(Pocket-lint) – If you want to make a worthwhile difference to the sound of your TV, you’re spoilt for choice where soundbars at the lower end of the budget scale are concerned. Equally, if you feel your games console experience requires a sonic rocket, there are numerous LED-happy gaming soundbars ready to do a job for you.
But what if you want both – and you want something small and discreet enough to cause minimal disruption to your viewing and/or gaming environment(s) at the same time? Your shortlist has suddenly become quite a lot shorter.
You can now add the Panasonic SC-HTB01 – or Soundslayer, as it’s also rather excitably known – to your shortlist, though. It may be physically small, but it’s big on performance.
Obviously, the big news is how small the Panasonic is. It’s perfectly proportioned to sit discreetly underneath your TV or games monitor, and at this weight it’s hardly a burden to move it from one position to another. But it’s still big enough to be fitted with reasonably sized speaker drivers.
‘Design’ doesn’t really seem to be something that’s happened to the SC-HTB01 – rather, its drivers and accompanying electronics have been put into a housing which has then been mostly covered with acoustic cloth. Its plastics feel ordinary. It’s basically not much to look at – although it’s easy to imagine Panasonic thinking that’s entirely the point.
‘Bland’ isn’t the same as ‘badly made’ though – this, after all, is Panasonic we’re talking about. The Soundslayer may not be visually stimulating, but it’s properly screwed together and feels made to last.
Features
Decoding: Dolby Atmos & DTS:X supported
Modes: Game, Standard, Music, Cinema
4K HDR passthrough supported
There is a brief suite of physical connections on the rear of the soundbar. A couple of HDMI sockets – one input, one ARC-enabled output – a digital optical input, and a USB socket (for updates only).
Panasonic
Via HDMI, the Soundslayer can handle 4K HDR content as well as multi-channel audio up to a hefty 24bit/192kHz standard – so Dolby Atmos and/or DTS:X soundtracks present no problems. Wirelessly connectivity is handled by Bluetooth 2.1 – hands up who remembers when that was the cutting edge of wireless streaming technology?
The SC-HTB01’s equaliser (EQ) presets let you know where it thinks it belongs. Presets for ‘music’, ‘cinema’ and ‘standard’ attest to its flexibility – but within the ‘game’ preset there are sub-settings for ‘RPG’, ‘FPS’ and ‘enhanced voices’ (which is excellent when listening at very low volume levels).
Interface
Included remote control
It’s not a problem, in and of itself, that the Panasonic has no voice assistant or control app. It’s not a problem that everything, from subwoofer level and overall volume level to EQ preset and Bluetooth pairing, is taken care of by a full-function remote control handset.
Panasonic
No, the problem is that the remote control seems to have been selected on the basis that there were no more affordable options available. It’s small, hard, thin, unpleasant to hold, and very nearly as unpleasant to use.
Behind that mild-mannered exterior, two 40mm full-range drivers and two 14mm tweeters face forwards. On the top of the ‘bar there’s an upward-firing 80mm bass driver, alongside passive low-frequency radiators. Panasonic is striving for a ‘2.1’ channel effect with this five-driver layout, and has fitted the SC-HTB01 with 80 Watts of power with which to make it happen.
Panasonic
There’s also a bass reflex slot at the front of the cabinet, just in case that passive radiator doesn’t quite pull its weight. Naturally, this upward-firing configuration means the Panasonic shouldn’t be positioned with surfaces directly above it.
So how does all that come across? Well, if you’ve been using the audio system integrated into your TV or your monitor up until now, the SC-HTB01 will thrill you with the scale and drive of its sound.
The combination of judicious speaker driver placement and careful EQs means the Panasonic sounds bigger – and in every direction – than seems likely from a soundbar this tiny. There’s no mistaking its presentation for that of a dedicated Dolby Atmos soundbar, naturally, but the Soundslayer’s soundstage is taller, deeper and (especially) wider than it would seem to have any right to be.
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At the top of the frequency range it carries plenty of detail, and gives treble sound lots of substance to go along with their considerable bite. Further down, the midrange is nicely shaped and projects forward well – even without the intervention of the EQ presets.
It’s down at the bottom of the frequency range, though, that the Panasonic both triumphs and fails. This isn’t the first soundbar to have mistaken ‘overconfident bass’ for ‘excitement’ – and, to be absolutely fair, the SC-HTB01 controls the low-end stuff pretty well. It certainly doesn’t drone and doesn’t blossom into the midrange, either. But it definitely overplays its hand where bass is concerned – ‘punchy’ is one thing, but being repeatedly punched while trying to watch TV or concentrate on a game is quite another.
Panasonic
The big, bassy emphasis doesn’t help the Panasonic’s overall detail retrieval, which is a pity. It’s possible to independently adjust the ‘subwoofer’ level using the remote control, but the effect is not so much to reduce the soundbar’s outright wallop as to rob it of its dynamism.
That’s unfortunate, because the Soundslayer ordinarily has more than enough dynamism to maximise any game soundtrack you care to mention. It can put a huge amount of distance between ‘stealth’ and ‘assault’, which adds a lot to the gaming experience.
It works well for movies, too – when the soundtrack demands a shift from ‘quiet and contemplative’ to ‘massive attack’, the Panasonic relishes the opportunity. It’s so much more accomplished than the sound of your average TV, and consequently far more involving.
The temptation, naturally, is to go all-in on the volume – but that would be a mistake. The Soundslayer’s tonal balance, which at moderate volume levels is pretty well judged, takes a definite turn for the ‘hard and unforgiving’ if you decide to press on. Treble sounds get edgy and thin, and the bass stops punching and starts slapping. Stick to reasonable levels, in other words – it’s not only your neighbours who will thank you.
Verdict
Keep its limitations in mind and there’s lots to like about the Panasonic SC-HTB01. It may not quite be the ‘soundslayer’ it purports to be, but it’s a convenient and capable way of giving your games and movies a bit more sonic oomph. As long as you don’t get carried away with volume, anyhow.
Also consider
Yamaha
Yamaha SR-C20A
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Slightly bigger than the Panasonic, slightly less expensive too, but designed to do much the same job. It is similarly unruly when the volume get big, too, but overall is probably a marginally better bet.
KEF’s first noise-cancelling wireless earbuds make a positive impression, even if they fall short of being best-in-class
For
Refined, mature balance
Weighty bass
Good battery life
Against
Beaten for dynamics and expression
Call quality could be better
KEF has dabbled in the headphone market since 2013, experimenting with both over-ear and in-ear models over the years, however it’s fair to say the hi-fi giant hasn’t set the headphone market alight. But could all that be about to change with the ambitious Mu3?
The Mu3 are KEF’s first-ever wireless noise-cancelling earbuds and, in terms of price, slot somewhere in between the big-hitting Sony WF-1000XM3 and the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.
Build
(Image credit: KEF)
If you haven’t heard of Ross Lovegrove before you buy the KEFs, you will have by the time you have unboxed them. His name is emblazoned on the packaging, the instructions and even on the inside of the Mu3 case.
Lovegrove has helped design several KEF products in the past, most notably the KEF Muon – an impressive-looking pair of limited-edition, aluminium, floorstanding speakers that cost an impressive £140,000 ($198,000) per pair. He also played a major part in designing the Award-winning KEF Muo wireless speaker, and now he has turned his hand to a pair of true wireless earbuds.
KEF Mu3 tech specs
(Image credit: KEF)
Type True wireless in-ears
Bluetooth Yes
Noise-cancelling Yes
Battery life 9 hours (+15 hours from case)
Weight 5.8g (each)
From the moment you take the headphones from their packaging, you can see Lovegrove’s involvement. The case looks like a large blob of liquid metal but has a nice subtle shape. It feels robust, too, while the smooth glossy plastic helps to give a more premium first impression. It’s a similar story when you open the case up. The Lovegrove name on the inside might be one nod to the designer too many, but the sheen from the small silver earbuds also gets your attention.
The buds look and feel in keeping with the case, from the smooth glossy exteriors to the KEF logo imprinted on the surface of each bud. They’re surprisingly small, which makes them a little slippery when placed between finger and thumb, but getting them in place with a good seal isn’t too tricky. Pick your eartips (there are four different sizes to choose from), drop them in and twist the buds slightly to lock them into place.
Comfort
(Image credit: KEF)
Provided you achieve a good seal, the level of passive noise isolation on offer is decent. While finding them pretty comfortable for a brief stroll, we are a little less convinced of their comfort during longer listening sessions. The Sony WF-1000XM3 are a slightly bulkier design but feel much less intrusive, as do the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.
The first time you open the case, the headphones automatically start the pairing process. Once partnered to your headphones, they connect almost as soon as the lid is lifted.
On the outer surface of each earbud, you’ll find a small KEF logo that sits on a circular control button. There are no touch controls here, but the physical ones work perfectly well – and also means you won’t accidentally hit play or skip a track when putting them in place.
On the left earbud, a long press turns the volume down, while a short press switches the noise-cancelling on or off and engages the ambient mode (which lets you hear your surroundings without having to take the buds out of your ears). On the right earbud, a short press answers calls and plays or pauses music and a long press increases volume. Pressing twice stops your phone call or skips forward a track.
Battery life comes in at an excellent nine hours, with the case giving a claimed extra 15 hours of additional juice to keep the buds going. By comparison, the class-leading Sony WF-1000XM3 offer around six hours. If you’re caught short, a quick five-minute blast from the charging case (which uses USB-C) should give you an hour of playtime.
