | September 22, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Home Security Smart Home | Tags: US | Comments: Off

Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell: two-minute review

The Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell is a stellar video doorbell that’s mostly a pleasure to use. Its quick detection might be as quick as the best home security cameras. And its clear image at all times of day, not to mention ability to be used both wired and wirelessly, makes it worthy of discussion among the best video doorbells. It’s pretty easy to install as well, especially if you go the wireless route.

It is among the more expensive models out there, at least compared to offerings from the likes of Ring and Eufy, and has a bit of a delay that can make communicating with anyone at the door a bit frustrating. Plus, if your Wi-Fi connection has issues, audio will cut in and out so that anyone waiting at the door will have a tough time understanding you.

That said, the Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell has enough going for it to offset those issues. The video quality is sharp at 2K and has HDR support along with night vision, not to mention that the dual-camera setup allows the user to get a full view of what’s happening at their doorstep. There are a whole host of settings available through the app as well as features such as voice assistant support.

Overall, as long as you don’t plan on having long conversations with people at your doorstep and are willing to drop around $230, the Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell is quite the catch.

Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell installed by door — (Image credit: James Holland)

Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell: specs

Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell: price & availability

List price: $229.99 (about £180 / AU$350)
Available in the US

Despite having quite the presence in the UK and Australia, Philips currently only sells the 7000 Series Video Doorbell (specific model number is DDA270X02103/37) in the US. For those that do have access to purchasing it (aka Americans or anyone with access to American marketplaces) can pay $229.99 (about £180 / AU$350) to get one. That’s admittedly on the high end.

Sure, you’ll pay the same price for the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2, which is only available wired, making the Philips model a better deal, not to mention the Ring model requires a subscription to save video. However, something like the Eufy Video Doorbell 2K (Wireless) has a similar resolution, and likewise doesn’t need a subscription (though Eufy does offer one), for a cheaper rate of $199.99/£159.99 (around AU$285). Of course, it comes with a bulky base station that you have to make space for.

Value score: 4/5

Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell: design

Straightforward wireless installation. Wired is almost as easy
Includes an indoor chime unit
Comes with a good amount of storage

Since the Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell is made to accommodate both wired and wireless connectivity, the amount of parts in the box can seem like a lot. It comes with the video doorbell itself, a chime unit, a flat mount, an angled mount, a USB-C charging cable along with an assortment of cables to be used if you go the wired route, and wood anchors with two sets of screws of different lengths depending on which mount you choose to use.

Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell unit — (Image credit: James Holland)

The actual installation is pretty straightforward, especially if you go the wireless route like I did. Philips offers some basic instructions on placement along with a rectangular piece of paper with pre-drawn mounting positions.

Once you know where you want to place the doorbell (and this might be different if you go the wired route as you’ll reuse the wires from an existing doorbell), you just need to drill a hole at those pre-drawn mounting positions. Of course, the Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell doesn’t come with a drill or a screwdriver and you’ll need those. Also, depending on the type of surface you’re using, you might need to make bigger holes to insert the wood anchors.

Screwing in mount for Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell — (Image credit: James Holland)

The next step is to place the mounting plate you want to use and screw that in. If you need the angled one – maybe the doorbell’s positioning is off to the side – then you use the longer screws provided. You’ll still use the flat mounting plate on top of the angled plate. Once the mounting plate(s) is installed, you clip in the video doorbell and plug the chime unit in a power outlet inside and the physical part is done.

You also need to download the Philips app and pair both the chime and video doorbell. But other than scanning a QR code, the steps are basically just to follow the on-screen directions. It’s all pretty straightforward.

Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell chime unit — (Image credit: James Holland)

If you do want to go the wired route, it’s a little more complicated as you not only connect the positive and negative wires going from your existing doorbell to the Philips 7000 Series Video doorbell, but you need to shut off your breaker and insert a wire along the circuit as well. It’s not all that much more complicated, but does require a little more work (and a properly labeled breaker box).

The actual video doorbell is sizable without being obtrusive, as it measures 6.29 in. x 2.16 in. x 1.22 in. (160mm x 55mm x 31mm) and weighs 9.87 ounces. It comes just in black with a dual camera and a single doorbell on the front.

Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell USB-C port — (Image credit: James Holland)

It has a USB-C port underneath a silicon covering for charging if you go the wireless route, so it retains an IP67 rating. That means it should survive all but the toughest of storms. It also comes with 8GB of storage so that it can save about clips for quite awhile locally. That’s greatly appreciated since the company doesn’t offer a subscription for cloud-based storage.

Also worth noting is that the chime unit, which comes in white, has an ethernet port if you want to physically connect it to your router.

Design score: 4.5/5

Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell: performance

Sharp video quality that shows both face and foot-level views
Has about a 10-second delay
Audio sometimes cuts in and out

The performance of the Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell is mostly very good. Since it’s always active and not just when it’s rung, it’s very responsive telling the user as soon as someone has passed by it. Its motion detection is immediate. Plus, it will light up at night the way a motion sensing light would.

It also will tell you right away when the doorbell has been pressed on the off chance you can’t hear the chime from the phone or the chime unit. It’s also very accurate at only detecting humans when that preference has been set in the app (you can also set it to detect any motion).

Phone notification for Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell — (Image credit: James Holland)

The video quality is also quite excellent. Its 2K resolution with HDR and night vision support means that you’ll be able to easily identify who or what is in front of the Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell at all times. For example, I was able to see from one of the recorded events (more on that later) that my sister came home with burgers from Freddy’s without telling me. Now, I’m not saying to use the Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell as a way to spy on your family’s eating habits. However, I was able to read the writing on the packaging that she brought with her.

The video setup is actually a dual camera one so, along with its wide 157 degree field of view, you can see everything going on at your doorstep. One camera is pointing, as long as the doorbell is positioned correctly, at face-level, while the other is at the feet. This is particularly useful if someone is dropping off (or, more concerningly, taking) a package.

Reviewing footage from Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell on phone — (Image credit: James Holland)

There are really only two big issues with the Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell. The first is the fact that there’s about a ten-second delay between what I saw and heard and what was actually happening. While this is somewhat necessary for recording purposes, it’s frustrating when trying to communicate with whoever’s at the door.

The second is the fact that sometimes the audio from the app to the doorbell cuts in and out. This makes communicating with whoever is at the door even more frustrating considering there’s already that ten second delay. When the voice comes through uninterrupted, it is clear at least.

On the upside, there are some interesting features on hand including some preset audio responses. With a press of a button, you can tell a delivery driver to just leave a package, for instance. The Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell can also be paired with Alexa and Google Assistant, though you won’t get the full video feed. And if you need to set specific zones for detection, you can do that too.

Configuring Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell settings in app — (Image credit: James Holland)

The app will also record events by default in 15 second increments. You can adjust the length of each video clip, but it’s a good length. Now, you’re not getting super smooth video since this is going on 8GB or storage instead of the cloud as there’s no subscription. But, it’s useful to look at past events to see what’s happened – for instance, when someone gets a burger without offering to get you one.

Performance score: 4/5

Should you buy the Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell?

Buy it if...

You want a clear view
With a 157-degree field of view, dual-camera setup that shows both face- and feet-level, not to mention HDR support and night vision, you’ll clearly see everything happening at your doorway.

You want the option to go either wired or wireless
The Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell can be used both wired and wirelessly (many models only offer one type of connectivity), so you can choose after the fact how you want to install. Plus, installation is easy regardless.

You don’t want to pay for a subscription
Since it has a decent amount of onboard storage, it can save events for a long time without the need of a subscription. With a lot of the competition, you often need that subscription to hold onto recordings for a significant amount of time.

Don't buy it if...

You’re on a budget
Though the price is worth it, the Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell is not cheap, especially compared to some of the competition.

You need immediate communication
Though its 10-second delay is probably just due to it also recording, that latency can make interacting with those at your door frustrating.

Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell: also consider

Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2

The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 is a premium video doorbell that not only looks the part, but offers a wider field of view and sharp video quality. It is, unfortunately, wired only and is pricey as well, though it often goes on sale since it’s a bit older.

Read our full Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 review

Eufy Video Doorbell 2K (Wireless)

While the Eufy Video Doorbell 2K (Wireless) doesn’t have HDR, it still has that sharp 2K resolution, not to mention it’s a little less expensive than the Philips. It also can be used without a subscription, though one is on offer. This model is wireless only.

Read our full Eufy Video Doorbell 2K (Wireless) review

How I tested the Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell

To test the Philips 7000 Series Video Doorbell, I used it for a couple weeks to not only answer the door, but to monitor all activity coming in and out (mostly my brother-in-law letting the dogs out to pee). I also played around with and tested the various settings in the app to see how they work. Read more about how we test products.

First tested September 2024

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 review: excellence across the board from B&W’s much-changed flagship noise-cancelling earbuds

4:30 pm |

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

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8: Two-minute review

I was once told that only a poor writer starts with a quote. So forgive me, because this one (from author and leadership mentor John C. Maxwell) explains my thoughts on Bowers & Wilkins' Pi8 far better than I could: A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.

A lot has been corrected here, and it takes a big man (or woman, or person) to do it. TechRadar reviews typically begin with the bold claims made by a product's marketing team, and end with whether or not we felt the performance lived up to the hype. But B&W has approached this iteration with such humility, honesty and determination (rather than nonchalance and bravado) that I cannot do that. What I can tell you – and with some joy – is that the Pi8 are some of the best noise-cancelling earbuds I've ever tested.

They are, as you'll probably have guessed, completely unlike their older siblings. Gone are the Swiss watch-style embellishments and metallic circular top plates of the Pi7 and Pi5 (and the Pi5 S2 and Pi7 S2), which looked beautiful in my hand but didn't work in my ear canal. Bowers & Wilkins has effectively started from scratch this time around, deploying the services of the same in-house team that created its PX7 S2 and sublime PX8 over-ear headphones – a set of cans I said "look stunning and sound even better" under intense review.

Has the gamble worked? While I'd love to stretch this two-minute verdict out, let's face it, the star rating at the top of this review is kind of a giveaway. Yes, it has. The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 are now as physically comfortable and secure as they are sonically detailed and dynamically agile.

Also, you now get on-ear volume control. I've been knocking B&W's decision to leave this off the spec sheet since 2021, which meant that even with the company's most elite earbuds, I had to rifle through my bag to alter the volume, while propositions at a fifth of the price could do it. And now that's fixed. Okay, you have to choose whether you want the tap-and-hold gesture of either earbud to tweak volume (left down; right up) or scroll between ANC and passthrough in the left bud, and voice assistant activation in the right, but I don't care – at least, not enough to knock a half-star off.

The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 are a five-star set of earbuds all day long, even at their considerable price point.

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 held in a hand, with floral background — (Image credit: Future)

A quick bit about their corresponding Pi6 siblings, which were unveiled (as is B&W's tradition) on the same day: aptX Lossless support is reserved for the flagship Pi8. Also, while the slightly cheaper Pi6 feature new 12mm bio-cellulose drivers (based on tech used in the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e, B&W's 2023 update to the aforementioned PX7 S2 over-ears), the Pi8 get an upgraded DAC, DSP and amplifier components from ADI, meaning they effectively bypass Qualcomm's digital-to-analog converter. You also get the carbon cone drive unit technology first used in the excellent top-tier PX8 over-ear headphones in the Pi8 – see the design language carried over from that in-house team?

