The criteria was simple … the choice was anything but: pick the best audio products we employed and experiences we enjoyed in 2025. Share our obsession with tech that lets us press play and bliss out. But we view and review as many headphones, earbuds, speakers, and components as we can get our hands on and ears in every year, so we needed to narrow it down to what gave us goosebumps. We chased gear that disappears and kit with an undeniable character, remembered what purposefully seduced and fearlessly scaled. From caffeine-rush wireless cans to detail-drunk audiophile in-ears, everyday upgrades to if-I-win-the-lottery-there-will-be-signs wish list, these 25 keepers delivered feel-everything finesse.
Sennheiser HDB 630 wireless audiophile headphones
The Sennheiser HDB 630 wireless audiophile headphones are for travelers who care as much, if not more, about transparent sound as they do Transparency mode. Honing the MOMENTUM 4 Wireless platform, the $499 HDB 630 is an exciting late-2025 entry as it brings the legendary 600 Series penchant for rich, forward midrange to an ANC-ensconced acoustic system. Featuring a newly developed 42mm dynamic driver manufactured in Tullamore, Ireland (home of the summit-fi HE 1 headphone system assembly), the default presentation favors width over wow, with clean, extended bass and refined treble flanking the presence bands. It’s elevated fidelity that was previously hard to achieve without doubling your budget. And if the stock setting is too dry, Parametric EQ and Crossfeed settings in the refreshed Smart Control Plus app offer possibly unprecedented tone control for a Bluetooth headphone, so you can boost sub bass or heighten cathedral hush. Of course, none of that matters without a hi-res path. So the headphones come with the BTD 700 Bluetooth 5.2 aptX Adaptive USB-C transmitter (also sold separately for $59.95) and are capable of decoding a lossless 24-bit/96 kHz/6Hz-40kHz signal via USB-C cable. We see the HDB 630 more as a powered reference headphone than a wireless commute calmer, and hear it as a top pick for anyone who favors uncolored response wherever they are.
Sony WH-1000XM6 wireless noise-cancelling headphones
For the WH-1000XM6, the follow-up to 2022’s 1000XM5, Sony didn’t so much reinvent as revisit the wheel. They brought back hinges on the headband so that the Bluetooth headphone would fit in a new, compact magnetic-clasp case, making it as comfortable to carry as it is to wear. Inside, there’s a reworked 30mm driver with a carbon-dome and perforated bobbin, Bluetooth 5.3 multipoint with SBC/AAC/LDAC/LC3, and engineer-guided tuning to tighten bass and clarify treble. And if that stock tuning is too rambunctious, Sony’s app remains one of the most robust for customization, with a 10-band EQ, DSEE Extreme, and 360RA Cinema mode. Most impressive is the 7x-stronger QN3 active noise cancellation system, which steps up with 12 mics and audibly better algorithms to fight whines to wind. Now on its sixth generation, this $449 all-rounder isn’t flashy, but it’s hella focused and consumer-friendly—perfect for bopping down the block singing Jess Glyne’s “Hold My Hand” or some HUNT/RX, but nuanced enough for Radiohead’s chiming “Let Down.”
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 wireless headphones
The Px8 S2 crowns Bowers & Wilkins’ 2025 lineup by fusing the company’s loudspeaker credibility into a travel-friendly chassis. The Nappa leather-clad ear cups hide 40mm Carbon Cone drivers, angled atop a redesigned engine with bespoke 24-bit DSP for cleaner timing and lower distortion. Bluetooth 5.3 with AAC and aptX Adaptive/Lossless brings 24/96 wireless polish, while USB-C preserves full fidelity. Upgraded ANC redirects distraction without blanching tone. Less warm than its predecessor, the PX8 S2’s bass is taut, mids inviting, microdetail resolving. Thirty hours of stamina, tactile controls, and a couture build elevate routine commutes into fatigue-free performances. We were already in love with the fun-focused tuning of the Px7 S3, but this even more plush, precise, while still punchy $799 flagship quickly became our suave, cabin-ready companion.
