One of the most interesting things about tech teardowns is the voyeuristic joy of seeing how something so sleek and familiar on the outside is actually put together. After all, it can be tricky fitting all the myriad component parts of wireless noise-cancelling rechargeable earphoness the size of grapes into a wireless-charging, battery-toting case the size of a plum. Just ask Apple. 

Nothing even compounded this problem when it made its new Ear 1 earphoness transparent, adding the complication of not only having to squeeze all the tech in, but then make these innards attractive to look at because they were on display.

It's this desire to see exactly how some of our favourite gear designs are under the skin that prompted WIRED to X-ray a whole bunch of disparate devices, with the expert help of specialist photographer Nick Veasey. 

As electromagnetic waves of high energy and very short wavelength pass through, say, an iconic Technics turntable, the various switches, circuits, drive units and so on absorb some of the energy they carry. This means that the X-rays that pass through a gadget have less energy than those that didn't hit anything at all. It's the detection of this disparity in energy that allows an image to be formed, allowing us to see inside without tearing the tech apart. 

The resulting images are not only revealing, showing why, for example, your new Echo smart speaker sounds so much better, but ethereally beautiful. See for yourself.

A phenomenal piece of electrical engineering with barely a micrometre of space wasted, AirPod Pros (pictured, above) remain the most comfortable true wireless designs we’ve ever worn. They’re also not far off the best sounding either, thanks to the adaptive EQ that automatically tunes the low- and mid-frequencies to the shape of your ear. The output is powered by a high-dynamic-range amplifier and high-excursion, low-distortion speaker driver, while also offering up decent ANC that adapts the sound signal 200 times per second and a button cell battery that can last a total of 24 hours.

£189 | Amazon | John Lewis | Apple

An inescapable presence in millions of homes, with its deliberately “don’t look at me” design, the latest Alexa is an aesthetic improvement over its predecessors, not least because it has a Zigbee smart hub built-in, greatly enhancing its home control compatibility and capabilities. The brains of the operation is a MediaTek 2GHz dual-core ARM CPU with Amazon AZ1 Neural Edge processor, which is getting better at not irritating us with daft answers. But the real champion here is the audio quality, which sounds richer and fuller than it should, in no small part because the 7.6cm woofer and two 2cm tweeters are mounted to a rigid recycled die-cast aluminium frame that minimises distortion and vibrations.

£90 | Amazon | John Lewis | Argos

Purists might baulk at Fender’s less-than-authentic audacity, but thanks to some elegantly hidden but genuinely innovative audio technology, its Acoustasonic collection genuinely sounds like a host of classic full-bodied acoustic guitars, as well as a Fender electric. It’s a win-win for a gigging musician who can choose from ten built-in guitar “voices” and three electric sounds. And, remarkably for an electro-acoustic, the Fishman-designed Acoustic Engine enables you to stomp on some pedals and play heavy distortion without feedback. The full mahogany hollow body features Fender’s “Stringed Instrument Resonance System” (SIRS) and transverse bracing that allows for the sort of sound resonance without amplification that shouldn't be possible on such a slim-bodied guitar. What does this mean? You can practice un-amped and hear your strumming just fine.

£1,779 | Fender

As significant to DJ culture as the Les Paul is to rock, Technics’ 7th generation SL-1200 turntable looks virtually unchanged since it was launched 40 years ago, but it does hide a few welcome upgrades. The aluminium die-cast chassis has a two-layer construction featuring a mix of ABS and glass fibre – boosting rigidity and damping vibration – while a completely re-engineered direct-drive motor has ditched the traditional iron core. This, apparently, has eliminated the root cause of “cogging” – stuttering during slow rotations, a major complaint about direct-drive decks. Technics has also included starting-torque and brake-speed adjustments, and, using its newfound ability to play in reverse, Boomers among us can finally hear the hidden message on The Beatles’ “Revolution #9”. It’s shown here with the stereo DJ cartridge Audio-Technica AT-XP7 (£149 audiotechnica.com), which has an extended stylus tip for instant positioning.

£800 | Technics

Finally, a pair of audio glasses that elicit the right sort of reaction. We’re impressed by the tech inside Bose and Huawei’s Gentle Monsters, but the bulbous arms still have a touch of the Google Glass about them. Aether Eyewear’s collection are stylish frames, rather than unhinged hybrids, and weigh less than 40g. Crucially, they’re available as sunglasses or clear prescription lenses, because you don’t only listen to music when the Sun shines. The front section is made from quality hand-finished Italian acetate with fast-charging built into the temple ends, while the slim plastic arms cram in custom-made miniature speakers with a uniquely designed sound chamber which focuses the sound waves directionally towards your ears. A couple of mics and 5.1 aptX Bluetooth thrown in will keep you listening for up to three hours. 

€260 | Aether-Eyewear

Bose were first to the party with their augmented audio eyewear (pictured, above), and our reviewer at the time was impressed by the fact they “didn’t sound terrible”. In fact, they sound great, with an immersive, musicality that remains lacking in the competition. Looking at the x-ray it’s not hard to see why, with two hefty drivers dominating the arms just in front of the ears. It’s these bulbous arms that make them excellent as an audio device, but leaves them floundering in the fashion stakes. But if crisp audio and solid UV protection are your primary reason for buying, you may well forgive the frames and just enjoy the performance. Battery life is 3.5 hours, and there’s a physical button for onboard control. And even though Bose has called time on its audio AR project for these glasses, using the built-in multiple motion sensors to link with your phones's GPS and synch with augmented reality apps, we're hoping they might resurrect this feature. 

£139 | Amazon | John Lewis | Bose

While some regions get a choice of Huawei spectacles and sunglasses, in the UK we are currently limited to two pairs of bold, Wayfarer-style glasses with angular extended arms designed to hide the tech (pictured, above). And Huawei hasn’t scrimped here with a pair of large – when you consider the available space – 128mm² diaphragms boasting something they call the Inverse Acoustic System, which essentially aims to stop sound leakage without degrading quality. They have Bluetooth 5.2 and a whole bunch of touch sensors – swipe to skip, pinch to pair and double-tap to engage voice control. And while for some unknown reason the case needs to be plugged in to charge, they have been smart enough to include a “find my glasses” feature through the app.  

£310 | Huawei

• 🌎 Sign-up to WIRED’s climate briefing: Get Chasing Zero
• These are the 100 hottest startups in Europe right now
• The slow collapse of Amazon’s drone delivery dream
• Forget Impossible, the fungi renaissance is here
• This match will change FIFA forever
• The race to save the Underground from flooding
• Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse already sucks
• 🔊 Subscribe to the WIRED Podcast. New episodes every Friday

This article was originally published by WIRED UK