Speakers & Amps | The Master Switch

Speakers

Best High-End Wireless Speakers of 2024

The quality of wireless speakers has exploded over the past few years. What was once a mass-produced, cheap item has become a high-end essential, as audio companies outdo each other to produce the best...

Best Floorstanding Speakers of 2024

Floorstanding speakers have one of the most recognizable profiles of all speaker types. They're designed to slot in next to bookcases and TV cabinets, and their shape has two major advantages...

Best Bookshelf Speakers of 2024

Ever since the glory days, when hi-fi systems were integrated and even color-matched to the furniture, bookshelf speakers have been the beating heart of the party...

Best Computer Speakers of 2024

Whether you need a pair of low-profile desk speakers for everyday use, or a massive 5.1 surround sound setup for some serious dungeon crawling, you've come to the right place. No matter what your speaker needs may be, below you'll find the perfect setup.

Amps, DACs & Radios

Best Stereo Amps of 2024

An amp should be the center of your hi-fi world. It should be the focus point for all your efforts, the piece of equipment that can make or break your sound. Everything flows into it, and everything flows out of it...

Best Headphone Amps of 2024

You wouldn't expect headphones to need any special equipment to work. They are just about as simple as audio equipment gets.

Best DACs of 2024

A simple DAC upgrade can do wonders for your audio playback, as for example, a 4K-capable TV might change your movie viewing experience. So why not take the jump? We’ve gathered some of the most exciting converters currently on the market.

Best Music Streamers of 2024

If you love great audio, a dedicated music streamer is essential. It can become the center of your hi-fi universe, making every listening session that much more amazing.

Best Tabletop Radios of 2024

At a time when audio equipment is geared towards the future, when wireless speakers, phone docks and surround sound are ubiquitous, you might think that the humble tabletop radio is extinct. Not even close.

Turntables & Preamps

Best Turntables and Record Players of 2024

Vinyl records are just cool. They deliver music with an elusive and even romantic warmth that audiophiles continue to love. And right now, we have a list of the very best turntables available. Come see it.

Best Phono Preamps of 2023

If you’re reading this, you are at the very least intrigued about great-sounding vinyl playback. That’s not an easy thing to get right: record players are very much like fine musical instruments, so you need a damn good preamp.

Subwoofers

Best Subwoofers of 2024

You can survive with just a regular set of speakers. You don’t, strictly speaking, need a subwoofer. But you cannot believe the difference having one will make. This big box of wonder will do incredible things to your sound.

How-To Guides

How to Choose Bookshelf Speakers

ookshelf speakers are the definition of friendly audio. As the name suggests, these speakers are small and compact, and they make the perfect addition to a new hi-fi system.

How to Choose Computer Speakers

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.

How to Choose a DAC

In the world of audio, no subject is more confusing than Digital-to-Analog Converters, commonly known as DACs. for new listeners, they can be daunting, and for audiophiles, they can be a subject of heated debate.

How to Choose Floorstanding Speakers

Floorstanding speakers, also known as tower speakers for their tall profile, are among the best ways to enhance the sound in your setup. Choosing a good pair, however, takes a little leg work

How to Choose a Music Streamer

A music streamer is a device that takes audio from one location and directs it to be played from another. If you’re into streaming, and you want to boost the sound of your system, then a good music streamer is absolutely essential.

How to Choose a Stereo Amp

A great stereo amp is the key to a great hi-fi system, but there are thousands of amps available and picking one can be tricky. That’s where we come in, with our full guide to choosing the right amp.

How to Choose a Subwoofer

Buying a subwoofer is like navigating a minefield. You want to get the best bass possible, but you probably also want to avoid installing a sub the size of a rhinoceros in your living room.

Wired vs. Wireless Speakers

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.

Amplifier vs. AV Receiver: Which One to Buy

One of the most common questions we get here at The Master Switch is whether someone should buy an A/V receiver or an amplifier for their setup.

Soundbars vs. Soundbases

If you’re curious about the differences between soundbars and soundbases but still unacquainted, let’s delve into their features, similarities and differences - and give you everything you need to choose between them.

