Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2019 i What Hi-Fi?

View offers Standmount speakers | £499 | whf.cm/Oberon3 What’s in a name? Well-read readers may nod knowingly at the memory of Oberon, King of the Fairies, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, while others may think of a French footballer (although that was Obertan), or conjure up an image of a far-off planet in Star Wars. But not us. We, naturally, think of Dali’s superb speaker range The Dali Oberon 3 is, fittingly, the third speaker in the range to pass through our test rooms. It’s the larger standmount speaker of the series, sitting above the Oberon 1, with the two floorstanding speakers, Oberon 5 and 7, completing the line-up. Having dished out five-star verdicts to the 1 and 5, we are excited to hear what the Oberon 3 speakers can…

View offers Wireless speaker | £199 | whf.cm/Xtreme2 On first sight, the JBL Xtreme 2 seems a little brash and out of place–an unashamed boombox in an era of reserved smart speakers dressed in grey fabric. However, this bold and aggressive look is matched by some of the sweetest sound you’ll hear from a portable speaker. In fact, unless you bought one expecting bass as brazen as its initial appearance, the JBL Xtreme 2 comes as a pleasant surprise. The JBL Xtreme 2 is a big boombox wireless speaker. It’s slightly larger than the original Xtreme, but you’d have to put them side by side to notice. Too large to stash in airline hand luggage for weekend breaks, and too bold for some living rooms, this speaker is not one…

In-car audio | £5300 When it comes to in-car audio, you can’t adopt a one system fits all approach. Take the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. One car, available in three different body styles: coupé, saloon and convertible. Two of them offer the optional Burmester High-End 3D Surround Soundsystem, but those systems aren’t identical either. The saloon set-up features 27 speakers, 1590W of total power and costs £6430, while the coupé version loses a couple of speakers, and power is reduced slightly to 1560W. The price is also trimmed to £5300. That difference in spec comes down simply to space, with different styles of car requiring compromises. For example, the S-Class coupé, tested here, loses the height speakers you find in the rear roof panelling of the saloon. The rear centre speaker has…

You don't have to spend anything like the same amount of money on your hi-fi to get a fair way towards the quality of the equipment you'll see over the next 40 pages or so. But you won't be able to match it. To do that, you need to be prepared to invest in your pastime. It's the same in almost every walk of life, of course: just ask a car enthusiast why he's driving a BMW or a Ferrari or a Jaguar when a 10-grand runabout will do the same job. Or the golfer who insists on investing £500 in a new driver every other season. Sometimes only the best will do. So it is that we present our pick of the high-end products we've reviewed at What Hi-Fi?.…

Why buy a dedicated CD player such as the Bryston BCD-3? It’s a fair question in this age of streaming and file downloads. The answer is surprisingly simple. It’s good. If you have a large collection of discs and don’t have the inclination to move to computer-based audio, this Bryston CD player could be what you need. Purist approach It will come as no surprise to anyone who follows this Canadian brand that the BCD-3 is a purist affair. It’s a plain, understated box that at a glance could pass for a budget machine. That impression fades when you see the unit in the metal and notice the thick aluminium front panel and general solidity of build–this is clearly a premium product with a quality of build that matches the…

Cambridge-based dCS has an enviable digital audio heritage–from developing digital products for military agencies to making digital converters for pro use–and that experience shines through in the Rossini DAC (£17,090) and Master Clock (£5520). To call the Rossini a DAC is understating its capabilities; dCS labels it an Upsampling Network DAC. It is more of a digital hub for a system rather than a mere digital-to-analogue converter. It packs a UPnP music streamer, supports Tidal, Spotify Connect, Deezer and Apple Airplay, and works as a digital preamplifier. Just add a power amp or active speakers to get sound. File support for streaming is excellent. All the major digital formats are covered, making the Rossini about as accommodating as we would hope for. Look inside and it’s clear the company has…

