What Hi-Fi?

It’s rare, these days, for us to have a Group Test of any products where the outcome is incredibly tight. But our test of premium standmount speakers (p28) shows that the contest for supremacy at the lofty heights of two and a half grand plus is fierce indeed. That’s a lot of money, of course – but when you appreciate these wonderful speakers will serve you brilliantly for many, many years, the investment is surely worth considering. It’s the same price people pay for a massive TV, after all – and I’m not sure one of those would still be of use in 15 years’ time. If you would rather your loudspeakers stand on their own, without the need for any support, we also have a round-up of our favourite…

It’s rare, these days, for us to have a Group Test of any products where the outcome is incredibly tight. But our test of premium standmount speakers (p28) shows that the contest for supremacy at the lofty heights of two and a half grand plus is fierce indeed. That’s a lot of money, of course – but when you appreciate these wonderful speakers will serve you brilliantly for many, many years, the investment is surely worth considering. It’s the same price people pay for a massive TV, after all – and I’m not sure one of those would still be of use in 15 years’ time. If you would rather your loudspeakers stand on their own, without the need for any support, we also have a round-up of our favourite premium…

EXPERIENCE. HERITAGE. We have been helping the world discover the best in hi-fi and home entertainment for more than 45 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 extensive, bespoke reviewing facilities in London, Reading and Bath. We conduct all our tests as a team – our opinions and conclusions are always the result of collaboration.…

View offers Wireless speaker | £299 | whf.cm/HomePod2 Almost two years since Apple’s surprising decision to retire the original HomePod, the wireless speaker’s second generation is finally here. And, at first glance, it looks as if very little has changed. The familiar exterior of the HomePod 2 hides a number of enhancements – most importantly, at least for us, to the sound. That’s right; the new HomePod sounds even better than its predecessor, and that makes it one of the very best wireless speakers you can buy – as long as you are a dedicated Apple user, that is. The new HomePod bucks the increased cost-of-living trend by actually launching at a lower price than its predecessor did in 2018. It is still a fair bit more expensive than many…

View offers Wireless speaker | £299 | whf.cm/HomePod2 Almost two years since Apple’s surprising decision to retire the original HomePod, the wireless speaker’s second generation is finally here. And, at first glance, it looks as if very little has changed. The familiar exterior of the HomePod 2 hides a number of enhancements – most importantly, at least for us, to the sound. That’s right; the new HomePod sounds even better than its predecessor, and that makes it one of the very best wireless speakers you can buy – as long as you are a dedicated Apple user, that is. The new HomePod bucks the increased cost-of-living trend by actually launching at a lower price than its predecessor did in 2018. It is still a fair bit more expensive than many of the smart…

View offers 65in OLED television | £3199 | whf.cm/OLED937 From its gleaming, slinky and Ambilight-enhanced design to its ground-breakingly bright, colourful pictures and class-leadingly powerful sound, Philips’s 65OLED937 is arguably the most all-round spectacular TV we have tested. Thanks to its combination of a beautiful metallic finish, super-thin panel design, B&W-designed external speaker enclosure and a new and improved, four-sided version of Philips’s Ambilight tech, the 937 is certainly a dramatic-looking TV. LG Display’s latest EX panel delivers significantly more full-screen and peak brightness than older designs. And since every pixel in an OLED TV can deliver its own light, this new brightness should have no negative impact on the screen’s black levels, hopefully enabling the set’s contrast performance to be even more dazzling than that of previous Philips OLEDs. The picture processor is…