Focal Bathys MG Bluetooth headphones
In the right light, the Focal Bathys MG seems to glow. With the right song, the Focal Bathys MG is undeniably illuminating. The M-shaped dome inside these $1,499 chestnut ear cups has gone full magnesium, yielding a lighter, stiffer membrane that reaches deeper—10Hz–22kHz vs. the OG’s 15–22—while gracefully rendering detail, so immersion replaces edge. The softer memory-foam pads and leather headband ensure that the comfort is as effortless and cohesive as the sound. A Dynamic EQ curve in the Focal&Naim app is there for those who want more warmth. A battery life of 30 hours wireless (Bluetooth 5.2 with AAC/aptX/aptX Adaptive) or up to 42 hours via 24-bit/192kHz USB-DAC mode is there for those who never want their playlists to end. From subtle tones to complex soundscapes, the Bathys MG welcomes you in and sweeps you up.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen.)
When it comes to keeping the noise floor low, Bose has always set the bar high. And the $299 QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen.) yet again exceed expectations for the most isolating earbuds. This isn’t an overhaul, just an evolution. But when you’re already elite, it’s smarter to refine than revise. Slightly feathered stabilizer wings and ear tips help lock in the seal for overall passive suppression, and AI-smoothed ActiveSense adaptive noise cancellation keeps watch against sudden intrusions and tames them with fades rather than brute force. Tweaked CustomTune and Immersive Audio algorithms are more consistent, clearer, centered. Six hours of battery life isn’t world-beating, but adding wireless charging to the case helps. Overall, it’s a tightening of the key qualities that make Bose a premium travel buddy: the ability to keep the world out. When we’re on a long-haul, so are the QC Ultras.
Apple AirPods Pro 3
The AirPods Pro 3 remain the most polished true wireless earbuds for iPhone users, now with even more shine. Tweaked housings and new foam-filled ear tips (including XXS) mean a more secure seal for more people, while upgraded venting, drivers, and DSP means more of everything else. From deeper lows to livelier highs, that freshly carved space translates to snappier spatial audio, cast across ANC that’s 2x more efficient. Newly optimized microphones mean Transparency mode also feels more translucent. IP57 durability and heart-rate sensors ensure the earbuds can keep up with you, whether you’re on a jog or running between terminals. It’s been a great year for distinct, aurally evolved earbuds, such as the Technics EAH-AZ100, Status Pro X, and Noble Audio FoKus Amadeus—each a personalizable tonal treat. But when it comes to seamless features, the AirPods Pro 3 earbuds are an even more intuitive extension of your pocket computer.
FiiO FX17 tribrid in-ear monitors
Following a 2024 where it updated its all-balanced armature FA19 and hybrid dynamic driver + balanced armature FH19 in-ear monitors, Chinese hi-fi company FiiO distilled its design innovations into its most dexterous flagship to date. A 13-driver tribrid, each CNC-milled titanium shell contains a lithium-magnesium dynamic for grip, four custom Knowles BAs for body, and eight Sonion ESTs for air. A combination of acoustic chambers and a five-way electronic crossover filters frequencies and facilitates smoother handoffs between drivers. The end result (ear tip/seal dependent, as with all IEMs) is seamless, tactile tone with a lucid image that’s easy to map, displaying air up top without bleaching harmonics and midbass lift without blurring decay. Adding value to the $1,499 price tag is a modular cable featuring 3.5mm and 4.4mm plugs, plus an interchangeable USB-C with built-in 32/384 DAC and 8-band PEQ. And, while an IEM doesn’t need much power for the most part, the FX17 does reward a desktop pairing with something like the FiiO K13 R2R for even more organic, unforced, luminous listening, or the FiiO K17 for tweakable grunt and effortless headroom for breakbeats to ballads. Is this illegal? Hey, ooooooooo, it feels illegal.
