I punched my way through Yakuza Kiwami 2 on Nintendo Switch 2, and it’s a decent port of an excellent RPG

Kiryu is back on Nintendo Switch 2, with Yakuza Kiwami 2 – a remake of the second installment in Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s famed and celebrated series. This is a port, and arrives eight years after Kiwami 2 first launched in Japan on the PS4.

Review info

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
Available on: PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PC
Release date: November 13, 2025 (Switch 2)

This game is a direct follow-up to the events of Yakuza Kiwami, and continues the story of ex-Yakuza Kazuma Kiryu. Without spoiling too much, the game follows Kiryu’s journey to find a new chairman for his former employer, the Tojo Clan, and prevent an all-out war between the Clan and its rival, the Omi Alliance. It’s a very strong follow-up, and the tension running throughout the narrative really sucked me in – I could barely put Kiwami 2 down.

But how does the Nintendo Switch 2 port hold up? Is this a good way to play the game? After spending hours brawling through Kiwami 2 on Nintendo’s latest hardware, I’ve got a few thoughts, so let’s dive in.

A visual upgrade that comes at a cost

(Image credit: Sega)

Before I talk about the game itself, I want to discuss the quality and performance of Kiwami 2’s Switch 2 port.

Visually, this hits the sort of levels you’d expect. It runs at 1080p, as I also experienced when playing it on PS4. Character models and environments are replicated well on Switch 2, although of course, they do show their age. Still, this is a flashier looking game than Yakuza Kiwami, largely due to its development on the more advanced Dragon Engine. The intricacies of clothing, character expressions, and lighting of shops look more detailed and shiny in this entry.

But with the more advanced visuals and effects comes a price. Yes, Yakuza Kiwami 2 only runs at 30fps. And given that I’d played Yakuza Kiwami right before this – a game that runs comfortably at 60fps on Switch 2 – that drop down was all too obvious.

As understandable as it is, this does mean that movement and navigation lacks the fluidity you’d experience with Kiwami or even Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut.

Best bit

(Image credit: Sega)

Fairly early on you get to battle it out against The Dragon of Kansai, and it's truly epic. He's got a ton of health, so you have to carefully block and dodge, then strike when there's an opening. There are also weapons hidden in the bushes which you can use to really batter him. It's a face-off that prepares you for the tougher one-on-ones that lie ahead, and was super satisfying when I landed the finishing blow.

Also, there are unfortunately a few frame drops to contest with, as was the case on PS4. When walking through busy parts of Kamurocho or entering into high-octane sequences, I noticed a few dips, which could be pretty frustrating. This is the case in docked or handheld mode.

Is performance bad? No – it’s about on-par with what the PS4 could plate up, and frame drops never made combat feel more challenging than it should do, crucially. But if you’re expecting the smooth 60fps gameplay of the recently released PS5 version, you’re going to be disappointed.

All in all, this port is decent. You get to enjoy Kiwami 2 on the go, and that in itself is a major positive. Sure, it’s not the definitive way to play, but if you’re looking for portability over top-tier performance, this is still a worthwhile way to play. Oh, and for those wondering, the green filter is still alive and kicking on Switch 2.

Two Dragons

(Image credit: Sega)

So, the Switch 2 edition of Yakuza Kiwami 2 is solid overall, but how about the game itself?

I’ll put my cards on the table – I had an absolute blast with Kiwami 2. First of all, the story is kept tight and is gripping from start to finish. The narrative is paced fantastically well, and the cast of characters is excellent once more. This time around, there’s a ‘big bad’ who you’re introduced to right from the off, Ryuji Goda. He refers to himself as The Dragon of Kansai, and serves as the ultimate rival to Kiryu – himself known as The Dragon of Dojima.

There are plenty of twists and turns to navigate, and there’s a brief set of chapters where you can play as the sadomasochistic Goro Majima, which are pretty entertaining. Of course, there are plenty of whacky substories to complete too, running from claw machine antics through to defeating a band of men dressed up in diapers.

Anyway…something I really appreciated about Kiwami 2 – coming straight off playing the first Kiwami game – was the streamlined nature of its gameplay. There’s a technical side to that, like the lack of loading screens when Kiryu walks into restaurants or other buildings, for example. But also, I liked how the multitude of combat styles were substituted for a more singular approach to battle.

In Kiwami, you had to learn skills for specific styles, whereas now, every ability you learn is available to you through a unified Dragon style. Personally, I prefer this more centralised approach – being able to use all of my flashy new moves without having to change into a different mode is a significant upgrade. Some may miss the variety of unique styles, but luckily, I’m not ‘some’!

More generally, combat is awesome. It’s simplistic yet rewarding, and piecing together killer combos on seriously beefy bosses feels exhilarating. Heat actions also let you crush your foes in style, and you’ll unlock more of these as you progress, making it genuinely feel as if Kiryu grows in strength as the story unfolds.

Before I wrap up, I also want to pay kudos to the excellent, electrifying soundtrack that runs throughout this game. I love the music in Yakuza games, and it sounds as good as ever in Kiwami 2. Japanese voice acting is also superb, and the mid-2000s setting is captured beautifully, with background music, murmuring passers-by, and the sound of pouring rain creating an incredibly immersive atmosphere.

All in all, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a great game, and a must-play for any fans of the Yakuza series on Switch 2. Sure, its drop down to a targeted 30fps can feel jarring at times, and I did pick up on a few frame drops, but visually it’s still enticing, and when you combine that with addictive combat and a top-notch story, there’s just so much to like.

Should you play Yakuza Kiwami 2 on Nintendo Switch 2?

(Image credit: Sega)

Play it if...

You want to play Yakuza on the move
It may seem obvious, but the real beauty of this port is that it lets you take Yakuza on the go, and enjoy the whacky world and engaging story no matter where you are. The game runs admirably in handheld mode too, so it’s a tempting way to play.

You’re a fan of high-octane combat
The action-packed combat of Yakuza Kiwami 2 is incredibly addictive. There are some seriously epic boss fights where perfectly timed dodges and finishing blows feel oh-so satisfying, and even getting into street brawls never gets old.

Don't play it if...

You’ve got a PS5
Kiwami 2 targets 30fps on the Switch 2, and some occasional frame drops can cause frustration when exploring busier areas. However, the recently released PS5 version of the game runs at 60fps, making for a smoother and more seamless way to experience the game.

You’ve not played other games in the series
Although there’s a recap sequence at the beginning of the game, I would strongly recommend playing Yakuza Kiwami before you get into this one. And although some may disagree, I think playing Yakuza 0 before both of these is the optimal way to go – you’ll get the full backstory of Kiryu and Majima, which adds considerable depth.

Accessibility features

As was the case on Yakuza Kiwami, there are a few useful customization options available in the settings menu. For instance, you can change camera controls, enable subtitles in a wide range of languages, and alter difficulty as well as blood levels. There’s also an option to toggle display tips on or off. Unfortunately, there are no colorblind modes, though.

How I reviewed Yakuza Kiwami 2 on Nintendo Switch 2

(Image credit: Sega)

I clocked more than 15 hours of playtime on Yakuza Kiwami 2. During this time, I completed a handful of substories and minigames, but mainly focused on the main story. I spent most of my time playing in handheld mode on Nintendo Switch 2, sometimes enjoying game audio with my Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones. However, I also tried the game out in docked mode, with my console connected to the Sky Glass Gen 2 TV and Marshall Heston 120 soundbar.

Before taking on this title, I played through Yakuza Kiwami on Nintendo Switch 2, but I’m generally a big fan of the Yakuza series, with 0 standing as my favorite entry in the franchise.

More generally, I’ve been a Nintendo Switch 2 owner from launch, and have reviewed a wide range of games for the console. This includes other RPGs like Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake and Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army, but also titles from other genres, like Kirby Air Riders and Drag x Drive.

First reviewed December 2025

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Using Atari’s 2600+ Pac-Man edition takes me back to pumping all my pocket money into arcades

As a retro console, the Atari 2600+ is a strong example of how to do things right. The fact that it allows you to use cartridges rather than pre-loaded ROMs not only allows you to pick up rereleased games for it but also gives your classic Atari 2600 cartridges a new lease of life. And despite its few missteps, the Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition builds from this strong base.

