[ Today, Bang & Olufsen—the audio company that has made what we called “the prettiest gadgets in the world”—is rereleasing its iconic CD player, the Beosound 9000. If you were alive in the 1990s, you definitely saw this CD player standing in a place of honor, six discs and glass lid gleaming, either in your … Read more
[ Streaming from a mix of AAC files from Apple Music on the iPhone 15 Pro, and both Qobuz and Spotify using the aptX compatible Sony Xperia 1 V, I was thoroughly entertained by the M40s. They’re balanced and surprisingly punchy, with a delicious low-end that I genuinely didn’t expect. Working through my Family Playlist, … Read more
[ I returned the next day and the most blatant issues had abated, but the TV’s lack of contrast and black levels when compared to last year’s excellent QN90C (8/10, WIRED Recommends) made me confident I wasn’t getting the full picture (literally). A few colleagues also said the TV looked great when they viewed it … Read more
[ Rishi Sunak appears to be safe for now but is likely to face a fresh leadership challenge if the Conservatives lose their mayors in the West Midlands and Teesside, Tory MPs have warned. The immediate threat to the Prime Minister’s authority has subsided after fevered speculation began to surface that a move could be … Read more
[ Think about the last time you saw a person lugging around a Bluetooth speaker and thought to yourself, “Dang, that person looks cool. I want to listen to whatever they’re listening to!” If you have no such memory, you’re not to blame, and you’re certainly not alone. Many portable speakers are dorky hunks of … Read more
[ Swapping between the bar’s multiple inputs is slightly more intuitive, with a different LED color assigned to each input: HDMI ARC glows magenta, optical is yellow, the analog input is green, and the USB input is cyan. This color coding has become more common in A/V gear of late, usually seen in active/powered bookshelf … Read more
[ Amazon’s family of Alexa-enabled devices is vast. From the spherical Echo to the swiveling Echo Show 10, you can get Alexa into your home in many ways. These devices can answer your questions, help you order essentials, set timers, play all sorts of audio content, and even function as the control hub for your … Read more
[ Economists have urged Jeremy Hunt not to make spending reductions to fund tax cuts in the Budget, warning that the UK is “not in a good place” to do so. Mr Hunt is considering funding tax cuts in the March Budget with future spending cuts, as part of efforts to bring down the tax … Read more
[ Connects to Alexa. ★ Cheaper, Similar Echo Show: The second-gen Echo Show 8 ($130) is a little cheaper and is still a great choice if you don’t have your heart set on new features like the smart home hub or spatial audio. If you aren’t in it for the music, the Amazon Echo Dot … Read more
[ Hail the orb! High-end French audio hardware manufacturer Elipson has a brand-new Death Star-esque orboid speaker worthy of worrying any self-respecting Alderaanian. It is called the W35 Xi. At £699 ($876) it’s a pricey boombox but not far off from similar speakers made by other premium audio companies. (It’s even slightly cheaper than Sonos’ … Read more
