It’s the first Friday of September which, as well as a collective sigh of relief from parents as the sprogs head back at school, also means a fresh entry into our Pick of the Month column.
In it, our experts once again offer a succinct, easy-to-digest take on all the top hi-fi and home cinema products to earn five star ratings after passing through our viewing and listening rooms over the past month.
And while many of us may have been enjoying the summer sun, our testers missed any chance of a Vitamin D overdose, diligently reviewing more products than they care to count, in our controlled, windowless test rooms.
Thankfully, the effort was worth it, as they found 12 products worthy of a five-star recommendation.
TCL C8K / QM8K (65C8K)
Kicking off this month’s column is TCL’s capable new high-end Mini LED, the C8K.
We reviewed the 65-inch model and found it to be one of, if not the best Mini LED TVs we’ve reviewed in the upper end of the market – so much so that it broke Mini LED TV’s four star curse, being the first set to get full marks from our reviewers in close to a year.
Outside of a new, tuned by Bang and Olufsen sound system, one of the main upgrades is the use of TCL’s home-grown new ‘CrystGlow’ WHVA panels.
This aims to offer higher peak brightness levels, more dimming zones and holistically better contrast and light control – the final point being a key issue we had with the older TCL C855K from last year.
Putting it through its paces we found the work has paid off with the set delivering excellent brightness, great backlight control and impactful colours. Hence our glowing verdict:
“The C8K’s winning blend of extreme brightness, outstanding backlight control and aggressive pricing makes it one of TCL’s most exciting TVs yet.”
Score: 5/5
Read our full TCL C8K / QM8K (65C8K) review
Fyne Audio F502S
Fyne Audio has been on something of a winning streak recently with its F701SP standmounts and, by hi-fi standards, competitively priced F501E floorstanders earning five-star ratings earlier this year.
Last month the F502S continued its hot streak, impressing our reviewers enough to earn yet another five-star recommendation.
Featuring a robust, pleasingly premium design, the speakers are packed with custom hardware. These include everything from a custom mid/bass driver with the firm's IsoFlare point source tech to the brand’s ‘BassTrax’ diffuser system.
The first of those aims to widen the speakers’ sweet spot and improve stereo imaging, while the latter pushes to boost their low-end heft while simultaneously making them less fussy with positioning.
Paired with a price appropriate amp, in our case the Naim Nait XS 3, the speakers delivered a hugely entertaining, authoritative presentation, leading our reviewers to report:
“Blending superb sonic integration with class-leading authority and musicality, the F502S continue Fyne Audio’s hot streak in some style.”
Score: 5/5
Read our full Fyne Audio F502S review
Acoustic Energy AE300 Mk2
The Acoustic Energy AE300 Mk2 are the first standmount speakers in this month’s column. And after properly putting them through their paces, we can confirm their understated design is indicative of their general character, with the speakers proving to be an understated, slowburning hit with the team during testing.
The speakers borrow heavily from the firm’s more premium Corinium speakers, featuring a two-way design that pairs a 29mm fabric dome tweeter with a 12cm paper/coconut fibre mid/bass that crossover at 3.5kHz – giving them a middling 86dB/W/m sensitivity and a nominal 6-ohm impedance.
Running them against their main rivals, the five-star Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3, paired with a variety of price appropriate amps, we initially found them a little underwhelming, with one reviewer describing them as a competent but unremarkable performer.
But the more we listened to them, the more the team came to appreciate their understated, balanced performance, with every track we threw at them retaining solid levels of detail and retaining a nicely controlled bass. As we said in our review:
“They don’t try to bite off more than they can chew, and in the process deliver a superbly judged sound that works well across musical genres and with a wide range of electronics.”
Score: 5/5
Read our Acoustic Energy AE300 Mk2 review
Samsung S90F (QE48S90F)
The Samsung S90F is one of a recent wave of 48-inch OLED TVs to pass through our viewing rooms. And while, like all the 48-inch sets we’ve tested this year, it's not perfect, offering slightly overbaked colours in particular during certain test scenes, it is still a fantastic small OLED.
Featuring a pragmatic design that makes it easy to sensibly place a soundbar under it, punchy picture quality and an atypically generous four HDMI 2.1 inputs – which make it easy to connect and run multiple games consoles and a modern PC at full speed – there’s a lot to like about the set. Hence our glowing verdict:
“This is an excellent 48-inch OLED overall – one of the best we have tested, despite the slight colour exaggeration. For your money, you’ll get a bright, punchy, smallish OLED capable of delivering a fun home movie experience full of pop. Add to this flawless gaming specifications and excellent app support, and you get a TV that we are happy to recommend.”