In our original Atari 2600+ review, we described how the retro console was a ‘loving recreation of the original hardware’ and that’s very much the case with the Pac-Man Edition. The main differences? It now comes with a wireless CX40+ joystick, rather than the awkward wired one we criticised in our original review. Oh yeah, and every inch of it is covered in Pac-Man styling.

Honestly, if you’re of a certain age – which I am – and prone to nostalgia – no doy – you’ll likely be charmed by this console. From the yellow color that references the puck-shaped protagonist’s hue to the light-up image of him being chased by his ghostly foes on its front, this edition wears its affiliations on its sleeve. And, as a game, Pac-Man is every bit the classic you remember – even if the original 2600 port that’s also included is a bit of a bust.

Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition review: price & availability

(Image credit: Future)

Given the game's ghostly antagonists, it’s pretty apt that the Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition was released on October 31, 2025. You can buy it for a list price of $169.99 / £129.99 / AU$260.99, which feels pretty decent value to me.

Yes, retro consoles like the SNES Mini or PlayStation Classic were cheaper at $79.99 / £69.99 / AU$119.95 and $99.99 / £89.99 / AU$149.99, respectively, but they were glorified emulators in an attractive package. Although it’s technically still using emulation, the Atari 2600+ runs off cartridges rather than ROMs and is backwards compatible with the original cartridges, making it far more flexible than these consoles.

I’m less convinced by the pricing of its games, though. New cartridges retail for $29.99 / £24.99 / around AU$50.48 each. This feels like a fair price for some original retro game cartridges perhaps – after all, they have an innate collector’s value that re-released games don’t.

But I’ve bought recent AAA games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for this kind of money, which does force me to ask whether they’re really equivalent in terms of the new labour that’s gone into them. Charging modern market prices for ports of decades-old games feels like it's becoming a bit of a trend these days, and it's not one I'm totally comfortable with.

Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition review: design

(Image credit: Future)

I’ve gotta hand it to Atari: it knows how to pull all of the little levers and buttons in my soul to get my nostalgia flowing. The look of the Atari 2600+ is delightfully retro – it's redolent of those 6am Saturday mornings where my brothers and I would sneak downstairs early to play luridly colored, blocky pixel worlds like Pitfall! and Frogger.

The Atari 2600+ maintains so many of the details that made the original iconic. Toggles still run along its top edge, triggering everything from power and reset functions to switching between color and black & white and setting player difficulty on either side. Atari has resisted the temptation to tidy up – even little details like the way the cartridge awkwardly juts out have been kept exactly as you remember them, which is definitely to Atari’s credit.

But, naturally, given this is a Pac-Man special edition, not quite everything is as you remember it. First off, there’s that bright yellow colorway, which is 100% on-brand for anything involving the pill-necking ghost chomper. Additionally, the 2600’s usual front wood veneer has been replaced with a light-up panel showing Pac-Man in flight from the game’s spectral antagonists – I love these little details, and they show a real thoughtfulness to Atari’s design process here.

(Image credit: Future)

Rather than the CX40 joystick that was packaged up with the standard Atari 2600+, the CX40+ included here comes with a few upgrades. Most materially, the wired connection we criticized in our original review because of its awkward connection to the back of the console has been exorcized here, replaced with much superior wireless dongle connectivity.

Aesthetically, it has also had a glow-up, adorned with the same banana yellow colorway and a cute Pac-Man symbol on top of the stick. My only grumble here is that Atari didn’t send me any of the Ghost Edition CX40+ optional accessories they sell, which are similarly branded with the colors and likeness of Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde and are objectively adorable. Come on, guys: it’s like you’re actively trying to trigger my FOMO.

Sadly, one thing hasn’t changed about the CX40+, though: it’s still as uncomfortably stiff to use as when we reviewed the standard 2600+. Trying to be as charitable as possible to Atari – and looking back on my vague childhood memories through the increasingly frosted windows of middle age – I do actually think this is an accurate recreation of how the original joysticks used to handle. I suspect, though, that this faithfulness won’t make its turgid handling more forgiving in the eyes of modern gamers.

Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition review: performance

(Image credit: Future)

Firing up Pac-Man 7800 triggered almost primal memories in me. Playing the game takes me right back to my childhood, feeding coin after coin into an arcade slot to spend a little longer running round its dark mazes and gobbling up pixelated fruit. It’s a heady nostalgic hit.

However, I will admit that this joy is slightly undermined by how much duller my reflexes are some 35 years hence. Coupled with the stiffness of the CX40+’s stick, I found myself dying with an almost lemming-like alacrity. I’ve improved somewhat over my time testing it, partly as a result of learning to anticipate upcoming turns and move the stick way before I hit the bend, but I’m still bad at it. Honestly, Pac-Man and I have a slightly toxic relationship: I love it, and it clearly hates me.

Even when you take away the nostalgia, though, the gameplay is still as addictive and frustrating to a newcomer. My partner is hardly a committed gamer, but she quickly found herself hooked by the addictive ‘just one more turn’ gameplay loop. There were points she’d be enraged at how pointlessly she’d died – and then she’d fire it up again regardless, which is about as firm an endorsement as she can offer.

(Image credit: Future)

Unfortunately, while this is nominally a twin-game pack, I can’t really say the same for Pac-Man 2600. Within seconds of booting it up, I could see why it’s always been such a controversial port. In almost every regard, it sits in the original Pac-Man’s shadow

To adapt the arcade hit to the more modest hardware of the Atari 2600, the graphics were devolved considerably. Power pills are now squares, and Pac-Man looks like he’s lost all enthusiasm for his work. Worse, the ghosts flicker and regularly overlap, making it hard to know when some of them might decide to peel off, while I could honestly never tell when a power pill had worn off, as their appearance was almost indistinguishable either way.

Fundamentally, Pac-Man 2600 might be a nice game to have in your collection. But it’s more of a curiosity, fun to revisit in the same way that archive footage of the Nintendo Virtual Boy or Sinclair C5 is amusing. I recommend you play it, even if I think 95% of the time you’ll go straight to the more loyal port of Pac-Man 7800.

Fortunately, you’re not limited to playing either – as the console is fully backward compatible, you can play any old Atari games you still have or start building your own retro collection from scratch. This is the real strength of the Atari 2600+ for me: so many retro gaming devices force you to make do with a limited catalogue or skirt into ethically murky territory. The Atari 2600+ makes it far easier to start getting into retro gaming, without having to fuss about buying 30-year-old CRTs from eBay.

Should I buy the Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition?

(Image credit: Future)

Buy it if...

You’ve got serious Atari nostalgia
If you’re wanting to get into Atari retro gaming, this is one of the best ways to do it. Not only can you pick up re-released games, but it’ll run any of those old Atari cartridges you have in the attic.

You love Pac-Man
Alright… this one’s pretty obvious. But if you loved Pac-Man back in the day and are charmed by this console’s styling, then you’ll want to opt for this over the 2600+ standard edition.

Don't buy it if...

You want cheap retro games
Atari’s rereleased games are not cheap, costing $29.99 / £24.99 per cartridge. Second-hand OG cartridges can be more affordable, although this naturally varies with rarity – typical prices may range from $5 / £5 to $70 / £30.

You don’t like a stiff joystick
Compared to modern, responsive Hall-effect thumbsticks, the CX40+ is stiffer than an 18-year single malt. That’s probably true to the original design, but you might find it requires more force than you’re used to.

How I tested the Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition

(Image credit: Future)

I tested the Atari 2600+ over the course of several days, both hooking it up to my 65-inch TCL C8K and a 24-inch LG TQ520S-P monitor.

I played both Pac-Man 7800 and Pac-Man 2600, trying out as many of the different game settings as possible, including different difficulty levels and speed modes.

