best buys… Curated picks of third-party kit
Desktop speaker Kef Egg £349 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 RHA T20i £150 rha-audio.com
Not only do these in-ear headphones sound phenomenal, they come with three swappable filters so you can customise the sound to your liking. The hooks keep them securely in place, and you get 10 ear tips for the perfect fit. They’re comfortable, look great and feel bulletproof. They’re so good, in fact, you’ll want to go back to wired earphones. Dash cam Transcend DrivePro 230 £156 transcend-info.com
Dash cams help record what happens when you drive – useful if you’re in an RTC. 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 Anker Soundcore Flare £70 soundcore.com
Who says you can’t get quality on a budget? This speaker says you can, with great audio for its price. It boasts 360° sound, solid build quality and IPX7 waterproofing, making it an excellent allround package whether you want to blast the tunes at home or at the beach. It’s no wonder it won our Editor’s Choice award in issue # 329. portable batter y pack Apple iPhone 7 Smart Battery Case £99 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 your phone against scratches. The built-in battery isn’t the largest capacity around, yet it has more than enough juice for busy days, and the bump is surprisingly comfy. MICROPHONE Blue Microphones Raspberry £170 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 £350 pioneer-audiovisual.eu
Love music as much as we do? Then you’ll want to get your mitts on one of these. It plays high-res audio files, and absolutely blows MP3 files 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 Hero6 Black £400 gopro.com
GoPro’s latest action cam is a stunner, with 4K video at 60fps and 1080p video at a whopping 240fps for fantastic slow-motion footage. It’s waterproof to 10 metres, has improved image stabilisation, wider dynamic range and better performance in low light than its Hero5 Black predecessor, too. Fit ness smartwatch Garmin Vivoactive HR £240 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.