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Pimp your TV: Goggle box gadgets and gizmos

Blinged up audio a must

Of course, thanks to the poor quality of a lot of UK housing - especially modern flats - you might have the opposite problem - too much sound. Whether you live in a building with walls so thin you can hear the neighbours breathe, or simply want to watch a film late at night without disturbing flatmates, headphones can be the answer.

You could just plug any old headphones - and probably an extension lead - into your TV - and lie back on the sofa in a tangle of wires.

Or, you could save up £229 and treat yourself to Sennheiser's wireless RS–175 headphone set, which is designed specifically for the TV. The signal is good enough that you can wander into another room without being cut off.

Sennheiser RS 175

Sennheiser's wireless headphones include a surround mode and SPDIF input

The cans are comfortable too, so you can wear them for a whole evening's viewing without problem, and they charge up on the base station. The back of the base has two inputs - SPDIF if you want to use the optical output from your TV, and a 3.5mm stereo connector too.

As well as volume up and down on the headphones, there's a bass boost button which gives some extra oomph to music, and a pseudo-surround mode with two levels. It really just widens out the stereo image, and certainly seems to make dramas sound much more natural.

Although it won't solve all your audio problems, another gadget worth an honourable mention here is the Roku 3, which has a headphone socket in the remote control, as does the forthcoming Roku 4. That's something we'd love to see on more gadgets, as it means an end to long trailing cables, and it's certainly a lot cheaper than buying wireless headphones.

The new Roku 4, like the older Roku 3, has a headphone jack in the remote control

Being built into the remote, it's only any good for things you're watching through the Roku, but again it could be a boon if you're the sort who likes an action film when everyone else has gone off to bed.

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