There’s a small LED on the case which blinks when the battery is low, but it’s not that obvious against the glossy plastics and it also doesn’t give any real indication of just how much charge is left. We were caught out when our buds needed charging, only to find the case was also running on empty.
Unlike many wireless earbuds around this price, there’s no app to accompany the KEF Mu3. This means there’s no EQ adjustment for you to play with, but that’s only an issue if you aren’t happy with the balance of the KEFs. And we can’t see why you wouldn’t be.
Sound
(Image credit: KEF)
The KEFs produce a wonderfully balanced sound that’s smooth and refined. They’re quite effortless in their delivery and present the music in a mature and sophisticated fashion, making them easy to listen to over prolonged periods. You can push them to the limits of their battery life and emerge on the other side not feeling drained or tired of their sound.
We play Shout by Tears For Fears and notice fullness and finesse to the percussion, plus a good amount of space around the instruments. There is no hint of harshness as chimes cut through the song’s rich vocal and solid, yet relatively mild-mannered bass. However, the Sony WF-1000XM3 deliver the song with a greater sense of sparkle, proving capable of finding an extra gear when it comes to drama and drive.
Switch to Hayden Thorpe’s Diviner and the smooth, soulful delivery of the track plays to the KEF’s strengths. His vocal is rich and full-bodied with a good sense of expression, while the individual strokes of the piano keys come across well. Again, the Sonys take this level of dynamics and expression up a notch, forming a tighter emotional bond with the listener.
Moving on to Massive Attack’s Angel, the KEFs cope well with the track’s powerful and relentless bassline. There’s a richness to each bass pulse and they sound solid, even if rivals can paint them with greater texture.
The Mu3 do a good job of keeping outside interference to a minimum. Their noise-cancelling tech doesn’t produce such stark results as the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, but it’s effective and, anyway, not everyone is comfortable with the vacuum-like feeling that more aggressive noise-cancelling technology can have.
The call quality could be better, though. While the best pairs of true wireless earbuds lend your voice a more natural-sounding quality, the KEFs have a slightly coarse edge and introduce more compression.
Verdict
KEF has put its head above the parapet and produced a pair of true wireless earbuds that can be considered worthy rivals to the Apple AirPods Pro. However, we have some reservations about the call quality, and while nothing about the performance stands out as being a negative, the Mu3 can’t quite match the sonic ability of the class-leading rivals at this level from the likes of Bose and Sony.
However, if you’re a fan of the KEF brand – or Ross Lovegrove in particular – and have the funds at your disposal, it’s well worth giving them a chance.
Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries smashed a piano into pieces to record sound effects, the studio revealed in a new blog detailing many aspects of the game’s audio production. I really recommend watching the video of the piano-smashing at the top of this post. It’s quite satisfying.
But 343’s audio team didn’t just use the piano as a target for various blunt instruments. Before they smashed it, they placed a subwoofer on the piano to use it as a resonator. And after they had destroyed it, they put dry ice on numerous pieces of the piano’s remains, “which yielded a large offering of singing, bellowing, screeching and everything in between,” the developers said. Some of the resulting sounds are spine-chilling. (Interestingly, the audio team for Death Stranding also messed with a piano to record a variety of sounds for the game.)
In addition to detailing the destruction of the piano, the blog goes in-depth on things like how some gunshot effects differ between Halo 5 and Halo Infinite, the acoustic system that simulates how sound travels through the game’s environments, and how sound design differs between single-player and multiplayer. 343 also revealed that Halo Infinite will support the Dolby Atmos, Windows Sonic, and DTS Headphone:X virtual surround sound technologies, which will allow you to hear spatial audio even when you’re wearing stereo headphones.
If you love learning about sound and music in games, you should definitely put aside some time to read the whole blog and listen to what 343 is working on. It’s fascinating stuff.
Halo Infinite is currently scheduled to release this fall.
Google is reportedly working on a new feature for Assistant called Memory, a combination of a to-do list, a notes app, a Pocket-like reading list, and Pinterest-style collection board into a single overarching digital locker integrated into the broader Google Assistant app. 9to5Google first revealed the feature, which is currently in “dogfood” testing for Google employees.
According to 9to5Google, Memory can save a huge variety of content, including “articles, books, contacts, events, flights, hotels, images, movies, music, notes, photos, places, playlists, products, recipes, reminders, restaurants, screenshots, shipments, TV shows, videos, and websites.”
While Assistant already has a Memory feature for saving information (like a bike lock combination or a favorite flavor of cake), the new iteration of Memory appears to be a major upgrade, one that seems to integrate the “Collections” feature that preceded it and be given top billing on the main menu bar alongside Assistant’s daily snapshot view.
The idea is that you’ll be able to save nearly anything, including links or screenshots, pictures of objects or handwritten notes, or digital to-do lists or reminders. Memory will then let you search, sort, and revisit everything you’ve saved.
Depending on what you’re saving, Memory will also include contextual information: save a recipe, for instance, and it’ll show the cooking time. Save a movie you wanted to watch, and it’ll include a link to the trailer. And of course, Google-based items you save (like Google Docs or uploaded Drive files) will get customized preview cards.
To store things to Memory, users can either use a Google Assistant command or a newly added home screen shortcut. Once added to Memory, saved items can be tagged (with categories like “Important” or “Read Later”) as well as sorted or searched to find a specific item.
Memory is still being tested, and Google hasn’t announced any plans for when — or even if — it’ll receive a public debut. In a statement to The Verge, a Google spokesperson commented: “We are constantly iterating and experimenting with new ways to improve the user experience, but we have no further details to share at this time.”
With clear audio, a great microphone and an understated but attractive design, the Fnatic React+ is aimed at eSports gamers, but it’s a great all-around headset for media and working from home too. The bundled USB sound card adds great-sounding 7.1 virtual surround sound to PC gaming, and a 3.5mm jack means you can use it with other gaming devices too.
For
Very good virtual 7.1 surround
Simple, attractive design
Superb microphone clarity
Swappable ear cushions
USB-A and 3.5mm
Against
Vestigial inline volume/mic switch is redundant when using USB
No software
Earcups don’t swivel
The Fnatic React+ adds virtual surround sound to the feature set that made the original React popular with gamers: large, clear drivers with very good gaming audio quality and excellent stereo separation, a design that remains comfortable throughout long gaming sessions, and a microphone with top-of-its class clarity. All that is wrapped in an understated design that looks cool enough for eSports gaming but subtle enough for teleconferencing.
The React+ pairs the original React headphones with Fnatic’s XP USB sound card (no relation to Windows XP), which adds 7.1 simulated surround sound at the touch of a button, and an extra set of earpads. Yet, the cans are still cheaper than many of the best gaming headsets, at just $99.99 as of writing. The resulting package, while not without its quirks, offers superb performance for a headset in its price class.
Fnatic React+ Specs
Driver Type
53mm
Impedance
23 Ohms
Frequency Response
20 – 40,0000 Hz
Microphone Type
Cardioid boom, detachable
Connectivity
3.5mm or USB Type-A
Cables
3.9 feet (1.2m) 3.5mm cable
3.3 feet (1m) USB cable
6.5 feet (2m) extender/mic splitter
Weight
0.8 pounds (348g)
Lighting
None
Software
None
Extra
1x extra set ear cushions
Design and Comfort
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
For a design marketed directly at the eSports crowd, the Fnatic React+ headset has a tasteful, understated aesthetic that lacks any elements you’d likely describe as bling. There’s no RGB lighting here, just a tasteful matte-black plastic finish with white accents. There’s a Fnatic logo on each earcup, and the company name is subtly embossed on the side of and on top of the headband.
The one hint of color is the soft, bright orange mesh fabric inside the earcups, helpfully stamped “R” and “L” to assist in putting them on correctly when the microphone is unplugged. The React+ ships with comfortable, memory foam-filled, faux leather-covered earpads installed. But you can also swap these for the included velour earpads. Those will feel more airy, particularly helpful for gamers who get warm while playing.
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The oval, enclosed earcups are mounted on adjustable metal hangers, which feel very solid and should hold up well to regular use. The earcups completely enclose your ears, providing very good passive noise isolation. They can swivel vertically for comfort when being worn, but there’s no horizontal swivel axis to fold them out and flatten them for easier transport or storage.
With either set of pads in place, the React+ headset was comfortable even on my rather large head. At 0.8 pounds, it’s not as lightweights as some wired headsets. The similarly specced MSI Immerse GH61, for example, is 0.6 pounds. Thankfully, the React+ didn’t feel overly heavy in use. The clamping force is solid enough to provide good noise isolation without becoming uncomfortable over time, which is not always the case with my big noggin. Meanwhile, a strip of memory foam padding across the inside of the headband aids in comfort.
When using the microphone, it snaps solidly into the left earcup, but if you’re playing a solo game, listening to music or watching a movie, you can easily pop it out.
The React+ also includes Fnatic’s XP USB sound card, which the company also sells separately for $23. The sound card is enclosed in a small, oval controller with a 3.5mm jack on one end and a 3.3-foot-long USB-A cable on the other. Its matte black design matches the headphones, with rocker switches for headphone volume and microphone level, a button to toggle 7.1-channel surround sound and a microphone mute switch on the side. The controller adds little weight to the headphone setup, and the rockers are well-positioned for quick adjustment when gaming.
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Overall, it’s well-designed, but an additional analog volume dial and microphone switch near the top of the headphone cable (left over from the original design that didn’t include the sound card) can cause frustration if you accidentally brush the analog volume dial and wonder why the volume dial on the soundcard suddenly won’t go high enough. That said, if Fanatic had omitted the analog controls from the React+ bundle, they’d be unavailable when using the headphones sans soundcard with other devices.
