Search

The world of on-ear Bluetooth headphones isn’t exactly known being a luxury market. One manufacturer looking to buck that particular trend is New York's Master & Dynamic.

Exquisite. That’s the word that came to mind when we first pulled the Romanian-made MEZE 99 Classics out of their carrier case. It’s not a reaction that most audio equipment inspires, and definitely not a reaction inspired by most headphones.

Back in the distant past (2014) The Master Switch existed as a general tech site. Sure, we had the best speakers and headphones and amps rounded up, but we also featured everything from laptops and printers to snowblowers and blenders.

Everything you need to know about headphone specs. if it doesn’t involve any of the following, you probably don’t need to worry about it. Consider this the ultimate explainer.

Remember the very first iPod from seventeen years ago? No? Damn, we're old. Anyway, it sold around three hundred and sixty million units. It changed the way we listen to music forever - and today, Apple is no longer the market leader.

The MZ2-S is that something. It’s expensive, and specialised, and not for everyone. But if you’re willing to give yourself over to it, you’ll be in for one of the greatest musical experiences a human being can have. 

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. We solemnly swear that in this review, and in all future reviews, we will not make any jokes, puns, bon mots or witty jibes at Schiit Audio’s name.

The HiFiMan Edition S. You might call them Schrodinger’s Headphones: they’re both closed and open back until you decide which one you want. They are also, just in case you were wondering, bloody brilliant.

Introducing the Marantz M-CR611, a ‘network CD receiver’ that wants to be the centre of your home music system – but in a world of wireless speakers and Spotify, can it compete?

There’s something very aggressive about the Raumfeld Sounddeck. We’re not talking about the sound. We’re talking about the sheer aura that surrounds it, like a surly football player propping up a bar.

When you make the best headphones on the planet, you can afford to sit back and enjoy the acclaim. And yet Focal, a French company who produce the astounding Utopia headphones, refuse to settle.

The bookshelf speaker market is hugely competitive, with hundreds of companies putting out everything from tiny wireless wonders to huge monoliths that shade the line between bookshelf and tower speakers. Audioengine have made waves here.

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.

Even if your wall is a crisp, spotless white, any imperfection will be obvious when the Death Star looks more like a football than a moon. So. yeah, you need a screen, and there are a number of choices you'll need to make...

There are, quite literally, tens of thousands of earbud models available to buy. Sifting through the ocean can be tricky, but fortunately, we’ve done the hard work for you. We’ve picked out 10 of the very best earbuds, at all budget levels.