Boy howdy, what a doozy of a deal.

Of all of the wireless headphones deals we've seen this Prime Day, this has to be one of the very best. The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 are just £255 at Amazon, a colossal saving of £144 that far outstrips any deal we've thus seen on the five-star wireless over-ears.

You'll have to get them in a rather stylish white colourway to get the lowest price possible, but that's hardly a great loss – white finishes are so in right now.

The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 are some of the best wireless headphones we've had the pleasure of testing in the last few year, impressing in terms of both style and substance.

First launching in April 2025, it's not surprising to see discounts creep in as the good-looking over-ears approach roughly one-and-a-half years of life, but a £144 saving at Amazon is by far the best deal we've seen yet Hey, thank Prime Day for that..

While we've awarded the Px7 S3 the top spot for being best for style, being really, really, ridiculously good-looking is not all they have to offer. They're also lovely to listen to and packed with great features, even if the ANC could reasonably be quite a bit better.

As we wrote in our review: "The Px7 S3 really are exceptionally refined and detailed headphones. They drop you deep into a performance, breaking the boundary between you and your music and insisting that you become a part of the experience, a little like a mate at a gig who ushers you ever-closer towards the stage."

Thanks to their cannily-positioned eight-mic array, the Px7 S3 deliver a reasonably solid barrier between you and the outside world.

While their biggest rivals, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra and Sony XM6 block out sound a little more competently, these Bowers do a decent enough job, and at this price, they're now considerably cheaper than the XM6, and a lot better looking.

Their features also impress at this price point, with aptX Lossless and Adaptive Bluetooth support and a respectable 30-hour battery life with ANC on, while Bluetooth Multipoint makes switching between multiple connected source devices as easy as falling off a log.

For anyone looking for the convenience of wireless and ANC without giving up too much when it comes to sound quality, the B&W Px7 S3 are easy to recommend, especially now that they're just £255 at Amazon.

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Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 vs Pi6: which B&W wireless earbuds should you choose

It's time to get serious this Prime Day. If you're after the best wireless earbuds you can buy, you couldn't do much better than the five-star Bowers & Wilkins Pi8.

Right now, the Pi8 can be yours for just £275 at Peter Tyson, which isn't the lowest price we've ever seen the five-star buds, but still represents a major saving of £74. Not to be sniffed at, certainly!

The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 certainly come in pricier than your average wireless buds, but in terms of performance, they justify their premium price tag.

The stylish buds offer serious performance across the board. As our expert testers said: “Immediately you’re made aware that this is no pair of budget earbuds. There’s a maturity and refinement to the sound which you just don’t get from entry-level and mid-price wireless earbuds.

“This level of sophistication really allows the Pi8 to stand out. They shine a light on any music streamed their way with a beautifully balanced approach – you can savour every frequency from the lowest of lows to the highest highs.”

From dynamic insight to genuine rhythmic drive, you can be kept entertained for the duration of the Pi8s' 6.5 hours of battery life from the buds themselves, rising to 20 hours with the case in play.

That charging case is smarter than you think, doubling up as wireless audio re-transmitter. This means that you can plug the case into a source that does not support Bluetooth, such as an in-flight entertainment system, and play audio through the wireless buds.

There is also support for Bluetooth 5.4, the inclusion of AptX Adaptive support at up to 24-bit/96kHz and also aptX Lossless. Plus, the ANC uses the same technology as B&W's Px8 over-ears, which can be switched off entirely or switched into Transparency mode.

All this led us to reach an incredibly positive verdict, saying: “Their wonderfully sophisticated, balanced and transparent sound delivers a level of insight that’s rare in wireless earbuds. You do have to pay for that quality but, ultimately, we think it’s a price worth paying.”

Fortunately, right now, you don’t have to pay as much as you once would have. In fact, you can save a very healthy £74 if you check them out at Peter Tyson or John Lewis.

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Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 vs Pi6: which B&W wireless earbuds should you choose?

Wasn’t it Joni Mitchell who said, “you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone”?

We can be fairly certain she wasn’t talking about Prime Day deals back in 1970, but with a reduction like this on a decent pair of floorstanding speakers, we are feeling inclined to heed her advice, anyway.

The B&W 603 S3 are currently at a Prime Day discount of £500, available for £1499 from Sevenoaks, Peter Tyson and Richer Sounds.

Whats more, you can pick up a 3m run of QED XT25 Speaker Cable (worth £70) for free by signing up to Rewards by Sevenoaks. Blessedly, sign-up is completely free.

In previous sales, these speakers have sold out fast, so we recommend acting quickly if this sounds like the bargain for you.

The 603 S3 are the largest and most costly speakers in Bowers & Wilkins’ 600 series. They use a titanium-dome tweeter, B&W’s custom 15cm Continuum midrange cone, and a pair of 16.5cm paper bass drivers to deliver a “robust” and “full” sound.

With a more powerful motor assembly for their midrange driver, which uses a vibration-suppressing foam in pursuit of purer, clearer sound, the 603 S3 have seen tech trickle down from B&W’s more expensive 700 series.

It is worth noting that these are some formidably proportioned speakers. Measuring 102cm tall, they are ideal for anyone looking to fill a room with an attractive, if bulky speaker set-up.

Thankfully, we feel the B&Ws warrant the space they take up. In our review of the 603 S3, we say that the drive and power of these speakers would “please anyone looking for their music to enjoy a whole load of weight and muscle”.

Throughout testing, they provided detail and nuance, while also contributing clarity, focus and robust bass. These speakers showed no shortage of authority and control.

However, we awarded the 603 S3 four stars at review, due to the superior dynamism of the similarly priced PMC Prodigy 5.

But the Prodigy 5 are still selling for £1995 – and that, to our mind, puts the Bowers & Wilkins ahead as a significantly more affordable option.

If you’re looking for a large set of speakers with a similarly substantial sound, the 603 S3 just might be the pair for you. They are available for £1499 from Sevenoaks, Peter Tyson and Richer Sounds.

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Bowers & Wilkins has just announced its all-new flagship 800 Series Diamond speaker range to celebrate 60 years of the iconic British brand.

The fifth generation of the established 800 Series of loudspeakers once again incorporates B&W's iconic Diamond Dome tweeter, and features seven new models, including the two-way 805 D5 standmounter and a trio of three-way floorstanding models: the the 804 D5, 803 D5, and 802 D5.

And the good news is, we've already heard them. We're on the ground at High End Vienna 2026 so we took B&W up on the offer of some listening time with the range-topping 801 D5 (£43,000 / $65,000 / €50,000).

We'll get a chance to have an even more in-depth listen in due course, but a pair of flagship Bowers & Wilkins speakers don't tend to come around too often, so we were eager to take this first opportunity.

First, the usual caveats. It wasn't the longest demo we'll ever be given – around 45 minutes – and demo rooms at hi-fi shows are rarely conducive to giving the best sound possible, especially when you're competing with below par acoustics and the sound of a few thousand hi-fi enthusiasts trying to get their bearings.

With all that said and done – the signs are positive.

It's taken around five years for B&W to bake its latest speakers in the proverbial oven, but as we get our demo underway, the promise of enhanced resolution and forensic levels of detail look set to be proved true.

B&W has promised a more "even-handed" and "generous" character without any loss of resolution from the 801 D5, and when coupled with a system which includes Mark Levinson's 626 preamp and 632 power amp, plus a high-end Innuos Nazaré music streamer, our demo speakers are ready to show some of their clear capabilities.

Odetta's Hit or Miss is our aperitif, with cascading opening drums sounding three-dimensional and authentic before that soulful central performance is given ample room in the spotlight.

