Tag: audio

12 Best Computer Speakers (2025), Tested and Reviewed

Posted on by faz_business


Other Computer Speakers We Liked

There are tons of computer speakers on the market, and many of the ones we tested are perfectly fine, but don’t deserve a spot above for one reason or another.

12 Best Computer Speakers Tested and Reviewed

Photograph: Simon Hill

Majority DX10 Desktop Speakers for £15: They lack bass and general clarity, but these USB-powered speakers are the cheapest I’ve tried. These 10-watt, 2.5-inch, full-range speakers are angled up toward your ears and have a simple power and volume dial. There’s also a 3.5 mm headphone port. Only available in the UK, they could be enough if your budget is very tight.

Edifier G2000 Pro for $180: A spruced-up version of the G2000 above, the Pro is an upgrade to 64-watt power, 3-inch full-range drivers, and virtual 7.1 surround sound. Edifier also made these speakers translucent and added garish RGB lighting effects courtesy of LED strips in each speaker. They do sound a bit better, though still lacking in bass, and some folks will love the sci-fi light show, but there isn’t enough extra to justify the significant jump in price.

Image may contain Electronics Remote Control and Speaker

Photograph: Simon Hill

Onkyo Creator GX-10DB for $249: Capable of producing a warm and rich sound, Onkyo’s speakers are the perfect size for your desktop and come with angled stands (though they are plastic). The connectivity options are solid, with USB-C, optical, and stereo RCA inputs, and support for Bluetooth 5.3. These speakers get a little louder than our top pick, though you’ll need to pair a subwoofer if you’re into bass (there is a subwoofer-out port). Sadly, the volume knob on the back of the right speaker is tricky to reach, the slim remote control has a weird layout, and the source LED on the front is always on. But what I struggled with most was the automatic power-off (Onkyo says this “feature” is an eco-regulation in Europe) that turns off the speakers if they aren’t used for 15 minutes. If you have more space and crave more power, I also tested the Onkyo Creator Series GX-30ARC ($350), which goes far louder and adds a decent thump of bass.

Creative Pebble X Plus for $120: If our budget pick isn’t quite doing it for you, Creative’s Pebble X Plus adds a cube-shaped subwoofer under your desk. The larger speakers, with RGB lighting, are also more powerful, and the sub provides punchy bass. They sound reasonably good for the money. Connectivity is also beefed up compared to the V3 above, with headphone and microphone ports and Bluetooth 5.3, but all of this invariably comes at a higher cost.

Image may contain Plywood Wood Computer Electronics Laptop Pc Indoors Interior Design Furniture and Table

Photograph: Simon Hill

Soundblade by BlueAnt for $130: If there were an award for the most stylish soundbar, the curved Soundblade by BlueAnt would win. The Soundblade also delivers a surprisingly nuanced sound and a real punch of bass, courtesy of the built-in subwoofer. It is supposed to sit under your monitor but not serve as a stand or riser (BlueAnt told me not to put anything on top of it). Connectivity is good with USB-C, 3.5-mm aux, or Bluetooth 5.3, but the voice prompts are annoying. It sounded good for movies and games, but slightly muddy mids and restrained highs hampered the music. It comes with a handy wee remote.

Creative Sound Blaster GS5 for $90: While it doesn’t quite have the power of the OXS Thunder Lite above, this soundbar is cheaper and matches it on connectivity, even adding cool RGB lighting to the underside. It also has a remote and decent software for making EQ and lighting adjustments. The sound lacks clarity, and the bass is limited, but this is a solid, small soundbar for the money and works well as a desktop device.

Logitech Z407 for $115: A complete 2.1 system at this price is no mean feat. These speakers connect via USB, 3.5-mm aux, or Bluetooth, and there’s a wireless remote volume dial. Construction is cheap, and the sound lacks definition, but there’s a good thump of bass from the subwoofer, and mids and highs are reasonably crisp, provided you don’t turn the volume up too high. WIRED senior reviews editor Julian Chokkattu says he used a variation of the Logitech Z-series for nearly a decade and only recently donated them to someone else.

Razer Nommo V2 X for $150: The sound quality of Razer’s entry-level speakers is solid for music and good for movies and games (there’s THX Spatial support), though lacking in bass. These no-frills speakers look great but lack a subwoofer, RGB lighting, and a remote. They offer USB and Bluetooth connectivity and can be customized in Razer’s Synapse software.

The PC Speakers We Don’t Recommend

These are the computer speakers that had deal-breaking flaws for me.

OXS Thunder Lite for $150: This compact soundbar lacks the bells and whistles of its bigger sibling above, but is far more affordable. It can get plenty loud, supports virtual surround sound, and comes with a small remote. Unfortunately, separation was poor, so it was tough to tell where sounds were coming from in games, and it is severely lacking in bass for a soundbar with thunder in its name. Connectivity includes USB-C, 3.5-mm aux, optical, or HDMI, and it supports Bluetooth 5.0.

Edifier QR65 black rectangular speakers with purple interior trim sitting on a wooden desk

Photograph: Simon Hill

Edifier QR65 for $500: Delivering classy looks with supercool lighting effects and a seriously big, powerful sound, these speakers are excellent for music, movies, or games. They also come with two angled stands to point them at your ears. They have USB, RCA, and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity and USB ports for charging your gadgets. Controls are decent, with a physical button on the right speaker for power and cycling through modes. The problem is that they are huge and won’t fit on most desktops, including mine.

Creative Stage V2 for $70: This affordable soundbar offers excellent connectivity with HDMI ARC, optical, USB, 3.5-mm aux, and Bluetooth 5.0. But it’s not especially powerful, can sound muddy and flat, and has a short cable (no good for sit-stand desks). The subwoofer lends some decent bass, there’s a remote control, and I like the Clear Dialog option to sharpen voices, but you can do better.

Image may contain Electronics and Speaker

Photograph: Simon Hill

House of Marley Get Together Duo for $170: Sporting an attractive and eco-friendly blend of bamboo and fabric, the Get Together Duo from House of Marley is affordable. They connect via Bluetooth 5.0, RCA, or 3.5-mm aux. There’s no subwoofer, the midrange is dominant, and they are lacking something at the high end. The battery-powered right speaker can also double as a portable speaker, and you can use these as bookshelf speakers or pair them with House of Marley’s Stir It Up turntable ($160) (8/10, WIRED Review), but as computer speakers, they are just OK.

