Computer Shopper - UK (2021-01)

ISSUE395|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JANUARY2021 53

01

Bluetoothspeakerscomeinallshapes

andsizes,soyou’llneedtodecide

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 presenceofmultiple 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.

AUDIO

CREATIVE OutlierAir

★★★★★

£55•uk.creative.com

SONYWH-1000XM3

★★★★★

£248•www.amzn.to/2HHUG1J

IKEASymfonisk

★★★★★

£89•www.ikea.com

SONOSMove

★★★★★

£399•www.currys.co.uk

CREATIVET100

★★★★★

£100•uk.creative.com

Amarvellous

set of true

wireless

headphones, the Outlier Air combine alively and dynamic sound

with acomfy (if large) design and long battery life. Bluetooth aptX

support is worth the moneyinparticular.

Bose’s QuietComfort

headphones have at last

been toppled from the 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 from Sonos,

has produced two great-sounding

wired speakers. The cheaper

‘bookshelf’model is slim and subtle,but it’s worth

paying extra forthe ‘lamp’model, which both

sounds fuller and doubles as aworking lamp.

Although this is much bigger and

less portable than most Bluetooth

speakers, it’s worth taking with you

when you can. It sounds absolutely superb,and

supports Trueplay, so can automatically adjust its

output to fit the acoustics of itssurroundings.

These are no standard stereo

desktop speakers. Youcan

connect additional devices via

3.5mm or Bluetooth, or control them at range

with the included remote. However you use the T100, they’ll always

sound rich and detailed, with plenty of bass fora2.0 system.

HEADPHONESSUBTYPEIn-ear headset•PLUGTYPENone•WEIGHT10g•

CABLELENGTHN/A•WARRANTYTwoyearsRTB•DETAILSuk.creative.com•

PARTCODEOutlier Air•FULLREVIEWJul2019

SPEAKERS (^2) • RMSPOWEROUTPUTNotstated•WEIGHTNotstated•NETWORKINGWi-Fi•
WARRANTYOneyear RTB•DETAILSwww.ikea.com•PARTCODESymfonisk•FULLREVIEW
Nov2019
SPEAKERS (^2) • RMSPOWEROUTPUTNotstated•DOCKCONNECTORNone•NETWORKING
802.11n Wi-Fi,Bluetooth•DIMENSIONS240x160126mm•WEIGHT3kg•WARRANTYOneyear
RTB•DETAILSwww.sonos.com•PARTCODEMOVE1UK1BLK•FULLREVIEWJan2020
SPEAKERS (^1) • RMSPOWEROUTPUT80W•WEIGHT2kg•NETWORKINGBluetooth•
WARRANTYTwoyearsRTB•DETAILSuk.creative.com•PARTCODET100•
FULLREVIEWJul2020
NAIMMu-soQb2ndGeneration
★★★★★
£749•www.johnlewis.com
ForaBluetooth speaker this is
immensely expensive,especially as
it’s mains-powered and thus not
fully wireless. Nevertheless, its sound output is as
expansive as it is customisable,and it can automatically adjust to its
physical surroundings forthe best tone.
SPEAKERS (^5) • RMSPOWEROUTPUT300W•DOCKCONNECTORNone•NETWORKING
802.11ac Wi-Fi,Bluetooth•DIMENSIONS1210x218x212mm•WEIGHT5.6g•WARRANTYTwo
yearsRTB•DETAILSwww.naimaudio.com•PARTCODEMUSO2QB•FULLREVIEWJun2020
HEADPHONESSUBTYPEOver-ear headset•PLUGTYPE3.5mm jack plug (optional)•
WEIGHT255g•CABLELENGTH1.2m•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.sony.co.uk•
PARTCODEWH-1000XM3•FULLREVIEWMay2019
s
combine allively and dynamic sound
nand longbatterylife. Bluetooth aptX