We're sitting slightly off-centre, so it's hard to judge just how well the 801 D5 speakers assemble each musical element, but the impression we get is of speakers with a knack for putting music together in a neat, precise and cinematic manner.

We're also promised solid, integrated bass, something that B&W showcases with Eric Clapton's After Midnight and Thom Yorke's Black Swan.

There's ample power and authority to the lower end reproduction across both tracks, with strong evidence of a bass that, in B&W's words, blends "scale and integrity".

We're certainly keen to let the B&W 801 D5 loose in a larger, more conditioned room where the speakers have greater space to blossom and breathe, but regardless, there are strong hints at serious talent here.

Antigravity by Sohn finishes off our session, letting the B&W towers further showcase their dynamic abilities.

Flagship floorstanding speakers such as these should be able to tackle small scale shifts alongside those big dynamic swings, a balance the 801 D5 seem to manage as various instruments scatter and tumble all around.

We'll reserve any concrete judgements until we've had far more time to really dig into the 801 D5 and discover the bounds of their talents.

Initial signs point to a powerful, vivid and impressively detailed pair of flagship floorstanders, even if it's hard to escape the limitations of the listening space working against them.

Once we have a chance to get the speakers into a space where they can really shine, we'll be in a better position to see whether B&W has added a genuine classic to its long-running Diamond line-up.

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This is a big one: British brand Bowers & Wilkins has announced the new model in its legendary 800 Series Diamond range – and during its 60th anniversary year. The D5 is the fifth generation of the 800 Series to feature the Diamond Dome tweeter; it follows multiple five-star and Award-winning entries.

So what’s new? The D5 range includes new technology, a refined design and new finishes to deliver what B&W claims is its most advanced speaker range ever.

You can read our first impressions here: I've had a first listen to Bowers & Wilkins' new flagship 800 Series Diamond speakers – and now I'm desperate to hear more

The range comprises seven models: the two-way 805 D5 standmount, 804 D5, 803 D5, 802 D5 and 801 D5 three-way floorstanders, and HTM81 D5 and HTM82 D5 centre channel speakers for home cinema use.

Like previous models in the Diamond series, the speakers are luxuriously designed. The new models have new top plates, spines and plinths, and revised drive unit pods, tweeter bodies, trim rings and grilles. They also have new finishes with more durable paint than previous models.

We also get tighter production tolerances, with visible transitions between surfaces minimised, fixings hidden and gaps between panels greatly reduced. All of which should amount to a more seamless and premium finish.

There are improvements under the hood, too, resulting in “more openness, lower distortion, heightened resolution and superior dynamics,” B&W says. One of the highlights is Space Frame Bracing, which features parallel aluminium bracing rails that are periodically enforced longitudinally and transversely bolted onto the rear of the Matrix inside the speaker cabinet. This stiffens the inside of the enclosure, reducing the unwanted impact of vibrations and resonances.

The new plinths have been redesigned to match the form of the cabinet they support. They have new metal trims and have been extended to conceal the speakers’ wheels and spikes to make them more aesthetically pleasing. They benefit from constrained-layer and tuned-mass damping, again to reduce unwanted output.

The new aluminium top-plate braces the top section with thicker aluminium ribbing sections for greater stiffness. It also has more mechanical location points and revised coupling mounts, and an upgraded collar trimmed in Leather by Connolly.

The 804 D5 features an internal aluminium enclosure for its Continuum Cone FST assembly. This is derived from the stiff Turbine Head structure used on all larger floorstanding 800 Series Diamond models, and isolates the midrange assembly while also providing a consistent mechanical decoupling point for the drive unit. All of which should make for a more free and open sound from the Continuum Cone midrange.

All the new speakers have the same tweeter grille mesh design as the 801 D4 Signature, but made more acoustically transparent for greater resolution. Each midrange, bass/midrange and bass drive unit in the new range has lower-distortion motor systems based on Signature-specification components. Which should deliver a “cleaner, more accurate sounding presentation with better resolution, transient response and dynamics.”

They also have upgraded crossovers, again derived from B&W’s Signature speakers, and new wiring harnesses with higher-quality cabling and terminal post links for better resolution.

New stereo models benefit from a crossover assembly which is housed on an all-aluminium plate construction which is coupled into both the cabinet and the rear Space Frame Bracing using substantial M8 and M4 fixings to improve cabinet stiffness. But the fixings are concealed behind brand and model identifier plates for a more elegant look.

The 801 D5 is the flagship, while the cheaper 802 D5 has the same proportions and same same 6-inch FST midrange cone. The 803 D5 is cheaper still, with a smaller footprint, while the 804 D5 has a more traditional design than its siblings. The 805 D5 is the standmount.

The HTM81 D5 centre-channel speaker is for use with the 801 and 802 D5, whereas the HTM82 D5 is for use with the 803 and 804 D5. Both centre-channel speakers are three-way designs.

There are also stands: the FS-805 D5 (for the 805 D5) and FS-HTM D5 (for the HTM81 D5 or HTM82 D5).

Pricing is as follows:

• 801 D5: £43,000 / $65,000 (around AU$81,000)
• 802 D5: £32,500 / $45,000 (around AU$61,000).
• 803 D5: £25,500 / $35,000 (around AU$48,000)
• 804 D5: £16,000 / $25,000 (around AU$30,000)
• 805 D5: £10,000 / $15,000 (around AU$19,000)
• HTM81 D5: £10,000 / $15,000 (around AU$19,000)
• HTM82 D5: £8000 / $12,000 (around AU$15,000)
• FS-805 D5: £1600 / $2000 (around AU$3000)
• FS-HTM D5: £1100 / $1500 (around AU$2000)

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The UK’s latest hot spell might be coming to an end, but the sun is still shining on several top deals which our experts have found over the past seven days.

Given that it’s pay day for many of us, it could be the perfect time to take advantage of that discounted piece of kit you’ve had your eye on in recent months.

This week, there’s more of an AV slant to the bargain products we have seen. There’s big money off Dolby Atmos Soundbars and both Mini LED and OLED flat-screen TVs. Pair them together, and you could have the perfect combination of picture and sound, all for a very reasonable price.

We haven’t forgotten about hi-fi, though. We have tracked down top discounts on two five-star pairs of headphones.

Only products we have tested appear in this list, and they have to have received at least four stars to receive our coveted recommendation here.

We’ll go a bit more in-depth on why we like these products so much below, but for now, happy shopping!

At 42 inches, the LG OLED42C5 is a fantastic five-star OLED TV from LG at a size that is becoming increasingly rare to find. If you want a premium performer without the price tag, this could be the TV for you.

Alternatively, we also picked a 65-inch Samsung TV, the QE65QN90F, which uses Mini LED TV technology and boasts excellent gaming specification, a punchy, detailed picture and a dazzling better-than-half-price discount.

On the soundbar front, we have a firm What Hi-Fi? favourite from Sonos in the shape of the Award-winning Arc Ultra, complete with awesome Dolby Atmos sound and all manner of streaming smarts.

We also highlighted a talented bar from JBL, the Bar 1000 MK2, which boasts a very neat party trick: its detachable surround speakers can also be used as normal wireless speakers and can be dotted around the house when not in use.

Hi-fi hasn’t been completely left out this week: the five-star Grado RS1x are a classy pair of wired headphones with a big discount.

Fancy going wireless instead of wired? There’s a solid saving on a long-term favourite of ours, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e. These classy-looking cans sound full of life and boast solid specifications.