SteelSeries Arena 3 for $170: Sporting a nice pear-shaped design with tiltable speakers and subtle branding, the entry-level Arena 3 from SteelSeries can get loud. But they lack bass, lose detail in the highs, and sound a bit fuzzy for music. Even for SteelSeries fans, there isn’t much reason to choose these over some of our picks above. They don’t have lighting, USB, or any other extras.

Logitech Z906 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System for $450: This 5.1 system is THX-certified and comes with a huge subwoofer, five speakers, and a central control unit. The design feels dated, maybe even a bit ugly, and you need to run cables around your room. The surround sound effect is solid, and you can even convert stereo with the 3D mode, but overall, it’s a bass-heavy system.

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Best Wireless Headphones (2025): Tested Over Many Hours

Posted on by faz_business


Other Wireless Headphones We’ve Tested

Wireless headphones are the default these days, and there are roughly 1 gazillion of them (and counting). We do our best to test them all, but not everything we test can make the big list. Here are some other good options worth trying.

Status Audio Pro X for $249: The Status Audio Pro X are an excellent pair of earbuds that are slightly overshadowed by their mainstream competitors when it comes to daily use. That said, these buds look and sound awesome, with a triple driver array (one dynamic for bass, two Knowles balanced armatures for mid and high end), which allows them to stand above many other earbuds.

Sony WH-1000XM5 for $398: Sony’s XM5 remain a top headphone, even after being supplanted by the fancier XM6. For a fairly sizable price reduction, you’ll get still-fabulous noise-canceling tech, great sound, and luxe comfort in a supremely portable package.

Beyerdynamic Amiron 300 for $280: These premium earbuds from Beyerdynamic are nondescript-looking and don’t have noise-canceling to compete with Sony and Bose, but they do sound fantastic. If you’re looking for a great-sounding pair that won’t get you judged in public, these are a great option for quiet luxury.

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 Earbuds for $500: Bowers & Wilkins brings its speaker prowess into the world if high-end earbuds. The Pi8 provide a premium and stylish build, excellent sound quality, and solid noise canceling, albeit at a very high price point. Like other earbuds we’ve tested lately, one of the Pi8’s coolest features is the ability to stream audio from wired audio sources via the charging case, which can really come in handy on long flights.

Edifier Stax Spirit S5 for $500: These high-flying headphones lack noise-canceling, but make up for it with fantastically clear sound from their advanced planar magnetic drivers that use specialized magnet tech for vividly clear delivery. If you can afford their high price, they’re a fun investment that digs into the meat of your music like few headphones in their class.

Soundcore Space A40 for $45: Even though they’ve moved off our main list, the Space A40 are still among the best earbuds you’ll find for the money. Their stylish, premium-looking design is bolstered by solid features, clear and detailed sound, and excellent noise canceling for the price.

Sonos Ace for $399: The Sonos Ace are a pricey but impressive first effort from Sonos, with fantastic noise canceling, great sound, and one of the comfiest designs (if not the comfiest) you’ll find in the game. A few initial software bugs hindered their performance upon release, including trouble with the TV Swap feature that lets you pass sound from a Sonos soundbar to the Ace, but that seems to be fixed, making these an excellent choice—especially for those already invested in the Sonos way.

Beats Solo 4 for $150: We like Beats headphones these days, but this pair was just a bit lacking in features for us at its standard $200 price. Now that they’ve come down, we can heartily recommend them to folks who are looking for a pair of wireless headphones that don’t have noise canceling.

Technics EAH-AZ80 for $161: The AZ80 are great earbuds. Their most noteworthy feature is conveniently pairing to three devices at once, but they finish strong with good noise-canceling tech, top-tier sound quality, and seven different ear tip options for a remarkably comfy fit.

Beats Studio Pro for $250: The Studio Pro offer quality performance, including surprisingly clear sound, good noise canceling, and refreshingly natural transparency mode. The design feels a bit cheap, and they skip features like auto-pause, but extras like Hands-Free Siri and head tracking with spatial audio help pad their value—especially since their sale price sometimes drops to around half of the original $350 MSRP.

Sony WH-CH720N for $150: These Sony cans may have a silly name, but their sheer value makes up for it. They’re not as pliable as top options and don’t come with a case, but their sound quality and noise-canceling are excellent for the money. They are also built to last and have battery life that goes on and on, making them a great option for prudent shoppers.

Master & Dynamic MH40 for $399: M&D’s second-gen MH40 pack gorgeous sound into an equally gorgeous design, with luxurious trappings like lambskin leather and metal parts in place of plastic. Their lack of advanced features, excluding even noise canceling, makes them a pricey portal to minimalism, but they’ve got style for days.

Audio Technica ATH-M50xBT for $219: The original ATH-M50X provide balanced sound and great durability, making them ubiquitous in music and film studios. But what if you want to take them with you between takes? Enter the ATH-M50XBT, which partner a wired studio connection with Bluetooth for wireless freedom. They don’t offer noise canceling or other advanced features but they’re great for melding art and play.

Sony Linkbuds Open: The Linkbuds Open have a neat trick: speakers with holes in the middle that let in the world around you for environmental awareness. They’re not so hot for noisy environments, limiting their use cases, but they’re among the best options in the growing open-earbuds trend.

If you’re new to wireless headphones or need a refresher, here are some helpful pointers to know before you buy.

Noise canceling is a technology that employs exterior microphones and digital processing to take in the sounds around you and flip their frequency polarity, essentially canceling them at rapid speeds to create an impression of silence.

Transparency mode, aka “hear-through” or “ambient” sound mode, is the opposite of noise canceling, using your headphones’ exterior microphones to bring in the sound around you. This can keep you aware of your surroundings, especially helpful when working out, walking in high-traffic areas, or just having a quick conversation.

Bluetooth is the wireless format used by all portable wireless headphones to connect to and play sound from devices like a phone, computer, or tablet.

Bluetooth multipoint connection allows Bluetooth headphones to connect to more than one source device (like a phone or computer) at a time. This helpful feature lets you seamlessly switch between your connected devices to do things like take phone or video calls or watch a video on your computer between Spotify sessions on your phone.

Find My is an Apple feature that lets you track down devices like your AirPods from the web. Many non-Apple wireless headphones also have some form of Find My feature, though it’s usually reserved for earbuds due to their small size.

IP ratings are used to certify electronics are dust and water-resistant. Generally, the higher the IP rating a device has, the better the dust and water resistance. You can learn more in our IP-ratings explainer.

EQ stands for equalization, which in the case of wireless headphones, uses digital processing to adjust parameters like bass, midrange, and treble. EQ presets are most common, but multi-band EQs are better for those who want advanced control over each sound register.

