Bowers & Wilkins might be a name many associate with high-endhome audio gear, but the company has been steadily chugging along with headphonestoo. Its latest model, the Px7 S2 ($399), is a completely overhauled version of the PX that debuted in 2019. Bowers & Wilkins tweaked the design while enhancing the active noise cancellation (ANC) and re-tuning the audio for new 40mm drivers. At every turn, this new model is a worthy upgrade over its predecessor, and you won’t have to pay more for the improvements either.

Design

For the Px7 S2, Bowers & Wilkins borrowed elements of both the original PX and the Px7 that contribute to the refined look. The company also slimmed down the overall shape and opted for more cushion in the earpads – all while trimming the overall weight. Finer touches like a silver rim where the earcup meets the earpads gives the S2 a more premium look than its predecessor. The textured surface on both the earcups and across the top of the headband enhances the aesthetic as well.

Physical controls remain, which garners no complaints from me. The truth is buttons are still more reliable than touch controls, even on the headphones that get the swipes and taps nearly perfect. The best touch controls are never 100%, but a button you have to press always is. On the back of the right earcup, there’s a power slider that doubles as the Bluetooth pairing control. Just below, a multi-function button is flanked by the volume controls. This center button accepts single, double and triple presses for play/pause, playing the next track and playing the previous track respectively. When you’re receiving a call, one press accepts while a press-and-hold for two seconds will reject it. Pressing this center button once will end a call as well.

On the left side, there’s a single Quick Action button. By default, it cycles between noise cancellation, Pass-Through (ambient sound) and off. However, if you don’t mind using the company’s app to make that change, you can reassign this button to activate your voice assistant of choice. Unlike a lot of headphones, holding the multi-function button won’t trigger Alexa, Siri or Google Assistant.

When it comes to fit, the Px7 S2 are among some of the more comfortable headphones I’ve tested recently. I have a big head: I take my New Era caps in 7 ⅝. So, it can be tough for a set of cans to remain comfy after an hour or two of wear. The S2 fit tightly on me, which is essential for effective noise cancellation, but it never became too much. Not once did I feel like the rim of the earcup was leaving a mark around my ears, thanks to the updated cushion on the earpads. This isn’t always the case.

Software

Billy Steele/Engadget

The Px7 S2 are Bowers & Wilkins first set of headphones to work with its Music app. Previous models are compatible with its Headphones app, but that software only offers access to basic settings, displayed battery life and provided a collection of soundscapes for relaxing. The Music app has much more to offer as it supports B&W’s speakers: the Formation line, the Panorama 3 soundbar and the Zeppelin.

First and foremost, the software allows you to tweak the EQ settings on the Px7 S2. Unfortunately, the options here are very limited. There are sliders for treble and bass, but nothing for mids or any further fine-tuning. Like the Headphones app, this one still displays a battery percentage and gives you the option of using the software to select ANC, ambient sound or to turn both of those off. You can also manage the priority of the two devices Px7 S2’s multipoint connectivity allows to sync with. As I mentioned, there’s the option to make the “Quick Action” button on the left earcup summon your voice assistant rather than switch between noise settings.

Then there are a couple of handy power and audio management options. First, there’s an automatic standby control that puts the headphones in a “low power state” after 15 minutes of inactivity. Next, there’s automatic pausing powered by the Px7 S2’s built-in wear sensor. The company says you can activate this simply by lifting one earcup, and it gives you the ability to tweak the sensitivity with three settings (Low, Normal and High). During my tests, I actually had to rotate the earcup down towards my neck to trigger this. Completely removing the headphones worked just fine, but the other method could use some fine-tuning. Both the automatic pausing and the standby feature can be turned off if you don’t want to employ them, so there’s no pressure to use either one.

Bowers & Wilkins is already planning an update to the software that will add an in-app music player. This is already a thing for the company’s speakers that are compatible with the Music app, but soon you’ll be able to link a number of streaming services to spin your audio from the same app that organizes your headphones settings. Currently, the app supports Tidal, Deezer, Last.fm, TuneIn Radio, Qobuz, Soundcloud, NTS Radio and Dash Radio.