5.1 vs. 7.1 Home Theater Explained

We get it. Home theater can be crazy confusing, especially if you’re just starting out. In one of the biggest decisions you’ll need to make is whether to go for a basic five-speaker system or a more powerful seven-speaker system.

AV Receiver Setup Explained

Setting up a home theater system can be daunting as hell. Not only do you have to contend with miles and miles of speaker wire, as well as figuring out where exactly you’re going to put the damn things and whether or not you need to drill holes in your...

Speaker Reviews

1More Portable BT Speaker Review

1More make some of our favorite headphones and earbuds of all time. Naturally, we were quite excited when we found out they were releasing their first Bluetooth speaker.

Review: Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen)

Amazon’s Echo series has been a trailblazer for smart speakers. The company was among the first to make virtual assistants available to the world, and with their budget Echo Dot line, they’ve made it even easier to get a smart speaker in your life.

Review: Amazon Echo Spot

Every company in the world is putting out smart speakers. More often than not, they’ll attach a screen to them. At the time of writing this review, the best smart speaker with a screen, in our opinion, is still the tiny little Amazon Echo Spot.

Review: Apple HomePod

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.

Audioengine HD3 Review

It’s hard not to be enamoured with Audioengine. They make some of the most enjoyable speakers available, from the superlative A5+ powered speakers to the thundering S8 subwoofer. And they've really turned heads with the HD3.

Review: Audioengine HDP6

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.

Review: Beats Pill+

Beats by Dre have yet to make a pair of headphones that impress us. But how do they fare when they get a chance to boost the power, and try their hand at an actual speaker?

Review: Bryston BryFi

Bryston are the last people we expected to see in the wireless speaker space. The venerable Canadian company is better known for producing incredible amplifiers, all done with a kind of nerdy, functional charm.

Review: Cambridge Audio Minx Air 200

Wireless audio is a big hit, and is quickly becoming the latest serial home invader. You won’t see it, but these days you will certainly hear it, loud and clear. The Air 200 speaker is the perfect example.

Devialet Gold Phantom Review

Everybody always forgets about France. When people think of high-end audio, they think of Germany and Austria, Great Britain, and Japan. They don’t think about the French...

Edifier S350DB Review

And now for one of the more interesting 2.1 systems we’ve had the pleasure to plug in: the Edifier S350DBs. The S350DBs are large and powerful bookshelf boomers that provide a whopping upgrade to your home entertainment or computer setup...

Fluance Signature Series HiFi Review

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?

Review: Google Home

With the recent explosion of smart speakers, it can be tough to figure out which one’s right for you. So, we’ve decided to test them all - starting with the Google Home.

Google Home Hub Review

In the race to build the world’s best smart speaker, Google have a significant lead. Their Google Assistant is the most intelligent AI on the market, easily besting those from Amazon and Apple. But what happens if they add a screen into the mix?

Review: Grace Digital Mondo+

Weirdly, we don’t get a ton of tabletop radios for review here. No idea why; we’ve certainly asked. The big companies - Como, Bose, Tivoli - seem curiously resistant to letting us try their gear. Grace Digital are different.

JBL Charge 3 Review

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...

JBL Flip 4 Review

Portable speakers are booming, with new models popping up every couple months. All of them are fighting for the crown, including the all-popular JBL.

Review: Kanto SYD

Every new wireless speaker we receive feels like it’s more complicated than the last. With the SYD, Kanto are trying something a little more old-school, releasing a Bluetooth speaker that is refreshingly simple.

Kanto TUK Review

We have a soft spot for Kanto, and not just because they come from Coquitlam - a town no more than a few miles away from our offices in Vancouver, BC. We have a soft spot for them because they make genuinely fantastic wireless speakers.

Review: KEF EGG

KEF are legendary. We trust we don’t have to dwell on this. The speaker maker has been wowing listeners for quite some time, with models like the LS50 and LS50 Wireless that offer some truly magnificent sound.

KEF LSX Speaker Review

KEF make some of the finest speakers in the world, as anyone who has heard the $30,000 Blades will attest to. But they also make much more affordable models that deliver killer sound without killing your wallet.

Klipsch RP-500SA Review

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.

Klipsch The Three Review

Here at The Master Switch, we've tested an astronomical amount of wireless speakers. From portable to stationary, waterproof to pressurized and potential explosive hazard; we've seen them all.

