(Pocket-lint) – Sonos Roam is the second portable Bluetooth speaker in the company’s portfolio, but really it’s the first when talking portability – because the Sonos Move isn’t all that portable by comparison.
A Bluetooth speaker by day, Sonos speaker by night, or vice versa, the Sonos Roam is very portable, very smart and has some excellent features on board. It’s more expensive than your average Bluetooth speaker, but then it isn’t your average Bluetooth speaker.
So should you buy the Sonos Roam? Yes. Why? Let us explain.
Design
Dimensions: 168 x 62 x 60mm / Weight: 430g
Finish options: Shadow Black, Lunar White
IP67 water- and dust- resistant
Triangular prism design
The Sonos Roam is a triangular prism shape, which is surprisingly great for carrying around. Its curved edges are smooth and comfortable to hold, while the soft-touch finish, super-light weight and rubbered ends make it feel durable and more than capable of withstanding a knock and tumble.
It can also handle a dunk. Falling into the Ultimate Ears Boom 3 and Megaboom 3 category – both of which are waterproof – the Roam is IP67 rated for dust and water. That means you can submerge Roam in up to 3ft of water for 30 minutes. Like Sonos Move, sand and dust are no match for Roam either, and though we didn’t dare try – Roam should also be able to withstand drops too.
The Roam is pretty much the same size as a 500ml water bottle – and significantly more portable and lighter than Move. It’s also smaller than competitors like the UE Boom 3.
As Sonos users would expect, Roam follows similar design traits to the rest of the Sonos portfolio. That means controls up top, very small holes making up the plastic speaker grille for a clean look, and black or white colour options. We had the Lunar White model in for review and while we’d love to see some special edition colours at some point – like Sonos offered with its limited edition Sonos One Hay collection – the off-white option is still lovely looking.
It’s worth mentioning that the Roam does deter slightly from Sonos’ more recent speakers in that it offers raised tactile controls rather than capacitive ones. There’s a play/pause button, volume increase and decrease buttons, and a microphone on/off button as usual – but the symbols are embossed on the rubber finish. It’s also worth noting that this finish – while really lovely to the touch – does seem to dent, so press the buttons with fingers not nails.
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The Sonos Roam can be positioned horizontally or vertically – just like the Sonos Five. There’s one power/Bluetooth button on one edge next to the USB-C port and there are also four small circular, rubber feet to help the Roam sit properly when positioned horizontally.
Sonos Roam vs Sonos Move: What’s the difference?
Features
Google Assistant/Amazon Alexa
Automatic Trueplay
Sound Swap
The Sonos Roam will function as any other Bluetooth speaker when in Bluetooth mode – with a few extras. When connected via Wi-Fi though – which it will switch to automatically – it has all the features that come with other speakers in the Sonos system, which is the main thing that sets it apart from other Bluetooth-only speakers.
Sonos system features include support for over 100 music services, easy grouping, stereo pairing and control through voice assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, among plenty of other features like equaliser (EQ) adjustment. Like the Sonos Move, however, the Roam cannot be used as surrounds with the Sonos Arc or Sonos Beam, and it can’t be bonded with the Sonos Sub either.
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The Roam does have an additional feature over other Sonos speakers: Sound Swap. This allows users to bring a Sonos speaker into an existing group by pressing-and-holding the play/pause button on top of the speaker you want to add to the group.
Bring it into a group with other Sonos speakers already playing, or by continuing to hold the button (for around five seconds in total) it will transfer the music on the Roam to your nearest Sonos speaker. This is done using an ultrasonic frequency, with the strongest signal determining the closest speaker. You can read more about Sound Swap in our separate feature.
It’s an excellent addition – one that’s really useful when you’re bringing Roam in from the garden and want to continue what you’re listening to in your living room, for example.
Other features on Sonos Roam include both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa support – although you’ll have to choose between them rather than use both at the same time, which is the case for other smart Sonos speakers. We use Google Assistant in our home and Roam delivered as we’d expect, turning our lights off when requested and answering questions and responding efficiently.
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An LED light on top of the Roam above the microphone icon lets you know when Roam is listening. There’s another LED above the Sonos logo to indicate power, as well as Bluetooth pairing mode. At the bottom of the speaker – when it’s vertically positioned – an orange LED light appears when the battery is low.
Roam also offers Auto Trueplay tuning – just like the Move – to automatically tune its sound to its surroundings. It uses spatial awareness to adjust the sound for the speaker’s orientation, location, and content. Auto Trueplay tuning has been improved to work over both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. You can read more about Auto Trueplay in our separate feature.
Hardware and specs
Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi (802.11ac), AirPlay 2
10-hour battery claimed
The Sonos Roam can automatically switch between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections – there’s a button to switch between the two modes so the Roam delivers a seamless experience when moving in and out of your home. There’s also AirPlay 2 support.
There’s a rechargeable battery under the Roam’s hood, which is recharged using the USB Type-C port, or via a Qi compatible wireless charging dock. Sonos has its own official wireless charging dock available to purchase separately, which the Roam will magnetically snap onto. Otherwise, a USB-C cable is included in the box – but not the power adapter itself.
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By Britta O’Boyle
·
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The battery is said to last 10 hours – one hour less than the Move – or 10 days when in sleep mode. This is a slight over estimation in our experience though. We got around eight-and-a-half hours from the battery when the volume was set to 50 per cent, though this is still pretty good going considering the Roam’s size.
When the music stops playing the Roam goes into sleep mode automatically – but it only takes around a second to wake it back up using the multi-functional power button positioned on the back of the device. We have a separate feature on how to put Roam into Bluetooth pairing mode.
Sound quality and performance
Two class-H amplifiers
Custom racetrack mid-woofer
Single tweeter
Under the hood of the Sonos Roam are two amplifiers tuned to the speaker’s acoustic architecture, along with a single tweeter for the high-end, a mid-woofer for everything else, along with a high-efficiency motor to increase power and range.
There’s also a far-field microphone array that uses beamforming and multi-channel echo cancellation in order to best hear your voice-based commands.
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What all this means is the Sonos Roam sounds incredible for its size. As is typically the case with Sonos speakers, it’s on the bassy side, but we love that about it and if you don’t then you can always adjust the EQ in the Sonos app to suit your preference.
Roam has some serious punch for how small it is too – more than filling a decent sized room or smaller garden with sound, even at 50 per cent volume. Of course it doesn’t match the Sonos Move for output clout, but if you’re choosing between the Sonos One and Sonos Roam, the latter gives the former a good run for its money in terms of sound, while also offering smarter features.
We listened to a range of tracks in testing, from The Eagle’s Hotel California and Massive Attack’s Teardrop, to Pink Floyd’s Time and Laura Marling’s Soothing – just some examples – and we were continually impressed with the Roam’s capabilities during testing.
Vocals and acoustics sound great; the speaker delivers rich bass, while also handling treble well. As far as small Bluetooth speakers go the Roam more than delivers on the sound quality front.
Verdict
The Sonos Roam is a little pricey when compared to other Bluetooth speakers, but in the same breath it does a lot more than most Bluetooth speakers.
Its portable and lightweight design is met with excellent sound performance, plus all the features that come with the Sonos system, a choice of smart assistants, along with extra – and great – features like Sound Swap to seamlessly switch between other Sonos speakers and groups.
For those already invested in Sonos, the Roam is a no-brainer as an addition. It allows you to bring your Sonos system with you wherever you go, without you having to think.
For those considering a Bluetooth speaker and wondering if the Roam is worth the investment over others – it delivers everything a Bluetooth speaker should, plus so much more.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Ultimate Ears Boom 3
SQUIRREL_WIDGET_148748
This cylindrical speaker is IP67-rated for water- and dust-resistance just like the Roam, plus it delivers great sound for its size – and through 360 degrees. It’s cheaper than Roam, but it doesn’t offer as many connected features.
Read our review
Pocket-lint
JBL Xtreme 2
SQUIRREL_WIDGET_145677
If you want loud and crisp sound, plus impressive bass, the JBL could be for you. Again, however, it doesn’t have as many features as the Roam, but it’s a great party speaker that comes with a practical carry handle too.
Read our review
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Sonos Move
SQUIRREL_WIDGET_167282
The larger Sonos has many of the same features as the Roam but delivers much bigger sound in a not-as-portable design.
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The Sonos Roam is the most focused, calculated product from Sonos yet. It’s a small $169 speaker that’s meant to compete with portable Bluetooth speakers that people so often carry everywhere without a second thought. But it’s also designed to slot into Sonos’ multiroom audio platform and showcase the versatility that comes with it. In fact, excluding the co-branded speakers that Sonos makes with Ikea, the Roam is now the cheapest way into the company’s ecosystem.
The Roam supports hands-free voice commands, has Apple AirPlay 2, includes wireless charging, and features a rugged design that lets you use it practically anywhere. There’s a lot riding on this speaker; Sonos only releases a couple new products per year, so they all have to deliver. So let’s examine how the Roam stacks up against similarly sized speakers and whether it should replace whatever you’ve got now.
At 6.61 inches tall, the Roam actually stands shorter than popular Bluetooth speakers like the UE Boom 3 and JBL Flip 5. And at under a pound, it’s lightweight enough to toss into your backpack or tote. The Boom is bigger all around: you could pretty much fit the Roam right inside it. UE’s Megaboom 3 and the new JBL Charge 5 both increase the size advantage further, and they’re still close to the Roam in price. Going up from there, you get to the real giants like the UE Megablast. For this review, I’ll keep it simple and focus on speakers that resemble the Roam in size.
The Roam retains what’s become the standard Sonos aesthetic, with hundreds of precision-drilled holes in the speaker enclosure. But this is not a cylinder-style speaker that shoots audio in all directions. The Roam has a curved triangle shape that naturally projects sound both forward and up when it’s laid horizontally. It comes in either black or white, and I’ve noticed that when the black one is in bright lighting, you can actually see a hexagon pattern behind the holes. That plate is there for structural reasons, but it’s not really visible on the white speaker.
Battery life tops out at 10 hours.
This is the first Sonos speaker to earn an IP67 dust and water resistance rating. By certification standards, that means it should survive up to 30 minutes in three feet of water. In practical terms, it means you can use the Roam in the bathroom while you shower and near pools without fretting about damage. It’s probably a good idea to keep it on a floaty if you insist on bringing it into a deep pool, though. This speaker doesn’t float. Yes, I checked.
The Roam has the best water resistance of any Sonos speaker.
I’ve also managed to drop my two review units a few times, and they’ve come away with only light blemishes and a couple nicks you really have to hunt for to notice. I chalk that up to clumsiness; there’s no built-in handle like the Move, but in general the curved triangle shape is easy to grip. Both sides of the Roam have silicone end caps to help with ruggedness. From what I’ve seen, it should be able to withstand a tumble off a bicycle and the wear and tear that comes with being a truly portable speaker.