• First reviewed: December 2025
• Read more about how we test

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Final's latest DX over-ear headphones still aren't cheap — but if you need detail and faithful neutrality, they're the ones

Final Audio DX3000CL: Two-minute review

The DX3000CL are, in the least pejorative way, a very Final Audio product. There’s nothing flashy about the way they’re designed, there’s nothing remarkable about the way they’re specified (although the provision for both balanced and unbalanced cable terminations is something some alternative brands might want to take notice of), and there’s nothing unusual about the way they look (apart from the fact they’re a little wider on the head than most alternatives).

All of the effort that’s gone into them seems to have been concentrated on the way they perform, and that can only be a good thing as a means to enter our best wired headphones guide.

The quality of build and finish is well up to standard, don’t get me wrong, and they’re as comfortable to wear as any price-comparable rival and quite a lot more comfortable than some. But it’s the 40mm free-edge dynamic driver, and its paper/carbon composite diaphragm, that’s the real star of the show here.

All the relevant numbers (frequency response, sensitivity, impedance) are very promising – but that’s nothing when you consider the way the DX3000CL actually sound. At this money they’re up against some extremely credible competition – the open-backed Sennheiser HD 660 S2 are an obvious alternative, and the planar magnetic FiiO FT5 are no slouches either, but the Final Audio have some very specific tricks up their sleeve.

They’re not the most dynamic or engaging listen, it’s true – but if you value insight, eloquence and a soundstage so large you feel you could walk around it, the DX3000CL will keep you listening for the foreseeable future.

Yes, the case is huge (Image credit: Future)

Final Audio DX3000CL review: Price & release date

• 13th November 2025
• Priced $599 / £549 / AU$1099

As briefly mentioned above, at $599 / £549 / AU$1099, these Final cans are up against some serious competition – I might mention the open-backed Sennheiser HD-660 S2 as a go-to alternative, or the planar magnetic FiiO FT5, but again, the Final Audio headphones do have some (very specific) aces up their sleeve.

(Image credit: Future)

Final Audio DX3000CL review: Specs

Type	Wired closed-back over-ear
Drivers	40mm paper/carbon composite
Weight	410g
Cable length	2m
Sensitivity	96dB/wm
Impedance	37Ω
Termination	4.4mm (with 6.3mm adapter)
Housing: glass fibre-reinforced resin	Glass fibre-reinforced resin

(Image credit: Future)

Final Audio DX3000CL review: Features

• 40mm paper/carbon composite dynamic drivers
• 96dB/wm sensitivity / 37Ω impedance
• 3: 2m OFC cable with 4.4mm termination

To be honest, I’m not quite sure how any pair of passive wired over-ear headphones could score less than ‘5’ for ‘features’. After all, products like this require very few features – and if the necessary features are present and correct, then ‘5’ is basically mandatory. And there’s no denying the Final Audio DX3000CL have the necessary features.

The headphones are supplied with a two-metre length of relatively hefty oxygen-free copper cable in a nicely flexible polymer sheath. At one end it splits into two 3.5mm terminations, as each ear cup must be wired. At the other there’s a 4.4mm balanced connection, and there’s also a rather over-engineered 6.3mm adapter included too.

The cable supplies audio information to a pair of 40mm dynamic drivers. They’re a free-edge design, made from a paper-and-carbon composite – they’re good for a claimed frequency response of 10Hz - 40kHz, and are fully designed and assembled in-house by Final Audio in Japan.

Sensitivity of 96dB/wm and 37Ω impedance means the DX3000CL aren’t especially tricky to drive, and no reasonably powered headphone amplifier will have to break a sweat in order to get worthwhile volume out of them.

• Features score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future)

Final Audio DX3000CL review: Sound quality

• Remarkable powers of insight and detail retrieval
• Big, organised and explicit soundstaging
• Could conceivably sound more engaged and engaging

If you’re prepared to concede that you can’t have everything, even from an expensive pair of headphones, then the Final Audio DX3000CL are in many ways a deeply accomplished listen. As long as you don’t want to be grabbed by the lapels, the sound they make has plenty to recommend it.

Where they score very heavily is in the level of insight they summon, their ability to retrieve, reveal and contextualise even the most minor, most fleeting, most transient details in a recording and give them precisely the right amount of weighting. If it’s there in a mix, no matter how far back or how far down, the Final Audio will seize on it and let you know all about it. And the fact that they can generate a large, spacious and carefully organised soundstage doesn’t do any harm in this respect, either.

Do you remember when Scarlett Johansson collaborated with David Bowie on her album of Tom Waits cover versions? That was a weird old time, wasn’t it? Their version of Falling Down can sound quite foggy and indistinct, but when the Final Audio get hold of it all is revealed. The recording is opened up, with every element individualised and distinct in its own little pocket of space – but without sounding remote or dislocated. There’s still unity to the way the song is presented, but it’s a bit like the view from a freshly washed window – everything comes more fully into focus.

(Image credit: Future)

It doesn’t do any harm that the tonality of the DX3000CL is so neutral and naturalistic, and the fact that the journey from the (deep and solid) low frequencies to the (crisply substantial) top end is so smooth and uneventful. They’re deftly punchy without ever threatening to get out of hand, and the balance they strike in these respects is judicious in the extreme.

Where the Final Audio disappoint just a little centers around dynamics and overall engagement. There’s a suggestion of self-conscious good taste about the way these headphones are voiced that means they don’t always attack a recording with as much determination as might be appropriate, and they’re reluctant to properly let loose when the levels of intensity or simple volume in a recording begin to ramp up.

In the case of the Scarlett Johansson tune it’s not that much of an issue, but when you switch to something like Fanfare for the Warriors by The Art Ensemble of Chicago it becomes all too apparent that the DX3000CL are capable of being altogether too polite. ‘Wild abandon’ isn’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to reproducing music, of course, but a pair of headphones needs to be able to cut loose every now and then…

• Sound quality score: 4/5

(Image credit: Future)

Final Audio DX3000CL review: Design

• Glass fibre-reinforced resin housing
• Screws and ‘O’ rings allow for easy servicing
• 410g (without cable)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but for my money there’s an elegant simplicity about the design of the DX3000CL that isn’t always easy to come by. Final Audio has resisted the temptation to try to fancify these headphones, and the result is a clean and understated look.

This relative sophistication is thanks, in large part, to judicious choice of and use of materials. The single slender length of steel that adjusts the position of the headband relative to the ear cups looks and feels good – and unusually, it allows the ear cups to move in order to achieve adjustment rather than the other way around. The ear cups themselves are made of resin reinforced with glass fibre, and the hint of capillary waves in the housing constitutes perhaps the only design flourish here.

The ear pads and the headband feature memory foam covered with synthetic leather. There’s plenty of it for the ear pads, too, which makes the DX3000CL rather wider than most of their nominal rivals – you’ll have to be OK with looking a bit like a Cyberman when wearing these headphones. They’re comfortable, though, and are not as keen to retain and return your body heat than some alternatives I could mention. 410g is a fairly considerable weight, especially when you consider that’s without the cable being attached – but the clamping force and the hanger arrangement are both so carefully judged that the Final Audio don’t feel in any way burdensome, even if you’ve been wearing them for hours.

The fact the cable clicks into the front of the lower portion of each ear cup is slightly disconcerting (although it makes no practical difference). I’m so used to wired headphones connecting at the very bottom, or at the rear of the lower portion of the ear cup, I find myself checking that I haven’t got the headphones on backwards. That might just be me, though…

Final Audio is very keen on the fact that it’s entirely avoided the use of adhesives in the construction of the DX3000CSL. The use of precision screws and ‘O’-rings to ensure everything fits together nicely means the headphones can quite easily be dismantled, serviced and put back together again – and ‘no adhesives’ also means ‘greater sustainability’ and ‘reduced use of chemicals’ too, of course.

• Design score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future)

Final Audio DX3000CL review: Value

• Good standard of construction and finish
• Quite extensive specification
• Some sonic blind spots

Big, well-made and great-sounding headphones that use premium materials and stay comfortable for hours at a time seldom come cheap – and in all of these respects the Final Audio are right on the money.

If they could muster a little more sonic vigour in those instances when it’s essential their case would be watertight…

• Value score: 4/5

(Image credit: Future)

Should I buy theFinal Audio DX3000CL?

