In the run-up to our annual Awards (it’s our next issue, out on 15th November!), we at What Hi-Fi? always have a glut of excellent products put forward by manufacturers for consideration. It is, to put it mildly, a taxing time for our team – but it does certainly focus our collective reviewing mind!
One of the most competitive categories this year is large-screen TVs. Both enormous and enormously expensive, the 65in TV has become increasingly popular – particularly with the advent of 4K broadcasts and OLED technology. Premium sets, though, are still eye-wateringly pricey. In this month's What Hi-Fi?, we look at the sweet spot of the market, where top technology meets value for money, with our 65in OLED TV round-up.
We have also taken a fresh look at music-streaming services now that many of them have updated their offerings and hi-res streaming is becoming commonplace. And we also round up noise-cancelling earbuds from £100-£250, where there is some simply astonishing technology available.
Superstar OLED TVs
Recent technological advances in TV-land mean you can now own a great-looking, fully featured 65in OLED without having to remortgage your house. The secret? Step down from the top level and focus on the second-tier models. Rather than signalling compromise (as it often can in other AV markets), with big-screen tellies it’s more like ending up with the best of both worlds.
These days, cutting-edge OLED televisions either feature Micro Lens Array (MLA) or QD-OLED technology. But, as great as both of those are, standard OLED technology is now so good that most buyers will be more than happy with its picture quality (including brightness levels) – particularly if it keeps prices affordable.
All of the the 'traditional' OLEDs featured in our round-up this month are five-star, 2024 models. So, if you are looking to keep the cost of your new big-screen TV under the £2000 mark, check out out recommendations of OLED TVs in this month's What Hi-Fi?
Step up for some great in-ears
Remember the bad old days of on-the-go music listening, when you used to fumble around in your bag or pocket for your in-ear headphones before pulling out a knot of electrical spaghetti and spending what seemed like an age untangling it? Then, once the buds were in, you would invariably reach into your pocket for something else, accidentally snag the wire and yank the buds from your lugholes. Priceless.
Then one day, the hi-fi gods granted us the miracle of the wireless earbud. In the years since their arrival, we've increasingly seen the addition of effective noise-cancelling technology and improvements in comfort and fit to most pairs worth their salt. Recent months have seen particularly pacey progress – in terms of sound quality, operation and customisation – and the market is now awash with a proliferation of differing designs.
There are plenty of (often very capable) cheap-and-cheerful wireless earbuds out there, but things start to look really interesting when you take a modest step up from the budget market. That’s why, in this issue, we have decided to round-up our favourite products costing between £100 and £250 – a real sweet spot for sound quality and value.
Whether it’s sound quality, noise-cancelling or battery life that you prioritise (or all three…), one of the seven models featured this issue should be right up your street – a street you can now walk down in tangle-free contentment, with your in-ear headphones securely and comfortably in place.
Our pick of the best streaming services
There was a time when the likes of Spotify (which, back when, didn’t have much, if any, competition) was something that fans of hi-fi and high quality music would have prized more for convenience than sound quality.
The relatively lower-res streams, typically 256kbps or 320kbps, AAC, MP3 or Ogg Vorbis, wouldn’t pass muster in our hi-fi listening rooms when compared with CDs in particular. But, recommendations and clever algorithms held the day, and convinced an entire generation to ditch even their MP3s, which had already trounced CDs for convenience and personal playlisting.
These days, of course, everyone streams. But the good news for fans of quality music replay is that much higher quality files can now be passed in far less ‘lossy’ fashion over Bluetooth. With high-res on offer from so many services, and with catalogue numbers now pretty similar in size, it can be hard to decide which streaming service to throw your lot in with.
But that, as always, is where we come in. In December's What Hi-Fi? we present a round-up of five of the main music streaming rivals vying for your attention and, of course, cash.
We’ve used all these services extensively, and dug deep into the quality of music offering, the intelligence of the curation and all the other features that we think you, as discerning music listeners, will be looking for from a music streaming service.
Even we're always learning...
The past few months have been a real treat for the What Hi-Fi? team as a raft of pricey but brilliant record decks have made their way into our test rooms. Our technical editor, Ketan Bharadia, has spent the most time in the company of these interesting and rather exotic record players – the total cost of which is in excess of £250,000. But what we learned through listening and comparing, paying particular attention to the different engineering approaches, is priceless. Find out more in December's What Hi-Fi?
First with reviews
Once more, our First Tests section is filled to the brim with in-depth, impartial and expert verdicts on the very latest hi-fi and AV gear.
This month we begin our thorough testing with the Dali Rubikore 2. Suffice it to say that the Danish speaker brand's latest standmounters impressed us mightily. Want to know just why they scored a perfect five stars in our review this month? Pick up the mag!
Which is where, of course you'll find plenty more in-depth reviews to wet your whistle. Philips' latest MLA OLED TV, the OLED909, was also on test, while we also spent time in the company of Sony's Xperia 1 VI – the Xperia range being one of our favourite smartphone ranges when it comes to watching movies and listening to music on the go.
Also on test this month is the Rega Planar 3/Nd3 turntable and cartridge combination, Q Acoustics' M40 floorstanding speakers, a new hi-fi rack, the Blok Stax 2G, and the Ecosse CS2.15Mk2 speaker cable.
We had LG's new soundbar system, the LG 295TR, running in our AV testing room; and last but not least we got our hands on Bowers & Wilkins’ Pi8 flagship wireless earbuds.
See what our review team thought of all these products in December's What Hi-Fi?
Break open the piggy bank
Our Temptations section of the magazine is where you'll find the highest of the high-end of hi-fi and AV products.
This month we were privileged to spend time in the company of something of a reimagined hi-fi legend. The Linn LP12, launched in 1973, was the first belt-driven suspended sub-chassis turntable on the market. We found Linn's new Magic LP12 MC turntable to be a fine introduction to Linn’s legendary turntable – find out more in this month's mag!
We also take a look at Audiovector's Trapeze Reimagined speakers – another legendary name revived for the present day. The speakers take their name and general configuration from the company’s first commercially successful model. So what do the new 'Trapeze Ri' bring to the table? Plenty, as it turns out.
Find out more about both these top-class products in December's What Hi-Fi?
Finally, don't forget to check out our Buyer’s Guide, featuring a definitive list of all the best home entertainment kit you can buy – including winners of 2023's What Hi-Fi? Awards. If you’re looking to purchase anything from a pair of wireless headphones to a home cinema speaker system, this section will tell you where to spend your money wisely.
Whatever you do, don't miss the December 2024 issue of What Hi-Fi?. Grab a copy today, or simply download it onto your tablet or smartphone. Enjoy!
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