best buys… Curated picks of third-party kit
Desktop speaker Kef Egg £350 kef.com
With rich, warm sound that works with pretty much any genre, the Kef Egg speakers are ideal partners for your Mac. They support high-quality AptX Bluetooth too, making them perfect for wireless playback. Quirky design, solid build quality and support for external subwoofers makes them a great choice.
in-ear headpho nes Pioneer Rayz Plus £126 pioneerrayz.com
If you own an iPhone 7, you’ll know the struggle of trying to listen to music and charge your phone at the same time. These in-ear Lightning headphones solve that, thanks to their built-in charging port. They’ve also got great audio quality, excellent noise cancellation and will pause your tunes when removed from your ears.
Dash cam Transcend DrivePro 230 £150 transcend-info.com
Dash cams help record what happens when you drive, which is useful if you’re in a collision. If you’re in the market for one, this cam is one of the best. Packed with Wi-Fi, GPS logging, Full HD video and a night view as well, you get an awful lot for your money. There’s even a free 16GB memory card included in the box.
portable speaker Libratone Zipp £169 libratone.com
Want a multiroom audio system in your home? This is your best option, hands down. It cleaned up in MF309’ s group test, scoring five stars in every test category. From top-notch sound to tons of great features, the Zipp is a superb choice. It even boasts AirPlay for great integration with Macs and iOS devices.
portable batter y pack Apple iPhone 7 Smart Battery Case £79 apple.com/uk
Despite that sillylooking hump on its back, the official battery case for the iPhone 7 is rather impressive. It’s easy to fit, the buttons feel great, and the soft inner lining protects against scratches. It isn’t the largest capacity case, yet it has more than enough juice for busy days, and the bump is surprisingly comfy.
MICROPHONE Blue Microphones Raspberry £164 bluemic.com
Don’t be fooled by this mic’s small form factor; it punches hugely above its weight. Its close-up sound is intimate and bassy, and brings out the best in any voice. No matter whether you’re recording an interview, creating a podcast or just jamming with your band, its clarity and depth makes it easy to recommend.
High -res audio pla yer Pioneer XDP-30R £348 pioneer-audiovisual.eu
Love music as much as we do? Then you’ll want to get your mitts on this audio player. It plays high-res audio files, and absolutely blows regular MP3 players out of the water. One listen will change the way you hear your audio tracks and, unlike other high-res audio players, it’s reasonably priced. It really will rock your world.
Actio n camera GoPro Hero5 Black £370 gopro.com
GoPro’s flagship action camera coloured us impressed. The company has finally improved its cam’s usability, and it’s a cinch to get started with the Hero5 Black. Add in superb 4K video quality plus a great range of shooting options and you’ve got a hugely powerful camera on your hands.
Fit ness smartwatch Garmin Vivoactive HR £165 garmin.com
Packed full of tracking features for a host of sports, and filled with genuinely insightful metrics, this is a fitness smartwatch for nearly any occasion. Its battery will last you days, perfect for the odd weekend hiking trip. With all this, it’s not hard to see why it won MF308’ s group test.