The headset also comes with a 6.6-foot extension cable that splits the microphone and audio jacks for devices that don’t support both on a single connector.
The one design element I’d change, if given the chance, is that the 3.5mm cable is permanently attached to the headset. Without a removable cable, the headphones will be rendered useless if the primary cable is damaged by your cat, kids, or other sinister elements.
Audio Performance
The 53mm drivers Fnatic uses in the React+ are calibrated for gaming, with a separate chamber for bass frequencies to help separate them from mids and lows. This helps keep bass from explosions and gunshots from overwhelming other game sounds. Though the sound is relatively pure, mids and highs are slightly boosted, and the result is much better audio clarity from complex game soundscapes than you’d expect in headphones in this price range. Playing Metro 2033, Call of Duty: Warzone and Apex Legends, environmental sound and voices remained clear even in heavy combat situations.
This clarity isn’t lost when engaging the React+ virtual surround sound by pressing the surround button in the center of the USB sound card controller. The effect is convincing and adds a more enveloping quality to the audio without changing it to the point where clarity is lost.
Playing Watch Dogs: Legion, the surround sound significantly enhanced immersion as I walked and drove around the city. Even in the sedate environment of Microsoft Flight Simulator, the directional audio as I panned around my plane in external views was noticeably more enveloping than the default stereo audio heard with surround disabled.
The in-game soundscape of the React+ is excellent because the bass separation, large drivers and clarity across frequencies means you won’t miss important dialogue or environmental sounds in the heat of play. It’s a significant improvement over using headphones geared for music playback while gaming, where heavy bass emphasis can muddy the audio.
These cans also sound great when watching movies on the PC, as those same characteristics also keep audio clear during film and TV action sequences.
Conversely, the one area where the cans are more pedestrian is music. Albums like Logic’s The Incredible True Story and Kenrick Lamar’s DAMN. benefit from the boosted bass on more music-oriented headsets, and Pink Floyd’s classic Dark Side of the Moon sounded off with emphasized mids and highs of the React+ when compared to my (admittedly more expensive) Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 wired headphones.
With the leatherette ear cushions, the passive noise isolation from the large earcups is excellent; in my home office I only heard the loudest outside sounds when playing games. They also do a good job of keeping the noise from leaking out and disturbing others nearby. It is passive isolation, though, so if you use these to listen to music on your next flight, they can only block out so much. The velour cups are slightly less isolating than the leatherette.
Microphone
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The detachable cardioid microphone includes a pop filter and has a flexible but stiff arm that stayed in position well and never came loose during gaming. There’s no noise cancellation, but it targets the mouth well enough that it didn’t pick up environmental sounds when I was gaming.
Fellow players reported that my vocals were very clear. And when I listened to audio from the microphone recorded on my PC, it sounded very pure, although perhaps a tiny bit higher in pitch than natural. As you’d expect from a headset marketed squarely at the eSports market, Fnatic does a great job with the microphone here.
In addition to a microphone mute switch, the XP sound card controller includes a mic level adjust rocker as well. This is great when you’re in-game, and your teammates complain about your mic’s volume. It’s much easier to quickly adjust mic sensitivity with the rocker instead of having to tweak it using audio settings on your computer.
Features and Software
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The headset uses a 3.5mm TRSS plug to connect to the USB sound card. You can omit the sound card and use the plug to connect to other devices. Fnatic says the headset is compatible with Macs, as well as Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and (if you still have a headphone jack or adapter) mobile phones. The USB adapter is only fully supported under Windows, but we found the headset worked well plugged directly into an Xbox Series X controller and a Switch, though we missed the surround sound and the ability to adjust microphone levels.
There’s no bundled software, so you won’t be able to adjust equalization in-game. That said, the ability to toggle surround sound and adjust microphone and volume levels using physical buttons is more convenient when in-game than having to switch to an app.
Bottom Line
For a penny under $100, the Fnatic React+ performs like a more expensive headset. Audio is clear and sharp, both in your ears and coming from your microphone. The addition of effective, clear virtual 7.1-channel surround sound addresses the chief complaint about the original React (if you bought that, Fnatic offers a $29.99 bundle that includes the XP USB sound card and velour earpads to bring it up to React+ level), and the additional volume controls on the USB soundcard are a godsend if you need to quickly make adjustments during a frantic battle.
I’d love for the primary headset cable to be removable though. Not only would that make it less susceptible to being taken out by cable damage, but then we could omit the analog volume dial and microphone mute switch, which are redundant when using the USB sound card.
Overall, the Fnatic React+ offers superb audio for gaming and movies, decent–if unexceptional–music playback, and the headphones look cool without turning your head into a light show. So you’re not going to get strange looks if you’re wearing them during a Zoom call. The React+ also offers stiff competition to some of the best gaming headsets too, such as the HyperX Cloud Alpha. The React+ comes in at around the same price but adds 7.1 surround sound to the mix.
You can certainly find headsets with more features, but not in the React+’s price range. For gamers on a budget, this is a top choice.
In the early 1960s, before it became known as ‘Silicon Fen’, the small university city of Cambridge, long a magnet for scientists and engineers, started to attract a new breed of technologically minded entrepreneurs.
It was in this stimulating environment, with networks of like-minded people, that a group of young graduates decided to establish an R&D prototyping business at the old Enderby’s Mill in St. Ives, Cambridge: Cambridge Consultants.
By 1968, the company had grown to include a sub-division, Cambridge Audio. The small team led by Gordon Edge, a scientist with a head for a business who would go on to become a key figure in the Cambridge technology sector, was tasked with addressing a particular problem – how to create a hi-fi that could deliver the ‘Great British Sound’ into people’s homes.
British bands and recording studios had become a dominating force in music, and Cambridge Audio wanted to deliver a ‘neutrally British’, uncoloured and balanced sound that let the original recordings shine. And that ethos continues today. The company’s designs have always been minimalist and necessity driven: from the upside-down labels on the back panels for easy reading when setting up, to a rule limiting one switch per function, the customer at home is always considered.
Cambridge Audio has a policy of continuous improvement, whether it’s for high-end or budget equipment, and being relatively small has allowed it to adapt and innovate quickly. The company has a history of upgrading its hardware far more frequently than other UK brands (sometimes to its customers’ frustration). Many of the products featured on this list are the results of this culture of research, refinement and frankly borderline obsessive ‘Great British’ tinkering.
Read all our British Hi-Fi Week reviews and features
Cambridge Audio P40 Amplifier (1968)
(Image credit: Cambridge)
Like many long-established audio firms, Cambridge made its name by releasing the most crucial piece of any hi-fi system: a quality stereo amplifier.
The P40 integrated amp was the company’s first-ever product, developed by Gordon Edge and Peter Lee, who took a simple approach with just a few transistor stages. But they were also willing to take chances, and the P40 became the first-ever amplifier to use toroidal transformers, a nascent technology that just happened to be being manufactured by another local company at the time.
The risk paid off, and these days, toroidal transformers are a standard component inside high-end amplifiers.
While the P50 and P60 amps that followed quickly on its heels offered greater reliability and efficiency (as well as sales), it’s the P40 with its elegant low-contour case from Woodhuysen Design, boldness and longstanding influence that makes it the first of six Cambridge amps on this list.
Old amplifier vs new amplifier: which is better?
Cambridge Audio C75 preamp and A75 power amp (1984)
(Image credit: Cambridge)
The C75 pre-amplifier and A75 power amplifier were the first of a new generation of Cambridge amps split into two units that could be combined using end panels. The idea was to shield the sensitive input circuitry from the electrically noisy power amplifier, improving the sound and giving better performance.
And the separation didn’t stop there. The C75 implemented a phono stage that used a new technique called ‘segmented equalisation’ whereby the signal current would pass through discrete stages of passive EQ and amplification.
Passive EQ was preferable to an active circuit, as it kept negative feedback consistent across all frequencies and tracked the required RIAA equalisation to very high frequencies. However, it was also prone to increased noise interference and degradation of the dynamic range. By alternating EQ and amplification circuits, Curtis overcame this issue and produced a superb sound in the process.
The A75, for its part, kept Cambridge’s trademark toroidal transformer, but added a power supply for each channel, resulting in an impressively high output current capability.
While the C75/A75 combination was costly to build, the level of detail taken in developing the circuitry and careful choice of components ensure its status as one of the best Cambridge products of all time.
9 debut stereo amplifiers from iconic hi-fi brands
Cambridge Audio CD1 (1985)
(Image credit: Cambridge)
When Cambridge released the CD1, it was the first player to be split into 2 boxes; the upper deck carried the power supply and disc tray while the lower housed the DAC circuitry. A third box was soon added with a quality assurance module that corrected for inaccuracies on the disc.
The DAC section cleverly used three matched 14-bit DACs per channel to cancel out errors; this resulted in a linear performance to -120 dB, an incredible feat at the time. The transport mechanism was mounted on a lead beam to increase isolation, and there were separate power supplies for the digital and analogue circuits.
Another novel feature of the CD1 was the inclusion of playback filters. Different studios were using different pre-conversion filters at the time as there wasn’t yet a standardisation for digitising analogue master tapes to CD. Cambridge recognised that to get true fidelity to the original recording, the digital to analogue conversion performed by a CD player needed to have an accurate mirror image of whichever filter process had occurred to begin with. The company came up with nine filter options for the CD1 meaning that almost every CD could be played back faithfully.
Unfortunately, this idea increased the manufacturing cost, which in turn meant that the CD1 cost a small fortune – at £1500 – double the cost of most other players at the time. Still, despite the price, its ability to read the fine detail on discs accurately made it hugely popular with music lovers and CD manufacturers alike.
12 of the best British CD players of all time
Cambridge Audio A1 Amplifier (1995)
(Image credit: Richer sounds)
The A1 was the company’s first product after being bought in 1994 by James Johnson-Flint and Julian Richer. Keen to make their mark, they hired the prodigious designer Mike Creek and tasked him with delivering the A1 in only one month.
A true classic budget design, costing £80, the Cambridge Audio A1 integrated amplifier brought low-priced high performance to the masses. Even a more premium upgraded version with improved circuitry and toroidal transformers cost a mere £20 more.
The A1 maintained Cambridge’s principle of simplicity while bringing a new definition of quality to an affordable price range. It went on to become one of their best selling products ever.
Best stereo amplifiers 2021
Cambridge Audio DacMagic (1996)
(Image credit: Future)
The DacMagic was one of the last of the original generation of DACs. Unassuming to look at it had a lot to show for its £150 price point, raising the standard for the amount of functionality that could be packed into a stand-alone DAC.
By the mid-90s, manufacturing for Cambridge took place primarily in China, which designer John Westlake described as an electronics “candy store”, offering him the flexibility to upgrade to high-end components without the cost becoming prohibitive. As a result, the DacMagic boasted three separate transformers feeding 19 independent power supplies, BNC inputs and outputs, as well as balanced outputs on two gold-plated XLR connections.
Sonically superb, direct and detailed, the DacMagic earned comparisons to much more expensive equipment, coming out at a time when a CD player with balanced outputs could cost you in the region of £1000. And it gave Cambridge its first outright What Hi-Fi? Award win.
DACs – everything you need to know
Cambridge Audio CD4SE CD player (1998)
(Image credit: Future)
Sometimes an upgrade can feel as though a few stripes have simply been drawn on; on other occasions it takes a good product and elevates it way beyond its original brief.
The latter was the case for the CD4SE. Originally intended to be a special edition of the CD4, it instead became a total revamp. Circuitry was simplified, and the transport functions sharpened up, while the engineers casually deployed a few innovations at the same time.
Cambridge became the first manufacturer to use dual Crystal DACs, which oversampled, offering 20-bit performance. This enhanced the player’s dynamic range while reducing distortion and giving a truly musical performance.
Refinement at this level for the low price of £200 bags the CD4SE a place on our list.
Best CD players 2021: CD players for every budget
Cambridge Audio Azur 640A Amplifier (2003)
(Image credit: Future)
The Azur range epitomised Cambridge’s commitment to high-quality budget equipment, and the formidable 640A integrated amplifier was no exception. When we gave it five stars back in 2003, we described it as “good enough to strike fear in the heart of the establishment”; and it did just that.
Dynamically vivid, the 640A delivered a polished sound, full of fluidity and precision, lacking any hint of the gentle compression that other amps at this price level were prone to employ.
With a pretty muscular 65 Watts per channel, high-quality circuit enhancements and impressive quality of build, the 640A displayed a level of detail that made it a great all-rounder and set it apart from its rivals.
10 of the world’s most expensive stereo amplifiers
Cambridge Audio Aero 5.1 speakers (2013)
(Image credit: Future)
With the introduction of the Aero 5.1 range, Cambridge shifted its focus from making excellent value electronics and sought to become a force in speakers, establishing itself as a serious alternative to the likes of B&W, KEF and Monitor Audio. Going up against such established rivals, the company’s solution was to offer something a bit different – BMR (Balanced Mode Radiator) technology.
BMR drivers work like a traditional piston driver for low frequencies, while higher frequencies are produced using a vibration motion across the surface of the speaker diaphragm. This technology allowed the Aero range to reproduce a wide frequency range using just a single small driver, without the need for a separate tweeter. It also meant it could achieve a near 180-degree dispersion, making the sizable boxes flexible to position within the home.
The result was a cohesive sound field with an articulate, detailed and punchy presentation. It’s no surprise that the Aero 5.1 speaker range went on to win What Hi-Fi? Awards in both 2013 and 2014.
Read our Cambridge Audio Aero 5.1 review
Cambridge Audio CXN Music Streamer (2015)
(Image credit: Cambridge Audio)
Cambridge was one of the first of the ‘traditional’ hi-fi brands to embrace digital music wholeheartedly by including streamers as part of its core hi-fi ranges. And 2010s NP30, 2013s Audio Stream Magic 6 and 2014s Audio Stream Magic 6 V2 all won What Hi-Fi? Awards.
By 2016, streaming had most definitely gone mainstream with faster connection speeds and wide adoption of subscription services, and Cambridge’s response to this trend was sonically game-changing. At £700 when we first reviewed it, the CXN was mid-range only in price, with a fantastic, incisive sound and excellent low-end impact.
Offering a full-colour screen for artwork, third party app support and digital inputs capable of playing high-resolution files of up to 24-bit/192kHz (upsampled to 384kHz), the CXN was packed with future-proofed features to keep it relevant in rapidly changing times. So much so that when the updated CXN V2 (yet another award winner) was released, we were relieved to find that the sound we had come to know and love was still intact.
Read our Cambridge Audio CXN review
Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 (2019)
(Image credit: Cambridge Audio)
After tentatively dipping a toe into headphone production with a pair of wired earbuds in 2017, Cambridge made a splash with their inaugural true wireless offering, 2019’s Melomania 1.
Literally meaning ‘crazy about music’, these minimalist designed in-ears punched well above their weight, offering an expansive listening experience that few other brands achieve at this price.
Forgoing the bells and whistles of many big brands, Cambridge focused on the basics: battery life, connection stability and above all else, the sonic experience. Melomania 1 delivered on all fronts receiving five stars and best wireless in-ears £75-£150 at the What Hi-Fi? Awards. A great win for a headphones newbie and proof that sonic expertise can still prevail even in the smartfeature-centric world of portable audio.
Read our Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 review
Cambridge Audio CXA81 amplifier (2019)
(Image credit: Future)
Like other products on this list, the CXA81 started as a mere refurb and turned into a renovation. Cambridge engineers took the four-star CX81 amp and upgraded the op-amps, capacitors and DAC, and in doing so made progress in almost every sonic regard.
Adding to that a USB input supporting audio of up to 32-bit/384kHz, an aptX HD Bluetooth receiver and a pair of Toslink optical inputs, the CXA81 set a new baseline for thousand-pound integrated amplifiers bagging a What Hi-Fi? Award in 2020 in the process.
One thing that the CXA81 was missing, however, was the tone controls that Cambridge had continued to include on their amplifiers long after most manufacturers had dismissed them. The company often cited the consumer’s need to adjust the sound to suit their taste, space and playback; but with the CXA81, a new, more purist standard began.
Dominic Baker, technical director at the time, explained the reasoning to the FT saying: “Tone controls came into existence in the days of cassettes, and the very poor sound quality they gave. There’s good reason today to let the music sound how it left the recording studio, which CD and digital allows.”
The CXA81 had a seismic impact on the market, disposing of its rivals with its powerful, dynamic, and astonishingly detailed sound.
Read our Cambridge Audio CXA81 review
Cambridge Audio Edge A amplifier (2019)
(Image credit: Cambridge Audio)
Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Cambridge Audio, the Edge series (named after founder Gordon Edge, not Bono’s mate) was the culmination of a three-year process that started with a blank sheet of paper and no time constraints.
Harking back to the P40’s original innovation, the engineers designing the Edge A took toroidal technology one step further by using two opposing transformers to cancel out electromagnetic interference, offering outstanding power and maintaining consistent tonality.
Elsewhere the signal path was shortened as much as possible to reduce significantly the chance of colour or distortion being added to the sound. Capacitors were removed from the signal path, and a DC-coupled topology was introduced to the circuit board.
The result was an impressive sound that won five stars from us. At £4500, the Edge A amplifier is a premium product with a premium price, signalling that, despite its long-term commitment to excellent-quality budget products, Cambridge Audio can still compete at higher price point too.
MORE
Read our Cambridge Audio Edge A review
6 of the best British hi-fi innovations and technologies
A history of KEF speakers, from the K1 to the Concept Blades
Qobuz has beaten Tidal to become the first music service to bring 24-bit hi-res audio streaming to Sonos speakers. It’s quite a coup for Qobuz – and welcome news for Sonos owners who have been waiting patiently for the chance to stream higher quality audio.
You’ll need a subscription to either of Qobuz’s tiers, Studio Premier or Studio Sublime, plus the Sonos S2 app, which supports 24-bit 44.1/48kHz for FLAC and is compatible with most Sonos speakers including the new Sonos Roam.
“For many years hi-res audio was only available to a select few with the knowledge of where to get it and how to play it”, noted Dan Mackta, MD of Qobuz USA. “Now, millions of people have the hardware in their homes already – and the source has never been easier to access than through hi-res streaming with Qobuz on Sonos.”
The Sonos S2 app already lets users play 24-bit files from a local drive, but this is the first time that users have been able to stream hi-res tracks from a music service.
Quboz launched in 2007 and quickly became the first music service to offer CD-quality streaming in the UK. A subscription costs from £12.49 a month but new users can try it out for free here. In 2013, it became the first service to offer 16-bit streaming on Sonos, which may go some why to explaining how it got the jump on its biggest rivals – Tidal and Amazon Music HD – in this instance.
Qobuz 24-bit hi-res streaming is available now on Sonos in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Meanwhile, Spotify has announced plans to launch Spotify HiFi later this year. The new subscription tier will offer “lossless audio” streams, but not, it seems, 24-bit high-res tracks. But will that matter?
MORE:
Deep dive: read our in-depth review of Quboz
Here’s our pick of the best music streaming services
Naim Mu-so 2nd Gen wireless speakers get Qobuz support
(Pocket-lint) – The DS 3 Crossback E-Tense name might be something of a mouthful, but hidden behind the nomenclature is a nice compact hatchback, boosted to give it crossover appeal, while retaining the charms of the regular DS 3.
The E-Tense is the first fully electric car from DS Automobiles, arriving in full DS style, with options for lavish design and something that’s just a bit different to everything else on the road. But it’s a bit expensive considering, so does it offer true appeal?
A unique design
Being different is often enough to make you stand out when you’re a car. If it wasn’t for the super Honda e – which is even more different – the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense might be the most distinctive EV on the road, from the interior at least.
From the outside there are some quirks – such as that shark fin behind the B pillar – but you can feel the DS 3 heritage getting inflated, riding a little higher, slightly more accentuated. Otherwise the general positioning of the car as a practical hatchback remains the same.
Pocket-lint
But this is a unique DS model. While it sits on the same platform as some rivals – the Peugeot e-2008, Vauxhall Corsa e, Citroën eC4 – nothing carries these looks. There’s no old Citroën model that looks the same, and no petrol version that’s just been converted – so there is something special about this model.
There’s a huge grille on the front, while areas that look like they might have been somewhere to put other vents on a combustion car sport the same look, resulting in a car that isn’t a hugely electric-looking EV.
But that does lend some sporty charm to things, while the recessed doorhandles – which pop out as you approach the car – bring a premium sense of occasion.
Pocket-lint
The stance on the road is pretty good, but some of those styling points do start to get in the way. The fins on the side reduce the window space for the rear passengers, while the rear window looks smaller from the inside than it needs to be – a chunk of the rearview is eaten up by plastic bodywork across the bottom of the window, which we don’t really think needs to be there.
A distinctively designed interior
Since the separation of DS Automobiles from Citroën, DS has pursued a design line based around offering something inspired by French fashion. It wants to be unique and it wants to give you a higher quality experience. That’s seen heavily in the interior design, with the use of textures you might associate more with prestige watchmaking than in a car.
Up at the top level, on the Prestige Ultra model (as reviewed), that results in a sumptuous finish. It’s not just leather, it’s hand stitched in places, using special pearl stitching and – importantly – uniquely different to the premium German marques that DS Automobiles wants to compete with.
At the same time, that commitment to design can see impracticalities. We know why DS chose to put the dash buttons into diamond shapes, but they are larger than they need to be – and the couple of blank spaces are what you notice the most.
But there are choices to be made, with the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense available in five different trims, affecting the wheel size, paint colours and interior options.
To give the E-Tense its due, though, it is comfortable. We like the finish on the seats and it’s nice to be in a cabin that isn’t just the same as a whole family of cars elsewhere. Front passenger and driver get plenty of room, but the rear is a little short on knee space, just like many other hatchbacks.
Pocket-lint
The boot offers 350 litres of space, which is typical for this size of car, meaning you can stuff in a large family shop or enough baggage for a weekend away.
Interior tech
When it comes to the interior tech offering, the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense again suffers from that heavy design ethic. We’ve commented on this before – especially on the DS 7 Crossback – that some of that styling in the graphical interface isn’t especially helpful.
The DS 3 is clearer, however, with a smaller digital driver display having the benefit of not giving the software designers too much space to fiddle around. There are several views you can scroll through to customise the information – and on our review model, a heads-up display (HUD) to provide pertinent information while on the road.
In the centre of the car is a larger display, 7-inches on lower trims and a 10.3-inch on higher trims. The expansion to the larger models seems to result in empty space at the edges, or once you’ve made your selection, permanently visible cabin temperature, so it’s not a huge gain.
The infotainment system is easy enough to use, offering touchscreen interaction, working with those big buttons on the dash to work through the mainstays of music, climate control, navigation, car settings, and phone.
We found the navigation and mapping to be pretty good, although you can’t zoom and manipulate the maps to the same sort of extent that you can a smartphone, so it does have some limitations – likely to be addressed in the new system being introduced in the DS 4.
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Perhaps the thing that’s the most irksome is having to dig to find charging stations through the points of interest options. Again, as this is an EV, that sort of option should be front and centre.
Where things get a bit questionable are diving into the details of power consumption. As this is an electric car, efficiency and performance is ever more important, and getting access to that information is useful for a driver. There’s a dedicated button which is good, but the information you get could be better.
The E-Tense will present stats for your journey, giving you a sensible miles per kWh which is useful, but it also presents a graph. The Y axis on this graph has a scale that runs up to 120miles per kWh, which is utterly useless, seeing as the average is going to be around 4 – so it’s literally wasted space, unless you’re just rolling down hills.
Pocket-lint
On the Prestige Ultra there’s a Qi charging pad for your phone, but it also supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, so you can use a phone-based system if you want.
We found the sound quality to be good from the speakers within the car, although it’s always a pleasure listening to music in an electric car when you’re not fighting with any engine noise.
Equipped with cameras, there’s fancy parking assistance, able to view the car’s surroundings on the screen, making it really easy to put yourself into a tight parking space – especially useful for reversing into awkward EV charging locations.
Driving, battery size and range
The DS 3 Crossback E-Tense is a nice car to drive. It rides pretty high, so there’s a sense of road domination which is great from a smaller car. The ride is pretty quiet, too, so you don’t hear too much noise coming into the cabin – extending the feeling that this is just a little better than average.
The suspension is perhaps a little on the hard side – while we didn’t have a problem with it on broken suburban roads, it could just be a little softer. The steering is a little light, probably designed to suit the urban driver that’s likely to buy this car, rather than the B-road racer who might want something a little heavier.
Pocket-lint
One of the advantages of electric cars is that they offer instant torque for a spritely drive and the E-Tense is no different in that regard. There’s a D and B position on the gear selector, with the B (battery) option giving you a stronger regeneration when lifting off the pedal. This goes some way to offering one-pedal driving, although the car won’t come to a complete standstill in this mode, it will just slow down and then creep along the road.
The best electric cars 2021: Top battery-powered vehicles available on UK roads
By Chris Hall
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There are also driving modes which have a bigger impact on the setup of the car – eco, normal, sport – with the names very much revealing what they do. Eco cuts the throttle response so you don’t expend so much energy in acceleration. It works well, we just wish you could have the car startup in these modes, rather than having to select it every time.
Turning to the important range, and the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense is equipped with a 50kWh battery and a 100kW motor. That gives you a larger battery than the Mini Electric, a smaller battery than the Kia e-Niro – and that’s generally reflected in the resulting range.
Pocket-lint
The range, on paper, is 191-206 miles. In our driving we found we could, with a little effort (aircon off, eco mode, infotainment off), get averages of around 4.7 miles per kWh around town, which would bring it in at 235 miles. Casually nipping to the supermarket sat closer to 3.2 m/kWh, which would give you 160 miles. We couldn’t find long-term averages for the car during our review.
It also supports up to 100kW charging, which will take it to 80 per cent in 30 minutes. Home charging on a 7.2kW will take about seven-and-a-half hours to completely charge it.
That sits the E-Tense in a reasonable position, although the Kia e-Niro gives you more range for your money in a similar size car, while the Peugeot e-2008 is a healthy chunk cheaper for much the same setup. There is a premium to pay for all that prestige, it seems.
Verdict
There are some elements of the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense that we really like. It’s a nice car to drive and the performance is pretty good, making it a practical electric car, sizeable enough to seat a small family, so great for everyday use.
The range sits in the middle of the pack and you can get a little more range for around the same price elsewhere – it’s hard to ignore the offerings from Peugeot which are also more affordable.
Ultimately, the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense again delivers something a little different. Stylistically that interior is like nothing else on the road. That could make the E-Tense stand apart – but at the same time, there are things that could be done to make it a more attractive buy too.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Kia e-Niro
It’s one of the top rated electric cars and that comes down to value for money, efficiency of the drive, and the option for a pretty big battery.
Read our review
Pocket-lint
Nissan Leaf
Nissan has been in this game a long time and that shows in the Leaf. There’s efficiency and the option for bigger batteries to provide a useful range.
The brains and brawn behind your hi-fi. Underestimate the stereo amplifier’s importance in how your system sounds at your peril.
This list of the best stereo amplifiers from the pages of What Hi-Fi? showcases the power providers that have helped to get the most out of our set-ups over the years.
Big or small, budget or high-end, functional or stylish, these amplifiers have left an indelible impression.
Welcome to What Hi-Fi?‘s British Hi-Fi Week!
A&R Cambridge A60 (1979)
Arcam got off to a flier with its first product, the A60. It was a well-equipped amp, with a decent array of line-level inputs and a capable moving-magnet phono stage, and we were very much taken by its sound quality back in 1979. To this day, it’s still able to showcase the smooth presentation and expressive midrange that made it such a fun and entertaining listen. And that wood finish was, indeed still is, rather lovely.
MORE: That Was Then… A&R Cambridge A60 (1976) vs. Arcam A19 (2013)
Audiolab 8000A (1983)
Audiolab’s 8000A caused a stir thanks to its “superb finish and styling”, although today it looks like a grey tinged box with lots of dials. Still, distinctive looks aside, it offered excellent sound and features including bass and treble controls, a stereo balance control and a separate record selector, so you could “listen to one source while taping another”. The sound was smooth with “plenty of presence and detail”. Add its fine build and features and the 8000A was great value for money.
MORE: Audiolab 8300A review
Mission Cyrus One (1984)
The Mission Cyrus One – back when Cyrus was a part of Mission – was very much a product for audiophiles, despite its budget price. It had no tone or balance controls and carried plenty of inputs for sources. The One communicated a precise soundstage, but it was also capable of handling low-level details that other amplifiers “repressed or simply rendered messy”. Combine that sound with a superb build quality, and you had an amp whose performance could rival pricier options.
MORE: Cyrus One review
Naim 32/Snaps/250 power amp (1984)
This Naim came in three parts, with the 32 pre-amp, its accompanying power supply and the now legendary 250 stereo power amplifier. It was a popular combination that made up many hi-fi users’ systems in the 80s, and was capable of delivering drive, dynamic punch and powers of organisation that few could match. It was an impressive combination and the 250 has proved to be so popular that it’s received several makeovers since, getting better with each iteration.
MORE: Naim NAP 250 review
Arcam DiVA A85 (2001)
The A85 was different from its forebears. Where previous Arcam efforts veered towards warm and safe, the A85 had the ferocity of a sledgehammer smashing through glass. It worked well with all genres of music, with no trace of boom or bloom, and a clarity that extended throughout the frequency range. We noted its “immaculately clean” midrange that had a resolution its rivals couldn’t match. The A85 was a sonic leader in its class, a fully featured amp that blew away the competition.
MORE: Arcam FMJ A39 review
Roksan Caspian M2 (2010)
The Caspian amp had been around the block a few times, as Roksan improved the design and performance. The fruit of that labour was the Caspian M2. With a revised circuit layout and upgraded components, it had a bigger, more powerful presentation than before. It had a sense of authority, along with a dynamic sound that was full of detail, finesse and a rich tonality, making for an immensely capable effort. The build and finish were excellent, it was easy to partner with and, while its distinctive look caused some consternation, there was no doubting its status as an exceptional performer.
MORE: Roksan Caspian M2 review
Naim Supernait 2 (2014)
We weren’t fully convinced by the original Supernait, which sounded less dynamic than we liked. This issue was not a problem for its successor, a “supremely stable, confident-sounding” amplifier that boasted excellent bass performance and surefooted rhythms. Throw in the potential for upgrades and a terrific build, and the Supernait 2 was a superb amplifier that delivered Naim’s “addictive sound” for a reasonable price.
MORE: Naim Supernait 3 review
Rega Elex-R (2014)
(Image credit: Future)
The Rega Elex-R spent five years as our favourite stereo amplifier costing less than a grand – that’s longer than the time spent in office by certain US Presidents. Its last What Hi-Fi? Award was collected in 2018, but even since then it has remained a reference component here thanks to its articulate and inherently musical performance. The Elex-R is sure to be an amp searched for by hi-fi enthusiasts for decades to come.
MORE: Rega Elex-R review
Leema Tucana II Anniversary Edition (2017)
Established in 1998 by two ex-BBC engineers, Leema Acoustics quickly established itself as one of our favourite specialist hi-fi brands. This anniversary model of the amplifier that helped launch Leema encapsulated everything we love about the company’s products. It looks superb and feels built to last – and the individual passport signed by the engineer who approved the product is a lovely touch. Leema keeps it analogue on the inside, preferring to suggest you add external digital components should you need them, helping no doubt to deliver that clean, punchy, powerful sound. Rich and smooth without lacking attack, the performance is precisely as impressive as you’d expect from a £5000 amplifier.
MORE:Leema Tucana II Anniversary Edition
Cambridge Audio CXA81 (2018)
(Image credit: Cambridge Audio)
If you’ve heard the mighty Rega Elex-R (above), you’ll understand just how big a feat it was for another sub-grand integrated to knock it off its perch. The Cambridge Audio CXA81 didn’t just do so in 2018, it left more feathers strewn than after a Sandringham pheasant hunt. It proved sharper and more detailed, and stamps its authority with that supremely confident Cambridge presentation.
MORE: Cambridge Audio CXA81
PMC Cor (2018)
We all know PMC’s excellent speakers, but don’t be thinking the Cor, the company’s first dedicated consumer amplifier, is entirely new territory for the company. Since 1991 PMC has been making the amps for active speakers such as the BB5s, the reference monitors found in the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios. And that experience shows. Like so many engineer side projects, this one’s a doozy, so we hope PMC sticks with it. Transparency is the name of the game here, the Cor delivering a faithful, balanced, neutral sound. The Cor comes “highly recommended”.
MORE: PMC Cor review
Got one of these but don’t know what to pair it with? Check out the best British speakers of all time
Record collectors rejoice! Vinyl revenues in the UK are expected to overtake those of CDs in 2021, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI)’s response to a new Official Charts report.
Working from this Official Charts Company data, the BPI has revealed that UK music industry revenues rose 3.8 per cent in 2020, reaching nearly £1.12 billion – the highest total in 14 years.
The UK trend echoes the RIAA’s year-end report on the state of the US music industry – which showed that US revenue from vinyl sales have overtaken that of CDs for the first time in 35 years.
Sales of the classic record format in the US have increased consistently since 2006, but last year it saw its biggest single week since electronic sales tracking began (in 1991), with 1.841 million vinyl albums sold in the week ending 24th December, according to the MRC data.
Back to Blighty then – it is British Hi-Fi Week after all – and despite (or perhaps owing to) the nationwide UK lockdown resulting in the nixing of all live gigs, vinyl revenues increased 30.5 per cent year-on-year to £86.5 million (the highest total since 1989) which helped the music industry offset an 18.5 per cent decline in CD sales – although said sales still amounted to an imposing £115 million.
And the headline grabber now is that BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor predicts industry income from vinyl will outperform CD for the whole of 2021 in the UK.
“Vinyl’s exceptional performance despite retail lockdowns confirms its role as a long-term complement to music streaming. 2021 is likely to be the year in which revenues from LPs overtake those from CDs for the first time in well over three decades – since 1987,” he said, adding, “In addition to the immediacy and convenience of streaming, fans want to get closer to the artists they love by owning a tangible creation”.
UK sales of vinyl jumped by 11.5 per cent year-on-year to 4.8 million in 2020, marking the 13th consecutive year of growth – all of this despite physical retail store closures across the country in line with coronavirus restrictions. And it’s the fifth consecutive year of growth for the British recorded music industry – the healthiest number since £1.166 billion was generated in 2006.
Want to start collecting vinyl? Congratulations, there’s never been a better time wherever you are. Have a gander at our feature entitled where to buy vinyl: affordable ways to start a record collection, our advice on how to build the perfect sound system and most of all, enjoy the process.
MORE:
In a nostalgic mood? See 10 of the best British record players of all time
Read to buy a turntable? Consult best record players 2021: best turntables for every budget
See also best turntable speakers 2021: top speakers for your record player
Deezer has revealed a new subscription tier combining the benefits of its ad-free Family and Hi-Fi packages called, unsurprisingly, Family HiFi.
If you’re already a Deezer HiFi user, you can upgrade to Family HiFi immediately and get up to six individual, password-protected profiles for £19.99/$19.99 a month (the service isn’t rolling out to Australia just yet) – that’s an increase of £5/$5 over a regular HiFi subscription. New subscribers will get the opportunity to open a Family HiFi account for the same price later in the year.
A single Deezer HiFi account currently costs £14.99/$14.99 per month for which users can listen to 70 million tracks in 16-bit, 1411kbps CD-quality across several devices, including iOS, Android, desktop, plus various other audio products, from multi-room speakers to AV receivers. The top-level service also allows access to the 360 by Deezerapp that allows you to experience tracks encoded in 360 Reality Audio, Sony’s immersive audio format.
Those who upgrade to FamilyHiFi will also get the benefit of parental controls, dedicated customer service for HiFi users, and a specially curated Family Mix, so you might want to vet the tastes of your relatives before sharing.
The announcement brings Deezer in line with its streaming rivals in offering a multi-user CD-quality tier with Amazon Music HD (£19.99/$19.99), Tidal (£29.99/$29.99), and Qobuz (£24.99/$24.99) already offering the option to add up to 6 users to their top tiers, although Deezer still doesn’t have the option of hi-res audio.
With streaming giant Spotify set to join the party later this year with its CD-quality Spotify HiFi tier, and no word on the pricing or if it includes a family subscription, Deezer appears to be attempting to strengthen its offering in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Netflix has announced that it will be experimenting with the release schedules of two reality TV shows, The Circle and Too Hot to Handle (via The Hollywood Reporter). Instead of releasing all of the episodes at once, it will release them over the course of a month, with each show having a batch of episodes released on Wednesdays, then releasing the finale by itself at the end of the run. This means you won’t be able to binge all of the episodes in a single weekend… and that may be a good thing.
These shows aren’t the first time Netflix has broken away from the binge model it popularized, in which all of the episodes of a show are released at once. It has released episodes of cooking competition The Great British Baking Show andmusic contest Rhythm + Flow on a weekly basis. With The Circle and Too Hot to Handle, though, Netflix is making a statement that it’s experimenting and trying to give people time to “dissect and dish” the events of the show. In other words, it’s giving people time to gossip about what happened and what could happen next.
There is a benefit to having people talking about your show for a month, rather than only for a weekend. Netflix arguably ran into this problem with The Witcher, with the show’s writing seeming better suited to weekly viewing rather than an eight-hour marathon. That’s especially true for a reality show like The Bachelor, with drama ratcheting up until a big finale. That’s the type of thing you’d want to keep people talking about — and maybe subscribing to your service to see what all the fuss is about.
That’s the type of effect Netflix could be trying to replicate. Reality TV lends itself especially well to a slow burn, keeping the internet buzz alive. Imagine if Tiger King had been released over a month or two, instead of all at once. While The Circle and Too Hot to Handle probably won’t become cultural touchstones like Tiger King did, there is a chance the release schedule will let them become bigger than they would’ve if we had all watched them over a weekend and then moved on.
I’m not trying to say that Netflix will (or should) switch to the weekly release model for its future narrative shows. Yes, Disney was very successful using that model with The Mandalorian and WandaVision, but those shows also had a lot going for them, and Netflix has a history of successfully releasing narrative shows all at once: the aforementioned Witcher series was still well-received, and Stranger Things was an inescapable cultural force for a while there. It’s also worth noting that narrative shows and reality TV are very different formats, and it could make sense to have different release plans for them.
The Circle is a game show about being isolated in an apartment and using only social media to connect with others (weirdly prescient for a show that first aired in 2018), and it will start showing on April 14th, with the finale releasing on May 5th. It seems like Netflix is planning a similar release schedule for Too Hot to Handle, a show where people try to date each other without any PDA, but the company hasn’t released exact details about it yet, other than a release window of “June.”
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1More has absolutely flooded the true wireless earbud market, and it’s confident enough in its new ComfoBuds Pro noise-canceling earbuds to proclaim them as superior to the AirPods Pro — for a fraction of the price. They slot in between the company’s flagship True Wireless ANC earbuds ($200) and less expensive options like the $50 PistonsBuds and the standard ComfoBuds, the latter of which has an open-style design. 1More says with the Pro model, it’s “sure to bring the fight to Apple and give their loyal fanbase a serious dilemma in choosing what pair of earbuds are right for them.”
I don’t think forcing such a direct comparison was the right move because, despite 1More claiming that it offers “so much more” than Apple’s flagship buds, the ComfoBuds Pro can’t match up with the AirPods Pro in all areas — as is expected with such a price discrepancy — but they’re still an excellent product in their own right. The sound is fantastic for the money, they have several useful noise cancellation modes to switch between, and the fit certainly delivers on the “comfort” part of their name.
The ComfoBuds come in either gunmetal gray or white, and they lay flat in their elongated, capsule-shaped carrying case. This makes for a compact, pocketable design, but the trade-off is that removing them from the case isn’t so simple: you’ve got to press down on the stem, which pushes up the main earbud portion, and then pluck that out of the case. Once you’ve done it a few times, you’ll have it down.
Removing the ComfoBuds Pro from the case takes a bit more effort than some other earbuds.
LEDs hidden at the bottom of the teardrop stem indicate pairing and charge status, and there’s also a light on the case’s exterior so you know when they’re fully topped off. Battery life is rated at 6 hours with ANC enabled, which outlasts the 4.5-hour AirPods Pro. The case has enough extra juice for you to reach 20 hours of total listening time. It charges over USB-C but doesn’t offer wireless charging.
1More also beats out Apple on the scale, with each ComfoBud Pro weighing 5.2 grams compared to the 5.4-gram AirPods Pro. In your ears, they feel similarly light and barely there. This results in comfort that lasts over extended stretches, which can’t always be said of heavier options like the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (8.5 grams) and Jabra Elite 85t (7 grams). Four sets of silicone tips come in the box, with an extra small size thrown in alongside the standard small, medium, and large. I’d have appreciated an XL option, as even the largest size took some adjustment for a snug seal.
Instead of any actual buttons, the ComfoBuds Pro have a touch-sensitive area on the outer stem. It works well enough, even if it’s not obvious exactly where you should be tapping. The most confounding thing about 1More’s controls is there’s no single-tap action. You can choose what happens with a double tap, long press, or triple tap, but the single-press option — commonly used by other manufacturers to play / pause — just doesn’t exist here. So although 1More lets you customize the controls that are here, you’re a bit limited.
By default, two taps is pause, three activates a voice assistant, and a long press toggles between the noise-canceling modes. I ended up switching the three-tap gesture to track controls, but that meant settling for no direct volume access. Each earbud has an IR sensor on the outside for auto-pause if you remove them. They reliably resumed the music whenever I put them back in my ears.
1More has a good reputation for delivering on sound quality, and I think the ComfoBuds Pro might set a new bar for what to expect if you’re on a $100 budget. They’ve got excellent clarity without the bass bloat that’s common in this price bracket. Everything gets its ample space in the mix; the many layered vocal tracks by Taylor Swift and Justin Vernon on “Exile” are all distinct and come through with clarity. The funky groove of Lake Street Dive’s “Hypotheticals” is a good demo for the punchy bass these earbuds are capable of. Usually, there’s one genre or even a style of music production that will expose the weaknesses of a particular set of earbuds, but I struggled to find that with the ComfoBuds Pro. They can adapt to pretty much anything without coming off as harsh or thin. 1More doesn’t include any options for EQ customization, so what you get is what you get. Either earbud can be used standalone.
You control the ComfoBuds Pro with tap gestures on the stem.
But do they sound better than the AirPods Pro? You could make the case they do, yeah. I think some people will prefer the deeper low tones and how much wider 1More’s earbuds can feel; vocals stay planted in the center, but you’ll hear a ton of detail out of the left and right channels. Still, there’s something to be said for the no-nonsense, straightforward audio reproduction of the AirPods Pro that so many people find pleasing across all sorts of different audio. 1More’s pricier True Wireless ANC also sound a bit fuller and more precise since they have a dual-driver design compared to the single 13.4-millimeter driver in the ComfoBuds Pro.
These earbuds offer a few different levels of noise cancellation intensity. There’s the default “strong” option, which goes the furthest in quieting outside noise. But 1More also includes a less powerful mode it says is suitable for “chatty” environments like cafes and offices, plus another that’s meant to avoid wind noise, which is common with noise-canceling earbuds since they constantly use the exterior microphones to sample ambient sound. If you’re outside on a windy day, that could be a good trick to lean on. (These latter two modes require the 1More mobile app to activate.) Finally, there’s a full-on transparency mode for getting a clear sense of everything happening around you. 1More’s active noise cancellation worked pretty well when I was sitting outside at a Brooklyn coffee shop, but this is one area where the AirPods Pro pull ahead. They don’t have the same variety of modes, but Apple’s premium earbuds do a better overall job of bringing down the volume of the outside world, which is what’s most important.
The case is compact but lacks wireless charging.
Even so, all of these things make the ComfoBuds Pro a great value. But the AirPods Pro still rank above in several respects. First, the ComfoBuds Pro case doesn’t support wireless charging. Second, Apple’s transparency mode still sounds more natural and airy than 1More’s. And 1More can’t match the software flexes (automatic switching, spatial audio, seamless pairing, audio sharing, etc.) that exist between AirPods and other Apple devices. That’s a huge part of what makes them so popular. Again, we’re talking about quality-of-life conveniences that you’d rightfully expect from a $250 product. And these cost nowhere near that. But if 1More is going to make the comparison, the differences are worth pointing out. Despite putting a huge focus on voice mic performance, 1More also winds up behind the AirPods Pro there — as does everyone else. It’s a draw on sweat resistance, with both sets of earbuds rated IPX4.
1More has put together a fantastic pair of budget earbuds with the ComfoBuds Pro. I wish the company had focused on the sheer value you get in exchange for your $99 instead of trying to take down the AirPods Pro, which just isn’t realistic. Despite matching them on comfort and edging them out in other areas like battery life, there are still valid reasons why many iPhone owners will go right for Apple’s buds. It’s hard to put a price on those exclusive Apple ecosystem features and the superior noise cancellation. But if you’ve only got around $100 to put toward earbuds, the ComfoBuds Pro are a standout pair that won’t leave you missing much else. Only thing is, the AirPods are far from the only competition they’ll need to stand out from.
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There are a lot of topics, both serious and fun, that are out there to be covered by The Verge, and it falls on our news writers to cover them: from coronavirus and space exploration to YouTube and Super Nintendo World. Mitchell Clark is one of those writers; among other articles, he wrote one of the best explanations you can find of what exactly NFTs are. We took a look (remotely via photos) of Mitchell’s desk and asked him some questions about his stuff.
Tell me a little about yourself. What is your background, and what do you do at The Verge?
Like Jay, I’m a news writer, tasked with keeping The Verge’s readers up to date with news about pretty much anything you could think of. Lately, it’s been a lot of NFTs, but it’s really just a grab bag every day I come into work, which keeps it exciting.
I also literally just got here — I started in December. I previously did a little of everything, from slinging fast-food chicken fingers, professionally fixing people’s phone problems, and doing training, testing, and coding for software the government uses. Basically, pretty much anything not related to my degree in video production.
Photo by Mitchell Clark / The Verge
How did you decide where and how to set up your workspace?
I live in a relatively small and cheap city, so I’m luxuriating in a two-bedroom apartment. I’ve worked at home ever since we moved here in 2017, so as soon as we got all the moving boxes out of the second room, I claimed it as my office. As for where the desk is: it used to be up against the window, but the sun kept getting in my eyes, so I moved it against the wall instead.