Review: MarkAudio-SOTA Cesti T

MarkAudio-SOTA is a name that not a ton of people outside of the hardcore audiophile world know. It’s a collaboration between Mark Audio and SOTA Acoustics (obviously) and over the past few years, they’ve been putting out some seriously good stuff.

Monoprice MM-3 Review

Despite what you may think, computer speakers are not the same as regular speakers. They’re designed to work in close proximity to the ears, and while this sounds easy, it’s often quite tricky to get right.

Review: Paradigm PW 600

Nothing makes us happier than replacing an already brilliant bit of kit with something even better, because who doesn’t love a challenger? So we were really, really excited to unwrap speaker maker Paradigm’s PW 600.

Review: Polk Audio Omni S2

We really, really wanted to like the Polk Audio Omni S2. It kind of hurts writing that. Criticising a bad audio product is easy. It’s plain to see when shortcuts have been taken with production, when materials or build aren’t up to scratch...

Q Acoustics 3050i Floorstanding Speaker Review

To call the world of floorstanding speakers competitive would be a massive understatement. We could do this job for decades and only hear a fraction of the models available. We always get excited, however, when Q Acoustics drops a new product.

Review: Raumfeld One S

You’ve got to have pretty big ambitions to compete with SONOS in the wireless speaker market. That company’s already got most of the action sewn up, and with good reason, but that hasn’t stopped others from trying to get some.

Review: Sengled Pulse

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.

Review: Solis SO-7000

We’ve been covering a lot of wireless gadgets lately, and there’s a good reason why. Wireless is the way of the future. Audiophiles and hi-fi fans, feel free to groan, but there’s something liberating about not having to plug everything in.

Review: Solis SO-8000

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.

Sonos Move Speaker Review

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.

Review: Sonos One

We always knew SONOS would come out with a smart speaker. The company has positioned itself as a technological trailblazer and smart speakers are right on the bleeding edge.

Review: SONOS PLAY:3

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...

Review: SVS Prime Elevation

The problem with most modern living spaces is that they’re just not geared up for home theater. When most people live in an apartment, or a moderately sized house, there’s no such thing as a dedicated media room...

SVS PB16-Ultra Review: Holy Mother Of GOD.

There are some things in life you can’t say no to. Threesomes. That’s a good one. A ride on a private jet. A chance to meet Samuel L. Jackson, courtside seats to a play-off game. The SVS PB16 Ultra is one of those things.

SVS Prime Towers Floorstanding Speaker Review

When speaker maker SVS asked if they could ship us a pair of their Ultra Tower speakers to review, the response was an enthusiastic yes. But what actually arrived, courtesy of a distributor mixup, was a pair of their older Prime Towers...

SVS SB-3000 Review: An Almost Perfect Subwoofer

Building the perfect subwoofer isn’t just about volume or power, in the same way that the perfect hot fried chicken isn’t just about nuclear levels of cayenne pepper.

SVS Ultra Towers Floorstanding Speaker Review

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.

Review: UE BOOM 2

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.

Review: UE MEGABLAST

We’ve been reviewing quite a few portable speakers lately, in search of the one that will give us the best value-for-money, sound, and ease-of-use, all in one package. We’ve come across a couple of gems, including the UE MEGABLAST.

Review: UE Megaboom

Ultimate Ears say that their Megaboom speaker “can be immersed in liquid up to 1m for up to 30 minutes.” At The Master Switch, we have only one response to this: Challenge accepted.

Review: UE Roll 2

The tech we review is often classy, usually sleek, occasionally drop dead gorgeous. But very rarely does it invoke a sense of glee, or surprise. The UE Roll 2 does both, in spectacular fashion.

Amp Reviews

Amazon Echo Link Amp Review

Jeff Bezos and Amazon want to take over the world - if you don’t believe that, then we have a bridge to sell you (and we’ll ship it to you on Amazon Prime). Hi-fi audio is part of that world.

Review: Bluewave GET

On a recent trip to Toronto for the TAVES audio show, we got chatting to two guys from Montreal, Pierre and Stéphane, who owned a company called Bluewave. What they were showing was a single product: a tiny little portable headphone amp called the GET.