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Denon and Marantz are two of the biggest names in audio, especially if you’re obsessed with AVRs like me. Whether it’s the affordable Denon AVR-X2800H or the premium (and super stylish) Marantz Cinema 30, these sister companies occupy three of the five slots on our best AV receivers list.

Speaking of, that list is probably about to receive a bit of a shake-up. Last month, I travelled all the way to Tokyo for a secret mission, which I can now reveal was to check out the highly anticipated AVR-X2900H and AVR-X3900H: both sequels to two home cinema test-room legends.

You can check out our AVR-X2900H hands-on review for our extended first impressions of the new amplifier. But seeing (or should we say hearing?) the new AVRs was only half of the experience.

The other half centred around touring Denon and Marantz’s facilities, which included speaking to the companies’ respective Sound Masters, and experiencing the listening rooms in which these products are developed and tuned.

Denon is based in the historic city of Shirakawa, 185km northeast of Tokyo. It has called this city home for more than 40 years, and around 200 people work here across various divisions, including manufacturing and research and development (R&D).

Marantz joined Denon here in 2002, and now both companies share the space. There’s a Hall of Fame and a museum dedicated to products that define both audio companies’ respective histories, and there’s a manufacturing plant on site. Everything from handmade turntable cartridges to mass-produced AV receivers are assembled here.

The most enticing part of my tour of this facility, however, was the listening-room experience that the brands hosted. Denon opted to show off a multi-channel demonstration, whereas Marantz stuck to stereo; both were equally entrancing.

The room featured a 9.4.6 speaker arrangement, with four pairs of Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 floorstanders as the headliners. These cost £36,000 a pair, so it should be clear just how serious Denon and Marantz are about home cinema and hi-fi sound.

These were joined by a matching centre channel – the B&W HTM81 D4 at £8250 – and four B&W DB1D subwoofers at £4600 a pop. Height channels were handled via six in-ceiling Bowers & Wilkins speakers, including one pair of CCM663s (around £650/pair) and two pairs of the CCM664 speakers (around £600/pair).

If our maths serves us correctly, that prices the speaker package at a staggering £172,500, and that’s before we take into account the room treatment, cables, disc players and amplification.

Put simply, this room is an audiophile’s dream, and it was the perfect space to experience the top-of-the-range products being shown by each brand.

Denon also confirmed that this is where it tests and benchmarks new products, including the freshly announced AVR-X2900H and AVC-X3900H home cinema amplifiers.

Each step in the production cycle is tested at the Shirakawa facility, from the first prototype model to the mass production units. Denon confirmed that it uses a mixture of measurements and real-world cinematic content to verify performance, with Godzilla: Minus One, Top Gun: Maverick and Dune: Part One being selected as standout test titles.

Finally, the room has been designed and laid out so that the engineers don't need to use Audyssey room correction during the testing process. This allows for a cleaner and more authentic sound so that the audio engineers know exactly what they are working with when designing a new amplifier.

With all of that important context explained, let’s get into the listening experience...

Denon’s cinematic AVR-A1H...

Denon led with its AVR-A1H home cinema amplifier, known as the AVC-A1H in the UK due to it lacking an AM/FM tuner.

This amplifier launched at £6800, and it sits above the top of the range X-series AVC-X6800H and AVC-A10H amplifiers.

It has been on the market for a few years now, but as the premier of Denon’s AVR offerings, it remains a stalwart for devoted home cinema fans. Featuring 15.4 channels of amplification, it supports Denon’s reference system without breaking a sweat, and is rated to deliver 150W of amplification with two channels driven, meaning it’s plenty powerful.

Denon opted to use three well-known demo sequences, one of which we often use to test Dolby Atmos soundbars and surround sound speaker packages.

Starting with the first performance of the track Shallow from A Star Is Born, the AVR-A1H delivered a powerful, rich and enveloping performance. It balanced immense scale with intricate detail and subtle dynamic shifts, resulting in a supremely natural sound.

I have heard this sequence at countless hands-on events, and in our home cinema testing room, and yet this demonstration revealed some subtle sonic elements that I'd never heard before.

Speaking of sequences I've heard more times than I can count, Denon followed up with the introduction to Unbroken. The dynamic build of the plane approaching at the very start of the film was conveyed with an impressive balance of subtlety and weight, allowing the engine sounds to swell naturally, and ultimately pass to the surround and height channels fluidly.

When the bomber comes under fire, the flak explosions were expressed with a crisp, weighty punch of bass that remained totally in control while also delivering the intended impact.

Denon rounded out the experience with chapter nine of Gravity, in which (spoilers ahead) the space shuttle reenters the Earth’s atmosphere, and the Denon AVR-A1H takes us full circle.

It carried the same authoritative, muscular and rich sound of the five-star AVR-X6800H, but with a much broader and more powerful character that tackles cinematic scale with ease.

The rattling and creaking of the shuttle as it plummets towards Earth felt textured, while the stray debris whizzing past carried a genuine sense of speed and danger.

While the wonderfully overkill speaker system undoubtedly played a part in making this demo as impressive as it was, the AVR-A1H’s balance of sheer power and finesse made it all the more impressive.

Marantz’s musical Model 10, Link 10n and SACD 10 trio...

Marantz followed up with a triple threat of reference hi-fi products. The Model 10 Reference Integrated Amplifier, to give it its full title, was the star of the show, launching back in 2024 for £13,000.

It was joined by the Link 10n network preamplifier (which launched at £10,400) and the SACD10 (also £10,400); essentially, this is Marantz’s full reference hi-fi lineup. While the same B&W sound system was used, Marantz switched to stereo instead of surround and used only the front left and right channels.

To establish its musical prowess, Marantz used classical compositions by Shostakovich and Stravinsky, alongside a duo of jazz renditions from Miyuki Koga and Fourplay.

The classical tracks revealed the system's ability to deliver punch, scale and drama, all while remaining intricately detailed and superbly controlled.

Shostakovich's Symphony No.5 II Allegretto emphasised the big, powerful and rich sound that this system can produce. It did come across as a touch too forward and assertive at times during this track, but that didn't detract from the scale and spaciousness shown during the demo.

Miyuki Koga's rendition of Put the Blame on Mame demonstrated a rich and natural vocal presentation, with a solid sense of timing to back the lyrics up. Despite a lot of words starting with ‘s’ in this track, there was very little sibilance to note.

Finally, Fourplay’s Chant was underpinned by a fresh, airy and open sound, held together by snappy, tight bass that kept everything in check. All of the instruments featured in the track sounded realistic and natural, with the bass guitar and woodwind instruments being two standout elements.

Both systems lived up to expectations in many regards – given the price, I would have been shocked if they hadn't. We’re eager to hear how this testing environment influences the sound of the final products – and the good news is that we won’t have to wait long.

The Denon AVR-X2900H has just landed in our AV testing room, so stay tuned for our full review.

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Read our Denon AVR-X2900H hands on review

As well as our full Denon AVR-X2800H review

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Stop what you’re doing – there’s a new pair of Sony wireless headphones in town.

The 1000X range has been Sony’s flagship wireless series for a whole decade, and the brand has decided to mark this anniversary with a completely new addition to its established line-up: the Sony 1000X The Collexion over-ears.

These may be ‘celebratory’ headphones, but think of The Collexion as a fully fledged product in their own right, rather than a limited edition one-off designed for the sake of novelty or sentimentality. These are headphones which exist separately from Sony's WH-1000XM6 – with their own unique sound, design philosophy and materials – and sit comfortably above their stablemates in price.