Our only word of caution is to make sure you invest in a separate sound system as the speakers are particularly weedy – to the point our reviewers could comfortably converse without raising their voices, even when playing heated action movies with the volume set to 100.
Score: 5/5
Read our full Samsung S90F (QE48S90F) review
Vertere DG-X
Despite costing £4150 / $5400 / AU$8500, the Vertere DG-X is actually one of the more “affordable” options in the high end turntable maker's portfolio.
It’s particularly interesting as Vertere has taken an atypical approach designing it, choosing to come up with something entirely different, rather than try and scale down the awesome features and tech seen on its higher-end MG-1 or SG-1 models.
These include a completely redesigned tonearm with a flat design made of two bonded pieces of five-layered polymer.
The end result is a fantastic performer capable of offering a stable, but muscular sound with stellar rhythmic drive and dynamic expression when partnered with a price appropriate phono stage, amplifier and set of stereo speakers. As we said in our review:
“The Vertere DG-X remains a turntable that wants you to enjoy the music rather than analyse every element – but this is a terrific improvement over its predecessor in every way. With greater power, refinement and dynamism, the DG-X transports you into the music you’re listening to, no matter what the genre or recording era.”
Score: 5/5
Read our full Vertere DG-X review
Panasonic Z90B (TV-48Z90B)
The Panasonic Z90B is the second 48-inch step-down OLED TV featured in this month’s column.
A direct rival to the Samsung S90F further up this list, we found it to be a wonderfully capable small-ish OLED, but for very different reasons.
Where the Samsung pushes to deliver a wow factor with its picture, always rushing to show how bright and bombastic it can go, the Z90B focuses on offering a consistent, controlled performance.
This means some movie fans may find it a little dull, as it only ever pushes its peak brightness when the scene demands it, meaning it has less of an immediate “wow” factor. But for people who value balance and colour accuracy over razzmatazz, it’s the best 48-inch OLED money can buy right now, based on our testing.
We said as much in our review, where we reported: ”If you want a 48-inch OLED TV and value cinematic authenticity, the Panasonic Z90B is currently the one to get.”
Score: 5/5
Read our full Panasonic Z90B (TV-48Z90B) review
TCL C6KS (50C6KS-UK)
If any of the previous TVs on this list are a little too rich for your blood, then we have good news. Last week we found one of the first good, cheap TVs we’ve seen in months when we tested the £419, 50-inch TCL C6KS.
Despite its reasonable price, the TV comes with some solid hardware for the money, including a bright Mini LED panel, complete with comprehensive HDR support.
But, most importantly, as we ran through our standard suite of tests, it managed to deliver in one key area nearly all the other sets we’ve tested at this price recently haven’t – picture quality.
Whether it was the sparkling desert of Dune: Part 2, or the heated night-time battle scene we’ve come to favour for testing in Civil War, it delivered a solid picture with excellent brightness and contrast. As our reviewers reported:
“TCL’s latest ultra-affordable TV is even better than its specs suggest and fixes pretty much everything that was wrong with its predecessor. The price seems like it must be too good to be true – but it isn’t.”
Score: 5/5
Read our full TCL C6KS (50C6KS-UK) review
NAD C 3050 (with MDC2 BluOS-D module)
“Retro charm combined with a forward-looking nature,” that’s how our reviewers describe the NAD C 3050 (with MDC2 BluOS-D module).
And if that description sounds appealing, after thoroughly testing it in August, we can safely confirm it's an excellent option for any hi-fi fan looking for a new just-add-speakers system – even in the current market where it faces strong competition from the the Arcam A15 and Rega Elex Mk4.
Featuring a sleek retro design paired with all the modern hi-res streaming smarts BluOS brings to the table, plus a surprisingly decent moving magnet phono stage for vinyl fans, there's plenty to like at a technical level.
But, most importantly, it also sounds good when paired with price appropriate speakers, with it delivering a clear, spacious and expressive presentation during all our checks. As we said in our review:
“The attractive retro appearance may be the thing that draws people to the C 3050, but it’s the product's all round abilities as a streaming package that makes it such a strong buy. Highly recommended.”