Sound quality

Billy Steele/Engadget

Among the big improvements on the Px7 S2, Bowers & Wilkins says it built an “all-new acoustic platform” powered by fresh 40mm drivers. The company says these custom-designed units offer low distortion and more accurate reproduction, positioned at an angle in the earcups to keep things sounding as natural as possible. Indeed, Bowers & Wilkins has constructed a truly immersive soundstage that envelopes your ears. The bass is nice and punchy while highs provide depth and vocals cut through even the most chaotic genres.

The Px7 S2 excels with hard rock like Gojira’s Magma and Deftones Ohms. When either band is going all out, you still get finer details like texture in the distorted guitars and the subtle nuances of the drum kit. And it remains a wall of sound throughout, never seeming compressed down to a mess of noise. Softer genres meet a similar fate as Chris Stapleton’s combo of southern rock growl and bluesy guitar picking are nice and thick on top of his backing band. Even 1999’s emo classic Clarity from Jimmy Eat World sounds atmospheric and full. Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers showcases the S2’s bass response well, providing some low-end punch while vocals remain crisp and clear among synths, piano, snare and other sounds. Kick drum and deep synthesizer tones get equal room to operate on songs like “N95.” It will be interesting to see if Bowers & Wilkins further refines its sound profile on the upcoming Px8 because what’s here is already impressive.

When it comes to ANC performance, the Px7 S2 is quite good there as well. We’re not talking Bose or Sony levels, but Bowers & Wilkins isn’t far off. The company made big changes to noise cancellation on the S2, using its in-house tech to do the heavy lifting without affecting overall sound quality. It also upgraded the microphones that monitor both the output of the drivers and any environmental noise. The result is some impressive blocking ability, even with things like human voices, which some headphones struggle to counter. I had no problem tuning out the clamor of two kids at home for the summer when it came time to work. Ditto for constant noise like a sound machine or the dishwasher.

Pass-Through, the company’s moniker for ambient sound or transparency mode, gets the job done, but it could use some refinement. Compared to the best natural sound for this feature, Apple’s AirPods Max, the Px7 S2 allows you to hear some of the outside world, but there’s no mistaking that you still have headphones on. Environmental noise is muffled and even when there’s no audio playing it’s not the best for trying to have a conversation.

Call quality

Nearly every headphone company touts improved call quality on new models these days, but the actual results can be hit or miss. For the Px7 S2, Bowers & Wilkins changed both the positioning and the angle of the two voice microphones while boosting noise suppression. The company says these tweaks will allow for better performance “even in the noisiest environments.” Thankfully, those claims mostly hold true.

The person on the other end said I sounded as if I were holding my phone up to my face rather than wearing headphones or earbuds. More often than not, headphones make you sound like you’re on speaker phone, but that’s not the case here. They also noticed the Px7 S2 was adept at cutting background noise, like a blaring TV I had on. Even with all of that, I still wouldn’t recommend these as a great choice for regular video or voice calls due to the fact that the ambient sound isn’t that great and I could feel myself getting a bit shouty at times.

Battery life

Bowers & Wilkins promises 30 hours of battery life on the Px7 S2, but the company doesn’t specify if that’s with active noise cancellation turned on or not. With ANC active, that figure would put this model on par with a lot of the best noise-canceling headphones you can currently buy. Some do more and some less, but the Px7 S2 doesn’t woefully miss the mark on its stated figure. What’s more, at the 30-hour mark of what I’d consider regular use – a mix of ANC and transparency mode for music and calls – these headphones still had 33 percent in the tank according to both the company’s app and the Bluetooth menu in macOS.

The company improved its quick charge feature on the S2, adding two more hours worth of play time when you plug in for 15 minutes. That’s now seven hours compared to five hours on the original Px7. A full charge from zero will take two hours, so if you find yourself empty, this short top off will get you quite far.