It’s rated IP67 and has silicone at both ends to withstand bumps.
On the top (when vertical) or left (horizontal) is where you find the controls, which are actual clicky buttons beneath the silicone instead of the usual capacitive sensors that Sonos tends to use. Going with real, tactile buttons for this product was absolutely the right decision. They’re easy to feel for and hard to press accidentally. There are four buttons: play / pause, two for track controls, and a microphone button for enabling or muting the built-in microphones that are used for voice assistant commands with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
On the back of the Roam is a USB-C port and power button. Aside from wired charging, you can also juice up the speaker using any Qi-compatible pad that it’ll fit on. My Anker dual-charging station handled the task well. Sonos also sells a wireless charger that attaches to the Roam magnetically, but I didn’t get a chance to test that. The included USB-C-to-USB-A cable is nicely angled on the Roam’s side so that it doesn’t get in the way no matter how it’s oriented. Neither the cable nor the Sonos wireless charger are water resistant, so you’ve got to keep those dry. If you’re in a hurry, definitely go wired; Sonos says it takes “about two hours” for the Roam to go from 0 to 50 percent when charging wirelessly compared to “about an hour” when plugged in. Higher-power chargers can cut down on both of those times.
You can use either Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant with the built-in mics.
Now onto the main agenda: sound quality. Sonos has built a favorable reputation with its past speakers, but the question is whether the company can make good on its name with a speaker this small and portable. What I’ll say is that the Roam is one of the clearest, most pleasant portable speakers I’ve used. Others like the UE Boom 3 can come off muddy and lack depth. There’s little about their sound and articulation that stands out.
The Roam seems to make a priority of ensuring that the texture and vibrancy of music comes through with maximum clarity. Vocals sound crisp, and strings in classical music come through lush without getting pitchy. Like other Sonos speakers, the Roam features automatic room optimization called Trueplay, and Sonos says it’s constantly adjusting to optimize sound for whatever environment it’s in. This does actually make a difference in an echoey bathroom, but it’s not some magic cure-all for an acoustically challenged room. (Auto Trueplay works with music both streamed over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.)
Let’s face it: while Sonos claims that the Roam “defies expectations,” it can’t defy physics. This is a relatively small speaker, and perhaps the best-sounding one in its size class, but it has weaknesses. At the top of that list is bass, which can’t quite match that of the Sonos One and is roundly defeated by the much larger, heavier Move. Even the barely larger JBL Flip 5 has more assertive bass that gets noticeably boomier than the Roam. It can go louder, too. Larger Bluetooth speakers like the UE Megaboom and JBL Charge 5 will almost certainly trounce the Roam at bass response, but I don’t consider that surprising.
Sonos’ speaker has some low-end resonance — you’ll feel the vibrations if it’s on a table — but it’s clear that the company has opted for balance over boom factor. The Roam can also only do so much when you’re using it in a wide open space outdoors with no walls for the sound to bounce off of. It’ll crank loud without much distortion but can’t reach the same fullness as the Move. It’s when you really turn up the volume that you’ll be left wanting some added oomph. A party speaker this is not.
Two Roams paired together can produce an excellent stereo soundstage — but only on Wi-Fi.
Using two Roams at the same time as a stereo pair brings out even more detail, and the bass also benefits from two of them playing together. There’s no beating proper stereo separation, and two Roams do a better job blanketing a bedroom or living room in music than one alone. Unfortunately, the process of creating a stereo pair can get tedious. You have to manually do it from the Sonos app every time. This makes sense since you have to select which speaker is on what side. But I’d love it if there were a button shortcut to more quickly form a stereo pair — or at least a prompt when you power on a second Roam that asks if you want to pair them instead of leaving both to their lonesome by default.
To the frustration of some Sonos customers, the Roam doesn’t allow you to use the stereo pair feature when listening over Bluetooth. This is also the case with the Move, but considering how much Sonos is hyping the portability of its new speaker, it feels like a fumble on the company’s part. Maybe this poses engineering challenges, but other Bluetooth speakers like the UE Wonderboom 2 can already link together as a stereo pair without needing an app to get there. Bluetooth stereo might be a compelling reason for some people to own two Roams, but right now the feature isn’t there.
The $169 Sonos Roam beside the much bigger, heavier $399 Sonos Move.
Sonos has at least introduced some new tricks with the Roam when using it around the house. The first is called sound swap, which lets you quickly pass off audio from the Roam to whichever of your other Sonos speakers is closest. You just hold the play button for a few seconds, and the currently playing music hops over. Repeat the process, and audio moves back to the Roam. This has worked well in my experience so far, and Sonos goes about locating the nearest speaker in a clever way. When you activate sound swap, all of your speakers briefly emit a high-frequency tone that your ears can’t hear — but the Roam can. When you venture outside, the Roam does a solid job automatically pairing to your phone once you’re outside Wi-Fi coverage.
The other new feature that debuts with the Roam is the option to play Bluetooth audio over your entire Sonos system. In the Sonos app, you can add your other speakers as a group with the Roam that’s playing the Bluetooth audio source. My turntable doesn’t do Bluetooth, but if yours does, this will be an easy way to play your records in multiple rooms — at the cost of fidelity, of course. There are other ways of integrating vinyl into a Sonos system if you care more about audio quality. I did test this feature using content from a friend’s phone over Bluetooth, and it played just fine across my other Sonos speakers. The Move can’t be updated with this feature because the Roam has a new antenna that can connect to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi simultaneously. The Move only supports one or the other at a time.
But even with these new capabilities, there are still those occasional times where a Sonos system falls out of step. Maybe music playback inexplicably starts seizing up, or maybe the volume controls in the app you’re casting from — like Spotify — stop working. Even after shifting to its new S2 platform, Sonos hasn’t completely ironed out the blips when its mobile app goes on the fritz or seems to momentarily lose control over everything. The bugs are rare, but they happen.
A useful, delicious size reference.
What’s worse in the case of the Roam is how poorly Sonos handles moving between Wi-Fi networks. Everything works just great at home, but if you want to use the Wi-Fi features of Roam at someone else’s place or when traveling, it’s a real headache. The process of adding another “trusted network” in the Sonos app didn’t always work in my experience. I hope this is something Sonos will focus on more now that it’s selling a speaker that’s portable in a way that the Move never was. Music on the Roam sounds best over Wi-Fi, and it’s also needed for features like AirPlay 2. Bluetooth is right there as a fallback, but the Roam really has to get friendlier with guest networks.
The estimated battery life of 10 hours is also on the low side: the UE Boom 3 gets 15 hours and JBL’s Flip 5 hits 12. Wireless charging helps make up for this to an extent. It’s pretty rare among Bluetooth speakers, and you can play music as the Roam sits on the charger replenishing its battery. But I still wish Sonos could’ve eked out some extra playing time. The company says you can reach up to 10 days of standby time, but that strikes me as optimistic. My review units have held their charge for quite a few days, though.
There’s also a battery drain bug if you set up Google Assistant on the Roam that Sonos warned reviewers about, and it’s bad enough that the company is encouraging customers to power the speaker down when it’s not being used to conserve juice. Sonos says it’s working with Google on a fix and that customers using Alexa won’t encounter the same issue. The beamforming microphones generally picked up my voice commands without obvious mistakes the vast majority of the time, and aside from the Google battery bug, both voice assistants worked as expected.
The Roam’s many features make it among the best portable speakers at its size.
It’s best to think of the Sonos Roam as a personal speaker. It’ll do fine on your desk pumping out the soundtrack to your day. It can handle picnic duty for a small group at the park or come for a ride-along on your bike. And yes, it shines in the shower. But if you’re leading a dance class or trying to entertain guests at a barbecue, these are the types of situations where the larger Move easily wins out and proves its worth. Think of it this way: the more people that will be listening, the sooner you’ll turn to a speaker that isn’t the Roam.
But even with that understood, the Roam has a lot going for it. When in the comfort of your home, features like AirPlay and voice assistants do make it feel more capable than other speakers that are equally small and easy to carry. That and convenient wireless charging are where the $170 price gets easier to accept.
The Roam can fill in any nook of your living space — the bathroom, the garage, wherever — that doesn’t have another full-time Sonos speaker in it. On the go with Bluetooth, it’s easy to use and kicks out clear, satisfying sound for its size. Sonos needs to work on keeping the Roam’s smarts together when you’re on different Wi-Fi, and stereo pairing over Bluetooth should’ve been a feature on day one. But neither is enough to sink the overall value of Sonos’ latest speaker. As long as you don’t expect miracles from its compact size, I think you’ll end up happy.
LG has announced it will stop making phones. Once one of the top players in the smartphone market, the firm will bow out of its mobile operations globally in order to focus on other “growth areas”.
It lists such areas as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions, and “platforms and services”.
In 2013, LG was rated as the third biggest maker of smartphones in the world, but, according to analysts IDC, it currently stands at 11th. Its smartphone business has been loss making for years, and struggling to keep up with the popularity of Apple and Samsung handsets.
Worried that your shiny LG phone will soon be rendered an expensive brick? LG has said it will maintain service support and software updates for its phones “for a period of time”. Exactly how long is anyone’s guess. This will also vary by region. According to a document spotted by XDA Developers, this support will include Android 12 updates for certain smartphones. Again, this will vary by region.
Many will mourn LG’s exit from the smartphone market. Its phones may have been niche and quirky, but they were usually a bit different from the competition. Recently, the firm had pursued a strategy of eye-catching folding phones like the LG Wing. Our favourite? The LG Chocolate from 2006.
MORE:
Check out the best Android phones currently available
These are the best smartphones for music and movies
Going Apple? Browse the best iPhones around right now
Graphics cards, more specifically Nvidia’s Cryptocurrency Mining Processor (CMP), are the new commodity among Chinese smugglers. TVB News reported that the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department busted a smuggling ring and recovered up to 300 CMP 30HX graphics cards.
The story seems like it came out of a movie. The Chinese authorities detected a suspicious fishing boat anchored just outside the Hong Kong International Airport. The sea smugglers were loading boxes from the fishing boat to a speedboat at 2 am. When their cover was blown, the shady men hopped on the speedboat and sped away towards mainland waters. A high-speed boat chase ensued (insert Bourne chase music), but the astute gang got away. However, the officers managed to detain the owner of the fishing boat.
The confiscated goods included typical exotic foods, such as sea cucumbers and shark fins, and tech products, like smartphones and computer gadgets. Much to the authorities’ surprise, there were up to 300 unidentified graphics cards inside the boxes. According to the report, the lot of tech products is valued at HK$2 million (~$257,000).