THIEAUDIO Valhalla balanced-armature in-ear monitors
A decade ago, in-ear monitors came in two flavors: dynamic driver or balanced armature. As various miniaturized tech has become readily available, IEM architecture has become much more complex, and an all-BA design much more uncommon. You might assume a sense of authority could be missing without a dynamic driver or planar array. But after innovating in the sub-$1,000 space, THIEAUDIO shows how ambition can overcome expectations with the $1,999 Valhalla. Nineteen balanced armatures per side—four Sonion sub-woofers, 10 dual mids, four Knowles highs, one ultra-high—pair with a custom Precision Bass System for dynamic impact without sacrificing technical prowess. Like the titanium shells they come in, these components carve a lustrous soundstage with conviction. There’s warmth without haze, against which filament-fine treble etches agile details. Kick bloom stays in check, and overtones stay intact. We like atmospheric black metal, and so does it. It made an immediate impression when we heard it on the packed floor at CES, and only pleased us more once we had a pair for an extended audition. At 9Ω/103dB, the Valhalla wakes easily, unfurls with clean current, and delivers speed and scale.
Campfire Audio Astrolith planar-magnetic in-ear monitors
Campfire Audio emerged from Portland, Oregon, in 2015 as a boutique cable manufacturer turned IEM imagineers. The eccentric company’s Andromeda IEM established a cohesive, warm-neutral house sound across an expansive soundstage. With 2022’s 14mm planar-magnetic Supermoon IEM, Campfire kept that sense of engagement, but lost some of the airy top end. The $2,199 Astrolith solves this by stacking two low-distortion planar panels—a 14.2mm for lows and mids and a 6mm tweeter—mounted in precisely engineered housings to deliver saturated slam and smear-free separation. It’s a gently V-shaped pairing that allows the Astrolith to sharpen transients, sweeten sub bass, and stretch the stage without thinning the low end. Drums crack hard, decay tails reach upwards at full extension. In a way, it’s a nod to the musicality of the Andromeda, but with physicality to match technical poise (a foundation successful enough that a variant of the 14mm planar is now paired with balanced armatures in the Grand Luna). Fed off a high-resolution, balanced signal chain, the Astrolith (re)presents Campfire’s pinnacle of swagger and speed.
Audeze LCD-S20 closed-back planar-magnetic headphones
SoCal’s Audeze released the LCD-2 headphones in 2009, and those headphones’ audiophile adoption helped transform planar magnetics from ’70s relics to reinvigorated reference sets. Despite its name, the LCD-S20 isn’t a throwback to that model, but its warm tuning with a rounded-off top end does trigger a feeling of nostalgia in us, as the LCD-2 was once our go-to for doom metal and shoegaze squall. The LCD-S20 has some of that dense, dopamine-inducing character, but it’s its own thing. To begin with, it’s closed-back and designed with long studio sessions in mind, so it comes with isolating gel-filled ear cushions on a new magnetic attachment system that are comfortable whether you sit back or lean in. It uses the SLAM acoustic modulation vents debuted in the $5,995 CRBN2 electrostatic headphones, yet does so at an accessible $499 price point. The end result is easily driven, portable punch for when you need a mix to be staged not stacked, and a seal tight enough you can track next to someone wailing away. Or just put on some Candlemass, Sabbath, or Sleep.
Dan Clark Audio Noire X closed-back planar-magnetic headphones
Dan Clark Audio doesn’t just design planar-magnetic headphones; the San Diego-based iconoclasts engineer airflow. There are plenty of companies using felt or foam to calm peaks, but DCA uses its proprietary 3D-printed waveguides to tame turbulence. And the patent-pending AMTS (Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System) within the 2025 Noire X’s Gorilla Glass 3-clad cups is why these are some of the most wide-sounding closed-back planars we’ve heard. They contour toward a Harman curve, meaning there’s a tasteful, textured bass shelf, engaging midrange, then shimmery, never shouty treble. It’s punchy and able to purr thanks to the headphone-specific AMTS layer at work, scrubbing standing waves without dulling detail. At $999.99, the Noire X sits in DCA’s midrange tier, which carries benefits beyond more-approachable pricing, including a surprisingly compact collapsible design and modestly efficient drivers. This is a travel-friendly, tone-flattering headphone for wired headphone enthusiasts who want to have some fun on the run or catch a tender eddy in transit. Or, as Nick Cave so dramatically broods, “Come sail your ships around me.”