Section	Notes	Score
Features	All necessary features present and correct – and painstaking trouble has been taken over them too	5/5
Sound quality	Fantastic insight, detail and organisation, but could sound a touch more dynamically engaged and engaging	4/5
Design	Elegant, simplistic, clean and understated	5/5
Value	Excellent in most aspects, just a shade off the best-in-class for sonic vigour	4/5

Buy them if...

You value sonic insight
There isn’t a detail in a recording, no matter how tiny, that seems capable of eluding the DX3000CL

You like mildly unusual things
For all that it’s a fully credible brand, it seems that Final Audio is not all that many people’s default choice

You have some premium source equipment
The appearance of a 4.4mm balanced cable termination lets you know these headphones were designed to work with your more upmarket sources of music

Don't buy them if...

Your head is on the wide side
The last thing you need is for your head to seem wider still, but the DX3000CL are among the widest designs around

You particularly value dynamism and drive
The Final Audio do lots of things very well indeed, but they are neither the most dynamic nor the most attack headphones you can buy

You’re a frequency flyer
These headphones don’t come supplied with a case or even a bag - which is a bit of an oversight to be honest

Final Audio DX3000CL review: Also consider

	Final DX3000CL	FiiO FT5	Sennheiser HD-660 S2
Price	$599 / £549 / AU$1099	$449 / £429 / AU$799	$599 / £499 / AU$949
Drivers	40mm paper/carbon composite dynamic	90mm planar magnetic (open-back)	38mm (open-back)
Weight	410g	456g	260g
Cable length	2m	1.5m	1.8m
Impedance	37Ω	36Ω nominal	300Ω
Sensitivity	96dB/wm	96dB/mW @1kHz	104dB

Sennheiser HD-660 S2
Want something super-light on your head? These open-backed Sennheisers might be just the ticket. They're a little older, having been unveiled in March 2023, but in the realms of wired audio and your mixing suite that's hardly an issue…
Read our full Sennheiser HD-660S2 review

FiiO FT5
The cable's a half meter shorter than the Final, at 1.5m rather than 2m, but the 90mm planar magnetic drivers are the star of the show – and do note the this is also an open-backed option. If you want faithful neutrality, do go for the Final, but if you want a bit more excitement and oomph, give these an immediate spot on your shortlist.
See our FiiO FT5 review for more

How I tested the Final Audio DX3000CL

• Connected to a number of sources using both terminations
• With many different music storage formats
• With many different genres and styles of music

I connect the Final Audio DX3000CL to my iFi iDSD Diablo 2 headphone amp/DAC using the 4.4mm input – the iFi is connected to an Apple MacBook Pro and to an iPhone 14 Pro. I also connect them to a FiiO M15S digital audio player using the machine’s 4.4mm socket.

To listen to vinyl I connect the headphones to a Naim Uniti Star connected to a Technics SL-1300G – but it only has a 3.5mm headphone socket, so an ugly combination of the 4.4mm jack fitted with its 6.3mm adapter, in turn fitted to a 6.3mm-to-3.5mm adapter, is required.

• First reviewed: January 2026
• Read more about how we test

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TP-Link AXE5400 Wi-Fi 6E Range Extender (RE815XE): a fast, affordable range extender

TP-Link AXE5400: One minute review

Asus RP-AX58: Specifications

Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 6E
Wi-Fi Speed: 5.4Gbps
Ports: 1x Gigabit Ethernet
Antennae: 4
Dimensions: 348 x 106 x 80mm

Wi-Fi 6E, which the Asus RP-AX58 features, is a bit like the missing link of the Wi-Fi family. It was the first version of Wi-Fi technology to introduce the high-speed 6.0GHz frequency band – in addition to the existing 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands used by previous generations of Wi-Fi. However, it never really took off as many people had only just upgraded to Wi-Fi 6, and it wasn’t long before the absurdly fast Wi-Fi 7 came along and made poor old 6E look a bit irrelevant.

The advantage of that, though, is that you can now pick up a high-performance range extender that uses Wi-Fi 6E at a pretty competitive price.

We liked TP-Link’s BE3600 range extender thanks to its ease of use and installation, but its dual-band Wi-Fi 7 performance was actually fairly modest, with a top speed of 3.6Gbps. The AXE5400 (model number RE815XE) is around the same price as the BE3600, but the use of Wi-Fi 6E means that it can provide tri-band Wi-Fi performance and a speed of 5.4Gbps that should be more than adequate for use with most home broadband services.

TP-Link AXE5400: Price And Availability

• How much does it cost? $139.99/£119.14
• When is it available: Now
• Where can you get it: US, UK

The AXE5400 costs $139.99/£119.14, which is slightly less expensive than the TP-Link BE3600 with Wi-Fi 7, even though the tri-band Wi-Fi 6E used by the AXE5400 actually provides stronger performance with a top speed of 5.4Gbps.

It’s not currently on sale in Australia, though, where it looks like TP-Link is skipping a generation and going from an older Wi-Fi 6 model to the new BE3600 with Wi-Fi 7 instead.

• Value: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future)

TP-Link AXE5400: Design

• Big, bulky design
• Four external antennae
• Easy-to-use app

It’s safe to say that the AXE5400 is not going to quietly and unobtrusively blend into your home décor.

Its four large external antennae make it one of the biggest and bulkiest range extenders we’ve come across, and with the antennae fully extended the AXE5400 measures a full 348mm high, 106mm wide and 80mm deep (including the plug section that is inserted straight into a mains power socket).

In fact, it’s so large that it actually blocked an adjacent power socket when we set it up in our offices. There’s also a series of status indicator lights on the front panel, which are useful when setting up the AXE5400, but also mean that it may take up even more space in order to keep the front of the unit clear and visible.

The bulky design does serve a purpose though, as the large antennae help to beam the range extender’s tri-band Wi-Fi signal far and wide, and ensure that it obliterates any annoying deadspots in your home. There’s an Ethernet port on the right-hand side of the unit to provide a wired connection too – although, of course, the AXE5400 still relies on Wi-Fi to connect to your main broadband router.

• Design: 3.5/5

(Image credit: Future)

TP-Link AXE5400: Features

• Simple installation
• Helpful status indicators
• Plugs directly into mains power socket

It may not support the latest Wi-Fi 7, but the AXE5400 includes plenty of features that enable it to provide strong Wi-Fi performance, and also to help people who may not have used a range extender before.

The use of tri-band Wi-Fi 6E allows the AXE5400 to broadcast a Wi-Fi signal on three separate frequency bands. The 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands provide compatibility with older PCs and mobile devices, while the high-speed 6.0GHz band boosts the Wi-Fi performance to a healthy 5.4Gbps – which is significantly faster than dual-band range extenders that use Wi-Fi 7, such as TP-Link’s BE3600, or the Asus RP-BE58.

And, as mentioned, there’s a Gigabit Ethernet port on the AXE5400 to provide a wired connection as well. It also provides a feature called ‘adaptive path selection’ – often just called ‘roaming’ by most other manufacturers – which can monitor a laptop or mobile device as you move from room to room, and decide when to hand the Wi-Fi connection back to your main router in order to maintain the best performance.

Like most range extenders, the AXE5400 will work with routers from any manufacturer, but it also supports TP-Link’s OneMesh system, which allows it to be used as part of a wider mesh networking system if you already own a TP-Link router with OneMesh.

It’s easy to use too (although the annoying Christmas ads that seemed to pop up every now and then within the app were pretty shameless). The TP-Link Tether app can automatically detect the Wi-Fi signal from the AXE5400 and guide you through the process of connecting to the three different frequency bands.

You can use the same name and password as your main network from your broadband router, or create a new name and password just for the AXE5400. There’s even a signal test within the app to help you find the best spot to place the AXE5400 in order to deal with any deadspots in particular rooms within your home. And, for more advanced users, there’s a web browser interface that provides more detailed control over your network settings.

• Features: 4/5

(Image credit: Future)

TP-Link AXE5400: Performance

• Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E
• 5.4Gbps Wi-Fi
• 1x Gigabit Ethernet

Our offices are a good place to test range extenders, as we have one office towards the back of the building that does suffer from a very noticeable Wi-Fi deadspot – which is usually managed with the use of some PowerLine adaptors to provide a wired network connection instead.