Few hi-fi brands enjoy the same kind of high-street recognition as Technics does, and that’s pretty much down to the legendary status of its SL1210 turntables in DJ circles. So when the brand was re-launched by parent company Panasonic back in 2014, it was something of a surprise that record players weren’t part of the equation. But demand from distributors and customers forced the company’s hand, and the excuse of a 50th anniversary saw the release of a special deck to celebrate. The reaction to that premium ?3k deck was so positive that the company’s turntable range has since expanded to three domestic models, ranging from just over a grand to the high-end beast we have on test here. Now, with the record-player ball well and truly rolling, a more…

Let’s face it, the true hi-fi enthusiast can’t help but tweak. After all, why wouldn’t you want to get the very best from every part of your system? Cyrus’s Phono Signature makes that a whole lot easier. This premium phono stage lets the user fine-tune cartridge-matching from the comfort of their favourite listening position–something we haven’t come across before. Cartridges of all types need the partnering phono stage to have specific electrical input characteristics to transfer their delicate music signal properly. We’re talking about tiny fractions of a millivolt here, so we really do mean delicate. On the Cyrus, fine-tuning the sound is a breeze and any changes can be done by remote in a couple of seconds, without moving from the sweet spot. The remote is one of the…

Stereo preamplifiers are simple things right? That’s usually the case, but not if you're talking about Burmester's mighty 808. This is a preamp for those who live and breathe hi-fi. But most of all it’s for people who love to compare kit. Yes, that includes us. And, of course, it’s for those with a massive disposable income. We're used to surround equipment being configurable, but this is something else. Fully specified, this Burmester preamp will accommodate seven line-level sources plus three of the fully balanced variety, and can include either a moving-magnet or moving-coil phono stage. The latter comes with the option of single-ended or balanced connection. Each of these inputs is connected to dedicated (interchangeable) modules that plug into the 808’s main circuit board. Within the limitation of six…

How’s your Latin? If it barely extends to remembering your school motto, you might like to know that Cor means heart. It’s a fitting name for speaker specialist PMC’s first standalone domestic amplifier, which is at the heart of a system; the core, if you like. As this is the first, it would be easy to assume PMC has little experience of electronics. But the company has been making amps since it was founded in 1991. Those units were built into its first product, the active BB5 speakers, which are still used as reference monitors in the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios. Analogue simplicity This is a purely analogue amplifier with short, clean signal paths. It uses Class A/B circuitry and produces 95W per channel, which rises to 140W into a…

Dynaudio’s Countour 20s look relatively ordinary, and a quick glance at their two-way, rear-ported configuration and conventional-looking MDF box will do little to convince otherwise. Yet, look closer and you’ll find more of interest here than first impressions suggest. We have never doubted Dynaudio’s ability to design drive units. Its designs have featured on some of the finest speakers ever made (on an OEM basis), and the drivers used on the Contour 20 are terrific. It’s just a shame that, visually at least, there’s little to separate these exotic premium units from those used in the company’s entry-level Emit range. The difference is in the detail The diaphragm materials appear much the same too–fabric for the 28mm soft-dome tweeter and MSP (Magnesium Silicate Polymer) cone for the 18cm mid/bass driver.…

It’s fair to say that most hi-fi speakers are demanding houseguests. Most we test intrude quite heavily into the living space, refusing to sound balanced when placed near rear or side walls, let alone close to a corner. That’s why Neat’s original Iotas (£735) proved such a breath of fresh air when they were launched in 2011–tiny speakers that could fit anywhere from a windowsill to a shelf and still sound good. The latest members of the family, the Xplorers, are more ambitious. They have to couple the Iota’s friendly nature with the quality of performance of more overtly purist designs. It’s the isobaric bass arrangement that grabs our attention here. The base of the cabinet houses one of Neat’s trademark 17cm drivers; but less obvious is a second, identical…

