Another Monday, another entry into our weekly Rewind column, where our team of experts once again offer the cliff notes on all the latest hi-fi and home cinema news you need to know about.
And what a week it was with not one, but two big products passing through our listening rooms and a couple of big surprise launches appearing out of the blue.
Here’s what you need to know.
Sony’s earbuds winning streak continues
Sony’s wireless earbuds and headphones have been on a hotstreak in recent years, thanks to their ability to deliver a holistically solid experience, with no serious weaknesses. That’s a key reason you’ll find four sets with Sony’s branding in our current list of What Hi-Fi? Award winners.
And, after fully reviewing the firm’s newly unveiled Sony WF-1000XM6 wireless earbuds, we’re pleased to report that trend is showing no signs of slowing. Despite strong competition, key tweaks to Sony’s Award-winning formula that improve audio, ANC and mic quality make the XM6 an easy five-star recommendation.
As we said in our review: “The premium wireless earbuds market has never been healthier, and your choices have never been wider and more varied. But just when you thought Sony might be pulled back into the chasing pack, the WF-1000XM6 push the brand ahead again with a breathtaking all-round performance.”
Read our full Sony WF-1000XM6 review
Rega’s new amp is pretty awesome
If more serious hi-fi is your game, you’ll be pleased to hear we also finished testing Rega’s spiffy new Mercury/Solis pre/power amplifier last week.
The market has some existing heavy-hitters at the Mercury/Solis’ £13,900 ($20,990 / AU$29,000) price point. A list headlined by the recently reviewed, five-star Yamaha C-5000/M-5000 (£17,198 / $21,998 / AU$25,998).
But, featuring the brand’s long-standing focus on delivering quality engineering and a design built around an analogue circuit that's clearly inspired by the brand’s first Elicit integrated amplifier – which was made all the way back in the 1990s – it’s still an easy recommendation.
During all our checks, the unit delivered a nicely dynamic performance full of rhythmic drive and sonic authority. Hence our verdict: “Rega’s statement pre/power amplifier is a hugely entertaining proposition that puts the music first.”
Read our full Rega Mercury/Solis review
Majority’s uber-cheap soundbar system
Cheap soundbars and soundbar systems carrying Dolby Atmos branding have been around for a while.
But it was only last year, after more searching than we care to remember, that we found one worth recommending, in the shape of the Award-winning Hisense AX5125H – a unit that genuinely surprised our reviewers with its atypically "good" audio and modest price tag.
Which is why we’re keeping an eye on Cambridge-based firm Majority Audio’s answer to it, the newly unveiled flagship Bowfell Halo Atmos soundbar system.
Unveiled last week, the unit is set to cost £170 and is a direct rival to the AX5125H, consisting of a main soundbar, two wireless satellite speakers and a subwoofer.
Read the full story: This brand's ultra-cheap Dolby Atmos soundbar is gunning for our five-star Award-winner
Roksan’s new “transparent design philosophy”
We all love a good chinwag, especially with old friends. Which is why, when Roksan unveiled its new Caspian 4G range of separates, our hi-fi and audio editor, Kashfia Kabir, couldn’t resist the urge to jump on the train to have a chat with the engineers and designers behind it.
During the conversation, she also had a chance to have an opening listen with some of the new hardware and get the inside scoop on how the brand plans to get more people into proper hi-fi separates with its clever “transparent design philosophy”.
Read the full story: Roksan wants to make its hi-fi separates more user-friendly with its "transparent design philosophy" – and I got an early preview
MORE:
These are the best wireless earbuds we’ve tried and tested
Our picks of the best stereo amplifiers
We rank the best Dolby Atmos soundbars
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