What kind of hi-fi system? The 2020 edition is on...

What a year! Global pandemics and national lockdowns have resulted in life changing for all of us in an unusual 12 months in 2020.

Fortunately, the world of AV continued through all the glitches with a range of new products from turntables to televisions, sound bars to smartphones and portable music players to projectors all hit the market.

Again this year, our review team (who often work from home) tested, reviewed, and rated a wide variety of new products – many of which we found worthy, what kind of hi-fi? Forgive.

After several weeks of discussion and debate, we awarded our 111 Best Buys – each product is a winner in its own price category – but saved the best until the end. In our special edition of the Awards 2020 from What kind of hi-fi system? In the magazine, we reveal which 26 products have been named Product of the Year – our selection of the best HiFi kit of 2020.

With recommendations for all product categories and at all price levels, there is something for you, regardless of your budget.

Awards 2020

Over the past few months, our review team has worked hard to compile a list of the winners in each category. The result of that effort was our 111 Best Purchases list released in early October.

The 26 products of the year remained a well-kept secret until they were announced whathifi.com yesterday. The What kind of hi-fi system? The 2020 awards ceremony associated with Sevenoaks Sound and Vision has inevitably been a hesitant affair compared to our usual annual event in central London, which was postponed this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

But don’t worry, you can now read all about our selections in the 2020 edition of the Awards What kind of hi-fi system? Magazine. From fantastic amplifiers to great TVs, this 156 page special edition lists, reviews, and rates the best kit of the year.

You can Subscribe or buy the latest edition here, or buy the digital edition iPhone, iPad, Android devices or Kindle Edition.

Awards 2020: stereo speakers

With the selection and variety of stereo speakers available and the number of different price points, stereo speakers are always one of the most competitive price categories.

This year we had so many great stand mounts to choose from, with the Dali Spektor 2, Elac Debut B5.2, Bowers & Wilkins 606 S2 Anniversary Edition and ProAc Response D2R receive Best Buy Awards. The overall winner of the product of the year, however, went to the KEF LS50 Meta Standmounters.

In the Floorstander category, the Fyne Audio F302, Dali Oberon 5, Spendor A7, ProAc Response DT8 and Wharfedale Evo 4.4 won the Best Buy Awards, while the Ruark Audio MR1 Mk2 again won the best desktop speaker category.

Awards 2020: TV

While 2020 was disappointing in many ways, it was a great year for television. With increasing competition between the major manufacturers, the technology will continue to advance even at the end of the market budget.

And increasing the amount of 4K content (if not yet 8K) means there are more reasons than ever to invest in a top-end TV.

The competitive nature of this category means that it is the only one where all of the award winners have been published in the past 12 months – not a single product won an award last year.

Samsung won four Best Buy Awards, winning Best 40-43in, Best 48-50in TV under £ 1000, and Best 55-58in TV under £ 1000. The Samsung model QE75Q950TS also won the Best 8K TV category.

Other winners were Philips, who won over £ 1000 in Best 55-58in TV and Best 65in TV over £ 2000, and Sony, who won under £ 2000 in Best 65in TV

Sony also won the grand prize, with the Sony KD-48A9 OLED winning the Product of the Year award for Best 48-50 ” TV over £ 1000.

Awards 2020: headphones

Good headphones are an indispensable part of the HiFi kit, whether you want to listen privately at home or on the go. Fortunately, we had a lot of great models to choose from again this year.

With three separate headphone categories (wireless, in-ears and on-ears), there were multiple winners, including the Sony WH-1000XM4 which won the Wireless Headphone Product of the Year award in the over £ 250 category.

Other highly recommended wireless headphones were the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 and the Sony WF-1000XM3 as well as three new entries in the AKG Y400, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 and the Earfun Air.

In the In-Ears category, the winners were the Klipsch T5M Wired, which was once again awarded the product of the year. Other Best Buy winners were the SoundMagic E11C (category under £ 50) and the Shure Aonic 3 (over £ 100).

In the on-ear category, Grado’s SR325e was named Best On-Ear Headphone (£ 150 to £ 400) Product of the Year, beating the competition of the Grado SR80e (Best On-Ear Headphone Under £ 150 ) and the Beyerdynamic Amiron (best on-ear headphones over £ 400).

First for reviews

The 2020 Awards edition is an excuse to celebrate the best hi-fi kit of the year, but that doesn’t stop the new products from coming thick and fast. In our First tests This section also gives you a complete look at one of our award winning products, the Sony KD-48A9 4K OLED TV. We said, “This is without a doubt the best sub-55” TV you can buy – and possibly the best ever made “. Find out why in the latest issue.

There is also a review of another TV, the Samsung UE43TU7100. This affordable 43-inch 4K HDR kit has all the top-end features and costs less than £ 400. So is it worth its reasonable price?

Another winner of the 2020 award will be presented in the award edition, the KEF LS50 Meta Speakers. These superb stand mounts are a new take on our old favorites, the LS50, but with innovative new metamaterial technology to reduce unwanted vibration. It works? You need to read the latest edition to find out.

There have been reviews of the Audiolab 6000A Play Streaming System, the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo turntable, the JVC DLA-N5 projector, and the Google Nest wireless audio speaker that we rate as “well made, easy to use and music Playable “Some refer to it, so every box will be checked. “To find out if it meets your criteria, read the latest special issue of What kind of hi-fi system?

And there is more …

We close with sad news that Andy Clough, Brand Director of What kind of hi-fi system? died at the age of 58 after a year-long battle with cancer. We pay tribute to a popular and highly regarded colleague, the man named “Mr What Hi-Fi”.

Don’t miss our special offer – a free STM Tree Charger (worth £ 70) – when you subscribe What kind of hi-fi system?

With so many prizes awarded to such a great hi-fi kit, the 2020 Awards cannot be missed. So grab a copy of What kind of hi-fi system? from your newsagents today. Or just download it to your tablet or smartphone. Enjoy!

You can Subscribe or buy the latest edition hereor buy the digital edition iPhone, iPad, Android devices or Kindle Edition.