TP-Link AXE5400 benchmarks

Ookla Speed Test – 2.4GHz (download/upload)

Within 30ft, three partition walls: 140Mbps / 140Mbps

20GB Steam Download - 2.4GHz

Within 30ft, three partition walls: 110Mbps

Ookla Speed Test – 5.0GHz (download/upload)

Within 30ft, three partition walls: 150Mbps / 150Mbps

20GB Steam Download - 5.0GHz

Within 30ft, three partition walls: 150Mbps

Ookla Speed Test - 6.0GHz (upload/download)

Within 30ft, three partition walls: 150Mbps/150Mbps

20GB Steam Download - 6.0GHz

Within 30ft, three partition walls: 150Mbps

Thankfully, though, the AXE5400 dealt with that problem in no time at all, providing a strong Wi-Fi signal on all three frequency bands as soon as I set it up in a hallway just outside that back office.

The office broadband runs at 150Mbps, and even the slower 2.4GHz band on the AXE5400 managed to hit 140Mbps with the Ookla Speed Test. Steam downloads were a little slower at 110Mbps, but that speed is still in line with the 2.4GHz performance of other range extenders that we’ve tested.

Switching to the 5.0GHz band immediately boosted performance, hitting the full 150Mbps with both the Ookla and Steam tests. And, of course, the fastest 6.0GHz band had no trouble maintaining those speeds as well.

If you only have older PCs or mobile devices that use Wi-Fi 5 or 6 on the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands then you may not need a tri-band range extender such the AXE5400.

But, if you’re able to make use of that 6.0GHz band, then the AXE5400 is a fast, reliable way of getting rid of Wi-Fi deadspots at a more competitive price than newer Wi-Fi 7 models.

• Performance: 4/5

Should You Buy The TP-Link AXE5400?

TP-Link AXE5400 Scorecard

Attributes	Notes	Score
Value	Wi-Fi 6E may be the forgotten member of the Wi-Fi family, but that means you can pick up this tri-band range extender at a very competitive price.	4.5 / 5
Design	The sheer size of the AXE5400 and its four large antenna means that it’s a bit of an eyesore, and may even block an adjacent power socket.	3.5 / 5
Features	The four antennae do earn their keep though, providing tri-band Wi-Fi for maximum compatibility with both older and newer PCs and mobile devices.	4 / 5
Performance	Tri-band Wi-Fi and a top speed of 5.4Gbps means that the AXE5400 can even outperform some of its dual-band Wi-Fi 7 rivals.	4 / 5
Final Score	Good performance, maximum compatibility, and an easy-to-use app make this a great option for anyone that needs to fix a Wi-Fi deadspot.	4 / 5

Buy it if...

You need speed
Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E with a top speed of 5.4Gbps is more than enough for streaming video and online gaming.

You have a new laptop
It may not support Wi-Fi 7, but the Wi-Fi 6E used by the AXE5400 still lets you use the speed 6.0GHz frequency band.

Don’t buy it if...

You’re on a budget
The AXE5400 is a fairly high-end range extender, and there are less expensive options available for under $100/£100.

You don't need super-speed
Many of us don’t really need Wi-Fi 6E, as we’re still using older PCs, consoles, and mobile devices that only support the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequencies.

Also Consider

If you're undecided about the TP-Link AXE5400, I've compared its specs with two other options that might be a better fit.

	TP-Link AXE5400	Asus RP-BE58	TP-Link RE700X
Price	$139.99/£119.14	$99.99/79.99/AU$150	$119.99/£56.99/AU$123.90
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	Wi-Fi 7	Wi-Fi 6
Wi-Fi Speed	5.4Gbps	3.6Gbps	3.0Gbps
Antennae	4 (external)	2 (internal)	2 (internal)
Ethernet ports	1x Gigabit Ethernet	1x Gigabit Ethernet	1x Gigabit Ethernet
Dimensions	348 x 106 x 80mm	150 x 72 x 87mm	149 x 78 x 36mm

If you do want a range extender that supports Wi-Fi 7 then the RP-BE58 from Asus is a good affordable option. It offers dual-band Wi-Fi running at 3.6Gbps, and can easily handle gaming and streaming video.

This previous-generation range extender from TP-Link is a good budget option for many people. It supports dual-band Wi-Fi 6 with a top speed of 3.0Gbps, which is fine for most domestic broadband services. Read our full review

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Asus RP-AX58: low-cost Wi-Fi 6 range extender for tackling Wi-Fi deadspots

Asus RP-AX58: One minute review

Asus RP-AX58: Specifications

Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 6
Wi-Fi Speed: 3.0Gbps
Ports: 1x Gigabit Ethernet
Antennae: 2 (internal)
Dimensions: 150 x72 x 87mm

We liked the RP-BE58 range extender from Asus, which provides dual-band Wi-Fi 7 with good performance at a competitive price. However, most people are still using older PCs and mobile devices that don’t support Wi-Fi 7 yet.

There are also many brand-new PCs and laptops now available that don’t have Wi-Fi 7 either (yes, Apple, we’re looking at you). And, of course, there’s no need to buy a range extender with Wi-Fi 7 if you’re still using an old router that only has Wi-Fi 5 or 6. In that case you might want to look at the Asus RP-AX58 range extender instead, which sticks with Wi-Fi 6 and an even more affordable price.

Admittedly, its dual-band Wi-Fi does run at a relatively modest 3.0Gbps, but that should still be more than adequate for streaming video or gaming in most homes, and the RP-AX58 will be a good, affordable option if you just need to boost your Wi-Fi into an upstairs bedroom or other area that suffers from a Wi-Fi deadspot.

Asus RP-AX58: Price And Availability

• How much does it cost? $79.99/£64.99/AU $103.62
• When is it available: Now
• Where can you get it: US, UK, Australia

Sticking with Wi-Fi 6 means that the RP-AX58 is currently available for a very competitive $79.99/£64.99/AU $103.62.

That makes it one of the most affordable range extenders we’ve seen recently, and it’s considerably cheaper than Asus’ RP-BE58 with Wi-Fi 7, as well as rivals such as TP-Link’s BE3600. It’s available in most regions and, as Wi-Fi 6 is a few years old now, you can find it discounted online quite often if you want to shop around.

• Value: 4/5

(Image credit: Future)

Asus RP-AX58: Design

• Compact, slimline design
• No cables, plugs directly into mains socket
• 2x internal antennae

The RP-AX58 looks virtually identical to its Wi-Fi 7 stablemate from Asus, with a similar slimline design that hides its two Wi-Fi antennae inside the body of the range extender.

It measures just 150mm high, 72mm wide and 87mm deep and, like most range extenders it’s designed to plug directly into a mains power socket, so its compact design ensures that you can simply plug it into any convenient socket in any room around your home or office.

There’s a Gigabit Ethernet port on the right-hand side of the range extender that can provide a wired connection as well (although the RP-AX58 will still connect to your main broadband router via Wi-Fi).

• Design: 4

(Image credit: Future)

Asus RP-AX58: Features

• Supports Asus AiMesh technology
• Compatible with most routers
• App feels a little clumsy

The Asus RP-AX58 provides dual-band Wi-Fi 6, running on the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequency bands, which ensures compatibility with most PCs, consoles, and mobile devices.

Its 3.0Gbps performance isn’t going to break any speed records, but it should be more than adequate for use with most home broadband services, and fast enough to eliminate any Wi-Fi deadspots in rooms or other areas that suffer from poor Wi-Fi. The RP-AX58 will work with broadband routers from most manufacturers, but it also supports Asus’ AiMesh technology, which allows it to act as part of a mesh Wi-Fi network in conjunction with Asus’ own routers or mesh systems.

The Asus Extender app has a few rough edges, though. As I’ve seen before, the opening screen of the app displays some jumbled text on the screen of my iPhone (although that’s not a problem on the larger screen of an iPad).

However, even when the text is clear it’s... well... still a bit unclear. The app tells you to enter the ‘default password’ for the Wi-Fi network created by the range extender, when in fact the network doesn’t initially require a password.