Charging cases are included with virtually all fully wireless earbuds, letting you set the buds in the case for recharging on the go. Most charging cases offer two or more charges, and to recharge the case itself, you can usually use a USB-C cable or a wireless charger.

We test headphones and earbuds the way that we live. We take them to the gym, wear them around offices, travel with them, and generally try to use them as we anticipate potential buyers will use them. If a pair advertises dust or water resistance, we test that. We drop test cases, test cables, charging times, and battery life, and note everything we find exceptional to our readers.

While we do not typically use a set playlist of music to test each pair, we aim to test acoustic, rock, hip-hop, pop, country, and a variety of other genres with every pair of headphones, ensuring offer a good perspective on sound signature across genres and volumes. For noise reduction, we test the headphones in real-world environments and note our findings. When possible, we attempt to have headphones worn by a variety of people with different head and ear shapes, to ensure we’re thinking about the widest audience possible.

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Super Sounding Wireless Earbuds, Not-So-Super Mic

Posted on by faz_business


From the start, Nothing was designed to be an antidote to Apple and its omnipresent AirPods. While Apple focused on a sort of all-purpose minimalism, Nothing adopted a hallmark transparent look that, if not altogether disparate (both pairs of wireless earbuds have a similar stem design), at least gave its Ear products a unique design language. That quest for being different extended into features, too. In 2023, Nothing introduced personalized EQ, giving it a visual and technological difference over Apple’s AirPods and eventually a ChatGPT integration, which was a first in the category.

But a lot happens in a few years, especially in a space as saturated as wireless earbuds, and while Nothing’s Ear are still a solid pair of earbuds, they feel… a little less of an earful. Apple now has its AirPods Pro 3 with high-tech features like real-time translation and heart rate monitoring, while non-Apple competitors in the same price range, like OnePlus and Google, aren’t pulling any punches with their own entrants into the space that offer personalized EQ, AI features, and noise-canceling that compete with pro-level gadgets.

Nothing Ear 3

The Nothing Ear 3 have solid sound, but flub the one thing that makes them unique.

Pros

  • Great sound
  • Solid ANC
  • They look very cool
  • Case feels premium

Cons

  • Super Mic is a super letdown
  • May not be worth the premium over last gen

But just in the nick of time, as Nothing’s flagship wireless earbuds seem to be falling behind, the company is back with its $180 Ear 3 that offer a new look and one truly unique feature for improving voice calls. As usual, Nothing is taking some chances, and not just in the visual department. For me, some of those risks are really paying off, but others… well, they’re not so super.

Nothing Ear 3 gets a visual update

Nothing Ear 3 06
© Adriano Conreras / Gizmodo

So much of Nothing is about looks. That’s not a knock on the company. This is technology that you wear, and because of that, appearance can be make-or-break. Chances are, if you’ve bought Nothing products in the past, you agree, which also means, if you saw Nothing teasing its Ear 3 wireless earbuds before its release, your eyebrows may have been raised.

I’m going to get straight to the point: the Ear 3 look great. I was worried at first that the Ear 3 may scale back on the transparent part of its wireless earbuds, but that’s not the case here at all. Sorry for the alarm bells, anyone who reads my blogs. Instead of a homogeneous black look on the outside of the stems, the Ear 3 goes with a metallic silver that really makes them look like a capital “G” Gadget. As Gizmodo’s Senior Editor, Consumer Tech, Raymond Wong, noted to me, this thing has big Talkboy vibes (shout out to Macaulay Culkin). There’s still a transparent shell that lets you see the internal components through the sides and back of the earbud stems.

Nothing Ear 3 07
© Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

The case also adopts the same metallic look, shedding the white version (there’s also still black) for an aluminum that both looks and feels genuinely different. The “Talk” button (more on that later) is also nice and shiny, inviting you to push it. This case now has some weight in your hand, and I really love that. No one wants to carry around heavy gadgets, but Nothing did a good job here of balancing the weight to make the case and buds feel premium without making it feel chunky.

The design language also feels more aligned across flagship audio products now, bringing together the Ear 3 and the Headphone 1, which have an aluminum finish. If you’re a fan of the Headphone 1, or prior Nothing buds, you’ll love the look of the Ear 3. Another thing you’ll love? The sound.

A much-needed audio upgrade

I thought the Ear were nice wireless earbuds when I first listened to them in 2024, but I’ve tested a lot of newer earbuds since then, and in that testing, my opinion has shifted. The Ear still hold it down, but the sound and ANC aren’t quite as premium as I’d like them to be, especially with a slight cost premium over brand new buds like the OnePlus Buds 4. In short, it was time for an upgrade.

According to Nothing, the Ear 3 now has a redesigned 12mm dynamic driver and “patterned diaphragm surface” that is meant to “lower total harmonic distortion from 0.6% to 0.2% versus the previous in-ear generation.” Nothing also says that the redesigned architecture increases bass response and delivers a wider soundstage. That’s all rhetoric, though, and at the end of the day, what you really want to know is, “Do these sound better than the last generation?” and in my anecdotal testing, they definitely do.

Nothing Ear 3 11
© Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

I tested the Ear 3 back to back with the Ear (which is actually newer than the Ear 2) and found that there was a lot less distortion when listening to C.W. Stoneking’s “Desert Isle”. There’s more spatiality in the Ear 3 than the Ear, making guitars and vocals sound like they’re in their own place instead of muddled together competing. Vocals in particular sound clear and natural, which is great if you’re like me and tend to listen to a lot of rock music. One vast improvement over the Ear is in the bass department. As I’ve said many times, I don’t particularly care about having a ton of bass in wireless earbuds, but I do appreciate a pair that can still provide low end without sounding over-compressed or super simulated. I’d say the Ear 3 do just that, especially after testing bassier music by listening to Daft Punk’s “Da Funk”.

As usual, I also dove into the Nothing X app and used Nothing’s personalized audio test to tune the Ear 3 to my specific hearing. I can’t overstate this enough: stop sleeping on your wireless earbuds’ companion app. There’s a big difference in the sound before using the personalized EQ and after, and while this won’t be the case with everyone, I’m 33 years old and a couple of decades of going to shows and listening to loud music means I could probably use a little assistance in the hearing department. The Ear 3 sound great out of the box, but personalized EQ really sends the audio over the top. In short, Nothing is still holding it down with its flagship-level sound, and the Ear 3 is an even bigger improvement generation-to-generation than its jump from Ear 2 to Ear.