The graphics cards lack branding or stickers that can provide a clue to their origins. Given the lack of display outputs, these graphics cards are unquestionably CMP offerings. They feature a black and grey cooler with two cooling fans. The pricing for Nvidia’s CMP graphics cards remains a mystery, but we’ve seen the CMP 30HX hit the overseas market for as much as $723. With an estimated Ethereum hash rate up to 26 MH/s, the CMP 30HX isn’t even that good for mining Ethereum. However, the graphics card shortage is likely affecting cryptocurrency miners as well, so they’ll jump on any opportunity to make a profit. Besides, a contraband CMP 30HX is more affordable than buying directly from Nvidia or its partners.
With Ethereum’s value soaring through the roof, there is a strong demand for graphics cards. Even the big corporations are getting in on the fun. Hut 8 Mining Corp. recently purchased up to $30 Million of Nvidia CMP graphics cards. Sadly, there are no signs of when the suffering will end for gamers.
Pamper the Leben CS600X and you have one of the most musically beguiling integrated amplifiers money can buy
For
Detailed and expressive sound
Beautifully made
Lovely to use
Against
No remote
Speaker matching requires care
Leben’s CS600X integrated amplifier could be described as distinctly retro, if you’re being polite, or old-fashioned if you aren’t. The mix of wooden side cheeks, glowing gold front panel and valve circuitry certainly harks back to times long gone. But is that a bad thing? We’re not so sure, particularly when the product is as talented as this.
Leben isn’t a particularly well-known manufacturer. Founded in 1992 by an ex-Luxman engineer, this small Japanese company hand-makes a small range of valve-based amplifier products in limited numbers. The current product range includes a pre/power combination, a phono stage and, of course, integrated amplifiers, of which the CS600X is the range-topper. It’s a line-level-only unit, so if you play records or need digital inputs, you’ll need to budget for extra boxes to do those jobs.
Build
(Image credit: Leben)
The CS600X is no powerhouse, as the 28W per channel output figure shows. If you want to drive inefficient speakers, or need high volume levels in large spaces, this is not the amplifier for you. But if nuance matters more than muscle, and you’re prepared to pamper this amplifier with sympathetic speakers, it’s capable of turning in a terrifically musical performance.
Take a look inside that well-constructed casework and you’ll find that this is a push-pull device that comes with a quartet of EL34 output valves as standard. Part of the appeal of this product is that it is easy to change those to 5881 valves and raise the output to 32W per channel.
That marginal increase on poke isn’t the reason to make the swap though. Changing valves affects the sonic signature of the amplifier, so it’s possible to fine-tune the CS600X’s sound to your tastes. There’s a pair of internal toggle switches that change the circuit conditions to allow the output valve swap to happen.
Leben CS600X tech specs
(Image credit: Leben)
Line-level inputs x5
Phono stage No
Tape loop Yes
Headphone output 6.3mm
Power output 28W per channel
Dimensions (hwd) 14 x 45 x 36cm
Weight 23kg
It doesn’t stop there. Read the manual and you’ll find that the CS600X can also be used with all types of output valves from KT66/77/88s to 6550As. This kind of flexibility is extremely rare and those who like to tweak are in for a treat here.
This ability to accept a wide range of valves also makes any assessment of this product less precise than usual, because the sound can be tweaked so much. With this in mind, we’re concentrating on the CS600X as it comes out of the box, and that’s with the EL34s.
Elsewhere, you’ll find two 12AU7A and two 12BH7A small signal valves used in the line stage, and a 6CM3/6DN3 in the power supply section. With all those tubes running inside, this amplifier gets pretty hot so make sure it has plenty of ventilation.
Overall build quality is truly excellent. This product feels reassuringly solid and has the air of something built to last decades. Every control has substance and precision, while the chassis has an impressively chunky feel. We love the quality of the gold finish on the front, and the way the solidity of the casework inspires confidence. The wooden side panels are made of Canadian white ash, chosen for its hardness and mass – it’s often used to make baseball bats or rowing oars. Overall, this Leben is an expensive product and feels it too.
That said, on purely aesthetic grounds we can’t help feeling that the trio of chunky plastic switches for muting, switching between speakers and headphones, and changing the CS600X from integrated to power amp mode look a little out of place next to the immaculately crafted metal rotary controls. The same applies to the power switch that looks like it belongs on some small computer appliance rather than a high-end valve amplifier. But this is a purely appearance-based judgment on our part, and you might disagree.
Take a close look at the CS600X’s front and you’ll find a number of unusual controls. Alongside the usual volume, balance and input selector controls there’s also a two-step Bass Boost and a stereo reverse function that inverts the signal phase 180 degrees. In some systems, the inverted phase could give more focused results.
Features
(Image credit: Leben)
Provided line-level inputs are fine for you there’s little to complain about on the features front. The CS600X is surprisingly accommodating for a product of this type, with no less than five single-ended inputs, a tape loop for anyone who still records and a direct feed into the power amplifier section for those who want to bypass the integrated preamp circuitry.
Above the single set of speaker outputs, there’s a rotary control to match the nominal impedance of the partnering speakers. The adjustment covers 4, 6, 8 and 16ohm options. While it makes sense to start with the control set at the value of your speakers, there’s no harm in trying any of the other settings. It’s possible that the slightly different sound it brings may be preferable.
This is an amplifier that needs care in partnering so you can hear just how good it can be. An output of just 28W per channel means the Leben is no powerhouse, so we’d go for relatively sensitive speakers that are easy to drive. While we suspect that the CS600X would excel with one of the bigger horn-loaded speakers around, we still get good results with the likes of Wilson Benesch’s Precision P2.0 and KEF’s LS50 Meta.
Our reference ATC SCM50 speakers don’t fare so well – the combination produces fine sounds from the midrange upwards but suffers from soft low frequencies and restrained dynamics. No wonder, given the SCM50’s low 85dB/W/m sensitivity and ability to soak up the watts.
The best option turns out to be partnering the Leben with ProAc’s Award-winning Response D2R standmounters. This pairing produces sweet, well-balanced and entertaining results.
But that isn’t what we hear initially. Our CS600X unit takes the best part of a week before it starts to sing – until then, the results are congested, rhythmically stunted and dynamically restrained. If you hear this amplifier sound anything like this, give it at least a week of use before you judge it. After that time it will shine.
Sound
(Image credit: Leben)
Anyone expecting the typical soft and rich valve sound will be in for a surprise. If partnered with care, this is a relatively taut, punchy-sounding performer, particularly when compared with other valve designs. We’re a little surprised to be listening to Kanye West’s Yeezus set and enjoying ourselves.
This is an integrated amp with enough guts and punch to charge along to New Slaves, delivering the song’s hard-charging beat with a fair bit of conviction. It’s far better than most valve alternatives we’ve come across in this respect, though it still falls short of giving the likes of rhythm and timing champs Naim sleepless nights. That said, it’s certainly good enough for us to tick those boxes and move on.
Switch to other kinds of music and the Leben’s excellence comes to the fore. We listen to Debussy’s Clare De Lune and fall in love with the piece all over again. Rarely do we hear an amplifier at this level that sounds so clear and expressive. Dynamic nuances are explored rather than ignored and the centrepiece piano is rendered with its harmonic richness and musical coherence intact.
Most transistor-based alternatives sound tonally grey and dynamically bland in comparison. We love the way this amplifier renders instruments in such a palpable and full-bodied way, making them sound more lifelike than a recorded facsimile.
This rings true when we switch to Nina Simone’s My Baby Cares For Me, where the Leben sounds positively enchanting, delivering Simone’s powerful and distinctive voice with all the power, finesse and expression it deserves. All the time, the backing instrumentation is organised and energetic.
Larger scale recordings such as Mahler’s Symphony No.2 are handled almost as well. We love the natural way this Leben renders instrumental textures. Its detailed yet fluid delivery is utterly convincing, as is the way the acoustic information that defines the recording venue is described. There’s little to complain about when it comes to scale (with appropriate speakers, of course), but it’s certainly possible to get a more authoritative presentation and higher volume capability at this level.
We give the CS600X’s headphone output a listen with a pair of Grado RS1 and Beyerdynamic’s T1 Mk2, and are really impressed. The amplifier sounds crisp and clear through headphones, retaining all the finesse and insight we so enjoy through the speaker outputs.
It seems odd to talk about compromises at this price level, but they exist at all levels to some extent. If you have this kind of money to spend on an integrated amplifier, you can buy rather fine examples, such as the Krell K-300i or Mark Levinson’s No.5805.
Both of these are far better equipped, with digital inputs, optional streaming modules and even Bluetooth on the menu, and that’s without mentioning three-figure power outputs that are capable of driving pretty much any speaker to high levels. These are powerful tools that bludgeon recordings and partnering speakers into submission, but perhaps lose a little charm in the process. That sonic charm is something that the Leben has aplenty.
Verdict
The CS600X doesn’t chase the same customer. Anyone seriously thinking of buying one will love its simplicity and the sheer joy of operating something so tactile. The lack of remote control won’t be an issue, and neither will the need to take care with speaker matching.
Such a customer would revel in the amplifier’s clarity and exceptionally nuanced dynamic behaviour, while overlooking its relative shortcomings. Having spent considerable time with this amplifier we could well do the same. Consider us smitten.
Bruno Mars is the latest celebrity to jump into the virtual world of Fortnite. Today, developer Epic Games announced that the battle royale game would be getting a new Mars emote — essentially an in-game dance — set to the singer’s song “Leave the Door Open.” Players will be able to buy it starting at 8PM ET tonight.
Fortnite is steadily becoming a place filled with real-world stars, whether it’s streamers like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins or the upcoming appearance of Brazilian soccer star Neymar. Music, in particular, has been a big focal point for the game. Marshmello and Travis Scott both held massive in-game concerts with millions of virtual attendees, BTS debuted a music video, and Epic even created its own soundstage to host shows from the likes of Dominic Fike, J Balvin, and Anderson .Paak (who recently performed with Bruno Mars at the Grammys).
The battle royale game kicked off its latest season last month, which so far has included everything from rampaging dinosaurs to stonks.
You may come across the occasional writer who will claim (wrongly) that they don’t need an editor, but you will seldom, if ever, meet a writer or editor who will say they don’t need a copy editor.
The role of a copy editor is often misunderstood or underestimated by those not in the business. Kara Verlaney, senior copy editor for The Verge, when asked to explain the role of a copy editor, put it this way: “Copy editing is about maintaining consistency and accuracy, which is what gives sites like The Verge the authority to tell our audience about a subject. Beyond checking for grammatical errors and extolling the Oxford comma, copy editors also monitor things like sensitivity and tone, style, source diversity, and clarity. The Verge’s process has copy editors checking pieces right before publish, so we’re often the last line of defense before something goes up on the site.”
We talked to Kara to find out how she does her job and what tools she uses.
What is your job at The Verge?
I’m a senior copy editor, and I’ve worked here for five years. My day-to-day responsibilities vary, but a large portion of my time is dedicated to editing… everything we publish. That includes news stories, longform features, Instagram captions, video assets — there are a lot of words!
What hardware tools do you use?