The Pi8 also offer the case retransmission function first seen in the Pi7 and January 2023-issue Pi7 S2. This lets you ping audio to the earbuds wirelessly but without Bluetooth, from connected analog or digital sources, (in-flight entertainment systems, gym equipment, newer USB-C-enabled iPhones, and so on). It's not the first case capable of doing the retransmission dance – see the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 or LG Tone Free T90S for more examples – but B&W's case goes a step beyond, by retransmitting in aptX Adaptive (ie. up to 24-bit/96kHz quality). It's quite the upgrade if you care about streaming quality – and with earbuds as capable (and aspirational) as the Pi8, you really should.

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 review: Price & release date

Unveiled on August 21, 2024
Priced $399 / £349 / AU$599

Admittedly, the Pi8 are not cheap. The best one can say about the asking price is that the 2021 Pi7 launched at the same $399 / £349 / AU$699, so it's refreshing to see that Bowers & Wilkins hasn't hiked the price – although that's still top-end in today's money, to be sure.

The cheaper Pi6 became available on September 15, priced at $249 / £219 / AU$449, which is more palatable, but remember that you don't get the flagship features or hardware, as detailed above.

What else can this kind of money buy? Why, competition is rife up here, friend! Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds come in at $299 / £299 / AU$449; Technics' excellent EAH-AZ80 are also in the same ballpark, at $299 / £259 / AU$499 and the Final ZE8000 MK2 (our pick for the best-sounding buds we've ever tested) are $399 / £289 (around AU$609), where available.

Suffice to say, it's tough at the top. But that's where B&W now finds itself – and the Pi8 are sitting rather prettily up there, it must be said.

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 review: Specs

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 review: Features

Excellent case retransmission feature
Effective ANC
Very good call-quality; Music App is a joy to use

Do the Pi8 nix noise as deftly as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds or the AirPods Pro 2? For me, yes. As I understand it, the Pi8 have received quite the overhaul here – using tech from their PX8 over-ear siblings – and however B&W has implemented this, it works. That cocooned feeling of leaving the outside world behind kicked straight in but without any sense of wind-tunnel nausea or my eardrums being unceremoniously sucked into a vacuum. It's probably also thanks to the hugely improved fit and the seal it creates betwixt those talented drivers and my ear canals (more on this later), but you should know that here, the noise-cancelling is very good.

There’s also a useful 'Pass Through' mode, that lets me hear my colleague talking next to me. You can switch these profiles off entirely, but there’s no capacity to tweak the levels of ANC any further, and no 'adaptive' ANC option. I don't care. When the full-fat version is this good, why get granular and try to tweak things? If you just want something that kicks extraneous noise to the curb so you can revel uninterrupted in your sonic selections, the Pi8 are it.

Now, the case: aside from its no-nonsense, pocketable appeal, you can plug that USB-C port (USB-C to 3.5mm and USB-C cables are in the box) into a non-Bluetooth source, such as an in-flight entertainment system, and it'll double as a wireless audio re-transmitter but in aptX Adaptive transmission up to 24-bit/96kHz quality. Imagine the scene: you're in the middle seat on a long-haul flight, and the window-seat passenger wants to get out. It's fine! Your earbuds are safe in your ears, still sending audio, and your fellow passenger won't trip over long tangling cables – not on your watch!

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 earbuds, held in a hand on grassy background — (Image credit: Future)

What about call quality? I liked it a lot, despite the lack of sidetone-type tech to either boost or minimize my own or the caller's voice manually. The Pi8 have three mics per earbud and B&W says the setup's been upgraded using PX8-flavor tech. For me, even during an off-shore windy day in Woolacombe (never been? It's on the UK's North Devon coastline, surfer hotspot, you should check it out), my caller told me I came through loud and clear.

It's worth noting that there are no ear-tip fit tests, hearing tests for creating personalized sound profiles, or proprietary spatial audio processing here. If you want those things, you'll need to look at options from Bose, JBL, or even Nothing. What you'll find instead is a very good five-band EQ tab and the talented Bowers & Wilkins Music app. This companion app will quickly become the way you access your music since it corrals all of your paid-for music streaming services (so I never need to go to Qobuz or Tidal specifically – it's all here!) and even serves up various "curated by Bowers & Wilkins" playlist selections for your new listening gear.

For better or worse, B&W wants the star of the show to be the untouched and unadulterated sound quality, rather than giving you ways to mess with it. The inclusion of Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Bluetooth 5.4 chipset is a testament to that. But remember, a separate high-performance dedicated DAC/DSP amp has also been thrown in, to swerve that within even the Qualcomm chip. That's the extent to which B&W has taken matters into its own hands regarding the sound quality. While it might not be an ideal proposition for those who know they need to augment certain frequencies right from the box (and would rather have B&W do it for them), those who don't need specific sonic recipes cannot fail to be wowed by the separation, neutrality and sonic clarity here.

If you've got an aptX-compatible source, you'll get much better wireless audio support too, including aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive support at up to 24-bit/96kHz. And as you'll read below, the sound quality here is unparalleled from a wireless earbuds design.

Features score: 4.5/5

Three screengrabs of the B&W Music app, using the Pi8 earbuds — Yes, I still love 2003 Laith Al-Deen… (Image credit: Bowers & Wilkins)

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 review: Sound quality

Separation, detail and clarity in spades
Bass is resolute; mids textured
Noise-cancellation doesn't mar the experience

Rarely will you read a TechRadar section entitled 'Sound' so wholly positive, so prepare yourself: no matter what genre of music I threw at them (and no matter the streaming source) it felt as if the B&W Pi8 had unpacked, weighed, opened out, examined, layered and finally presented my music with the skilled hand of a French pâtissier. The Pi8 buds also didn't seem to care whether they were working with lowly compressed Spotify streams, Tidal Max tracks, Apple Music offerings or Qobuz albums. Everything was served up with a flourish.

In Lupe Fiasco's Cake, bass frequencies in the vocals sink easily as low as Fiasco is able (which is considerable), revealing a bass floor few earbuds can take you to. During the title track, Samurai, I'm struck by the pin-point accuracy of each voice's placement in the mix. Hype men jump out from my ear lobes, my temples and beneath my chin in a raucous and zealous mix.

Switching to Stranger by Hinds and Grian Chatten, jangly guitars and Hinds' ethereal vocal stylings are present and have ample room to shine, joining each other in a cohesive mix but never competing for space. Chatten's voice joins centrally and I'm living inside my head as if at a gig, with the Fontaines D.C. front-man, well, literally in front of me…

Refreshingly, deploying ANC or pass-through doesn't make anything go sonically awry either. Bass is just as resolute in Gunna's collage with pass-through on, a profile that can so often throw a slightly tinny, sweet veil over the audio.

Any downsides? I'm struggling – and we pride ourselves on being tough critics here at TechRadar. For attack, drive, musicality, dynamic nuance, balance across the frequencies, placement, timing, and all the other things I usually talk about where sound is concerned, Bowers & Wilkins' considerable work and back-to-the-drawing-board approach has paid off. Oh, do these earbuds sound good…

Sound quality score: 5/5

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 review: Design

Totally reworked driver housings – and it works
On-ear functions require a compromise
Pocketable case

While they might not look as resoundingly premium as the Swiss watch-esque Pi5 or Pi7, the redesign here was necessary. The top surface of each nicely-branded bud is a shiny touch-capacitive button that works very well.

The buds are available in Anthracite Black with silvery accents (the sample pictured here), Dove White, Midnight Blue and Jade Green. It's a plastic build, but of premium matte plastic that seems to murmur 'I'm expensive' when you pluck them from their small, pebble-shaped case.

Bowers & Wilkins came clean to me and admitted it needed to fix some issues in the older iterations: the mic and sensors on the older Pi7 models weren’t in the best position, meaning they could get blocked by the wearer. Remember my quote at the very top of this review? It takes a big company to admit to its mistakes, and it has all been fixed for Pi8.

There's now a little indentation containing a sliver of grille, running the entire circumference of each earpiece and directly under that touch capacitive top plate. Under it are those mics and sensors – as far away from your head and ear folds as it's possible to put them. Neat.

As noted previously, a brand new "trickled down from the PX8" carbon cone driver is at the helm here, and you get four silicone ear tip options in the box: extra small, small, medium and large. I switched to the small set, but since the neck of the earbud isn't long and the design has been so carefully conceived, I don't think the tip size is paramount here. Honestly? I truly feel that B&W has taken a long, hard, humble look at Technics' EAH-AZ80 with 'concha-fit' design for the Pi8. Why do I think this? Because, as with the Technics earbuds, they look a little bulky (and they do weigh 7g each, which isn't light) but they fit just as naturally and unobtrusively. The weight is distributed as evenly as possible so they feel as if they hug your outer ear, once in situ. Simply put: they fit beautifully, and you don't need to keep screwing them further down your delicate ear canal.

The Pi8 offer more battery life than their older siblings – but not much more. The maximum playtime is 6.5 hours from the earbuds and a further 13.5 hours from the case, for 20 hours of total use – but the good news is that those tests are with ANC on. Without it, I got closer to 8.5 hours from a single charge in my testing. For clarity, the Pi7 S2's stamina was 5 hours for the earbuds (ANC off) and an additional 16 hours from the charging case, for a 21-hour total.

I do have one minor negative though, and it's similar to the minor issue I encountered with the JBL Live Beam 3. Basically, you need to ditch a set of functions again. To clarify, you can now get on-ear volume control by long-pressing either Pi8 earbud, but to have it you need to forego scrolling through ANC profiles and access to your voice assistant. On the one hand, I love that I now get on-ear volume support. On the other, I'd also like to have the option to deploy ANC by touching the earbuds as well. And I know it's not too much to ask at this level because the Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 can do it.

That's where the complaints end though because when you add in that case retransmission feature, this is a very likeable, comfortable design from Bowers & Wilkins – and a complete rewrite of the playbook that I'm sure did not come easy.

Design score: 4.5/5

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 review: Value

Acceptable battery life given the excellent sound
Sound-per-pound, they're winning
If you want hearing tests, you'll be disappointed

The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 are not cheap. They are earbuds for the listener who wants excellent, unchanged, high-quality audio in a comfortable build. If that's you, the sound here is the best I've heard in a wireless design to date. And if you've got a decent hi-res music service subscription, the B&W Music app will have at it and make your life very easy. Essentially, if you value sound quality above all else, here's where the smart money goes.

However, for battery life, the Pi8 can be beaten by recent options from JBL and Cambridge Audio, and if you want spatial audio mixed in with the ANC, you'll need to look to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds.

Hearing tests (and the personalized sound profiles they can facilitate, from the Nothing Ear, for example) and ear-tip fit tests are also absent in the Pi8, so if those extras are high on your list of priorities, the value-for-money option lies elsewhere – possibly with Nothing; maybe even with the Denon PerL Pro.