Active noise cancellation (ANC), however, I found a little less improved generation-to-generation. Though to be fair, Nothing isn’t touting better noise canceling this time around. I gave the Ear 3 the obligatory subway test, and while they passed, they weren’t quite as formidable as my favorite noise-canceling wireless earbuds, Bose’s Quiet Comfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen). They’re still much better than the similarly priced Galaxy Buds 3 FE from Samsung that I recently tested. I do think they’re slightly more noise-canceling than the last generation, though that could be due to Nothing’s redesign of the buds, which are meant to provide a better and more comfortable fit in your ears—that could create better passive noise cancellation and the illusion of stronger ANC.

Battery life is also only slightly improved. Nothing says the Ear 3 will get 5.5 hours of listening with ANC on, while the Nothing Ear was rated for 5.2 hours. This is nowhere near the best battery of wireless earbuds in this class; in fact, it’s a little under. Six hours is generally the standard nowadays. In my testing, I went from 100% to 80% battery in a little over 1 hour of listening at 70% volume with ANC on high.

So, that’s the good, pretty good, and just okay news about the Ear 3. But there are some things I really don’t like, so let’s talk about them.

Super Mic? More like soupy mic.

There’s one aspect of the Ear 3 that can’t be compared, since Nothing is the only company really trying it. I’m talking about the “Super Mic,” a new exclusive feature in the Ear 3 that lets you use microphones in the case for clearer calling and voice recording. By pressing the “Talk” button on the case, you can activate the feature and get recording or calling—one push activates the feature until you release the button, while a double-tap will turn the feature on until you turn it off.

According to Nothing, there are two Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) mics inside the case that use beamforming to zero in on your voice and cancel out environmental noise at the same time. The Ear 3 also take advantage of bone-conducting capabilities that detect “microvibrations” in your jaw that are meant to detect speech. The process of relaying the results of your Super Mic voice is a bit convoluted. Nothing says your voice is “sent to the case antenna, relayed to the earbud antenna over Bluetooth, then passed to the phone.”

Nothing Ear 3 01
© Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

Per Nothing, Super Mic “focuses on your voice, cutting through surrounding noise (up to 95 dB) for clearer calls and voicenotes.” In theory, I love the idea. Wired earbuds are a big thing again, and a major part of that (outside the superior audio quality) is that they usually come with an on-cable mic for clearer calls. This theoretically makes the Ear 3 a best of both worlds situation, giving you wired earbud-level mics for calling (or better) while not having to deal with annoying wires.

The only problem is… the Super Mic doesn’t work as advertised. I ran the feature through a few different tests, and the results were varying degrees of muddy. At first, I played background music while using Super Mic to record my voice through my iPhone’s Voice Memo app. Instead of canceling out the background music (lo-fi beats playing at 75% volume from a Chromebook about a foot away from me), it mixed my voice and the beats together, creating a kind of muddled amalgam that wasn’t very pleasant to listen back to.

Nothing Ear 3 04
© Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

Similarly, I simulated subway noise (something more “environmental”) on YouTube at the same volume and distance, and the results were similar. My voice was still mixed in with the ambient sound that I hoped it would filter out. Super Mic did seem to work better out on the street near my office (a fairly busy part of downtown Manhattan), though I still wouldn’t describe the results as “super” in any way. Even when Super Mic effectively filters out environmental noise, I find the fidelity to be choppy and compressed-sounding at times. It’s nowhere near as pleasing to listen to as recording through the native mic on my iPhone 13.

Super Mic did filter out noise effectively while walking on the street next to ongoing construction and in a fast casual restaurant that was playing music, but it still picked up other people’s voices in settings where people were talking nearby, which would make using the feature in an environment with other people potentially problematic.

There’s also the issue of compatibility. Nothing says Super Mic is designed for voice calling in apps like Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, WhatsApp, WeChat, and is also supported in native voice memo apps on iOS and Android. However, Nothing makes it clear that the feature “isn’t optimized” for in-app voice messaging through third-party apps like Snapchat or native voice features in iOS Messages and the like. This is a long way of saying that your mileage may vary when it comes to Super Mic, and while compatibility can’t be blamed on Nothing—it’s up to Apple and Android to allow third-party mic access, and in what apps—it still limits the Super Mic feature, making its use a lot more restricted than it ought to be.

I reached out to Nothing about the issue I had with Super Mic, but haven’t yet determined if there’s an issue with the wireless earbuds or a problem with the feature. (Yes, I was using the right firmware and Nothing X build). Other reviewers have reported their own issues with Super Mic, too.

Good buds, but a little (ear)itating

When you make a big bet, you might lose a little money—no risk, no reward. No matter your rote idiom of choice, that sentiment tends to be true. Super Mic could be a cool feature if it’s refined, but for now, I would file it firmly in the “undwhelming” folder. Maybe it will improve with future software, but I can’t really guarantee that, so all I have to work with is what we have right now, which is to say a Super Mic that seems to be plagued by a serious case of Kryptonite.

Nothing Ear 3 05
© Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

The annoying part is that everything else about the Ear 3 is pretty solid. They look great, they sound great, and ANC is sturdy. The battery life leaves something to be desired, but it’s not so bad that it’s disqualifying. But this is what happens when you try to do something different sometimes, you gotta take the hits with the misses. Alright, I’m done with the corny euphemisms now, I swear.

The Ear 3 might falter out of the gate with a shoddy Super Mic feature, but if you like the way Nothing wireless earbuds look and you want solid sound and ANC, the Ear 3 are still worth a look. Just don’t expect to be taking any Zoom calls from a construction site with these things just yet.

SEO: Korg MicroKorg 2 Review: Better, Not Best

Posted on by faz_business


Introduced in 2002, the MicroKorg became one of the best-selling synthesizers of all time. But a lot has changed since then. In the last 22 years Korg has actually tried to update this early 21st century classic a few times, but they haven’t caught on the way the original did. The oxymoronically named MicroKorg XL, the MicroKorg S (which added speakers and not much else), and the MicroKorg XL+ (just a MicroKorg XL with a facelift) all failed to usurp the OG. But Korg is hoping the MicroKorg 2 will be the true successor to the crown.

The MicroKorg 2 is an improvement on the original in almost every way, that much is clear. What’s less clear is whether or not Korg has a winner on its hands, or if the MicroKorg 2 is an uninspired attempt to cash in on a classic. There are so many great smaller synths these days, I’m not sure that this will be the answer for everyone.

