If this Audio Technica turntable sounds as good as it looks, I'm in for a treat
The AT-LPA2 is a striking slice of acrylic engineering that looks like it's been nicked straight out of a sci-fi film set. You can gawk at its 30mm acrylic chassis and 20mm platter, all while your vinyl spins round.
Read more: Best Bluetooth speakers in 2025 reviewed and rated
It's a fully manual affair – no buttons in sight. Just a belt-drive setup with speeds for 33-1/3 and 45 RPM, which is all most of us need unless you've got some ancient 78s knocking about. The newly designed carbon-fibre tonearm, with adjustable vertical tracking angle, screams precision. It's paired with an AT-OC9XEN moving coil cartridge, which uses a 0.3 x 0.7 mil elliptical nude stylus.
There's also no USB output here, nor Bluetooth, nor an app pretending to 'enhance' your listening experience. It's just pure, mechanical vinyl playback done with precision and flair. That 20mm acrylic platter isn't just for show – it adds real weight and stability, helping keep your records spinning at exactly the right pace without any of the wobbly nonsense.
And while the turntable is stealing the spotlight, Audio-Technica has also quietly overhauled its VM cartridge line with the new AT-VMx series. It's their first big refresh since 2016, which in vinyl years is practically a generation. With a range that stretches from entry-level to audiophile indulgence, the new cartridges promise better responsiveness, deeper low-end grunt, and a generally richer sonic experience.
They're using PCUHD wire in the coils now – the same stuff found in their high-end audio cables. It's also nice to see a variety of stylus options, from your standard conical to more advanced profiles.
The Audio Technica AT-LPA2 turntable will set you back £1699/€1999, and is available through Richer Sounds and AV.com. The new AT-VMx cartridges start at £99/€119, with pricing scaling up depending on just how audiophile you fancy being. There's no US pricing or availability information yet, but we'll let you know if this changes.
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Stuff.tv
15 hours ago
- Stuff.tv
These must-have features just made the Razer Blackshark V3 Pro my new go-to gaming headset
Stuff Verdict This ever-popular gaming headset is even more capable in its third generation. The Blackshark V3 Pro sounds stellar, has great connectivity, and adds effective ANC to the mix. Pros Familiar design is as comfortable as ever, while still evolving functionality Punchy and precise audio meets crystal clear mic quality Wired connections make a welcome return for those who need them Cons No high quality Bluetooth codecs You pay a premium for the uprated speaker drivers and mic Introduction Razer's esports-grade gaming headset has been around for over a decade now, through multiple iterations. In that time the Blackshark has become a pro player staple, and slowly evolved from a purely PC focus in order to bring console owners into the fold. This latest edition includes console support from the off, along with active noise cancellation for the first time. Plus it rights a few of the last-gen model's perceived wrongs. The Blackshark V3 Pro is the headline-grabbing hero model, with copious connectivity, lag-free wireless and a broadcast-grade boom mic – but then at $250/£250/€270, you'd rightly expect it to have the best tech going. It's joined by the cheaper Blackshark V3 and V3 X Hyperspeed, which forego some of the fancier features to hit a far more appealing price point. Does the Pro do enough to earn its place at the top of the tree? How we test headphones Every pair of earphones and headphones reviewed on Stuff is used for a minimum of a week's worth of daily listening. We use a playlist of test tracks made up of multiple genres to assess sound, and use our years of experience to compare to other models. Manufacturers have no visibility on reviews before they appear online, and we never accept payment to feature products. Find out more about how we test and rate products. Design & build: cleared for takeoff The V3 Pro doesn't look all that different from the last-gen Blackshark, but that's a good thing in my book: the old headset evolved Razer's aviator-style design into something more sleek and modern, and this model continues that trend. It's still an all-black affair – unless you go for the white version, which is more of a half-way house with its black ear cups and headband, or buy one of the console-specific models. The PlayStation and Xbox flavours get blue and green headband stitching respectively. Small refinements can be found when you go looking for them: the chunky volume dial on the left ear cup has a textured finish now, which makes it easier to grip. There are more buttons around the edges, but they're evenly distributed – and the ones you'll be pressing more are moved far away from the power button to avoid accidental switch offs. An embossed logo on each earcup is pretty subtle, but given the faceplates are just held on with magnets, it's a