Value score: 4.5/5

Should I buy the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8: Also consider

Cambridge Audio Melomania M100
The ANC is very good indeed here, too – as is the sound quality. And to top it all off, you get the option of Matt Berry on voice prompts (his "Waiting to pair!" is the best you've ever heard). The overall aesthetic isn't as polished (the case is a little bigger) and the fit is good but not exceptional, but the M100's still a viable rival, depending on your priorities.
Make your choice by reading our Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 review

How I tested the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8

Tested for three weeks; listened against the Cambridge Audio Melomania M100, AirPods Pro 2, JBL Live Beam 3 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra
Used at work, at home and on a long weekend away (in the office, walking along Woolacombe beach, on a train)
Listened to Tidal Masters, Apple Music Lossless tracks and Spotify on an iPhone 12 Pro, a Sony Xperia 1 V and a MacBook Pro

The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 became my musical companions for over three weeks – after a thorough 48-hour run-in period.

They accompanied me to work on weekdays (walking brusquely to the station; on the London Underground network; at the office), and throughout a long weekend in Woolacombe, with regular trips along the seafront after surfing – which is a great way to test any wind interference from mics during calls.

To better test the fit and security of the Pi8, I even wore them during an aerial silks training session, and they did not budge.

To check the audio quality across the frequencies, I listened to various playlists (spanning everything from grime to classical) on Apple Music, Qobuz and Tidal, but also podcasts and albums on Spotify, and YouTube tutorials (mostly about checking the tire pressure on my car, and how to reset the system so the warning light goes off, in case you wondered) on my MacBook Pro.

I’ve been testing audio products well for over five years now. As a dancer, aerialist and musical theater performer in a previous life, sound quality, fit and user experience have always taken priority for me – but having heard how wonderful ANC can be when done well, I have grown to love immersing myself in a bubble of silence too.

SoundMagic P58BT ANC: Two-minute review

Chinese audio company SoundMagic's bid to become a leader in the best budget headphones stakes is a strong one. The audio specialist retains a special place in cash-savvy audiophiles’ hearts, thanks to 2018’s SoundMagic E11C wired earbuds, which paved the way for a range of similarly affordable IEMs. And after launching its first wireless over-ear headphones in 2021 with the SoundMagic P23BT, it’s back with a pricier follow-up.

That’s how we come to the SoundMagic P58BT ANC, cans that are still distinctly affordable, but with a few upgrades over the past models. After testing, though, I’ve got to say that the upgrades don’t make these a better proposition.

It goes without saying that you have to set your expectations at a reasonable level when looking at affordable over-ear headphones (and I say it anyway to make it clear that I did lower my standards). And there is a lot to like here with that in mind, but I had two big issues with the SoundMagic that any potential buyer will have to get over first.

Firstly, I simply didn’t find them comfortable to wear. A relatively small arch means the pads are pushed right into your head, and I had to remove them every time I listened for more than an hour due to the headaches they caused. The P58BT ANC have a 60-hour battery life which is really great (though not best-in-class), but at my rate, that means 60 listening sessions followed by ample pauses.

The other issue, which is decidedly less subjective than the last, is that the SoundMagics don’t have any kind of smartphone app, marking the only audio gadget I can recall testing in recent years that doesn’t have any kind of way to control its features other than on the product itself.

This means you’re lacking some (arguably-) basic features that most rivals have, namely an equalizer to tweak the audio mix. I desperately wanted to fiddle with the sound of the cans, but was stuck with the default balance which emphases mids over bass or treble frequencies.

If you want to toggle the features the P58BTs do have, you have to use gesture controls over the large pad on each earpiece, or rely on button-pressing patterns for the sole physical button on the left ear cup. In my several-week-long testing period, I found myself completely incapable of memorizing all the various gestures and shortcuts for the modes that I’d usually enable on my smartphone, and I’d imagine all other users (who aren’t in MENSA) will have the same experience.

As I said, you always have to bear in mind the price with low-cost headphones like the SoundMagic P58BT ANC, and the detailed audio and valiant battery life will sway over some users, especially those who may be able to overlook my stated issues. Yes, SoundMagic puts out its headphones at a competitive price point, but there are many other rivals on the market at similar price-points that I found more impressive.

SoundMagic P58BT ANC review: Price and release date

The SoundMagic P58BT ANC held above a wooden table. — (Image credit: Future)

Released in August 2024
Sell for $90 / £79 / AU$134

The SoundMagic P58BT ANC were announced, and put on sale, at the end of August 2024. That’s a lengthy three-year hiatus since the P23BT. They're also available in a pretty lengthy list of countries around the world on SoundMagic’s website.

At launch, the headphones cost $90 / £79 / AU$134, so they’re pretty affordable if not as bargain-bin as the $55 / £50 (roughly AU$100) P23BTs, and we'd expect a little more as a result.

There are a lot of competitors at that price point, including some on our list of the best cheap headphones, with the top-rated Earfun Wave Pro and the Sony WH-CH520 both slightly cheaper.

SoundMagic P58BT ANC review: Specs

SoundMagic P58BT ANC review: Features

The SoundMagic P58BT ANC with a gesture control being activated. — (Image credit: Future)

Distinct lack of features
ANC is welcome if not powerful
Total battery life of up to 60 hours

I tend to wax lyrical in headphone review ‘features’ sections, for better or worse, but that won’t be the case for the SoundMagic P58BT ANC. And that's because there isn't a lot to cover.

Let’s start with the titular feature: active noise cancellation, something the P23BT didn’t offer. Here it’s present and accounted for, but nothing to write home about: solid enough to remove overbearing background noises but lacking nuance or power to compete with the greats. As an example, the headphones would cancel out the rumble of a bus I was riding, but not the low chatter of the people on said bus.

Bear in mind that these are over-ear headphones, so there's some natural noise cancellation from the natural fit of the cups, and this certainly helps the ANC.

The SoundMagic P58BT ANC on a wooden table. — (Image credit: Future)

The SoundMagics do compete in terms of battery life, with 60 hours of music in the tank. There are few headphones that last that long, even amongst over-ears, and it’s truly a blessing for people who habitually forget to charge (like me) or suffer from battery anxiety (also me). Some rivals beat the SoundMagic in this department, (see the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 for an excellent 100-hour option with ANC disabled – albeit a more expensive one) but many top-end cans fall far short of the figure.

And the rest of the feature set is… almost totally barren. You see, SoundMagic doesn’t have an app, so all the features you’d normally find when using one are notably absent. No equalizer, no ambient modes, no way of tracking the P58BT’s battery level if your phone UI doesn’t tell you.

There is actually a low-latency game mode, which does what it says on the tin, and solves an issue that I’ve never faced in all my years of mobile gaming. For the reasons you’ll read about in the design section, I found enabling this more faff than it was worth.

Features score: 2.5/5

SoundMagic P58BT ANC review: Design

Comfortable and light design
A few on-cup controls
Folds up into carry case but no IP rating

The SoundMagic P58BT tip the scales to the tune of 305g, so they’re not particularly heavy, but there are certainly lighter headphones out there if you’re worried about them being too weighty.

That wouldn’t be a misplaced fear either, as I found them a little uncomfortable to wear – the silicone ear pads felt very rigid, pressing down on my ears rather than settling onto them, and I had to break up listening sessions as a result. It goes without saying that this is a subjective observation but I do have to mention it, especially given that I’d use some other headphones I’m testing as a reprieve when the SoundMagics got too painful.

They come in two color options: black or silver, and don’t seem to have a waterproofing or IP rating that’s listed on SoundMagic’s website.

You can adjust the cans to quite an extent with an adjustable-length headband and cans that can rotate and fold to quite a dramatic degree. I kept accidentally flipping the cans around 180-degrees and getting confused which side was right or left.

The SoundMagic P58BT ANC's ports. — (Image credit: Future)

The left ear pad is the one with the features: it has a USB-C port for charging, 3.5mm jack (with an audio cable included in the box) and the power button, which needs to be held for a surprisingly long amount of time to turn the P58BT on or off.

Most of the controls, however, come with the gesture controls, and this is my biggest gripe with the SoundMagics. The flat pad on each cup can be swiped in different directions or tapped for loads of different functions: changing volume, skipping tracks and so on.

Frankly, I found the amount of different gestures I needed to memorize overwhelming, which is to say I simply couldn’t remember any of them. If I wanted to pause music or change volume I’d have to rely on my phone; ANC is toggled with the power button instead of the pads and I continually forgot about this until I’d already tried all the swipes and slaps.

There’s also the issue that some controls are directional: swipe up for one command, swipe left for another. This would seem well and good but ‘up’ and ‘left’ can be very different directions depending on the angle you’re holding your head, and I’d often accidentally enact the wrong gesture due to leaning my head too far backward or forward, or at certain angles.

This gesture control was in place in the SoundMagic P23BT and our reviewer didn’t mind it there, but those headphones didn’t have those (few) extra features over the previous pair that need to be controlled with gestures too.

Design score: 3/5

SoundMagic P58BT ANC review: Sound quality

The SoundMagic P58BT ANC on a man's head. — (Image credit: Future)

Well-balanced audio
Mids bloated just a little
Max volume is really, really loud

Tech-wise, the SoundMagic P58BT ANC packs 40mm drivers with support for SBC and AAC. Those are largely in line with other headphones you’ll be considering at this price.

People who’ve used other budget headphones might find the SoundMagic pretty good – music has a lot of detail and clarity, with a broader soundstage than some other similarly-priced gadgets I’ve tested and a commendable lack of peaking at reasonable volumes.

However, at least personally speaking, I wasn’t a fan of the balance of the headphones. The detail of bass and treble is provided at the expense of their energy or power – mid sounds dominate the mix and on certain genres of music, this saps some of the ‘pizazz’.

I particularly think that bass-heads will be disappointed as lower-frequency sounds lack power, as though you’re watching a bassist play their instrument when it isn’t plugged in. The genres I enjoyed best with these headphones were acoustic-laden folk, singer-songwriter and bluegrass songs, where thumping bass rhythms aren't as important.

I did enjoy listening to the spoken word on the headphones though, as I found the detail provided by them helped convey small nuances in tone and pitch. Podcast-listeners might find these a decent pick.

Bear in mind that the lack of an equalizer means you’re reliant on the default sound of the P58BT ANC – no bass boosting or rock modes here. Because of this, more so than on other headphones, I'd really recommend trying to source a pair to test before you buy them.

Sound quality: 3.5/5

SoundMagic P58BT ANC review: value

It’s hard to make a firebrand statement about the cost-value proposition of the SoundMagic P58BT ANC because you’re basically getting what you pay for here.

In terms of audio quality and design, the headphones tick the boxes you’d expect from them, and you see in similarly-priced rivals.

Dragging the value down a little is the lack of an app, which gives the impression of these being some cheap AliExpress buys, even though SoundMagic is a reputed brand. However I do think the soft carry bag for the phones does tip the scale in the right direction a little.

Value: 3.5/5

Should I buy the SoundMagic P58BT ANC?

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

SoundMagic P58BT ANC review: Also consider

How I tested the SoundMagic P58BT ANC

Tested for two weeks
Tested at home, in the office, on public transport and on walks

The testing process for the SoundMagic P58BT ANC took place over two weeks, which includes the set-up, review writing and general usage time. This is the usual amount of time I allocate to headphone reviews.