Score: 5/5
Read our full NAD C 3050 (with MDC2 BluOS-D module) review
Panasonic Z95B (TV-65Z95B)
The Z95B is Panasonic’s current flagship OLED TV. That means it has a wealth of cutting edge hardware, including an Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel, similar in kind to the one sported on the LG G5.
And while we found it takes a bit more tweaking to get the best results than its step-down sibling, after you take the time to do so it offers amazing picture quality, especially if you value control and want an “as the director intended” experience. As we said in our review:
“The Panasonic Z95B proves that it can deliver the cinematic performance we expect, but it requires a bit of fiddling in the settings menu to get there. Once it’s dialled in, you can expect a rich, authentic and crisp picture, backed up by a solid feature set.”
The only minor downsides are that, despite offering 4K/144Hz gaming support, it only has two HDMI 2.1 inputs, one of which doubles as its eARC. Prepare for some serious cable swapping if you plan to connect multiple consoles to it.
Its sound system, which includes a giant soundbar bolted onto its bottom, is also “good” by TV speaker standards, but far from matching one of the units featured in our best Dolby Atmos soundbars guide.
Score: 5/5
Read our full Panasonic Z95B (TV-65Z95B) review
Neat Mystique Classic
Neat is gradually carving a strong reputation for delivering tiny, great sounding hi-fi speakers, and the Mystique Classic are a great example why, based on our testing in the last month.
The Mysticque Classic model is the middle child in the firm’s range, sitting below the Neat Elite towers, but above the Neat Petite we gave five stars to last year.
The tiny floorstanders look a little basic, featuring a charming but undeniably barebones wooden finish.
But, when we matched them with our reference Naim's Nait XS 3 integrated amp they proved to be anything but, delivering hugely entertaining performance full of agility and excellent low level dynamic reproduction. As we said in our review:
“Like their Petite standmount siblings, these small floorstanders have a given balance and a specific purpose, prioritising fun and entertainment at the expense of a more analytical or traditional “hi-fi” sound. If, for you, music is all about the experience, something that’s felt rather than analysed or admired, the Neat Mystique Classic must be on your shortlist.”
Score: 5/5
Read our full Neat Mystique Classic review
Pathos Inpol Remix MkII
If you looked at its specifications sheet alone, you may well quickly dismiss the Inpol Remix MkII as a valid option for your hi-fi set-up, with it only offering 25 watts per channel into 8 ohms of power output, despite costing £5495 / $5895 / AU$13,999.
But if you like your amp to come with a dash of sonic finesse and a refined midrange, you’d be remiss to do so. Though the eye-catching art deco-style amp is undeniably “characterful,” and requires careful partnering, it is a fantastic performer, based on our testing.
Match it with lively, expressive speakers, in our case the Fyne Audio F1-8 or the ProAc D2R and it will deliver a wonderfully charming performance with exceptional levels of clarity and balance. Hence our five-star rating and verdict:
“There is no denying that this Pathos is something of a left-field choice. It needs pampering, particularly in terms of partnering speakers, if you want to get the best from it. Put in the work, and it offers a blend of strengths unlike most rivals at this level. “If you want to hear a good example of a valve/transistor hybrid amplifier, this is as fine an option as we have heard at this level. Highly recommended.”
Score: 5/5
Read our full Pathos Inpol Remix MkII review
Ruark MR1 Mk3
For close to a decade, Ruark’s MR1 line of dinky speakers has been our recommended small, or desktop option, for hi-fi fans. And with the third generation MR1s having passed through our listening rooms, it looks like that legacy may well continue.
Despite looking a lot like the outgoing Ruark MR1 Mk2, the Mk3 comes with a few key upgrades. These include new audio inputs, the use of a bigger driver and completely new amplification technology.
The end result is a wonderfully flexible, small, powered Bluetooth speaker capable of delivering a powerful, punchy and dynamic sound. Hence our reviewers’ five-star rating and verdict:
"The fact that Ruark has been able to fit in so many upgrades and new inputs into the MR1 Mk3 without changing its compact, desktop form and increasing the price too much is impressive. The powerful, punchier and bigger sound evolves the concept further, although we'd like just a touch more finesse in the bass.”
Score: 5/5
Read our full Ruark MR1 Mk3 review
MORE:
These are the best bookshelf speakers we’ve tested
We rate the best OLED TVs
Our picks of the best cheap TVs
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