Almost every high-end speaker we review has been designed for free-space use–that’s out into the room, well away from all walls. It’s an ideal arrangement in theory, minimising the unevenness caused by room effects, but it’s not very practical for many people Mindful of the practicality issue, Wilson engineered its original Duettes–launched at just over £9000 in 2006–so that they could be adjusted to sound their best whatever their position in a room. With the second-generation model, the company has gone a step further and designed them to sound best specifically against a wall, where most buyers place them. So, if you want a free-space Wilson speaker, buy one of the company’s floorstanders. Want something that works well close to a wall? Buy the Duettes. The price rise reflects the…

JVC is no stranger to producing class-leading premium projectors. The company has launched a stream of them over the years, and we’ve used a fair few as reference products over that time. Yet nothing we’ve seen from the company has been as ambitious as the 4K HDR DLA-Z1. While both those technologies are firmly embedded into the world of televisions, the combination is still a relatively rare thing in the world of proper home cinema. All the 4K projectors we’ve reviewed have been premium devices costing thousands, but even by those hefty standards the JVC is in a different league. It’s a cutting-edge unit at a cutting-edge price. The Z1 uses three 4096 x 2160 D-ILA panels with a light engine based on JVC’s proprietary BLU-Escent laser projection technology. It…

Read more at… www.whathifi.com/advice As ever in consumer electronics, there is always something new on the horizon and that new thing is 8K. So here’s what we know about the latest format to trouble the TV market. What is 8K? 8K refers to resolution–the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in an image. Pixels equals information, so more pixels should, in theory, make for a better quality image. 8K, has a horizontal resolution of 7680 pixels and a vertical resolution of 4320 pixels. 4K has half the number of horizontal and vertical lines (3840 x 2160) and Full HD is 1920 x 1080. Count the pixels up and 8K has four times as many as 4K and 16 times more than Full HD. Who is making 8K content? Filmmakers use…

EXPERIENCE. HERITAGE. We’ve been helping the world discover the best in hi-fi and home entertainment for more than 40 years, and have more than 100 years of reviewing experience under our collective belts–so you can count on our expert opinion. DEDICATED TEST FACILITIES We test every product against its peers in our brand-new, bespoke reviewing facilities in London and Bath. We conduct all our tests as a team–our opinions and conclusions are always the result of collaboration. HOW WE SCORE All review verdicts are agreed upon by the team as a whole–not an individual reviewer. Each product will be listened to and/or viewed by several members of the test team, who will then discuss the final verdict before it appears in the magazine or on the website. This avoids any…

View offers Speaker cable | £18/m | whf.cm/RumourX Chord Company’s recent track record has been little short of astonishing. We’ve had a stream of interconnects and speaker cables over the past few years and none of them has disappointed, each securing a place at the top table at its respective price point. Along with all the five-star verdicts, the company has dominated our cable awards too–and the newly introduced RumourX doesn’t look as though it's going to buck that positive trend. Spreading rumours The original Rumour was introduced way back in 1996, and at the time was only Chord’s second attempt at a speaker cable. It says much for the original design that, apart from a few cosmetic changes, it has remained pretty much the same until now. Chord’s development…

We first set eyes upon the Cambridge Audio Edge NQ during a visit to the company’s London office around a year ago. So to say we’ve been looking forward to getting our hands on one for the past 12 months is an understatement. At the time, the control app for this and the company’s other Edge products was still in development, along with other bits of fine-tuning and tweaks to the NQ’s immaculate casework. However, we were confident the performance we heard then would translate well when we got it into our testing rooms. The Edge NQ is a pre-amplifier and network streamer, equipped to play music from anywhere on your home network. It also packs Spotify Connect, Google Chromecast, Apple AirPlay, Bluetooth aptX HD, internet radio and Universal Plug…

Want to know the best CD player we’ve heard? The answer is depressingly expensive. It’s Chord’s Blu Mk II transport combined with its range topping digital-to-analogue converter, the DAVE. Quality costs, and in this case the price is a hefty £16,000 for the pair. But regardless of price, we haven’t heard a more insightful or transparent CD-playing alternative. The Blu MkII transport doesn’t have to be partnered with the DAVE though, Chord’s Hugo 2 (£1800) will work well too. Don’t skimp on the DAC While the transport is capable of working with all DACs, you really need one that will accept sampling rates of 768kHz to make full use of it, because Chord has built a high-powered upscaler capable of lots of clever processing to extract CD’s 16-bits of data…