For most of the testing, I used the headphones connected to my Android phone via Bluetooth, but I also connected them to my phone and laptop using the audio cable for some testing too. I mainly tested using Spotify and several streaming services, with some gaming done to test out that mode. Lots of the testing was done in my office, and on various walks, bus rides and train journeys to and from it, but I also used them at home and in other everyday environments.

My history of review-writing at TechRadar spans over five years, and I've been covering tech for even longer. I've tested loads of similarly-priced headphones (including one mentioned in the 'also consider' section), as well as a range of other gadgets.

I mentioned earlier that I used the SoundMagic alongside another pair of headphones; this was a pricier model and it wouldn't be fair to compare them.

First reviewed in September 2024

Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Govee Floor Lamp 2 review: a fantastic lighting package for your Matter smart home

8:00 pm | September 21, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Smart Home Smart Lights | Comments: Off

Govee Floor Lamp 2: one-minute review

The Govee Floor Lamp 2 is a bit of an enigma in Govee’s lineup. It’s both smaller and cheaper than the Govee Floor Lamp Pro, warranting a cheaper price tag. However, despite the obvious dearth in some features, the Floor Lamp 2 delivers support for Matter, the latest in smart home connectivity. As such, despite being cheaper and less capable than its big brother, it’s arguably a much better choice for smart home connoisseurs, and one of the best smart lights for HomeKit users who value its integration with Apple Home.

The Govee Floor Lamp 2 is incredibly similar to the Floor Lamp Pro in terms of assembly, design, and the user experience of the app both models share.

Out of the box, you’ll have to contend with assembling the lamp from its constituent parts. That means screwing together three metal strips to the base of the lamp using the brackets and screws provided. It’s not a complex job, but it’s definitely fiddly and requires a bit of patience.

Despite being cheaper than the Floor Lamp Pro, I was surprised to find that the overall material feels a bit more premium, save for the base which is a bit shiny and plasticky for my liking. The connector that links the flexible lighting tube to the cabling in the base is also much easier to join up, and feels more rugged and durable. Having seen Govee’s silver and black offerings, I much prefer the darker finish of this lamp compared to my Govee Floor Lamp Pro’s silver color.

The more expensive Govee Floor Lamp Pro boasts a Bluetooth speaker. That feature is lacking in the Floor Lamp 2 and is the main significant difference between the two models.

Govee Floor Lamp 2 base — (Image credit: Future)

The Govee Floor Lamp 2 is controlled by Govee’s app, available on both iPhone and Android. Like the Floor Lamp Pro, it supports both Alexa and Google Home, but crucially also comes with Matter support. That means you can use it with pretty much any smart home ecosystem, most notably Apple Home. As I’ve mentioned in my Floor Lamp Pro review, the Govee design app is not exactly a masterpiece, but it is highly functional. As soon as you turn the lamp on and open the app, you can add the new device and connect it to your home Wi-Fi network (2.4GHz only) with ease. Govee’s Floor Lamp 2 controls let you control the light emitting from the base and the stem separately, with a slider for brightness. There are also settings and controls for color, scene, finger sketching your own patterns, and even for rhythmic light shows set to music, powered by a built-in microphone. There’s also a timer functionality so you can set your lamp to cycle on and off, perfect for use beside a nightstand.

Close-up of Govee Floor Lamp 2 base — (Image credit: Future)

In theory, Matter support means you can easily add your Govee Floor Lamp 2 to Apple Home. However, I found the process wasn’t seamless and took several attempts. Govee says that you should attempt to connect your lamp using Matter within 15 minutes of powering the lamp on for the first time. If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to reset the lamp and try again. It took me four or five attempts and a good 10 minutes to get the Govee Floor Lamp 2 added to my Apple Home network. I encountered a couple of different errors regarding the network, but eventually it worked.

Once connected, you can use it like any other HomeKit smart light, including through Siri where you can issue commands for powering on or off, brightness, and color. Matter support is a huge boost to the Floor Lamp 2 and a big advantage over the more expensive Floor Lamp Pro. It also gives you access to all the other joys of HomeKit, such as automation. Your Govee Floor Lamp 2 can be connected to motion sensors or anything else you can think of in the Internet of Things.

Govee Floor Lamp 2 projecting multicolored light onto wall — (Image credit: Future)

While the Floor Lamp 2 isn’t quite as bright as the Floor Lamp Pro, it still puts out a respectable array of light. Combined with its reduced height, it’s noticeably dimmer than the Pro but still very ambient and pleasant. It would be well-suited to smaller rooms such as an office or a guest bedroom but lacks the extra power of its larger, more expensive stablemate. That being said, it puts out more than enough light to illuminate most spaces.

Thanks to the app, the combination of lighting on offer is pretty much limitless, you can choose block colors, scenes, or a simple warm light for reading. The Govee Floor Lamp 2 comprises a cylindrical base and a tall strip of light, designed for wall-washing. It’s not a directional light per se and is more suited to providing ambiance and atmosphere, decorative rather than practical.

Govee Floor Lamp 2 switched off — (Image credit: Future)

For quick use and convenience, the Govee Floor Lamp 2 comes with its own remote that can be used to quickly control power, block colors, brightness, and the temperature of your light without messing with your phone or trying to summon Siri without waking anyone, a most welcome addition.

To sum up, the Govee Floor Lamp 2 is considerably cheaper than its “Pro” counterpart but offers much of the same lighting functionality. It doesn’t have a built-in speaker like the larger version, but does offer a vital connectivity advantage thanks to Matter support. While the build quality might not be the best on the market, and the fiddly assembly is a drawback, it’s a sturdy lamp with plenty of punch.

Govee mobile app on phone — (Image credit: Future)

Govee Floor Lamp 2: specs

Govee Floor Lamp 2: price & availability

List price: $149 / £149 (about AU$220)
Often available at a discount

The Govee Floor Lamp 2 is available from Govee’s website in the US and the UK. It’s priced at $149/£149, however, it’s routinely discounted on the official website to $119 or £109. It’s also available on Amazon in both the US and the UK with the same list price and similar discounts. That’s considerably cheaper than a Philips Hue Signe Gradient lamp, and even cheaper than Govee’s own alternative, the Govee Floor Lamp Pro. The lamp is available in black (as tested here) and silver.

Should you buy the Govee Floor Lamp 2?

Buy it if...

You’re limited on space

This lamp is a lot smaller than Govee’s Pro lamp, both in terms of height and footprint

You’re a HomeKit user

Unlike Govee’s Floor Lamp Pro, this model supports Apple Home through Matter

Don't buy it if...

Govee Floor Lamp 2: also consider

Not sold on the Govee Floor Lamp 2? Here are two more options to consider.

How I tested the Govee Floor Lamp 2

I used the Govee Floor Lamp 2 for several days
I used it in various places in my home
I comprehensively tested all of its features including the app

I've used the Govee Floor Lamp 2 for two weeks in multiple locations around my home. I tested all of the different lighting options and used its features including the remote control.

I used the Govee app to connect the lamp up to my home Wi-Fi network and also used the lamp through the Apple Home app to test Matter support.

I have five years of smart home journalism experience and have extensively tested a broad range of smart home products including smart lights, plugs, speakers, and more. I have also tested other smart lamps in this specific product category field, notably the Philips Hue Signe Gradient and the Govee Floor Lamp Pro, which has helped to inform my review.

First tested September 2024

Asus ROG Tessen review: brilliant mobile FPS performance

7:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming Gaming Accessories | Tags: Forza Horizon, FPS | Comments: Off

Asus ROG Tessen: Two-minute review

The Asus ROG Tessen is an excellent mobile controller that’s well-suited for FPS gaming in spite of some small setbacks. Its overall design is mostly superb, with durable metal rear paddles and a unique folding mechanism that makes it even easier to take on the go. Its tactile face buttons and d-pad are satisfying to use, though the latter is definitely better suited for fast-paced competitive games than any retro titles or traditional platformers, even if it is on par with the feel of some of the best PC controllers.

While not utilizing Hall effect technology, its thumbsticks perform well and the triggers are a highlight - delivering a quick but satisfying motion that makes every match of Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile that much more enjoyable. Throw in some pretty RGB lighting (which is unfortunately controlled by a rather underwhelming app) and compatibility with most mobile phone cases and you have a very strong overall package.

Even so, there are a few areas with room for improvement. The more angular design of its grips won’t be for everyone and I found that they could often be a little uncomfortable during longer sessions, digging into the palms of my hands. It’s by no means the worst, but it is one of the few areas where the comparable Backbone One 2nd Gen takes a clear lead.

There’s also the fact that the Asus ROG Tessen only officially supports Android despite being a wired USB-C controller. I’m sure there’s some nitty gritty technical reason why this is the case, but it’s still disappointing now that iPhone 15 (and soon iPhone 16) series phones use the connector standard. The lack of a 3.5mm audio jack for headphones is also a notable, and mildly annoying, omission. Hopefully, a small hardware revision will be able to remedy these complaints in the future.

Overall, the Asus ROG Tessen is still remarkably close to being a best-in-class mobile controller at its price range. If you’re willing to look past these few minor frustrations, it offers a very capable and enjoyable mobile gaming experience.

The Asus ROG Tessen folded. — (Image credit: Future)

Asus ROG Tessen: Price and availability

$109.99 / £109.99 / AU$179
Available via Asus and Amazon
Slightly more expensive than the Backbone One

The Asus ROG Tessen costs $109.99 / £109.99 / AU$179 and is available directly from Asus or at online retailers such as Amazon. It comes in slightly more expensive than the Backbone One 2nd Gen which costs $99.99 / £99.99 / AU$179.99. This price seems quite fair given the additional features found on the Asus ROG Tessen though, such as the rear paddles and folding mechanism.

That said, this controller does not offer any iOS support, so those who often switch devices would be better off saving the cash and picking up a Backbone One 2nd Gen instead. I would also recommend that those who can stretch for the $149.99 / £149.99 / AU$269.95 Razer Kishi Ultra do so, as that controller is significantly more comfortable, offers iOS support, and features Hall effect components - though loses in terms of portability due to its much larger size.

Asus ROG Tessen: Specs

The RGB strips of the Asus ROG Tessen. — (Image credit: Future)

Asus ROG Tessen: Design and features

Great overall look and feel
Folding mechanism
Fits most phone cases

Much of the Asus ROG Tessen looks and feels premium. It has a very similar design to most telescopic mobile controllers, though with the addition of two hinges on its extending portion. These allow the controller to be folded cleanly in two for greater portability. As a result, I had no trouble fitting the Asus ROG Tessen in a rucksack and could even cram it into the large pockets of my cargo jeans. Despite its compact form factor, there’s still plenty of space for a full phone case when you’re using the controller which is very convenient.

It is a tad unfortunate that, due to the orientation of the mechanism, the thumbsticks are left sticking out when the controller is folded, making it easy to catch them on your bag if you’re not careful.

The controller has pleasantly springy triggers with a good level of travel and shoulder buttons that are clicky and responsive. Thumbsticks are on the smaller side and have little friction, though I found them to be smooth and perfectly comfortable to use. The face buttons and d-pad are mechanical with a very pronounced tactile click. They’re enjoyable to press and the shallow travel distance of the d-pad is ideal for quickly organizing your gear in a battle royale like Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile.

