2025 has gone to the farm. And by that I mean it’s dead as a dodo. But, eager to send it off in style, our reviewers spent all of December continuing their hunt for the absolute finest hi-fi and home cinema hardware money can buy.
Yes, while most of you were fighting for Christmas jumper supremacy at the office party, mulling wine and wrapping presents, our reviewers continued to diligently review a steady stream of new hardware, eager to send 2025 out with a bang.
Here’s what you need to know about them.
Audiolab D7
The Audiolab M-DAC from 2011 is a product many of us have fond memories of, with it being a class-leading digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) and a constant recommendation at the time. So much so that it still remains a firm favourite among certain What Hi-Fi? team members.
Which is why the appearance of the new Audiolab D7 in our listening rooms caused quite the commotion last month. Designed to replicate some of the magic that cemented Audiolab as a leader in the DAC space, but with a more modest price tag, smaller design and sprinkling of quality-of-life improvements, the D7 oozes appeal for its target audience.
And putting it through its paces with various price-appropriate active speakers and headphones, we’re pleased to report it’s an excellent performer. Across every genre we threw at it, streamed and via CD, the DAC delivered an even-handed performance with fluid dynamics and pleasing levels of clarity and insight.
Hence, our five-star rating and verdict: “If you are looking for a well-specified and talented outboard DAC at this level, it would be remiss if you didn’t consider this one seriously.”
Score: Five stars
Read our full Audiolab D7 review
BenQ W5850
The BenQ W5850 is a proper home cinema projector that targets a very competitive segment of the market. Its price puts it in direct competition with two heavy hitters, the five-star Sony VPL-XW5000ES and Epson EH-QB1000.
It’s also an interesting beast, being nearly identical to its sibling, the W5800, outside of its lens. This gives it an atypical short throw distance, making it possible to get a giant home cinema experience in surprisingly small spaces.
Is this enough to let it compete with its established rivals? Based on our testing, the answer is a firm yes. Though it’s beaten by the Sony for black depth, and there are some annoyances getting the most out of SDR content, if you take the time, it’s capable of delivering a mesmerising home cinema experience. As we said in our review:
“The BenQ W5850 is an excellent projector. The performance is very similar to that of the W5800, but the new lens adds flexibility and seems to create an even crisper image. Sony’s Award-winning VPL-XW5000ES remains the benchmark at this level, primarily thanks to its deeper blacks and superior processing, but the W5850’s beautiful warmth and richness make it a delight to watch and live with.”
Score: Five stars
Read our full BenQ W5850 review
Sennheiser HDB 630
There are a lot of wireless headphones to choose from right now. Which is why we were delighted to see Sennheiser add a twist to the formula for its latest pair of wireless cans.
Specifically, not only making sure they’re among the best sounding the company has yet made, but also adding a cool USB C dongle that adds hi-res codec support to any source you connect it to – making it quick and easy to elevate most smartphones' audio performance.
The combination makes the HDB 630 one of the best sets of wireless headphones currently available and an easy five-star recommendation. As we said in our review:
“Sennheiser’s most ambitious wireless headphones don’t only nail sound quality in their own right but also bless iPhones and other audio sources with a significant sound upgrade via a neat bundled accessory. The result? Sony XM6-beating sound performance in a well-built, feature-rich and competitively priced package.”
Score: Five stars
Read our full Sennheiser HDB 630 review
Philips OLED910 (65OLED910)
The OLED910 is the last OLED we tested in 2025. And what a way to end the year. The set is one of Philips’ finest in recent memory, undercutting competitors on price, while delivering a performance our TV and AV editor described as “close to the very best flagship OLEDs”.
Featuring an incredibly bright Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel, the flagship delivers a bombastic, blow-your-socks-off performance that will win over many movie fans. On top of that, though we still recommend investing in a price-appropriate soundbar for the best results, its in-built speakers are remarkably capable.
Hence, our five-star rating and glowing verdict: “The Philips OLED910 is a very impressive TV indeed. While it falls just short of the Sony Bravia 8 II’s picture greatness, it gets closer than most while costing a good deal less – and it sounds better, too.”
Score: Five stars
Read our full Philips OLED910 (65OLED910) review
JBL Bar 300MK2
There has been a bit of a drought when it comes to good-sounding, cheap soundbars. So much so that the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) has sat pretty as the affordable recommendation in our best Dolby Atmos soundbars guide for three-plus years.
And while it has managed to hold that place a little longer, last month it came a hair’s breadth from being toppled thanks to the arrival of the stellar JBL Bar 300MK2.
The affordable soundbar delivers a bombastic, energetic performance that, while not as refined as the Beam (Gen 2), is utterly engrossing, making it an excellent alternative for cash-strapped movie fans looking for a Dolby Atmos soundbar. We said as much in our review, where our testers reported:
“Ultimately, the Beam’s greater precision, detail and dynamics – and its musical ability – make it the better choice overall, but the JBL’s weightier, more bombastic and more room-filling sound will win it many fans.”
Score: Five stars
Read our full JBL Bar 300MK2 review
Sony Bravia 5 (K65XR55)
The Sony Bravia 5 is the entry-level option in the company’s current Mini LED range, sitting below the five-star Bravia 7 and four-star Bravia 9. Despite this, it's far from cheap, with pricing putting it directly between two of our current recommended Mini LED TVs, the cheaper, Award-winning TCL C7K and the moderately pricier, five-star TCL C8K.
The key compromise you need to accept with it compared with its more expensive siblings is fewer dimming zones. Despite this, when we ran it head to head with rivals, we found its potent XR processor, which borrows a lot of the features seen on Sony’s more premium sets, does an admirable job with what it’s got.
So much so that we actually list its backlight control and industry-leading motion handling as two of its main selling points, helping the set deliver an immersive, controlled viewing experience.
As we say in our Bravia 5 review: “Far from finally revealing a chink in Sony’s formidable current TV armour, the third tier of the brand’s latest LCD range is actually yet another star turn. In fact, while it may inevitably not hit quite the same performance heights as its more premium siblings, when it comes to value it’s the Sony set to beat.”
Score: Five stars
Read our full Sony Bravia 5 review
MORE:
We rank the best OLED TVs
Our picks of the best standmount speakers
The best DACs money can buy, picked by our reviewers
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