In fact, Sony has focused on sound above all else for The Collexion cans, for what it has dubbed “the best sounding headphones we’ve ever made”. When you consider some of the absolute gems the Japanese brand has produced in the past few years, that’s a mouthwatering claim. We’d be letting you down if we didn’t give them a listen…

Price

While the 1000X series has always remained a decidedly premium line, Sony had always resisted the urge to move up into the sort of ‘high-end’ territory occupied by the likes of the the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 (£629 / $799) and the Focal Bathys (£699 / $799), but with the 1000X The Collexion clocking in at £550 / $650, these are the closest Sony has ever come to operating within that more rarefied area of the market.

With the B&W and Focal rivals above them, the new Sonys have the likes of the Apple AirPods Max 2 (£499 / $549) and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) (£449 / $449 / AU$700) sitting just below.

If you need reminding, the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 are priced at around £400 / $450 / AU$699, even if discounts are now knocking a few pounds or dollars off that RRP, while the five-star rival Sennheiser HDB 630 will set you back around £400 / $500 / AU$1000.

Build & comfort

Get hold of a pair of Sony’s latest and, if you squint your eyes a little, you might be fooled into thinking that you’d picked up a pair of Sonos Ace instead. The Sonys have the same clean, minimalist exterior as the Ace, as well as similarly designed oval earcups adorned with a few metallic physical buttons on the left earcup.

Sony’s engineers describe 1000X The Collexion as a pair of cans that should both look good and make you feel good when you wear them, and for the most part, that aim has been achieved. Everything on The Collexion is made either from metal or faux leather, with a nicely padded headband designed to spread pressure evenly for extended user comfort and slightly firmer ear padding than found on the WH-1000XM6.

We don’t have an issue with the look or feel of the faux leather, though our test pair are more susceptible to marks and stains than the smooth plastic of most of Sony’s other headphones. That faux material adorns pretty much the whole exterior of the earcup, so grubby fingers, not to mention the rigours of everyday use, do end up making their mark after a time.

A slimmer profile does help to add lightness, though, with the width of the earcups measuring around 40mm from inside to out, compared with the 45.4mm of the WH-1000XM6.

That does make for an appreciably lightweight and unobtrusive wearing experience, and though The Collexion actually weigh more than their XM6 counterparts – 312g against 254g – rarely do we feel that extra weight.

Some of our testers did experience some rocking and instability from the earcups when walking from place to place, but if you’re stationary, the new Sonys often simply melt away into obscurity as you forget you’ve got a pair plonked on your head at all.

While there are a few physical buttons to be found, touch controls are the main way of controlling your Sony over-ears. They work as well as you’d expect, responding quickly and effectively to our various commands, with ample levels of control customisation available via the useful Sony SoundConnect app.

Unlike the XM6 over-ears or the Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), these aren’t headphones which fold up into a ball, but their flattened profile and accompanying carry case – with its hollowed-out handle putting us in mind of a small handbag – mean they’re still relatively portable.

Features

Sony has very much positioned its new premium cans as sound-first headphones, but the 1000X The Collexion’s feature set matches the same generous level as that found on the do-it-all WH-1000XM6.

Battery life clocks in at around 32 hours with ANC off and roughly 24 hours with noise cancelling switched on, and while that’s down from the 30-or-so hours of the WH-1000XM6, it’s still a reasonable lifespan. The AirPods Max 2 only manage around 20 hours, although the Sennheiser HDB 630 are streets ahead with a whopping 60 hours with noise cancelling in play.

If you’re a fan of spatial audio, you get three versions of Sony’s ‘360 Reality Audio Upmix’ tech – ‘Music’, ‘Cinema’ and ‘Game’ – each of which add varying degrees of spatial processing depending on the media content. They’re fun modes to play around with, and we particularly enjoy the more immersive ‘Cinema’ setting which just about lives up to its billing by providing a more open, cinematic experience when watching movies.

On the subject of signal processing, these are the first Sony headphones to make use of its DSEE Ultimate tech for improving lower-quality digital audio files. In the app, you also get access to a 10-band equaliser for tweaking the sound alongside several simple presets, or you can deploy ‘Background Music’ mode to make it seem as though your tunes were playing in the distance to better aid your concentration.

The 1000X The Collexion support standard SBC and AAC codecs alongside higher-quality LDAC – which lets you stream hi-res music at higher data rates over Bluetooth from a compatible source device, such as Sony’s latest smartphones. Bluetooth LE Audio is also on board for lower power consumption and better-quality sound. You can also listen to the Sony headphones wired, thanks to the included 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable, though note that the headphones will have to be powered on when listening through a physical connection.

Sony’s Speak-To-Chat feature, which drops the volume level when you start talking, also returns, though we’d caution that the headphones can often confuse human speech with other sounds, particularly wind. If you don’t want your cans to keep cutting out every few minutes, we’d suggest switching Speak-to-Chat off when you’re outdoors and it’s a bit blustery.

ANC & call quality

While Sony has warned that noise cancelling wasn’t as much of a focus for The Collexion as it was for the WH-1000XM6, it’s still operating at a decidedly high level. Much of the same tech from the XM6 is on-hand here, including the QN3 chip and a total of 12 mics to capture and monitor surrounding noise.

When working in full noise-cancelling mode, Sony’s latest over-ears do an excellent job of suppressing noise throughout the frequencies, and while you might get the slightest hint of a shrill bird tweet just about breaking through that barrier, middle and lower range frequencies are filtered out expertly. The ANC quality on the WH-1000XM6 is still Sony’s best, but it’s very unlikely that you’ll feel short-changed by the noise cancelling on offer with The Collexion.

Call quality is excellent, too. The Collexion house six beamforming mics complemented by a wind noise reduction structure for enhanced vocal clarity and reduced external sonic intrusions, and it really pays off. Voices are clear, articulate and emotive, while background sounds rarely, if ever, intrude on our conversation as we stand next to a busy motorway on a decidedly blustery day.

Sound

Let’s reiterate what we mentioned in our introduction – the 1000X The Collexion are distinct headphones in their own right, with a sound, says Sony, which prioritises refinement, detail and maturity over the punchier, more flavoured personality of the WH-1000XM6.

To achieve this, The Collexion headphones feature a bespoke carbon composite 30mm drive unit, constructed using soft edging and a hard centre in pursuit of an “exceptional frequency response”. Sound has been optimised using a low-phase noise crystal oscillator, while premium components and circuitry, including advanced gold-containing solder, aim for an improved signal to noise ratio to reveal finer musical details and offer a wider soundstage.

That’s a lot of tech under hood, but how does that translate to the real-life listening experience?

Well, in many ways, the Sony 1000X The Collexion do live up to their billing. Just as described by Sony, they’re headphones that deal primarily in spaciousness and clarity, qualities which suffuse nigh-on every track as we bounce from Max Richter’s Never Goodbye to Radiohead’s Everything In Its Right Place.

That latter track sounds particularly good – The Collexion’s wide, open presentation grants the track a broad canvas on which to play, like an epic drama unfolding on a lovely big widescreen TV.

Detail levels are excellent, and when you have a pair of over-ears that offer clarity, textural insight and spaciousness to this extent, it’s hard not to be impressed. The elegiac strings on Never Goodbye are rich and mournful, while the piano on Debussy’s austere Sarabande strikes a wonderful balance between rich intent and subtle delicacy.

For all of their openness and delicacy, the Sonys don’t lack musical muscle. Think of them as being like a pro ballerina – nimble and graceful, yes, but strong and immensely robust when the time calls for it. It’s a nice balance to have, all aided by a deep, powerful yet controlled lower-end reproduction.

