Speaker Reviews

Speakers

Best Floorstanding Speakers of 2024

Floorstanding speakers have one of the most recognizable profiles of all speaker types. They're designed to slot in next to bookcases and TV cabinets, and their shape has two major advantages...

Best High-End Wireless Speakers of 2024

The quality of wireless speakers has exploded over the past few years. What was once a mass-produced, cheap item has become a high-end essential, as audio companies outdo each other to produce the best...

Best Bookshelf Speakers of 2024

Ever since the glory days, when hi-fi systems were integrated and even color-matched to the furniture, bookshelf speakers have been the beating heart of the party...

Best Computer Speakers of 2024

Whether you need a pair of low-profile desk speakers for everyday use, or a massive 5.1 surround sound setup for some serious dungeon crawling, you've come to the right place. No matter what your speaker needs may be, below you'll find the perfect setup.

Best Tabletop Radios of 2024

At a time when audio equipment is geared towards the future, when wireless speakers, phone docks and surround sound are ubiquitous, you might think that the humble tabletop radio is extinct. Not even close.

How-To Guides

How to Choose Floorstanding Speakers

Floorstanding speakers, also known as tower speakers for their tall profile, are among the best ways to enhance the sound in your setup. Choosing a good pair, however, takes a little leg work

How to Choose Bookshelf Speakers

ookshelf speakers are the definition of friendly audio. As the name suggests, these speakers are small and compact, and they make the perfect addition to a new hi-fi system.

How to Match Speakers and Amps

Here at The Master Switch, we don’t like complexity. It’s totally fine in a good whiskey, a doorstop novel, a piece of modern art. It is absolutely not okay when it comes to audio gear. Let's demystify something right now.

Wired vs. Wireless Speakers

Wireless speakers have become the quiet juggernaut of the audio industry. Ever since features like Bluetooth and WiFi became commonplace, manufacturers have been tinkering, slowly freeing us from the chaos of wires and ceiling speakers.

Amplifier vs. AV Receiver: Which One to Buy

One of the most common questions we get here at The Master Switch is whether someone should buy an A/V receiver or an amplifier for their setup.

1More Portable BT Speaker Review

1More make some of our favorite headphones and earbuds of all time. Naturally, we were quite excited when we found out they were releasing their first Bluetooth speaker.

Review: Audioengine HDP6

The bookshelf speaker market is hugely competitive, with hundreds of companies putting out everything from tiny wireless wonders to huge monoliths that shade the line between bookshelf and tower speakers. Audioengine have made waves here.

Edifier S350DB Review

And now for one of the more interesting 2.1 systems we’ve had the pleasure to plug in: the Edifier S350DBs. The S350DBs are large and powerful bookshelf boomers that provide a whopping upgrade to your home entertainment or computer setup...

Fluance Signature Series HiFi Review

It's easy to buy a set of acceptable, budget bookshelf speakers. It's very, very hard to buy a pair that truly excel. Canadian speaker-maker Fluance wants to remedy that, with a pair of nifty sub-$200 speakers. But have they succeeded?

Review: Grace Digital Mondo+

Weirdly, we don’t get a ton of tabletop radios for review here. No idea why; we’ve certainly asked. The big companies - Como, Bose, Tivoli - seem curiously resistant to letting us try their gear. Grace Digital are different.

Kanto TUK Review

We have a soft spot for Kanto, and not just because they come from Coquitlam - a town no more than a few miles away from our offices in Vancouver, BC. We have a soft spot for them because they make genuinely fantastic wireless speakers.

Review: KEF EGG

KEF are legendary. We trust we don’t have to dwell on this. The speaker maker has been wowing listeners for quite some time, with models like the LS50 and LS50 Wireless that offer some truly magnificent sound.

Review: MarkAudio-SOTA Cesti T

MarkAudio-SOTA is a name that not a ton of people outside of the hardcore audiophile world know. It’s a collaboration between Mark Audio and SOTA Acoustics (obviously) and over the past few years, they’ve been putting out some seriously good stuff.

MartinLogan Motion 35XTi Review

Say the word MartinLogan around audiophiles - yes, it’s one word, there’s no space between Martin and Logan, poor bastards - and you’ll get a knowing smile and a wink, as if you’ve just spoken a secret password.

Monoprice MM-3 Review

Despite what you may think, computer speakers are not the same as regular speakers. They’re designed to work in close proximity to the ears, and while this sounds easy, it’s often quite tricky to get right.

Q Acoustics 3050i Floorstanding Speaker Review

To call the world of floorstanding speakers competitive would be a massive understatement. We could do this job for decades and only hear a fraction of the models available. We always get excited, however, when Q Acoustics drops a new product.

Review: Sengled Pulse

Back in the distant past (2014) The Master Switch existed as a general tech site. Sure, we had the best speakers and headphones and amps rounded up, but we also featured everything from laptops and printers to snowblowers and blenders.

Review: Solis SO-8000

Did you know that you can still buy actual hi-fi systems? As in, two speakers and a dedicated CD/tape-deck/AM-FM tower - the kind of thing you used to see in dorm rooms in the 1990s. On that note: meet the SO8000.

SVS PB16-Ultra Review: Holy Mother Of GOD.

There are some things in life you can’t say no to. Threesomes. That’s a good one. A ride on a private jet. A chance to meet Samuel L. Jackson, courtside seats to a play-off game. The SVS PB16 Ultra is one of those things.

Review: SVS Prime Elevation

The problem with most modern living spaces is that they’re just not geared up for home theater. When most people live in an apartment, or a moderately sized house, there’s no such thing as a dedicated media room...

SVS Prime Pinnacle Review: A Floorstanding Monster

It’s always difficult when you name a speaker something like Pinnacle. Not only do you have to deliver something that really does sound like it’s reached the heights of what is possible...

SVS Prime Towers Floorstanding Speaker Review

When speaker maker SVS asked if they could ship us a pair of their Ultra Tower speakers to review, the response was an enthusiastic yes. But what actually arrived, courtesy of a distributor mixup, was a pair of their older Prime Towers...

SVS Prime Wireless Review: Great Bookshelf Speakers With One Big Flaw

Wireless audio is harder to get right than you might think. Replicating truly stellar sound through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi takes much more work than simply delivering the signal through a speaker cable. Fortunately, SVS are rather good at this.

SVS SB-1000 Pro Review: This Is How You Upgrade a Sub

In the audio world, France is famous for its headphones, and England for its amps. But if you want the best bass on the planet, you need to go to Ohio. For there you will find SVS, a subwoofer and speaker maker who quite simply raise the bar...

SVS SB-2000 Pro Review: Bigger is Better

SVS recently updated their main subwoofer lines, adding the word ‘Pro’ to the names. Hence, the SVS SB-2000 Pro, a reimagined version of the SB-2000. But this is no small beans upgrade.

SVS SB-3000 Review: An Almost Perfect Subwoofer

Building the perfect subwoofer isn’t just about volume or power, in the same way that the perfect hot fried chicken isn’t just about nuclear levels of cayenne pepper.