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The survival of digital audio players is actually quite extraordinary. Despite the fact that we carry around phones that can do everything, standalone digital audio players continue to sell.

Some things in this world just work. Bacon sandwiches. Very cold beer. Dre and Pac on California Love. The relationship between Supergirl and The Flash. And the Sennheiser HD1s.

When Apple announced they were releasing a smart speaker, we were sceptical. This is not a company known for amazing sound quality. But while we wanted to hate the HomePod, it won us over - and we think it will win you over, too.

Once you’ve experienced Dolby Atmos, it’s really hard to go back to anything else. Like flying first class on a business trip, then coach on vacation. Fortunately, getting the right speakers for Atmos isn’t difficult, and is actually quite affordable.

Did you know that you can still buy actual hi-fi systems? As in, two speakers and a dedicated CD/tape-deck/AM-FM tower - the kind of thing you used to see in dorm rooms in the 1990s. On that note: meet the SO8000.

If you’re going to call a floorstanding speaker the Ultra, then you’d better have a set of brass balls backing up that particular claim. Then again, the Ultra Towers are easily among the best floorstanding speakers out there.

Headphone amps, for the most part, break down into two categories: ones that you plug in and forget about, and ones that invite you to tinker - messing with the settings, switching out various bits, and generally getting your hands dirty.

Very few audio designers are as accomplished as Aaron Fournier. After stints at Tivoli Audio and V-Moda, the Boston-based engineer started his own company, Thinksound, with the goal of making environmentally-friendly headphones that sounded fantastic.

Sonos rules the world of home audio. They make the best-sounding smart speakers you can buy, even despite challengers from the likes of Bose and Apple. But the one thing they’ve never done is create a portable Bluetooth speaker you can take outside.

New York’s Master & Dynamic remain one of the most underrated headphone companies around. They produce some absolutely phenomenal gear – such as the wireless MW50s – and it all started with the MH40s.

How would you like to read a review of the most hyped headphones on the planet? That’s no exaggeration. In the past year, no other pair of headphones has caused as much intrigue...

Sony may not be able to come up with snappy names, but they make some seriously snappy headphones. The WH-1000XM3 are wireless, noise-canceling headphones that we believe are the best pair currently available. No doubt, no question.

Whether it be hiking through rugged forests or a simple day at the beach, we want to be able to take our music everywhere we go. We’ve been compiling a list of the best portable Bluetooth speakers, and this little number has found itself near the top.

Wireless audio is harder to get right than you might think. Replicating truly stellar sound through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi takes much more work than simply delivering the signal through a speaker cable. Fortunately, SVS are rather good at this.

It doesn’t matter how great the default sound on your monitor is, or how sweet your gaming headset might be, at some point you’re going to want to spring for extra oomph and add amazing computer speakers to your setup.