Matt McCracken

Matt McCracken

Matt is a Junior Deals Writer here at Louder. He regularly tests and reviews music gear with a focus on headphones, speakers, earplugs, and anything audio-related. He's responsible for over 60 buying guides and a large part of his job is helping music lovers find the best deals on gear. Matt worked in music retail for 5 years at Dawsons Music and Northwest Guitars, and has written for many music sites including Guitar World, MusicRadar, Guitar Player, Guitar.com, Ultimate Guitar, and Thomann’s t.blog.  

A regularly gigging guitarist with over 20 years of experience playing live, he's played all over the UK in more dingy venues than you can shake a drop-tuned guitar at. When he's not holed up in his home studio or curating playlists on Spotify, you’ll find him making a racket with Northern noise hounds JACKALS. 

Latest articles by Matt McCracken

A photograph of the Marshall Acton III on a wooden shelf alongside a number of vinyl records, ornaments and a slim, white candle.

Best Marshall speakers 2025: Powerful party and pocket speakers from the guitar-amp giant

By Steve May last updated

A comprehensive look at the best speakers from iconic amp merchants Marshall – covering portable powerhouses and huge home hi-fi boxes

Speakers & Amps
A woman lying on a sofa listening to a red vinyl record playing on the Audio-Technica Sound Burger AT-SB727. The picture also features a clock, posters, vinyl covers on the floor and vinyl records used as decorations on the wall.

Best portable record players 2025

By Paul Dimery last updated

Portable record players are great space-saving turntables for the newer vinyl lover, as well as for those tight on space; read on to discover the best of the bunch

Record Players & Turntables
The white Pro-Ject E1 record player on a table with the vinyl of the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack on the plinth. A man's arm is positioning the needle on the first track

Best record players for beginners 2025: spin your first discs with these great-value turntables

By Chris Corfield, James Grimshaw last updated

New to needles and grooves? Here’s my pick of the best beginner turntables, from Audio-Technica, Pro-Ject and more

Record Players & Turntables
A man places an earplug into his ear

Can wearing earplugs damage my ears?

By Matt McCracken published

We explore whether there's any truth in that question and share some useful tips to help eliminate the risks

Earbuds & Airpods