The best DACs we’ve heard so far are Chord’s DAVE and dCS’s Rossini DAC/Clock pairing. To that rather short list you can add Nagra’s HD DAC–it’s arguably the most desirable of the lot. Make no mistake; this is an all-new, cutting edge design with older electronic circuit techniques rubbing shoulders with innovative new ideas. The HD DAC is immaculately made, each panel is superbly machined and the unit as a whole feels immensely solid and robust. The price is high, but this is a product designed to work for decades to come. It’s a compact unit, measuring just under 8cm high and 31cm wide. The front is dominated by the brand’s trademark signal level meter and stylised volume control. The latter means that this product can be connected directly into…

If you’re after the best phono stage money can buy, this Burmester is a good place to start. There are plenty of choices at ‘money no object’ levels, but few that can match the 100 Phono’s modular nature, feature list and sumptuous build. The base version of this unit comes in at the price we’ve quoted. This can support a single turntable (with either a moving-magnet or moving-coil module) and pass the amplified signal through single-ended or balanced XLR outputs. If you’re lucky enough to run two turntables, the 100 can be equipped with a second phono module–available both for MM and MC cartridges. Conversion experience There is also the option to add an analogue-to-digital converter into the mix. Why would you want to add that? It lets you digitise…

There are few better ways to spend an afternoon than digging through crates in a record shop–and nothing quite like finding an older press in sparkling condition, hopefully at a bargain price, too. Knowing what to look for and how to get your hands on it can be tricky. But it’s not just about finding the record, it’s also about the condition in which you find it. Whether you’re doing your digging in person or rooting through the millions of second-hand records sold online, these handy tips could save you wasting money on stacks of poor-quality LPs. Judge a record by its cover The record sleeve can be indicative of what you’ll find inside. Don’t put too much stock in bent corners or the odd minor tear, but a particularly…

Within hi-fi circles, the conventional wisdom is that of an inverse relationship between the amount of features and the quality of the performance. But for every rule there’s usually an exception, and in this case it’s the Luxman L-509X. This is a fully loaded analogue amplifier. Anyone who thinks such a unit should also include digital inputs should know that such modules are rarely great, even when fitted to high-end products. The inclusion of digital modules also tends to make the analogue side of things sound worse, and at this price such compromises are just not good enough. Traditional featuring The L-509X packs a moving-magnet/moving-coil phono stage, headphone output, tone controls and switchable speaker outputs–all things that were in demand back when its decidedly retro appearance was the latest fashion.…

In hi-fi circles, wireless has never truly meant wireless. There’s always some form of physical cable that needs to be used, especially when it comes to premium stereo speakers. Aurender’s imaginatively titled S5Ws are different, being battery-powered and devoid of physical inputs beyond the dedicated wireless connection. If you really want wireless stereo sound, you can’t get more untethered than this. If the thought of relying on battery power in a premium speaker worries you, we can sympathise. The idea of having to recharge the speakers midway through a listening session doesn’t appeal to us either; but Aurender has taken a sensible approach here. The company provides a mains-power option in the box, although using the S5Ws this way would go against their raison d’être. With or without Two Bosch…

KEF’s recent track record has been little less than stupendous. The company followed the almost-legendary LS50 with an Award-winning active wireless version–one of two Products of the Year in 2018, the other being the R3 standmounters. You can add the Reference 1s to that list of high achievers. These really are brilliant boxes. These are three-way standmounters, which is unusual. That top driver is one of the company’s trademark Uni-Q arrays, which place a 25mm metal-dome tweeter in the throat of a 12.5cm midrange. The crossover frequency between the two is set at a fairly conventional 2.8kHz. A dedicated 16.5cm aluminium woofer takes over from the Uni-Q below 350Hz. It’s designed to handle large power inputs without compressing dynamics, and features a vented magnet system and large aluminium voice coil.…