The competition

Billy Steele/Engadget

Price-wise, the Px7 S2 stacks up with the latest flagship model from Sony, the WH-1000XM5. However, Sony’s new gem offers a lot more features for the money, including handy Speak-to-Chat that automatically pauses the audio when you talk and both activity- and location-based sound settings that tweak the audio without you lifting a finger. Sony also outperforms Bowers & Wilkins when it comes to noise cancellation, though the gap narrows when it comes to overall sound quality. I still give the edge to Sony for its pristine details and support for both 360 Reality Audio and LDAC on top of its DSEE Extreme upscaling tech. Bowers & Wilkins upcoming Px8 will probably be better competition for the M5 when it arrives later this year, but the company has already confirmed a $549 price tag for that set.

If you’re looking to save some money, and design isn’t a primary concern, you might consider the Bose QuietComfort 45 as an alternative. Last year, Bose finally released an update to one of the most popular headphone models. Improved ANC is the star, but clear and balanced audio, long battery life and trademark comfort are there as well. The QC45 lacks some polish – there’s no automatic pausing and the multipoint connectivity wasn’t seamless during my review. They’re $329 at full price though, which is a considerable savings over the Px7 S2.

Wrap-up

When most companies update an existing set of headphones, the refresh is modest at best. With the Px7 S2, Bowers & Wilkins has basically created an entirely new product. This is no iterative update as the S2 showcases considerable improvements to both ANC and overall sound. A design overhaul takes things a step further, and though these headphones could use a bit of polish, they stack up well with flagship models from other companies. You won’t get a truckload of features here, but Bowers & Wilkins has nailed most of the basics, including the two biggest challenges for headphones. And it did that without raising the price, which is always an excellent finishing touch.

Even Google devices are getting discounted ahead of Amazon Prime Day. Wellbots currently has a few Nest gadgets at some of the best prices we've seen. The Nest Audio smart speaker is $40 off and down to $60 with the code EGDT40 at checkout, while the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max are on sale for $60 (using the same code) and $169 (with the code EGDT60), respectively.

Even though the Nest Audio came out in 2020, we still consider it to be one of the best smart speakers you can get. And if you already live in the Google ecosystem, it's a no-brainer. The speaker has an unassuming yet attractive design, plus great audio quality that's made even better if you pair two of them together and use them in stereo mode. There are better speakers out there if you're mostly concerned with audio quality, but the Nest Audio excels at being a solid music-machine that also houses the Google Assistant. You can use voice commands to add events to your calendar, check the forecast, control smart home gadgets, play specific music and more.

Either of the Nest Hubs on sale are better if you like the idea of having a display to show you all of the information you ask the Assistant to gather for you. The standard Nest Hub is basically a Nest Audio but with an added touchscreen, plus it has sleep-tracking capabilities if you place it next to your bed. We also appreciate that the second-gen version has clearer, louder audio and even speedier Google Assistant performance. As for the Nest Hub Max, it's the one to get if you want the best audio quality possible, plus as big of a screen as you can get on any Nest smart device.

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Beyerdynamic is joining the slew of audio gear companies that are making true wireless earbuds. The company's first such buds are called Free Byrd. They have 10mm drivers, active noise cancellation and an audio passthrough mode.

The company says you'll get up to 11 hours of battery life on a single charge. Beyerdynamic also suggests you'll get up to 70 minutes of extra listening after 10 minutes of charging time in the earbuds' case.

There are two microphones in each earbud. Your voice should come through clearly on calls as long as Beyerdynamic holds up to its claim of capturing high-quality speech intelligibility, "even in a noisy environment." Free Byrd is compatible with Fast Pair on Android, while there's Alexa and Siri support. Expect a low-latency mode for games and videos as well.

Free Byrd comes with five sets of silicone earpieces to help you find the best fit. There are also three memory-foam earpieces for use during workouts. The earbuds have IPX4 water splash resistance too.

