Computer Shopper - UK (2020-01)

ISSUE383|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JANUARY2020 61

AUDIO

CREATIVEOutlierAir

★★★★★

£70•uk.creative.com

SONYWH-1000XM3

★★★★★

£272•www.amzn.to/2HHUG1J

IKEASymfonisk

★★★★★

£99•www.ikea.com

ESCAPEP9

★★★★★

£999•www.stoneaudio.co.uk

BOWERS&WILKINS 607

★★★★★

£399•www.weybridge-audio.co.uk

Amarvellous

set of true

wireless

headphones, the Outlier Airc

with acomfy (if large) design g y p

support is worth the moneyinparticular.

Bose’s QuietComfort

headphones have at last

been toppled fromthe ANC

throne.The WH-1000XM3 headphones

don’t just sound outstanding, with very effective noise cancellation,

but they’re smartly designed and come with ahost of extras.

Ikea, with alittle help fromSonos,

has produced two great-sounding

wired speakers. The cheaper

‘bookshelf’model is slimand subtle,but it’s worth

paying extra forthe ‘lamp’model, which both

sounds fuller and doubles as aworking lamp.

Adramatically loud, rain-

resistant upright speaker,the

Escape P9 is something nice and

different foroutdoor use –provided you have

plenty of cash to burn.

Inspired by theclassic

600 series, the wired

607s deliver an exciting

and enthusiastic sound profile that reveals

the tiniest details in every recording.

HEADPHONESSUBTYPEIn-ear headset•PLUGTYPENone•WEIGHT10g•

CABLELENGTHN/A•WARRANTYTwoyears RTB•DETAILSuk.creative.com•

PARTCODEOutlier Air•FULLREVIEWJul2019

SPEAKERS (^2) • RMSPOWEROUTPUTNotstated•WEIGHTNotstated•NETWORKINGWi-Fi•
WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.ikea.com•PARTCODESymfonisk•FULLREVIEW
Nov2019
SPEAKERS (^3) • RMSPOWEROUTPUT300W•DOCKCONNECTORNone•
NETWORKINGBluetooth•DIMENSIONS731x220x220mm•WEIGHT1.2kg

• WARRANTYOneyearparts andlabour•DETAILSwww.escapespeakers.
  com•PARTCODEP9•FULLREVIEWSep 2019

SPEAKERS (^4) • RMSPOWEROUTPUT125W•WEIGHT4.7kgper speaker•
NETWORKINGNone•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.bowers-wilkins.eu•
PARTCODE (^607) • FULLREVIEWJun2019
UEBoom3
★★★★★
£119•www.johnlewis.com
This IP67-rated Bluetooth
speaker is acomprehensive
upgrade on the Boom2: it’s
more durable,looks better,has longer wireless
range and sounds even better.
SPEAKERS (^4) • RMSPOWEROUTPUTNotstated•DOCKCONNECTOR
None•NETWORKINGBluetooth(SBC)•DIMENSIONS184x73x73mm•
WEIGHT608g•WARRANTYTwoyears RTB•DETAILSwww.
ultimateears.com•PARTCODE984-001360•FULLREVIEWJan2019
HEADPHONESSUBTYPEOver-ear headset•PLUGTYPE3.5mmjackplug (optional)•
WEIGHT255g•CABLELENGTH1.2m•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.sony.co.uk•
PARTCODEWH-1000XM3•FULLREVIEWMay2019

01

Bluetooth speakers come in all shapes

and sizes, so you’ll need to decide

what you want to do with the speaker before

you buy.Ifyou don’t plan to take your music

outdoors or around the house,look fora

wired speaker.These are typically cheaper

than speakers with built-in batteries.

If you do want aportable speaker,

however,pay particular attention to how

much it weighs. Ruggedised models should

be able to survive accidental drops, water

spills and unexpected rain showers.

02

Many of the cheapest Bluetooth

speakers use the lossy A2DP

Bluetooth protocol, which is prone to

compressing your music and discarding

detail compared with the original recording.

Choosinga... Bluetoothspeaker

It’s hard to tell thedifference when listening

to pocket-sized speakers, but if you’re

looking foraspeaker to fill aroom, an

aptX-compatible device is abetter option.

This Bluetooth protocol retains more detail

than the A2DP profile,although you’ll need

to useitwithacompatible smartphone in

order to get the benefits.

03

As with any audio product, the

number and size of speaker drivers

can have asignificant impact on the quality

of sound you get from aBluetooth speaker.

Typically,the presence of multiple drivers

enables the manufacturer to tune each one

forspecific frequencies, directing high-end

sounds towards atweeter and sending the

mid-range frequencies to the main driver.

Single-driver speakers with larger driver

cones can be just as capable of producing

fantastic audio,however.

04

Most Bluetooth speakers have at

least one auxiliary input forawired

3.5mm audio jack, in case you want to

listen to music from adevice that doesn’t

have Bluetooth.

There are other extra features to look out

for, though. Speakers with built-in batteries

mayhaveaUSB port forcharging your

smartphone,orabuilt-in microphone to turn

it intoaspeakerphone when apaired

smartphone receives acall. Not all speakers

have physical controls; many rely on your

paired device’s controls foradjusting the

volume or muting playback.

s

com ne lively and dyn ic nd

nand longbatterylife. Bluetooth aptX