Read more at… www.whathifi.com/features Mala New Life Baby Paris Do you want to feel your bass as well as hear it? You’re in the right place. Dubstep referenced garage, drum ‘n’ bass, dub reggae and more to spawn a new sound in the early ‘00s. Characterised by scattered drums and sub-bass notes, this is an archetypal track from one of its founding fathers, and a great test of rhythm and bass control. Deep bass hits sit beneath synth stabs and lazy drums for a complex rhythm that requires a careful hand, so wish your speakers good luck. Igor Stravinsky The Rite Of Spring You might need to towel yourself down after this one, such is the power on show. Stravinsky himself referred to the end of this piece (also heard…

HEADPHONES BIN THE BUNDLED BUDS AND INVEST IN BETTER SOUND View offers whf.cm/BBHeadphones In-ears up to £100 Beyerdynamic Byron £39 Best in-ears under £50, Awards 2018 A spectacular return to the budget earphone arena for Beyerdynamic, the Byron sets the standard at this price with a peerless performance. In-line controls Yes Cable length 1.2m SoundMagic E11C £50 January 2019 The latest version of Soundmagic’s budget in-ears continues to impress with a full-bodied, energetic and informative sound. In-line controls Yes Cable length 1.2m Beyerdynamic Soul Byrd £69 April 2019 You’ll struggle to find a better pair of in-ear headphones costing less than £70 than these Beyerdynamics. In-line controls Yes Cable length 1.2m Sennheiser Momentum M2 IEi £70 Best in-ears £50-£100, Awards 2017 You wouldn’t think anything so small could sound quite…

Read more at… www.whathifi.com/advice Sign up for a BBC ID account The service requires all viewers to sign up and log in to watch any videos. It’s still free, and signing up gives you plenty of perks such as tailored recommendations, synced favourites lists and seamless playback across all your devices. New to BBC iPlayer, or a regular user who wants to know more about its shortcuts and hidden features? You’re in luck, as we’ve compiled a list of our favourite tips, tricks and features… Pay your licence fee You didn’t have to if you watched only ondemand, not live content on iPlayer. But now a valid TV licence is legally required to watch anything on iPlayer, live or on-demand. Language and location Scroll to the end of the page…

View offers Network streamer | £2299 | whf.cm/ND5XS2 When Naim describes its ND5 XS 2 network streamer as 'entry level', it actually means that it’s the cheapest dedicated component the company makes in the range. Never mind entering at this level, if this is the best your system ever sounds you’ll be doing your ears mightily proud. But this streamer isn’t boastful. Its black chassis is punctuated only by the company logo and power button, both tastefully illuminated in Naim’s iconic green, and a USB Type-A input subtly located front and left. That means no full-colour screen, something that has been a welcome and attractive feature of Naim’s recent products–but, given that your streamer will be almost exclusively controlled via the app, it’s far from an issue in terms of…

View offers Integrated amplifier | £2295 | whf.cm/PulseIV Contrary to what we like to believe, music and productivity do not make good bedfellows. We might enjoy ourselves more listening to music while we work, but really it is an extra distraction our brains have to work with. Music isn’t really just about notes or harmonies, it’s about the way the notes are played, the rhythms and the feelings. Those basic elements that catch our attention and that, hopefully, distract us from what we’re doing. But it’s also something many audio products are prone to get wrong. It’s always a shame when a piece of hi-fi kit appears to be painting by numbers–and that is where we find ourselves with the Leema Acoustics Pulse IV integrated amplifier. Dial tone There is…

B&W Formation £TBC This is a big one! We knew Bowers & Wilkins had been working on bringing a high-end wireless hi-fi system to the market; but trying to build everything in-house–not just the speakers, but the network technology too–means it has taken some time to get right. But it’s here now, and B&W believes the Formation series is a game-changer. The series includes a whole family of wireless, multi-room products, but we’re most excited about the flagship Duo, a pair of fully active, wireless speakers. There’s also a reimagined Zeppelin, called the Wedge, which looks suitably futuristic. The Formation Bar features nine drivers, including a dedicated centre speaker, and the Bass brings back memories of the legendary PV1 subwoofer. Last but not least, the Audio can connect to legacy…