Modern Sound

One of the biggest changes from the original MicroKorg is the sound engine. At its core, the MicroKorg 2 is a virtual analog synth (it’s digital but aims to sound analog), just like its predecessor. But the scope of its sound-shaping power is much broader. In addition to standard waveshapes like sine and saw, the MicroKorg 2 has a configurable noise source and access to a library of PCM samples that can be used to add a transient to the start of a patch, similar to what you might find on classic ’80s Roland synths like the D-50. The MicroKorg 2 also has three oscillators (instead of two on the original) and a continuously morphing multimode filter.

The MicroKorg 2 is also a multitimbral synth with double the number of voices (eight versus four), compared to its predecessor. This gives it the ability to create complex layered patches (say, an arpeggio and a pad simultaneously) or lush expansive chords. Add to this an expanded six-slot mod matrix with many more sources and destinations, plus a broader selection of effects, and you’ve got an instrument that clearly outclasses its namesake.

Close up of the Roland Micro Korg 2 a music keyboard synthesizer showing the buttons for effects

Photograph: Terrence O’Brien

What’s truly impressive is that it manages to be far more powerful, but also much easier to program than the original. While the big-knob and genre-based patch browsing remain, gone is the obtuse system where you’re forced to look up parameters on a giant table when trying to tweak presets or craft a sound from scratch. The MicroKorg 2 is nowhere near knob-per-function, but the 2.8-inch screen and contextual buttons make it much easier to find your way around.

In fact, I’d go as far as to say building patches on the MicroKorg 2 is actually fun. This is definitely not something anyone would have ever said about the original.

Not Great Navigation

The genre-based patch navigation does feel outdated, though. It was questionable in 2002 and now seems downright bizarre. The way it’s broken up—four categories with eight banks and eight programs in each bank—feels unnecessarily convoluted. Plus, of the 256 slots, only 64 are reserved for user patches, which is annoying for folks who like to customize for live shows. That being said, if there isn’t a giant knob with the words “hiphop” and “trance” around it, is it really a MicroKorg?

Close up of the Roland Micro Korg 2 a music keyboard synthesizer showing the different music genres to choose from such...

Photograph: Terrence O’Brien

Budget-friendly gadgets that are good

Posted on by faz_business


It’s a slower October than usual in the tech industry, thanks mostly to Google and Microsoft having held their typical fall hardware announcements earlier this year. Still, we’ve seen a fair number of companies reveal new devices in the last two weeks, while Amazon’s October Prime Day raged on. Whether you were busy shopping or watching Elon Musk talk up robotaxis and cybervans, the Engadget team continued to review recently (and not-so-recently) launched products. As usual, this bi-weekly roundup is here to help you catch up, though because I missed last week’s edition (as I was out on time off), the cadence is just a bit off.

From Meta’s Quest 3S VR headset and the DJI Air 3S drone, to Sony’s midrange suite of audio gear, these weeks have coincidentally been about the less premium, more affordable “un-flagships,” if you will. And it turns out you don’t have to throw chunks of your retirement savings at companies to get solid devices that are well worth the money.

by Billy Steele

Sony

Sony flexes its mobile audio muscle on the LinkBuds Fit, combining great sound with tons of features.

Pros

  • Tiny, comfy design
  • Surprisingly big sound
  • Lots of handy features
Cons

  • ANC performance is lacking
  • Battery life
  • Call quality is fine, but not great

$200 at Sony

The main thing I learned from Billy’s recent reviews of Sony and Bose headphones is that flagship, premium-level noise cancelation is making its way down to the midrange products. And I, for one, am happy about it. Looks like most of the things you’ll miss if you opt to save some money are features like spatial audio, head-tracking and stuff that’s supposed to be make for a more immersive, intuitive listening experience. Personally, I’m okay missing out on those things for now — I really just want decent sound, good voice quality and competent reduction of background noise.

Definitely check out Billy’s review of Sony’s LinkBuds trio of devices even if you’re not in the market for headphones, because he put his ears through literal pain to test the strangely designed earbuds for us. In fact, a rejected headline for the review was “Why am I in pain?” We salute you, Billy.

by Devindra Hardawar

Meta

The Meta Quest 3S delivers immersive virtual reality for just $300. It’s fast, comfortable to wear and it has a wealth of games and VR experiences to choose from.

Pros

  • Fast performance
  • Comfortable to wear
  • Excellent controllers
  • Large app library
Cons

  • Older Fresnel lenses lead to artifacts
  • No headphone jack
  • Average mixed reality cameras

$299 at Amazon

The Quest is arguably the industry’s leading VR headset for consumers, especially considering it costs a fraction of alternative options while offering a relatively high-quality immersive experience. Unlike the Apple Vision Pro, which costs $3,500, the new Quest 3S is much more palatable at $300. And, as Devindra observes in his review, it’s comfortable, fast and allows wearers to access Meta’s large library of VR apps and content. To quote Devindra, “It’s not Meta’s first $300 VR headset, but it’s still a tremendous accomplishment.”

by Steve Dent

DJI

DJI’s Air 3S is the company’s first consumer drone with LiDAR designed to make it safer to fly at night. 

Pros

  • Excellent image quality
  • LiDAR improves obstacle detection at night
  • ActiveTrack 360 produces cinematic tracking shots
  • Long battery life
  • Now has 42GB internal storage
Cons

  • Sometimes fails to detect small obstacles

$1,099 at DJI

Continuing in the trend of excellent products that cost less than usual, the DJI Neo is an excellent drone for just $200. Calling it the best $200 drone ever made may sound hyperbolic, but we truly can’t think of any other drone that cost the same that came close to delivering similar performance as the Neo. And though one of its main drawbacks, according to our reviewer Steve, is that it sounds like a banshee, I honestly think that would be a pro for me just for the pure comedy of it all. I never thought I’d be in the market for a banshee-sounding drone but here I am thinking $200 would be a fair price to pay for the aerial videos I could get, and I could easily lay upbeat, operatic singing over the footage anyway.

On the other end of the spectrum, Steve’s also tested the higher-end DJI Air 3S drone and Canon’s EOS R5 II, both of which will cost you a lot more money. The good news is that Canon’s EOS R5 II is now so much improved that it better takes on Sony’s rival offerings, while bringing intriguing features like eye-control autofocus. Sure, it’s still too early to be reliable. But if you have the money for these premium products, you’ll get to experience bleeding-edge tech, maybe part of the appeal is that they may not always work well.

by Dan Cooper

reMarkable / Engadget

reMarkable adds a color screen to its e-paper tablet, creating a best-in-class distraction-free writing experience.

