PORTABLE MUSIC PLAYERS

TREAT YOUR TUNES TO A DEDICATED MUSIC PLAYER

Sony NW-A55L £160

Best portable music player under £250, Awards 2020 ★★★★★

Sony hasn’t carried out an update for the sake of it; the refresh is justified by squeezing more performance into a budget price than ever before.

Hi-res 32-bit/384khz, DSD Weight 99g Storage 16GB (plus microsd)

Cowon Plenue D3 £279

Best portable music player under £500, Awards 2021 ★★★★★

This is a talented player that betters its previous generation counterpart for detail, separation and transparency. An impressive, tiny box of tricks… Hi-res 24-bit/192khz, DSD 128 Weight 103g Storage 64GB

Astell & Kern A&norma SR25 £599

Best portable music player £500-£1000, Awards 2021 ★★★★★

More expressive and eloquent than any other portable music player we’ve encountered at this price – far beyond anything smartphones are capable of. Hi-res 32-bit/384khz, DSD256 Weight 279g Storage 832GB

Astell & Kern Kann Alpha £1099

April 2021 ★★★★★

A powerful and talented machine, we cannot fault its sonic chops. The stylish, rock-solid build is (just) small enough to take with you on your travels Hi-res 32-bit/384khz, DSD256 Weight 316g Storage 64GB

Astell & Kern A&futura SE180 £1399

Best portable music player over £1000, Awards 2021 ★★★★★

If you’re looking for an excellent-sounding player without spending thousands, the A&futura SE180 is among the best we’ve come across. Hi-res 32-bit/384khz, DSD 256 Storage 256GB (plus 1TB via microsd)

Astell & Kern A&futura SE200 £1799

Best portable music player over £1000, Awards 2020 ★★★★★ Astell & Kern has managed to set a new performance benchmark for the price with the A&futura SE200.

Hi-res 32-bit/348khz, DSD 256, MQA Weight 274g Storage 256GB

Whether you’re a Prime professional or just thinking of signing up, you’ll want to get the most out of the service. Here are a few tips and tricks on how to do exactly that.

Setting up a ‘Household’ account

Amazon Prime Video will recommend content based on your viewing history - but what if you’re really into crime thrillers, your other half loves romantic comedies and the kids love cartoons? The answer is by linking together two Amazon accounts that will both have access to Prime Video. Go to Your Account > Shopping Programmes > Amazon Household. There you can add another adult or profiles for children, and then click ‘Create Household’.

Parental Controls

You can set up a four-digit PIN on the web by going into the ‘Settings’ of the Prime Video section and also in the mobile app’s settings.

Streaming Ultra HD video

On Amazon’s TV app there’s a category populated with Ultra HD content. You can also search for ‘4K’ or ‘Ultra HD’ in the search bar. However, the results might not be complete you can tell for sure if a TV show or movie is 4K only by clicking on it. Unfortunately, if you’re on a mobile device, this doesn’t show up at all.

Streaming HDR video

HDR video - and Dolby Vision on compatible televisions - is more difficult to spot than 4K. Amazon’s search function is also incomplete when typing in ‘HDR’ it recommends The Man In The High Castle, but leaves out other HDR shows. Much like finding 4K content, it’s a bit trial and error – clicking on shows to see if they come up with the HDR or Dolby Vision symbol seems the best way to find out.

Downloading shows

For those using tablets or smartphones, you can download content to your device for offline viewing. On select films and TV shows, you can tap the download arrow to save it to your device. Your offline titles can be found in the ‘Download’ tab in the menu at the bottom of the mobile app.

Changing resolution

If you want to save on space, try changing the quality of the download. Go to the app’s settings and click on ‘Download Quality’. There, you can switch between three tiers:

Good, Better or Best. And if you want to ensure content is downloaded only over wi-fi (saving you from using up your precious mobile data), there’s a toggle for that too.

X-ray vision

X-ray grants access to actor biographies, trivia and other information overlaid on your show. Tap anywhere on the screen on IOS, Android or Fire devices to bring it up.

De-registering devices

Rather than allowing someone else access to your streaming service if you sell or give away your device, go into the app’s settings on another device and click ‘Registered devices’. There, you can remove any unwanted devices from your account.

“Another example of Astell & Kern getting the performance balance between informing and entertaining spot on ”

“The SE200 delivers the music faultlessly. It captures fine details and dynamic fluctuations and conveys it on a crystal clear canvas”

“The soundstage has been prized wide open too, allowing the track’s scale to soar and detail to unfold”

“Listening to downloaded hi-res music on the Kann Alpha is truly a joy”

“Cowon has added Bluetooth, a volume wheel and a dual DAC to its player and released another class leader”

“If you’re looking for a sonic upgrade over your phone, the Sony will offer it across the board”