A welcome update to the Sound Blaster that can deliver perceptibly better audio than onboard chips, but it goes beyond most people’s needs for PC audio.

Noise-cancelling earphones that won't break the bank, but the ANC7’s tend to warm your ears so much, you’re going wish for in-fan cooling.

An inexpensive audio interface that lifts the podcasting fidelity bar out of the world of cheap plastic microphones.

There are now literally dozens of MP3 players on the market. However, the arrival of MPZoos MP3 Disc Player brings a slight change in direction

The ProV is a product similar in nature to the Canopus ADVC-100 (page 44), but where the ADVC-100 is used for transcoding video streams with an eye on digital video work, the ProV is used to bring versatility to your computer monitor, or breathe life into any spare monitors youve got laying around.

Surround-sound support and mastering-quality plug-ins mean Sound Forge is better than ever.

The USB port is a great feature, but we’d still choose the Squeezebox.

IRiver's multi-codec CD player has all the necessary traits required of a high-end personal audio centre. Arriving with a bundle of goodies, the iMP-400 is a stylish unit, with an interesting burgundy and chrome finish.

Ideal for streaming music wirelessly or listening to Internet radio, but the iRadio suffers from a few design niggles.

A funky set of  Bluetooth headphones. Connect to a variety of audio sources or use the built in MP3 player.

The M-ANY Dual-Play is a digital audio player in the form of a cassette-tape, supporting MP3, WMA and Audio book formats.

The DAV310 from A-MAX Technology circumvents this limitation by being able to play MP3 tracks straight off a CD - just like your PC can.

Similar in nature to the Zinwell ProV (June 2002, page 46) but with better execution, the X-Media DreamBox is a small set-top box for your desktop that lets you watch TV, video, console games and DVDs on your monitor without the need to power on your PC.

The Creative Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1 is the latest sound card from Creative Labs, the company that has dominated the consumer-level computer audio card market for most of the last decade.

Surround-sound support and mastering-quality plug-ins mean Sound Forge is better than ever.

This is not the first CD-ROM-based portable MP3 player from MPZOO Indeed a previous model was reviewed in February of this 2001

The idea of using your PC as the central control point for your home theatre has been bandied about for some time.

They may be extremely comfortable, but there are quite a few flaws in Creative’s Fatality branded gaming headphones.

When we last looked at the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 (the Platinum Ex, June 2003) we were highly impressed by the soundcard and its many functions, but felt that there was perhaps too much on offer, leaving you with many unwanted, unused and unwarranted inclusions.

The iPod Nano has been refined, and its larger capacity and sleek styling makes it more appealing than ever.