Bass tones are expertly handled, something that really comes across when we load up Massive Attack’s Atlas Air and feel the full force and punch of the tune’s full-blooded drum hits. That bass is nicely separated from the overlaid synth sounds working away above, yet not to the extent that the composition starts to lack any sense of cohesion between frequencies.

These premium Sony headphones really are impressive performers in so many aspects, but they appeal more to the head than to the heart. They certainly trade off some of that signature expressiveness we’ve heard in other Sony headphones for greater openness and detail, something that reduces the extent to which we feel truly involved with our music. Talented as they are, there’s something slightly removed, almost standoffish, about their reproduction.

That’s not something of which we’d accuse the outstanding, and cheaper, Sennheiser HDB 630. The Sennheisers have a more natural fluidity, especially with how they handle dynamic shifts, which makes them a more engaging listen. For us, the Sennheisers seem to strike that balance between naturalness, entertainment and analysis a touch more acutely than the Sonys.

Their rather aloof personality also robs the Sony cans of some of their intimacy. Listen to the first 30 seconds of Black Veil Brides’ Saviour II, and there’s a greater feeling of closeness to the opening guitar and vocal lead when listening via the costlier Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2. When the track opens up as the chorus hits, however, The Collexion show their hand, allowing it to blossom and reveal its gothic grandeur with more scale than the rival B&W cans.

Verdict

There’s much to admire about Sony’s 1000X The Collexion over-ears. It’s impossible to ignore their poised, detail-rich performance, while that ample feature set and classy construction make them tough to resist.

There is a ‘but’, however. In pursuing a particular sonic signature – namely, one that goes after scale, detail and clarity – it’s hard not to feel as though Sony has slightly thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

Yes, these are seriously talented performers, but deep down, they feel like headphones which were built to impress rather than entertain. As a result, we find ourselves admiring them rather than completely falling in love.

Review published: 19th May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony WH-1000XM6

Also consider the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2

Read our Sennheiser HDB 630 review

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs 1000X The Collexion: which premium wireless headphones should you pick?

Best wireless headphones reviewed and rated by our in-house experts

Fancy capping off a four-day week with some juicy deals? Then we have some good news.

It's been a surprisingly solid week for savings, with several Award winners crashing to new lowest prices.

There's potential for you to build a fully-fledged home cinema from this week's highlights, or if you're looking for new headphones, we've got you covered, whether you're after earbuds or over-ears, Bluetooth or a classic wired set.

Once again, these are all products that we've tried and tested ourselves, only gaining our recommendation after an exhaustive review process.

So take a look at the deals for yourself – we'll go in-depth into what we like about them down below.

We all love a new lowest price on an Award-winner. And that's exactly what we've got with the Epson EH-LS9000. The 4K projector has hit a new low of £2699, which makes it rather great value given its performance as a brilliantly effective dark room home cinema.

If you're looking for wired over-ear headphones, you'd be hard-pressed to do better than the multi-Award-winning Grado SR325x. Offering excellent detail and dynamics, hugely entertaining performance, and a rugged build, these What Hi-Fi? favourites are now 25 per cent off.

The Samsung HW-Q990F offers immersive, detailed and engaging cinematic sound, wireless convenience and features including HDMI 2.1 passthrough and wireless music streaming options. We've seen some heavy discounts on the Award winner before, but never as low as the current 56 per cent(!) price cut.

If you're after noise-cancelling in your wireless buds, then the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) are your best bet. The Bose flagships also offer punchy, full-bodied sound and a secure, comfortable fit, and are now at their lowest ever price.

If you're serious about sound, then the Arcam AVR5 AV Receiver may be for you. It lacks a few extra features compared to its rivals, but more than makes up for it with agility, rhythm and a dynamically authoritative performance.

The B&W Px7 S2e are the definition of old but gold – they may be from 2023, but that's also why they're enjoying a £150 discount. They're the complete portable headphones package, boasting a lovely full, lush sonic character, benchmark insight and the same devastating combination of style and performance as their Px7 S3 successors.

MORE:

Our pick of the best wireless earbuds you can buy

And the best OLED TVs for all budgets

Interested in vinyl? Here are the best turntables we have tested

The Bowers & Wilkins headphone line-up is extensive and impressive. And while the Px7 S2e may not be considered ‘old’, they still boast the same devastating combination of style and performance as their Px7 S3 successors.

But there’s one nice thing that happens when headphones are replaced by a newer, shinier model – and that’s discounts.

And right now, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e have dropped to just £229 at Amazon. That’s a massive £150 saving on their original price and an even chunkier discount than if you went for the latest model.

While it’s not the lowest saving we have seen – the headphones dropped to £196 during Black Friday – it’s still a decent saving that we recommend grabbing while final stocks last.

The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e may have slipped out of their spot among the best wireless headphones due to the Px7 S3’s release, but they are certainly still five-star cans we love to recommend. They also remain a solid Sony WH-1000XM5 alternative.

Combining a lovely, full, lush, detailed sound with modern specification and class-leading aesthetics, they stand up well as a great premium option.

And everything about the appearance of these wireless headphones does feel premium, from the earcups’ textured finish to the gold accents and cylindrical, proudly ‘Bowers & Wilkins’-stamped badge.

But the Px7 S2e's aesthetic certainly isn’t the only talent they have. Indeed, it’s by no means their biggest one.

The spec sheet is full of impressive features, from a commendable 30 hours of battery life, to seven hours of playback on a 15-minute charge, and support for Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive codec, as well as both USB-C and 3.5mm cable connections (both of which are provided in the box).

The accompanying Bowers & Wilkins Music App, which also supports popular music apps such as Deezer, Qobuz, Tidal and TuneIn radio, opens a wealth of opportunity for off-unit playback and controls, as well as being able to adjust the EQ.

While the active noise cancellation quality is decent, however, it isn’t quite as good as the class leaders from rivals Sony and Bose. That being said, these headphones stand up well for everyday use.

And when it comes to sound, our expert testers said it’s the Px7 S2e’s biggest talent: “On a sliding scale bookended by ‘analytical’ and ‘energetic’, the Px7 S2e would still edge toward the former, but they’re now, to B&W’s credit, much closer to the Sony’s musicality while setting a benchmark for detail at this level.”

So, while they are no longer B&W's flagship model, the Px7 S2e are still five stars in our books – and you can now grab them in Black, Green or Grey for an excellent price, just £229 at Amazon.

MORE:

Read our full Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e review

Check out the best wireless headphones: reviewed and rated by our in-house experts

And the best headphones: covering all styles and budgets

It's been an interesting week for deals, seeing a mix of savings on old favourites, flashy new products and more than a few What Hi-Fi? Award winners.

Our expert team of product reviewers have curated the best into the round-up below, which will have something for everyone, whether you're more into hi-fi or home cinema.

Here, then, is the full list – and we break down some of the highlights below.

Spoiled for choice? Allow us to guide you…

The Roberts Revival Petite 2 is, quite simply, the best budget DAB+/FM radio on the market at the moment. The Award winner may be dinky, but it produces a lively, engaging and punchy sound, and is at the lowest price it has ever been

The Bowers & Wilkins 606 and 607 S3 speaker package may not be cheap, but it gives you a full 5.1 setup – and a great one at that: this package is a two-time What Hi-Fi? Award winner that makes an incredibly strong case for ditching floorstanding speakers. We have never seen the package this cheap before!