Meze Audio 105 Silva dynamic headphones
Sometimes, a new headphone stands out by taking a backseat. That’s not always the aesthetic of Romanian audio company Meze Audio, known for statement pieces like the intricately machined, lushly voiced $2,000 open-back planar POET. But the $499 dynamic-driver open-back Meze Audio 105 SILVA does just that in a way. Its mid-century modern design is classy form-meets-function, a balance of walnut, steel, velour, and leatherette elements. It’s distinctive but disappears once on the head. What also disappears are distractions once you hear its all-new 50mm carbon fiber-reinforced cellulose composite W-shaped dome do its thing. The tuning doesn’t hype itself. It’s honest, with mids that step forward, bass that behaves, and treble that’s blissfully non-fatiguing. There’s no DSP, no tonal (re)direction. Just acoustics, mechanics, and versatility … a perfect investment for entry-level enthusiasts.
iBasso Nunchaku DAC/amp dongle
Bluetooth is convenient, but wired sound is still superior. So it’s great that we’ve been able to highlight efficient headphones and IEMs we can easily take on our travels. But what’s the point of bringing it out if you can’t bring the best out of it? That’s where the $299 iBasso Nunchaku dongle comes into play. It’s a relatively demur Cirrus Logic CS43198x2 DAC and amp with dual personalities: switch between TUBE or Class AB modes depending on whether you want sound to glow or get a glow-up. The dual Raytheon JAN6418 vacuum tubes sweeten the bass-to-mids transition and add a gentler leading edge, while the AB output offers multiple filters to dial in less cozy, more carved precision without hiss. It draws power from your phone’s USB-C port and then outputs up to 525 mW @ 32Ω through the balanced 4.4mm, which is enough to give flesh and/or finesse. There are other dongles we quite like and reach for when in the mood for specific sonic signatures, such as the incisive Questyle M18i, but we’re celebrating the iBasso’s versatility.
Rotel DX-3 desktop DAC/amp
When we’re reviewing and need to spread out a bunch of specs sheets, our curved monitor is our greatest asset. But it’s also a liability when it comes to desk space for a DAC/amp. Thankfully, the $1,499 Rotel DX-3 tucks neatly beneath our panel, offering plenty of headroom in a low-profile body (8 1/2 x 2 3/4 x 9 3/4”). This desktop decoder features an ESS Sabre ES9028PRO chip to handle a USB-C source up to 32/384 with DSD, plus coax/optical to 24/192. There’s aptX HD/AAC Bluetooth, plus it’s Roon Tested. And it condenses the Japanese hi-fi brand’s big-amp know-how into an in-house toroidal power supply and fully differential signal path. The end result is neutral, natural, capable of dynamic drive but never prone to exaggerated expression. And with <0.6Ω output impedance on the balanced 4.4mm port, up to 2.8 W @ 16Ω Class AB amplification with three gain levels, and 0.5 dB step analog volume control, the DX-3 is IEM-friendly and planar-capable. We’ve used it with everything from the in-ears featured in these awards to the FiiO FT7, HiFiMAN Isvarna, and Dan Clark Audio Noire XO, and we’ve gotten an inky background and elastic, untyped resolution without hot edges.
HiFiMAN Susvara Unveiled planar-magnetic headphones
It’s not easy to summit a mountain, but the view from that peak is boundlessly rewarding. So, too, is surveying outstretched aural horizons through the HiFiMAN Susvara Unveiled, which at $8,000 is the audiophile’s planar-magnetic pinnacle. With a purist signal path (like the TEAC stack we feature or HiFiMAN’s own Serenade DAC + Prelude Class-A amp), it can offer analysis to awe, panoramic insight, and a sense of all-consuming tranquility. The one thing it can’t offer is any isolation. Its signature feature (as with similarly clad models in the Unveiled series, including the HE1000) is “Magnetic Veil” external side panels that, once removed, leave the nanometer-thick, silver conductor-inlaid diaphragms and their Stealth Magnet arrays exposed. This eliminates separation-smudging reflections and refractions that get in the way of tensile bass, radiant mids, and limitless treble extremities. It also makes us a little nervous that we’ll poke a hole in it every time we pick it up, we can’t deny. But the anxiety melts away as the imaging lengthens and strengthens even at low SPL. All that’s left are moments of prismatic effervescence, startling realism, and a faint sense of profound longing.
