What Hi-Fi?

We have an eclectic and, I think, rather encouraging variety of home entertainment products on test this issue. From the undeniably old-school hi-fi of a turntable cartridge (p28) round-up, to a Group Test of that most space-age of techs that is premium noise-cancelling headphones (p36) What Hi-Fi? is dedicated to bringing you the best equipment you can buy. And we stress that that means at any price. It’s relatively easy to throw money at the problem when you want top-quality kit (although you can still get quite badly burned without the proper research), but the real gems out there are those rare products that punch well above their weight. And our bargain 4K TV roundup (p48) reveals a couple of brilliant sets that could easily be in a price bracket or…

View offers 65in OLED television | £2499 | whf.cm/LZ2000B The 2000-series has represented the pinnacle of Panasonic’s television range for a few years, with a focus on combining the best picture quality with an advanced sound system that features dedicated upward-firing drivers for serious Dolby Atmos audio. But while the 2019 model was a stunner that delivered on all counts, 2020’s successor sounded significantly worse, despite Panasonic’s claims that it featured the same audio system. In 2021, Panasonic decided not to supply a 2000-series sample, possibly because changes to the sound system were apparently minimal. Now we have the TX-65LZ2000B before us. It’s got an overhauled speaker system to go with its new, brighter OLED panel; and, to cut a long story short, it’s a return to form for Panasonic’s flagship TVs. Its most…

View offers Floorstanding stereo speakers | £4799 | whf.cm/F502SP The ‘SP’ in the name stands for Special Production, which is Fyne Audio’s way of saying that these speakers are upgraded from the basic product. We’re not talking minor tweaks either, as the price difference between the standard F502 floorstanders (£2499) and our review pair of the Fyne Audio F502SP shows. Essentially, Fyne Audio’s engineers have upgraded pretty much everything on the standard model while keeping to the same basic design and dimensions. Think of it as extreme ‘hot-rodding’. All SP models are hand-built in the UK, which accounts for some of the price differential too. The standard F502 drivers are replaced by new designs that are derived from those used in the company’s high-end F700 range. Consider that the equivalent floorstander in the…

View offers 55in QLED television | £699 | whf.cm/QE55Q60B The Samsung QE55Q60B talks a very good game for a TV that is now available for just £699. Its 55in screen uses a premium Quantum Dot system to create its colours; it is significantly brighter than most TVs in its class; and it even uses Samsung’s patented Dual LED technology to, hopefully, deliver more colour control than you would expect to get from an edge-LED lighting array. As usual, Samsung has split its latest TV range into the Quantum Dot haves and the Quantum Dot have-nots. The Q60Bs are the cheapest Quantum Dot haves, which makes the QE55Q60B the most affordable 55in QLED TV in Samsung’s current range. In fact, the price it now sits at, following a flurry of recent reductions, is low…

View offers Headphone amp | £1389 | whf.cm/EarMenCHamp EarMen was created as an arm and sister company to respected European manufacturer Auris Audio by its founder Milomir ‘Miki’ Trosic to serve a specific purpose: to enhance portable listening supplying small, affordable, battery-powered and USB DAC/headphone amplifiers. But then, in late 2021, Trosic took the EarMen brand a step further by developing a stack of more serious headphone components for the desktop, the latest of which is the two-box CH-Amp analogue headphone amplifier we have under scrutiny here. Separate power supply This is a fully balanced headphone amp with a built-in pre-amplifier and a separate (supplied) linear power-supply unit called the PSU-3. Not only is the CH-Amp’s circuit board wrapped in aluminium: the casework for its two units are made from it too. Both are…

View offers In-ear headphones | £149 | whf.cm/JabraElite5 The Jabra Elite 5 are the latest in a seemingly inexhaustible supply of true-wireless earbuds from the Danish audio specialist. This time out, Jabra is banking on a remarkably small and light form factor to help its latest model stand out in an already crowded area of the market. Unless you have been living somewhere very remote, you will know you have almost too much choice when it comes to true wireless earbuds at this sort of money. Sennheiser, Shure and Sony all have rivals to sell you for this sort of price – and that’s just the ‘S’ brands – so these earbuds are going to need to be pretty special. At just 5g per bud and sized at 21 x 20 x 27mm,…