Audio and peripherals
Audio and peripherals
Headphones, speakers, keyboards
25guides
40+sources behind every guide
10 minaverage read
0paid by manufacturers
3 Octoberlast updated
Analysis
Audio and peripherals
Headphones, speakers, keyboards
Best USB-C hub in 2026: seven compared on the three numbers that matter, and why two screens are your laptop's decisionSeven USB-C hubs compared on the only three figures that change your day: how many hertz the HDMI puts out at 4K, how many watts it leaves to charge the laptop, and how many gigabits it moves data at. With the USB-IF naming that most listings still avoid, and the check that tells you whether your laptop can drive two screens before you buy a hub for it.Updated 3 October 2026›
Best mechanical keyboard 2026: which switch suits how you type, why hot-swap matters and how to tell it from membraneFive mechanical keyboards compared by what decides the purchase: the switch (linear, tactile or clicky, with Cherry's own figures), whether the switches can be swapped without soldering, and how to tell a mechanical keyboard from a membrane one in its maker's own words. With the UK rules for a keyboard at work and the Hack The Box plan selector.Updated 28 September 2026›
Best wireless headphones for TV 2026: which work with your TV, which have no lip-sync delay, what is not a hearing aidSix wireless headphones for watching TV without disturbing anyone, sorted by what is on the back of your TV rather than by price, plus three transmitters for when the TV will not cooperate. With what Samsung's UK support says about Bluetooth pairing, why an amplifier is not a hearing aid in the UK, and when HMRC lets a TV listener be sold VAT-free.Updated 23 September 2026›
Best PC controllers in 2026: which pad works with Windows, PS5, Xbox and Switch 2, and which sticks resist driftMicrosoft documents that a pad read through DirectInput instead of XInput turns both triggers into one button and loses the rumble, and iFixit found that all three console makers still use potentiometer sticks, the kind that drift. This guide picks by platform and protocol, shows which pads have magnetic sticks, and sets out what UK consumer law gives you when a stick starts moving on its own.Updated 23 September 2026›
Best ergonomic office chair UK 2026: the seat height for your height, in feet and inches, and the HSE footrest ruleThe figure that decides whether an office chair fits you is the seat height, and almost no listing publishes it. Here is the standard that sets it, what HSE's display screen rules ask of a chair and a footrest, a calculator that turns your height in feet and inches into a seat height, and five chairs with what each maker declares.Updated 22 September 2026›
Best gaming mouse in 2026: 9 picks ranked by weight, shape and sensor, and the DPI you actually useNine gaming mice compared by the weight, sensor and connection each maker actually declares, the arithmetic that turns advertised DPI into centimetres of mousepad, and the same Razer Viper sold in three editions at three very different prices.Updated 21 September 2026›
Best PS5 headset in 2026: eight compared by how they connect, and why Bluetooth gives you no game audioEight PS5 headsets ranked by how they actually reach the console rather than by brand, because the number one buying mistake in this category is assuming Bluetooth will do. Includes a one-tap check for the headphones you already own, the proof from Sony's own product page, and what the Consumer Rights Act gives you if the one you bought turns out to be silent.Updated 21 September 2026›
Best wireless lavalier microphone in 2026: which one fits your iPhone, Android or camera, how long the transmitter really lasts, and whether it needs an Ofcom licenceEight wireless lapel microphones, starting with the specification that gets returned: the connector. A checker that answers it in two taps, the transmitter runtime hiding behind the hours printed on the box, the band map that explains why the audio drops out at a wedding and never at home, and the question only a British buyer has to ask, which is when a wireless microphone needs an Ofcom licence and when it does not.Updated 21 September 2026›
Best gaming keyboards 2026: eleven read spec sheet by spec sheet, and how to spot a UK layout in the photoEleven gaming keyboards read spec sheet by spec sheet, ranked on the switch and the format, with the layout handed back to you as a decision instead of a score. Includes the count from a maker's own catalogue that explains why British keyboards are so hard to find, the ten-second photo check for any listing, and what changes when the wrong layout turns up at your door.Updated 21 September 2026›
Best VR headsets in 2026: which work on their own, which need a PC or a PS5, and the age each maker publishesFour different devices are sold under one word, and what separates them is not the price: it is what else has to be in the house for them to switch on. Nine headsets and accessories compared by what each maker declares, the compatibility checker with Meta's graphics-card list and Sony's own PC requirements, and the figure nobody puts in a listing before Christmas: the minimum age each maker publishes, which is 10 for Meta Quest and 12 for PlayStation VR2.Updated 18 September 2026›
Best record players and turntables in 2026: which to buy, what else you need to hear one and when the stylus runs outThe word on the box is not the same as the word on the shelf: a record player usually has speakers inside and a turntable usually does not, and that single difference decides whether your records play on the day the box arrives. Here are the seven decks worth buying, the tracking force and stylus life each maker publishes, and the setup checker that tells you which link of the chain you are missing.Updated 18 September 2026›
Best PS5 monitors 2026: which to buy for its HDMI version, and how many hertz the console actually givesNine monitors chosen by the HDMI version of their port rather than by the hertz on the box, with PlayStation's own wording on 1440p, 120 Hz and VRR, the cable requirement Sony publishes and almost nobody reads, and a checker for what your console will actually put on the screen.Updated 16 September 2026›