The Sony WH-1000XM6 were long awaited, and they didn't disappoint when they arrived. Our Product of the Year headphones and go-to recommendation, the Sony over-ears boast stunning sound quality, excellent comfort, great portability, and brilliant noise-cancelling skills. Now at their best price since Black Friday.

An 83-inch OLED with 55% off? I'm sure I don't need to do much more to convince you of how good this deal is. But if you had any doubts, rest assured that the LG C5 is one of our favourite TVs with a rich, engaging picture and an uncompromising feature set.

If noise cancelling is your thing, look no further than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen). Bose developed the noise-cancelling technology and is still the market leader, but these five-star earbuds also offer punchy, full-bodied sound and a secure, comfortable design.

MORE:

Our pick of the best wireless earbuds you can buy

And the best OLED TVs for all budgets

Interested in vinyl? Here are the best turntables we have tested

It’s fair to say the quality of JBL’s flagship wireless headphones has been increasing gradually over the years, even if they haven’t been quite able to match their biggest rivals in the space such as Sony, Bose and Bowers & Wilkins.

We’ve already tested JBL’s current Tour One M3 over-ear flagships and deemed them solid four-star performers. And JBL will be hoping its latest move will go one step further in catching up with the competition.

So what has happened, exactly?

There’s been an interesting development, which looks like it’s ushering in a new direction for sound quality from the brand’s top headphones, starting with the Tour One M3.

JBL has tweaked what it calls its sound curve, which is a given target response that its headphones have been designed to meet.

According to JBL, users can expect “a sound that is clearer, more balanced, and truer to the artist”. It also claims that the updates will be “setting a new benchmark for precision and clarity”.

So, how do you get the new, improved audio quality? The sound curve change is available as a firmware update for the over-ears from today, 23rd April.

"The way people listen has fundamentally shifted with better hardware, higher-quality content and smarter streaming, making today's ears more discerning than ever.

"We are always striving to push the boundaries of sound performance and saw this as the perfect moment to refine the JBL sound curve for our premium headphones,” says Carsten Olesen, President of Consumer Audio at Harman.

With the change coming as a result of a firmware update rather than a hardware update, it will be interesting to hear how the sonic character changes and if it is indeed for the better.

JBL is also updating the interface of the Smart Tx transmitter, which is an accessory for the Tour One M3 over-ears and the interface of the charging case for its flagship Tour Pro 3 earbuds. They share many similar features and functions.

It’s promising a new menu system with horizontal and vertical scrolling, better graphics, larger icons and more intuitive layouts designed to make for a smoother user experience.

Last, but by no means least, the headphones and earbuds are also getting a new green finish (see above), complete with copper accents. It has been “Inspired by heritage British motorsport and modern luxury trends” and looks particularly striking in the images we’ve seen so far.

The new finish will be available from mid-May in select retailers and from JBL’s website, with pricing for the JBL Tour Pro 3 at £279.99 / €299.99, the JBL Tour One M3 £329.99 / €349.99, and the JBL Tour One M3 with Smart TX £379.99 / €399.99.

MORE:

Read our JBL Tour One M3 Smart Tx review

And our JBL Tour Pro 3 review

Portable hi-fi has progressed so much, I'd choose it over a traditional system

Our pick of the best wireless headphones you can buy

A practical yet incredibly mighty home cinema speaker package, the Bowers & Wilkins 606 and 607 S3 5.1 set-up is one we love to recommend.

While B&W itself doesn't sell this particular bundle, many retailers do. But, we've never seen it drop this low before.

For just £1949 at Richer Sounds, it's an almost £550 saving on the original retail price. Previously, we've only ever seen it go as low as £1999, so we're more than happy to shout about this deal from the rooftops.

What happens when you pair up two five-star speakers? Unsurprisingly, some great things. With the Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3 and 607 S3 speaker package, you get both speakers, plus the HTM6 S3 centre speaker and ASW610 subwoofer. Don't forget though, you'll also need stands for the front and surround speakers.

But why this combo? Well, because placing individual speakers all around your room is the best way to achieve the most convincing surround-sound experience – and it just so happens that these components are compact and well crafted enough to make an at-home set-up worth raving about.

In our full review, our testers said: "Despite this package’s overall small footprint, it certainly does not compromise on performance. Overall, we find ourselves grasping at straws when it comes to finding things to complain about, as the Bowers & Wilkins 606 and 607 S3 Surround Speaker Package is nothing short of spectacular in the sonic department."

The front, centre and surround channels all feature B&W's titanium dome tweeter accompanying a mid and bass driver comprised of B&W's Continuum cone material.

That tweeter design is crucial to the centre channel, which we found to deliver a “captivating vocal performance”, while the system as a whole offers up a clear, detailed, rich and dynamic performance that we said ticks all of our boxes.

With all the necessary components to create your own ready-made home cinema, it's an easy recommendation if you're looking to upgrade. And at just £1949 at Richer Sounds, it's the cheapest we've ever seen this 5.1 system available for, but you'll have to be quick.

MORE:

Read our full Bowers & Wilkins 606 & 607 S3 speaker package review

The best surround sound systems: home cinema speakers and soundbars put to the test

For more, check our guide on how to build the perfect home cinema system

We've recommended the five-star Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3 plenty of times, and despite being released nearly three years ago, these bookshelf speakers are still worth your attention.

One of the benefits of them being a little bit older is that you can often snap them up for a seriously discounted price. Right now, Peter Tyson is selling them for just £549. That's a £200 discount on their full price.

Offering a punchy, open sound that goes big on clarity, refinement and detail by the bucketload, the 606 S3 are guaranteed to please.

Best B&W 606 S3 deal

The Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3 are former What Hi-Fi? Award winners, receiving a five-star rating from our team of experts during testing and a whole lot of acclaim along the way.

The 606 S3 are the top standmounters in B&W's acclaimed 600 Series 3 range, acting as the larger siblings to the also-excellent B&W 607 S3. The 606 S3 offer a more mature presentation than the smaller 607 S3 thanks to their bigger cabinet, offering a punchier and more open sound, alongside plenty of clarity, detail and refinement.

If you're looking for serious oomph to your bass, the standmounts' 16.5cm mid/bass driver offers weight and authority at the lower end, especially when compared with their 607 S3 stablemates.

As we said in our review: “This extra bass power means the 606 S3 speakers aren’t quite as prone to the slightly excitable and forward treble of its lively 607 S3 sibling; but we’d still take some care with partnering hi-fi products to get the very best out of these speakers.”

You'll get a subtler, more refined sound from the more recent Award-winner at this price point, Acoustic Energy AE300 Mk2, but there are plenty who might prefer the B&W's sonic balance.

The 606 S3 have been around for a while now, but their musical, entertaining performance is still capable of thrilling you for a knocked-down price.

If you're looking for some serious standmounts for a very attractive price, then check out this £200 off deal at Peter Tyson.

MORE:

Read our Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3 review

And check out the best budget hi-fi speakers 2026

Or if you're tight on space, browse our best bookshelf speakers 2026

It’s early days for 2026 TVs, with some brands (Sony, for one) yet to reveal their full ranges – but I’ve already spotted a front-runner for TV of the year, and it’s probably not the model you’re expecting.

The model I’m talking about is the Philips OLED951.

In picture terms, this is Philips’ flagship TV for 2026, and while many brands seem to be taking a fairly evolutionary approach to their OLEDs this year, Philips is really pushing the boat out.

On paper, it ticks almost every box: picture performance, gaming features, spectacular flourishes and future-proofing.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that the on-paper promise will translate to real-world perfection, and we’ll have to conduct a full review before we can deliver our verdict on that.