It’s not perfect in games that require extensive use of the d-pad for movement, though, and I soon found myself missing the softer, more spongy d-pad of the Backbone One 2nd Gen after a few hours of Dead Cells. On the back of the controller, you’ll find two rear paddles, both made of aluminum and sporting a pleasant grippy texture. They’re easy to press and well-positioned and the use of metal gives them a more premium feel.

In addition to the standard home, menu, and start buttons, the Asus ROG Tessen features a dedicated button to open the Armoury Crate software. This is, unfortunately, extremely basic, with an ugly UI and few features beyond button remapping and the ability to configure the bright RGB strips located on the bottom of each grip. These lighting elements, on top of a few subtle printed graphics and plenty of different textures, lend the controller quite a distinctive aesthetic - which is appreciated.

The rear paddles of the Asus ROG Tessen. — (Image credit: Future)

Asus ROG Tessen: Performance

Best for fast-paced games
Compatible with native titles and cloud gaming
Grips can be uncomfortable

The Asus ROG Tessen is a fantastic fit for fast-paced games, particularly first-person shooter (FPS) titles. I was impressed with its snappy responsiveness in both Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile. The use of a wired connection also eliminates any potential latency and facilitates pass-through charging via a USB-C port on the bottom of the right-hand grip.

I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the thumbsticks, which have more than enough motion for navigating tight corners in Asphalt Legends Unite and power through dungeons in Zenless Zone Zero.

As previously mentioned, the d-pad is very shallow so can be quite harsh on your fingers if you’re playing very d-pad-centric titles. In addition to native games, the Asus ROG Tessen performed well when it came to cloud gaming, with full compatibility with Amazon Luna and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

The rear paddles are easy to reach and can be fully customized through a range of possible inputs. My only real complaint with the Asus ROG Tessen is that the very angular shape of its grips can be uncomfortable over extended playing sessions. Spending a few long train journeys with the controller, I found that they uncomfortably dug into the palms of my hands after just a few hours which wasn’t ideal.

This won’t be a problem if you intend to play in shorter bursts, but could be a very compelling reason to choose another product if you love to pour hours into mobile games at a time.

The left-hand grip of the Asus ROG Tessen. — (Image credit: Future)

Should I buy the Asus ROG Tessen?

Buy it if...

You value FPS performance
With its lovely tactile buttons and handy remappable rear paddles, the ASUS Rog Tessen is a great fit for playing fast-paced FPS games on your phone.

You want some premium features
Although similarly priced to the Backbone One 2nd Gen, the Asus ROG Tessen sports some premium features like RGB lighting and its remappable rear inputs.

Don't buy it if...

You play for very long periods
The biggest issue with the Asus ROG Tessen is its quite angular grips, which can be uncomfortable over long play sessions. Consider an alternative like the Razer Kishi Ultra if you want to game for hours with ease.

Also consider

Not fully sold on the Asus ROG Tessen? Here are two very strong alternatives to consider.

Backbone One 2nd Gen
The Backbone One 2nd Gen is a small revision of the original Backbone One design. Like the Asus Rog Tessen, it’s compatible with most phone cases but has more comfortable grips and offers iOS support.

Read our full Backbone One 2nd Gen review

Razer Kishi Ultra
The Razer Kishi Ultra is the definitive mobile controller if you have the budget. Incredibly comfortable with full-size console controls, RGB lighting, rumble effects, and more, it’s easily the leader in the mobile controller space.

Read our full Razer Kishi Ultra review

The Asus ROG Tessen lying flat on a desk. — (Image credit: Future)

How I tested the Asus ROG Tessen

Tested for over a month
Tried with top mobile games
Directly compared to other mobile controllers

I tested the Asus ROG Tessen for over a month, using it as my main Android gaming controller. I paired the controller with a Samsung S23 Plus and played a wide variety of games. This included native mobile titles like Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, Vampire Survivors, Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition, Diablo Immortal, Asphalt Legends Unite, Zenless Zone Zero, Genshin Impact, and more.

I also tried the controller with various game streaming services, such as Amazon Luna and Xbox Cloud Gaming. On Amazon Luna, I played Watch Dogs Legion, Mighty Switch Force Collection, River City Girls, and Star Wars Outlaws while Xbox Cloud Gaming saw me enjoy a few hours of Forza Horizon 5.

During my time with the controller I relied on a pair of Beats Solo 4 and Beats Studio Buds+ headphones for audio and compared my playing experience with my hands-on testing of many other mobile controllers such as the Backbone One 2nd Gen, Turtle Beach Atom, Scuf Nomad, and Razer Kishi Ultra.

Leica MP: two-minute review

If there's one antidote to today's digital imaging with its instant gratification and AI-powered editing trickery, it's analog. And if you want a double dose of the old school, a fully manual rangefinder, such as the Leica MP, will do the trick.

Part of Leica's famed M-mount, the MP isn't as old as it looks, being released as recently as 2003, and it's one of few Leica cameras still being produced today and is therefore available new.

It's arguably the best premium film camera that you can buy new today, but like most Leica's, its price is eye-watering, being available from the Leica stores and leading retailers for $5,995 / £,5080 / AU$10,190, and that's without a lens. I had the MP with the 28mm f2 Summicron-M APSH lens which is around the same price as the camera. Gulp.

Suppose it's the retro camera experience you're after, and the same 35mm film format hits the spot. In that case, you can find alternative analog cameras elsewhere, secondhand, for a mere fraction of the cost of a Leica MP.

You don't even need to buy analog to bag the retro look, even the likes of Taylor Swift have been spotted with the cheap Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV, one of our favorite mirrorless cameras for beginners.

But Leica is more than just the retro look. It's an aspiration. That famed red dot means something, whatever depth the admirer's connection is. In the case of the Leica MP, it also means a premium "Handmade in Germany" analog camera that runs as smooth as butter.

As a rangefinder, the MP is an altogether different camera experience to your cameraphone or one of the best mirrorless cameras.

Learning the exposure triangle is necessary; how shutter speed, aperture, and the ISO of the loaded film interplay. You can download a free light meter on your phone to take a light reading and adjust shutter speed or aperture accordingly based on the film's ISO, or purchase a dedicated light meter if you want to avoid your phone altogether and be assured that you've bagged the correct brightness in your photo, even if you won't truly know until the developed film is returned. (The MP does also have an LED gauge built into the viewfinder that indicates how much you need to brighten or darken your exposure settings based on its evaluative metering.)

Beyond the exposure triangle, it's the manual focus experience of a Leica rangefinder, such as the MP, that is as challenging as it is addictive. This is a far cry from 2024's best autofocus systems – there's no rushing with a rangefinder, and together with its lens system that's limited between focal lengths of 21mm to 135mm, it's unsuitable for many genres of photography.

You won't be able to nail sharply focused, shallow depth of field portraits of people or animals on the move, unless you get really, really lucky.

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Leica MP camera top plate, on a table — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP ISO dial — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Closeup of the Leica MP film compartment lock — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP camera with a roll of film ready to load — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Closeup of the Leica MP inside with film loaded — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Closeup of the Leica MP battery slot — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Closeup of the Leica MP film rewind — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Closeup of the Leica MP film wind crank — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Closeup of the Leica MP shutter — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

Outside of working with near-infinity focusing and a closed aperture, say f/11, where ultimately everything is just about in focus, your subjects will need as much patience as you while you manually rock the focus back and forth to line up the split image in the marked out central area of the viewfinder to nail sharp focus.

Taking a picture with a rangefinder is slow, purposeful, and frustrating but ultimately a wonderful creative process for those who persevere. It's not a camera for all the time, but it is a camera that could just renew your love for photography. Sadly, however, with the Leica MP, most people are priced out of enjoying the experience.

Leica MP: Specs

Leica MP: Price and availability

Body only: $5,995 / £,5080 / AU$10,190
Many lenses and accessories to choose from

The Leica MP was launched in 2003 and is one of the few Leica analog cameras that is still available to buy new. On the Leica store, it costs $5,995 / £,5080 / AU$10,190.

Lens choice is decent, if costly, with the lower end of the price range close to the price of the MP camera itself. There are third party lens makers such as Thypoch that have created Leica M-mount lenses that cost a mere fraction of the price. with a number available for under $1,000 / £700.

The MP is also compatible with a host of Leica accessories, ranging from leather cases to viewfinders that are dedicated to specific lens focal lengths.

Leica MP: Design

Stunning all-metal build
Can be bought new and its mechanics are reliable
Supported by a range of Leica M lenses

Leica cameras are expensive, but the build quality of these "Handmade in Germany" devices is undeniable. Every mechanical component runs as smooth as butter, from the film crank to move onto your next photo, to the film rewind mechanism once the roll is done.

You'll need to insert a tiny CR 1/3N battery to power the camera's evaluative exposure metering, which is displayed in the viewfinder as a too-bright / too-dark scale and is linked to the ISO setting on the camera's rear ISO dial (the new Leica M11-D digital rangefinder's design pays homage to this). However, as a fully manual camera, you'll need to adjust the shutter speed and aperture yourself. I always use a separate light meter with a Leica just to be doubly sure I've set the exposure correctly.

But you'll need to insert a roll of 35mm film first. Leica's design ethos here is simple and reliable; a fully metal twist lock on the underside must be unscrewed to open up the camera's underside, and you remove the entire bottom plate to gain access to the film's holder. Inserting the film thereafter is a tad fiddly but in truth, once you've done it a couple of times, it's pretty easy.

Leica MP camera in the hand — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

I only tested the Leica MP with a 28mm f2 lens, which again, is a gorgeous bit of kit, offering a generous manual focus grip, handy focus distance scale, and an aperture ring. With Leica you get the whole package; a lens and camera built to high standards and with a complimentary aesthetic.

There's little to say about the camera's external controls. You've got the shutter speed dial on the top, the beautiful film crank that reveals its brass innards through the scuffs picked up over time and heavy use, a shutter button that can accept a screw-in cable release, plus the ISO dial on the camera's rear. The aperture is adjusted on the attached lens.

For me, it's the experience of manually focusing with a rangefinder that is everything about the MP: it's as frustrating as it is addictive. For all the will and the practice in the world, you won't be able to nail sharp focus on a moving subject when focusing closely and with a wide aperture and therefore shallow depth of field.

Sure, you can improve your hit ratio and speed at which you can obtain sharp focus, but ultimately, the Leica MP is a camera that slows you down, and in today's fast-paced world, it's cathartic.

If you're taking portrait pictures, too, that extra moment it takes to get your MP's settings correct can open up your subject as they relax and give you a window to their soul – you're in it together. Or, the slow process just makes them feel super awkward instead, or you miss the moment. It can go either way.

Leica MP: Performance

Superbly sharp lenses on offer
Reliable mechanics
Shutter speed maxes out at 1/1000sec which is limiting in bright light

One benefit in choosing the MP over another Leica is that it's still available new, and with that comes certain reassurances that you may not be afforded when buying secondhand should you run into any issues. However, I wouldn't expect that of the MP – it's a super-reliable camera that should last you a lifetime.

Naturally, the quality of the photos produced by an analog camera is determined by the lens attached, your shooting technique, and, of course, your film choice.

