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Marshall Kilburn II review

Marshall Kilburn II hands-on review

You’ll have to speak up, because we’ve been testing the Marshall Kilburn II Bluetooth speaker -- and it’s shockingly loud. Designed not just for indoors use, this speaker has a battery inside that makes it ideal for outdoor use too. Aside from the volume, how does the Kilburn II sound and perform?
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Amazon Echo Sub review

Amazon introduced the Echo Sub for Echo speaker owners who wanted to inject some room-moving bass into their smart speaker experience. We took the new Alexa-friendly sub for a spin and quickly learned that it’s a niche product, but one that does its odd job extremely well.
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Paradigm Persona B hands-on review

Paradigm’s astonishingly transparent Persona B bookshelf speakers offer incredible sound to bring you inside the studio, onto the stage, and closer to the souls of your favorite musicians than ever. With the ability to virtually disappear behind the instruments, they offer one of the most satisfying listening experiences you’ll find.
Riva Concert Review

Riva Concert review

The Riva Concert series speaker is a fantastic small-profile smart speaker with Alexa integration, truly excellent sound, and great looks, making it the perfect addition to your kitchen, living room, or bedroom. With even more features than the Sonos One.
Roku Wireless Speakers

Roku Wireless Speakers review

Roku boldly steps into audio with its new Roku Wireless Speakers, an affordable, tailor-made sound solution for your Roku TV. But do they hold up under sonic scrutiny? We put them to the test to find out if these speakers are worth choosing over a soundbar or other audio solution.
Marshall Stanmore II Voice review

Marshall Stanmore II Voice review

Can a Bluetooth speaker combine voice assistant smarts with great sound quality, or do you always have to separate the two? Marshall's Stanmore II Voice adds Amazon Alexa to prove it’s possible, while maintaining the signature sound we’ve come to expect.The Stanmore II has been shaking our floor, and here's our review.
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Hands on: Mass Fidelity Core

Mass Fidelity eschews the path of Sonos and AirPlay and goes it alone using Bluetooth and spatial technology to spread audio out with verve.
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Hands on: Logitech’s Z600 PC speakers go Bluetooth but not completely wireless

Logitech's touch-controlled, Z600 Bluetooth Speakers can pair up to three devices at once and require no special app, but are they worth the $150 price tag?

Cambridge SurroundWorks 200 Review

Add a complete home theater system to your favorite room with only three pieces. The Cambridge SurroundWorks 200 may suprise you with its full sound.

Niro 1.1 Pro Home Theater System Review

Niro takes a novel approach to home theater surround sound with the Niro 1.1 Pro home theater system, a setup that uses only a center speaker and a subwoofer.

Kenwood HTB-506 Review

The HTB-506 system reviewed here is one of the latest home-theater-in-a-box offering from Kenwood. Featuring the new VR-707 receiver as its base, the HTB-506 has a lot to offer.

Onkyo Envision LS-V500C Review

The Envision provides above average performance combined with one of the best planned units for a simple and easy setup.

Aperion Verus Grand line of home speakers released

Aperion Audio has released the Aperion Verus Grand line of home theater speakers complete with a patent-pending tweeter, for sound reproduction.

Roku’s new lineup directly competes with Apple TV

Roku has just announced its new lineup of streaming media players that are going to heat up the market around digital video players.
Senior Editor, A/V

John Higgins is Digital Trends’ Senior Editor and section lead for A/V. After receiving his Bachelor in Music with an Audio Production focus from Ithaca College and Master of Music in Keyboard Collaborative Arts from the University of Southern California, he began working for Home Theater Magazine in 2003. His time in the print and online publishing world has been spent as a writer, editor, copy editor, researcher, and test lab technician. Most recently, Higgins was the Managing Editor of Tech at Reviewed, part of the USA Today network, where he led the website’s tech coverage. He has previously written for Wirecutter, IGN, Projector Central, T3, Sound & Vision, and Home Theater Magazine covering projectors, televisions, headphones and earbuds, sound bars and speakers, and monitors. He is a yearly attendee at CES and an ISF level 3 certified calibrator.

In addition to his career in publishing, Higgins has been a professional musician since the late 90s, having performed on piano in solo recitals, as a collaborative partner with various singers and instrumentalists, and with the Pacific Symphony. He also is an accomplished guitarist and, with his pop/rock band, has played such hallowed L.A. venues as the Troubadour, Roxy, Viper Room, and House of Blues. For 10 years, he was a teacher and music director at a private school in Los Angeles, and following his teaching career spent some time in the film industry as a post-production sound editor and composer.

Originally from just outside Boston, Higgins has been a Los Angeles resident since 2001 where he lives with his wife, son, two rescue dogs, and parrot. When not working, he spends his time watching TV shows about cooking and serial killers, preparing for his next D&D session, ignoring the growing list of games in his Steam gaming library, and building Legos with his son.