There was a time when single-box just-add-speakers systems were compromised budget affairs. They were aimed at people who didn’t want the complication (or cost) of separates and were willing to put up with the significant shortfall of performance that resulted. The most capable of its type was one of Denon’s DM micro systems, which would set you back a couple of hundred pounds and still sound pretty good. If you wanted something that sounded better, but was just as convenient, there was no real option until the arrival of Linn’s Classik about 20 years ago. This was a one-box system that originally packed a CD player and amplifier, but later added a tuner and even multi-channel capability. It was the product of a premium brand with a back catalogue of…

Chord Electronics’ domination of the premium digital-to-analogue converter market has been spectacular. From the portable Mojo to the high end DAVE, it has swept aside all-comers, winning loads of five-star ratings and Awards in the process. But, while the likes of the Mojo, Qutest, Hugo and DAVE were all-conquering superstars at their respective price points, the original TT was, relatively speaking, merely very good. The Mk 2 version seeks to move the TT out of the shadows cast by the rest of its talented family. Physically, it sticks to the squarish template set by its predecessor. The Mojo’s stylistic influence is felt strongly here, with a refinement of the porthole windows and cosmetic flourishes the company has become known for. Build quality is excellent, with the unit feeling suitably solid…

The Linn LP12 was introduced in 1973. This unassuming belt-driven turntable took a while to gain traction, but by the 1980s it had become the dominant premium record player on the market, in the UK at least. Even today, it’s held in high esteem and still considered by many as one of the most capable decks around. That’s impressive staying power for a design that looks little different from the decades-old original. Of course, despite appearances, it has changed almost totally over that time. The good thing is that all the important improvements are retrofittable; if you have an early deck, it can easily be brought/bought up to current standards. Easy, in this case, isn’t the same as cheap, as a quick rundown of our range-topping Klimax LP12 review sample…

Phono stages aren’t the most glamorous item in a hi-fi chain. But if you want to hear your cherished record player at its best, a good one is essential. We’ve heard few better than Luxman’s EQ-500, regardless of price. Usually phono stages are nondescript little boxes, but not this one. Luxman has built the EQ-500 into a full-sized casework and packed it full of toggle switches, dials and meters. It’s hard to imagine more features, and the majority are very useful too. There are switches to govern whether the unit sends out the signal balanced or single-ended and its phase. Further toggles govern impedance (for movingmagnet cartridges only), high- and low-pass filtering, type (moving-magnet, high- and low-output moving-coil), stereo/mono and inputs. Gain adjustment There’s a two-stage gain adjustment for each…

It may surprise many readers to know that there’s no shortage of pre/power combinations that cost £20,000. We’ve heard many of them over the years and in our view this Aesthetix Janus Signature and Aesthetix Atlas Stereo Signature pre/power combo is one of the very best. The standard (non-Signature) pre and power are great but, if you can stretch to them, the Signature versions are well worth their asking price in the right system. Old style, new twist The Janus Signature preamplifier seems old school: it uses a valve-based circuit and includes a serious phonostage, where most rivals have long since gone line-level only. But Aesthetix’s execution of this design is very much cutting-edge. It’s the flexibility of the phonostage that grabs our attention. The circuit’s gain can be adjusted…

Swiss high-end brand Nagra originally built its reputation on exceptionally engineered recording equipment for the broadcast, movie and security industries. The company was founded in 1951 but waited until 1997 before launching its first domestic component. Look beyond the Classic’s general appearance, with its trademark signallevel meter, stylised volume control and compact casework, and it’s clear that things have evolved. The most obvious example of this is the front-panel display, which shows the input chosen and helps in the overall set-up. Things could be better though. The display leaves little room for information, and off-axis contrast levels aren’t great. Nagra needs to do better here. Delve into the menus and you can change the input names, set the balance, switch from mono to stereo and check on valve life. It’s…