Review: Bryston B60R

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.

Review: Burson Audio PLAY

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.

Cambridge Audio CXN (V2) & CXA80 Double Review

This is going to be an unusual review. For the first, time, we're reviewing two products at once. Cambridge Audio's CXN (V2) streamer and CXA80 amplifier may retail as separate products, but we've never seen another pair that work so well together.

Cambridge Audio CXA61 Review

Picking the best stereo amplifier for your setup can be a huge challenge. We know this all too well. There are quite literally thousands of amps available, from tiny desktop models to massive, five-figure beasts.

Review: Feliks Elise MkII

Feliks Audio is a Polish boutique headphone amplifier manufacturer that specializes in tube circuit designs. Their Elise MkII model has been making waves on tube amp forums and trade shows

Review: FiiO A5

Portable amps are tricky little things. While they unquestionably make your sound better, they don’t have the luxuries that desktop models do. They can’t be heavy, or feature cool-looking tubes, or have loads of connections.

Review: FiiO Q5

Convincing people to carry around a portable amplifier in addition to a phone is a bit like asking Usain Bolt to strap rockets to his feet. Yes, it will technically make him faster, but it’s also cumbersome and annoying, and will probably explode.

Review: Goldmund Telos 2

We’ll be honest: we never expected to review a product from Goldmund on this site. They’re not just a high-end audio brand; they’re floating somewhere above the very concept of high end. And yet: here we are.

Review: H2 Designs MIYO

We flatter ourselves that we know most, if not all, of the audio industry players, and what they do. But we hadn’t heard of H2 Designs. They recently got in touch to ask if we’d like to try out their new MIYO audio interface.

Review: Hafler HA75

There’s no denying that high-end headphones and headphone amps can be amazingly nerdy. Wade into even the shallow end, and you’ll find yourself swamped by a discussion of whether a 12AX7 tube is better than a 6S7L, or an endless debates about...

Review: iFi Audio micro iCAN SE

It can often be a challenge to go for an audio company that prizes rigorous engineering over marketing flair. Judging by their website and their staid, sober presence on social media, you might be forgiven for bypassing iFi Audio. Don't.

Review: JDS Labs The Element

One of the biggest debates in the audio world is whether an amplifier should change the quality of the music, or simply present it as objectively as possible. The JDS Labs The Element can help with that.

Review: JDS Labs Objective2

Quick question. How much color do you like in your music? Do you like your bass to be fat, your mids to be warm, your soundstage to be wide of the hills? Or do you prefer no color at all, with an aggressively analytical sound?

Review: Linear Tube Audio MZ2-S

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.

Review: Mayflower ARC

It’s actually quite rare to find dedicated amplifiers for gaming headphones. If a gamer does spend money on amp – as opposed to splurging on screen, mouse, and headset – it’s not likely to be a specialised one.

Monoprice Monolith Liquid Platinum Review

Headphone lovers like to talk about what they call the endgame: a magical combination of amp, DAC, and headphones that delivers the perfect sound, meaning they’ll never need to buy another piece of equipment. But endgame us a myth.

NAD D3020 V2 Review

Stereo amps can be boring as hell. The companies that make them are more often than not concerned with treating the internals, and ignoring what things look like on the outside. The NAD D3020 V2 is different.

Onkyo A-9110 Review

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.

Peachtree Audio nova300 Review

You want to know the reason Apple was so successful? The reason they, above all others, dominated the first fifteen years of this century and became a global juggernaut? They kept it simple. So does Peachtree Audio.

Review: Rotel RA-1572

Rotel don’t often get the love they deserve. Perhaps it’s the name, which, if you’re not familiar with the brand, sounds like a copy machine manufacturer. We think they deserve to be a household name.

Schiit Fulla 2 Review

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.

Schiit Magni 3 Review

It’s almost a right of passage for anybody looking to get into the world of audio. For many, the first stop in upgrading their headphones sound is a little outfit out of Valencia, California: Schiit Audio, pronounced exactly like you think it is.

Review: Schiit Lyr 3

Rule number one when writing a Schiit review: don’t make jokes about the name. They’ve not only heard them all before, they probably wrote most of them. Rule number two: don’t expect a newer version of a product to even be close to what the old one was.