Pros

  • Color is a welcome and useful addition
  • Backlight lets you work in dark environments
  • Vastly improved performance

$579 at reMarkable

I know Dan was a bit worried about giving a device as niche as the reMarkable Paper Pro such a high score, but after some discussion, we both agreed it fit. As it stands, the reMarkable Paper Pro is arguably the best e-paper writing tablet with a color screen, even after this week’s announcement of Amazon’s first color Kindle. Per Dan’s review, the Paper Pro not only levels up with the addition of color, but also got much faster and reliable in the process.

I particularly enjoy how much care has been taken to more seamlessly blend handwriting and typed text for a more natural note-taking and annotating experience. And though it falls outside this edition’s general theme of being a less-expensive product with premium specs, I’m still incredibly tempted to find ways to cough up the $600 or so needed to bag myself a Paper Pro with the accessories Dan recommends.

by Jessica Conditt

I’m not the most engaged gamer, but I love learning about games from Jess. She recently reviewed sci-fi mystery Phoenix Springs and dreamy platformer Neva, with pieces written so beautifully that I can’t help but itch to check out each title so I can feel the way she clearly does about them. Phoenix Springs even follows a technology reporter and covers my favorite genres (science fiction and mystery), while Neva’s art looks simply gorgeous. I don’t yet know if I’ll ever find the time to play new games, but these two have certainly been added to my list.

The Engadget team geeks out about a multitude of things, and as we get started on our holiday gift guide writing, we’re thinking about products we like for ourselves and our loved ones. Many of us love e-readers and writing tablets. I certainly have my eye on one of the new Kindles that were announced this week, particularly the new Kindle Scribe and possibly the Colorsoft. Those won’t be available until later this year, so for now I’ll keep hungrily eyeing the reMarkable Paper Pro. I’ll also be wondering what Amazon hardware chief Panos Panay has up his sleeves, other than cans of Diet Coke — something I learned he (like many people) enjoys when I got the chance to speak with him in an interview this week.

Many of us are millennials and have gigantic soft spots for retro gaming. Our executive editor Aaron Souppouris talked to the folks at Analogue, and you can read his beautifully constructed piece to learn more about the upcoming Analogue 3D.

This week, Apple sort of surprised us by announcing the new iPad mini, which has been tweaked to offer more storage and power with an A17 Pro processor. It’ll also support Apple Intelligence, of course, and though it seems like a minor update, some of my coworkers and I still love the idea of a small tablet. If only it had a better screen.

All of those recently announced things are on our review roster, alongside things like the Google TV Streamer and Samsung Galaxy S24 FE that launched in the last few weeks. As we approach November and all the holiday shopping that brings, hopefully the hardware launches properly slow down. We’re still anticipating an Apple event for Macs, and can still remember being surprised by the announcement of Humane’s AI Pin late last year. But for now, we’re chugging along while occasionally bathing in nostalgia and longing for a simpler time.

The best DACs for Apple Music Lossless in 2024

Posted on by faz_business


A lot of people started to care about “high resolution” digital audio when Apple launched its upgraded music service to the masses. Call that the “Apple effect,” as infuriating as it may be, but the iPhone maker isn’t the only one in the hi-res audio game: Qobuz, Tidal and Deezer have been doing it for a while, and Spotify has been toying with releasing its own version for a while. However, as many were quick to point out, some of Apple’s own products don’t necessarily support the higher sample rate and bit-depths on offer. No worries, there’s a dongle for that, and there are options for Android and desktop, too. We’ve tested dozens of these devices and the best DACs listed in this guide will play nice with any of the aforementioned services (aside from Tidal’s MQA, which is a little more specific).

Best DACS for Apple Lossless 2021.Best DACS for Apple Lossless 2021.

James Trew / Engadget

A digital-to-analog converter takes the digital (D) music from your phone or computer and converts (C) it into analog (A) sound you can hear. All phones and PCs have them, but since handsets moved to USB-C, Lightning or Bluetooth for music, the task of converting that signal was generally outsourced to either your adapter or your wireless headphones.

DACs can be used with phones, laptops and desktops but tend to be much simpler than a regular external audio interface. One basic distinction is that DACs are usually for listening only whereas an audio interface might have ports to plug in microphones and instruments (but an external audio interface is also technically a DAC). Some high-end DACs even include XLR outputs for better connectivity with professional audio equipment.

The best DACs tend to be lightweight, making them more suitable for mobile use, although it still gets a little tricky with the iPhone as you still might need to add another dongle to make it play nice with Lightning. Also, not all DACs support all the higher audio resolutions like DSD. Most standalone DACs require external power or an onboard battery, though some can use the power from whatever you plug them into — in which case expect a hit to your battery life.

HiFiGo

Outputs: 3.5mm singled-ended | Inputs: Available in USB-C and Lightning versions | Max file support: 32-Bit/384kHz | Bluetooth: No

If you’re looking for the simplest way to listen to Apple Music Lossless, then the company’s own $8 dongle is hard to beat in terms or quality to price. But it has a maximum resolution of 24-bit/48 kHz. If you want to break into Hi-Res Lossless then the KA11 from Fiio — with support for audio at an eye-watering 32bit/384KHz — is the easiest way. At $30, it’s also pretty affordable, too.

Fiio’s years of experience making portable hi-fi has been distilled into this tiny little dongle. Available in both Lighting and USC-C models (love the color of the Apple model), the KA11 packs a lot of punch for something so small. On top of the support for extremely high audio resolutions, the KA11 also has a much higher output than most adapters — including Apple’s. The result is much louder music than your phone offers for most headphones, and with a better DAC like this, you’ll notice a significant improvement in your audio system. If you already have a pair of expensive headphones with a low sensitivity (as many higher end models tend to be) then the KA11 will likely still be able to drive them. You might even consider pairing it with a headphone amp for even more power.

This little dongle isn’t restricted to phones: the USB-C model is compatible with laptops and PCs, too. In fact, it’s likely a decent upgrade over the built-in sound for almost anything you plug it into. That’s true for all of the products recommended in this guide, but you might be surprised to find that something this small can give your PC’s audio system a serious boost. If there was a minor negative, it would be that the KA11 doesn’t support headset microphones, so if you were hoping to be able to handle calls with your headphones then bear that in mind.

With the KA11 being so small, there are no physical controls, so you’ll adjust volume directly on the phone or computer. The only feedback you have is a single LED that will change color depending on the audio it’s receiving (yellow indicates Hi-Res). Fiio also has a mobile app to access additional settings for its mobile products which, right now does include the KA11, but only on Android at time of publication.