Grado Signature HP100 SE dynamic-driver headphones
Grado Labs has been operating out of a Brooklyn building since 1953, when the company was founded to produce phono cartridges that delivered playback with immediacy. And the company’s hand-built headphones have maintained that authoritative energy through three generations, leading up to the new Signature series. The $2,495 HP100 SE (as well as the relatively more affordable S950 and S750) takes Grado’s classic in-the-room presentation and modernizes it, with deeper, tighter bass, more controlled treble, and an even bigger stage. A new 52mm paper composite cone and redesigned high-flux magnet plus copper-plated aluminum voice coil, operating at 38Ω, are responsible for this locked-in imaging. It’s shimmery, not shouty, vivid without being oversaturated, and scales sweetly. And when it comes to reproducing guitars, no one does it like Grado. You can pick out fingers on frets and mid-syllable sighs, feel the leading edge as the fuzztain pedal kicks in. For anything that lives in the mids and loves having its transients put under a spotlight, particularly rock or metal, the HP100 SE is all about less grain and more grins.
TEAC UD-507 DAC/headphone amp & TEAC HA-507 analog headphone amplifier
Japanese company TEAC has always had a way of turning small desktops into personal audio sanctuaries. Its pro division, TASCAM, produced the Portastudio cassette multitracker, which made home recording affordable and portable. Now TEAC’s Reference 500 Series lets you assemble a robust listening station in a tiny, tidy footprint. The $2,099 UD-507 packs a compact A4 chassis with a proprietary TRDD 5 discrete DAC in a dual-mono layout that runs into TEAC-QVS analog volume control and TEAC-HCLD2 high-current headphone amp, fully balanced stem to stern. But stack the $2,499 HA-507 fanless Class-AB amp atop and you’ve got up to 6.7 W per channel balanced, enough to feed even the most power-hungry headphones via 4-pin XLR, 4.4, 6.3, or 3.5 mm. We’ve loved having all this grain-free grip within arm’s reach to coax big-room soundstage out in our city-apartment setup.
iFi Valkyrie transportable DAC/headphone amp
British audio tech company iFi Audio has a history of potent portables—feature-packed DAC/amps from the desktop-grade xDSD Gryphon to simple dongles to the detachable GO Pod Max wireless IEM adapter. And the $1,699 iDSD Valkyrie is the company’s most gloriously overbuilt slab of circuitry to date. Feed the quad Burr-Brown DACs via Bluetooth 5.4 (aptX Adaptive/Lossless, LDAC, LHDC), USB-C, S/PDIF, or balanced line I/O, then they pour their analog glow through K2/K2HD filters and/or DSD Remastering up to DSD1024. Along with the option to pick from six additional filters, three gain stages, and XBass II/XSpace/XPresence bass correction/crossfeed, you can dial in whatever level of polish or truth suits your ear and gear. And a 5,700 mW peak stage and 20,000mAh 18-hour battery life means even the most stubborn headphones and extended journeys won’t disrupt dynamics. We’ve loved the Valkyrie’s customizable musicality. What it demands in bag space, it more than makes up for in fluid headspace we’ve loved. With the right settings, it can turn IDM, EBM, or EDM into OMG.
KEF XIO soundbar
Already responsible for some of our favorite wireless hi-fi (as well as the engaging tuning of the futureproof-features stuffed Nothing Headphone (1) collaboration), speaker designer KEF operates with a template: coherent clarity across an immersive field. Well, enveloping, but not immersive like spatial audio … not before now, at least. The KEF XIO is a 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos/DTS:X/Sony 360 Reality Audio standalone soundbar, featuring newly miniaturized Uni-Q MX drivers plus newly developed patent-pending P185 LF racetrack drivers for surprising low end (34Hz – 20kHz), all backed by 820 total watts of amplification. With HDMI 2.1 eARC, Optical, and all manner of streaming service support within its 47.6-inch-long chassis, the XIO is suited to a 65-inch or larger TV and can cast an appropriately wide soundstage regardless of source. Where it stands out is in its ability to present stereo music tidily and truthfully, even off-axis, with unforeseen nuance and agility for a one-box bar around 3 inches tall. And at $2,499, the XIO is already a sizable investment with a satisfying response, but it really does come alive when paired with an external subwoofer (like our favorite, the compact KEF KC62).
