Sennheiser PXC 310 BT headphones

£250, sennheiser.co.uk

What are they? Travel headphones that provide wireless playback over Bluetooth when used with a suitable mobile phone. They also deliver Sennheiser’s noise-cancelling technology, which cuts down, say, engine drone on a flight. Most Bluetooth headphones sound fairly shonky because the music is heavily compressed to make them work wirelessly. These fold-up Sennheisers are the first headphones to feature a technology called APT-X (pronounced app-ticks). If you also buy the iPod dongle, which costs £59, APT-X seriously upgrades the wireless sound quality when used with, say, an iPhone. There is also a USB dongle for computers but it is not yet available in the UK. All three models in this new Sennheiser range, which starts at £159, include the APT-X feature, and come with a cable for when the battery runs flat. Sennheiser says you get 20 hours of playback per charge and they can be juiced up from a USB socket or the mains.

Should I buy some? Sennheiser has a pedigree for its noise-cancelling travel cans, and the wire-free Bluetooth versatility makes these a tempting proposition. The inclusion of APT-X adds even more allure for audio buffs. One slight snag is that even though music playback can normally be controlled from the headphones, this feature doesn’t work on an iPhone or iPod Touch yet, due an Apple software glitch. Available from next week.

Sonos ZonePlayer S5

£349 www.sonos.com

What is it? If you want to unleash Lady Gaga in your kitchen or send Bruce Springsteen to your den, but you don’t have the foggiest idea how to set up a wi-fi music receiver, a Sonos system can ease the pain. Unlike other Sonos products, which must be connected to external audio equipment, each S5 receiver contains five built-in speakers. You simply attach a Sonos ZoneBridge adaptor (sold separately for £79) to your broadband wi-fi router and plonk an S5 in the room where you want music. Within seconds, you can play tunes stored on a nearby computer or listen to internet radio. You then control playback using an iPhone or iPod Touch — Sonos provides a free app for this — or with a dedicated Sonos controller, which costs an extra £279.

Should I buy one? This is an elegant route into multi-room wireless audio (you can add up to 32 Sonos receivers) and it’s ideal for large houses. The advantage over an iPod dock is that this Sonos doesn’t confine your iPhone or iPod Touch to a cradle, as it can stay in your pocket. The S5, which is available from November 10, is solid value, though not exactly cheap, but unlike other wi-fi streaming devices it cannot handle video.

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