Search

It's easy to buy a set of acceptable, budget bookshelf speakers. It's very, very hard to buy a pair that truly excel. Canadian speaker-maker Fluance wants to remedy that, with a pair of nifty sub-$200 speakers. But have they succeeded?

Bang & Olufsen have always felt like a dark horse in the headphone world. The company makes excellent stuff, but we’ve always associated the Danish audio wizards with speakers, first and foremost.

Yes, we’re reviewing another wireless speaker. And before our diehard fans start throwing rotten tomatoes and accusing us of brainwash, we’ll tell you why. Sit back down in your chair and be prepared to read about one of the most popular speakers...

You might not think it while reading about the four- and occasional five-figure monsters on the site, but we absolutely love cheap here. If a piece of audio kit mixes low cost with decent components, we start getting very interested.

We’ll admit: it was a little bit surprising when we got a pair of sports earbuds from Optoma. It may have even been a bit of a “Wait, what?” moment. Optoma? The really good but slightly square company who make projectors, DACs, professional-grade...

Sometimes, you just need noise. Good, old-fashioned, wonderful noise. No Bluetooth, no cute input lights, no digital displays. Just a big, grunting monster of an amplifier that you can use to mess things up.

There are very few speakers that ask you to perform an interpretive dance before you can use them. But the SONOS PLAY:3 boldly delves into this new territory...

If it weren’t for the fact that the Audiofly AF1120 in-ear monitors are in the conversation for the best we’ve ever listened to, we would have chucked it in long ago. Because there are so. Many. Tangles.

Bass lovers swear by bigger subwoofers. The bigger the cabinet, the bigger the driver, and the bigger the wattage. More wattage equals more air moved which equals bigger bass. SVS, the Ohio-based speaker-maker decided that this wouldn’t do.

Audio companies are getting smarter. Virtually every piece of gear that crosses the threshold of our office is capable of connecting to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, handling hi-res audio,or adjusting the sound to fit our unique hearing profiles. Not Onkyo.

Beyerdynamic make some of the best headphones on the planet. They’ve been doing it for quite a long time, so they know a thing or two about sound. But they have surprisingly few Bluetooth models...

Say the word MartinLogan around audiophiles - yes, it’s one word, there’s no space between Martin and Logan, poor bastards - and you’ll get a knowing smile and a wink, as if you’ve just spoken a secret password.

We had never heard of ADVANCED. Before this year’s CANJAM New York event, they had flown completely under our radar. We have no idea why - normally, we’re pretty good with this kind of thing. Then we heard their Alphas.

Wireless speakers have become the quiet juggernaut of the audio industry. Ever since features like Bluetooth and WiFi became commonplace, manufacturers have been tinkering, slowly freeing us from the chaos of wires and ceiling speakers.