But, having now briefly seen it in action, I think there’s a good chance the OLED951 can really deliver.

Here, then, are seven reasons I think this Philips flagship OLED could end up being the TV of 2026.

It’s an OLED

An obvious one this, but the Philips OLED951 is… well… an OLED.

That’s a good thing in my book. The RGB Mini LED invasion is upon us, and there are some very good RGB Mini LEDs already out and on the way (including one from Philips), but I’m yet to see any evidence that the technology’s various strengths are a match for the pixel-level contrast control of OLED.

Perfect black pixels next to bright white or coloured ones make for unbeatable contrast, which has benefits right across the picture, particularly in terms of solidity and perceived three-dimensionality.

An OLED-beating RGB Mini LED TV might one day materialise – I’m open to that – but I predict that in 2026, at least, the best TV will be an OLED.

Brighter than the LG G6

We’ve written plenty of times about how brightness is a long way from the most important thing for a TV to deliver.

Still, lots of brightness headroom can be useful for a TV to deliver the goods in a brightly lit room. It also adds a degree of future-proofing, just in case Hollywood suddenly starts mastering lots of movies to 4000 nits (something I see very little evidence of, for what it’s worth).

Brightness isn’t going to be an issue for the OLED951, though, because Philips claims it can hit a peak brightness figure of 4500 nits, and a full-screen brightness of 400 nits.

Those are improvements over last year’s already very bright OLED950 of 800 and 50 nits, respectively.

Those figures, if achieved, will also make the OLED951 a good deal brighter than the LG G6, which shares a ‘Meta 4.0’ Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel with it – something that Philips says is down to its unique picture engine.

But will those figures be achieved? Having seen the OLED951 running against the OLED950 (see the photo above), it certainly looks like it. The OLED951 looked so much brighter that the figures given actually seem conservative.

And this isn’t just brightness for the sake of brightness, either, because, as we’ve seen in our own testing, when increased brightness is combined with OLED’s perfect black and pixel-level light control, the result is even greater contrast, which, as mentioned above, tends to make images look more solid and three-dimensional.

That was certainly the case in the side-by-side demo – the OLED951 really popped.

Four HDMI 2.1 sockets and custom settings for every game

Finally, Philips’ flagship OLEDs (and most of its other models, in fact) will have four HDMI 2.1 sockets.

These will all be able to accept gaming signals of up to 4K/165Hz, complete with VRR and HDR, including in the Dolby Vision format.

Sure, LG and Samsung have been offering OLEDs with four HDMI 2.1 sockets for years, but when combined with everything else the OLED951 offers (more of which I’ll get to), that still makes it a tantalising proposition for gamers.

Another feature that will appeal to gamers like me is the ability to customise settings for individual titles.

These settings can be designed to improve the picture (extra brightness and vibrancy for Rocket League, perhaps, and a darker, broodier presentation for Alan Wake II), give you an advantage over online rivals (through an onscreen crosshair or enhanced shadow detail, for instance), or deliver geeky gaming info such as the current frame rate.

If you’re a gaming picture quality obsessive, that’s very neat.

Ambilight and AmbiScape

Look, I know it’s not to everyone’s taste, and I certainly don’t think it makes sense for all content, but Ambilight – which extends the onscreen action onto the wall around the TV in the form of coloured light – remains a spectacular feature.

And now your room lights can be synchronised with what you’re watching more easily, too. This isn’t an entirely new feature, but previously, you needed Hue bulbs.

Now, thanks to the new AmbiScape feature, lights that conform to the Matter standard will be supported – and there are loads of those. That will make it far more affordable and flexible to get your lounge lights in on the Ambilight action.

Again, this won’t be an upgrade for all content, but play the aforementioned Rocket League, and it’s impossible not to get an extra thrill when a goal creates a flash of brilliant colour right across your room. It works brilliantly for colourful animated movies, too, such as the Spider-Verse series.

Dolby Vision 2

Will Dolby Vision 2 be a big deal in 2026? There’s a strong possibility it won’t be, as we’ve still had no news on actual content in the format.

It is coming at some point, though, and our first looks at it in action have been very impressive, so if you’re buying a TV this year, it’s well worth considering going for a model that supports the format.

That makes Philips’ new OLED951, OLED911 and OLED811 particularly appealing, because they will be the first OLED TVs to support Dolby Vision 2. In fact, they will also support the even more advanced Dolby Vision 2 Max, which adds, among other things, the very interesting Authentic Motion feature.

The Dolby Vision 2 and 2 Max support will be added via a post-launch software update (October is the current ETA), but don’t go thinking that 2026 OLEDs from other brands will follow suit: Dolby Vision 2 also needs to be baked into the hardware, and based on what we’ve been told so far, this hasn’t been done in the case of, for example, LG’s new models.

Excellent anti-reflection tech

Fighting reflections is a key theme in current TV development.

It’s probably fair to say that Samsung is best at it: its top OLEDs suppress reflections incredibly effectively.

But it does this by using a matte panel, and that tends to make blacks look quite grey in a well-lit room.

The new Meta 4.0 OLED panel from LG Display, though, suppresses more reflections than the previous version while still retaining the glossy finish that allows it to produce almost perfect blacks, even in strong ambient light.

According to official figures, the reflectance has been reduced from 0.6 per cent to 0.3 per cent. That doesn’t sound like a huge change, but in reality, it makes a clear difference.

We first saw this new anti-reflection tech in the G6, which massively impressed us with its combination of reflection suppression and deep blacks, and it looked equally excellent in the demo of the OLED951 against last year’s OLED950.

This is one of those things that really comes down to taste, with some people being perfectly happy with the matte look of the Samsung models. I personally prefer the glossy look, though, and the new panel in the LG G6 and Philips OLED951 strikes the best balance of anti-reflectivity and black performance that I’ve so far seen.

Dual Engine picture processing

Those already in the know about Philips’ 2026 TV lineup might be wondering why I’m getting all excited about the OLED951 rather than the OLED911.

After all, everything I’ve written so far also applies to the OLED911, and the OLED911 also has a Bowers & Wilkins sound system that, if form is to be believed, will make it one of, if not the, best-sounding TV in its class.

The reason is that the OLED951 has the Dual Engine version of Philips’ new 10th Gen P5 AI processor, whereas the OLED911 has the single-chip version. This unlocks some extra picture processing features that should further improve certain things, such as bright details and banding suppression.

The difference perhaps won’t be huge – we’ll need to fully test both models to find out – but as someone who subscribes to the ‘all TVs should be partnered with a dedicated sound system’ philosophy, I’ll always choose the potential for better picture quality over a better sound system.

You may feel differently, of course, and that’s fine. If that’s the case, I strongly recommend you read Lewis Empson’s Philips OLED911 hands-on.

That also looks like an excellent TV – but on paper (and from what I’ve seen of it so far), the OLED951 is the one that ticks every box for me.

MORE:

Here are all of the best TVs you can buy right now

Could Sony's True RGB be the RGB Mini LED tech to beat OLED?

We are well into April, and not only is the weather looking up, but so too is the scope for finding tempting TV, AV and hi-fi deals.

And we've tracked down a superb selection this week, which includes a sprinkling of five-star products from some of the biggest names in the business, including Bowers & Wilkins, Samsung, TCL, Technics, and many more.

See below for the full list and rundown of why some of these products should be on your shopping list.

Also, stay tuned for more deals next week…

We think you'll agree there's something for everyone here.

The Samsung HW-QS700F Dolby Atmos soundbar delivers a great feature set, including HDMI connectivity and a compact wireless subwoofer. It also produces a punchy sound and impressive bass performance that's above what many rivals around this money can offer. And with a mammoth £361 discount, you're saving a small fortune too!