My sound preferences vary depending on the length and / or topic of the piece I’m editing. Sometimes I blast music; sometimes I enjoy silence while I read. While working remotely, I mostly rely on my AirPods Pro, which allow me to control the level of noise transparency. I also tend to move around my space a lot while I work, so I’m essentially glued to my 2019 MacBook Pro during the workday.
What software tools do you and your colleagues use for your work?
Various publications have created stylebooks to guide writers and editors — examples include The Chicago Manual of Style and the MLA Handbook. Each stylebook’s rules and formats differ slightly based on the content and audience, but consistency is universal.
Like many news organizations, our style largely follows The Associated Press Stylebook (otherwise known as the AP). Its online topical style guides and Ask the Editor sections can be great language resources (although sometimes the answers are confounding). The Verge’s default dictionary is Merriam-Webster’sUnabridged. It produces weekly vocabulary quizzes that are super fun, if that’s your thing. I have AP and M-W open at all times.
I do a majority of my editing in Google Docs or Vox Media’s CMS (content management system) Chorus, so I can leave comments and track changes.
What other tools do you use?
One facet of managing the copy desk is updating and maintaining The Verge’s style guide and communicating those rules to writers. Some of our house style is unique to our publication, so we differ somewhat from AP style. Language is constantly evolving and changing, so I need to stay on top of what other publications and style guides are doing to ensure our language stays relevant and inclusive.
I love using physical style manuals — any time I can avoid staring at a screen, I do! — but most of my hard copies are still gathering dust at the office. I did bring one home with me, though: Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, whichis essentially the lifeblood of any editor. The illustrated edition pictured at the top of this article was given to me as a gift, particularly due to its cover. (As my co-workers will tell you, I solicit pictures of dogs and other pets as a form of emotional currency.)
What advice do you have for people who are considering copy editing as a profession?
Being a copy editor is a very involved job. You have to communicate well with the writers, editors, and creators you work with; operate efficiently under some tight deadlines; and try to understand the essence of every story you read, cataloging some of that information to reference later. It’s fairly nuanced work for being so prescriptive.
I’d recommend reading as much as you can and refreshing your grammar skills. (The New York Times creates copy edit quizzes; I’ve gotten a perfect score on very few.) There are also tools like Grammarly that will highlight and explain various parts of speech and language rules, which some people find really helpful.
Mostly, you need a willingness to relearn (and unlearn) a bunch of rules you were probably taught in fourth grade English class. Language is learning!
Clubhouse had an incredible year in one most of us would rather forget. The live audio app launched during a pandemic; gained more than 10 million downloads for an invite-only, iOS-only app; and succeeded to the point that most every social platform wants to copy it. Congrats to Clubhouse.
The company now faces its biggest challenges yet, however. For one, the pandemic is waning, and people might be more interested in real-life socializing instead of conversations facilitated through their phone. Anyone advertising their backyard as the next great Clubhouse competitor has a point. But for the people who do end up wanting to talk to each other online, they’ll soon have a lot more places to do so. In case you haven’t kept up: Twitter, Facebook (reportedly), LinkedIn, Discord, Spotify, Mark Cuban, and Slack have all launched or are working on their own attempts at social audio — the space is about to get busy.
The great concern for Clubhouse is that, as I postulated in February, social audio could follow the same trajectory as Snapchat’s Stories function: a brilliant social media-altering idea that goes on to live in every app to the detriment of the upstart that pioneered the format. And social audio is shaping up to go that way. With the threat growing, it’s worth looking at where Clubhouse is most likely to run into problems.
But first: what does Clubhouse have going for it? It was the first to social audio, and that’s something. Already, it counts millions of users who come to Clubhouse solely for social audio content, and that includes headline-grabbing names like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and other celebrities. Tech CEOs are even making announcements in Clubhouse, including Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield, who announced his company’s own copycat product in the app. The app generates news and discussions — that’s something much trickier for other companies to clone.
People have also built habits around Clubhouse, which is a positive sign for user retention. The team also plans to launch a creators program in the near future that’ll reward its most dedicated users with revenue and resources to beef up their shows.
And critically, the app has staffed up in just the past month. The company recently poached Fadia Kader from Instagram to lead its media partnerships and creators. At Instagram, she worked with musicians to help them optimize their work on the platform. Presumably, she’ll be doing something similar at Clubhouse. Already, I’ve seen her in a room with Justin Bieber talking about his most recent album. Clubhouse also hired Maya Watson from Netflix to become its head of global marketing, meaning it’ll soon dedicate resources to promoting Clubhouse rather than relying primarily on word of mouth. These are all important steps to keeping Clubhouse interesting and thriving.
But the app now faces competition from some of the world’s biggest platforms, which already have years of moderation experience, are available on iOS and Android, and have massive, loyal user bases to whom they can push social audio. Some companies, like Twitter and Discord, already pushed social audio features live to their millions of users with effectively the same interface as Clubhouse. Anyone who didn’t have an invite to Clubhouse, or an iPhone, now can access the magic of social audio with no association to Clubhouse whatsoever.
Maybe the most dangerous possibility for Clubhouse, however, is how easily it could lose the big names on its platform to challengers. Spotify, which announced this week that it acquired Betty Labs, the maker of the sports-centric social audio app Locker Room, plans to bring the app to Android, change its name, and broaden its coverage to music, culture, and sports. It could directly compete with Clubhouse for talent. Joe Rogan, for example, recently joined a Clubhouse chat, and although Spotify’s head of R&D tells me the company won’t restrict its podcasters from using other social audio apps, it’s easy to imagine the company encouraging the use of its own. Musicians, like Bieber, who maybe came to Clubhouse to debut music, might turn to Spotify’s app instead to maintain relationships with the streaming giant. As a point of reference, when Kylie Jenner tweeted that she barely opened Snapchat anymore, the company’s stock lost $1.3 billion. If stars like Tiffany Haddish decide to spend their time elsewhere, Clubhouse will falter, too.
At the same time, a few of these competitors are specifically interested in building native recording into their app, possibly to fuel the podcasting ecosystem and on-demand listening. Clubhouse has yet to do this. Fireside, which was co-founded by Mark Cuban, allows people to input sound effects, like music, and record their shows for distribution across podcasting platforms, as well as later playback on the app itself. Spotify will likely do the same with its app and rely on its Anchor software to handle hosting and distribution. Twitter’s head of consumer product told The Verge that it, too, would let people natively record their Spaces. Clubhouse hasn’t built that functionality, limiting its users to only live conversations, which can be hard to follow if they join them midway through. Context collapse will challenge every platform that focuses on live, but some of Clubhouse’s competitors are already working to solve that.
Stories made Snapchat a success. It pioneered the idea of ephemeral content and brought some semblance of authenticity back to social media. But it didn’t take long for the functionality to come to the same competitors Clubhouse now faces. To make its business work, Snapchat doubled down on its Android app, made the app more approachable to new users through a redesign, and aggressively pursued content partnerships with media and entertainment companies. It now pays users to make content for its TikTok competitor Spotlight and supports a growing ad business, but Instagram ultimately came away with the crown for Stories. Clubhouse hasn’t yet pursued ads or subscriptions, but that’ll be the next step to make it a self-supported platform. (Notably, though, its competitors, like Facebook, already rule ad targeting, possibly making Clubhouse’s job of selling ads or access to the platform itself tougher.)
None of this is to say Clubhouse won’t survive or build a strong business in the coming months and years. It just needs to stay in the conversation.
(Pocket-lint) – Setting out on a mission to find the very best gaming headsets was a daunting task. There are a multitude of options out there – wired, wireless, closed and open cup designs, stereo and surround sound headsets, oval and round earcups, leather and material finishes, the list goes on and on.
A lot of what makes a great gaming headset will be down to personal preference, but what we were looking for was a product that struck a perfect balance between quality of design, value for money and features that gamers would love. To create this shortlist, we worked through a mass of PC gaming headsets (many of which are also compatible with consoles) to whittle down to a list of finalists that we’re sure you’ll love.
If you’re looking for the best gaming headset for your money, then keep with us as we break down the very best we’ve seen and the reasons why you should consider adding them to your shortlist.
Overall best surround sound gaming headset
Audeze Mobius
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100 mm Audeze planar magnetic drivers
Waves Nx fully immersive 3D audio
Closed-back earcup design
10Hz–50,000Hz frequency response
24 bit, 96KHz sample rate and bit depth
USB-C, 3.5mm and Bluetooth connection options
Uni-directional Electret condenser microphone
This is one of the most interesting gaming headsets on our list thanks to Waves Nx head tracking technology that delivers “immersive 3D audio” by changing the sound to account for the tilt or turn of your head as you play. Combine this with 7.1 virtual surround sound and hi-res audio options and you have some seriously impressive positional audio.
The Mobius boasts awesome 100mm planar magnetic drivers which are capable of delivering a max of 50,000Hz frequency response, with 96Khz sample rate and 24-bit depth resulting in a rich, impressive and convincing sound.
Deep earcups, comfortable padding and a solid build quality round off a superb package.
Verdict
The Audeze Mobius is an incredibly interesting (and incredibly expensive) gaming headset that seemingly offers it all. A premium high-quality design, fantastic audio, brilliant comfort and more. All in one package.
Most versatile wireless gaming headset
SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless
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10–40,000 Hz frequency response via 40mm Neodymium drivers
102 dB SPL sensitivity/32Ohm impedance
Ski Goggle headband and AirWeave material earcups
20-hour battery life via swappable batteries
2.4Ghz wireless and Bluetooth 4.1 support
DTS Headphone: X v2.0 surround sound/Dolby audio via optical input
SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless continues to be one of the very best gaming headsets available, thanks to great sound and incredible versatility.
It has a variety of inputs including optical and USB for PC that allow you to take advantage of the Dolby audio and DTS virtual surround sound processing power inside the transmitter box. Built-in Bluetooth and an understated design mean it can also be taken with you out of the house in place of standard headphones.
Two batteries are included, one in the headset and one in the base station which means one is always on charge so you never need to plug the headset in. The result of all this is a marvellously comfortable wireless headset with a variety of inputs, features and functionality that deliver a superb sound quality whatever you’re doing and whatever gaming system you’re playing on.
Verdict
The SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless is an expensive option but you get what you pay for, with great sound and convenience.
The most comfortable wireless gaming headset
Astro A50 wireless gen 4
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Open Air Over-Ear design
Cloth ear cushions upgradable to leather
40mm Neodymium Magnet drivers with 20Hz – 20,000Hz Frequency Response
Tuned Astro Audio V2 and two years free access to Dolby Atmos
Game/voice balance button
Optical Pass-through, USB Power & Soundcard, USB Charging Port, AUX In / Mic out (TRRS 3.5mm) inputs via basestation
Compatible with Astro Gaming Command Center
Up to 15-hours battery life and up to 30ft wireless range
The Astro A50 wireless is an uber-comfortable gaming headset. Sporting velour style cloth ear cushions, we feel like we’re wearing small puffs of heavenly goodness resting on our ears. It’s also lightweight and easy to wear for hours and hours.
