T3 June 2022

Unlocking the highest quality audio from your hi-fi usually means paying a serious markup. Accessing features like proper shielding for your connections can increase the cost from reasonable to exorbitant. Fortunately, with its latest turntable, Pro-Ject is bucking this trend, bringing balanced cable connections at a much more reasonable price. Pair the X8 with a compatible phono stage and it enables you to use five-pin XLR cables to carry your tunes, which double up and invert the signal to cancel out any noise or interference that would otherwise be picked up. Coupled with the X8’s one-piece, tapered carbon fibre tonearm and the award-winning Ortofon Quintet Blue moving coil cartridge, this should be the cleanest- and most dynamic-sounding turntable you can buy in this price bracket. £2,099, project-audio.com…

Like Melinda Gates and Hillary Clinton, I feel like way too much of my time is spent taking care of bills. Thanks to my tech addiction and the UK’s adversarial relationship with insulation, I currently seem to use more energy than the Democratic People’s Republic of Bitcoin. And given interest rates are spiking as fast as my blood pressure, I’ve been wondering if there’s a way we can all live a bit more economically. According to the finest financial advice I can google, there are two ways to achieve this. The most obvious is to start being more modest in what we spend. Rather than buying top-of-the-range tech, it’s worth considering what the more affordable end of the spectrum has to offer. As you can see from this issue, there’s a…

Our mission is to bring you the clearest recommendations we can – and that means a great deal of hard work happens before a product even reaches our pages! Because we only feature products the T3 team would happily use ourselves, we end up discarding a significant number of options in each category before settling on a final shortlist to review. We select only the best of the best for our Tested section; the gear we know you’ll want to seriously consider purchasing. And that should mean an end to you having to undertake hours of painstaking research and product comparisons. You won’t see any duff products, but you will come away with clarity on which one is the best in its category or for a specific task: our awards badges (see…

This is given to winners of our group tests, so you can see which is the best at a glance Only the best products – those that score five stars – receive our Platinum Award T3 (ISSN 1364-2642) is published monthly with an extra issue in September by Future Publishing, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA, UK The US annual subscription price is $194.87 Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named World Container Inc., c/o BBT 150-15 183rd St, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Prices is Pending at Brooklyn NY 11256. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to T3, World Container Inc., c/o BBT 150-15 183rd St, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA Subscription records are maintained at Future Publishing, c/o Air Business Subscriptions, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards…

1 VANMOOF S5 ● £2,298, vanmoof.com The unique frame design and serious technological advancements of the VanMoof S3 made it, in some people’s eyes, the best ebike ever made; far be it for us to make an assessment before we’ve even put bum to saddle, but its sequel might just help the Dutch maker hold on to that crown. This is a company not content with simply producing: it is addicted to reinvention. Admittedly VanMoof hangs onto the basic frame design of the S3 (mostly, at least – see ‘Stepping through’) but remasters it, raising the ride position and making the wheels slightly smaller while retaining the integrated lights. This is a structure that’s solid, strong, discrete and manages to turn subtlety into something stunning. Things do, though, get mixed up in the…

LINEN SHORTS Style and comfort combine in perfect harmony in these Oliver Spencer navy and beige checked shorts. Made from 100% finest-quality linen, they come with a hidden drawstring to allow for potential waist expansion after a slap-up lunch. £130, matchesfashion.com GOLF SHORTS Designed to keep you cool as you tread the golf course, these are not just for those who like to drive it long but for anyone who is looking for comfort too. Breathable fabric with a water-resistant coating also makes them practical for changeable weather. £45, adidas.co.uk 3-STRIPES SHORTS Sportswear company Adidas has combined its classic three stripes with a playful botanical-inspired design that celebrates the colours of nature for these new-for-SS22 shorts. Made from 100% organic, French terry cotton means they’re peachy-soft on the skin too. £33, adidas.co.uk COTTON-TWILL SHORTS The preppy trend is a big…