Beyerdynamic

While some might suggest Beyerdynamic is late to the true wireless party, the company is framing its slowness as a deliberate effort to nail down a good quality product. “We’re proud to have prioritized sound quality over market pressures,” Beyerdynamic CEO Edgar van Velzen said in a statement. “and with this time taken, have successfully achieved a new level of development in sound performance, offering audio enthusiasts the perfect pair of in-ear [true wireless] earbuds that look and feel as great as they sound.”

On paper, there's not a ton here that makes Free Byrd stand out from the crowded pack. Still, they're the first true wireless earbuds from a company with a solid track record for audio quality. A set of Free Byrd earbuds costs $249. They're available starting today in black or gray from Beyerdynamic's website and Amazon.

Sennheiser has developed an approach to spatial audio that doesn’t require a surround sound system. The tech, called Ambeo 2-Channel Spatial Audio, will work on standard stereo speakers, Sennheiser says. The company says Ambeo will deliver “an improved audio experience wherever stereo is delivered today, be it standard TV sets, stereo systems, headphones, tablets or laptops.”

A number of Sennheiser’s partners have worked with the company to fine-tune Ambeo. One of those is Netflix, which is the first streaming service to employ the tech. The first title that used Ambeo is season four of Stranger Things. Others include Red Notice, The Witcher and the upcoming live-action Resident Evil series.

As long as your device's audio output is set to stereo audio, you won't have to adjust any settings to try Ambeo. Netflix is making it the default setting for two-channel setups for certain titles (you can find those by searching for "spatial audio" on Netflix). 

Ambeo renders the full immersive audio mix into two channels. It uses existing industry standard file types and it doesn't need a separate mix. Sennheiser says the renderer offers granular control over spatialization.

​“What sets Sennheiser apart from other solutions is that the Ambeo rendering respects the original mix, tonal balance and dialog integrity, which is exactly what the re-recording mixer is looking for,” Dr Renato Pellegrini of the Ambeo team said in a statement. “The processing is in line with Sennheiser’s reputation to deliver tools that are ‘transparent’ and do not interfere with the original sound. In a nutshell: Sennheiser 2-Channel Spatial Audio seeks to translate mixer intent, not to overpower it.”

If Ambeo works as well as promised, this could be a solid solution for folks who don’t have sufficient equipment to take advantage of Dolby Atmos and other spatial audio tech.

Amazon has been busy dropping prices on its own products ahead of Prime Day and several other manufacturers are getting in on the action too. One of them is audio brand Jabra. Its Elite 7 Pro noise-canceling earbuds have dropped to $140 on Amazon. That's 30 percent off the regular price of $200. It's also the lowest price we've seen to date for the titanium black model.

Jabra announced the true wireless earbuds last August. They were pegged as a successor to the Elite 85t (which were previously the brand's smallest earbuds), with a smaller, retooled design. The company says the earbuds use bone conduction in concert with microphones and algorithms to improve voice performance. The idea is that Jabra's algorithms detect when the microphones pick up certain kinds of background audio and activate the bone conduction function when necessary.

The Elite 7 Pro's active noise cancellation (ANC) levels are adjustable. Jabra says you'll get up to nine hours of use on a single charge if ANC is switched on and up to nine hours without that feature. The case (which can be charged wirelessly) can provide another three charges. 

In addition, you can configure the on-device controls via Jabra's Sound+ app. Earlier this year, Jabra rolled out support for multipoint Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to connect the earbuds to two devices at the same time — a handy feature for those who often take calls during their workday when they're usually listening to their computer's audio.

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Bowers & Wilkins first introduced the Px7 noise-canceling headphones in 2019, effectively replacing the PX in its personal audio line. Now the British company that's perhaps best know for its high-end home speakers has returned with a new version of the over-ear model. With the Px7 S2, Bowers & Wilkins has completely overhauled the Px7, from the design to the sound and the active noise cancellation (ANC). What's more, the company offers all of the upgrades with the same $399 price tag. 

The Px7 S2 features an "all-new construction" that Bowers & Wilkins says will keeps things comfy during longer listening sessions. More specifically, the company has opted for a slimmer shape and better cushioning in the earpads while trimming the overall weight. This new model is also available in three new color options: grey, blue and black. Physical controls are still available on the headphones, with buttons for power, volume, track controls and calls on the right side. A customizable button on the left earcup gives you quick access to noise canceling settings or a voice assistant. 