Astro A50 is also able to deliver fantastic sound quality with deep bass notes and impressively convincing surround sound. A number of equaliser settings tuned Astro Audio V2 and Dolby options give you plenty to choose from sound-wise.
When not in use, this headset is simply docked into the charging base which connects to your computer via MicroUSB for power and audio. Thanks to 15-hour battery life and convenient charging we found we were able to get a full day’s use out of this headset on a regular basis without any need for extra juice.
The microphone on the Astro A50 is a pleasure to use too. It has deep and warm tones and manages to cancel out a fair amount of the surrounding environmental noise during use. It can be tweaked and customised in the software and adjusted to your personal preference.
We liked the sidetone capabilities here that allow you to hear your own voice and gauge volume with ease.
Verdict
The Astro A50 is in our mind, one of the best PC gaming headsets available. It’s convenient, capable and brilliantly designed. It’s easy to pick up and use and equally easy to drop in the charging dock when you need to.
We’re rarely left wanting when using this headset and would happily recommend it to anyone who is looking for a gaming headset that delivers constant comfort throughout the day.
Best closed cup wireless gaming headset
EPOS GSP 670
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10–23,000 Hz frequency response
112 dB sound pressure level
Dynamic, closed transducer
Bi-directional mic with 10–7,300 Hz frequency response
If you prefer a tight-fitting, all-encompassing, passive noise-cancelling headset then look no further than the EPOS GSP 670. This is a gaming headset, that not only offers some serious style, but also great sound as well.
It’s tighter than other headsets, but that’s no bad thing as it won’t fly off your head if you turn too quickly. This, along with the closed-back design means it blocks out a lot of background noise and keeps you immersed in your games.
The GSP 670 also shines thanks to a dual-connectivity option where you can connect via both a low-latency dongle and Bluetooth at the same time.
20-hour battery, fantastic sound, convenient controls and more round off an awesome headset.
Verdict
This is certainly one of the best wireless gaming headsets available. If you want great sound, a good looking headset and something that’s as durable as it is feature-rich then the GSP 670 is it.
Best headset for pro gamers
Astro A40 TR with MixAmp Pro TR
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Dynamic, Open 40mm drivers with 20 – 20,000 Hz frequency response
48 kHz @ 16-bit game audio/16 kHz @ 16-Bit
Cloth ear cushions upgradable to leather
Tuned Astro Audio V2 with two years free access to Dolby Atmos
Optical Pass-through, USB 2.0 Full Speed and USB Audio 1.0, Aux port line in/out
3-metre Micro-USB and Optical cables, detachable 3.5mm audio cable
6.0mm Uni-directional boom microphone
Optional voice isolating upgrade, sidetone and noise gate settings in software
If you’re serious about sound and your gaming, then the Astro A40 Tournament Ready edition might well be for you. Another comfortable headset from Astro, but a wired one that includes the option to daisy chain multiple headsets together for LANs or eSports events.
The Astro A40 TR is an undeniably brilliant gaming headset. It’s snazzy, comfortable and packed full of great sound possibilities. Positional audio is great in-game and you can hear footsteps of your enemies or the rumble of a car in the distance with ease.
Other highlights include long connection cables, easy controls on the MixAmp and a decent noise-isolating microphone too.
Verdict
If you’re looking for a serious headset that’s as useful in an eSports arena as it is at home, then the Astro A40 TR might well be it. It’s comfortable to wear, fantastic to hear and easy on the eye too.
Best affordable wireless surround sound headset
SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless
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40mm drivers
20-20,000 Hz frequency response
32 Ohms impedance
SteelSeries classic cushion design
Wireless and wired options via MicroUSB and USB-C dongle
MicroUSB charging cable
3.5mm jack
Equaliser pre-sets, mic volume/sidetone settings
9-metre/30-foot wireless range
2.4GHz wireless
Approximately 20 hours battery life
Bidirectional Noise-Cancelling
100-6,500Hz frequency response
Detachable design
Mic mute button on the rear
If you’re the sort of gamer that likes to play on a multitude of different devices, then you might find the Arctis 1 wireless highly appealing.
This is a wireless gaming headset that not only works on PC, but is also compatible with PS4, Nintendo Switch and even your phone. You get all those connectivity options, plus the great sound of the Arctis range at a pretty incredible price.
The build quality isn’t quite as good as others we’ve seen but for the price this headset has surprisingly good and sound and plenty more to offer. That includes 2.4GHz wireless audio transmitted over a 30-foot range for up to 20 hours. Up to 20,000Hz frequency response also results in clear and rich audio thanks to the high-quality drivers.
Despite the lack of Dolby or DTS surround sound options, this headset sounds great in-game. If you want a headset that can connect to multiple devices, has a decent battery life and still has good audio too then this is it.
Verdict
We’re thoroughly impressed with the Arctis 1. It’s an affordable, comfortable and feature-packed headset that’s well worth considering. If you want a headset that can connect to multiple devices, has a decent battery life and still has good audio too then this is it.
There’s no Bluetooth, but the USB-C wireless dongle is multi-capable and a great alternative. If you’ve been eyeing the likes of the Arctis Pro Wireless but were put off by the price, then this headset is the one for you.
Most stylish gaming headset
Logitech G Pro X wireless gaming headset
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50mm Neodymium drivers with 20 Hz – 20 kHz frequency response
32 Ohm impedance and 91.7 dB sensitivity
Faux leather or cloth ear cushion options
1.8m USB-C charging cable
Virtual DTS Headphone:X 2.0 surround sound on PC
Noise-cancelling microphone with Blue Voice technology
20 hours battery life
If style and looks matter to you and you’re bored of the same old boring headsets, then this Logitech headset might be an option. Styled more like traditional headphones, the Logitech G Pro X wireless is far more understated, doesn’t have any RGB and as is pleasing to the eyes as it is to the ears.
It’s comfortable, thanks to a choice of faux leather and cloth styled ear cups. It also has large drivers that offer a good range of sound with deep bass levels and a brilliantly immersive sound quality that gamers will love.
One of the main selling points of this headset is the microphone. This headset makes use of the Blue Voice technology (within Logitech G Hub) that allows you to customise the live sound captured from the microphone and adjust it on the fly.
Verdict
All-in-all, the Logitech G Pro X wireless is an impressive headset for the money. It’s comfortable and delivers great sound, but most importantly it does so with style. Unfortunately, there’s no Bluetooth, 3.5mm connection and you can’t connect to your phone using USB-C either. But if you’re gaming on PC and that’s all you need it for then you won’t be disappointed.
We found this headset was capable of delivering rich sound, despite not having as high a frequency response as other headsets on this list. It’s also incredibly comfortable and the choice of (included) ear cup options makes it thoroughly appealing too. The added bonus of Blue Voice tech might be a bit of a gimmick for some, but is a nice touch.
Best high-fidelity gaming headset
Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless
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High-fidelity 96kHZ/24-bit audio
Hi-Res Certified
32 Ohms @ 2.5kHz impedance
109db sensitivity
20-40,000Hz audio response over wireless
RGB lighting on earcups
Equaliser pre-sets, surround sound, RGB illumination controls and mic controls in software
Corsair iCue compatible
Virtual surround sound
RGB lighting on both earcups and mic
Omni-directional microphone with 2.0k Ohms and 100Hz – 10,000Hz frequency response
If you think of yourself as a bit of an audiophile and only the very best audio is enough whatever you’re doing then the Corsair Virtuoso RGB wireless may be for you. The Virtuoso has a few different strings to its bow that make it highly interesting. Multiple connection options, high-fidelity audio, a premium design and hours of battery life are just some of the highlights.
It’s well designed and comes with a high-quality finish that includes faux leather ear cups, a padded headband and an adjustable size that can be easily tweaked to fit your head.
The Virtuoso sports 50mm custom drivers that are capable of delivering hi-res, high-fidelity (96Khz) audio when you plug into a PC. Alternatively, you can use it wirelessly with 40,000Hz audio for as long as 20 hours.
A high-quality, broadcast-quality microphone rounds off a superb package.
Verdict
The Corsair Virtuoso is our favourite high-res, high-fidelity gaming headset with audio that really floats our boat.
Best affordable 3.5mm headset
Fnatic React
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53mm stereo drivers
1.2m and 2.0m extension 3.5mm connection cables
20Hz-40kHz frequency response
Detachable distortion-free boom mic
Large protein leather ear cups with memory foam padding
Also compatible with Xbox One, Mobile, Nintendo Switch, Mac and more
Fnatic’s React headset is interesting proof that a good gaming headset doesn’t have to cost the earth. It also shows that you can have a good set of gaming cans without all the extra bling, RGB or over-the-top features.
Highlights to this headset are the large, all-encompassing earcups that cover the entire ear and boast a premium protein leather design with memory foam cushioning. This design is not only comfortable, but blocks out a lot of external noise and prevents sound bleed too.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that, despite its price, the Fnatic React is capable of delivering a pretty impressive soundscape with a rich sound experience for the money.
The detachable microphone is also superb too. Clear, capable and convenient.
Verdict
All told, the Fnatic React is the underdog but almost certainly one of the best value for money headsets money can buy. If you’re looking for a headset that sports large, capable cans without all the extra fluff and a 3.5mm connection, then look no further. However, we will say that if you want perfect positional audio then you might like to look at others on this list. However, even the React can be improved with the addition of Dolby Atmos.
Most personalisable
Pocket-lint
nuraphone + nuraphone gaming microphone
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Bluetooth aptX H3671301D and 3.5 mm connection options
Up to 20hrs battery life, recharged in 3 hours
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) + Dual passive isolation
Soft-Touch silicone material with over-ear and in-ear design
Unique hearing profile
This is a fairly interesting bundle that takes the unique Nuraphone headphones and transforms them into a gaming headset. We enjoyed the Nuraphone design and sound when we originally reviewed them as earphones, so we were intrigued to see what this setup could bring to gaming.
If you don’t know already, Nuraphones selling points are sound and design. These are unusual headphones which use both in-ear and over-ear designs to immerse you in the sound. The technology contained within these headphones also allows them to be personalised to your specific hearing. On initial setup, the app measures the way your eardrum responds to sound and adjusts audio accordingly. The result is incredibly personalised audio that you really need to witness to appreciate.
The in-ear and over-ear design is then backed up by active noise cancellation to really immerse you into what you’re listening too. Plug into the nura gaming microphone and you can then take this personalised sound into the gaming world as well.
This connection uses a single 3.5mm jack, meaning you need a mixed mic/headphone jack on your PC, but the result is some really interesting gaming sounds and a decent microphone to match.