Pros

  • Affordable
  • 32-Bit/384kHz support
  • Provides loud music output
  • Comes in USB-C and Lightning models

$30 at HiFiGo

Creative

Outputs: Bluetooth | Inputs: USB-C | Max file support: 24-Bit/96kHz | Bluetooth: Yes | Weight: 0.16 ounces

While most Android devices support some form of aptX, your PC might not. If you have an iPhone, it definitely doesn’t support aptX and neither will any Macs — Apple devices only offer standard Bluetooth with AAC encoding (320 kbit/s max bitrate). If you want to make sure you’re getting more bits (up to 430 kbit/s) out of your music, across all your devices, Creative’s BT-W5 Bluetooth adapter is both practical and affordable.

The BT-W5 offers aptX, aptX HD and aptX Adaptive (which supports up to 24-bit/96 kHz) and it’ll automatically choose the best one for your headphones. Once you pair them with the adapter you can plug the BT-W5 into any music source with USB-C for improved Bluetooth audio — there’s even a low latency mode perfect for streamers or playing games on Switch, for example, without any lag.

If you have an iPhone with a Lightning connector, the BT-W5 won’t work without an adapter, but it’s a neat way to get the most out of your headphones without having to upgrade everything else. The BT-W5 can remember up to four sets of headphones, too, so if you have a pair for the commute and another set for the gym, just plug in the dongle and you’re all set.

Pros

  • Designed for use with Bluetooth headphones
  • Low-latency mode for use with devices like Nintendo Switch
Cons

  • Will not work with Lightning iPhones without adapter

$53 at Amazon

Fanmusic

Outputs: 1x 3.5mm single-ended, 1x 4.4mm balanced | Inputs: USB-C | Max file support: 32-Bit/384kHz | Bluetooth: No | Weight: 1.1 ounces

While you can squeeze an impressive amount of audio tech into a headphone adapter, a slightly bigger device affords a decent step up in both specs and features. Moondrop’s Moonriver T2i DAC is slightly larger than a pack of gum, and it has a stylish design that doesn’t look like a boring, generic dongle.

Importantly, the Moonriver T2i builds on the success of the company’s Moonriver 2 DAC. The “2” partly refers to the use of dual DAC chips here, which delivers a “balanced” signal. Each channel can handle up to 32bit/384KHz resolution and there are two headphone ports. One for standard 3.5mm headphones and another for 4.4mm connections — making use of that balanced output. If this is your first step into the world of Hi-Fi DACs, you’re totally fine with 3.5mm headphones, but some prefer the 4.4mm connector as it provides more power and potential signal benefits, especially if you’re using a headphone amp.

With the Moonriver T2i you have a couple more practical advantages. For one, there are physical volume controls on the device itself. If you ever felt that the 16 levels of loudness on the iPhone (I just counted) weren’t enough, then the 100 steps of adjustment on the Moonriver T2i (via companion software) eliminate any worries about setting the music to the perfect level. If your headphones have an in-line microphone, the good news is that this dongle will pass that through to your phone or PC so you won’t need a separate device for calls.

Most importantly, the sound that comes out of the Moonriver T2i is bright and bold. You’ll hear audiophiles talk about sound stage, detail and width, all you need to know is that this DAC ticks off all the buzzwords and serves up bright, robust sound that’s going to make any lossless/hi-res music really shine.

Pros

  • Stylish design
  • 32-Bit/384kHz support
  • Onboard volume controls
  • Great sound quality

$190 at Amazon

CHORD ELECTRONICS

Outputs: 1x 3.5mm singled-ended, 1x 4.4mm balanced | Inputs: 1x microUSB, 1x 3,5mm coaxial, 1x optical, 1x USB-C | Max file support: 32-Bit/768kHz | Bluetooth: No | Weight: 10.8 ounces

If you’ve had some experience with DACs and are looking to ratchet things up a notch or three, then the Mojo 2 from British company Chord wants to have a word. At $650, this is definitely in the high-end price range, but the experience and features it offers make it worth considering for serious audiophiles. But the brains behind the Mojo 2 have been making digital to analog converters pretty much since there was digital music to even convert. That experience is what makes the Mojo 2 a favorite among music fans.

Most options in this guide are designed for mobile devices first, the Mojo 2 is more of a hybrid device. The mobile dongles above all take their power from the player you connect them to, which is convenient, but obviously is less kind to your phone’s battery life. The Mojo 2 has an internal cell so won’t tax the one in your phone or laptop. It’s small enough to be portable, but substantial enough to live on your desk.

Unlike most DACs that use off the shelf chips to handle the digital-to-audio conversion, the Mojo 2 uses field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology to create its own custom “chip.” It’s also powerful enough to act as both a DAC and a preamp, driving even power-hungry headphones with ease. We’ve seen FPGA gain popularity in gaming circles for its ability to imitate various consoles, but that same flexibility is what makes it interesting to the audio engineers at Chord.

If you need something that’s capital L loud, then the Mojo 2 will not disappoint. Proceed with caution here. It’s actually powerful enough to drive two pairs of headphones at the same time and has two 3.5mm ports so you can do exactly that. The curious circular buttons can also be used to change sound profiles with an excruciating level of detail.

The Mojo 2 has standard USB-C, microUSB, optical and coax inputs so it’s more flexible than a lot of its competition in this regard. Although it’s worth noting that you can only charge the Mojo 2 via microUSB. Of course, there’s a cable provided for this, but if you’ve fully made the switch to USB-C, it’ll mean you have to guard the charging cable closely.

Pros

  • Provides loud music output
  • 32-Bit/768kHz support
  • Onboard controls to change sound profiles
Cons

  • Expensive
  • Must charge device using microUSB

$650 at Amazon

FiiO

Outputs: 1x 3.5mm singled-ended, 1x 4.4mm balanced | Inputs: 1x USB, 1x optical, 1x coaxial, 1x AUX | Max file support: 32-Bit/384kHz | Bluetooth: No | Weight: 2.51 pounds

If you do most of your listening at home, the K7 from Fiio is a great place to start. The world of desktop DACs and headphone amplifiers could fill its own guide, but the K7 is both capable, feature-filled and reasonably priced. It functions as both a DAC and a headphone amp, making it a solid all-in-one solution for audiophiles building a home audio system.

With phono, coaxial, optical and USB inputs, the K7 from Fiio is able to handle music and audio from almost any high fidelity source. Most traditional desktop audio interfaces support playback of up to 24 bit/48 kHz, the K7 can handle files all the way up to 384 kHz at 32-bit – perfect for those who demand a better DAC for high-resolution files, whether you’re listening via headphones or a full audio system.