Inside, the company says it has built a new acoustic platform that powers 40mm drivers. Bowers & Wilkins further explains that the speakers were specifically built with "ultra-fast response" that's capable of hitting "every nuance" of the music you're listening to. The drivers are also angled to kepp "consistent distance" from your ear for a more natural soundstage. The company has developed its own digital signal processing (DSP) that can handle 24-bit streaming from your go-to music services with support for aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, aptX, AAC and SBC codecs. 

In terms of ANC, the Px7 uses four microphones: two that measure the driver output and two that monitor ambient sound. The company says it has revised the noise-canceling algorithm as well for better performance. When it comes to calls, Bowers & Wilkins has changed both the microphone position and tweaked the digital signal processing to compete with noisy venues. ANC settings and transparency mode can also be activated in the company's Music App for the first time on its headphones, along with the ability to adjust the EQ as you see fit. Soon, the software will also allow you to stream music via an in-app player with an upcoming update. 

Bowers & Wilkins says the Px7 S2 will last up to 30 hours on a charge, though it doesn't specify if that's with ANC on or off. The company did explain that it upgraded the quick-charge feature from the previous model, giving you seven hours of listening time in 15 minutes. That's two more hours than before, in the same amount of time. 

Lastly, Bowers & Wilkins has teased its upcoming flagship headphone model, the Px8. Details are scarce for now, but the company says you can expect "reference-level" sound and "luxurious materials" for $549 later this year. If you can't wait for a new set of cans, the Px7 S2 is available starting today from the company's website and select retailers.  

Since its debut in 2016, Nura has built its whole brand around optimizing audio for your hearing. But that only helps so much, obviously you want the music source to be as high a quality as possible, too. Today, the company is announcing the NuraTrue Pro, a wireless TWS set that supports AptX Lossless – the highest quality Bluetooth codec to date.

AptX Lossless is new enough that barely anything supports it right now. But given it’s part of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound platform, it won’t be long before most Android flagships adopt it. Apple users, on the other hand, might be waiting forever, given that there’s no support for any form of AptX or any other higher resolution audio over Bluetooth beyond the company’s implementation of AAC.

Nonetheless, the NuraTrue Pro is currently in a fairly exclusive club with support for the new codec, which is capable of 16-bit/44.1Khz “CD quality” audio. Something the company hopes, in combination with its proprietary “customized” audio, will make these TWS a reference point for audio quality. This means it also supports all the other flavors of AptX (HD, Adaptive and so on), plus, of course, Apple-friendly codecs too.

James Trew / Engadget

Beyond the higher-fidelity support, there are, of course, some other new features to separate these from the original NuraTrue that the company announced last summer. For starters, there’s support for spatial audio powered by Dirac, improved ANC, an upcoming “ProEQ” tool for fine-tuning audio and a claimed extra two hours of battery life – now eight hours on a single charge, up from the original’s six. The case still offers another 24 hours of charging before you’ll need to reach for that USB-C cable.

Most importantly, the Pro model has a slightly modified design with a new smooth metallic material around the edge and for the logo – just so people don’t mistakenly think you’re still on last year’s model.

Most everything else matches what we’d expect from a Nura headphone. That’s to say, the automatic hearing test for personalized audio is here. Performing this with the app takes about a minute and only needs to be done once. You can even export that profile to other devices if you need it, and it’s stored locally on the headphones so the benefit carries with you over to, say, your desktop PC.

The same goes for “immersion mode.” In the NuraPhone over-ears this was a tactile “bass” feature through haptics, but in all the other models it’s more of a bass-boost mode. It works just fine, but can be a little overbearing at higher volumes (especially for music that’s bass-heavy in the first place). On the pre-release model Nura sent for testing, immersion mode feels a little too aggressive or needs some fine-tuning as almost anything above zero seems to distort.