Samsung HW-Q990F Q-Series Wireless Surround Sound System
Samsung’s top-tier wireless surround sound systems aren’t new to our living rooms or lists. In all honesty, the updated HW-Q990F isn’t all that new, except for some AI intelligibility enhancements and its sealed cube of a sub packed with dual opposing 8-inch drivers to tighten up the body and boom. It’s still a $1,999 11.1.4 23-driver setup with sub and satellites integrated. But just because it’s polishing the crown rather than taking the throne doesn’t mean it’s not the best mixed-usage Dolby Atmos-compatible array in 2025 and worthy of recognition. With two HDMI 2.1 inputs plus eARC output with 4K/120 and VRR, AirPlay/Chromecast/Spotify/Roon readiness, and auto-calibration/SmartThings app customizability, it can take any source and transform your couch into a home cinema with zero fuss.
Technics SL-1300G turntable
Aspiring DJs back in the analog daze of the early ’90s, we lugged Technics turntables around in our youth. More interested in playing wax rather than spinning trax now that we’re entering our 50s, we lusted over the $3,299.99 Technics SL-1300G as soon as we saw it in January 2025. We remained obsessed until we finally got to audition it alongside the sinewy, sleek SC-CX700 connected coaxial speakers. With an iconic silhouette (minus the pitch slider and pop-up light), plus a vibration-damping aluminum/brass build, the SL-1300G is direct-drive matured. The high-torque ΔΣ-Drive motor and high-rigidity S-shaped tonearm, paired with a worthy cartridge, ensure smooth, stable rotation and precise tracking. How that translates sonically is the kind of authoritative body and composed transients that still get our BPMs racing, whether we’re playing “Random Access Memories” to “Raw Power,” Madlib to “Marquee Moon.”
WE ARE REWIND GB-001 Blaster Curtis
While we’ve never made a full-blown Say Anything … scene, songs have punctuated most of the memorable, emotional moments of our lives. And we made our fair share of crushed-out mixtapes. So when we saw the backlit VU meters of the $579 WE ARE REWIND GB-001 Blaster Curtis at IFA 2025, we were feeling it. And when we heard it, we caught feelings. Compared to the boomboxes of old, or even many portable party speakers of now, the sound is more balanced than, well, boom. There is bass coming from the 2 woofer + 2 soft dome tweeter 104 W array. But its default is more melodic than excessive to allow for a good sense of stereo spatialisation. Plus, there are bass/treble knobs if you want to add weight without swallowing vocals. And you can feed it via cassette deck, Bluetooth 5.4, 3.5mm aux in, or even a mic input for an MC. And, yes, you can make a pause-button mix, because who wants to hear the radio DJ talking over your favorite jam. When it comes to da funk, we can’t live without our retro-modern rechargeable radio.
WiiM Amp Ultra streaming amplifier
There was a time when a two-channel setup involved a bulky receiver at best, but more likely required dedicating substantial space for stacked components. Apologies to the AV rack industry, but the rise of hi-res streaming and Class D amplification has been great for minimalists. In 2024, several premium brands crafted compact multiroom system-friendly streaming amps, like the Marantz M1 and Bluesound NODE ICON. And they’re both recommendable network players with their own curated character. But for the sub-$1K set, the $529 WiiM Amp Ultra released in 2025 has emerged as a go-to catch-all. With Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, HDMI ARC, and support for almost every conceivable source behind its touchscreen, plus TI TPA3255 chips delivering 100 W per channel output into 8Ω, this ESS ES9039Q2M-equipped hub’s feature set is richly appointed without being luxury-priced. And the app is equally DSP-enriched. While its tone leans slightly lean, it’s still low noise and gave us the conviction we needed, whether auditioning the DALI RUBIKORE 2 or powering the passive components in the GoldenEar T66. And if you’ve got some detail-oriented compact bookshelf speakers that could use some robust reinforcement, like the Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3, WiiM’s Sub Pro wireless subwoofer integrates easily with its adjustable crossover and own room correction.