Purists may be tempted to dismiss Bang & Olufsen’s Beolab 50s as a style-over-substance product. Just one look at them is enough to understand why. But behind all the glitz of rising tweeters, fancy cabinet shaping and wood-lined grilles you’ll find a depth of engineering rarely seen, even at these prices. Each speaker packs a digital-toanalogue converter, an analogue-todigital converter, a preamplifier and seven drive units. There’s a dedicated 300W power amplifier for every driver. If all that sounds excessive, that's before you get to the motorised tweeter pod with its adjustable acoustic lens–or the digital signal-processing that allows the speakers to sound balanced from a variety of listening positions. In this we think B&O has been wholly successful. No matter where you sit, the speakers themselves sound best away…

True innovation seems to be a rare quality in speaker design. It’s such a mature sector that any advancements tend to be incremental and usually come from the use of more modern materials and better analysis software than any fundamental shift in how things are done. The Three may be Kii Audio’s first product, but the people behind the brand have plenty of experience in pro audio and electronic design, and it shows in the sheer ambition of the product–this is about as sophisticated a speaker design as we’ve had in our test room. Packed in each compact clamshell cabinet–the Threes measure just 40cm tall–is a 25mm dome tweeter, a 13cm midrange and no fewer than four 16.5cm bass drivers. Kii isn’t keen on giving out exact details on the…

Few speakers on the market can match the heritage of Spendor’s Classic 2/3s. This design can trace a direct line back to the highly regarded SA2s, which were launched in 1980. But the engineering ethos behind the product goes back even further, to ideas developed by the BBC engineering department in the 1960s. Does that put these speakers at a disadvantage compared with high-tech alternatives from the likes of Dynaudio or Bowers & Wilkins? As long as the distinctive styling and relatively large size aren’t an issue, we don’t think so. Out in the open These Spendors are 54cm tall–about a third bigger than most of their standmount competition, and they also need to be positioned well clear of walls to sound balanced–they are likely to be most at home…

BLU-RAY PLAYERS ENJOY HIGH-DEF MOVIE THRILLS View offers whf.cm/BBBlurayPlayers Up to £500 Panasonic DMP-BDT180EB £80 Best Blu-ray player under £100, Awards 2017 A budget player that delivers a high-quality picture. Whether it’s Blu-ray, DVD or streaming, this spinner handles them all with skill and flair. Compatibility Blu-ray, DVD, CD HDMI out 1 Sony UBP-X700 £185 Best Blu-ray player under £500, Awards 2018 This 4K player delivers a stunningly natural picture for an affordable price. It’ll be tough to knock this Sony off its perch. Compatibility 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, SACD, CD HDMI out 2 £500 and above Cambridge CXUHD £699 February 2018 One of the best 4K players available, this delivers an accurate and understated performance that’s one of the best we’ve seen and heard. Compatibility 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD,…

ANALOGUE INTERCONNECTS DON’T SKIMP ON CABLES: THEY’RE A TOP-VALUE UPGRADE View offers whf.cm/BBAudioCables Up to £50 Chord Company C-Line £40/m Best analogue interconnect under £50, Awards 2018 Few entry-level interconnects at the price come close to offering the sonic enjoyment that Chord has produced with this cable. Balanced/Single-ended Single QED Performance Audio 40 £40/m Best analogue interconnect under £50, Awards 2017 Few rival interconnects are as good as this QED when it comes to detail resolution and precision. It’s nicely made too. Balanced/Single-ended Single £50 and above Chord Clearway Analogue RCA £90/m Best analogue interconnect £50+, Awards 2018 If you’re spending cash on hi-fi components and you want cabling that doesn’t inhibit performance, the Clearway may be the ideal pick. Balanced/Single-ended Single AV & HI-FI RACKS HI-FI KIT CAN ONLY…