That’s about the only audio gripe, though. Comparing these side by side with the original NuraTrue, the difference on a standard YouTube Music stream isn’t stark, but if you add in spatial mode you can definitely feel a little more “air” in the mix, as if the sound stage is a little wider, and at no expense of volume as can sometimes be the case.

James Trew / Engadget

Sadly, my iPhone can’t serve up anything in delicious AptX Lossless, but the three-year-old OnePlus 7 Pro I have lying around can manage the next one down (AptX Adaptive). I must say I am generally impressed with the performance of the NuraTrue Pro. I was worried that the combination of spatial and personalization on top of new codec support might risk highlighting unwanted frequencies, especially when adding EQ on top.

Instead, it seems to come together well, producing a sturdy, spacious but not overly “modified” sound. I mean, it is modified, that’s sorta Nura’s whole vibe, but it doesn’t sound so, and that’s the important thing.

If you’re wondering why customized headphones would need an additional “ProEQ” feature, that’s largely down to giving users the choice. Theoretically, Nura’s hearing test should provide all the EQ you need, but of course, maybe you just prefer things a little more pronounced in the mid-range, the tool will be there for those that want it.

All in all, the NuraTrue Pro should be a welcome addition to an already well-rounded line-up from Nura. Despite the company’s established product releases, the NuraTrue Pro will be launching on Kickstarter for delivery later this year. While that might be a sticking point for some, it does mean that you can bag a set for a super early bird price of $199. Regular retail price will be some way north of that at $329 (£299/359€).

The Metaverse, as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg envisions it, will be a fully immersive virtual experience that rivals reality, at least from the waist up. But the visuals are only part of the overall Metaverse experience.

“Getting spatial audio right is key to delivering a realistic sense of presence in the metaverse,” Zuckerberg wrote in a Friday blog post. “If you're at a concert, or just talking with friends around a virtual table, a realistic sense of where sound is coming from makes you feel like you're actually there.”

That concert, the blog post notes, will sound very different if performed in a full-sized concert hall than in a middle school auditorium on account of the differences between their physical spaces and acoustics. As such, Meta’s AI and Reality Lab (MAIR, formerly FAIR) is collaborating with researchers from UT Austin to develop a trio of open source audio “understanding tasks” that will help developers build more immersive AR and VR experiences with more lifelike audio.

The first is MAIR’s Visual Acoustic Matching model, which can adapt a sample audio clip to any given environment using just a picture of the space. Want to hear what the NY Philharmonic would sound like inside San Francisco’s Boom Boom Room? Now you can. Previous simulation models were able to recreate a room’s acoustics based on its layout — but only if the precise geometry and material properties were already known — or from audio sampled within the space, neither of which produced particularly accurate results.

MAIR’s solution is the Visual Acoustic Matching model, called AViTAR, which “learns acoustic matching from in-the-wild web videos, despite their lack of acoustically mismatched audio and unlabeled data,” according to the post.

“One future use case we are interested in involves reliving past memories,” Zuckerberg wrote, betting on nostalgia. “Imagine being able to put on a pair of AR glasses and see an object with the option to play a memory associated with it, such as picking up a tutu and seeing a hologram of your child’s ballet recital. The audio strips away reverberation and makes the memory sound just like the time you experienced it, sitting in your exact seat in the audience.”

MAIR’s Visually-Informed Dereverberation mode (VIDA), on the other hand, will strip the echoey effect from playing an instrument in a large, open space like a subway station or cathedral. You’ll hear just the violin, not the reverberation of it bouncing off distant surfaces. Specifically, it “learns to remove reverberation based on both the observed sounds and the visual stream, which reveals cues about room geometry, materials, and speaker locations,” the post explained. This technology could be used to more effectively isolate vocals and spoken commands, making them easier for both humans and machines to understand.

VisualVoice does the same as VIDA but for voices. It uses both visual and audio cues to learn how to separate voices from background noises during its self-supervised training sessions. Meta anticipates this model getting a lot of work in the machine understanding applications and to improve accessibility. Think, more accurate subtitles, Siri understanding your request even when the room isn't dead silent or having the acoustics in a virtual chat room shift as people speaking move around the digital room. Again, just ignore the lack of legs.