IsoAcoustics GAIA Neo speaker isolation feet
When it comes to testing floor-standing speakers, our space is tight. So when we actually find a pair worth sacrificing part of the floor plan, we want their sound to be tight, as well. For example, the GoldenEar T66, with its built-in powered subwoofers, offers a lot of energetic ability for its footprint, but also the potential for bass slack and midrange smear. The simplest, most instantaneous upgrade we’ve found, a fix far more economical than acoustically treating an entire room, is IsoAcoustics’ GAIA NEO speaker isolation feet ($69.99-$149.99 each in variants for cabinets of any weight). They rein in energy loss and unleash imaging. Separating the speaker from the supporting surface, these screw-in accessories minimize distortion-generating vibrations and reflections, making an audible difference in bass definition and the here, there, everywhere-ness of dimensional cues. Yosi Harikawa’s “Bubbles” has never percolated so palpably.
Spacing out in an SUV …
If our love of personal audio has taught us anything, it’s that you don’t have to be moving to be transported by music. For example, we were sitting quite still in a Cadillac OPTIQ EV SUV, engine off, when we were taken on a road trip navigating new milestones of spatial audio engagement. While we’d dismissed Dolby Atmos in vehicles before experiencing it, convinced it would be more distracting than compelling, the 19-speaker AKG Studio Audio system demoed in the Park MGM at CES 2025 showed us that object-based audio’s perfect implementation could be parked in a driveway. Because in these optimized interiors, it’s not so much about height channels as it is elevated expression, with elements freed from competing whirrs and purrs. On a well-mixed track, with DSP taking into account the exact dimensions of a car’s compartment, the sonic bed blankets and every discrete sound can arrive with clarity, subtlety, urgency that is hard to replicate outside of a custom-calibrated home cinema (though we love cranking our Sonos system in the hopes). While we haven’t tried producing a test track in a Mercedes yet, and we aren’t currently in the market to buy a new car, we’re sold on getting an Atmos-compatible system next time we do. Until then, we’re … driven to explore the roadmap of more actively immersive mediums, whether from Cadillac, Volvo, or others we hope to hear.
Racks on racks on racks, a coda …
While it wasn’t a big year for speakers in our homes, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention a few impactful moments we shared with them on our travels. While CES 2025 did showcase some diminutive desktop speakers that had plenty of personality, it was during rare time away from the convention floor when we sat truly transfixed by bespoke Sonus faber systems in a Maserati Grecale SUV and Lamborghini Revuelto hybrid super sports car. The Lamborghini, in particular, with its custom cone material and phase plugs, was striking for the speakers’ ability to reach deep, considering the shallow mounting options available. Unable to pass up more fantasy-fulfilling invitations, we later accepted an offer to visit the House of Sound NYC, a curated showcase for Sonus faber and McIntosh products in constantly evolving “real-world” environments. Here, we had a lysergic encounter with the dominating McIntosh XRT2.1K floorstanding loudspeakers, which projected the precipitous meditation of Björk’s “Hyperballad” into incandescent condensation above us.
We love our one-on-one moments of searing self-reflection. But we got the most bang for our buck sharing showrooms at Audio Advice Live in Raleigh, North Carolina, where we sat in reverence and revelry in front of the Klipsch La Scala, McIntosh ML1 MK II, KLH Model Sevens, a pair of Marantz Grand Horizons, an Ascendo Audio 32-inch subwoofer, and the Focal Diva Mezza Utopia, just to name a few standouts. It’s an annual event worth planning a weekend around if you’re into home theater, two-channel, and BBQ, as no description we can share will replace a first-hand audition. We hope to go back in August 2026 and apologize in advance to anyone who happens to be in the room when we ask if we can pick a song.
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