It’s only after connecting the RP-AX58 to your existing Wi-Fi network that the app gives you the opportunity to set a password. You can create an entirely new network name and password just for connecting to the RP-AX58, or if you want to keep things simple you can just tell the app to use the same name and password as your existing Wi-Fi network.

The low price of the RP-AX58 means that there’s not much in the way of additional features, but that’s not a problem as long as it delivers the goods when tackling your Wi-Fi deadspots.

• Features: 3/5

(Image credit: Future)

Asus RP-AX58: Performance

• Dual-band Wi-Fi 6
• 3.0Gbps speed
• 1x Gigabit Ethernet port

The use of Wi-Fi 6 and a top speed of 3.0Gbps seems almost quaint when compared to the blazing speeds of the latest Wi-Fi 7 devices. Yet few people really need multi-gig speeds for their home or office Wi-Fi, so the RP-AX58 should still provide all the speed you need for most home broadband services.

Asus RP-AX58 benchmarks

Ookla Speed Test – 2.4GHz (download/upload)

Within 30ft, three partition walls: 120Mbps / 120Mbps

20GB Steam Download - 2.4GHz

Within 30ft, three partition walls: 120Mbps

Ookla Speed Test – 5.0GHz (download/upload)

Within 30ft, three partition walls: 150Mbps / 150Mbps

20GB Steam Download - 5.0GHz

Within 30ft, three partition walls: 150Mbps

It worked well with my own Wi-Fi deadspot, located in an office towards the back of a building that my normal office router struggles to reach. I installed the RP-AX58 in a hallway just outside that office and immediately said goodbye to the dead zone – and to the PowerLine adaptors that I normally use to provide a wired connection in that room.

My office broadband runs at 150Mbps, and the slower 2.4GHz band provided by the RP-AX58 was able to provide a perfectly reliable speed of 120Mbps in the back office for Steam downloads and the Ookla Speed Test.

Admittedly, the RP-BE58 range extender from Asus ran slightly faster on that frequency band, hitting 135Mps, but the RP-BE58 is more expensive because of its up-to-date support for Wi-Fi 7, and 120Mbps will still be enough to handle web browsing and streaming video with no trouble.

And, as expected, the faster 5.0GHz band delivered the full 150Mbps available with our office broadband for both Ookla and Steam. Owners of newer devices that support Wi-Fi 7 might prefer a more up-to-date router or range extender that can deliver the higher performance of Wi-Fi 7, but if you just need to boost the Wi-Fi in one or two rooms around your home then the RP-AX58 will do the trick without breaking the bank.

• Performance: 3/5

Should You Buy The Asus RP-AX58?

Asus RP-AX58 Scorecard

Attributes	Notes	Score
Value	It’s very much an entry-level option, but the RP-AX58 is an affordable option for dealing with Wi-Fi deadspots.	4 / 5
Design	A slimline design that plugs directly into a mains power socket and doesn’t take up too much space.	4 / 5
Features	Entry-level price means entry-level features, but the RP-AX58 does the job of boosting your home Wi-Fi.	3 / 5
Performance	Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 running at 3.0Gbps is far from breath-taking, but it should still be able to handle most online tasks with ease.	3 / 5
Final Score	It’s last-gen Wi-Fi, but still a perfectly good option for those of us that haven’t upgraded to the latest Wi-Fi 7.	3.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You’ve got a deadspot
It does what it says on the tin – extending the range of your existing Wi-Fi network to reach into a room that struggles with poor Wi-Fi.

You're on a budget
It’s very much a no-frills option, but the RP-AX58 is very good value for money and suitable for use with most home broadband services.

Don’t buy it if...

You’re an early adopter
If you own a PC or any mobile devices that already have Wi-Fi 7, then you should probably spend a little extra for a more modern range extender.

You need 'whole home' Wi-Fi
Range extenders are great for reaching just one or two rooms, but larger homes with several bedrooms may need a mesh Wi-Fi system with greater range.

Also Consider

If you're undecided about the Asus RP-AX58, I've compared its specs with two other options that might be a better fit.

	Asus RP-AX58	TP-Link AXE5400	Asus RP-BE58
Price	$79.99/£64.99/AU $103.62	$139.99/£119.14	$99.99/79.99/AU$150
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6	Wi-Fi 6E	Wi-Fi 7
Wi-Fi Speed	3.0Gbps	5.4Gbps	3.6Gbps
Antennae	2 (internal)	4 (external)	2 (internal)
Ethernet ports	1x Gigabit Ethernet	1x Gigabit Ethernet	1x Gigabit Ethernet
Dimensions	150 x72 x 87mm	348 x 106 x 80mm	150 x 72 x 87mm

It’s one of the biggest range extenders we’ve ever seen, but the four antennae used by the AXE5400 provide tri-band Wi-Fi 6E running at a healthy 5.4Gbps.

The Wi-Fi 7 version of the RP-AX58 is a little more expensive, but also a little faster at 3.6Gbps. It also includes Wi-Fi 7 features such as MLO that further help to boost performance.

Read More

The Night Manager season 2 is back and better than ever after 10 years — with an incredibly sexy new villain

January 2026 is going to be the Tom Hiddleston takeover month, with the much-anticipated The Night Manager season 2 hitting BBC from January 1 and Prime Video from January 11. After 10 years, shrewd and aloof spy Johnathan Pine returns... or does he?

Technically speaking, Hiddleston assumes a myriad of identities in the new season, but for the sake of UK security, I won't be revealing what they are. When we pick up with him a decade later, he's still working with the Night Owls. But when he spots a henchman of deceased villain Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie), all hell breaks loose.

The fact there's been a ten-year wait probably plays to The Night Manager season 2's advantage, but these new episodes blow season 1 straight out of the water. They feel sharper, more self-assured yet dares to creatively play in ways that more stringent, straight-up crime dramas in the 2010s didn't dare to.

Hiddleston is just as in control too. In the time that The Night Manager has been away, he's shot to international fame in the MCU. There's something cathartic about bringing him back to his roots, able to play with an outrageous situation (being an MI6 spy) with a sense of grounding (i.e., he's not a superhero).

The drama takes to the global stage in an entirely new way this time around, and it's a refreshing change. Instead of the war zones of the 2011 Egypt revolution, we're heading to the hushed-up drug trades of Colombia. But if you think the two scenarios aren't directly linked, think again.

Tom Hiddleston breathes fresh air into a creatively liberated The Night Manager season 2

If you've ever watched a John le Carré adaptation before, you'll know that second seasons aren't really a thing. However, with Carré's approval before he died in 2020 (according to son and producer Simon Cornwell), a new creative concept has been born. Therefore, The Night Manager season 2 finds itself in an unusual sweet spot – stick to a pre-constructed foundation while taking as many dramatic liberties as it wants to.

Luckily for us, this works incredibly well. The BBC is well-known for its high-stakes, high-quality crime dramas, but in the last few years, the pedal has well and truly been put to the metal. Their output is confident, daring, inviting you to be challenged in a way that you didn't think you would be. When it comes to Jonathan Pine's ever-shifting identity, the challenge remains heightened at all times.

I don't need to spell out the fact the Hiddleston is bloody good as his job, and no matter how difficult or complex the action gets, we're being steered along with safe hands (even if Pine himself isn't making the smartest decisions). He's joined by a smorgasbord of new faces in season 2, with the irresistibly sexy Diego Calva playing opposite as calculated and cool-headed antagonist Teddy dos Santos.

Plop a romantic entanglement between the pair – in the form of smart yet seductive Roxana, played by Camila Morrone – and things only get spicier by the second. I can't quite believe that the BBC has essentially recreated the viral Challengers scene at a pool party in Medellín (you can see a sneak preview in the above trailer), but hey, everyone's throwing caution to the wind these days... and it's hot.

For all the flourish, the basics haven't been lost

See? Challengers, eat your heart out. (Image credit: BBC)

We don't get much in the way of frivolous fun when it comes to The Night Manager – you'll need to tune into Death in Paradise or Black Ops in iPlayer for that. But playing it straight is exactly what's needed, and in a way plays against the genre stereotype all the best streaming services have come to cultivate. For Pine, his business never rests.