“We envision a future where people can put on AR glasses and relive a holographic memory that looks and sounds the exact way they experienced it from their vantage point, or feel immersed by not just the graphics but also the sounds as they play games in a virtual world,” Zuckerberg wrote, noting that AViTAR and VIDA can only apply their tasks to the one picture they were trained for and will need a lot more development before public release. “These models are bringing us even closer to the multimodal, immersive experiences we want to build in the future.”

EA's Codemasters is making F1 2022 audio more realistic with an improved driver modes plus updates that make broadcast and car sounds more authentic, it revealed in its latest Developer Deep Dive video. It also unveiled its first licensed soundtrack with 33 songs from artists like Charli XCX, Hozier and Marshmellow. 

This year Formula 1 introduced all new cars that rely on floor tunnels to generate downforce and allow for tighter racing, along with all-new engines and more. F1 2022 is on top of those changes not just with the physics and visuals but also the sounds. To that end, the game has introduced all-new engine bundles based on the real vehicle sounds to give you the feeling of sitting in real Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and other Formula 1 vehicles. 

"In a game like F1 22 the cars are the star so we want them to sound as authentic as possible. We record the actual cars every season and it's important that we recreate the authenticity of the engines," said audio director Brad Porter. "Players use the sound of the engine to drive the car so it's important to get that across as accurately as possible." 

That also includes touches like recording audio using the real headsets from team race engineers and simulating how things would sound to a driver inside a helmet. The developers also used mics that are very close to what announcers use in order accurately simulate the broadcast audio. 

That allowed the team to enhance the different sound modes available, including both Driver mode and Broadcast mode. The latter mode is designed to sound as close as possible to what you'd here on TV, Porter explained. It also enhanced the Cinematic mode to make it "larger than life" with "bespoke" touches like enhanced engine sounds, crowd noise and more. They've also added new settings to let players play with the mix of sounds more than ever.

Other new touches include the addition of Natalie Pinkham as a co-commentator, new recordings of all the announcers and authentic sounds from pit lane, garage and paddocks. Another big change is the addition of licensed music like you'll find in other EA games, letting players choose between 33 songs from artists ranging from Charli XCX to Deadmaus to Diplo. "It is an accelerative soundtrack experience, designed to strap the player into the cockpit and driven by the unrivalled energy of the new era of Formula 1," the development team said. 

LG has finally released the 2022 soundbars it introduced in January, and it won't surprise you to hear that you'll pay a hefty price for the attention-getting flagship model. The 9.1.5-channel S95QR (pictured above) costs $1,799 (already on sale for $1,499 at Amazon and LG) and stands out with an up-firing center channel as well as similarly vertical wireless rear speakers. A subwoofer is included, too. In theory, you'll have a better "perspective" with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio as well as clearer dialog. You can also expect HDMI 2.1 passthrough (with variable refresh rate and auto low-latency mode for gamers) as well as larger woofers and greater distances between speakers than previous models.

You don't need to spend that much to get some of the benefits. The 3.1.3-channel S80QY ($899) and 5.1.3-channel S90QY ($1,199) also pack the upward-firing center speaker, and you can tack on a $200 SPQ8 kit if you want rear speakers. The $599, 3.1.2-channel S75Q is available if you're fine with a more conventional up-firing speaker layout, and you can pay a relatively modest $399 for the S65Q ($250 at Amazon and LG) if you're willing to skip vertical audio entirely.

Every soundbar offers Meridian Audio tuning, and most are compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant. WiFi-connected models (from the S80QY up) also support a Wowcast audio dongle that provides wireless uncompressed 7.1.4-channel sound.

These aren't the most affordable options at their official prices. On sale, though, they should compete well against some of the best soundbars in their respective categories. Just think carefully about the S95QR. While LG does have a center vertical speaker in its favor, Samsung's comparable HW-Q950A packs an 11.1.4-channel setup at a similar price.