November 2008 issue on sale now

November 08 cover

We've got a fascinating Group Test of the latest budget Blu-ray players from Sony, Samsung and Panasonic, starting at £230. The mighty PS3 takes on newer rivals, so discover how they fare.

If you're looking for a new TV and your room or budget is a little small, we've rounded up the latest 26in LCD contenders from JVC, Loewe, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba in our Supertest. We also take a look at a trio of 32in models for the same money, and see how they compare.

And still on a home cinema theme, we've tested a quartet of hard-disk DVD recorders. Prices have tumbled, with our contenders costing from £240-£260, so will Sony hang on to its crown?

For those who may recently have invested in a new home cinema amp or receiver, we've been listening to some very tasty 5.1 surround speaker packages from B&W, Dali, Mordaunt-Short and Tannoy. The Dali Ikon 6 has been one of our long-time favourites and a frequent Award winner, but has it finally met its match?

And if you think your system is in need of a bass boost, we've a round-up of now less than eight smart subwoofers.

However, don't think we've forgotten our hi-fi roots. Our test team has spent the last month putting a mix of £700-£1000 standmount and floorstanding stereo speakers through their paces, and we've got exclusive First Tests of the new Kandy range from Roksan and the extraordinary Cyrus CD 8 SE CD player that's been much discussed on our Forums.

Yamaha is back on song with its new A-S1000 stereo amplifier and CD-S1000 CD/SACD player, and Marantz has a deeply impressive budget CD player, the £200 CD 5003. Oh, and we're rather taken with Dali's new £250 Lektor 1 stereo speakers.

You want more? Well how about Martin Logan's wonderful-looking Vantage electrostatic speakers, Wadia's flagship CD/SACD player and Naim's awesome NAC252/NAP 250 pre/power amplifier combo, all featured in our Temptations section?

We've also tested three new DACs from Beresford, Cambridge Audio and Musical Fidelity, lots of headphones, a range of new speakers from KEF, 2.1 home cinema systems from Sony, Yamaha and JVC, Denon's delectable Blu-ray transport and new multichannel receivers from Pioneer, Panasonic and Yamaha.

And if you fancy a new DAB or internet radio, we've got eight new models to choose from.

All this and more is in the new issue, available now from all good newsagents. Check it out here.