Pocket-lint
The design takes some getting used to, as you have silicone tips in your ears the whole time, but the way the audio surrounds you is undeniably excellent. You can also crank the immersion up within the app and get a much more bassy experience with a warble that’s close to sticking your head near a subwoofer or next to a trundling tank (perfect for first person shooters).
Verdict
This set up certainly won’t be for everyone. The fit of these headphones is undoubtedly unique and we aren’t entirely sold on comfort, but the sound of Nuraphone is certainly something special. If you’re already a fan, then adding a mic and plugging in is an awesome way to bring that rich, personalised sound to your gaming fun as well.
Others to consider
Pocket-lint
HP Omen Blast
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53mm drivers, 24-bit USB DAC
Retractable microphone
3.5mm connection options
Adjustable headband
The HP Omen Blast is a headset that’s perfect for those with larger heads. It’s got a large flexible headband and earcups to match. It also has a 24-bit USB DAC, 7.1 surround sound and drivers capable of delivering good quality audio too.
EQ settings in the software mean you can adjust sound to focus on footsteps and get the edge on the competition in FPS and Battle Royale games.
It’s not the best looking or sounding headset on this list, but it’s still worth considering if you’re looking for something that’s solidly built and easy to wear.
If you’re looking for a large flexible wired headset that doesn’t break the bank, this might be it.
Pocket-lint
HyperX Cloud II wireless
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Dynamic, 53mm with neodymium-magnet drivers
15Hz–20kHz frequency response
Closed-back design with memory foam cushioning and faux leather earcups
30 hours battery life with 2.4 Ghz wireless (20-meter range)
Detachable mic
The HyperX Cloud II is a bold looking headset with a comfortable fit and a great overall aesthetic. It’s solidly built with an aluminium frame, memory foam cushioning and nice large earcups.
This headset sports large 53mm drivers making it loud enough for a great gaming session and it also makes use of HyperX’s own virtual 7.1 surround sound.
We found this headset not only had a great battery life but sounded fantastic while listening to music, watching movies and more. The positional audio is great and it has a fairly decent microphone too. A great all-rounder but it lacks the audio richness and bass of other headsets on this list and the mic is a bit compressed.
Razer BlackShark V2 Pro
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12 Hz – 28 kHz frequency response
50 mm Razer TriForce Titanium drivers
THX Audio
Breathable memory foam cushion ear cups
Razer HyperClear Supercardioid Mic
This is a wireless version of Razer’s BlackShark headset that Razer pitches as an “eSports Wireless Gaming headset”. It offers an interesting design, comfortable fit and great sound thanks to large drivers and THX audio. The mic isn’t as good as we’d like, but if you’re a Razer fan and want a wireless headset, this is well worth considering.
Pocket-lint
Logitech G733 Lightspeed
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PRO-G 40 mm drivers, 20 Hz-20 KHz frequency response,
29 hours battery life
Lightweight design
Blue Voice tech
DTS Headphone X 2.0 surround sound
The Logitech G733 Lightspeed is a lightweight gaming headset which comes in various different colourways but also sports some other interesting highlights that make it stand out from the crowd. It has RGB lighting that you can show off on camera if you’re a streamer, a lightweight design that makes it comfortable to wear all day long and more besides. DTS headphone X 2.0 gives this headset great surround sound and it can also manage as much as 29 hours use before it needs recharging too. If you want something snazzy, give this one a look.
SteelSeries Arctis 9
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Neodymium Drivers 40 mm with 20–20000 Hz frequency response
20 hours of battery life
Dual connectivity with Bluetooth
DTS Headphone X V2
40-foot range
The SteelSeries Arctis 9 is essentially a more affordable version of the Arctis Pro wireless but with fewer features. Nonetheless, it’s a fantastic headset with great sound, a decent microphone, good looks and more besides. The highlight of the Arctis 9 is the connection options. It’ll work with PC, PS4 and PlayStation 5 as well as a multitude of other things thanks to Bluetooth connectivity. You can also use Bluetooth and wireless at the same time, playing audio from two different places. That alone is fantastic.
EPOS GSP 601
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10–30,000 Hz frequency response
112dB sound pressure
Dynamic closed back transducer
2.5 m PC cable / 1.5 m Console cable
The EPOS GSP 601 and GSP 602 are new models in the EPOS range, with a snazzy finish and a large, wired headset design. They’re closed-back, with ergonomic leatherette earpads that block out loads of surrounding noise and let you focus on the game at hand. We prefer the GSP 670, but if you want something with stylish looks and a wired setup, then this might be the one to turn to.
Sound BlasterX G6
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Dynamic Range: 130dB
Sampling rate: up to 32bit 384kHz
Dolby audio, SoundBlasterX sound, Scout Mode, various equaliser modes
Also works with Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PS4
Although not technically a gaming headset, the Sound BlasterX G6 can be considered as an alternative to buying a gaming headset if you already own a good pair of 3.5mm headphones. This snazzy looking thing is an external DAC that works not only as a USB soundcard but also as an amplifier too.
Plug it into your PC using a USB cable and you get a boosted sound for your headphones, Dolby audio and tuned Sound Blaster sound. The G6, therefore, adds virtual surround sound to any stereo headphones plugged into it, it also ups the levels too. Not only is this Digital-to-Analog converter able to produce a sampling rate of up to 32bit 384kHz it can also deliver 130dB.
We combined it with the Logitech G Pro X, which is already on this list, to see the difference it made. The volume difference alone was staggering. Then with the accompanying software (and easy access buttons) also gave us access to more sound customisation and tweaks that weren’t present on the headset alone. Everything from equaliser changes to voice-altering settings for mic capture. The Sound BlasterX G6 is a great upgrade to your gear as an alternative to a purchase of a new gaming headset.
Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Aero
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50mm Nanoclear drivers with Waves NX 3D audio technology
Superhuman Hearing Optimized For PC
On-the-fly sidetone adjustment
Pro Specs Glasses Relief system
Up to 30 hours of battery life
The Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Aero is, in our mind, one of the very best gaming headsets we’ve seen from the company. It has a number of features that make it fairly outstanding, not least of which is a rechargeable battery system that lasts for up to 30 hours.
Other highlights include ultra-deep, uber comfortable gel-infused memory foam cushioned ear cups that do a fantastic job of blocking out external noise without making your ears unnecessarily hot. Large drivers with Waves Nx and Maxx technologies offer an impressive 3D audio experience. While the software gives you access to a wealth of customisation options that include masses of EQ presets and custom options.
The Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Aero, unfortunately, doesn’t have the same wireless range of other headsets, but it has plenty of awesome features that we love. The glasses relief system allows you to tighten up the ear cups and create a channel for your glasses so you don’t get any unnecessary pressure on your face while you game.
A detachable microphone and the ability to use this headset with other devices via a 3.5mm cable make this a capable and delightful device to own.
HyperX Cloud Orbit S
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100 mm Audeze planar magnetic drivers
Waves Nx fully immersive 3D audio
Closed-back earcup design
10Hz–50,000Hz frequency response
USB-C and 3.5mm connection options
Uni-directional Electret condenser microphone
The Cloud Orbit S is essentially a more affordable version of the Audeze Mobius, that comes with most of the same features but no Bluetooth.
The HyperX Cloud Orbit S is undeniably an expensive bit of kit, but with large capable drivers, interesting 3D audio technology and a versatile design it’s also highly appealing.
This is a comfortable, great looking headset that delivers really rich convincing audio whatever you’re doing. It’s smashing for gaming and much more besides.
Building on the success of its ‘Daily Mixes’ feature, Spotify is launching a new type of personalised playlist called ‘Spotify Mixes’.
Its name may sound ambiguous, but it’s designed to give users more clearly defined playlists based on songs they already like, with themes and names that are easier to remember and refer back to.
There’s three categories of mixes – artists, genres and decades – each containing several playlists based on the music you listen to most often.
Spotify says that the mixes you see will start with songs you already like and frequently update with new recommendations based on Spotify’s algorithm.
The feature follows the recent introduction of ‘Liked Songs’ filters. which offer users more options to curate to their mood while avoiding becoming stuck in a musical rut.
Starting today, Spotify is rolling out Daily Mixes to both free and premium subscribers; just head to the ‘Made For You’ hub within the search tab.
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Novelty of working from home wearing a little thin? Children climbing the walls? Missing those carefree double-kisses and bear hugs from relatives and acquaintances?
Or are you feeling something else? Whisper it lest she disappear, but might that something actually be the muse descending?
“An artist is always alone – if he’s an artist,” said author Henry Miller. “No, what the artist needs is loneliness.” As if in agreement, the very second lockdown measures kicked in, social media feeds filled up with news that Shakespeare managed to pen King Lear, Macbeth, and most of Antony and Cleopatra in quarantine during a plague outbreak. (No all-new Netflix Originals or Amazon Prime Video documentaries to distract him, eh?)
In 1665, Isaac Newton found himself working from home following the closure of Cambridge University during the Bubonic plague. After sticking blunt needles into his eye (seriously) and watching apples fall from trees for a bit, he managed not only to explain gravity, but also to develop theories on optics and calculus that irrevocably changed our understanding of the universe. Not bad considering all we’ve managed to do today is upload an Instagram story and watch three episodes of Unforgotten on ITV Hub.
So, what of the socially distant musician during this and other periods of solitude? Turns out they too have been busy. What follows is our curated list of bands and solo artists who, owing to a series of unfortunate events, managed to write, record and release superb albums in complete isolation.
And ultimately it means we have no excuse. Do not pass go, do not collect £200 and do not visit Twitter. Read these examples for inspiration, then pick up your instrument. Get to work.
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Cross Road Blues by Robert Johnson (1936)
(Image credit: Robert Johnson)
Robert Johnson died in 1938, aged 27, having recorded only 29 songs of which we know. Of these, 16 were taped alone in room 414 at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, on a single-reel Grundig recorder, less than two years before his death.
Nobody knows for sure how Johnson died – theories include poisoning, a gunshot wound, pneumonia, syphilis and stabbing – but his rumoured Faustian pact with the devil at a crossroads (his soul in return for otherworldly guitar powers) is the stuff of music legend.
Johnson’s work was not widely played until at least 25 years after his death. Indeed, Johnson never received any royalties for his songs and was paid in cash by his record label. Yet, according to Eric Clapton and almost any other iconic guitar player you can think of, Robert Johnson is “the most important blues musician who ever lived”.
Clapton released not one but two collections of songs by Johnson: Me and Mr. Johnson and the EP Sessions for Robert J, alongside a TV documentary of the same name aired in 2004 by the BBC.
Johnson simultaneously used elements of Delta blues – fingerpicking, sliding, strumming – while layering his own unique techniques and forms found in flamenco guitar. And then he sang on top. Only Robert Johnson (and the devil himself, if you believe the legend) will ever know exactly how he performed some of the tracks recorded in that hotel room.
Only two photos of Johnson are known to exist, despite musicologists and historians scouring the globe for more. What we do have is his music – and most of it was recorded in glorious solitude, in a hotel now owned by Sheraton.