On the front you’ll find two inputs: a 1/4-inch jack and a 4.4mm balanced headphone port along with a big ol’ volume dial. While its Hi-Fi aesthetic might not be the most razzle-dazzle, it does have an RGB LED around the dial to give it a pop of color (it also changes color depending on the “quality” of your audio source).

There are two versions of the K7, and if you plonk down another $50 you get Bluetooth receiver functionality. This doesn’t mean you can connect wireless headphones, rather you can listen to music from wireless sources, such as your phone while maintaining a physical connection to your PC. If your phone can serve up music in higher-resolution codecs like aptX HD, aptX Adaptive or LDAC (or if it can’t, read about the BT-W5 above) you can listen to it through the K7.

Pros

  • A good variety of inputs
  • 32-Bit/384kHz support
Cons

  • Only for desktop use
  • Must pay extra for Bluetooth connectivity

$200 at Amazon

DAC stands for digital to analogue converter. It’s a device that takes digital files, stored on a laptop, computer, etc., and converts them into audio that we can listen to with better clarity and depth. Devices that provide sound, like a CD player, Blu-ray player, TV box, and so on, require good DACs so that the digital files can be decoded in order to output audio. Most of the time, a DAC is built-in to these devices, but sometimes they are external and require a power supply.

The short answer is, you don’t. You can play “hi-res” audio files on most phones and PCs, you just might not be getting the full experience. If your device’s audio interface tops out at 44.1 or 48kHz (which is fairly common and covers the vast majority of music online) then that’s the experience you’ll get. If you want to enjoy better sounding music at a higher sample rate and bit-depth (aka resolution), you’ll need an interface that supports it and wired headphones, potentially using a headphone amp for an enhanced experience.

It’s worth pointing out that “lossless” and “hi-res” are related terms, but not the same thing and will vary from service to service. Apple uses ALAC encoding which is compressed, but without “loss” to the quality (unlike the ubiquitous .aac or .mp3 file formats). CDs were generally mastered to at least 16-bit / 44.1kHz which is the benchmark that Apple is using for its definition of lossless. In audio circles, a general consensus is that hi-res is anything with a sample rate above 44.1kHz. Increasingly, though, the term is being used for anything 96kHz and above.

This, of course, isn’t only about Apple’s new streaming formats. External DACs and audio interfaces are a great way to get the best sound and upgrade your listening experience generally. Especially if you want to get into the world of more exotic (read: pricey) headphones, as they often even require a DAC to provide enough clean digital signal to drive them. For audiophile headphones, a phone or laptop’s internal sound chipset often doesn’t have the oomph needed to deliver a hi-fi experience, meaning a better DAC could make all the difference in sound quality.

No. Well, yes, but see above. A Lightning or USB-C to 3.5mm headphone adapter often is an audio interface and most of the ones you’re buying for $7 (or that come free in the box) do not support hi-res audio beyond 48kHz / 24-bit. Android is a little more complicated, as some adapters are “passive” and really just connect you to the phone’s internal DAC like old school headphones. Others (active ones) have a DAC built-in and good luck finding out what your specific phone and the in-box adapter delivers. (Hint: connect it to a PC and see if it comes up as an audio interface. You might find some details there if it does).

Chances are that over the last few years you’ve migrated from wired to wireless headphones (thanks, Apple). The world of Bluetooth headphones changes things a little when it comes to seeking better audio performance. What matters here is twofold, the headphones you’re using (as those will technically be the “DAC”) and the codec — the method used to send the musical data over to the headphones. It’s worth checking to see if your headphones support aptX and which version — aptX HD, aptX Adaptive are better than standard and becoming more common. Other systems exist, like Sony’s LDAC, but Qualcomm’s AptX has wider support thanks to its prevalence in Android devices. Some high-end wireless headphones might even come with a headphone jack for wired connections when higher-quality audio is needed.

Airchat Is Silicon Valley’s Latest Obsession

Posted on by faz_business


Ravikant said most of the funding for Airchat has come from his own fund, as well as from Jeff Fagnan, a founding partner at Accomplice Ventures. “[OpenAI CEO] Sam Altman threw in a check, kind of blindly,” Ravikant said. He communicated all of this to me in a public response on Airchat, after politely declining to respond to my DMs and insisting our conversation should happen in public. “It can’t be a side-channel, DM-based interview. That’s the old world that we are leaving behind,” he told me. (In the old world, as in the new world, conducting an interview synchronously is almost always … preferable.)

So far the Airchat feed appears to be filled with tech enthusiasts, early adopters, venture capitalists, and journalists. There’s lots of Bitcoin posting. Winefluencer Gary Vaynerchuk is on the app. So is Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan. This weekend Tan posted, “Breakfast is the first step to greatness. What are you eating this morning?” So far it has more than 96 audio responses. Social media is back, baby.

Airchat has AI. What doesn’t? The app’s deployment, though, is quietly sensible. The transcripts for each Airchat voice note appear almost immediately, and they’re good. Pronounced “Ums” appear within the transcript, but other slight pauses and filler words are edited out. When I used the word “Airchat” in a voice note, it first showed as “error chat,” then quickly self-corrected. The app appears to be able to recognize and transcribe other languages, too; one user spoke in Russian and the transcript appeared in Cyrillic, while another spoke in Moroccan Arabic, known as darija, and then marveled in a follow-up voice note at how good the transcription was.

So what will happen to all of this voice data? Ravikant claimed that the creators of Airchat have no intention of training a large language model on user voices and making “weird synthetic clones of you.” He also said he wouldn’t sell Airchat data to another company building AI models, especially given how relatively small the app is and how uncategorized its data. Airchat will, however, likely use people’s voice data to train a model that improves its own audio and transcription functions. If you’re in, you’ve opted in.

I asked Ravikant about whether some AI company might still scrape Airchat data without a formal agreement. He replied, “We’ll block them, we’ll sue them, and then, if I have a battery of orbital satellites, we’d nuke them from orbit.”

Airchat’s monetization plans are less clear. Navikant hasn’t said anything about charging for access. The current format seems to lend itself to audio ads, but there’s always the risk of making the app unlistenable.

There’s also the issue of content moderation when people’s unfiltered sound bytes are posted to a timeline the moment they release the virtual microphone. One troll seemed to be pushing the boundaries of it on Sunday, cursing the app’s founders, calling the app “fucking trash,” and in as many words telling the founders to, uh, perform fellatio. The voice note is still there. So is a thread where two users go back and forth telling a story about “gay Jewish teens” and “neo-Nazi killers.”