Frankly, that's great news. Sure, he might risk his life in the name of fictional entertainment every two seconds, but the payoff is colossal. Not only is Olivia Colman back for more scenes in season 2 (and not just in a half-hearted cameo way, either), but the MI6 is now under the control of Indira Varma's head of operations. She's a slippery one, so watch out for her... that's all I'll say for now.

It's Hayley Squires I want to give the biggest kudos to, though. Ever since her breakout performance in I, Daniel Blake, she's somehow fallen off the radar when it comes to exceptional British acting talent. If Pine is the show-stopper, Squires' character Sally is a true glue that holds the operation together. Without her, nothing would be effectively achieved, and I think that's just as true of The Night Manager season 2 itself.

Basically, we're kicking 2026 off in the most alluring, intricate, and devilishly thrilling way possible. Good things come to those who wait, and we're certainly being rewarded.

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The Hisense L9Q projector beams a bright, refined-looking picture and has incredible built-in sound

Hisense L9Q: two-minute review

The Hisense L9Q represents the pinnacle of what Hisense can do for home theater projection. It’s a sizzlingly bright 4K ultra short throw (UST) projector that boasts the wide color gamut of triple-laser projectors alongside the accurate color of Pantone Validated hardware.

The Hisense L9Q is a capable streamer on its own thanks to integrated Google TV, and it has fast-enough hardware to run the operating system smoothly. It can also serve as a hub for various video sources with its multiple HDMI ports and an ATSC 3.0 tuner input – a rare feature on the best projectors. And though it doesn’t include a screen like some earlier Hisense L9 models, this version has a variable focus to let it adapt to different setups.

Where most other projectors settle for two or maybe four speakers, the L9Q packs in a whopping ten Devialet-designed speakers in a 6.2.2 configuration for the most impressive sound I’ve heard from a projector. It may not beat actual surround sound speaker systems, but it’s enough to put even the best soundbars to shame.

The L9Q is even a solid gaming projector with its ability to display 4K 60Hz gameplay with low input lag or switch over to 1080p 240Hz for extra smooth visuals and responsive gaming.

It’s a serious package, but it comes with a seriously high-end price at $5,999 / £3,999. That may seem steep, but considering how quickly the prices of TVs ramp up when you go past 75 inches, the math starts to work in Hisense’s favor. The L9Q can put out a 150-inch picture just as easily as it can do 100 inches, and has flexible setup features to get up and running.

For most people who don’t need the added brightness and already have a good sound system, the $3,499 / £2,499 Hisense PX3-Pro will be a more reasonable option. But if you demand the best, the L9Q delivers.

Hisense L9Q Review: price and release date

• First available: September 2025
• MSRP: $5,999 / £3,999 / AU$9,999 (includes 120-inch screen)
  

The Hisense L9Q is available for $5,999 / £3,999. In Australia, the projector comes bundled with a 120-inch screen and sells for AU$9,999. Given that it launched towards the end of 2025, the L9Q is unlikely to see any major discounts until sometime in late 2026.

The Hisense L9Q comes with a full-size remote control and uses the Google TV platform for streaming (Image credit: Future)

Hisense L9Q Review: Specs

Screen sizes supported:	80-200 inches
Brightness (specified):	5,000 Lumens
HDR support:	Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG
Optical technology:	3-laser DLP
Smart TV:	Google TV
Connections:	2x HDMI 2.1, 2x HDMI 2.0 (1x eARC), optical audio out, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB-C 3.0 (data only), Ethernet, RF antenna
Dimensions:	24.6 x 12.5 x 6.5 inches (623 x 31.7 x 165cm)
Weight:	28.4 pounds (12.8 kg)

TheL9Q has four HDMI ports (1 with eARC and two HDMI 2.1) and supports gaming at 1080p/240Hz (Image credit: Future)

Hisense L9Q Review: design and features

• Stunning design
• Projector, sound system, and streamer all in one
• Plentiful connection options

Hisense here has created what I think is its best-looking UST projector yet. The L9Q borrows some of the ideas from the retro-futuristic PX line to deliver a bronze-kissed work of art. Most of the frame of the L9Q is a little boxy, keeping it simple with clean lines, but the front has small channels with power indicator lights and the top bears a curved sort of wave meant to evoke Roman amphitheaters. That’s not just for style either, as the top integrates several speakers. The front is emblazoned with concentric rings and a grille on the front hides even more speakers. Around the side, there are two discs housing yet another pair of speakers.

While the design is very appealing, it’s also functional. The projector sits on four height-adjustable feet to help you level the projector and get a perfectly square image. Where its Hisense L9G predecessor was designed with specific screen sizes in mind (and included those screens), the L9Q is more flexible, offering adjustable keystone and focus to let you adapt it to your needs. The flip side is that the L9Q does not include any screen, which was an addition worth easily $1,000 on earlier models. Whatever screen you do set it up with, the projector can automatically fit the picture to it, though it's a software solution and will reduce the actual image resolution.

Another set of sensors at the top of the projector helps protect your eyes. When these detect someone is close to the projection, they'll dim the display, and after 5 seconds, turn it off entirely. That's good to have since this projector uses bright lasers, and in my testing, the sensors have been fairly responsive.

Another update with the L9Q is that the throw ratio has been reduced to 0.18:1. This lets you get a big image while getting the projector closer to the wall.

Around back, the L9Q has a good selection of connections. You get four HDMI ports, two of which meet the version 2.1 spec. A separate HDMI offers eARC, so you don't have to use up an HDMI 2.1 port for audio output. There's also an optical digital audio output, an Ethernet input, and an RF input for the L9Q’s ATSC 3.0 receiver. The projector even supports a PVR recording system for broadcast TV using an attached storage device. Three USB ports round out the options, with two offering USB 3.0 speeds, and one of those using a Type-C connection.

Even if you don't connect the projector to an external source, you can stream content on the built-in Google TV operating system. While many projectors include built-in operating systems like this, the L9Q actually has the hardware to run it smoothly. In my time testing, the system remained responsive even as I launched and navigated apps, and I could reliably control the projector at all times. The Wi-Fi 6E connection used by the streaming platform is also robust.

Hisense’s included remote is almost the same as what came with the PX3-Pro. It's a long silver handset made out of plastic with the typical Google TV navigation ring. At the top, it features a handful of shortcuts to streaming apps, including one customizable shortcut. There's also a dedicated input select button, which is always handy to have.

One difference between the remotes is that instead of having a control for brightness, the L9Q remote has a channel select button. This and the volume controls are on tall, pill-shaped buttons that are easy to feel out. One great feature of the remote is that it reacts to movement and will light up many of the controls if you simply move it. This is very helpful in the typically dark home theater environment.

• Design and features score: 5/5

Powered by 5,000 lumens, the Hisense L9Q's picture stands out even in bright lighting conditions (Image credit: Future)

Hisense L9Q Review: performance

• Wonderfully bright picture with rich color
• Support for 1080p/240Hz gaming
• Potent 10-speaker Dolby Atmos sound

The Hisense L9Q brings UST projector picture quality to new heights. Hisense already impressed me with earlier models such as the L9G and PX3-Pro, but the L9Q carries the torch even further. It’s their brightest projector yet while still providing the stunning color of Hisense’s RGB laser light engine.

Ultimately, its specified 5,000 lumen brightness may be overstated, as maximum brightness comes via a high-brightness mode that results in some horrible color shift. But even without that, the projector beams a brilliant picture. The vivid colors it is capable of don’t mean a sacrifice in accuracy either, as the L9Q is both Pantone Validated and Pantone SkinTone certified.

All of that is delivered with strong contrast. The black levels aren’t so low that letterbox bars disappear completely, especially in darker movie scenes, but when the projector is beaming bright, the bars become hard to see thanks to the projector’s contrast.

The L9Q’s black levels and contrast aren’t quite on the level of the Sony Bravia Projector 7, but it gets closer than most projectors I’ve seen, and it manages it with more vivid color and higher brightness. Not to mention that the L9Q is almost half the price of Sony’s projector.