Review: Solis SO-8000

Sonos Amp Review

Sonos don't just make great wireless speakers. The company's old Connect:Amp has long been the secret weapon of custom home theater installers, and if you think the guys at Sonos didn't notice this, you're dreaming.

Review: Sony TA-ZH1ES

Dear Sony marketing department: can we talk? Can we be real for a sec? Thank you. We’re just trying to understand, you see. We want to figure out how your minds work. How do you name something the TA-ZH1ES with a straight face?

Woo Audio WA11 Topaz Review

Jack Wu is one of the most creative audio designers around. His company, Woo Audio, is the place to go for incredible tube amps. But this time, he’s released something a little different.

DAC Reviews

Review: AudioQuest Beetle

It’s often easy to forget in the seemingly endless mission for better and better sound, but the role of a Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) isn’t just to improve the audio quality. It’s also there to make it easy to send the audio where you need it.

AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt Review

It’s impossible to overstate the impact of AudioQuest’s Dragonfly range on the audio world. The technology remains revolutionary: a tiny USB stick that matches the quality of much larger headphone amp/DAC combinations.

Review: Benchmark DAC3 HGC

If you like to tinker, if you like to go deep into your equipment, and if you like to have your efforts rewarded, then you are going to want to hear this. It’s spectacular.

Chord Mojo Review

Chord Electronics, the purveyors of handmade British hi-fi have been - since the eighties, no less - making waves with their innovative DACs and headphone amplifiers. The Mojo is one of them.

Review: Chord Hugo 2

Chord Electronics are mad. Other companies will make a high-end DAC, and call it done. Chord made one, then gave it Bluetooth, then put in a package small enough to slip into a pocket, then made it look like something you'd see in a music video from 1988.

Review: iFi Audio micro iDAC2

No piece of audio equipment is more contentious than the humble DAC. It can cause some pretty major arguments. iFi Audio’s Micro iDAC2 isn’t going to help either side work out their differences with the other – but in our opinion, it’s solid.

Review: iFi Audio nano iOne

iFi Audio are nothing if not consistent. That’s the kind of first review sentence that normally has most readers rolling their eyes - don’t lie, we saw you do it - but we use it deliberately. But in the Nano iOne, there is a surprising spark of life

Review: iFi Audio xDSD

iFi Audio badly needed a rebrand. The company has a reputation for delivering superb and focused audio gear, but in the past, they’ve done so with all the panache and pizzazz of a statistics symposium.

Review: JDS Labs OL DAC

The debate about whether DACs (Digital-to-Analog Converters) actually make a difference to your sound is still one that has yet to be resolved. As good as it is, the OL DAC from JDS Labs isn’t going to convince the doubters.

Review: Meridian Audio Explorer2

That shelf at Meridian Audio’s HQs displaying their hifi innovation awards must be a substantial one - they’ve come up with plenty of firsts since their formation back in 1977. With the Explorer2, they're hoping to do it again.

Review: Optoma NuForce uDAC5

It’s not often that you can call a piece of audio equipment cute. You can with the Optoma uDAC5. When we took it out the box, our first thought was that someone was pranking us. This thing costs $200?

RME ADI-2 DAC Review

This German manufacturer might not be a household name stateside, but RME have been quietly making nerdy audio equipment since 1996. And they've gotten rather good at it. We were able to spend a month with their ADI-2 digital-to-analog converter.

Music Streamer Reviews

Cambridge Audio CXN (V2) & CXA80 Double Review

Chord Poly Review

We take accessories seriously here at TMS. Far more seriously than other sites. That’s because we believe that you have to look at the entire experience when reviewing an audio product, and that includes the little cables and gizmos that come with it.

Naim Uniti Atom Review

Audiophiles don't like listening to music wirelessly. Wires, they say, are the only way to guarantee pristine audio quality. They just haven't heard the Naim Uniti Atom yet.

Turntable Reviews

Denon DP-450USB Review

Denon have been associated with home hi-fi and vinyl playback for decades and they’ve just come up with a new turntable: the DP-450USB. It rests firmly on the shoulders of its popular predecessor, the DP-300F.

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© 2024 The Master Switch. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission.