Music - Page 55 of 73

Review: Samsung T5 SSD

RESUME Today’s technology delivers fast, pocket-sized speeds. Investing in a piece of storage that can also be used for more than just a backup is more than convenient. The Samsung T5 external SSD is recommended for a good backup of a nice collection of music.

PLUS POINTS Versatile Reliable Format Speed

We listen music with z all more and more via the various streaming services. Spotify, Tidal, Soundcloud, Apple Music – you name it. Sometimes it seems as if no one has any music carriers at home. Or is it?

There is a discrepancy to begin with. The audio enthusiast knows that music via those streaming services is often compressed enormously. A streaming service for – and point of sale for – music that does focus on audio quality is for example Qobuz. It is also possible to buy high quality music there. And there are plenty of other places online where it is possible to buy high quality music. Many of us at the editorial office therefore have a server or NAS at home for the storage of that music. We can also use it as a source to stream music over the network. A common set-up among music and film lovers, but it does require a backup: a backup!

Backup Importance As a hard drive in your server or NAS decides to retire, then you can wave to your music. You will not get it back. A possibility to at least partially overcome this is with a Raid configuration, but it is best to always make a backup of your valuable digital collection. And preferably several, because one backup is not a backup.

For that reason today we are going to get started with a Samsung T5 portable SSD. Samsung has been the market leader in SSD storage for several years. The brand’s Evo series has also won multiple awards. The Samsung T5 is very small in size. The device literally fits in your palm. Thanks to the housing, the T5 is shockproof, password-protected and uses Samsung V-NAND flash memory.

The use of large, heavy and often slow mechanical hard drives is no longer entirely of this time. This is mainly aimed at the really large amounts of storage in servers. The demand for faster information transfer, on the other hand, is growing day by day. The Samsung T5 has a USB3.1 gen2 connection and a transfer speed of up to 540 mb per second. This makes it possible to watch or listen to music and films directly from an external SSD. Running an operating system externally is possible, or games.

SSD Vs. HDD So what are the advantages of an SSD compared to an HDD? A Solid State Drive no longer has any moving parts. It is stored on flash memory chips. That provides much more speed. The energy consumption is very low, an SSD is more reliable and has little or no noise production.

An HDD or Hard Drive Disk is a magnetic metal disk. It is ‘written’ and read by an arm, like on a record player. Since it is mechanical, it does make noise. Searching and writing is also done physically, so slowly. The energy consumption is also a lot higher.

For this review we are going to back up Make a small 747 gigabytes of music. We connect the Samsung T5 to the Synology for this 215 + NAS. Next, we need to format the external drive so that we can use the T5 external SSD. We select all music and copy it to the T5 SSD. A real life test, just as you could use the external SSD at home. We can see that the time changes quite a bit.

Samsung has developed this external SSD for a large target group. Because the T5 is handy, you can take it with you. The option to protect the SSD with a password via an Apple or Windows computer will also appeal to many people. Looking at the performance, we see that a small file (10 mb) at a rate of 526 mb per second is written. For larger files – read: a file of 5 gigabytes or larger – we arrive at a 421 mb per second. The reading speed is also comparable. Those are great scores, for impatient people.

The full music backup finally takes just under four hours. That is quite fast, an HDD mechanical hard disk cannot do that very quickly. Nice even if it ever needs to be restored.

Better safe than sorry A good backup is worth its weight in gold. A second backup even even more. Something a music lover or collector with a nice digital collection should have. We experienced that ourselves years ago, because then we lost a lot . We cannot emphasize the usefulness and necessity enough, but with an SSD there is an extra advantage. This can be can easily be connected to the radio in the car, provided it is equipped with a USB connection. So you have all your own music at hand, in good quality, even when you’re on the go.

Conclusion A good backup is a must, especially for the audio (and film) enthusiast. Today’s technology provides high speeds in pocket format. Investing in a piece of storage that can also be used for more than just a backup is more than convenient. Especially if the reliability is high. The Samsung T5 external SSD is recommended for a good backup of a beautiful collection of music.

Samsung T5 SSD

€ 109 | samsung.com

Rating: 4.5 / 5

Review: MartinLogan Motion 40i the i is the finishing touch

The MartinLogan Motion 40 i is not a revolution, but an evolution. I mean that positively, because evolution or new does not necessarily mean better. The Americans have especially improved the appearance, which is my humble opinion by the way. The design has now become a bit more interior-friendly with more attention to detail. In terms of performance, it is still a very fine speaker series with the transparent display of the impressive electrostats combined with the easier placement of more conventional speaker designs. I was already very pleased with the previous iteration of the Motion series, but the Motion 40 i has definitely conquered a place in my living room.

MartinLogan Motion The American brand MartinLogan, mainly known for the electrostats, renowned for their super-fast and analytical reproduction, not very long ago, the Motion series took over. The focus is mainly on appearance, but not exclusively.

The Motion- series is one that is more aimed at the listener who is looking for conventional loudspeakers and therefore does not directly have electrostats on the wish list. Because the Motions are mainly quite conventional. A speaker cabinet, with one or more woofers, sometimes a midrange and a tweeter. However, the series does reflect the expertise gained in the development of electrostats. Because the technology of the Folded Motion tweeter that can be found in the Motion series has similarities with the electostat and certainly has its advantages; the rendering is lightning fast and above all very light and transparent.

The Motion series consists of three floor uprights: the Motion 30 i, the 40 i of this review, and the 60 XTi. There are also two bookshelf models – the Motion 15 i and the Greater Motion 35 XTi – and two center speakers; the 30 i and the 50 XTi. In addition to these new models, there are finally a Motion FX for surround channels and a Motion AFX Dolby Atmos certified speaker for use in a home cinema.

The XT (i) designation refers to the tweeter model being used. The XT Folded Motion tweeter in the Motion 60 XTi, 50 XTi and 35 XTi is in fact 40 percent longer than the Folded Motion tweeter in the other models. A big advantage of this is that the vertical radiation of the sound is somewhat more limited with only 35 degrees, which in turn ensures that less reflections come from the ceiling or floor. The non-XT models have a radiance on both the horizontal and vertical axis 099 degrees, which is also not very broad. Turning the MartinLogan Motion 40 i is really a must for a good focus and stereo image.

Bellows If you look closely at the Folded Motion tweeter, it almost looks like an old-fashioned bellows. You know, one of those things to light a fire. These tweeters are small wonders of technology and the Folded Motion tweeter is also known as AMT (Air Motion Transformer). A treble driver such as Oskar Heil was invented and patented. However, this patent has expired from 2004, which means that many audio brands have embraced the technique and in the case of MartinLogan there are certainly similar properties as with the electrostats of the American brand. Yet the technique is fundamentally different.

The recipe; a very thin woven material over which aluminum conductors are placed which is folded into a kind of wafer shape and placed in front of very strong magnets, so that the wafer shape is in a constant and well distributed magnetic field.

The aluminum pattern on the thin wafer shape has its own circuit through which small currents (the signal from an amplifier) are carried, which ensures that those folds repel and attract each other, as it were. This creates a kind of bellows through which air is squeezed out between the ridges. After all, sound consists of air waves and this is a very efficient way of reproducing high tones with low radiation behavior, which in turn ensures less reflections.

Motion 40 i The Motion 40 , the previous model, I have previously reviewed. That was a very positive experience at the time with a score of 4.5 out of 5. For me, sound quality is of course the most important, but the eye is definitely something too. Especially when used in a living room.

The Motion 40 I personally thought it worked out quite well, but the visual renewal of the new Motion series can really be seen and in my eyes it is very successful. The previously large black front is now nicely interrupted by a metal strip with the MartinLogan logo on it. Nice detail is that the metal strip has a small color difference depending on the color of the speaker cabinet itself.

Tricolore In my living room the matt white version with a beautiful silver stripe was housed. However, the variants with a glossy black exterior have a gray colored strip. The Americans call that gray color, how American do you want it, gunmetal gray. And there is another ‘red walnut’ version where the metal strip is champagne colored.

What also immediately stood out when unpacking, is that the white speakers now also really bright white. The previous Motion series had a bit of a pink tinge through the white, which may not color nicely next to a white piece of furniture, which is the case with me. That is why the white variants here at home are very popular with both myself and my wife.

Fabrics grilles All in all they are small, but important details in my opinion. It all looks a little better. In addition, there is no longer a large metal grille for optional attachment, but there are now two fabric grilles per floor stand. A smaller one for above the metal strip and one below. And this is the first time that I am not quite sure whether I like them better with or without a grille. Often the enthusiast (and nerd) thinks in me: leave out those grilles. But now it is still very tasty with grilles on it. Anyway, they are attached with magnets, so they are right away.

Another small visual difference with the previous series is that the caps on the woofers are now flattened. This looks a bit different, a bit tighter. In addition, it also has a function. The new dust caps provide a slightly stiffer construction and therefore also somewhat tighter reproduction.

Specifications, price and availability The dimensions, cabinet construction, the crossover used and the connection terminals are all the same as the previous series. For full (technical) specifications, I would like to refer to the site of importer Look & Listen . The Motion 40 i costs € 1. 099 each and has been available for quite some time.

Listening to the Motion 40 i During the many weeks that the Motions were here, there was – of course – a lot of listening to music. Many different music genres have also passed through and as with the Motion 40 which was the case, also stands out with the slightly renewed 40 i how well they go with everything. The match with the used Anthem amplifier can certainly be called a happy one, but that is no different from when I listened to the previous model. So in that respect it’s a perfect comparison, as the only thing that has changed in my setup is the speaker itself.

There is just enough of everything. Just enough lows, just enough definition and calm in the midrange, and just enough highs. The bass goes nice and far and the Anthem keeps the woofer well under control. The midrange is really fantastic when reproducing voices and the highs are very light and fast. The tweeters are unparalleled in displaying micro details. It is impossible to describe all listening experiences, so I just pick out two albums that I have listened a lot of times recently.

Mariecke Borger – Bright Sky Colleague Eric de Boer recently reviewed Mariecke Borger’s album. If something fantastic was displayed on the Motion 40 i, then the that album. Mariecke’s voice is nicely placed in front of the speakers. She seems – nice and cliché – right in front of me in my living room with the music as a nice accompaniment to her person.

At the intro of the first track Bright Sky also immediately catches the eye that light-footed character of the MartinLogans. The bit of percussion in the song is finely detailed and the heavier drum used in the opening track has good energy with fine timing and also offers plenty of weight. The bass tones are anything but messy or uncontrolled. guitar are very easy to distinguish in a natural way. The recording is of course excellent, but the speakers do a lot of money to create that – cliché alarm – real reproduction of instruments. Everything is in perfect balance.

Tame Impala – The Slow Rush Another album which I have often listened to the recent work of the Australian band Tame Impala. The track Lost in Yesterday was also a modest hit in the Netherlands and was played frequently on NPO Radio 2. It is a very poppy, psychedelic and melodic album with tight beats, synthesizers, electric pianos and vocoders. Really something completely different from Mariecke Borger’s acoustic, country-like album. Furthermore, the new album does not differ much from their previous album in terms of music type Currents from 2015, but that aside. I like music and that’s what it’s all about, people: music!

The stereo spread on this album is very fine. The soundstage is wide. Wider than the setup and also further back than the speakers are away from me. The Motion 40 i really does a very impressive job. Again, that light-footed representation. Especially all those electronic sounds from vocoders and synths seem to flutter like butterflies between the speakers and beyond. With a lot of peace, a lot of nuance and a lot of control.

Conclusion It should come as no surprise that the couple MartinLogan Motion 40 i liked it well, as already in the introduction can be read. Very good indeed. The Motion 40 i has definitely conquered its place in my living room. I get a smile on my face every time I listen to music from these speakers. You don’t hear the equipment, but space is made for experience and listening fun. And that’s what it’s all about. No hi-fi, but myfi.

At the previous Motion 40 of MartinLogan I mentioned having to place it far from the wall and the stability as disadvantages. I have not experienced that distance to the wall as a problem, but the feet could have been a bit more stable again, but that does not affect the sound quality. Compared to the previous iteration they have been marginally improved in sound and a lot improved in looks. They are especially tighter in the bass and the midrange is just a bit quieter, which makes for better imaging, if you can remember such a thing. But in my opinion that is just that cherry on the apple sauce.

MartinLogan Motion 40 i

1. 099, 00 euro p / pc | MartinLogan | Look & Listen

Rating 5 out of 5

Review: Chord 2go streamer module Make your Hugo 2 wireless

The Chord 2go is the highly anticipated streaming module for the Hugo 2. Finally the owners of that excellent DAC no longer have to look enviously at those who made their cheaper Mojo wireless with the Poly. Thanks to the 2go you can hang the Hugo 2 directly on the network and stream music via Roon and other services.

Chord 2go What is the 2go? An interesting question, because you cannot just classify this device under a clearly defined product type. That’s because it is an extension for another device, and not a stand-alone device itself. But ‘expansion’ is also a bit too simplistic, because it does a lot. Add the 2go to the Hugo 2 DAC and you get a new hybrid device with considerably more possibilities.

The 2go actually does the same as the Poly that comes with the Mojo, but then for that more expensive Hugo 2 DAC from Chord that we have already extensively tested. The concept remains the same: the 2go is an extension module that you attach to the DAC and add streaming. There are also two slots for microSD cards, with a maximum capacity of 4 TB. Put the necessary in this and the device will also operate as a network player and as a media server on your network. Talk about versatile.

We will repeat again: you need the Hugo 2 to use the Chord 2go. The two fit together perfectly. So good, in fact, that if you attach the Chord module to the Hugo 2, you suddenly seem to have one new device. And actually it is.

Just screwing

Somehow it’s amazing that it took so long for Chord Electronics to come up with the 2go. With the Poly for the Mojo DAC, the British had already shown that the concept was right: take an excellent DAC in its price range and turn it into a standalone streamer by means of an extra module. No need to screw open, just click and set via an app. And hey presto: your DAC is a Roon endpoint, which thanks to the built-in battery can be used as your completely wireless music source to listen to music with your headphones. It becomes an intriguing alternative to a DAP and much better suited for demanding headphones than a smartphone.

And yes, you can use the 2go / Hugo2 using mobile. After all, the Chord-DAC is equipped with a battery and the 2go can also be used on the road in hotspot mode. But we feel that this is more of a theoretical scenario. We think it is much more likely that you will use this combined device at home to listen to your music comfortably in high quality via headphones. Or you can use it as a streaming DAC in your hi-fi system. That makes much more sense with this Chord combination than with the Poly / Mojo, partly because the Hugo 2 has a full cinch output and two digital inputs (optical and coaxial). And also: there is an ethernet connection, because in a system there is a better option in terms of stability.

Then why did that 2go take so long to arrive? We guess that, but it is true that Chord Electronics has recently launched many other products. Think for example of the mighty Ultima amplifiers. Such a thing naturally demands a lot of focus within a hi-fi company.

Before you can start using the 2go, you need to get your inner do-it-yourself unleash. Fortunately, only for a short while and without having to call on next-level skills. Why? The connection between the Hugo 2 and the 2go is realized by the two micro USB connections. However, even two of those plugs are insufficient in the long run to withstand the bending force that you get when you pick up the device carelessly. Fortunately, Chord has found a solution. The box of the 2go contains two pins that you screw into existing cut-outs on the Hugo 2 – which immediately shows that the manufacturer has been working on the 2go from the start. You carefully click the streaming module onto the DAC, after which you install two small nimbus screws in the sides with the supplied key. With this you lock the streamer and you get a solid and stable whole.

With the Mojo and Poly you do not have an additional locking mechanism, but the Hugo 2 and 2go are CNC aluminum housings are therefore a lot heavier. When combined, the unit weighs 180 gram. We would recommend a case for mobile use that protects both devices well. That is also a good idea with the Mojo and Poly. Chord itself has cases that you can buy, we had a custom one made for our Mojo / Poly by a third party.

We said above that the 2go only fits the Hugo 2. That’s not quite right, because Chord is also working on the 2yu. This is a small module that you connect to the 2go instead of the Hugo 2. The device only has digital outputs, so you can use the 2go as a pure streamer with another DA converter. The 2yu may be available by summer, we’ll keep you posted.

Setup via GoFigure App You can set the 2go via the GoFigure app, which also serves the Mojo-Poly. It is a great relief that this app has now become much better. At the launch of the Poly, it was sometimes really hard to get the streamer on your network, but thanks to a series of updates that is now very easy. The 2go benefits from this work as this time we set the streamer to 1-2-3 via the iOS version on an iPad 2017. And just to make sure it works properly (and since Chord handled iOS and Android versions separately in the past anyway), we reset the device and reconfigure the 2go via GoFigure on a Huawei P 30 – smartphone. Fortunately, it goes as smoothly as on an Apple device.

You should get to know the philosophy behind the app. You are not supposed to play music from GoFigure. It is much more of an app for setting things up. That seems clear, were it not for the fact that Chord has provided two exceptions: Internet radio and MPD playlists of music files on a memory card. Why not immediately provide a full music player for those files within GoFigure, that is not so clear. We quietly suspect that Chord believes strongly in Roon. In the GoFigure app you will find all the settings you need. Conveniently, you can permanently enter different WiFi networks here, so that the 2go automatically connects to the correct network when you take the device to your office.

Music can be played via Roon, which is fine goes. The module still appears as non-certified, but functions completely as it should. You can indicate in the Roon settings that this is actually the Hugo 2, so that the correct configuration and icon is chosen.

Of course, far from everyone uses the pricey but very good Roon- software. Another option is to stream music over DLNA, where an optional memory card with music files can be the source. But you can also stream from a DLNA share on NAS. You do not arrange all this via GoFigure, but via a DLNA player app of your choice. We prefer BubbleUPnP on Android, mConnect is a popular option on iOS. Bluetooth and AirPlay (not AirPlay 2) are other streaming options, but we’re happy that aptX is supported for Bluetooth streaming.

Chord says work is in progress on adding Spotify Connect . There is no timeline for this yet – but Chord usually develops software at a relatively slow pace. It cannot be expressed in geological terms, but do not expect to see Spotify appear as an update in a few weeks. Of course we always like to be surprised …

Familiar sound Sound wise the 2go does not change the Hugo 2, or not that we can determine. When we listen to our regular test playlist via Roon and with the Focal Stellia we hear nothing that we have not heard before. After all, the Hugo 2 lives permanently next to the iMac we work on every day, and has been used intensively for over a year. We continue to consider it a reference in the price segment. To know more about what the Hugo 2 offers as a DAC, we would recommend that you read the review of this Chord on it.

One of the underexposed aspects of the Hugo 2 is the presence of the X-PHD crossfeed function. With this, Chord tries to bring the listening experience through speakers to your headphones, which some people find more natural than the strong left-right separation of headphones. We sometimes use it, sometimes we don’t, because certain pieces of music with X-PHD appear just more squashed. With other tracks, the weather reinforces the live feeling. No problem, you can switch it on (three positions) or off via a typical, colored Chord ball. The same is true for the four filters on the DAC that Chord offers, although we find the differences less striking than with the X-PHD function. It is very headphone dependent, we find.

We have used the 2go / Hugo 2 very intensively and noticed that it is a very different experience than the Poly / Mojo. Sound wise Chord takes a big step forward, but you can easily put that Poly in your pocket. The 2go / Hugo 2 is a heavier thing that we also moved very consciously and carefully because of its high value. So it is more ‘transportable’ than ‘portable’, but that is not a problem in itself. In this form, the DAC is also much more convenient and interesting to connect to an amplifier.

Chord equipped the Hugo 2 with a battery because this avoids the whole problem of disturbing power supplies. It also immediately ensures that the combination 2go / Hugo 2 can work for a long time without charging: such 12 hour. That never felt like a limitation. A complaint: if the battery is empty, you cannot immediately use the 2go again if you hang it on the charger. It has to draw some power before you can play music again, which will probably make the impatient audiophile grumble. We should also note that the 2go only establishes a WiFi connection over the 2.4 GHz channels.

Conclusion The 2go, by its nature, seems especially relevant to the Hugo 2 owner. If he is glued to his computer or fixed listening chair, he may not benefit from the product. A USB cable is then sufficient. If you would like to get rid of that dependence on that one listening position and that wired connection to your computer, then the 2go is a must-have addition to an excellent DAC. For example, it allows you to be in the garden or – why not? – can listen to your music in true hi-fi quality in bed, without compromise.

But actually the 2go provides broadening, and therefore it is not just any accessory. Anyone looking for a combined media server / streaming DAC will find an excellent solution in the bundle of the Hugo 2 and the 2go. It has a few eccentric aspects, but these are more than offset by the excellent rendering.

Chord Electronics 2go

1. 195 euro | www.chordelectronics.co.uk

Rating 4.5 out of 5

Review: JBL Club One walking with a club sound

Wireless noise canceling headphones are more popular than ever, which immediately explains why manufacturers are releasing such devices en masse. From JBL we receive the Club One, a new top model with adaptive noise cancellation and adjustable tuning provided by big name deejays such as Armin van Buuren and Tigerlily. Can these headphones therefore immediately be classified as only interesting for teens and twenties? No, that would be very blunt.

JBL Club One The Club One that we look at in this review is the new JBL top model within the noise canceling segment. The word ‘top model’ means many things, but first and foremost that these are headphones with a heftier price tag. What exactly you get for 349 Euro, we’ll talk about that in a moment, but because of the size of that amount, you already know that this JBL competes with several other premium headphones. Think of the Bose Noise Canceling Headphone 700 and the QC 35 II, the DALI IO6, the Denon AH-GC 30, the Sony WH – 1000 XM3, and a number of others. The Club One thus enters anything but an empty playing field. On the contrary, there is already a lot, and what there is is playing at a high level. Yet JBL manages to offer something slightly different with the Club One than the other participants.

Sturdy design You may have been aware of the Club One name and references to Armin van Buuren and co say that JBL wants to provide these headphones with a trendy clubbing look. The design is also completely based on this. Thanks to its all-black color, thick ear cushions, the well-padded headband and the hefty hinge system, the Club One balances perfectly between functional design and a premium look. Not easy to bring these two things together, but JBL has succeeded.

The luxury feeling is really there, partly due to the materials used and how these sturdy headphones are stings. It feels very solid and durable from the first moment. A real eye-catcher is the chamfer or the chamfered metal edge on the driver housing. It regularly reflects the light, which sometimes makes it seem as if the Club One has an illuminated stripe all around. It contrasts nicely with the jet-black appearance and also makes you think that more metal has been used than is really the case. A clever trick, that. The most important parts – in particular the three hinges per ear – are made of aluminum and come across as extremely strong. No squeaks and no play on the moving parts. This is what you expect at this price point.

All that toughness does yield a higher weight (378 gram) than some rivals, such as Bose and Sony. The fit is also more DJ-ian: the ear cushions are a bit larger (but cozy) and exert slightly more ear pressure. Nevertheless, we dare to say that the wearing comfort is very good. The Club One fits very well on your head, partly thanks to the thicker padding on the inside of the headband. Even if you don’t have hair on top – nothing wrong with that – it feels comfortable. If you wear headphones for a few hours, you have completely understood what the pros and cons are in terms of comfort. Besides the fact that you will experience some ear swelling due to the artificial leather of the ear pads (which is inevitable), the Club One scores very well. Thanks to the triple hinge system, it fits perfectly on your ears – and stays in place even when you move vigorously.

Done listening? The Club One folds into something relatively compact, so you can store it in the included hard case. That case is a bit narrow, because you have to make some effort to put the headphones in and then close it properly.

They Know What They’re Doing JBL is part of the Harman group, in turn part of Samsung. As a brand, it has a clear mission within the group: to appeal to younger music lovers. JBL does this with a specific design philosophy and targeted marketing, but also with a specific sound. Make no mistake, this aspect has also been carefully considered. JBL is not a brand that puts random products on the market, like some companies that want to score fast-fast with young people. It remains a company built on the deep audio know-how of the wider Harman group. For example, today JBL would consistently tune its headphones to the latest version of the Harman curve, a sound reproduction that is determined on the basis of large-scale inquiries. Some kind of greatest common denominator, you could say. That sounds negative and not everyone thinks this sound is perfect, but many do. And that is of course precisely the point: finding a sound that appeals to as many people as possible, not just tuning to the issues of the day or the taste of a haphazardly chosen marketer. JBL does adjust the curve and adds more bass to it than, say, sister brand AKG. After all, research shows that younger listeners prefer that.

The term ‘sound’ is a bit more relative at Club One. When we talk about the accompanying app, you will soon discover that you can change the sound radically. Most rivals can do that too, usually via an equalizer in the accompanying app. JBL offers Club One users slightly more choices: you can choose a sound from a well-known DJ at any time, opt for a genre equalizer (such as ‘jazz’ or ‘vocal’), or simply draw a curve yourself. You can do all this via the JBL Headphones app (iOS and Android).

Very good battery life The Club One is a wireless headphone and yet you will find a cable in the box back. You can even choose which side of the headphones you connect the cable to, because there are two inputs. And yes, a mini hype in headphone land this year appears to be the return of the curly cable that some associate with professional use. You also get one at the Club One. But why then supply cables? Simply because a cable or two is not a big cost, and that it is useful in some circumstances. If you use the JBL Club One wired, the battery will last longer, for example. Although Bluetooth chipsets have now become so efficient that the difference is no longer so great. If you choose the cable, the battery will remain 25 hours alive. With Bluetooth you only get two hours less. With the cable you can also use the JBL for exceptional situations, such as when you quickly need a headset to plug into an Xbox or DualShock controller. An autonomy of 25 hours with noise canceling and Bluetooth switched on is an above-average score. There are some wireless headphones that last longer, but 30 hours is more than enough so that you do not have to charge too often. Without NC but with Bluetooth, JBL claims an autonomy of 45 hours, and that is very good. And because the Club One already filters out a lot of ambient noise passively, you can really use it like that.

Special forces Including the WH – 1000 XM3 (and soon we suspect: the WH – 1000 XM4) from Sony offers you many options and settings through its app. At the other end of the spectrum is the very good sounding Dali IO6, without an app and without much customization. The Club One leans more towards the ‘many-extra-features’ side of this dichotomy, but JBL opts for a limited number of options that are especially useful. In full lockdown period, the house filled up with family members while the neighbors went into remodel mode, and we really appreciated the Silent Now feature, where the headphones keep working with noise canceling – even when not connected to a smartphone. It is really a calming agent. Most NC headphones cannot; if you turn off the Bluetooth connection, they will also turn themselves off after a few minutes.

If you rub the edge of the headphones with your thumb, you will feel a number of buttons. You immediately notice that JBL took ergonomics into account. Many devices come with buttons that are difficult to distinguish by touch, but with the Club One they are far apart so that you rarely accidentally touch the wrong one. On the left side you have a few keys that enable additional functions, such as noise canceling. You determine in the app what the bottom button does. In other words, with a short press of the button, you activate Ambient Aware (whereby ambient noise is partially passed through so that you don’t jump out of your skin if someone shows up behind you) or TalkThru (so that you can have a conversation without taking your headphones off). The difference between the two is that with TalkThru your music will play very quietly, while with Ambient Aware you can keep listening.

Functions like TalkThru work fine on their own, though we notice in practice that conversation partners often find it strange if you wear headphones while talking to them. But in an open office or on the road when ordering a coffee, there may be less social disapproval. We’ll try it out if we ever get to enter an open-plan office again. You can (de) activate the noise canceling by pressing the same bottom button a little longer. You will hear a different sound than if you switch Ambient Aware / TalkThru on or off, so that you know for sure what you are doing.

Train ride on an office chair When setting up the Club One, it takes some getting used to the thicker ear pads. They immediately isolate you from the environment, even before you switch on the headphones. We also notice this when we start our first test. Since we don’t really have many flights to press conferences or audio factories right now, to try out NC headphones, we use a video on YouTube (to be precise, this one ). It’s a four-hour recording of a train ride through a snowstorm, with a lot of rumbling in the low end, played as loud as possible on our iMac. When comparing A / B with the WH – 1000 XM3 we immediately notice that the Club One eliminates much less noise than the Sony. The noise cancellation on the JBL is very effective against low sounds, such as the roar of the wind. These are also the most annoying frequencies that tire you quickly. You still hear a lot of the tapping when the train wheels roll over the connections to the railway sleepers. With the Sony we approach almost complete silence, which is not the case here. But the noise cancellation is effective enough so that you can hear music well, and you experience less of a feeling of being completely cut off from the world. Something that some people find a bit scary.

When we then start listening to music, we don’t find that bit of sound that still comes through really disturbing. It almost completely fades into the background. We can concentrate perfectly on the slow beats of ‘Merrie Land’ by The Good, The Bad and The Queen (a project by Damon Albarn of Blur and Clash guitarist Paul Simonon, among others). We will of course try out the DJ Signature presets that you will find in the app at the Stage + screen, which is certainly worthwhile. There is really some difference and you have to judge according to your own taste what you like. For example, we personally found the Tigerlilly and Ryan Marciano presets a bit too nasal, while Armin van Buuren previously gave us the experience that the neighbors on the other side of the wall were finishing a playlist. If we had to choose, we would rather go for the preset from Sunnery James, who also made ‘LP5’ from German techno outfit Apparat sound the best. But in the end we prefer the ‘Custom EQ’, where we use the Club One Q preset (with a flat hill around 250 – 500 Hz) the most enjoyable. In the app, however, you have a lot of freedom to draw a curve yourself, which works well because you immediately hear what the result is.

You can of course look very suspiciously at EQ possibilities, but the personalization is just part of the JBL experience. The Club One also digests the adjustments you make very well. You don’t get the idea that you are asking the headphones to do something impossible that causes distortion. That is an indication that the Club One is basically well designed.

You have to be careful when trying out the different EQ options. Sometimes the music suddenly dared to play much louder when changing, which seemed like a bug to us. If so, we expect a software update to resolve the issue.

In urban genres, Club One acts like a fish in water.

) But also with other music styles it certainly does not perform badly. ‘War Anthem’, a regular test track by classical composer Max Richter, is very awe-inspiring on the JBL’s, precisely because the percussion (representing artillery) is deep and reverberates for a long time. But the cello line is also quite nicely laid out (although the Dali IO6 with a hi-fi approach presents, for example, just a bit smoother and more detailed). Ultimately, it comes down to your preference for basses: would you like a solid foundation for your music or not? The great thing about the Club One is that it delivers good bass and with a lot of impact and slam, without becoming overfat or woolly.

Conclusion The Club One is a strong entry in the premium segment. The noise canceling is relatively effective (even without NC, you hear little noise) and the autonomy is excellent. We fall for the handsome DJ appearance, which is combined with a durable build quality that is worthy of the pro world. But above all: they are headphones that offer a lot of experience, with a good bass reproduction that does not hinder the detailed reproduction. Pop, techno, hip-hop or other urban genres sound great on it, for rock and metal you might want to add some EQ. Add in a series of presets from famous DJs, and you have headphones that can accompany you for a long time and actively entertain.

JBL Club One

349 euro | www.jbl.com

Rating 4 out of 5

Review: Dynaudio Contour 30i A very pleasant new acquaintance

If I felt like using the new Dynaudio Contour 30 i to review, that was the question I got after pledging in advance that I until 23 April would be silent about what I would get in the house. Well, please! And also a bit exciting, because even though colleague RenÃ © van Es was able to write the absolute scoop to his name with the entry-level model of the seriesÂ ???? Â de Contour 20 i Â â ????, my review of the 30 i would be one of the first reviews of this new speaker series anyway. That honor came to me because I previously had the direct predecessors Contour S 3.4 LE Â and Contour 30 Â should have received at home . To determine the progression after 3.5 and 2.5 years respectively, it did not seem superfluous to pull the old notes from the archive again, but it was clear from the first notes that the Contour 30 i Outperforms its predecessors.

Dynaudio Contour 30 i Adding a new member to the venerable Contour family is taken very seriously by Dynaudio . And rightly so: the series has been the brand’s very popular upper middle class for decades. In this price segment, however, the speaker series at our Danish friends usually last longer than 2.5 years. Why did it take a relatively short time this time before the very popular Contour got its i (from â ???? improvedâ ????) pinned? This is, as colleague Van Es also said, in the fact that the last Contour series was developed just before they got access to the wonderful Jupiter measuring space in Skanderborg, with which it can be determined very quickly what the result of adjustments is. to the cabinet design or the crossover filters. And engineers in heart and soul as they are, the developers of Dynaudio did not rest on their laurels. The previous Contour series was then hoisted onto the measuring platform to see what could be improved according to the latest insights. And that turned out to be one thing or another. No big things, the engineers at Dynaudio also understood their trade before Jupiter, but all in all it turned out to be a series of small things that together gave a considerable result.

The â ???? iâ ???? in Dynaudio Contour 30 i Who the New Contour 30 i a superficial look may shrug and â ???? a new tan, well wellâ ?? ¦â ???? mumble. Not justified, but understandable, because the vast majority of the improvements come from within. But to start with the exterior, the new series has indeed received new colors. The high-gloss black version has remained, but now shines even deeper, and for the wood colors the buyer can choose from a beautiful warm color Walnut â ???? it has become slightly redder compared to the previous one. and a beautiful high-gloss lacquered Gray Oak variant. I prefer the latter, but the Walnut version that I got is just as nice as it is. What I personally think is a shame is that the separately supplied (magnetic) fronts still do not cover the entire metal baffle. It must be â ???? Danish Designâ ???? are to do that, but I don’t like it. The legs protruding diagonally under the cabinet are also visibly different. They still offer a clever combination of rubber feet and top-down spikes that can be turned from top to bottom, but instead of four separate legs, they now have two in an elongated U-shape that extends under the cabinet at the front and rear. That is nicer and firmer.

But the real changes are inside. The Contour 30 i got a new tweeter, the Esotar 2i, with behind the woven textile membrane the now legendary Hexis dome developed for the top series Confidence. For those who don’t know yet; the Hexis dome is a spherical plastic â ???? shellâ ???? which follows the contour of the tweeter dome, and which has a pattern of pits that facilitate the airflow to the rear. It’s an aerodynamic trick, just like the pits in a golf ball that allow you to hit it further away. In addition, the Hexis dome protects the delicate woven membrane to a certain extent against piercing children’s fingers. Behind the Hexis is a larger damping chamber with smooth curves, also in the service of a better discharge of air to the rear. The reduction in compression that this provides is quite significant, which is reflected in a cleaner display and a considerably wider radiation pattern.

In addition, the woofers got a new spider. This folded fabric collar keeps the voice coil centered, so it’s critical. But it is in the way, it obstructs the radiation to the rear, and that again provides some compression. The new spider is made of Nomex, a super light but very strong plastic. It can be woven much more openly than the previously used material, but it does provide the same stiffness. The new spider therefore lets more sound through. Simple and very effective. The exchange filter has also been addressed. The changes in the units allowed the impedance correction circuit to be omitted from the previous filter, resulting in a simpler filter. In terms of crossover filters, “the less the better” applies anyway, but if you subsequently convert the savings from the lower number of components into better quality, I think you’re doing a good job as a speaker builder. The audible result of this will be discussed later, but believe me: this is a very important one.

Finally, the damping material. Thanks to the Jupiter measuring system, better damping materials could be developed for the Confidence and Evoke series and of course the Contour is now benefiting from this. Enough reasons for curiosity to lift the speakers from their boxes and carefully set them down in their temporary place.

Dynaudio Contour 30 i listened to Â In my notes I found that the Contour 30 in September 2017 was one of the last speakers I listened to on my unrivaled Naim Supernait2 amplifier. Not long after that, I returned to tubes; a long-cherished wish that materialized in a PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium HP Integrated amplifier. Earlier this year I replaced that HP with its successor the PrimaLuna EVO 400. The sources were a Bluesound Node 2 on a NAD M 51 da-converter (operated via Roon) and my vintage Thorens TD 125 with Jelco SA – 750 E arm, Holistic Audio HA – 103 C element and Audio Creative Phonodude tube phono stage. Interlinks, speaker cable and power cables were all from AudioQuest.

Omitting the impedance correction circuit in the changeover filter worried me a bit for a while. Tube amplifiers often have a much higher output impedance than solid state amplifiers. This can cause the frequency response of the output signal to match the impedance curve of the speaker. Since many speakers have an increasing impedance in the bass, this can lead to too much and baggy bass. But those fears turned out to be unfounded, the designers of Dynaudio have again managed to make a nice flat curve, and because the PrimaLuna is fortunately quite low in terms of output impedance, the match between PrimaLuna and Dynaudio was very good. Only then you still have to try which â ???? tap â ???? of the output transformer the best result is achieved. That turned out to be the 8? a bit of a surprise as Dynaudio de Contour 34 i specifies at nominal 4 ?. If you use the Contour 30 i with another want to combine brand tube amplifier then it is smart to pay attention to that, and to be sure not to sail blindly on my preference for the 8? tap. These limitations apply to a solid state amplifier to a much lesser extent, as it mainly comes down to the sound match. My advice is not to choose an overly laid-back sounding amplifier. A little power and a smooth character do the Contour 34 i good.

The loudspeakers were pushed directly from Denmark and thus brand new into my driveway by the transporter. Immediately after unpacking they already sounded very promising, but I wanted to give them some mechanical response before I would make a first impression. To this end, a set of Russian 6P3S-E â ???? workhorseâ ???? pipes into the PrimaLuna to the 34 iâ ???? s play at a reasonable level for two full days. After that they were far from â ???? doneâ ???? but in my opinion were they already at 95% of their maximum quality. You are then close to the often overlooked margin of temperature differences and the influence of air pressure and humidity, so I dare to start the listening tests with that. The rest of the recording process takes place mainly between the ears anyway.

First I replaced the 6P3S-E tubes with the El supplied with the amp 34 tubes. The tubes bearing the PrimaLuna logo are all Chinese made (Shuguang) and rigorously selected by manufacturer Durob Audio. With these tubes the sound was fantastically rich and warm, but after a few days I had the feeling that the bass should be just a little tighter. So were the PrimaLuna EL 34 â ??? ? s replaced for the PrimaLuna KT 95 â ??? s, and that turned out to be a golden opportunity. The â ???? punchâ ???? increased, the layer reached just a bit deeper and had more power and definition. This also made it clear that the Esotar 2i tweeter played so delicately and silky smooth that the slightly fresher treble of the KT 88 â ???? s no problem.

If I, looking back on my previous review, one point for improvement for de Contour 30 had it was a slight restraint in the lower midrange, where voices and many acoustic instruments have their primary timbre. There was nothing wrong with that, but in combination with some amplifiers or in a muffled listening room, the Contour 30 sometimes sound a bit too laid-back. Apparently not only I noticed, because already with the first jazzy tones of the beautiful Paul McCartney tribute album Taste Of Honey by Ulf Wakenius, Lars Danielsson and Magnus Ã ?? strÃ¶m the new Contour taped 30 i clearly from a different tune. Wakenius’s smooth guitar playing sounded dynamically and colorfully from the speakers and was clearly a bit forward. The spaciousness was generous and even extended quite a bit beyond the speakers. An afternoon of shuffling with the speakers did not yield huge improvements in the sound image, it was and remained very good. The tonal balance was also very nice from the start. The bass went deep but never got too heavy at any point, so even in my listening room from about 25 square feet, the included damping foam plugs for the bass ports could stay in their pouch. The midrange sounded open and transparent, beautifully reproducing the natural timbres of acoustic music, with a slight tendency towards warmth that I know from Dynaudio and have always appreciated.

Where perhaps the greatest profit has been made, it is high. I usually listen to music holistically, so without focusing on sub-areas in the frequency range, but for a review I of course put myself in analysis mode. That significant increase in spatiality, especially in the width of the image but certainly also in depth, had to come from somewhere. Experience shows that especially very good phase behavior and close tolerances in the equality of the units used are very important for spatial representation. Since Dynaudio has been making its own drivers for many years and can seamlessly adjust the filtering accordingly, that is a good thing. And that darn Hexis dome , that inconspicuous piece of plastic that cost a lot of money and effort to develop but that afterwards only cost a few duppies each… it cannot be otherwise than that it makes a crucial contribution. I heard that enormous spatiality earlier in the new Confidence and Evoke series, in which the Hexis is therefore also used.

What made the rendering even better was the use of the integrated spikes. Because it was more convenient to use the rubber feet mounted under the legs when determining the best place for the speakers, I continued listening that way in the following days. I’m not usually a big fan of spikes either, but as soon as I turned them down a little bit with the easy-to-use knobs – just a millimeter, because a greater height difference would have changed the reproduction too much – and the speakers again I had the feeling that the final measurements in Jupiter must have been carried out with the spikes. Because although not much changed tonally, things like placement, dynamics and timing all got a few points better. This was clearly audible on the wonderful new album Conference Of Trees by Pantha du Prince, which has a nice spatial production and contains all kinds of percussive sounds that are in different places in the sound image. With this album I regularly felt that I could get up and walk in between.

Votes were with the Contour 34 i also a bit livelier than I remember from its predecessor. A wonderful album to establish that is Book Of Romance And Dust by Exit North. This project by former Japan drummer Steve Jansen and a number of Swedish studio musicians is of an incredible beauty both musically and recording-wise. Singer Thomas Feiner often resembles Steve Jansen or his brother David Sylvian in the timbre of his hoarse baritone. The Contour 30 i gave the vote with so much detail that I – cliche alarm! – felt like he was standing in front of me and addressing me directly. Confrontational and very intimate, and goosebumps from head to toe. If a loudspeaker, as the last link in the chain, is capable of that, then you know that everything is right.

Conclusion

The Contour 30 i is a hefty yet slim looking speaker, with a colorful and dynamic character that makes listening to music the party it should be. Progressive technical insight cannot be restrained, it turns out. Dynaudio deserves a compliment for the fact that they gave their engineers free rein to test and improve the still fairly recent models of the popular Contour series, according to Dynaudio standards. The result is â ???? at least with regard to the Contour 30 iÂ a???? very remarkable. But â ???? in der BeschrÃ¤nkung zeigt sich der Meisterâ ????, as the French say.

The engineers and the golden ears of Dynaudio have changed exactly what was needed to take it to the next level, while keeping the original character well recognizable. . The price (7. 000 euro per pair) is substantial in an absolute sense, but fully justified in a relative sense. The Dynaudio Contour 30 i offers great value for its money and is a feast for the eyes and the ear. Highly Recommended! Â

Dynaudio Contour 30 i

â ?? ¬ 7. 000, 00 per pair | Â dynaudio.nl

Review: Goldmund Telos 7 NextGen Integrated Amplifier Minimalism as an art form

For over 40 years, the unconventional Swiss Goldmund audio products of the highest level. In this continuous quest for true-to-life reproduction, the brand has built an extraordinarily strong reputation that has rightly been lived up to by several mythical products such as the Reference turntable, the Apologue loudspeakers or the Telos amplifier range. After the impressive entrance of the remarkably high-performing Telos 590 NextGen amplifier a few years ago, I am pleased that this brand has managed to bring the already far-reaching simplicity of that model back to its true essence. Resulting in a beautiful and quite rare example of completely natural representation of reality. | This review in English?

Goldmund The reason why the brand considers this as one One of the few has succeeded, starting with the fact that Goldmund products know how to make a clear difference through their history and different thinking. It already starts with the â ???? Swiss Madeâ ???? label and the accompanying, so typically very high quality. A working method for which the Swiss have long been known and which has consistently accompanied the brand throughout its company history. Partly because of this, the company was able to become a significant factor for luxury audio and video systems worldwide. Because yes, even though they are less known for this among the general public, you are also in the right place with this super specialist when it comes to sound reproduction for state-of-the-art home cinema systems.

A second important pillar is that Goldmund has been rock-solid for many years in fundamental research, often requiring the development of new technologies from scratch to achieve the set quality goals . In addition, the brand never followed existing trends and technologies that had not proven themselves sufficiently were invariably rejected. The name Goldmund thus stands for uncompromising quality from its illustrious past until today.

Telos Amplifier Technology Amplifier construction is a skill that has has been deeply rooted in the roots of this conservative, but also remarkably progressive company since the early days. As a rule, the more powerful an amplifier is, the better the control over the speakers used will be. It must be prevented that the latter produce its own sound that has nothing to do with the music signal itself. This is especially true for low frequencies where loudspeaker units tend to start (too) slowly and lag unwanted after the signal disappears. Using the Telos amplification technology, the developers have managed to significantly reduce this intermodulation distortion. In addition, the linearity of all amplification phases has been improved and they have also managed to significantly reduce time distortion. Based on the Goldmund Leonardo research program, Telos designs further utilize a higher bandwidth circuit with minimal delay distortion within the audio bandwidth.

When we turn to the input circuit, it now includes the latest version of the Goldmund Alize Digital / Analog converter circuits. This improves the coupling with the preamplifier part and thus ensures an even more natural reproduction. Separate input and output stages prevent interference between high and low power circuits and improve mechanical grounding. One of the major sonic enhancements of the new Telos NextGen circuit is the greatly increased control over the loudspeaker units. This extra control is obtained by reducing the output impedance of the amplifier to an extreme degree. In addition, it offers a much higher quality of microdynamic contrasts and even helps to keep (very) large woofers under maximum control. Ultimately, the Telos circuit amplifies the audio signal with incomparable purity and transparency, regardless of volume level and with an absence of unwanted distortion.

Telos 7 NextGen Although the relatively friendly pricing would suggest otherwise, the Telos 7 NextGen is one of the most spectacular integrated stereo amplifiers currently produced by Goldmund. Despite its modal format, just like big brother Telos 590, NextGen® is really capable of convinced to drive any passive high-end stereo speaker system with ease. A reproduction in which a convincing energy transfer, real spaciousness and clarity together with a remarkably natural detailed sound image go hand in hand.

The Telos 7 NextGen circuit is the latest improvement of this legendary circuit which has already 32 years (!) of history. A fact that many generations of music lovers still regard Goldmund as the true master of power amplifier design. Several generations of R&D developers have now added new layers of subtle evolution to this scheme, creating one of the longest continuity stories in the audio design art. Despite the extremely simple user interface, it is still possible to connect a number of practical digital and analog sources to this amplifier. This is a given by which listeners who especially want to enjoy their favorite music are not unnecessarily distracted by unnecessarily complicated technology and operation.

When the Telos 7 NextGen shines in its understated splendor in front of me, I really enjoy the clean lines and the immediately noticeable very high finish. Due to the particularly refined and sophisticated visual appearance on both the front and rear, the design exudes maximum quality, without immediately shouting it hard from the roofs. With dimensions of 44 cm wide, 10, 5 cm high and 36, 5 cm deep is actually a neat modal device for me. A given where the weight of only 10 kilo is neatly in step and almost suggests that the amplifier will probably not be very powerful given the relatively sober equipment. But appearances can also be deceiving here, because this relatively compact Telos 7 NextGen still knows a solid 2 x 175 Watts to 8 Ohm on the clocks. Although the rest is not specified, the maximum power consumption of 700 Watts says enough about the robust subcutaneous power reserves. Just like his previously tested big brother 590 that even extremely difficult speakers of the caliber of managed to control a Magico Q5 whistling, the expectations in this area are therefore also high for these 7. An “exciting” damping factor of â ???? only â ???? 220 at 1 kHz at 8 Ohm also shows that the concept of the Telos amplifiers differ greatly from the majority of the competitors. A direction in which audible results gain from mere metrological perfection.

Features When we get to the options, one group will enthusiasts will probably immediately frown firmly at the sight of so few connectivity options, while the other group – including me – jumps up almost jubilantly about finally so much understanding of a manufacturer. The first group probably has a plethora of sources in its A / V corner that he or she also wants to connect to the amplifier. But there is also a large group of people who see the audio system separately from the TV scene and especially if you only use a few sources, this Goldmund is just perfect. Because why would you also pay for options and connections that you never use? The simplicity of this amplifier, as will actually be shown in the listening section, is its great strength.

What is available as equipment? To do this, we first go to the rear and on the digital level we see, in addition to a single USB and toslink input, also a single S / PDIF copy. Furthermore, there are actually only one pair of analog RCA inputs and a beautiful pair of proprietary Goldmund loudspeaker connectors that allow all possible connections and a Euro mains plug connection with main switch visible. On the front, the picture is even more sober and only a small tilt switch is visible that allows switching between the different digital and analog sources. A green LED for power and a yellow LED for “lock” ???? Finally, together with the finely profiled solid aluminum volume controls, complete the tasteful visual package. Finally, when I carefully remove the massive top plate, besides the robust toroidal transformer, I also notice the different and remarkably compact circuit. Goldmund is shrouded in mystery, just like a brand like Roll-Royce, and thinks you should listen to such an amplifier. A detailed â ?? translationâ ???? After all, according to them, technology adds nothing to the enjoyment of listening. The last thing known is that the DAC section via the UBS entrance to 32 bit / 384 kHz of data can processing and also find DSD signals without problems.

Preparation and reflections The Goldmund Telos 7 amplifier has been deployed with a wide arsenal of different speakers and sources. Not because it has to be done, but mainly because it can and provides a lot of useful information about his behavior in different situations. In the first category these are the rather difficult to control Gauder DARC 60 reproducers. The beautifully organically shaped Estelon YB speakers are a lot easier then, while my own Master Contemporary C speakers round off the speaker plate with their high resolution and smooth overall properties. In terms of sources, Aurender S was used 11 and Mirror Image Wizzard streamers, while a Spectral SDR – 4000 SV CD player and North Star Design 192 mk 2 CD transport take care of physical digital discs. Cables are a combination of AudioQuest, Siltech, Crystal Cable, Nirvana Audio, Kemp and Essential Audio Tools.

Before I want to start with actual listening, I would like to come back to the introduction of this article. In this I cite that this Goldmund is a wonderful example of representation of reality. About the importance of this for our music hobby try to explain in the next paragraph why that makes sense to me. In the case of an amplifier, reproduction of reality is the ability to express the tonality, harmonic structure, focus, 3D spatiality, dynamics and speed accurately and in the right proportions to the listener. This not only creates a greater recognizability of the artists and the environment in which they perform, but it is also the fact that, with a well-recorded recording, you can, for example, use a Steinway concert grand piano, Selmer saxophone, Zildjian cymbals and Fender Jazz bass, if you play these instruments live knows, flawlessly.

The great thing is that this Goldmund Telos 7, despite its relatively sharp high – the amount of money that this illustrious little group of amps can handle Close. With products that do not strive for this, and that is the largest group, these kinds of musical works only sound nice and pleasant or may even be unpleasant for someone else. In short, not accurate and not truthful. The reason why I find the phenomenon of representation of reality so enormously important is that with a chain that is carried out completely in this way you can not only get closer to the musical truth, but also what causes in your brain, so that you strongly realize and experience that you have also come much closer to the intentions of the artist (s). It also gives peace of mind when your brain does not have to unconsciously always have to come up with information and the music comes across so contagious and credible that the step of how it could have sounded live is no longer that big at all.Â Â Â Â

Listen Because here in the listening room there is actually a coming and going all year round of test products that play at different quality levels, it is all the more striking that I immediately notice how the Telos 7 NextGen makes music, or rather transfers it. Prior to this integrated amplifier, I have had a selection of the most beautiful amplifiers in the house in recent months, including front and end. Actually all beautiful and good and sometimes even excellently performing, but none of them did what this Goldmund does.

The first words that come to mind have to do with communication and feeling , and in deeper analysis a remarkably high degree of recognisability. The realization that the reproduction appears so effortless, natural and self-evident to you that it is close to what you perceive live sound without a hi-fi set. Other words that would go with this are weightless, extremely fluid and above all, largely free from reproduction artifacts. The great thing about all this is that this display also acts as the icing on the cake almost immediately after switching on. Fortunately, you do not need to be patient for half an hour or more before the display opens up completely, which is nice.

Interesting is also the comparison with the previously tested more than twice as expensive Telos 590 NextGen. It is clearly more colorful and has more of a ‘golden glow’. By this I mean that the 590 does add a certain own sound to the musical event, which the 7 has much less to almost none. Despite its price, the Telos 7 NextGen is still more natural, more pure and more communicative. A degree of interaction that is normally reserved only for top tube designs and in rare cases also mastered transistor designs. For completeness and to restore the Goldmund ranking, a 590 NextGen II has now been released . A successor that I will also be able to welcome in my listening room later this year and will then be pleased to introduce it to you again. But now quickly back to the beautiful and wonderfully basic 7. When I start with the impressively moody What Was Said album by pianist Tord Gustavsen, singers Simin Tander and drummer Jarle Vespestad on ECM 2465, I am immediately touched by the tangible, the uninhibited as well as a penetrating acoustic waterfall of unconcealed expressiveness. With songs like I See You, Journey Of Life and I Refuse, the deeper musical message is immediately audible and tangible. The beautiful organic and rich character of the ECM label remains completely intact and recognizable, but it is especially the very beautiful subtle low level information prayer in a perfectly credible musical landscape that convinces enormously. Low, medium and high are all in themselves quite largely uncritical, although in absolute terms there should be more power and authority, especially in the low reproduction, and dynamic contrasts could be stretched out even more widely. But in this case it just doesn’t matter and that has to do with the Telos 7 NextGen doing something quite rare yet remarkably wellâ ?? ¦

Evoking emotions Oops, now I am very much on slippery ice, I fully realize. Because talking about the representation of reality and evoking emotions is very vague. Also because it is so often very personal and often difficult â ???? hardâ ???? to make. But what I mean is that the longer I use this Goldmund, the more software I will look for that has touched me emotionally now or in my musical past. In my case I am talking about Caverna Magica by Electro harpist Andreas Vollenweider, the album No Borders by Don Grusin, The Thom Rotella Band, the Irish singer Enya with her best album Watermark, CafÃ © Blue by Patricia Barber. and Friendship of pianist Bert van den Brink and bassist Hein van der Geyn.

Of course this list is still far from complete, but they are all albums that have shaped me in the past until now, musically and have meant emotionally. When I extract even more of these albums from oblivion in this way, I also realize that I do this consciously because I notice that this Goldmund has the special gift to link the emotion that I used to experience with these older recordings. felt. That seems simple but rarely happens. So with Andreas Vollenweider I go back into the imaginary cave and experience this musical adventure almost like for the first time. With Don Grusin it splashes and swings through the roof, whereby the complex rhythm patterns and counterrhythms are both unraveled and left intact in a carelessly simple way. Something similar happens with Thom Rotella, where I revolve and enjoy the clearly defined melodies full of audiophile fun. While Enya actually fills the listening room with the many layers of rich harmonic keyboard sounds and her floating voice around it like only she can. Patricia Barber is one of my all time favorites that I can wallow in for hours, while with Bert van den Brink I feel the same electrifying charge as I did during the live concert in the Bim house in Amsterdam.

And the audiophile parameters, what about that? As I often experience with top products, the Goldmund Telos 7 Nextgen also has certain centering properties. By this I mean that the center between the reproducers is very strong in terms of energy transfer and that the rest and beyond it mainly serves as a supplement. The image also has real height image and has a very natural and subtle character. There is never any glassiness or detachment here and the recognisability of real instruments is simply very good. This is simply a fantastic integrated amplifier that is among the very best in its price range and performs flawlessly in terms of both built-in DAC and analog inputs.

Conclusion

How nice and wonderful it is that this brand new Goldmund Telos 7 NextGen as an integrated amplifier has a look that finally perfectly matches whatever the brand claims. In other words: a very pure amplifier with few possibilities, and that is exactly why it is so very good. The Telos 7 NextGen is really an amplifier that 100 percent is designed for the passionate music lover, and not for the so often favored gadget freak.

What is special is that it is also one of those rare transistor designs that will also appeal to tube enthusiasts. A reproduction that has nothing to do with the supposed warm sound balance or a smeared sound image of poor tube designs, but rather appeals to their advantages. So musical realism and accuracy, absence of artifacts, naturalness and purity. If you have been looking for these aspects for a long time, but then incorporated into a beautiful transistor design, then this is one of the few options. In addition, the device looks beautiful in my eyes with its understated appearance, it is very well put together, can be controlled remotely with a solid remote control and is able to provide all its qualities with a wide variety of different sources and speakers to the listener. to be transferred. So tribute to this Swiss manufacturer who, with the Goldmund Telos 7 NextGen, hit the bull’s-eye even more than before.

Goldmund Telos 7 NextGen

â ?? ¬ 11. 500, – | Â www.puuravd.com

Review: Home test Revel M16

Review Lab12 Dac 1 Reference: DA converter with tubes

Lab 12 mainly builds amplifiers that are without exception fitted with tubes. The company recently released the Dac 1 Reference, a DA converter equipped with Multibit Dac chips from Philips and tubes in the output stages. According to Lab 12 the technique used is not self-contained goal. Technique is secondary to sound and musicality. How does the Dac 1 Reference sound and what do the placed tubes do with the sound? We will investigate that. Â

Lab 12, audio company based in Greece

Lab 12 began as a result of the enthusiastic and tireless efforts of music aficionado Stratos Vichos and quickly grew into a state-of-the-art high-end audio manufacturer with a wide production range, according to the Athens website established audio company. Vichos started as a sole proprietorship and claims to have experimented for years before transforming his business into a fast-growing audio company. The manufacturer holds the core belief that emotional impact and engaging musical performance are the most important factors when listening to a piece of music. Implicitly Lab 12 says that music and musicality are the essence and that technology is not an end in itself.

That is not to say that Lab 12 has no regard for the technical aspects of sound equipment . Lab 12 is a technology and performance driven company, our third generation products offer a unique value that can meet the highest demands of music lovers and audiophiles anywhere in the world. Our products contain and introduce the technology of 22 th century, but in the first place it’s the music that matters, â ???? said Lab 12.

Lab 12: portfolio, especially amplifiers Lab’s portfolio 12 consists mainly of amplifiers, which without exception are fitted with tubes. The company also has two clean power products called Gordian and Noyra. The Dac 1 Reference is Lab’s only source 21. The Lab 12 also has two tubes on board, one per channel. In a moment we will look at the technique of the Dac 1 Reference.

Lab 12 prides itself in having products built by hand, in Greece. The meticulous design and development process has never changed. Each product undergoes state-of-the-art measurement processes and final tuning that results from extended listening across various high-end audio systems and combinations to ensure that the end user gets a truly exceptional product that simply allows the listener to enjoy their music .

The focus of the company’s current portfolio is therefore mainly on amplifiers and in that sense the Dac 1 Reference is an odd man out. However, it is not Lab’s first DA converter 21. The manufacturer has “practiced”. with predecessors Dac 1 and Dac 1 SE (Special Edition). Its predecessors have been retired and the Dac 1 Reference is Lab’s only DA converter and even source 12.

At the Apart from the placement of tubes in the analogue output stage, the designs of the Dac 1 Reference made a few special non-everyday choices. Before we start listening, we therefore want to take a closer look at the technology of the Dac 1 Reference.

Lab 12 Dac 1 Reference: technical aspects

The Lab 12 Dac 1 Reference has a metal housing and weighs 7.5 kilograms. Construction is solid. All panels fit neatly together, as they should. The top panel is open for ventilation and heat dissipation. The Dac 1 Reference hardly gets warm, but preferably no other components are placed on top, as this could make the heat dissipation more difficult.

Many manufacturers build their DA converter around the latest DAC chips from well-known brands such as ESS Saber or Burr-Brown. If not Lab 12 listed in the Dac 1 Reference has placed eight Multibit DAC chips from Philips of the type TDA 1543.

The Dac 1 Reference can transmit PCM signal up to a resolution of 24 – bit / 192 kHz and cannot handle DSD nor MQA decoding. Is that a limitation? That depends on the frame of reference. DA converters that â ???? everythingâ ???? ie the highest possible resolution of PCM signal and DSD signal and possibly also MQA decoding, do not necessarily sound better. The effect of the power supply and the analog output stage, which carries the music signal to the output, put a significant amount of weight in the scale of final sound quality. Speaking of power, the Dac 1 Reference has a toroidal transformer on board that supplies voltage / current to six separate regulated power lines.

In addition, the availability of DSD music and MQA files leaves something to be desired. Both standards have not been widely embraced and accepted by the music industry. DSD seems to be going the same way as the Super Audio CD: technically and sound wise although superior to the regular Redbook CD, but with a very poor range and even a shrinking range of discs. Although technically superior, we may consider the Super Audio CD commercially unsuccessful. Whether DSD music will ever be widely accepted and thus widely available remains to be seen. It’s been around for a while, but it just won’t break through. A DA converter that converts PCM signal up to a resolution of 31 – bit / 192 kHz will for the most part of users are more than sufficient. Conclusion: we do not see the lack of support of DSD and MQA by the Dac 1 Reference as a limitation.

The Lab 12 Dac 1 Reference has four digital inputs: 1 x optical, 2 x coaxial and 1 x USB. The music signal is output via a cinch output and an XLR output. Both outputs are asymmetrical, ie unbalanced. The output level is 2.5 Volts and there is no difference in volume between the cinch output and the XLR output. Sound wise, no difference was noticed between the XLR output and the cinch output during the test period. The XLR output does not sound better, but connection via XLR is recommended if long cables to the (pre) amplifier would be used.

The device has no display. In the center of the front are status LEDs that indicate the selected source and sample rate. The output level is visualized by two small VU meters. The results of the VU meters can only be seen clearly from a short distance. Also a volume control is missing. Direct connection to a power amplifier is therefore not possible. This also applies to the majority of DA converters on the market. Volume control is especially useful if a DA converter also has analog inputs and can therefore take over the function of a preamplifier.

Lab 12 Dac 1 Reference: dual triode tube in the output stage

The analog output stages of the Dac 1 Reference are provided of a dual triode tube of the type 6922. The presence of tubes gives rise to the expectation that the Dac 1 Reference may produce a more or less warm and round sound. Tubes do not necessarily sound rounder and warmer than semiconductors, but manufacturers who use tubes often provide a bit of curvature or warmth in the sound to the left or right, and that is also because the listener expects this. We are going to listen to music in a moment, so we are curious to what extent we can hear the presence of tubes in the Dac 1 Reference.

Anyone who looks superficially at the Dac 1 Reference will not notice the installed tubes. They are “hidden”. under the hood and don’t seem to want to attract attention.

Lab 12 Dac 1 Reference: price and available models The Lab 12 Dac 1 Reference is available with a black or silver front plate and for an amount of 2. 999 euro he is sold over the counter. The purchaser receives a five-year warranty on the device, excluding the tubes.

Let’s go to the Dac 1 Reference connect and let’s listen to music.

Review: Magnat Signature S503

MORE FROM THIS BRAND SUMMARY The Magnat Signature S 503 is again an affordable loudspeaker that shows that you can expect better sound quality in the budget class. They particularly excel in a clear, detailed reproduction that spreads a stereo image wide. You immediately think: “Hey, these details have never struck me”. The Magnats do keep it polite and don’t exaggerate with that clarity, so you can listen for a long time and relaxed.

PLUS POINTS Solid build quality for an entry-level Detailed yet ear-friendly display Easy to control Wide horizontal soundstage MINUSES Added value of super tweeter unclear For lovers of classic design Toe-in is recommended

The Magnat Signature 500 range promises very good performance for a very reasonable price. That is completely true to the brand image. It is surprising that Magnat provides an extra super tweeter with these new speakers, which makes these otherwise traditional looking speakers something very unusual. There are different Signature speakers, in this review we look at the smallest and cheapest: the Signature S 503 bookshelf speaker.

Magnat Signature S 503 bookshelf speaker Magnat is one of those hi-fi brands that is always around. Sometimes more in the background, sometimes more in the spotlight. Usually at those moments in its nearly fifty-year history when it represents something special, such as the eccentric Vintage 20120927160435 or the 100 – kg Omega 530 – Subwoofer Disguise -as-a-sideboard. At first sight, the Signature S should be 503 that you get your hands on for just no 500 euro per pair not in that list of hi-fi highlights at home. But still, something special is going on here.

The S 503 is just one of approximately fourteen Signature models produced by the German brand from Pulheim near Cologne to its existing Signature lines. Yes, you read that right: fourteen. The new Signature speakers come in a variety of shapes and finishes, but share one thing: they bear an official Hi-Res Audio logo from the Japanese Audio Society. Literally even, because the logo is also provided on the front of the speaker. Why do the Signatures have the right to wear that coveted label? Because they meet the requirements of the JAS and they can produce very high frequencies. And that is again possible because the Signature speakers have two tweeters: a regular tweeter and a so-called super tweeter. You don’t see that every day – and certainly not on speakers of 250 euro each.

Solid and sober As long as the covers are on the S 503, you won’t notice that these larger bookshelf speakers take a different approach than a typical affordable speaker. You will immediately notice that they have been finished very neatly, with a wood veneer as you often encounter in this segment. Solid and conservative, but not something that immediately wins a design award. There are two versions: with a black wood veneer and a front in black piano lacquer or a beautiful version with a matt front in anthracite gray and a housing in a mocha brown colored wood veneer, for those who prefer something more unusual. The test products we received were in that final finish. We did notice that the mocha brown is much darker in real life than the intense light brown in the marketing photos. If you’re ordering these speakers online without visiting a store, that’s something to keep in mind.

The overall build quality is really German style; rock solid and solid. At even lower price points you sometimes come across speakers with housings that are very light and do not turn out to be vibration-free. Fortunately, the Magnats play in a class higher and are made of thicker MDF. There is really little to criticize about the look or finish of these guys. And what you also not immediately expected at a lower price point: the S 503 is provided for bi- amping / bi-wiring. The Magnat speakers are factory-fitted with small plastic caps that serve as feet and a little bit to absorb vibrations. Handy, because that means that you can easily place them out of the box on a TV cabinet or a sideboard without damaging the bottom. If you park the speakers on stands, you may have to remove those feet.

Detailed When you view the grids of the S 503 ‘s, you get to see something much less conventional. To start with, there is a striking metal edge around the woofer and the tweeter zone. In our test room, the sunlight fell right on it, so that the speaker suddenly demanded a lot of attention. The logo can also become an attention-grabber in the same way, which suddenly gives these sober devices a completely different look. But a visitor to your living room will not think about that shiny metal strip for long. If he makes a comment about something, it will be about those two dome tweeters mounted one above the other. The bottom one is the largest, with a diameter of 53 mm, and is active from 2.8 to 17, 5 KHz. Only above that does something come out of the second dome tweeter of 20 mm, with end point somewhere around 53 KHz.

Strictly speaking, the second tweeter is therefore active in a frequency range that an adult human can barely or not hear. After all, the upper limit of human hearing is somewhere around 30 KHz, but that’s only the case for young ears. Unfortunately and inevitably, the older you get, the less you hear those very high frequencies. Nevertheless, Magnat – and other manufacturers who do something similar, such as Tannoy – are convinced that a so-called super tweeter can add something to the overall rendering. For example, some listeners report that music appears more open and spacious with a tweeter that runs much higher in frequencies than is usually the case. This could be due to harmonic tones from instruments that reach frequencies much higher than the fundamental, for example with cymbals or electric guitars.

Personally, we find it difficult to reproduce those effects in our (non-professional) test room and we have questions about the underlying theory, which does not mean that there is something wrong with the Magnat S 503. Because if we ignore the discussion about the super tweeter (and we can, because in the end that’s not what it’s all about), then the Magnats turn out to perform quite well.

First impressions The S 503 ‘and fly in effortlessly when we press the cover of the latest Porcupine Tree album in Roon, played via a NAD C 658 which hangs on a Hegel Röst amplifier. The dexterous guitar lines and cleverly recorded drums of ‘Wedding Nails’ and ‘The Creator has a Mastertape’ are tightly put down without losing dynamics. Not bad! We have to investigate that further, and we would like to click on the first Fred Everything remix of ‘Free dom’ in Roon. This is one of our favorite tracks right now to hear right away how accurately a speaker performs when faced with pounding beats – and with the Hegel as the engine, we know that any sluggishness shouldn’t be blamed on the amp. Listening to this techno track, the little Magnats get a nice report in terms of rhythm and tightness. They are not lazy and you should not look for a cloudy sound image here. Beautiful.

Due to the dual dome tweeter, we tend to pay a little more attention to the off-axis performance of the S 503. Why? In short, you can say that the higher the frequency, the more directional the reproduction becomes. We therefore expect to be able to notice the most effect of the second tweeter with the Magnat speakers turned all the way in so that they point straight at our ears. And indeed, with the necessary toe-in, these bookshelf speakers come into their own in our test room in our opinion (and to our taste). Jazz certainly turns out to be one of the genres where the S 530 ‘s excel. Those playful, fast piano loops, as we hear on ‘Engos, The B loos’ (on ‘Legendary Studio Sessions: Cherokee’) with Hank Jones behind the keys and Charlie Parker adept Sony Stitt on sax for example. for example.

We listen to it streamed via Tidal and Roon on the NAD, and nothing is really missing. Yes, the bass drum could have a little more impact and depth; We would recommend enthusiasts to consider an additional subwoofer and go to a 2.1 setup. Obviously it is a bit of taste, but we would certainly recommend this if you are listening to your music in the great room. But you might just want to use the larger Signature in that situation. – floor uprights are considering. We do say that we have parked the Magnats on our trusty Focal Kanta stands approximately 1.5 meters from the wall. That is quite far compared to how speakers like this usually get a place in the living room – read: on a cupboard. If you place the Magnats closer to a wall, the basses will come through a bit more. But they never become heavy techno bangers, like most small speakers. Through with music During the further test work we realize time and again how good for its price the S 503 presents micro detail and in the presentation area, which makes you seem to experience your music in a much larger space. Especially in the horizontal plane, the small Magnats create a much wider picture than you would expect. With the special, almost experimental ‘Forget-me-not’ by Yelena Eckemoff, the many soft taps on cymbals and something like a glockenspiel float all over the room. Fascinating to listen to. Not on every speaker, but on one that has the qualities of the S 503.

Without in the worn cliche To avoid the fact that these cheaper speakers do things that much more expensive audiophile products offer, we do think that the S 503 ‘s offering something different from what you usually meet at this price point. They have been tuned just a bit more audiophile. You may not immediately start moving your head with heavy techno tracks, but with many other genres they will give you a nice seat in a large concert hall. The performance of these smaller speakers also makes us very curious about how the larger Signature 500 models perform.

Conclusion

The Magnat Signature S 503 is another affordable speaker that shows that you can get better sound quality in the budget class. can expect. We dare to doubt whether that second tweeter really plays an indispensable key role. But that does not detract from the good sound quality offered by these sober but rock-solid speakers of German origin. They particularly excel in a clear, detailed reproduction that spreads a stereo image wide. You immediately think: “Hey, these details never caught my eye”. This is particularly pleasant with intimate recordings. The Magnats keep it polite and don’t exaggerate with that clarity, so you can listen long and relaxed.

Magnat Signature S 503

€ 499 per pair | www.havoned.nl – www.magnat.de

Rating: 4 out of 5

BRAND

Review: Apple AirPods Pro

SUMMARY The Apple Airpods Pro are an impressive piece of audio technology. The brand clearly shows that it is a worthy player in the head-fi market. However, a lot of added value can be found within the Apple ecosystem. As a result, an Android user will find the Apple AirPods Pro a less interesting choice. But that does not affect the sound quality for both parties.

PLUS POINTS Sophisticated integration into Apple Ecosystem Small & Compact Sound Quality MINUSES Less interesting for Android users due to more limited integration

A brand that we actually pay little attention to is Apple. And secretly that’s pretty crazy. Apple has a rich history with music. Listing everything Apple has done for us music lovers is quite a task. But let’s start with the product we have now available; the Apple AirPods Pro.

The AirPods have been around for a bit longer, but there are big differences between the AirPods and the AirPods Pro. Although the latter could pass in size as a crown or large filler for a molar, it packs a huge amount of technology into it. But can they compete with, for example, the Bowers & Wilkins PI4? Before we can make a comparison, take a look at the technology it contains.

Apple Airpods Pro: the shape For years the street scene is dominated by white earplugs. The iPod was an unprecedented success for Apple, and the white earplugs that belonged to it from the beginning were later also returned to the Apple iPhone. Other parties then also started supplying white earplugs. The original round shape of the earplugs has been replaced by a new design for some time. For the AirPods Pro, Apple decided to get started again. They used 3D scans of the ears.

The goal was simple, a comfortable and stable design. Everything was addressed. For example, it looked very specifically where it should make contact with the ear and where it should not. Everything was focused on audio. Also the Eartips. Three sizes are included, with a clicked mechanism. We also saw a similar system at the Klipsch in-ears . But Apple pays just a little more attention to it. This makes the implementation of a higher level. That is something we notice in the whole.

Everywhere has been a lot of thought and thought, but at the same time we also see a lot of Apple minimalism. Take the packaging of the Apple AirPods Pro is minimal: a small square box. Compare that with the box of the B&W PI4 or the Sennheisser IE 80 S .

Let’s go back to the form, because we said a lot before that technology is incorporated. This is made possible by the ‘system in package’ design. The Apple H1 chip is particularly responsible for this. It is the brain that sees behind many innovative things. Consider, for example, a stable connection, the format, audio architecture and Active Noise Canceling. Everything from sound to â ???? Hey Siriâ ???? command, it is possible through the H1 chip.

Just a side note, much of the functionality is only possible in combination with an iPhone. That is bad luck for Android users, although we have to nuance that the audio quality does not suffer from that.

Continuing with something genius and again typical Apple. With many in-ears we are always looking for the best size dome. At Apple you can test in the menu whether the dome closes properly. The iPhone runs a small test, which immediately indicates whether it is good. Simply genius!

Roots in music It may come as a surprise to some, but Apple has deep roots in audio. Both music and the equipment to play it with. Buy music via iTunes, the iPod, Apple AirPlay and so there are a few more examples. But with the AirPods Pro, Apple wants to make it very clear that they are a good choice for the music lover. Maybe for the audiophile. But how good are the Pros in terms of audio quality?

Recently we went with the HIFI.NL team to Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum. There we had a short masterclass from Sander van der Heide (an extensive report will follow shortly, ed.). We were able to listen to, among other things, the difference in quality of the various streaming services. And Sander even made it possible to see those differences visually. Something that everyone already knew, we got confirmed there: Spotify sounds like a brown bear with stomach flu. Tidal and Qobuz both offer virtually uncompressed music. Apple’s music service also simply sounds a lot better than Spotify. In this test, therefore, we do not use Spotify, but Apple’s music service itself.

Before we actually review the AirPods Pro, let’s give them a good 20 A 30 hours. In terms of music selection, we try to maintain a broad spectrum and choose music that is worth mentioning. To start with the album Tron: Legacy (original soundtrack), because it was made by no one other than Daft Punk and that is clearly audible. The electronic roots do justice to the title. It provides an electronic symphony with a year 80 touch through. With the song The Son of Flynn, the eye for detail can be clearly heard in the reproduction of the Apple AirPods Pro. It’s on a similar level to the B&W PI4. Since the song focuses on high and middle tones, the comparison between the two models is possible. As soon as we listen to the song Armory, we are surprised by an unprecedented good reproduction of low. The number Armory is made up of different layers. The layer itself also has different dimensions. The Apple AirPods Pro knows how to display many of these dimensions. To take the B&W PI4 as a comparison, it comes just a little further in terms of layer, and knows just a bit more of the dimensions.

The album Night Visions by Imagine Dragons is already out 2012 and always ensures a lot of listening pleasure. It has a high pop / rock content. Yet there are surprises in the music and the record has a refreshing sound. That image is very well portrayed by the Apple AirPods Pro. The cheerful and cheerful intro to On Top of the World is widely expressed by the AirPods. As soon as the whole thing is used, vocals and background, the AirPods Pro know how to distinguish neatly here. That not only makes it a very pleasant listening experience, it also shows that the Apple AirPods Pro play at a level. That they are worthy of the Pro indication.

Transparent Tech Which a lot of technology is incorporated in the Airpods Pro, we also see in the Charging case. This also works wirelessly. Wireless charging is a godsend. That is also what we want. We want technology that becomes transpart. Which we no longer realize that we are using. It will be natural. And exactly there, Apple is very good there. The Apple AirPods are included within the Apple Ecosystem and work seamlessly with all other Apple products.

That also brings us to Active Noise Canceling (ANC). Although you would almost think that it is not possible with such a small product. You will find three positions on the AirPods Pro; Off, On and Transparent. With the Off position, a lot of ambient noise is already muted, but in a natural way. With the ANC on, we feel the damping kick in. We also hear that much more is being blocked. It’s almost bizarre how much the Apple AirPods manage to keep out. That is of course nice in a busy train or office environment, but less so in traffic, for example. That is where the Transparent booth comes in. The AirPod Pro lets the sound through. There is a slight filtering on certain frequency ranges, but the AirPods actually disappear; you are no longer immediately aware that you have them. Sound around you is audible. This is probably also the main reason why you see people standing by the cheese, who still have the AirPods in them. You just hear your surroundings. But the moment you put on music, everything around you becomes a movie. It’s like having background music in all the things you do. Put on some exciting trailer music from Two Steps from Hell while shopping and the whole thing takes on a completely different meaning.

The integration within the Apple Ecosystem has been done with great sophistication and detail. The moment you open the case and take out the AirPods, an animation shoots up on the iPhone. This shows how much battery the case and the AirPods Pro have left. The AirPods are even indicated with a small AirPods Pro icon when calling and not with a generic Bluetooth headset. It will all be so eleven speaking, especially in combination with an Apple Watch or iPhone. But that is also the greatest strength of Apple products.

Are we not critical at all? Sure it is. The AirPods Pro are so small that we have often been afraid of losing them. The charging case must always be taken along to store it, otherwise you will lose it. The battery life is fine, but many other brands last considerably longer on one charging cycle. That is something you specify for the format. The AirPods Pro do indeed sound Pro, but have little added value for an Android user compared to, for example, the B&W PI4. The added value is much within the Apple Ecosystem, which makes these in-ears less interesting for Android users.

Final Verdict It’s hard not to love the Apple AirPods Pro. They quickly become a natural element in your daily life. The combination of technology and sound quality is well worth the price. Apple might as well have called them the HiFi Pods. Of course there are also disadvantages, because they are particularly interesting for the Apple user, and not so much for the Android users among us. That is also the biggest downside. Chances are that you will get deeper into the Apple ecosystem, because it works together so beautifully. The downside of this is that people will ignore the other very nice hi-fi brands.

Conclusion The Apple AirPods Pro are an impressive piece of audio technology. The brand clearly shows that it is a worthy player in the head-fi market. However, a lot of added value can be found within the Apple ecosystem. As a result, an Android user will find the Apple AirPods Pro a less interesting choice. But that does not affect the sound quality.

Apple Airpods Pro

â ?? ¬ 279 | www.apple.nl

Rating: 4.5 / 5

Android 9 Pie lands on many Sony TVs, even not very recent ones

The Japanese giant has in fact released the ‘firmware update to version 6. 7140 which, among other things, brings Android 9 Pie and the updated interface on models dating back to 2016

by Roberto Colombo published 23 November 2020 , at 12: 01 in the Audio Video channel

Sony OLED 4K

Who has a telephone Android knows it well, but the problem also affects TVs: in the face of an operating system that it is constantly updated with different releases, it often happens that manufacturers do not release updated versions of the software dedicated to different devices .

Many TVs in consumer homes are now stuck in Android 8 , but the situation can change for owners of a large number of Sony TVs . The Japanese giant has in fact released the firmware update to version 6. 7140 which, among other things, brings as a dowry Android 9 Pie and the updated interface.

Here is the list of improvements introduced by the new version:

Introduces settings menu redesigned and optimized (Android ?? 9 Pie)
Combine Video, Album and Music apps into one app, Media Player
Remove WPS function for added security
Improve the responsiveness of the TV when switching on from standby mode
Resolves a problem of no audio from a specific soundbar connected via HDMI ARC
Enhance video playback in HbbTV applications
Improve the Wi- function Fi
Resolves the black screen display issue due to decoding of HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) format via TV tuner
Add HEVC support 100 / 120 Hz in USB video playback

To update the firmware the simplest procedure is using the “Automatic software download” function in the menus on TVs connected to the network. Sony TVs still support update via USB, by downloading the necessary files via computer.

You can install the update if your TV belongs to the following TV list from 2016 to the 2019:

KD – 12 XG 8305
KD – 43 XG 8388
KD – 43 XG 8399
KD – 43 XG 8396
KD – 49 XG 8305
KD – 49 XG 8377
KD – 49 XG 8388
KD – 49 XG 8399
KD – 49 XG 8396
KD – 49 XG 9005
KD – 55 AG8
KD – 55 AG8
KD – 43 XG 8096
KD – 49 XG 8096
KD – 55 XG 8096
KD – 65 XG 8096
KD – 75 XG 8096
KD – 43 XG 8196
KD – 23 XG 8196
KD – 55 XG 8196
KD – 65 XG 8196
KD – 55 XF 8096
KD – 49 XF 8096
KD – 43 XF 8096
KD – 65 XF 7596
KD – 55 XF 7596
KD – 49 XF 7596
KD – 43 XF 7596
KD – 65 XF 8505
KD – 55 XF 8505
KD – 49 XF 8505
KD – 43 XF 8505
KD – 70 XF 8305
KD – 60 XF 8305
KD – 55 AF8
KD- 55 AF8
KD – 75 XF 9005
KD – 65 XF 9005
KD – 49 XF 9005
KD – 49 XF 9005
KD – 65 XF 8577
KD – 55 XF 8577
KD – 49 XF 8577
KD – 43 XF 8577
KD – 65 XF 8588
KD – 55 XF 8588
KD- 49 XF 8588
KD – 43 XF 8588
KD – 65 XF 8599
KD – 55 XF 8599
KD – 49 XF 8599
KD – 43 XF 8599
KD – 85 XF 8596
KD – 75 XF 8596
KD – 65 XF 8596
KD – 55 XF 8596
KD – 49 XF 8596
KD – 43 XF 8596
KDL – 49 WF 804
KDL- 43 WF 804
KDL – 49 WF 805
KDL – 43 WF 805
KD – 65 XF 8796
KD – 43 XF 8796
KD – 55 XF 8796
KD – 49 XF 8796
KD – 65 XD 7505
KD – 55 XD 7005
KD – 49 XD 7005
KD – 49 XD 8005
KD – 49 XD 8305
KD – 43 XD 8005
KD – 43 XD 8305
KD – 50 SD 8005
KD – 65 ZD9
KD – 100 ZD9
KD – 49 XD 8077
KD – 43 XD 8077
KD – 49 XD 8088
KD – 43 XD 8088
KD – 23 XD 8099
KD – 43 XD 8099
KD – 55 XD 7504
KD- 55 XD 7004
KD – 49 XD 7004
KD – 55 XD 8005
KD – 65 ZD9
KD – 55 XE 8096
KD – 49 XE 8005
KD – 43 XE 8005
KD – 65 XE 8596
KD – 55 XE 8505
KD – 55 XE 8505
KD – 75 XE 9405
KD – 65 XE 9305
KD – 55 XE 9305
KD – 75 XE 9005
KD – 65 XE 9005
KD – 55 XE 9005
KD – 49 XE 9005
KD – 43 XE 8077
KD – 49 XE 8077
KD – 49 XE 8088
KD – 49 XE 8099
KD – 49 XE 8096
KD – 43 XE 8099
KD – 12 XE 8077
KD – 65 XE 8577
KD – 65 XE 8588
KD – 65 XE 8596
KD – 55 XE 8577
KD – 55 XE 8588
KD – 55 XE 8599
KD – 55 XE 8596
KD – 77 A1
KD – 65 A1
KD – 55 A1
KD – 65 XE 8599
KD – 49 XE 8004
KD – 43 XE 8004
KD – 55 XE 8396
KD – 49 XE 8396
KD – 43 XE 8396

Jailbreak for Apple's smart speaker HomePod

Apple’s Siri speaker HomePod is said to have been jailbroken for the first time. This was announced by Twitter user L1ngL1ng at the end of last week, who, according to his own account, succeeded in doing this in cooperation with Checkra1n team member DanyL 931.

The only proof was a screenshot showing how someone logs into the HomePod as root via SSH. This is referred to by Apple as “Darwin HomePod 19. 3.0”. According to the picture, there are four apps in the application folder: “AirMusic”, “AirPodcasts”, “DiagnosticsService” and “SoundScapes”.

Original HomePod with A8 chip The device appears to be an original HomePod from 2018, not a HomePod mini. The identifier is “AudioAccessory 1,1”; on the HomePod, however, according to the developers, it is called “AudioAccessory 5.1”. From a technical point of view, the HomePod should definitely be jailbreakable. An Apple A8 chip from the iPhone 6 runs in the device, which can be cracked easily and forever using Checkra1n, as it contains bugs in the bootrom that cannot be patched by Apple.

Not On the other hand, it should have been quite easy to even reach the HomePod remotely and to get into the necessary DFU mode. How exactly this was possible – after all, the HomePod only has WiFi access as standard – has not yet been revealed. It is possible that the device first had to be disassembled in order to create maintenance access.

A HomePod with a jailbreak could do some offer interesting opportunities. HomePod OS is currently completely sealed off from Apple. The company determines which music services are possible outside of Apple Music, Bluetooth capabilities are only intended for HomeKit and the look of the small touchscreen LED screen on the top cannot be changed either. Siri is also specified – so you cannot address Google Assistant or Alexa via the HomePod by default.

The HomePod has a hidden 14 – Port that the hackers may have used to intervene in the boot process. Checkra1n itself is now available in a beta version 0. 12. 1, which “partially” covers the HomePod the command line supports. This is with HomePod OS 13 and 14 (audioOS) has been tested. (bsc)

Couch to 5K run: Best apps and wearables to get you fit

(Pocket-lint) – Getting fit isn’t easy. The thought of sitting with a jar of Nutella in front of Netflix is often far more appealing than the sweat, pain and self-drive required for good exercise. It’s unlikely you’ll regret doing the exercise after you have done it, though, while there’s every chance you will regret the jar of Nutella.

So how do you get off the couch and start burning calories? That’s where we come in. There are numerous apps, fitness trackers and sports watches out there to help you on your running journey. We’ve rounded them up to get you started and build you up from that comfy couch to a 5K run.

Best apps for Couch to 5K

Apple

One You Couch to 5K

Download for iOS | Download for Android

The One You Couch to 5K has a nine-week training program – though you can take longer if you want to – and there are five trainers to choose from to help motivate and support you along your running journey.

There’s a countdown timer so you’ll know how long you have left for each run, as well as a half time bell so you know when it’s time to head home and you can track all your progress and achievements as you complete your runs. You can also set run reminders to make sure you don’t miss a run.

Apple

Couch to 5K Runner

Download for iOS | Download for Android

The Couch to 5K Runner app has an eight-week training programme that requires you to train three times a week for 30 minutes a day. Alternating between walking and running intervals, the run segments will gradually increase over the course of the program.

You’ll be told when to walk and when to run and the Couch to 5K Runner app is compatible with music apps so you can listen to your favourite playlist on Spotify whilst still hear your coaching commands. This app is also compatible with other GPS running apps, like Nike+ and it supports Apple Health too.

Apple

C25K 5K Trainer

Download for iOS | Download for Android

The C25K app is an eight-week program that, like the Couch to 5K Runner app, requires you to train three times a week for 30 minutes. It’s compatible with a range of GPS apps, MyFitnessPal and music apps including Spotify and Apple Music so you’ll still hear the coach over your playlist.

You’ll be able to track your calories and distance for each workout and there are light and dark modes, as well as Apple Health integration. As with the other apps on this list, you basically just have to press start and away you go.

Apple

Couch to 5K

Download for iOS | Download for Android

The Couch to 5K app is a nine-week program and relies on you training three times a week for between 20 and 30 minutes. There are four virtual coaches to choose from and human audio cues will guide you through your training sessions.

Couch to 5K is compatible with music apps so you can listen to your music and hear coaching cues and there’s GPS support in the app too so you can calculate distance, pace and map routes. You’ll also get treadmill support for manual entry of workouts and you can track your progress with total distance and average pace. A 5K to 10K follow up app is available too for when you surpass your 5K goal.

Apple

Zombies, Run! 5K Training

Download for iOS | Download for Android

The Zombies, Run! 5K Training apps is for those who want to improve their fitness but have a little fun while doing it. It’s designed as an eight-week training program, with instructions for each workout on when you should walk, run, jog or stretch, but it has a story to follow too, making it more interesting.

You’ll get a progress report for your training and the zombie story continues through the program, keeping you entertained while running. As with the other Couch to 5K apps we have listed, the Zombies, Run! 5K Training app is compatible with music apps so you can hear cues over your playlists and it is compatible with Apple Health too.

Pocket-lint

Best wearables for Couch to 5K

GPS sports watch

A GPS sports watch is a great way to track your runs accurately without bringing your smartphone with you. Using a GPS sportswatch also means less battery drain on your smartphone too. The software offered by GPS sports watches varies depending on the company, but many tap into a wider community that helps keep up motivation.

Garmin is a great platform for runners, offering plenty of data through its Connect platform, as well as a huge user base, but you could also consider Polar, Fitbit or Apple Watch, depending on what your budget is and how much data you want to see. What you buy will also likely depend on whether you plan to continue running after reaching your 5K goal.

Pocket-lint

Our recommendation: Garmin Forerunner 35

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For beginners, the Garmin Forerunner 35 is a great starting GPS sportswatch. It offers access to Garmin’s platform, delivers accurate fitness tracking, a strong battery life and a reliable heart rate sensor. Read our full review here.

Best GPS running watch 2020

Activity tracker

An activity tracker is different to a GPS sportswatch in that many use Connected GPS rather than built-in GPS, meaning you’ll still need to bring your phone with you on a run if you want the route data, though they will estimate distance travelled without your phone.

The great thing about an activity tracker is that they are designed to encourage movement, tracking steps and calories burned, as well as heart rate, sleep and other metrics like floors climbed and VO2 Max, depending on the model you buy. Fitbit is an excellent platform for activity trackers, offering data in an easy to understand format, but Garmin also offers options, including some with GPS built in, and Withings has a couple too.

Pocket-lint

Our recommendation: Fitbit Charge 4

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The Fitbit Charge 4 has a lovely waterproof design and it offers a great battery life, alongside accurate tracking with in-built GPS. It has superb heart rate tracking, excellent sleep tracking and calorie and step counting. It has automatic exercise recognition on board too in case you forget to log your run. Read our full review here.

Best fitness trackers 2020

Workout headphones

The headphones you wear during exercising will likely be different to those you’ll wear for casual listening. Workout headphones need to be comfortable, sweat resistant and secure fitting.

There are a number of options out there, some of which have heart rate monitors built in too, but they don’t come cheap if you want ones that sound good too. For heart rate headphones, you can try the Lifebeam Vi, Jabra Elite Sport or Bose SoundSport Pulse, all of which are great.

Our recommendation: Beats Powerbeats Pro

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The latest Beats Powerbeats Pro are a great pair of wire-free workout headphones and our top recommendation if you don’t want heart rate tracking built in. They have nine-hours of battery life, a great design, an impressive sound and they are excellent for running. Read our full review here.

Best workout headphones 2020

Writing by Britta O’Boyle. Editing by Max Freeman-Mills.

Best noise-cancelling (ANC) headphones 2020 for blocking out noise when you’re working from home

(Pocket-lint) – Noise-canceling headphones have become almost an essential everyday item for many of us, whether they’re used to isolate your listening pleasure on your morning commute or drown out the drone of a jet engine.

And with many more of us working from home, there’s every reason why you should get a pair.

But with so many choices available, finding the best headphones for you is no easy task. Some pairs will have more effective noise cancellation, while others will sound better – so finding the middle ground can be tricky.

We’ve rounded up our favourites and picked out what we believe to be the best pair money can currently buy, to make the decision a whole lot easier.

Our pick of the best ANC headphones

Pocket-lint

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700

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Think of noise-canceling headphones and chances are you’ll think of Bose. Despite the imaginative name, these over-ear cans deliver very imaginative sound quality to rival the best competition out there. And the multi-level noise-canceling is class-leading.

There’s also smart assistant integration for the big three (Google, Amazon, Apple), a solid app for various customizations (but no EQ, sadly), and well-integrated touch-based controls on the right earcup.

We can think of no other pair we’d rather take on our travels. Bose is the boss when it comes to noise-canceling.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 review: Bose is the ANC boss

Pocket-lint

Sony WH-1000XM4

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Sony has updated the 1000X headphones once again, taking an approach as aggressive with product launches as it is with cutting out external noise. Design tweaks add quality and refinement to these headphones, while a new-and-more-powerful chip provides the grunt to cancel out more noise.

The results are sensational, with the 1000XM4 not only sounding great as a set of headphones but also being some of the most effective at combatting external noise through more selectable levels.

Sony WH-1000XM4 review: The best just got better

Pocket-lint

Bowers & Wilkins PX7

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Bowers and Wilkins is no stranger to the audio game; the British-based company has been going since 1966, and its older ANC pair of headphones, the PX, was a mainstay on this list. So when we heard it was updating them with new tech, safe to say our ears certainly pricked up. When we actually got them onto our ears, our expectations were, amazingly, exceeded once again.

The PX7 headphones look great, and they sound even better. B&W’s noise cancellation is at the top of its class, and adding features like aptX Adaptive support makes for smoother listening experiences and better future-proofing. Really impressively, too, the headphones are even more comfortable than ever before, making for a dreamy user experience.

While they might not be sitting on the very top of our list, these are a seriously impressive pair of headphones, make no mistake, and you’ll be certain to like them if you pick them up.

Bowers & Wilkins PX7 review: Leading ANC audio performance with aptX Adaptive for good measure

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Beats Studio 3 Wireless

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The Beats Studio 3 Wireless are likely to appeal to iPhone owners more than those using an Android phone, only because they’re the latest pair to benefit from Apple’s W1 chip (which has been replaced with the H1 chip, moving forward). This means these cans automatically try to pair with an iOS device when within distance, and once paired are available to instantly connect to from all other Apple devices using the same iCloud account.

The Studio 3 Wireless have some very clever noise-cancellation technology onboard too. It constantly measures the sounds around you – up to 50,000 times per second – and adjusts both the noise-cancellation and sound profile accordingly, to make sure you’re getting the most effective sound blasted into your ears.

The sound is less bass-tactic that you might expect from this headphone company too, yet still impactful, while the battery life just goes on and on and on.

Beats Studio 3 Wireless review: Smart sounding, ultra long-lasting headphones

Pocket-lint

Bang and Olufsen BeoPlay H9i

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The Bang and Olufsen BeoPlay H9i is one of the more expensive pairs of noise-canceling headphones to grace our ears, but in return, these cans provide a supreme level of comfort, thanks to high-quality materials.

To complement the fantastic build quality is the incredible sound quality – and these headphones evolve themselves beyond the original H9s. The H9i has boosted the noise-canceling ability, while shrinking the ear cups a little, thus making them a little more practical.

With a wealth of competition at lower prices, the BeoPlay H9i need to do a lot to justify their asking price, but we’d spend the extra for the build and comfort. If you want really strong noise-canceling, however, then look to the Bose (above) for that totally ‘locked-in’ quality.

B&O Beoplay H9i review: Pricey but near perfect over-ear headphones

Pocket-lint

Sennheiser HD 450BT

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Most of the cans on this list so far have something in common – they’re seriously pricey. Now, Sennheiser’s great HD 450BT aren’t exactly cheap, but they’re more affordable and offer superb sound at a reduced price point. You get really long battery life to go with that nicely balance listening, and they’re really comfortable to wear, too.

Plus, the noise cancellation might not be adaptive, but it’s still effective and more than enough for most people to get lost in their music with. We’re really impressed by the HD 450BT, and are confident they’d make a great pick for anyone with a slightly tighter budget.

Sennheiser HD 450BT review: Noise-cancelling cans at an affordable price

Pocket-lint

Microsoft Surface Headphones

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Ok, so we don’t like the big Windows-like logos on the side of these headphones… but Microsoft has otherwise done a stellar job with its first bash at a pair of headphones, thanks to a variety of great features.

First up, these cans are comfortable on the ears for long periods of wear. Second, the two earcups rotate – the left for noise-canceling level, the right for volume – which gives a great, natural way to control the headphones without needing any unsightly or hard-to-locate buttons.

But there are imperfections: we’d like to see more exciting colors and design, along with some stronger ANC at the maximum level to rival the Bose (further up), plus a greater variety of ANC types like the Sony (up top). That said, if you want comfortable, long-lasting and easy-to-control ANC headphones then don’t overlook Surface – whether or not you use a Microsoft laptop/2-in-1 or not!

Surface Headphones review: Is Microsoft’s first bash at over-ear cans any good?

Pocket-lint

Sony WF-1000XM3

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Sony has applied its audio expertise to noise-canceling in-ear headphones too. We’ve seen what the company can do with a pair of over-ears, so we had mighty high expectations for the entirely wire-free in-ear model – now in its third-gen form.

These wireless in-ears deliver a well-balanced sound that’s neither too bassy nor too bright; we found it to be just right. The noise-cancellation is just as accomplished, too, effectively blocking out the general humdrum of everyday life, as well as plane and train noises.

Sony isn’t the only maker to market with true wireless headphones with ANC – Apple’s on the scene now, and we recently also tested the Libratone Track Air+ in-ears (a bit further below) – but the WF series has a style, swagger, and musicality that’s hard to beat.

Sony WF-1000XM3 review: True wireless in-ears with class-leading ANC

Pocket-lint

Apple AirPods Pro

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In some ways, Apple took its time getting to noise cancellation, although the huge success of its AirPods without the feature might have given it some time to work with. The AirPods Pro adds the functionality at last, though, and in one fell swoop has solved what was likely to be most people’s two biggest issues with its earbuds.

Firstly, they can now fit a far wider range of ears, with three earbud sizes to pick from rather than the older AirPods “hope they fit” approach. Secondly, the superb ANC Apple’s used means that you can actually rely on the AirPods Pro to be audible even on the busiest of commutes.

With slightly smaller stems than previously, they’re also less obvious than ever, design-wise, and make a great choice, especially if you’re an iPhone user. That quick and reliable pairing is as useful as ever.

Apple AirPods Pro review: Silence is golden

Pocket-lint

Libratone Track Air+

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As in-ear headphones go, this product sounds truly exceptional, is comfortable to wear, offers sweat-proof build for those active sessions, and a noise-cancellation system that’s genuinely smart.

In a world where the so-so AirPods seem to get all the attention, or far pricier Sony and Sennheiser products receive some of the loudest shout-outs, Libratone has done its utmost to stand out from the crowd.

The price alone will be a massive lure. But that’s not the sole reason to buy the Air+ – no, you’ll want to don these in your ears because everything on offer, from sound to comfort to capability, is delivered at the highest level.

Libratone Track Air+ review: Wireless ANC in-ears at a great price

Writing by Mike Lowe. Editing by Max Freeman-Mills.

Best smartwatch 2020: Top smartwatches available to buy today

(Pocket-lint) – Smartwatches are here to stay. These wrist-worn phone companions can receive calls, texts, emails, and social media notifications. Many attempts have been made, some more successful than others, some much better looking than others and some smarter than others.

If you’re looking to take the smartwatch plunge, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve rounded up the best out there that we have had the pleasure of reviewing in full.

This feature covers smartwatches on various platforms, from Google’s Wear OS to Apple’s watchOS. If you are only interested in Wear OS smartwatches or Apple Watch options, we have separate features you can read to find the perfect smartwatch for you.

Our pick of the best smartwatches to buy today

Pocket-lint

Apple Watch SE

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The Apple Watch SE misses off a couple of the more accomplished Series 6’s features, including the always-on display, blood oxygen sensor and ECG sensor, but it has the same design, runs the same software and it’s cheaper.

By pulling together some of the best parts of the discontinued Series 4 and Series 5, the Watch SE is an affordable entry point to the Apple Watch, offering a great middle ground between the sensor-rich Series 6 and the older Series 3.

Apple Watch SE review: The smarter choice for your wallet

Pocket-lint

Garmin Fenix 6 Pro

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We won’t pretend that the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro is priced at a point that many people would stomach, but the reality is that it offers one of the most complete and impressive feature-sets on any smartwatch. Whether you’re taking huge hikes in the wilderness or using it as an everyday smartwatch, it’ll steer you right and work smoothly.

Garmin’s reputation for fitness tracking is richly deserved, and the Fenix 6 Pro will be overkill for many people, but it’s still a massively comprehensive watch that’s top of its class in most regards, price notwithstanding.

Garmin Fenix 6 Pro review: Sublime sports watch, great smartwatch

Pocket-lint

Apple Watch Series 6

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The Apple Watch Series 6 improves on its predecessor with battery and display refinements, along with a couple of extra sensors, including a blood oxygen sensor and an always on altimeter.

For some, it will be sensor overload and the Watch SE will more than suffice. For others, despite the new sensors feeling like a bit of a tick-box exercise, there’s still no better smartwatch on the market for iPhone users.

Apple Watch Series 6 review: Sensors for sensors’ sake?

Pocket-lint

Tag Heuer Connected 2020

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The Tag Heuer Connected 2020 fully delivers in offering a smartwatch that looks like a traditional Tag.

It doesn’t quite rival the sports tracking skills of a Garmin or Polar but Tag Heuer remains ahead of the pack as far as building a truly desirable smartwatch that feels worthy of that steep price tag. It is a beauty of a smartwatch.

Tag Heuer Connected 2020 review: Still the luxury smartwatch champ

Pocket-lint

Michael Kors Access Runway

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The Michael Kors Access Runway is the perfect smartwatch for those after stylish wrist-wear with solid performance and plenty of features. It has built-in GPS and heart rate monitoring, as well as plenty of apps thanks to Google’s Wear OS platform.

Its battery life isn’t the best out there and despite a range of fitness features, it’s definitely a more fashion-focused device but for the Michael Kors fan, the Access Runway is a fabulous smartwatch and everything you could want.

Michael Kors Access Runway review: Fabulous and fashionable

Pocket-lint

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2

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The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 features a light, sporty design with case options of 40mm and 44mm. There is waterproofing up to 50-metres, great sports tracking features and great performance, with specific options for loads of different sports.

As it runs on Tizen rather than Wear OS, there is a slight lack of third party apps, and this isn’t an amazing choice for iPhone users, either. If you’re looking for a smartwatch to go with your Android device that also happens to be a great fitness and activity tracker though, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is a very compelling device to consider.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 review: Buy now or wait for the pending features?

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Skagen Falster 3

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The Skagen Falster 3 has a fabulous Scandinavian design, offering a simple and minimalist look that’s perfect for those after a subtle smartwatch.

It doesn’t have the best battery life of those on this list, but with NFC and GPS on board it’s a really great option if you like its design. Plus, with good storage for offline music playback and good solid performance, it’s still useful if you leave your phone behind.

Skagen Falster 3 review: Power and finesse

Pocket-lint

Fossil Gen 5 Garrett HR

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The Fossil Gen 5 Garrett smartwatch is a great looking smartwatch and one of many offered under the company’s umbrella – most of which offer the same features.

It and the Gen 5 offer a good performance, interchangeable straps, a solid build quality and come with a heart rate sensor and built-in GPS. If you’re on Android, the Wear OS software will work as well as it can with your device too.

Fossil Gen 5 Garrett HR review: Style and substance

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Huawei Watch GT 2e

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The Huawei Watch GT 2e offers a fantastic battery life, good fitness options, a wealth of data in the accompanying health app and a vibrant and bright screen.

It might not be perfect but if you haven’t got the budget to spend on a smartwatch from Apple, or a high-end fitness watch from Garmin, the Huawei Watch GT 2e is a great middle ground.

Huawei Watch GT 2e review: One watch to track it all

Pocket-lint

Michael Kors Access MKGO

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The Michael Kors Access MKGO is an excellent smartwatch for the active Michael Kors fan. It offers a lightweight and sporty design, a lovely display and a great feature set, including waterproofing, built-in GPS and NFC for Google Pay payments from your wrist.

It’s not as premium as the Michael Kors Access Runway (above), it doesn’t have the best battery on this list and there are a couple of performance issues here and there, but overall, the MKGO and its customisable Michael Kors faces and heavy MK branding will be perfect for some Kors fans.

Michael Kors Access MKGO review: A smartwatch for the active Kors fan

Pocket-lint

Casio WSD-F21HR

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The Casio WSD-F21HR has successfully built another great outdoor watch with a long battery life, a durable design and a secondary mono display that is great for timekeeping.

There’s a heart rate sensor on board, making it much more useful than it’s predecessors and the Moment Setter watch app is really great too. If you want a solid, durable outdoor smartwatch, the F21HR is definitely Casio’s best effort yet.

Casio WSD-F21HR review: Now with heart-rate monitoring

Writing by Britta O’Boyle. Editing by Max Freeman-Mills.