“Who is the other guy playing with him?” Keith Richards asked fellow Rolling Stone Brian Jones on first hearing a Robert Johnson song, “I was hearing two guitars – it took a long time to actually realise he was doing it all by himself.”
Richards later said, “His playing was like Bach.”
Listen to Robert Johnson’s Complete Recordings on Tidal
Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen (1982)
(Image credit: Bruce Springsteen)
What does Bruce Springsteen do after his fifth studio album – a double LP featuring stone cold bangers Hungry Heart and Cadillac Ranch alongside the full force of the raucous E-Street Band?
He buys a Teac four-track cassette recorder and lays down 15 songs alone, in his house, through the night on 3rd January 1982. He sings, plays guitar, and uses the other two tracks to add a harmony vocal or an alternative guitar.
He thinks he’s going to teach the songs to the rest of the band when they get into the recording studio. He carries that demo cassette around in his pocket, without a case, for “a couple of weeks”. Then, after a bit more thought, The Boss decides to release the demo as is, without the band – the songs are a little too personal to be altered.
Owing to the recording process, it was apparently hard to release the thing as a record (the needle wouldn’t track in the wax properly because of the distortion it picked up) to the point that the label nearly released it as a cassette-only affair.
Springsteen named the album after one of the songs, Nebraska (the birthplace of Kool-Aid, but hardly America’s most exciting State) and never toured to promote it.
And still, Nebraska is one of the most highly-regarded albums in Springsteen’s substantial back catalogue.
Even one of the tracks that Springsteen recorded for the album, then shelved, (eventually giving it the E-Street Band treatment and releasing it in 1984) isn’t bad – it’s called Born in the USA.
Listen to Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska on Tidal
Exile on Main Street by The Rolling Stones (1972)
(Image credit: The Rolling Stones)
Rolling stones gather no moss, but they do rack up ridiculously high tax bills. And so it was that, after becoming quite successful in the late 1960s, The Rolling Stones found themselves at a villa called Nellcôte in the south of France in 1972.
Keith Richards rented the house, where the band lived as tax exiles and sheltered their earnings in a Netherlands holding company.
Exile on Main Street was the band’s tenth album. The Stones were already well versed on recording nowhere near a proper studio – much of the recording of their prior album, Sticky Fingers, had been done at Mick Jagger’s country-pile Hampshire home using a mobile recording studio. The same mobile studio was simply transferred to Nellcôte and set up in the basement of the villa.
Keith Richards lived upstairs and the band had frequent house guests – so not self-isolation as we’ve become accustomed to, recently, but still.
Often, other musician friends would amble down to the studio to jam with Keith, or stay to record tracks with the whole band. Such daily recording sessions went on through the night. Without formal studio rules, there’s a delightfully bohemian, laissez-faire feel to the whole album.
Listen to The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street on Tidal
Original Pirate Material by The Streets (2001)
(Image credit: The Streets)
Recorded mostly within the confines of his Brixton home over the course of about a year, Skinner’s debut album as The Streets is an inventive collage of beats and lazily delivered lines about life among Britain’s working class that proves there is worth in music recording now being at every person’s fingertips.
In his autobiography, The Story Of The Streets, Skinner discusses how he cleared out a wardrobe to create a vocal booth, deadening its sound with duvets, pillows and mattresses.
The album got to number 12 in the UK Album Charts in 2002, but got another lease of life and peaked at number 10 in 2004 – after the release of The Streets’ chart-topping second album A Grand Don’t Come For Free.
The sobering cover artwork (main photo) is a night-time shot of the south face of the Kestrel House tower block on City Road, London, taken in 1995 by German photographer Rut Blees Luxemburg.
Listen to Original Pirate Material on Tidal
Greystone Chapel by Glen Sherley/Johnny Cash (1968)
(Image credit: Johnny Cash)
Although Greystone Chapel was the song that made Glen Sherley the most famous prison inmate and country-music singer/songwriter alive, Sherley wrote many songs in lock-up and even recorded an entire album in his cell.
Sherley was in and out of several prisons throughout the 1950s and ’60s. When Johnny Cash discovered him in 1968, Sherley was doing a bit for armed robbery in Folsom.
In a 1994 interview with Life Magazine, Johnny Cash said: “The night before I was going to record at Folsom Prison, I got to the motel and a preacher friend of mine brought me a tape of a song called Greystone Chapel. He said a convict had written it about the chapel at Folsom.
“I listened to it one time and I said: ‘I’ve got to do this in the show tomorrow.’ So I stayed up and learned it, and the next day the preacher had him in the front row. I announced: ‘This song was written by Glen Sherley.’ It was a terrible, terrible thing to point him out among all those cons, but I didn’t think about that then. Everybody just had a fit, screaming and carrying on.”
Greystone Chapel was recorded live, along with the rest of Cash’s At Folsom Prison album, on 13th January 1968 and released in May of that year.
After Greystone Chapel, country singer Eddy Arnold sniffed out Sherley’s music and recorded another Sherley song in 1971, Portrait Of My Woman. It became the title track of Arnold’s next album.
Sherley was given the permission by prison officials to record a live album, Glen Sherley, while still in jail. The album was released by Mega Records and was a big success.
When Sherley was released from Prison in 1971, Cash met him at the gates. Sadly though, the story doesn’t end well. In May 1978, two days after shooting someone, Sherley put a gun to his own head. He was 42. The funeral was paid for by Cash.
Listen to Glen Sherley on Tidal or Spotify
how i’m feeling now by Charli XCX (2020)
(Image credit: Charli XCX)
Charli XCX’s fourth album really is a product of the pandemic: conceived during the initial COVID-19 lockdown, made in collaboration with her fans over the following 39 days and released on 15th May 2020, thus elegantly encapsulating the confusion, loneliness and boredom of our first long stint at home.
On 6th April 2020, Charli XCX announced in a public Zoom call with fans that she would be working on a new album in self-isolation, stating, “The nature of this album is going to be very indicative of the times just because I’m only going to be able to use the tools I have at my fingertips to create all music, artwork, videos everything.”
Although the result will undoubtedly (and rightly) be used as a kind of sonic photograph in the years to come – owing both to its subject matter and how Charlotte Aitchison used social media to workshop the tracks – how i’m feeling now is a timeless triumph.
The Cambridge-born songwriter’s knack of finding an absorbing melody or phrase can’t be ignored. The first track, Pink Diamond, came to Aitchison during an At Home With Apple Music interview between herself, Dua Lipa and and Jennifer Lopez, after J. Lo recounted talking to Barbara Streisand about Ben Affleck’s gift of that iconic rock. The compelling DIY electronics should also be celebrated, whether or not we’re able to dance, mingle and talk freely again soon.
Listen to Charlie XCX’s how i’m feeling now on Tidal
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OK Computer by Radiohead (1997)
(Image credit: Radiohead)
Radiohead recorded and self-produced OK Computer in a 16th-century, Grade I listed Tudor Mansion called St. Catherine’s Court in Bath, owned by actress Jane Seymour. She rented the house to the band on the condition that they feed her cat in her absence.
Almost every song on this third Radiohead album (the studio-recorded 1995 Lucky is the exception)was laid down in that house.
If ever a song perfectly captured dystopian, apocalyptic self-isolation, it’s Climbing Up the Walls. There’s nothing quite like that guttural scream at the end for the cabin feverish.
As if to emphasise its socially distanced rhetoric, Thom Yorke has compared the acoustic guitar-heavy opening of the song Exit Music (For a Film), to Johnny Cash’s At Folsom Prison (listed, above).
Listen to Radiohead’s OK Computer on Tidal
For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver (2008)
(Image credit: Bon Iver)
Justin Vernon wrote, recorded and self-released his debut breakthrough Bon Iver
album, For Emma, Forever Ago, in his dad’s hunting cabin in the woods of Wisconsin.
Vernon, frustrated with trying to write songs and somehow pay the bills while working in a sandwich shop, left his place in Raleigh, North Carolina, and drove for 18 hours to the remote hunting cabin – set in 80 acres of land an hour northwest of his hometown, Eau Claire in Wisonsin – hoping for some time alone.
He recorded the entire album in the cabin, on an old Mac with ProTools, throughout the winter of 2006 into early 2007 – when he wasn’t hunting for food. He apparently killed two deer during his three month residence in the cabin and had one scary encounter with a bear, which was enticed by the smell of his cooking.
The album is focused on a break-up he’d struggled to get over.
“I had nothing but the sound of my own thoughts, and they were really loud when that’s all that was going on,” Vernon later said on his near-complete isolation. We’ve all been there.
Though he hadn’t intended to make an album, encouragement from friends did the trick and he self-released For Emma, Forever Ago – after a little help with mastering – in July 2007. He was signed to the independent label Jagjaguwar later that year and the rest, as they say, is history.
Listen to Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago on Tidal
461 Ocean Boulevard by Eric Clapton (1974)
(Image credit: Eric Clapton)
This was the album that gave Eric Clapton his first US number one LP and single – his cover of Bob Marley and the Wailers’ I Shot the Sheriff. It also marked Clapton’s return to recording after recovering from a three-year addiction to heroin. The album topped various international charts and sold more than two million copies.
The title of the record refers to a house in the small town of Golden Beach, Miami – the house that Clapton’s manager at the time, Robert Stigwood, paid for him to live in so that he might, perhaps, write and record new music. After overcoming his substance addiction, Clapton confessed that he’d wasted three years of his life, barely managing to do anything except watch TV and get out of shape.
Clapton worked on a farm for a little while, listening to music from artists such as Robert Johnson (featured above), and even lending his guitar skills to the rock opera Tommy – which you can read about in our 10 best musical theatre soundtracks to test your speakers feature.
He was given a demo tape by former Derek and the Dominos bassist, Carl Radle, which contained collaborations between Radle, keyboardist Dick Sims and drummer Jamie Oldaker. Clapton felt inspired and ready to write new material.
The whole album was recorded from April to May 1974. Although Clapton did venture into the Criteria studios in Miami to record, he wrote, practiced, recuperated and sang alone with Blackie, his Fender, in the Floridian rented house pictured on the album sleeve.
Listen to Eric Clapton’s 461 Ocean Boulevard on Tidal
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Sony’s new SRS-RA5000 is a $700 single-unit speaker that is filled to the brim with drivers, has convenient features like Spotify Connect and Chromecast built in, and is capable of producing immersive 360-degree audio.
Though it’s only coming to market now, the RA5000 dates back to CES 2019, where Sony exhibited it as a prototype speaker for its new-for-the-time 360 Reality Audio format. So it’s been in the hopper for a while. Same goes for the smaller, less expensive RA3000, which Sony demonstrated a year later at CES 2020. Now they’ve both evolved into consumer products and look practically unchanged.
