The wheels of time keep spinning, despite Rush's best efforts, which means it’s time for a fresh entry into our weekly Rewind news digest.
In it, our team of experts once again detail the top hi-fi and home cinema stories to break over the past seven days.
It was another busy one with our team hammering out more than 60 new pieces, detailing everything from new special edition floorstanders from Bowers & Wilkins to a streaming amplifier from turntable heavyweight Pro-Ject.
Here’s what you need to know.
Bowers & Wilkins celebrates a sapphire anniversary
It feels as though Bowers & Wilkins is in the headlines every other day at the moment. Last week the firm unveiled new limited edition 801 speakers to celebrate the 45th anniversary of its long standing partnership with Abbey Road Studios.
The speakers are based on the firm’s 2023 flagship 801 D4 Signature floorstanders. They come with custom reworked design elements and a special edition book, celebrating the partnership. If you want a pair, though, you’ll have to act fast – B&W is making only 140 of them.
Read the full story: Bowers & Wilkins and Abbey Road Studios celebrate their iconic 45-year partnership with limited-edition 801 speakers
We took a look at some seriously expensive vinyl
Enthusiasts are always willing to pay a lot to fund their passions, and last week we took a deep dive, looking at the most expensive vinyl sales over the past month. It certainly showed that some of us are willing to part with serious amounts of cash our favourite records. The list includes staples including Please Please Me by the Beatles, as well as a few entries that surprised us.
Read the full story: The 10 most valuable records sold on Discogs last month
Pro-Ject launched a new streaming amp
Pro-Ject is a brand with a strong track record in the turntable space. If you jump to our best turntable buying guide, you’ll see multiple recommendations carrying its branding.
Last week, though, it changed lanes, unveiling its new Pro-Ject Uni Box S3 streaming amplifier, which is available now for £699 / $1099 / €799.
Built on WiiM OS for streaming, the unit promises to offer hi-fi fans the best of both worlds, and features circuitry designed to "preserve the rich character of analogue sound by keeping the analogue signal path intact”, when a turntable is connected.
Read the full story: Pro-Ject's new streaming amplifier is powered by WiiM's excellent OS
Audio-Technica has launched some mid-range earbuds
Last week, Audio-Technica treated us to its latest wireless earbuds, the ATH-CK250TWS. The new earbuds target the mid-range market costing £125 / €149 / $159. That puts them in direct competition with the £169 / $219, Cambridge Audio Melomania M100.
The headline-grabbing feature is their lengthy 65 hours of total playback (25 from the buds on a single charge and 40 from the case), but they have generally solid specifications on top of this.
Highlights include custom-designed 9mm high-definition drivers focused on delivering a “rich, detailed sound”, as well as Bluetooth LE Audio and LC3 codec support.
Read the full story: Audio-Technica's mid-range earbuds pack plenty of features and a bulging battery life
The What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025 are official
Get your calendars out: last week we confirmed the key dates for one of the biggest hi-fi events of the year – our 43rd What Hi-Fi? Awards!
These include details of when the first batch of Best Buy winners will be announced, when reader voting will open, as well as the date of the exclusive black tie event where we will reveal this year’s Product of the Year winners.
Read the full story: Announcing the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025 – all the details and key dates revealed
MORE:
These are the best wireless earbuds we have tested
We rank the best stereo amps for music fans
Our pick of the best floorstanding speakers
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
