Mobile reviews

Another excellent budget true wireless pair from Sony that ticks most of the boxes. They’re comfortable to wear, the battery lasts for a long time, they sound mature and well-balanced for the price, and the Ambient Sound feature works well. For the price, there’s not much I’d criticise aside from the call quality. Pros Lightweight and comfortable to wear Engaging audio Good Ambient Sound performance Long battery life Affordable price Cons Below-par call quality Not the most energetic-sounding pair Key Features Ambient Sound New Ambient Sound mode lets the outside world in Battery life Slightly longer battery life than its predecessor DSEE processing Restores detail to compressed tracks Introduction Whatever your budget, Sony has headphones for you. If you’re after a premium true wireless, there’s the WF-1000XM5, but if you’re on a smaller budget, there’s the WF-C510 to consider. These headphones swerve noise-cancellation but for the price that’s pro...

As objects, the FiiO FT1 are an unarguable success. As headphones for listening to, though, they are far from all-rounders… Pros Energetic, upfront sound Properly made from upmarket materials Good specification at the money Cons The sound is closed-in and unyielding Big headphones with an even bigger travel-case Won’t suit the smaller-headed Key Features Design Closed-back, over-ear, hard-wired Drivers 60mm dynamic drivers Frequency response 10Hz – 40kHz Introduction Given that it’s a rare day that passes without the launch of a new FiiO product, the fact that there are no closed-back, over-ear headphones in its line-up is quite startling. Well, that all changes with the launch of these FT1 hard-wired headphones – and, as is established FiiO practice, the way these headphones are specified is at odds with the money the company is asking. FiiO has offered notable value for money in the past. Is it doing so again? Availability The FiiO FT1 clo...

With the Hi-X20 Austrian Audio has doubled down on the Austrian Audio-ness of its most affordable model range, and the results are gratifying in the extreme. All but the most committed bass-heads will find lots to love here… Pros Speedy, open and informative sound Confident, positive presentation Nicely built and finished, with a more coherent look than previous Hi-X models Cons You’ve heard punchier headphones than these The supplied cable is inconveniently long Key Features Frequency response All the way from 12Hz – 24kHz Design Wired pair of over-ear headphones with replaceable earcups Cable 3m cable with 3.5mm termination and 6.3mm adapter Introduction The Viennese specialist has been disrupting the headphones market at every price-point ever since its arrival not quite eight years ago – but it’s down in the more budget-orientated area of the market that Austrian Audio has made the biggest waves. These new Hi-X20 wired over-ear headphones int...