Best Apple accessories 2026: what fits your iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and what Apple does not put in the boxA compatibility checker for the model you already own, the exact contents of an iPhone box in Apple's own words, which Apple Pencil each iPad accepts and why the cheapest one rules out the dearest pencil, and what you end up buying afterwards: the adapter, the tips, the keyring and the right strap size.Updated 16 September 2026›
Best bone conduction headphones 2026: six compared, the battery rule, and what UK law says about cyclingSix pairs read against the specifications their makers publish, starting with the question every British buyer asks and no buying guide answers: whether you are allowed to wear them on a bike. Then the battery arithmetic that separates real bone conduction from air conduction, using the category leader's own two product families, and why a water rating on its own does not licence you to swim.Updated 1 September 2026›
Best monitor for programming in 2026: the pixel density that makes code readable, and what a UK listing must tell youEight monitors compared on the number that decides this purchase and that no listing prints: pixel density. Which of them need the desktop at 150% scaling, how many watts each one can actually put back into your laptop, the refresh rate you should not pay for, and the two things UK law obliges every one of these screens to tell you before you buy.Updated 1 September 2026›
Best Bluetooth speakers in 2026: ten compared on real watts, what an IP rating covers and the law on playing one outdoorsTen speakers read against the specifications their makers publish, starting with the wattage decoder that separates a power rating from a slogan and the water rating that does not mean what it looks like, because IPX7 has a defined test behind it and IPX8 is only as strong as the depth the maker is willing to print. Plus the thing no speaker guide anywhere covers: what the law in England actually says about playing one outdoors, which turns out not to be a decibel limit.Updated 1 September 2026›
Best vertical mouse 2026: five ergonomic mice compared by hand size, angle and who actually pays for itFive vertical mice compared on what the makers actually publish. Two of them state the hand size the shell was built for and three do not, which is where most disappointing purchases in this category begin. Includes the shallowest angle for a first vertical mouse, the only model here with a wrist rest, and the government grant that can cover the cost if you work for yourself.Updated 1 September 2026›
Best gaming headset 2026 for PC, PS5 and Xbox: nine compared by connection, weight and what the box actually claimsNine gaming headsets compared starting from the decision that actually ruins a purchase, which is the connection rather than the sound. Why an Xbox will not talk to a generic 2.4 GHz dongle and how the shelf itself proves it, what the 7.1 on the box really is, the weight that only four of the nine will publish, and what the volume standard everyone assumes protects them actually covers.Updated 1 September 2026›
Best soundbar for dialogue 2026: eight compared by channel format, and the figure that says if the Atmos is realEight soundbars compared by the only specification on the listing that tells you what will actually be in the room: the channel format. Which of them have a centre channel, which is the speaker that carries speech; why two bars both labelled 2.1 can arrive with completely different boxes; and the three free things worth trying before you spend anything at all.Updated 1 September 2026›
Best mouse for work in 2026: eight compared on shape, click noise and battery, and the desk rule nobody appliesEight mice read spec sheet by spec sheet and ranked for a working day rather than for a scoreboard: the sculpted shape that answers eight hours at a desk, the all-rounder that also plays, and the quiet one for a room with other people in it. With the part of the UK workstation rules that specifies your keyboard and says nothing at all about your mouse.Updated 1 September 2026›
Best keyboard for programming in 2026: seven compared, and where an ISO-UK layout puts the symbols you actually typeSeven keyboards read spec sheet by spec sheet for people who write code all day, starting with the decision every other guide skips: which physical layout puts the braces, brackets, pipe and hash within reach. With the four requirements the UK workstation Schedule sets for a keyboard, and the ten-second check that tells you which layout a listing is actually selling.Updated 1 September 2026›
Best monitor arm in the UK for 2026: the desk check that decides it, the VESA pattern and the clamp range that fits a British Standard deskSix monitor arms compared, opening with the question every guide in this category skips: whether your desk can take one. The published load limit on the board-on-frame tops most British home offices are built on, the clamp range that covers a British Standard desk at the front edge and further in, a VESA checker that now asks about the desk as well as the screen, and which arm belongs on a single-screen, two-screen or ultrawide setup.Updated 1 September 2026›
Best budget over-ear headphones in 2026: four picks compared, and the one word that marks the noise cancelling tierFour over-ear pairs worth buying without spending much, plus five earbuds for when you would rather not wear a headband. Every figure is the manufacturer's own declaration, including the two different battery numbers makers quote, and the guide turns on one word: the spec sheets say hybrid in the value tier and adaptive one rung up.Updated 31 August 2026›
Best 27-inch monitors in 2026: value picks for gaming, 4K and office, with USB-C wattage explainedSeven monitors worth buying at this size, checked spec sheet by spec sheet: the QHD value pick for almost everyone, 200 Hz gaming without the premium, affordable 4K for image work, and the USB-C rule that tells you in ten seconds whether a monitor will really charge your laptop.Updated 31 August 2026›
Best budget open ear headphones in 2026: clip-on and earhook picks, and the battery hours trap decodedEight open ear headphones in clip and earhook shapes, compared with the real battery life each manufacturer publishes against the figure printed on the box, plus a one-touch test to pick your shape.Updated 31 August 2026›