breeze to swap them out for something more colourful. Razer showed me a bunch branded with different esports team logos and mascots, but doesn't currently have any plans to sell them separately; I'm betting etsy and Aliexpress will quickly fill that void. This design makes it easier to replace the battery, though Razer will still take care of that for you should the need arise. As with most of its esports-grade peripherals, Razer has eschewed RGB lighting; there's just a single activity LED, which changes colour when swapping wireless modes. The reinforced metal headband sliders provide plenty of adjustment for different head sizes, and the 15 degrees of swivel helped me find a comfortable fit that didn't apply an excessive amount of pressure around my ears. The ear cushions are wrapped in hexagonal weave cloth, but have a leatherette layer underneath that both helps wick away sweat and increases background noise isolation. I've happily worn this headset through entire 9-5 working days, then popped it back on after dinner for an evening of gaming without any discomfort. I also like that the boom microphone still detaches easily when you don't need it. Razer had long sorted any issues with microphone drift with the outgoing Blackshark V2, and I didn't experience any during testing this new model. Features & battery: wireless wonder After the last-gen headset going exclusively wireless rankled some corners of the internet, Razer has course-corrected for 2025. The Blackshark V3 Pro still has built-in Bluetooth and includes one of the firm's Hyperspeed 2.4GHz dongles, but now you can also listen via a cable. You get USB-C and USB to 3.5mm cables in the box, so it should play nicely with just about any gadget. I can't say I felt the need to go back to wired play, though. The new Hyperspeed V2 connection is about as close to a cable as it gets, measuring just 10ms of latency – or 5ms faster than the V2 Pro (and virtually any rival) can manage. It's so low I couldn't detect any delay between the onscreen action and what I was hearing through the headset. Range was pretty good in my two-storey home, and I didn't experience any interference from my other wireless gear. That could partly be to the redesigned dongle now sitting on your desk at the end of a cable rather than plugging directly into your PC or console like a flash drive. It's still nice and compact, though, not taking up anywhere near as much desk space as the Razer Kraken V4 Pro's base station. You're not forced to pick between Hyperspeed and Bluetooth anymore, either. A new simultaneous mode lets you hear both sources at once, so you can be connected to voice comms through another device while hearing game audio from your PC. Just keep in mind you're limited to SBC or AAC Bluetooth – there's no higher quality codec support. The smart switch button on the right ear cup makes it easy to toggle between the three different modes. This is also where you'll find the new configurable roller, which can be set through Razer's Synapse software to adjust the game/voice chat balance, mic monitoring level, or footstep booster setting. The latter is based on your EQ profile, so you can have different settings for different games. You can save up to nine. The profile switcher button above the roller toggles through each one. I wish the roller could also be pressed in to make selections; that would open it up for full multimedia controls when not in-game, though the power button can do this already with double- and triple-taps. Battery life can max out at 70 hours with a Hyperspeed connection – but only when you've got ANC disabled. It'll drain faster with noise cancelling switched on. I could get through most of a working week without having to plug in, as my home office doesn't really call for noise cancelling. A full charge isn't the fastest, but 15 minutes is usually enough for a full evening of play. It could still do a better job of warning you when you're getting low on juice; I often forgot to check the activity LED before putting the headset on, and would miss its 30% warning. You can at least swap the dongle's LED from connection status to battery status, so it's always visible even when you're wearing the headset. It's also a good reason to download the Razer Audio app; the smartphone companion shows your exact percentage remaining on its homescreen. Interface: firing all Synapses The smartphone app lets you tweak pretty much every setting you'll find in the Synapse PC software, including the strength of the active noise cancellation, what the roller switch does, and the ultra-low latency 2.4GHz mode (which is on by default). You can also adjust each of the default equaliser presets using a 10-band EQ, push game-specific ones to the headset for titles like Valorant, Call of Duty and Counter Strike, and create your own from scratch. The Razer Headset Setup for Xbox app is a similar deal if you're gaming on that console. You'll still want to install Synapse to enable THX spatial audio on the Blackshark V3 Pro. This does a very