2024 is rapidly turning into one of the most exciting years in recent memory for our review team. Why? Because there has been a tidal wave of great, Temptation-level hi-fi flooding into our listening rooms.
We’ve already revealed the six coolest high-end hi-fi products to earn five stars from our reviewers so far this year, but we weren’t kidding when we promised this was just the start. Though we may only be in August, our team of professional testers has already lined up a second wave of uber-expensive hi-fi products for review.
These are the six most exciting high-end hi-fi our reviewers have coming in for testing this year.
Editor’s note: This list only includes items that we 100 per cent know, short of a Doomsday scenario, are being sent for review. Which is why it doesn't include every Temptation we plan to test this year.
1. SME Model 20 Mk2/Series V turntable
As the name would suggest the Mk2 is the second generation of SME’s premium Model 20 series of turntables. Despite costing a fair bit, the Model 20 Mk2 isn’t actually SME’s most premium option, with the Model 30 it’s “based” off costing twice as much in some configurations.
Pricing aside, we’re very excited to get it in for testing as SME has a strong track record in the premium space. The SME Model 60, which is the last Temptation level record player we tested from the brand, scored an easy five-star recommendation from our reviewers and remains an excellent high-end record player to this day.
We’re also incredibly interested in the Model 20 Mk2’s engineering. SME has designed the Model 20 Mk2 with a near-fanatical focus on eliminating the problems caused by extraneous vibrations and aims to deliver authentic, uncoloured audio, full of detail and resolution.
Key measures in this endeavour include a high-density construction, with extensive damping across all its major surfaces and a custom design drive system that SME claims lets it deliver better speed control, accuracy and stability than the original Model 20.
If that wasn’t enough to tempt you, the version we’re set to test comes paired with SME’s premium Series V tonearm, which is an incredible piece of engineering in its own right.
Though we’ve not given our final verdict yet, if even a smidgen of SME’s claims ring true, this should make the Model 20 Mk2 an incredibly compelling option for serious vinyl fans with cash to spare.
2. Linn Majik LP12 MC turntable
Scottish audio powerhouse Linn has been a strong player in the top end of the record player market for quite some time. In fact, if you jump over to our best high-end record player guide, you’ll find the Linn Klimax LP12 is the first entry in the list.
Which is why we’re happy to confirm we’re about to review the Linn Majik LP12 MC. While it’s far from the most expensive item on this list, the Majik LP12 MC remains a very compelling turntable that, if it performs well in our listening rooms, could be a fantastic entry point for newbies to the world of high-end hi-fi.
The LP12 MC comes with an iconic design and a variety of colour options – our hi-fi and audio editor is particularly fond of the yellow version. But it also has a lot of impressive hardware.
Built of Linn-engineered components, it features the company's patented single-point Karousel main bearing and low-friction Krane tonearm. The version we’re set to review features a Koil MC cartridge, rather than the company's slightly more affordable Adikt MM cartridge.
3. Audiovector Trapeze Reimagined speakers
Our technical editor had an initial look and listen to the Audiovector Trapeze Reimagined speakers in April. A few months on, and we’ve finally managed to secure the premium speakers for What Hi-Fi?’s full review treatment.
In case you missed our previous hands-on with the Audiovector, the speakers are a reimagined version of an Audiovector classic that the Danish firm claims has been 40 years in the making.
Despite taking their name from the first generation Trapeze speakers, which launched all the way back in 1979, the Reimagined versions have completely new components and are packed with clever engineering.
One highlight that caught our technical editor’s eye is the speakers’ three-way driver array. This combines a 30-cm high-power woofer with a 12.5-cm midrange and AMT-tweeter. Audiovector claims the latter is the only tweeter on the market that “stays true to the original design from audio genius Dr. Oscar Heil”.
Though we didn’t have enough time with the speakers during the launch demo to make any definitive judgments on audio quality, the speakers’ design and striking design piqued our interest, which is why we are so pleased to be getting them in for review.
4. YG Acoustics Carmel 3 speakers
The YG Acoustics Carmel 3 floorstanders are the successor to the Carmel 2 speakers we reviewed and gave a five-star rating to all the way back in 2017.
At first glance they look similar to their predecessors, featuring the same slightly curved floorstanding design that’s made from high-grade aerospace aluminium. But, under the hood a lot of work has been done to try and bring some of the innovations seen on larger XV, Sonja and Hailey speakers down in size.
For starters, they feature a custom hybrid lattice tweeter that’s been made by YG Acoustics using an unspecified “specially-selected aerospace alloy” – you’ll notice a theme here around the word “aerospace". The company claims this reduces distortion and offers listeners a much wider sweet spot.
Then there are the speakers’ third-generation Ultracoherent crossovers and Billet Core drivers which aim to further reduce distortion, improve audio quality and let the Carmel 3 deliver “the highest accuracy and musicality possible from a compact two-way loudspeaker.”
The wealth of custom engineering alone was enough to catch our reviewers' attention. Add to this YG Acoustics' strong track record and we couldn’t help but rush to get them into our listening rooms for proper testing and a full review.
5. Audio Research I/50 amplifier
Valve amplifiers normally at the very least look interesting. After all, who wouldn’t like to listen to music using something that looks like it could also help bring Frankenstein's monster back to life?
Which is why we’re pleased to confirm we’ll be getting the Audio Research I/50 integrated amplifier into our listening rooms later this year. Featuring a striking design and choice of six colours, the integrated valve amp looks undeniably cool, but it also has some impressive hardware.
Each unit is hand-made in Minnesota and is individually tested and approved by designer Warren Gehl before being sent to a customer. The unit features 6922 tubes in the preamp stage that work with two matched pairs of 6550WE power tubes to deliver 50W per channel into either 4 or 8 ohms.
This, plus the ability to add a phono stage and a DAC module to expand its functionality, makes it an interesting beast – and one we’re excited to test.
6. Michell Gyro SE turntable
If high-end, visually striking record players are of interest and you’ve got serious money in the bank, you’ll probably be drawn to the Michell Gyro SE turntable like a bee to flowers.
The Gyro SE has a singular focus to deliver the same core experience and features of the Michell Gyrodec SE we gave five stars to many moons ago, but in an updated package with upgraded components. Why is that a big deal? It’s a big deal because the iconic Gyrodec remains one of the best record players of all time, despite having originally released all the way back in 1982.
That’s why we can’t help but be excited to get the opportunity to test the latest version of the Gyro SE (not to mention assemble the turntable from scratch), which Michell claims offers “almost identical performance”, later this year.
MORE:
These are the best record players we’ve reviewed
We rate the best speakers for hi-fi aficionados
Our picks of the best stereo amplifiers – every model tried and tested