At 13 inches tall, the RA5000 is much bigger than any smart speaker. And yes, from the top, it absolutely looks like an oversized electric razor, thanks to the three round speaker grilles. If this thing was all white, you might confuse it for some kind of futuristic humidifier or air purifier. But Sony has stuck with the mix of black and rose gold that has been the signature look for many of its recent headphones and earbuds. I continue to dig the contrast this creates, and the speaker’s sides are covered in a knitted fabric that hides the innards. There are touch-sensitive buttons on the left and right sides. You get volume and play / pause on the right, with the left side handling power, mode selection (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or aux input), and a calibration feature that tweaks the sound for whatever room the RA5000 is in.
There’s no denying the electric razor resemblance.
The internal layout breaks down like this: there are three up-firing speakers, three outward-facing speakers positioned at the middle of the speaker’s sides, and a single subwoofer at the bottom. Around back is a 3.5-millimeter input and a little NFC icon, which you can hold an Android phone to for quick pairing. Underneath the speaker is where the power cord plugs in, and the RA5000 comes with a big honking external power supply. That’s something I didn’t expect to see considering how large the product already is. It needs to be plugged into power at all times, so Sony’s fancy speaker is wireless but by no means portable.
The setup process is… a lot. Sony’s mobile app guides you through numerous steps like adding the RA5000 to the Google Home app, bringing it aboard your Wi-Fi network, linking it to Amazon’s Alexa platform, and more. The speaker initially had a lot of trouble connecting to my home Wi-Fi, but with some persistence, eventually it worked. As is standard for Sony, the app isn’t very polished or pretty, but it gets the job done.
The RA5000 has touch-sensitive capacitive controls.
The RA5000 offers a ton of flexibility for how you play music on it. You can pair a device to the speaker via Bluetooth — AAC and SBC codecs are there, but not LDAC — but you’ll get far better quality when the music is coming over Wi-Fi. There’s built-in Chromecast support for audio casting, and the RA5000 can also be added to a speaker group with either Google Home or Amazon Alexa. I’d have loved for Sony to round out the streaming options with AirPlay 2, but no such luck. The speaker hardware includes a microphone, but this is only used for the calibration feature. You’ll have to rely on another device to get music playing on the RA5000 with your voice, but since it’s compatible with both Alexa and Assistant, this can be done wirelessly with a cheap smart speaker or your phone.
When in traditional stereo mode, this speaker is a powerhouse, though you might expect more bass for the size. (There are EQ options in the Sony app if you want to boost the low end.) It easily blanketed both my living room and bedroom with sound; the up-firing drivers help give it a very full presence. In my average listening, I never pushed volume beyond the 60 percent range. Going much higher would probably result in some very annoyed neighbors if you’re in an apartment. But despite its big, boisterous sound, there’s no mistaking the RA5000 for a proper set of stereo speakers. It sounds every bit like the single enclosure it is.
It dwarfs most other smart speakers.
And that leads us to the standout trick: 360-degree audio. Sony’s 360 Reality Audio uses object-based spatial audio to try to build a captivating soundscape. The pitch is that it can feel “as real as if you are there at a live concert or with the artist recording in a studio.” When you close your eyes and listen to 360 Reality Audio, the RA5000 definitely sounds bigger and wider than its physical footprint. It’s a noticeable change from plain stereo. But does it put me in some mind-blowing sphere of music coming from all directions? No, not really.
When you hop between 360 tracks, you’ll notice that not all content really takes advantage of its scope. It remains unclear how involved and invested most artists really are when it comes to these 360 mixes, so I’m skeptical of any claims that this is how songs were meant to be heard. Jazz sounds fantastic; the instrumentation really benefits from bouncing off walls and your ceiling. Concert recordings, like Liam Gallagher performing Oasis hit “Champagne Supernova” with an enthusiastic sing-along crowd, also have an impressive breadth to them that feels distinct from regular stereo sound. The LED at the bottom of the speaker illuminates green when you’re playing true 360 Reality Audio music.
The speaker supports music over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or aux input.
Only a few music streaming services, including Tidal, Deezer, and Nugs.net, support Sony’s 360 Reality Audio at present. Amazon Music HD will also let you play 360 audio on the RA5000 as of April 6th. You can cast 3D audio directly from these apps to the speaker. But even among services that offer 360 Reality Audio, adoption from musicians and labels has a long way to go. Not a single song in Tidal’s “Top Tracks” section had 360 Reality Audio, nor did any of the Top Albums. That really speaks volumes. There’s a dedicated section in the explore tab where you can easily browse through playlists and albums that do support 360-degree audio. A vast majority of it is older stuff, but recent records like Haim’s Women in Music Pt. III are there, too, as are hit singles like Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar.”
The unconventional looks fit the novel 360-degree sound.
To make up for the lack of content that’s truly mixed for 360, Sony includes an “immersive audio enhancement” setting that attempts to re-create the same effect for two-channel music tracks. This algorithm-powered approach doesn’t work nearly as well. Toggling it on adds an obvious layer of artificial reverb and ambience to everything that you play, and you lose the soundstage precision that’s there with genuine 360 Reality Audio content.
At its eye-popping price of $700, finding direct “competitors” for the RA5000 is complicated. There’s a HomePod-looking device in Sony’s promotional video, but that Apple speaker was less than half the price and is now history. The $500 Sonos Five is my favorite single-unit speaker, but it sticks to stereo audio. Then you’ve got high-end, luxury audio alternatives like the $900 Formation Wedge speaker from Bowers & Wilkins, but again, that’s aiming for an audiophile-grade stereo experience. Sony’s speaker outperforms the $200 Amazon Echo Studio and can crank much louder — but that’s exactly what I’d expect considering the huge price gulf.
So the question I’m left with is this: who is this speaker for? It sounds excellent, can satisfyingly fill any normal-sized room, and 360 Reality Audio is a fun party trick. But the asking price is hard to get over. A lot of people who are serious about audio gear would sooner pay for a nice pair of stereo bookshelf speakers than drop $700 on this single unit. I think Sony’s trying to make the RA5000 a jack of all trades — led by immersive sound and an array of convenient streaming options. But I come away feeling like this speaker just tries to do too much, especially when the worth of its headline feature remains unproven and often inconsistent.
Amazon is taking a bigger step into cars today by integrating Alexa into Lamborghini’s Huracán EVO, and not just to ask questions or remotely control your home — it’s giving the assistant the ability to control settings inside the car, hands-free. The partnership was originally announced last year as part of Amazon’s push into cars, but the integration goes beyond Alexa’s usual bag of tricks.
Alexa’s integration allows users to control “climate and comfort settings including air conditioning, heater, fan speed, temperature, seat heaters, defroster and air flow direction, as well as lighting,” Lamborghini says. (It can also pull up a screen showing you the car’s torque vectoring and traction control.) Of course, Alexa also has its own suite of skills for interacting with your smart home appliances, playing music and podcasts, and basic navigation.
If Alexa-integration means less time looking at the Huracán EVO’s center console, I think that’s a win for everyone.Image: Lamborghini
The Huracán EVO has some physical controls on the steering wheel and driver side door, but a majority of the car’s features are adjusted through a screen in the center console. Giving Alexa more control over the actual car itself means less time hunting and pecking through menus — “Alexa, I am hot” is apparently enough to get air conditioning going — and more time with eyes actually on the road, which could be a win for safety and convenience.
It’s not like Alexa will be driving your car, but give it time.
The automotive industry’s switch from controls like knobs and dials to entirely touchscreen-based displays has been ongoing, and we even ran a review series examining in-car displays as gadgets a few years ago. Amazon’s tried to help smooth the transition with the Alexa-enabled Echo Auto in the past, but we found the accessory worked best as a simple speakerphone and Bluetooth adapter in our review — tasks that required knowledge of location or a consistent cellular connection did poorly. The Huracán EVO’s implementation of Alexa, with all the benefits of actually having real control over a connected car, might be a better version of the idea.
Amazon and Lamborghini isn’t the only automaker / tech company team-up tackling the problem of built-in car software. Volvo’s Polestar 2 launched in 2020 with Android Automotive built-in and Google Assistant integration for similar control over settings like air conditioning, something that wasn’t part of the old Android Auto. We liked the Polestar’s Google-built software, though much like Lamborghini, it comes with a high price tag.
New Huracán EVOs should have the feature from the jump, but Lamborghini says all existing Huracán EVO customers can be retrofitted with support for Alexa, free-of-charge.
Lenbrook International – the owner of Bluesound, NAD, PSB Speakers and high-resolution multi-room streaming platform BluOS – has announced a new hi-fi internet radio station exclusively for BluOS products.
The new service, launched in association with MQA, will see Radio Paradise, a listener-supported internet radio station, providing MQA-encoded audio on all four of its mix channels, utilizing high-resolution 24-bit masters where available. The collaboration marks the first time an internet radio station will carry MQA content. MQA technology notably powers hi-res Tidal Masters on Tidal, while hi-res MQA hard files are also available to download.
All BluOS devices will receive an update in April 2021 to enable Radio Paradise MQA as a native music streaming option. It will also be included as standard on all future BluOS-based devices from hi-fi brands like Bluesound, NAD Electronics, DALI Loudspeakers, Monitor Audio, Roksan, Peachtree and PSB Speakers.
Radio Paradise first began streaming its main internet channel in 2000 and offers eclectic DJ-mixed music focusing on high-quality audio. Three additional mixes – mellow, world and rock – have recently been added to its service, too.
Speaking about the collaboration, Bill Goldsmith, founder of Radio Paradise, said: ”As music lovers and audiophiles ourselves, it was a revelation to hear the performance difference in music when encoded into MQA, even when only 16 bit/44 kHz masters are available.
“The team at BluOS has been 100% committed to delivering high-res audio direct to the listening room and has long supported our work at Radio Paradise. Our shared values for best-in-class audio make this collaboration a totally natural evolution.”
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Spotify Mixes are a new family of personalized playlists populated with songs you already like and then supplemented with additional songs Spotify thinks you’ll like, based upon your favorite artists, genres, or music decades. The new Mixes are rolling out globally starting today for both free and premium Spotify subscribers.
The music streaming service already offers a similar feature in the form of Daily Mixes, which appear in the same “Made for You” section. However, the problem with Daily Mixes is that it can be a little hard to work out the unifying theme of each playlist based on their vague names like “Daily Mix 1” and “Daily Mix 2.” Sometimes you can work it out from the included songs, but other times it can be more mysterious.
In contrast, the names of the new Spotify Mixes are much clearer. A marketing image released by Spotify show playlists with names like “Pop Mix,” “2000s Mix,” and “Drake Mix.” Hopefully it’ll make it easy to know what kind of music you’ll find in each playlist without having to look at its track list.
According to Spotify, each Mix category will include multiple playlists, and they’ll update “frequently” to stop your listening from getting stale. Once available, you should be able to find them within “Search” in the “Made For You” hub.
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