convincing impression of 7.1.4 surround sound. I found it just as boomy in EQ profiles other than Game as before, but there's great separation between objects in front, behind, below and above you in games. It really expands the soundstage, too. The PS5 version plays nicely with 3D Tempest Audio, and the Xbox edition supports Windows Sonic on Xbox. There's almost as much adjustment for the microphone, which has a new larger 12mm capsule for clearer audio recording. The four EQ presets include specific modes for esports and broadcasting, the former upping the mid-highs for speech that better cuts through gaming audio, and the latter with warmer, deeper tones for a more studio-like sound. The 48Hz sampling rate is higher than you'll find from most headset rivals (though not every game or comms client broadcasts that high), and the internal/external pop filters help prevent plosives. Clarity is a huge improvement over the 16kHz competition. I was seriously impressed with how clear my voice sounded when recording locally, and co-op friends said I was coming through very clearly when playing online. Sound quality and noise cancelling: detail oriented The V3 Pro isn't Razer's first gaming headset with active noise cancellation onboard, but the tech has never appeared on a Blackshark before. It uses two mics on each ear – one internal and one external – to strip out a generous amount of background noise, even with the in-game volume set at a moderate level. These aren't really the kin of cans you wear outside the house, so heavily trafficked roads and public transport aren't the best test case for them – though I still gave it a go. They don't have the nuance of the best mainstream ANC headphones when it comes to sudden loud sounds, and the noise floor in general was higher than the likes of Bose or Sony, but for gaming headphones they put in a fantastic showing. Back at home, I could still make out the clack of my mechanical keyboard – but the ANC was far more effective than any pair of passively isolating headphones, including the Logitech G Pro X 2 I normally use. They have the edge over the few gaming headsets I've tried with ANC, too. On the audio side, the Blackshark V3 Pro gets the latest version of Razer's 50mm dynamic drivers. They're larger than the 40mm ones found in the Kraken V4 Pro, and get new driver plugs that halve harmonic distortion compared to the outgoing Blackshark V2. They still use bio-cellulose diaphragms, which are super thin to help separate frequencies, but the magnets are stronger now. The result is a crisp and clean-sounding headset that really lets fine details shine through while gaming – but one that doesn't sound overly sharp or shrill, regardless of EQ mode. I found this high-end brilliance helped me pick out subtle positional clues like breaking glass or quiet footsteps that bit easier than with the old headset. These are still gaming headphones at heart, so even the default preset has a good amount of bass punch, but it doesn't interfere with the mid-range very much in movies or music. They can rumble when they need to, for explosions and gunshots in games, and for energetic sub-bass in electronic tunes. They're balanced enough to be your everyday headset, no just when you're gaming. Razer Blackshark V3 Pro verdict Tech made with professional gamers in mind can sometimes be a little too focused, deleting features that appealed to the wider fanbase in order to earn a spot on an esports stage. The Blackshark V3 Pro treads the line perfectly, still prioritising the comfort and sound quality that made the last one so popular but adding some welcome extra functionality. Noise cancelling and simultaneous audio make it a much more versatile headset, and a more multi-platform one to boot. While the speaker drivers and microphone are a definite step up, though, they come at quite the premium. Going even further upmarket than the last-gen V2 Pro was a bold move by Razer; not everyone will be able to justify the Pro's asking price when the regular V3 is $100/£100 cheaper and has an otherwise very similar feature set. But if you want Razer's best sound, this is undoubtedly it. Stuff Says… Score: 5/5 This ever-popular gaming headset is even more capable in its third generation. The Blackshark V3 Pro sounds stellar, has great connectivity, and adds effective ANC to the mix. Pros Familiar design is as comfortable as ever, while still evolving functionality Punchy and precise audio meets crystal clear mic quality Wired connections make a welcome return for those who need them Cons No high quality Bluetooth codecs You pay a premium for the uprated speaker drivers and mic Razer Blackshark V3 Pro technical specifications Drivers 50mm dynamic ANC Yes Connectivity USB-C, 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth, 3.5mm Codecs supported AAC, SBC Battery life Up to 70 hours (PC) Up to 48 hours (Xbox/Playstation) Weight 367g
Stuff.tv
5 days ago
- Stuff.tv
The blingy Huawei Freebuds 6 blend an open fit with convincing noise cancelling – does it work?
