A big question on Dolby Vision, new Sennheiser headphones with a twist, five-star OLED TV and more

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

We’re less than a week away from unveiling 2025's first batch of What Hi-Fi? Award winners, but that hasn’t stopped a few big news stories dropping over the past seven days.

Here to help make sure you stay apprised of all the most pressing developments in the worlds of hi-fi and home cinema, we have a fresh entry in our Rewind news digest.

Top stories include our final verdict on not one but two new Arcam amplifiers, our thoughts on LG’s smallest C5 OLED and a surprise launch from Sennheiser.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Arcam’s latest amps are impressive

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Arcam A15+ integrated amplifier — (Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

Last week our reviewers finished testing the Arcam A15+ and Arcam A5+, the direct successors to the Arcam A15 and Arcam A5, two five-star amps that won What Hi-Fi? Awards last year.

Will they succeed like their predecessors and pick up Awards this year? You’ll have to wait until next week to find out. What we can confirm is that they are both five star products that offer clear sonic improvements on their predecessors.

As we say in our Arcam A15+ review: “Strategic circuit tweaks improve an already excellent performer.”

And this, from our Arcam A5+ review: “The A5+ is a wonderful addition to Arcam’s family of amplifiers, offering a sound that blends class-leading insight with a tangible sense of musicality.”

Read our full Arcam A15+ review

Read our full Arcam A5+ review

We have a big question for you

A photo of a 98-inch TV mounted to a blue wall at a trade show. Various logos and text surround the screen, including 'Dolby Vision 2.0' — (Image credit: Future)

Last week we published our latest Ask The Reader question. We want to know, is Dolby Vision HDR support a big deal for you when buying a TV?

It's an important question, as next year the new Dolby Vision 2 standard is launching. As well as bringing a number of technical upgrades, though, there is one key catch to the technology: it has specific hardware requirements, which means that no current-generation TV will be able to run Dolby Vision 2 Max at its highest quality.

Is that a big deal for you, or is Dolby Vision support not a big concern when you buy your next TV? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments section of our latest Ask The Reader column!

Read the full story: Is Dolby Vision HDR a deal breaker when buying a TV? We want your opinions

Sennheiser launched new wireless headphones

Sennheiser HDB 630 headphones with BT dongle — (Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

Last week, Sennheiser launched a new pair of wireless headphones. But, rather than being a follow-up to the firm’s five-star Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless, the new cans are actually a part of its long established HD 600 audiophile line.

The Sennheiser HDB 630 are being pitched as the brand’s “first hi-res audiophile wireless product” and have been designed to work as both a cabled and wireless pair of headphones.

To achieve this, they come with an atypical BTD 700 USB-C Bluetooth transmitter. This grants hi-res streaming up to 24-bit/96kHz quality when connected to a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.

Read the full story: Sennheiser's new hi-res audiophile wireless headphones want to give you the best of both worlds

Samsung challenges TCL for Mini LED dominance

Samsung QN90F Mini LED TV — (Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

Fresh off the back of our reviewers testing the five-star TCL C8K and TCL C7K and giving them prime position in our best Mini LED TV guide, Samsung came out all guns blazing last week with its QN90F.

The premium Mini LED set proved to be one of the best Samsung has made to date – so much so that our reviewers awarded it a five-star rating.

Highlights include outstanding backlight control, a simple setup process and excellent gaming specifications. If you can spare the cash and don’t fancy an OLED, for whatever reason, this Samsung set is well worth considering.

Read our full Samsung QN90F (QE65QN90F) review

LG’s smallest C5 OLED TV is pretty good

LG C5 42-inch OLED TV — (Image credit: What Hi-Fi? / Prime Video, Stanley Tucci Searching For Italy)

The 42-inch version of the LG C5 is one of the few remaining sizes we had wanted to test from the home cinema giant’s latest line of step-down OLEDs. And having done just that last week we can confirm that, like the 48-inch LG C5 and 55-inch LG C5 we reviewed earlier this year, it’s an easy five-star recommendation.

For your money you’ll be treated to a small-room friendly OLED TV with flawless gaming specifications, solid app support and a competitive price tag. Most importantly, although it isn’t a huge improvement on last year’s 42-inch LG C4, it still offers fantastic picture quality.

As we say in our 42-inch LG C5 review: “The 42-inch LG C5 is the best OLED of its size we have tested, despite being only a modest upgrade on its predecessor.”

Read our full LG C5 (OLED42C5) review

MORE:

These are the best 40-inch TVs we have reviewed

We rate the best stereo amps money can buy

Our picks of the best wireless headphones

Alastair is What Hi-Fi?’s editor in chief. He has well over a decade’s experience as a journalist working in both B2C and B2B press. During this time he’s covered everything from the launch of the first Amazon Echo to government cyber security policy. Prior to joining What Hi-Fi? he served as Trusted Reviews’ editor-in-chief. Outside of tech, he has a Masters from King’s College London in Ethics and the Philosophy of Religion, is an enthusiastic, but untalented, guitar player and runs a webcomic in his spare time.

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