With most picture presets, you’ll be facing some unfortunate motion smoothing, though, since the projector’s SDR and HDR picture profiles default to using motion smoothing. This has its benefits for some content by smoothing out camera pans and moving objects, but it adds a soap opera effect to movies. The “Film” setting avoids these unsightly artifacts while still keeping judder subdued, however.

The L9Q delivers good focus from corner to corner with manual setup, making the most of its 4K resolution. And the amount of detail you can see with the picture stretching up to 100 inches or larger is exceptional.

Gamers can get plenty from the L9Q as well. Even when it’s beaming a 4K 60Hz picture, it’s able to keep the input latency low enough to make for a fairly responsive experience. Like the Hisense PX3-Pro, the L9Q can drop down to 1080p and crank its refresh rate to 240Hz for super smooth gaming (just make sure to set the HDMI input source to Enhanced Pro or it will top out at 120Hz). I took it for a few runs in Hades, and it was stunningly smooth with virtually no detectable lag.

Though the L9Q did a good job of hiding the rainbow effect most of the time, it is susceptible to it like many other DLP projectors. I didn’t notice it much when watching 4K content, where it only occasionally cropped up and was most visible on white areas of the image. It was also more noticeable while running the projector at 1080p/240Hz.

The projector’s very robust speaker system was an extra pleasant surprise. It uses a total of 10 speakers in a 6.2.2-channel configuration. Four of those speakers are in the front, two on the sides, with four more positioned along the curved top. It’s not as engrossing as a proper surround system or as booming as a double-sub setup (nor is it hitting deep sub-bass), but the sound is weighty, loud, and presents a surprisingly wide soundstage for such a small unit.

With Dolby Atmos audio piping out of the speakers during Star Wars: The Force Awakens, blaster shots seemed to come out from different points in space, there was some height to the TIE fighters flying over, and explosions were properly booming. Ultimately, it’s worth pairing a projector of this quality with an external sound system, but if you don’t, there’s a lot to get from the built-in speakers.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

The L9Q has a very appealing, yet functional design (Image credit: Future)

Hisense L9Q Review: value

• High price
• Extra value as an all-in-one system
• No projector screen included in US and UK

The Hisense L9Q is a serious piece of kit, and it has the price to match. At $5,999 / £3,999, you have to expect a lot from this home theater projector, and for the most part, it delivers. Its picture is bright and color-rich, it has powerful built-in sound, and it has Google TV for streaming. But for most people, the $3,499 Hisense PX3-Pro is going to be the more sensible option, since it offers much the same experience but without quite the same brightness, audio power, or extensive connectivity options.

It's kind of a shame that the L9Q doesn't come bundled with a projector screen in the US and the UK, but its flexible lens control means you can pair it with whatever screen you want for the most part. Hisense had offered pre-order customers the option of either a free screen or its HT-Saturn sound wireless speaker system, both of which would have made this an astounding value, but that deal appears to have since expired.

• Value score: 4/5

French speaker and amplifier manufacturer Devialet designed the L9Q's built-in audio system (Image credit: Future)

Hisense L9Q

	Notes	Rating
Design and features	The Hisense L9Q is gorgeously designed and feature-packed. It has the most robust sound system I’ve heard built into a projector, it offers bright and flexible projection, and it has Google TV and plenty of ports for other video sources.	5/5
Performance	The L9Q’s picture is gorgeous. This projector beams bright, has a wide color gamut, strong contrast, and great clarity. It works well for movies and games alike. And that picture is paired with impressive speakers. Even the operating system runs smoothly, which is not always the case with projectors running Google TV.	5/5
Value	The Hisense L9Q packs a lot into one package. Its price isn’t surprising for even just its projection, but the speaker system makes it even more reasonable. It’s just too bad Hisense isn’t throwing in a screen as well.	4.5/5

Should I buy the Hisense L9Q?

(Image credit: Future)

Buy it if...

You want the ultimate UST projector

The Hisense L9Q beams bright pictures and has powerful audio. It plays twitchy video games just as well as it can play cinema masterpieces. And it’s got all the ports you need plus Google TV built-in.

You want powerful built-in audio

The L9Q's speaker system is far more robust than what you’d get from its competition. If you’re looking for a projector that can stand on its own without needing to be connected to an external sound system, this is your best bet.

You need a projector for brighter rooms

Almost no projector is going to look great in a bright room, but there’s a big difference between a 1,000-lumen and a 5,000-lumen projector where viewability is concerned. The L9Q’s high brightness is a big advantage it has over the competition.

Don’t buy it if… 

You plan to always watch in the dark

A huge part of the package here is the brightness. If you’re always going to be watching in a dark home theater, the L9Q’s 5,000-lumen brightness is likely going to be over the top. Better to instead buy the PX3-Pro and apply those savings to a quality screen and sound system.

You want a sub-100-inch picture.

The L9Q can support a smaller picture, but it’s almost unfeasible to get one. With a 5.4-inch gap between the projector and your wall, you’ll get a 100-inch picture. At 2.2 inches, the picture size will be 80 inches.

You won’t use a screen and have imperfect walls

As great as the L9Q itself is, its picture is dependent on other factors. It will look best with a screen, though it can still look great on a bare wall. But due to the extreme angle of UST projection, any imperfections in your wall — warping, pits, texture — will have an easier time showing up in the picture.

Also consider...

Comparison: 4K UST projectors

	Hisense L9Q	Epson LS800	Xgimi Aura 2	Hisense PX3-Pro
Price:	$5,999	$3,499	$3,499	$3,499
Screen sizes supported:	80 to 200 inches	Up to 150 inches	80-150 inches	80 to 150 inches
Brightness (specified):	5,000 lumens	4,000 lumens	2,300 lumens	3,000 lumens
HDR support	HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision	HDR10, HLG	HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision	HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision
Optical technology:	3 Laser DLP	3LCD, Laser	Dual Light 2.0 (Laser + LED)	3 laser DLP
Smart TV:	Google TV	Android TV	Android TV	Google TV
Connections:	2x HDMI 2.1, 2x HDMI 2.0 (1 with eARC), 1x optical, 1x coaxial, 1x optical	3x HDMI 2.0 (1 with ARC)	2x HDMI, 1x HDMI eARC, optical digital audio out, 3.5mm audio out, 3x USB-A, Ethernet	2x HDMI 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.0 (with eARC), 1x RF, optical

Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS800

While it’s no match for the color or audio provided by the L9Q, Epson’s EpiqVision Ultra LS800 can get close to its brightness, offering a picture that works well in brighter rooms. Its use of 3LCD technology also avoids rainbow artifacts, and the projector is a good deal cheaper.

Read our full Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS800 review

Xgimi Aura 2

The Xgimi Aura 2 is a competent alternative with a quality picture that also benefits from a wide color gamut. It has an elegant design and a similar throw ratio to the Hisense. It’s not nearly as bright and doesn’t have the same gaming capabilities, but if you’re looking for a sleek UST home theater projector, it is a strong option.

Read our full Xgimi Aura 2 review

Hisense PX3-Pro

If you’re not sure you need the L9Q's high brightness or powerful built-in speakers, then the PX3-Pro is the way to go. It uses similar underlying technology to give you a gorgeous, colorful picture and has the same 240Hz gaming prowess. It’s also a bit smaller. More importantly, it’s substantially cheaper, giving you extra room in your budget for a sound system and quality screen.

Read our full Hisense PX3-Pro review

How I tested the Hisense L9Q

• Tested at home in multiple, real-world viewing conditions
• Presented the display with a variety of media and formats
• I have tested numerous projectors and displays over the last half-decade

I tested the Hisense L9Q at home, in real-world conditions. This saw it faced with ambient light coming in from numerous windows, in-room lighting, as well as ambient noise that both the projector and speaker systems had to overcome. The projector was tested both against a bare, white wall and an Akia Screens CineWhite screen. It was presented with streamed content, HDR and non-HDR, and PC gameplay.

My testing evaluates the projector’s performance with respect to its price and competition from other models that my colleagues and I at TechRadar have tested.

I have been testing projectors since 2021 and displays for even longer.

First reviewed: December 2025

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