I really didn't I'd like the Huawei Freebuds 6. I've been increasingly favouring headphones over wireless earbuds lately, and have never been a big fan of the semi-open fit; they rarely stay secure in my ears, and can't match in-ears or IEMS for noise reduction, active or otherwise. Sound quality usually takes a hit, too. After trying them, though, I'm a convert. At £120 (like all Huawei kit you can't officially buy these in the US) they're priced to challenge the AirPods 4 with noise cancellation and the Galaxy Buds 3, with an equally extensive feature list including active ANC. Dual drivers and high quality Bluetooth codecs bode well for audio, while the streamlined design aims for maximum comfort. How we test headphones Every pair of earphones and headphones reviewed on Stuff is used for a minimum of a week's worth of daily listening. We use a playlist of test tracks made up of multiple genres to assess sound, and use our years of experience to compare to other models. Manufacturers have no visibility on reviews before they appear online, and we never accept payment to feature products. Find out more about how we test and rate products. The buds use a tweaked version of the unique teardrop shape seen on the last-gen Freebuds 5, being a little smaller and a bit curvier to rest more naturally in your ears. The difference is dramatic; I didn't need the rubber covers Huawei includes in the box to add extra grip, as they stayed in place just fine while sat at a desk or walking around the house. The semi-open design has given my ear canals a welcome break from testing multiple IEM-style earphones, too. Still, I wouldn't work out in them – running bumped them loose fairly quickly. They're light enough I could leave them in all day, only having to take them out to charge. Battery life is merely OK, managing around four hours with ANC enabled or six hours without, but the egg-shaped charging case has almost enough juice for five full charges. A ten minute top-up would usually add another two or so hours; leaving them stowed during my lunch break was easily enough to get me through the rest of the working day. Noise cancelling is definitely worth using. The semi-open fit means it can't block exterior noise to anywhere near the same extent as a pair of in-ears, and there was a noticeable hiss when listening to spoken word podcasts, but it was harder to notice when I swapped to music. It was able to block out low-frequency drones like computers, cooling fans or my robot vacuum pretty effectively. Just don't expect to ride the subway in silence with these in your ears. I'm not sure I can pull off the eye-catching metallic purple colour in public, either. The pearl-like finish manages to avoid collecting fingerprints, and the double-tap gesture to play or pause your tunes mean adjusting the fit won't accidentally stop playback. I'd rather have the black or white versions, which are a lot less shouty on the styling front. As ever with Huawei headphones, if you're not rocking one of the firm's own smartphones (and let's be honest, why would you in 2025 unless you live in China) installing the AI Life companion app requires a few more steps than usual. Most Android phones flash up a scary looking warning when installing third-party APKs, which can be off-putting if you aren't tech-savvy. Once you're up and running it all works as expected, at least, with customisable gesture controls, plenty of EQ presets to play with, and handy extras like find my earbuds. A few more advanced features, like head-tracking spatial sound, are off limits unless you're paired to a Huawei phone; personally I don't miss it, as I'm not a fan of the artificially expanded soundstage. What truly impressed me was the way the Freebuds 6 sounded. I was expecting a thin, treble-heavy tone on account of the semi-open design, but you're actually getting the opposite. The 11mm dynamic driver and planar diaphragm work together to deliver a surprising amount of bass, resulting in a great overall balance. OK, you're missing out on the sub-bass punch found from in-ears, but DEADLIFE's Deviant still had a satisfying low-end. You don't have to crank the volume to achieve this, and there's a good amount of instrumental separation on more delicate tracks. This was all on the default EQ preset, too; there's room to push things in either direction if you want a sharper treble or more dominant low-end. They're comfortably on par with other semi-open earphones. There's still a gap to the best in-ear alternatives, on both sound quality and noise cancelling. That makes these more suited to a second set, rather than your only earbuds – but it's a role they fill very well. Stuff Says… Comfortable, punchy-sounding open fit earbuds with decent noise cancelling and high quality codecs. Huawei's familiar app caveats supply, but the Freebuds 6 otherwise deliver plenty for the price. Pros Energetic audio that doesn't skimp on bass Noise cancelling is decent for open-fit earbuds Cons The usual app hurdles to navigate Semi-open fit won't be for everyone Huawei Freebuds 6 technical specifications Drivers 11mm dynamic + planar diaphragm ANC Yes Bluetooth version Bluetooth 5.2 Codecs supported SBC, AAC, L2HC, LDAC Durability IP54 (buds) Battery life 4hrs/24hrs (ANC on, buds/case, sound quality priority) 6hrs/36hrs (ANC off, buds/case, connection priority) Dimensions 31x19x24mm, 4.9g (buds, each) 66x50x27mm, 40.3g (case)