The Leica MP enjoys a range of excellent albeit eye-wateringly expensive lenses, like the 28mm f2 Summicron-M ASPH that I had for this review. If money is no object, you can pick up a range of Leica M prime lenses that cover the focal range of 21mm to 135mm.

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Leica MP black and white film scan of pews in a church bathed in light — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP black and white film scans — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP black and white film scan of a bible on a pew in an old church — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP black and white film scan of an old church exterior — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP black and white film scan of plants growing up a rail — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP black and white film scan of a fence post surrounding a field of horses — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP black and white film scan of a footpath leading to a lone tree — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP black and white film scan of a horse in a field with the focus on foreground grass — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP black and white film scan of a horse in a field and expansive vista — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

The photos above were made with a roll of Ilford HP5 film, ISO 400.

Next time I use a Leica analog camera, I'd really love to try a 50mm f/1.4-type lens and some of the other lenses for portraits, but the wide angle lens I had for testing is similar if a tiny bit tighter to the field of view of your phone's main camera and an excellent documentary lens.

Here lies the 'Leica quality' that fans talk about. Sure, you'll struggle to beat Leica's sharpness in the analog game, but if you're expecting the clarity you get from one of today's best digital cameras, you might have to think again. One thing that digital can try with all its might yet never quite achieve, however, is the film look.

You aren't buying an analog Leica for its outright image quality over a digital counterpart such as the Leica M11. No, you're buying it because it's film that you want to explore, including its imperfect quality. Plus, it's a rewarding hobby, if you can stomach the ongoing costs of film and development.

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Leica MP color film scan of an quaint English pub front — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP color film scan of a grassroots football game with rainbow in the sky — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP color film scan of yellow flowers closeup — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP color film scan of adolescent boy — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP color film scan of a trampled rose on a pavement — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP color film scan of commuter in the underground — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP color film scan of two horses by a tree at last light — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP color film scan of a field with horses at last light — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

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Leica MP color film scan of adolescent boy illuminated a little by last light coming through a window — (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

The above photos were made with a very out of date Fujifilm Superior X-Tra ISO 400 roll of film. It's best practice to use a film within date, but you can get some whacky one-of-a-kind effects. Sadly on this occasion, besides a purple-ish hue, the risk didn't pay off – many of the photos came out underexposed.

There are very real limits to the Leica MP, namely its maximum shutter speed which is just 1/1000sec. If you're shooting in bright light and with a wide aperture – like I wanted to shoot at f2 with the 28mm lens – you'll need an ISO 100 film or even slower. However, ISO 400 is a more versatile film speed if you're going to be shooting in mixed lighting. Once the film roll is inserted, you're locked in, you can't switch ISO for every photo like you can with a digital camera.

Should you buy the Leica MP?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Leica MP

Regular use over the course of two weeks
Paired with the 28mm f2 Summicron-M APSH lens
Both color and black and white film developed

Leica loaned me the MP together with the 28mm f2 Summicron-M ASPH lens for two weeks, during which time I photographed everything from sweeping vistas to busy London street scenes. I have shot with both color and black and white film, usually sticking with versatile ISO 400 films.

I sent the films to a lab to be developed and was provided with standard-quality digital scans to assess image quality.

First reviewed September 2024

PowerA OPS v3 Pro review: a decent PC controller with some notable flaws

3:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming | Tags: Final Fantasy, PC, UK, US | Comments: Off

PowerA OPS v3 Pro: One-minute review

The PowerA OPS v3 Pro controller makes a strong case with a variety of desirable features. Those include Hall effect sticks with novel ‘quick-twist’ tech, six remappable buttons, micro switches in the face buttons and d-pad, and the brand’s patented Lumectra RGB lighting.

It’s a solid effort on paper, but there are a few things that hold the OPS v3 Pro back from becoming one of the best PC controllers out there. The gamepad simply falls short in many of its design aspects. Its remappable buttons on the rear of the controller feel awkwardly placed, and the ones at the top jut out just a little too broadly. Elsewhere, the micro switch face buttons aren’t particularly tactile, and the relatively low trigger lock sensitivity prevents the highest setting from working across most games I tested.

It’s definitely not all bad news, though, and there’s still plenty to like about the OPS v3 Pro. As ever, I’m a huge fan of PowerA’s customizable Lumectra lighting. The quick-twist thumbsticks are intuitive and a genuinely great addition, allowing you to play with taller shafts without the need to swap them out entirely. Furthermore, the clicky d-pad and bumpers are a delight, and that 30-plus hour battery life seriously impresses.

A bit of a mixed bag overall, then, but if you’re looking for a sub-$100 / £100 PC controller, the PowerA OPS v3 Pro still offers plenty of great features to offset those negatives.

PowerA OPS v3 Pro: Price and availability

$99.99 / £99.99 / AU$179
Cheaper than other controllers with comparable feature sets
Available at PowerA in the US and Amazon in the UK

The PowerA OPS v3 Pro launched in August 2024, and is available to purchase for $99.99 / £99.99. In the US, it can be bought directly from PowerA, whereas UK shoppers will need to rely on Amazon to secure the gamepad. In Australia, JB Hi-Fi is your best bet.

In terms of price, the OPS v3 Pro is significantly cheaper than other controllers with comparable feature sets. Those include the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro ($199.99 / £199.99) and the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 ($179.99 / £159.99).

The relatively lower price point of PowerA’s controller naturally comes with some caveats, such as lesser build quality overall and a lack of polish on features like the trigger locks and textured grips. However, those looking for a competent ‘Pro’ level controller with a robust feature set will find one here.

PowerA OPS v3 Pro: Specs

PowerA OPS v3 Pro: Design and features

Innovative quick-twist thumbsticks
Textured grips feel quite rough
Lumectra RGB is still very impressive

There’s plenty to like about the PowerA OPS v3 Pro’s design. One of the controller’s headline features is its ‘quick-twist’ thumbsticks. This lets the player raise or lower the height of the stick’s shaft without needing to swap it out entirely. It’s a really handy solution that makes the controller a great option for folks who value no-fuss customization.

As was the case with the PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller for Nintendo Switch, the v3 Pro also features the brand’s bespoke Lumectra RGB lighting. Lumectra lets players do a few fancy things with their RGB preferences. By holding the dedicated ‘LED’ button on the rear of the gamepad, you can cycle through six different RGB zones - the d-pad, face buttons, left and right sides of the controller, and both thumbsticks) and apply different colors and patterns to each. You can be quite reserved with Lumectra, or go buck wild with various RGB flavors should you choose, and I’ve always been a fan of it because of this. Above all, it’s fun to mess around with.

In terms of features, you’re getting the usual ‘Pro’ controller setup. Micro switch face buttons and d-pad, Hall effect thumbsticks, six remappable buttons, three-stage trigger locks and textured grips. The rear of the gamepad has buttons dedicated to Lumectra customization and remappable button input assignment, as well as a three-way switch that lets you swap between 2.4GHz, Bluetooth, and USB-C connectivity. A 3.5mm headphone port rounds off the feature set in terms of design. It is worth noting here that the OPS v3 Pro is strictly a PC controller and won’t work on consoles. For platform-specific pads, consider browsing our guides to the best PS5 controllers or the best Xbox controllers instead.

While there is plenty to like here, the PowerA OPS v3 Pro is hampered by a few key design weaknesses. For one, the textured grips - while usually welcome on a controller like this - feel very rough to the touch. This, along with the awkward placement of those rear remappable buttons (they’re slightly misaligned with where your fingertips naturally rest) lead to a slightly uncomfortable play experience. While it doesn’t render the v3 Pro unusable, you may want to consider a more standard Xbox Wireless Controller or even a GameSir T4 Kaleid for longer gaming sessions from a comfort perspective.

While hit and miss on design aspects, then, one thing that does boost the v3 Pro’s value is the inclusion of a charging stand. Much like the 8BitDo Ultimate, the v3 Pro’s stand is incredibly convenient; simply hook it up to your PC via USB-C, magnetically attach the gamepad to the top and you’re good to go. Charge time is a little slow at 3-4 hours from empty to full, so we’d recommend an overnight charge to avoid waiting.

PowerA OPS v3 Pro: Performance

Sublime d-pad and bumpers
Top notch 30-hour battery life
Micro switch face buttons miss the mark

Much like the PowerA OPS v3 Pro’s overall design, performance has a number of hits and misses, too. The controller cannot be faulted on battery life; during my two weeks testing the controller - which included around two to three hours of gaming across most days - I never once needed to charge it. PowerA touts battery life of around 30 hours, and this appears to be accurate in my experience.

In terms of individual buttons and such, the d-pad and bumpers, powered by micro switches, are sublime. They have the perfect amount of clicky tactility and are simply a joy to use, especially with competitive games that often require rapid inputs. Games I tested that fit this criterion include Guilty Gear Strive, Final Fantasy 14 Online, and Fortnite. I found the controller to be a good fit for all three. Plus, with a 1,000Hz polling rate when wired to PC (and 500Hz via 2.4Ghz wireless), it’s fantastically responsive on its target platform.

Other areas of the gamepad are a bit of a letdown when it comes to overall performance. For one, while there are three stages of trigger lock, the lowest sensitivity setting (with the shortest trigger press) failed to work across all games tested. The trigger press simply didn’t register at this setting. And for the other two, there really isn’t much difference.

As a result, I think you’d be better off leaving the trigger lock settings entirely default. This is a shame, as the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro’s trigger lock settings are similar - with three distinct settings - and work beautifully on PC and console. It’s things like this that firmly cement the OPS v3 Pro as the more budget option with decidedly less polish.

Another problem area lies with the micro switch face buttons. While perfectly responsive, there’s a slight bump on the way down as you press the button. While certainly not a huge issue, it does take away much of the tactility and thus the novelty of having micro switch-based buttons.

Should I buy the PowerA OPS v3 Pro?

Buy it if...

You’re looking for a good value PC controller
Controllers with this kind of feature set tend to push well above $100 / £100. The OPS v3 Pro comes in at just under that, making it relatively more affordable than its ‘Pro’ level competition.

You’re after a versatile and customizable PC controller
Fully customizable Lumectra RGB, delightful quick-twist thumbsticks and half a dozen remappable buttons make for a highly versatile controller.

Don't buy it if...

A top-quality level of design is a must-have in your controllers
Between awkwardly placed remappable buttons, rough textured grips and face buttons that feel slightly off, there are a lot of smaller frustrations with the OPS v3 Pro that build up to an experience that’s not as satisfying as it could be.

Also consider...

If the PowerA OPS v3 Pro isn’t quite doing it for you, we’ve got a couple of other options that we’ve tested and reviewed for your consideration below.

Razer Wolverine V3 Pro
This is the absolute best premium PC and Xbox controller you can buy right now. It’s much pricier, but it makes up for all the OPS v3 Pro’s shortcomings with more satisfying tactile feedback, better build quality and compatibility with Xbox.

For more information, read our full Razer Wolverine V3 Pro review.

GameSir T4 Kaleid
It’s a cheaper option and doesn’t have nearly the same number of features as the OPS v3 Pro. However, this is my favorite budget-friendly PC controller, with sublime-feeling Hall effect thumbsticks, tactile micro switch buttons and a gorgeous translucent build complete with RGB lighting.