Tell me a little about the desk itself.
It’s called the iMovR Energize, and it’s a motorized standing desk. And yes, I do actually work standing up a lot. I don’t often work sitting at it, though — the cat is banned from the office, but if I’m in here he’ll sit outside the door and scream. So if I’m going to work sitting down, I do it on the couch so he doesn’t guilt-trip me.
Half of the reason why I chose the Energize was because it’s ostensibly made in the US, and the other half is that there are almost no reviews of it, and I wanted to do one and have it stand out. As far as I can tell, I’m still the only person who’s done a video review of it on YouTube, the TL;DR of which is that it’s a good desk. If it lasts for 10 years, it may actually be worth the almost $1,000 price tag.
I think that’s the simplest desk chair I’ve seen so far.
Yeahhhh, it’s an Ikea Trollberget. I went with it over an office chair in the optimistic hope that it would help me not slouch so much. The seat part of it tilts back and forth, so it really requires some core strength to sit up straight, which is great when I actually do that, but honestly I usually just put my elbows on the desk and curve my body into some horrible “S” shape. If I lived somewhere I could find a used Herman Miller, I’d probably give one of those a try.
Tell us a bit about your audio setup. It looks like you’ve put considerable thought into it.
Yes, I have. It’s a Shure Beta 87A microphone, mounted on a Heil PL2T arm and connected to a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 audio interface. The headphones are the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 ohms, which aren’t super fun for music (hence the fifth-gen iPod with KZ ES4 earbuds) but are great for accurately reproducing vocals.
The whole setup is optimized for one thing: making sure that my voice is as clear and echo-free as possible. I was tired of having to go into a cave of blankets to record voiceovers, so I got a microphone with a very narrow (supercardioid) pickup pattern, and it works great. I also sometimes use it as an improvised video mic, for which it’s only okay. Usually, it just makes me sound really great on Zoom calls (and lets me pretend I’m going to make more episodes of a podcast I made three episodes of and then gave up on).
Okay, now it’s time to talk about your other tech: your computer, display setup, and other tech stuff.
Alright! My computer is a 13-inch M1 Macbook Pro — I went with the Pro over the Air mainly for the brighter screen. When I’m working from my desk and not the couch, I plonk that on a Twelve South Curve stand, and plug it in to a… *checks B&H order history* Dell U2415 24-inch monitor.
It’s 16:10, which is nice, but unfortunately it’s got a 1920 x 1200 resolution. I seem to be especially sensitive to low resolutions (I can immediately tell the difference between YouTube at 1080p and 720p on my iPhone Mini), so my next big upgrade may be to LG’s 24-inch UltraFine 4K (if I can find one used).
I switch between a Magic Trackpad and Logitech G502 Hero for my mousing needs. Changing which device and hand I use helps stave off wrist pain, and I’ve discovered that any mouse without Logitech’s ratcheting / free-spinning scroll wheel is almost unusable for me. For my keyboard, I use the peculiarly named Ducky One 2 with Cherry MX Browns. The main theme is wired: I’ve always run into weird, annoying issues with Bluetooth keyboards and mice.
The final Big Thing on my desk is an OWC ThunderBay 4. Being into video production and photography (Fujifilm X-T3 for digital, Nikon F3HP for film, by the way), I accumulate a lot of absolutelymassive files: I’ve currently got 11TB of data spread out across 17TB of drives.
You mentioned that you had a bit of a cable issue.
Yeah, I just up (down? side-to-side?)-graded from an iMac Pro, which had just enough ports to plug in my five bajillion peripherals. Now my computer has two ports, so I have an absolute nightmare of a situation.
Here’s my current setup: I connect my laptop with Thunderbolt to the ThunderBay 4. Somehow that provides enough power to trickle-charge the laptop, and provides a Thunderbolt pass-through, which I currently have a USB-C Satechi Clamp Hub Pro plugged into. Plugged into that are my mouse and keyboard, and my monitor’s built-in USB hub, which has even more devices plugged into it (notably the scanner and Scarlett). Then I use my laptop’s second Thunderbolt port to plug in the monitor (good thing the ThunderBay can charge the computer, I’m out of ports).
I’ve got an OWC Thunderbolt 4 Dock on preorder to save me from this triple-hub chain nightmare, but until then, I’ve just got a mess of wires and am hoping nothing breaks.
I see your keyboard is right near your desk. Do you ever take a break to make some music?
I can’t actually play piano to be honest, even though I’ve literally had this keyboard since I was seven years old. I do have it hooked up to my computer through the Scarlett’s MIDI interface, so sometimes if I find a really cool-sounding synth in Logic, I’ll mash at the keyboard until I get something that sounds good. Its main job, though, is to sit there, guilting me until I actually learn even a drop of music theory.
Looks like a great setup for storing your bikes, but I’d be nervous about crashing into them if I push my chair back too hard…
I’d never even thought about that, but thankfully my chair doesn’t have wheels so I’d really have to try for it. The biggest risk with the bikes is that I’ll look out my window, see the paved trail that runs right outside it (and keeps going for 100 miles into a different state), and not be able to resist the temptation to take a ride!
For any other apartment-dwellers, the bike stand is probably a great option: it’s made by a company called Delta Design. I bought mine at Costco, but as always when I find something I like there, it’s no longer available. Amazon still sells it, and REI has a nicer-looking version, too.
Tell us a bit about your decorations: the great collection you’ve got on your bulletin board, the sculptures on your windowsill, etc.
I always want to have things that, as Marie Kondo would put it, spark joy around me while I’m working. So, I try to decorate with things made by creators or friends, or with art that is associated with some sort of memory. Some of the pins are from webcomics or podcasts that I enjoy, some are from Etsy, and the vintage and Michigan-related ones I got from my grandma, who apparently collected them. I’m on the record as absolutely loving Kentucky Route Zero, so I figured I’d get a poster of it, too.
The coolest story, though, goes with the metal bonsai trees. I did karate for about 10 years (and have missed doing it for six), and my sensei had a friend who would make the trees by hand. He’d give them out every year as awards for people who exemplified certain qualities of the Shotokan dojo kun. I don’t remember which I got them for, but they’re good reminders of some pretty good rules.
What’s on the shelving beneath the bulletin board?
A little bit of everything! There’s an Epson Perfection V550 scanner, which I use for everything from the mundane (scanning documents and birthday / holiday cards) to the exciting only to me (scanning all the film negatives I’ve developed). I also keep all my camera gear there, with one of the drawers having a mishmash of GoPro accessories, a Rode VideoMic Go, Zoom H5, and other video gear. The other drawer has “ancient media” like VHS tapes, cassette tapes, and vinyl records.
Oh, and there’s a label maker, which I’m pretty sure doesn’t have any tape left.
Finally — do you often hide under your desk?
Only in the summer, when it’s hot and I need to get out of the sunlight! But I do work from the floor a lot, either just sitting on it or laying down. I’ve been told it’s weird (usually by my wife, who comes home and finds me laying on the floor, with the cat having sprawled himself across my legs), but it works for me.
It’s taken years, but OnePlus is finally getting in the smartwatch game with the newly announced OnePlus Watch, starting at $159. The new watch (as was revealed last week) has a round design that looks similar to a regular wristwatch, instead of the oblong rectangle popularized by the Apple Watch and its imitators, like the Oppo Watch.
The case itself is stainless steel, measures 46mm, and features two buttons on the side (one of which features the OnePlus logo). It’ll be available in two colors: silver and black. The display is a 1.39-inch OLED panel at 326ppi, with sapphire glass.
The watch will also feature a version of OnePlus’ Warp Charge system (promising a week of battery life off a 20-minute charge). OnePlus promises that the watch should last up to two weeks on a single charge or up to one week for heavier users.
Specs-wise, the OnePlus Watch features 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, and integrated speakers. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS are all built in, but there’s no cellular option. If you want connectivity on the watch, you’ll have to be connected to a nearby phone.
Image: OnePlus
Fitness is also a big part of the OnePlus Watch. It’ll offer over 110 workout modes, offer built-in GPS, and feature IP68 water and dust resistance. Additionally, the OnePlus Watch features internal storage for music, which allows users to store up to 500 songs to listen to over their Bluetooth headphones when out on a run, even if they don’t have their phone with them. The OnePlus Watch can also automatically detect and track workouts as well as monitor sleep, stress, blood oxygen saturation, and heart rate.
OnePlus isn’t using Wear OS for the OnePlus Watch, though. As the company had announced before the event, it’ll use RTOS-style software setup (similar to companies like Fitbit), with a companion app that will allow it to connect to your phone to receive calls and notifications. (An iOS app for Apple users is promised for the future, too.)
That means things like app selection and custom watchfaces will be largely limited to whatever OnePlus can build in-house — so no third-party apps, at least for now. That said, to start, there’ll be dozens of watchface options to choose from (with additional customization choices to add more style options), so users will have some flexibility.
The OnePlus Watch can also be connected to a OnePlus TV (where available), allowing it to be used as a remote. And if you happen to fall asleep when you’re watching TV on OnePlus’ set, the watch can automatically turn off the TV after it detects that you’ve fallen asleep.
Image: OnePlus
The company also announced a limited edition model made out of a cobalt alloy, which it says is twice as hard as stainless steel. OnePlus says that the Cobalt Limited Edition will be “coming soon,” but the company isn’t providing a price yet.
The OnePlus Watch will start at $159 and will be available starting on April 14th from OnePlus’ website.
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