Stuff.tv
23-07-2025
- Stuff.tv
This tiny Asus gaming mouse is never leaving my travel bag
Most wireless gaming mice make you choose between top-tier desktop performance and the sorts of features that'd come in handy when away from your gaming laptop, like Bluetooth connectivity and a small size. Their makers don't seem to realise not everyone wants to buy two separate rodents for home and away – or can afford to. The Asus Harpe Ace Mini has quickly become that best-of-both-worlds mouse for me. It has a speedy enough sensor for twitch gaming, but the dimensions and wireless ease needed to toss it in a bag for travel. There's a choice of wired, Bluetooth, and 2.4GHz wireless play, the integrated battery lasts for what feels like forever, and you aren't forced to fiddle with software to get the best from it. At $130/£130 the Harpe Ace Mini isn't exactly pocket change, but the price isn't unreasonable given the hardware inside. Asus' own ROG AimPoint Pro optical sensor is good for a whopping 42,000 dpi, and can track 50G of acceleration. The optical switches underneath the main mouse buttons are very satisfying to click, and the side buttons aren't far behind. In my experience tracking accuracy has been excellent, over pretty much any smooth surface. I've not felt the need to cart a mouse pad around with me for the most part, though I probably wouldn't jump into a competitive multiplayer match if the only option was a glass or metal table. A dedicated DPI button on the base of the mouse lets you tweak the most important setting whenever you like, whether you've installed the software suite or not. That's a good thing in my book, as I find the Asus Armory Crate clunkier to use than apps from the likes of Steelseries and Logitech. There's also a slot to store the 2.4GHz wireless dongle, though I've not found much need to use it; the dongle has been a permanent fixture in the back of my PC, and I've switched to Bluetooth when working on my laptop. I don't personally need the 8000Hz Polling Rate Booster dongle, which is sold separately; the bundled dongle's 1000Hz is hardly the limiting factor when it comes to my FPS abilities. But it's great to have the option if you demand pro-level polling. Size-wise it's roughly a third smaller than the Razer Deathadder I was using previously, and at 49g it's also impressively light. I remember a Logitech rep explaining they left out Bluetooth from the G Pro X Superlight 2 to keep its weight in check, but that mouse still tips the scales at 60g. Going small is a surefire way to also go lightweight. I use a palm grip when gaming, and found that despite the smaller dimensions there was still plenty of surface area to hold onto. I rate it over the Corsair M75 Air for how cosy it feels under my grip. Claw- and fingertip-style players will feel even more at home here. That said, anyone with especially bear-like paws might find it just a little too shrunken down for comfortable use long-term. Battery life? Outstanding when using Bluetooth (and disabling the RGB lighting), at over 130 hours between charges. Or more than a week's worth of daily use for me, meaning it's one less thing to think about charging while on foreign trips. It hovers closer to 80 hours using the 2.4GHz dongle and with the lights blinking, but that's still plenty for a marathon play session. And as the battery is built in, you don't have to worry about disposable batteries, like you do with the Razer Orochi. I like that Asus hasn't stuffed the Harpe Ace Mini full of RGB lighting; there's just a single colour-changing LED, which illuminates the scroll wheel. It glows red when you're low on battery and green while it's charging over USB-C; you can tweak the pattern and brightness in Armory Crate, too. With few negatives other than the price, it's a fantastic pick for a regular mix of desktop and travel use. Stuff Says… High-end gaming mouse hardware at a two-thirds scale, with bonus Bluetooth making it ideal for travel. The Asus Harpe Ace Mini is truly multi-talented. Pros Flagship-grade internals on a smaller scale Built-in Bluetooth a real rarity among esports-grade gaming mice Cons Small size might not suit all Pricey, and you pay extra for the polling rate booster dongle