For more information read our full GameSir T4 Kaleid controller review.

How I tested the PowerA OPS v3 Pro

I tested the PowerA OPS v3 Pro across a wide variety of games on PC, including some of the best fighting games like Guilty Gear Strive, Tekken 8 and the newly-released Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. Here, I found the superbly responsive d-pad and bumpers to be a perfect fit for this genre. Elsewhere, I made sure to test a wide range of titles, including Fortnite, Fall Guys, Final Fantasy 14 Online and Elden Ring.

One aspect that surprised me most about the OPS v3 Pro was its ultra-resilient battery life. During my two weeks with the gamepad, from full charge, I never once had the top up, which leads me to believe that PowerA’s estimates of 30 hours is absolutely doable here.

During my testing of the PowerA OPS v3 Pro, I integrated it into my overall gaming PC setup which includes the Razer Fujin Pro gaming chair, an AOC Gaming 24G2SP monitor and Razer BlackShark V2 X wired headset.

Hisense PX3-Pro: two-minute review

Hisense has been has been responsible for some of the best ultra short throw projectors, and the Hisense PX3-Pro is among its latest. The PX3-Pro has a daunting task following up on the Hisense PX2-Pro, but Hisense has pulled it off with some key upgrades.

The new Hisense PX3-Pro differs in design from the PX2-Pro, but under the hood, it gets an upgraded projection system that’s much brighter at 3,000 lumens and also boasts a 1080p/240Hz mode. This feature turns it from an exceptional ultra short throw (UST) projector into a speed demon of a gaming projector – Hisense even bills it as the "world's first designed for Xbox UST projector." And with rich color, strong contrast, and Dolby Vision HDR support, the PX3-Pro ranks up there with the best 4K projectors when it comes to picture performance.

While the PX3-Pro’s built-in sound isn’t quite as impressive as its picture, it at least has the volume level to match the visuals, and Hisense offers plenty of ways to connect to better speaker systems. All of this comes at a higher price than its predecessor, but it seems well worth the extra expense.

Hisense PX3-Pro review: price and release date

First available: October 2024
Price: $3,499 / £2,499

Availability of the Hisense PX3-Pro is set to begin in mid-October 2024. It is priced at $3,499 / £2,499, a marked increase over the lower brightness PX2-Pro, which launched at $2,999 in June 2023. Like the rest of the Hisense PX series, the PX3-Pro doesn’t come with a projection screen.

Hisense PX3-Pro UST projector on a table with remote control — The Hisense PX3-Pro comes with a full-size remote control and features the Google TV smart TV platform for streaming (Image credit: Future)

Hisense PX3-Pro review: Specs

Hisense PX3-Pro UST projector rear panel ports — The PX3-Pro features dual HDMI 2.1 ports and supports gaming at 1080p/240Hz (Image credit: Future)

Hisense PX3-Pro review: design and features

Futuristic-looking design
All-in-one capability plus flexibility for different setups
Streaming and gaming benefit from hardware and software upgrades

Where the Hisense PX2-Pro was a simple under-the-hood refresh of its predecessor, The PX1-Pro, the new PX3-Pro sees some bigger changes both to its internal components and its outward appearance. The design has a stylistic resemblance to its predecessors, but it gives off more of a proper futuristic vibe than the prior models with their retro-futuristic looks.

The whole unit is done up in gray and silver surfaces of all types: matte, shiny, smooth, and coarse. It features large grilles on either side for air intake and exhaust – generating 3,000 lumens creates some heat even when using lasers. The front also gets a perforated grille for the built-in speakers. At either side of the grille are vertical slots in shiny housing that have standby lighting built in, so when the projector is turned off, these illuminate the mirrored finish inside. This may appeal to some, but I found it a little tacky compared to the PX2-Pro’s subtler design.

Style aside, perhaps the most critical design change is the projector’s size. It’s a little wider and taller than its predecessors, but not as deep front-to-back. That combined with a shift from a 0.25:1 throw ratio to a 0:22 throw ratio means the PX3-Pro can sit closer to a wall, protruding into the room less, and still provide a massive picture.

The PX3-Pro sits on four height-adjustable feet, which helps get the picture aligned with a screen. It also offers digital image correction and adjustable focus, letting you dial in everything perfectly.

Around the back, you’ll find three HDMI ports, including one with eARC. There’s also a high-speed USB type-A port (and another on the right side), and both and optical digital and 3.5mm audio output. With Google TV onboard, the PX3-Pro can tap into plenty of streaming services, including Netflix, and has both Wi-Fi 6E and Ethernet network connections.

The Hisense PX3-Pro has comprehensive high dynamic range support, including Dolby Vision and HDR10+. Its built-in speakers support Dolby Atmos and IMAX Enhanced for DTS, though audio is best passed on to an outboard sound system. Unlike its predecessors, the PX3-Pro offers Active 3D support (requires optional 3D eyewear).

There are still a few features the PX3-Pro could have benefitted from. Optical image adjustments beyond focus would be a welcome addition, especially zoom, though I’ve never seen that feature in a UST projector. A cover would be a more reasonable one, as dust can gather quickly on top of UST projectors.

Design and features score: 4.5/5

Hisense PX3-Pro UST projector showing image from Avatar 2 on screen

The PX3-Pro has exceptional color, along with powerful contrast in dim lighting conditions (Image credit: Future)

Hisense PX3-Pro review: picture and sound quality

Exceptional color and brightness
Crisp 4K picture with comprehensive HDR support
240Hz mode is a perk for gamers

The Hisense PX3-Pro builds on a strong picture quality foundation. The PX2-Pro offered stunning color from its tri-chroma projection system and the PX3-Pro takes that up a notch with a notably brighter picture, rated to reach 3,000 lumens. For some content, like cartoons and sports, that’ll make a very presentable picture even with high ambient room lighting. It also gives the PX3-Pro plenty of latitude in dim lighting conditions, with a bright enough picture that it can call for some dimming of the laser in a dark room.

While the projector has powerful contrast as is, a High Dynamic setting for Laser Luminance can further enhance its picture. I’m normally wary of settings like this that adjust the picture based on the content being displayed as they tend to have noticeable artifacts, but the PX3-Pro managed it admirably, with imperceptible transitions. The only odd behavior I noted was a sudden brightening when white subtitles appeared onscreen during dark scenes. Otherwise, this played out well for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, helping to punch up the bright scenes while avoiding pumping up black levels in dark ones.

The PX3-Pro’s comprehensive HDR support made the latest seasons of The Rings of Power in HDR10+ and The Avengers: Endgame in Dolby Vision both look fantastic. The wide color gamut of the triple-laser projection system played a big part in this, giving the PX3-Pro simply astounding color. One downside of this is that rainbows, a regular artifact of DLP technology, can seem a little more pronounced.

The PX3-Pro serves up a big, bright 4K picture ranging from 80 to 150 inches. While it’s possible to project images beyond these sizes, the focus range is limited and you may end up with a softer image.

For gamers, the Hisense PX3-Pro has something extra special in store. In addition to simply switching to a game mode with lower input lag, the projector can swap over to a 1080p/240Hz mode. This sacrifices some picture detail but provides buttery smooth visuals, and the DLP system has minimal ghosting. The gameplay is highly responsive and a big perk. Though the projector will also display 4K 120Hz signals, it doesn’t appear to display every frame but rather skips every other one as checked with Blur Busters’ frame skipping tool.

Audio on the PX3-Pro isn’t half-bad either. Its 50W Harman Kardon-designed speakers can get loud enough to match the size of the pictures the PX3-Pro projects, and the sound has an impressive range with booming bass, though it doesn’t get deep into sub-bass territory. What it really lacks is the spatial aspect. The stereo separation isn’t very wide, and there are no side, rear, or height channels. This means that even though the projector supports Dolby Atmos and Imax Enhanced for DTS, it’s best used with external speakers.

Picture and sound quality score: 4.5/5

Hisense PX3-Pro UST projector showing google TV interface — The PX3-Pro's Google TV smart interface (Image credit: Future)

Hisense PX3-Pro review: value

High price but a compelling picture
Versatility adds to its value

The Hisense PX3-Pro doesn’t come cheap at $3,499. Its price puts it a ways above its predecessor and sets it up against others like the Epson Home Cinema LS800. It also raises the question of whether you should instead opt for a big TV since you can get an 83-inch OLED like the LG C4 for not too much more.

But the PX3-Pro brings a lot to the table. It has enough brightness and detail to comfortably stretch its 4K picture to massive proportions. The PX3-Pro also supports 3D content and a wide range of HDR formats, has a 240Hz refresh rate mode, and has Google TV built-in (with a fast enough processor to run it smoothly). There’s little question that the PX3-Pro UST offers a lot, and it’s a worthy rival to TVs and other projector types.

Value score: 4.5/5

Hisense PX3-Pro UST projector showing image from Avatar 2 onscreen

(Image credit: Future)

Should I buy the Hisense PX3-Pro?

Hisense PX3-Pro UST projector close up of front panel — (Image credit: Future)

Buy it if...

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider...

Epson LS800
The Epson LS800 uses a 3LCD laser light source to beam a stunningly bright 4,000 lumens image. This makes it a great option for daytime sports viewing and it also has good built-in sound.

Read our full Epson LS800 review

Hisense PX3-Pro UST projector with wires connected to rear ports — (Image credit: Future)

How I tested the Hisense PX3-Pro

Tested at home in multiple, real-world viewing conditions
Presented the display with a variety of media and formats
I have tested numerous projectors and displays over the last half-decade

I tested the Hisense PX2 Pro at home, in real-world conditions. This saw it faced with ambient light coming in from numerous windows, in-room lighting, as well as ambient noise that both the projector and speaker systems had to overcome. The projector was tested both against a bare, white wall and an Akia Screens CineWhite screen. It was presented with standard definition and 4K HDR streamed content, and PC gameplay.

My testing evaluates the projector’s performance with respect to its price and competition from other models I and colleagues at TechRadar have tested.

I have been testing projectors since 2021 and displays for even longer.

I measured the Premiere 9’s input lag in milliseconds using a Leo Bodnar tester with the low latency mode switch on.

First reviewed: September, 2024

Read TechRadar's review guarantee

Armari magnetar prmm16r9 review

1:30 pm | September 20, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Comments: Off

Armari decided to provide us with something a little different for its £4,500 workstation entry this year. Instead of the classic black box like something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the Magnetar PrMM16R9 is small – very small. Yet it packs in the same workstation-grade components found in more conventional systems.

The Magnetar uses a Phanteks Evolv Shift XT chassis, which is a quarter to a third smaller in every dimension than other cases this month. The physical appearance with angled corners is stylish, but the infinity mirror on the front is mesmeric, looking like a lit passageway extending unfeasibly into the front of the case. This is a chassis you’ll want to display on your desk as a statement rather than hiding it below. Yet it still sports a 240mm liquid-cooling system for the CPU and an 850W PSU. Although there’s not much room for extra storage in a case this small, the only avoidable downside is that there are no USB or audio ports on the front.

There was a hope that this system could be supplied with the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, but this member of the new 9000-series wasn’t quite ready for testing at the time of writing. Instead, Armari sent this system with the previous-generation 7950X, but it will ship the final version with the 9950X for the price quoted above. The 7950X provides the same 16 cores as the 9950X, running at a base 4.5GHz with a 5.7GHz boost, whereas the 9950X will have the same boost frequency but an improved core design.

Armari partners the Ryzen 9 with a hefty 96GB of 5,600MHz DDR5 RAM, supplied as two 48GB modules. This takes up both DIMM slots on the Asus ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming WiFi motherboard, but you probably won’t want more in a small system such as this one.

Despite its size, the PrMM16R9 has room for a dual-width graphics card, in this case the AMD Radeon Pro W7800. It could, apparently, take an even wider accelerator such as the triple-width W7900. The W7800 sports 4,800 Stream Processors and 32GB of GDDR6 memory delivering 576GB/sec of bandwidth.

Armari magnetar prmm16r9 general view — (Image credit: Future)

Another surprising inclusion for such a diminutive system are the two storage drives. The main one is a 2TB Crucial T705 NVMe M.2 device, with a PCI Express 5 interface. This delivered 8,413MB/sec sustained reading and 7,792MB/sec writing using CrystalDiskMark 8. Then there’s a secondary 2TB Kioxia Exceria Pro NVMe drive running at PCI Express 4 speeds and providing 7,095MB/sec reading alongside 3,218MB/sec writing speeds.

Although the Magnetar’s AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is the previous CPU generation now, it packs a punch. An overall score of 729 in the PC Pro media benchmarks still beats the InterPro’s Core i9-14900K CPU, with solid results of 289 in image editing, 692 in video encoding and 901 in multitasking. The multi-CPU render result with Maxon Cinebench 2024 of 1,991 is also slightly faster. The Blender Gooseberry frame took 283 seconds, which surpassed all the other systems in the £4,500 class. Considering the performance of the 12-core Ryzen 9000 series used by Scan, with the 9950X in this system instead of the 7950X, the results would be very competitive indeed.

The AMD Radeon Pro W7800 performs well. In SPECviewperf 2020, results of 230 in 3dsmax-07 and 757 in maya-06 show excellent 3D animation modelling ability. And 169 in catia-06, 238 in creo-03 and 600 in snx-04, with a decent 438 in solidworks-07, imply capable CAD and engineering abilities. The AI inference score of 24,623 in the Geekbench ML, 12,617 with LuxMark 3.1 OpenCL, and Blender Gooseberry frame time of 145 seconds are about what we’d expect from this GPU.

With our review sample relying on a previous-generation AMD Ryzen, the Armari Magnetar PrMM16R9 couldn’t win this Labs test; although the upgrade will be at no extra cost by the time you read this, we can’t confirm the performance until we try it. But this is still a great-looking compact system that punches way above its size. It has plenty to commend it to anyone looking for a stylish yet powerful desk-friendly workstation.

This review first appeared in Issue 361 of PC Pro.

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JBL 104-BT Compact Desktop Reference Monitors review: great, but not for their intended purpose

10:44 pm | September 19, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Mics & Speakers Peripherals & Accessories | Tags: JBL | Comments: Off

JBL 104-BT: Two-minute review

JBL 104-BT speakers next to a gaming laptop on a desk — (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

The JBL 104-BT are great speakers if you get them for the right reason. If you’re looking for the best computer speakers for general use, you’ll be very happy with these, thanks to a warm-leaning yet full frequency range that lends itself well to music listening as well as gaming and streaming (as long as you don’t need any real sub-bass).

They’re not quite as immersive as the best gaming headsets, but they’re more than immersive enough. However, reference monitors they are not.

If you’re trying to put together a home studio, you want monitors that give you an accurate representation of what you’re working on. If you have speakers that have somewhat of a boost in the low-mids as these do, then when you go to listen to your music on other speakers or headphones, you’ll realize that you compensated for that boosted area and have a track that’s lacking in that same frequency range.

Keep that in mind when going through this review as these are very enjoyable to listen to, are relatively affordable, and come with the appropriate amount of features (minus one or two). That’s why you should consider them – not for music production.

JBL 104-BT: Price and availability

How much does it cost? $149.00 / £199.99 / AU$289.00
When is it available? Available now
Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK and Australia

The JBL 104-BT aren’t the cheapest computer speakers out there, but they’re pretty affordable at $149.00 / £199.99 / AU$289.00. Considering the sound quality, that’s pretty good value as well. Of course, for that price, the JBL 104-BT should include a sub out at the very least.

As far as alternatives go, the Edifier MR4 are worth a consideration. They go for slightly less at $129.99 / £109.99 / AU$179.99, and they actually work a bit better for reference speakers, but also miss out on that low-end.

If you’re looking for a pair of computer speakers for reference work, the Vigilant Audio SwitchOne I reviewed back in 2022 are still a fantastic option, since they use passive radiators on the side to fill out that low end. Of course, they retail for a bit more at $249 (£255 / AU$471).

If you want a subwoofer and are willing to spend a bit more, however, the Kanto Ora, with a price tag of $349.99 / AU$699.95 (about £287), are really, really good. They work fairly well as reference speakers as well, though they have a slightly scooped mid-range.

Value: 4.5 / 5

JBL 104-BT: Specs

JBL 104-BT: Design

JBL 104-BT speaker kit, including wires, laid out neatly on a desk mat — (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

Before we dig in much more about why they’re good for certain things and not for others, let’s discuss the JBL 104-BT’s design. These speakers come in either a matte black or matte white colorway, with the one I received for testing coming in black.

They stand at a little under ten inches tall and six inches wide (they have a depth of almost five inches), which is fairly diminutive for a pair of speakers. Sure, you can find smaller, but they’re probably going to have a thinner or brighter sound.

They both contain a 4.5-inch driver and a 0.75-inch soft dome driver for the highs, though I can only see the larger one through the front grille. Both speaker boxes are ported on the back as well to improve bass response.

Since these are powered speakers, one of them is a little heavier at 4.54 lbs compared to the other’s weight of 3.81 lbs. While they connect to each other with basic red and black speaker wires, the one with the power amp also allows ⅛-inch aux, RCA, and TRS balanced inputs, not to mention Bluetooth connectivity.

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Back side port selection on the JBL 104-BT speakers — JBL 104-BT backside port selection (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

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JBL 104-BT speaker frontside controls — Controls on the front of the JBL 104-BT (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

While most of the inputs are on the back, the aux input is on the front along with a headphone out and the controls, including a backlit volume knob and an input selector. There’s also an LED indicator when you have something connected via Bluetooth.

Unfortunately, there’s no sub out – a fateful omission as we’ll discuss later. And, though far from a deal breaker, there’s no physical digital connectivity like USB. Considering the digital-to-audio converters, or DACs, that come in computers and laptops vary quite a bit, it would have been a nice inclusion.

JBL 104-BT: Performance

JBL 104-BT speakers set up on either side of a gaming laptop — (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

As far as the sound quality goes, it’s worth repeating that these are solid sounding speakers that are pleasing to listen to, but are not appropriate for music production work, podcasters possibly notwithstanding.

Since there’s no subwoofer or sub out, you’re limited on the low end. The JBL 104-BT only goes down to 60Hz (a low note on a standard bass is 41Hz for reference). This means that anything that needs that low end to really come alive – hip hop, EDM, or games and movies with massive amounts of explosions – are going to feel a bit truncated. That doesn’t mean you won’t feel some of the impact of those 808 drums or the rumble of whatever’s happening in the latest Nolan movie. You just won’t feel all of it.

That said, there’s a boost in the low-mids to compensate for that. This boost is probably the biggest deterrent for using these speakers as reference monitors. However, it adds a richness and fullness to any audio that also makes these speakers very pleasing to listen to. There’s also plenty of punch and immediacy to what you’re hearing, so that while you won’t feel your bones shaking from subwoofer-level rumble, there’s still a visceral element to the sound.

The rest of the mids sit nicely in the mix, while the high-end is present in a pleasing way. The high-end isn’t too sharp and it isn’t too muted either.

Where I’m actually most impressed with the JBL 104-BT is its sound imaging, and by extension, the soundstage. The soundstage with speakers are all about placement so you can affect how wide something sounds just by how far apart the speakers are. Still, these speakers did a good job of making you feel that separation of audio elements that are only on the left or right side, not to mention moving around.

However, what really jumped out at me was the center channel. The JBL 104-BT is a stereo speaker system with just two speaker boxes. But, with every stereo speaker system, you really have the left, the right, and the center, even if it’s not represented by its own physical speaker.

Good speakers, along with good speaker placement, are able to make that center audio – usually dialogue or vocals – sound like it’s floating right in front of you instead of sounding like part of it is coming from one speaker and part of it is coming from the other.

With the JBL 104-BT, that center channel felt like it was right in front of me to the point that I kept checking the speakers on the laptop to make sure they weren’t also getting in on the action (they weren’t).

Considering these retail for around $150, what you’re getting is pretty remarkable as long as you use them to elevate your everyday audio experience. If you’re using them for music production, you’ll probably like the way they sound, minus that low-end, but you’re going to have a hard time creating music that sounds good on other systems. If you keep that in mind, these are an easy pair of speakers to recommend.

Should I buy JBL 104-BT Compact Desktop Reference Monitors?

Buy it if...

You want great sound for general use

The sound quality will elevate whatever media you’re consuming at least a level, if not two, as long as you don’t care about a big low end. The low-mids, in particular, are very rich sounding.

You don’t have a lot of desk space

The JBL 104-BT are able to offer quite a bit without taking up too much space, so if you have a small or cramped desk, then these speakers might be for you.

You want immersion without breaking the bank

You don’t have to spend a lot to get a great soundstage and sound imaging with these speakers, particularly the way they’re able to recreate the center audio channel.

Don't buy it if...

You need reference level audio

Despite the name, the frequency range isn’t appropriate for music production work. Besides the fact that the low-end is weak, the rest of the frequency range isn’t flat the way it should be.

You need a subwoofer

There’s no subwoofer or way to connect one, so there’s no way to get any rumble, whether you want it for movies, games, or music.

Also Consider

Edifier MR4 studio monitors

While the Edifier MR4 don’t have any digital input including Bluetooth or the ability to connect a subwoofer, they still sound great, especially for the price.

Read our full Edifier MR4 studio monitors review

Kanto Ora Reference Desktop Speakers

The Kanto Ora Reference Desktop Speakers are a bit more expensive, but they come with a subwoofer and sound fantastic. They also come with USB-C connectivity. Just be aware the mid-range is a little scooped if you plan to use them for music production.

Read our full Kanto Ora Reference Desktop Speakers review

How I tested the JBL 104-BT

Used regularly for a couple weeks
Tested with all sorts of games and music
Tested different forms of connectivity

I used the JBL 104-BT Compact Desktop Reference Monitors regularly for a couple weeks. I used them to listen to all sorts of music as well as play a number of games including Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy, Hitman, and Battlefield 2042.

After using these speakers, it’s clear that they are great for general use, but not ideal for reference work, i.e. music production, despite the accessible price tag.

I’ve tested a lot of tech gear over the years from laptops to keyboards and speakers, and so have been able to use my expertise towards giving an honest and fair opinion, not to mention a critical eye, to any product I test.

First reviewed July 2024

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