If you're looking for a convenient stand-alone music streamer solution that doesn't cost the earth, there's money to be saved on Cambridge Audio's excellent MXN10. It's compact enough to slip into any hi-fi system and offers a control app which makes it easy to set up and a breeze to use. With £100 off, it's all you could really wish for from a product of this type at this kind of price.

Alternatively, if you want to stream music but also have a pile of CDs you want to keep hold of and enjoy, then we seriously suggest taking a closer look at the Technics SL-G700M2. It's a versatile product with an eye-catching £500 off. Build quality is excellent, you're provided with extensive connectivity options, a thorough feature set and a sound that delivers excitement in spades, whether streaming from your service of choice or spinning your favourite CDs.

Deals on Award-winning floorstanding speakers can be hard to come by, which is why we just had to highlight a £100 saving on the excellent Fyne Audio F501E. They are seriously talented performers for the money that deliver a focused, expressive and fun presentation no matter the music played through them.

We've also got two TVS for you at different ends of the price spectrum. The 50-inch TCL C6KS is an absolute bargain for the money. Its specs look great on paper, and it backs this up with five-star picture quality, with its excellent brightness and contrast being two particular highlights.

Those looking for a more premium set might be tempted by the 65-inch version of Samsung's QN90F flatscreen. As an alternative to OLED, this Mini LED set puts forward quite a convincing case, aided by a sizeable £600 discount. It offers a punchy, detailed picture and impressive gaming specs.

MORE:

Our pick of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars you can buy

And the best music streamers out there

Need something to listen to? Here are the best music streaming services we've tested

What Hi-Fi? turns 50 in 2026 and we're looking back on some of the most important hi-fi and home cinema products in our lifetime – and beyond!

We're going back further than 1976 in this article as we look back on a series of debut speakers from hi-fi brands that went on to great things.

Our list details the first-ever models from some of the most renowned loudspeaker brands in history, including Bang & Olufsen, Bowers & Wilkins, KEF and Quad, some (but not all) of which started life long before What Hi-Fi?.

Wharfedale Bronze 2 (1932)

Wharfedale’s first speaker was built in the cellar of founder Gilbert Briggs' llkley home in 1932.

The Bronze was purely a drive unit (in those days, radio enthusiasts assembled their own cabinets). A year later, it was housed in a wooden cabinet for those who wanted an ‘extension’ speaker. Shortly after came the ‘Nubian’ cabinet speaker in 1934.

But it was a whole decade before Wharfedale marked the first of many milestones: the invention of the first two-way loudspeaker.

In 1945, the company combined a 30cm bass driver with a 25cm full-range ‘treble’ unit, using a crossover at 1kHz. And in the years after the company’s introduction of ceramic magnets to moving coil drive units led to the company’s much-celebrated Diamond series.

• That Was Then... Wharfedale Diamond review

Bang & Olufsen Hyperbo (1934)

Not uniquely, Bang & Olufsen came to the speaker market through radio manufacturing. In 1925, Peter Bang & Svend Olufsen’s first commercial radio – the modest production of which began in Olufsen’s attic – was the Eliminator, a radio component that allowed the connection of a radio directly to the mains, eliminating the need for batteries.

Having moved to a factory in Struer just two years later (B&O remain at that same site today), the Hyperbo – a radio, gramophone and integrated loudspeaker – arrived in 1934.

Like every B&O product produced since, the Hyperbo was heavily influenced by the emerging Bauhaus style in the early 1900s: a design attitude that has consistently manifested itself in the artistic craft behind the company's many speakers and TVs.

Acoustic Research AR-1 (1954)

Acoustic Research was founded in 1952 by inventor Edgar Villchur and his student Henry Kloss. Based on the acoustic suspension principle patented by Villchur in 1956, its first model, the AR-1, sold for $185 (over £1000 in today’s money).

The AR-1's woofer trapped air in the speaker’s sealed enclosure to provide a spring for the diaphragm, enabling it to move back and forth – doing the same job as the more conventional mechanical spring.

This was followed quickly by the AR-2 but it was the AR-3, released in 1958, that became Acoustic Research's landmark speaker, borrowing the AR-1's acoustic suspension technology but bringing onboard newly designed drivers.

Quad ESL-57 (1957)

Quad founder Peter Walker was the first to implement electrostatic technology in loudspeakers, waving goodbye to traditional driver cones and cumbersome cabinets.

In their place he put a thinly-stretched, electrically-charged diaphragm between two metal grilles, which received the music signal from the amplifier.

The first in what has become a brand-defining range of electrostatic speakers, the ESL-57, was in production for nearly 30 years, while the ESL-63 continued Quad’s electrostatic legacy until 1999. Quad continues to manufacture electrostatic speakers to this day.

KEF K1 Slimline (1961)

KEF’s oldest speaker was born out of founder Raymond Cooke’s desire to achieve outstanding sound quality from a slim, living room-friendly enclosure.

At 12.5cm deep, the K1 Slimline incorporated the same driver innovations as the Monitor versions that arrived in the K1 series: the B1814 woofer with its flat rectangular diaphragm of aluminium skinned polystyrene, the M64 elliptical midrange unit with a similar diaphragm construction, and the T15 tweeter with its hemispherical Melinex diaphragm.

To minimise colouration, the wall panels of the braced cabinet were dampened with bituminous pads. And, lounge-friendly in their aesthetic as well as their size, the K1 Slimlines were finished in walnut with 'coffee' fleck grilles – a far cry from some of the designs it employs today.

• That Was Then… KEF Reference Model 101/3

B&W P1 (1966)

Beginnings don’t get much more humble than B&W’s. The year after founder John Bowers started hand-assembling speaker systems in the electrical store he ran with Roy Wilkins in Worthing, Bowers & Wilkins (then B&W Electronics Ltd) released its first loudspeaker: the P1.

The cabinet and filter were B&W's own, but the drivers came from EMI and Celestion – this was in the decade before the company started using the bright-yellow Kevlar woven composite.

The profits from the P1 allowed Bowers to purchase a Radiometer Oscillator and Pen Recorder, meaning that every speaker the company sold could have calibration certificates.

• That Was Then… B&W 602 S3 review

Spendor BC1 (late ’60s)

Bextrene was the material of choice for the speaker diaphragms in Spendor’s first pair of speakers, the BC1.

A product of BBC engineer Spencer Hughes (co-founder with Dorothy Hughes, hence the Spendor name) and co-designer Dudley Harwood, the BC1 speakers had a three-way design: the only commercial 8in Bextrene mid-bass driver, a Celestion HF 1300 tweeter and a Coles 4001 G supertweeter.

They were fed by a nine-element crossover comprised of film capacitors for frequency and temperature stability, and radio metal cored chokes that allowed for high transients and low resonances.

The BC1s hit the market in the late ‘60s and found their way into broadcast and recording studios before eventually being available to buy for consumers. Some 600 pairs were supposedly in operation at the BBC at one time.

• That Was Then… Spendor SP2/3E review

Harbeth HL Monitor Mk1 (1977)

British speaker brand Harbeth came about due to the discovery, by founder H.D. Harwood, of a potential new film plastic for speaker cones.

Towards the end of his career in the BBC’s Research Department, and during investigation into bextrene plastic as a cone material for BBC monitors in the ‘60s, Harwood proposed that polypropylene would make a good cone material.

And so, upon his formal retirement, he set up Harbeth to make a speaker with his patented polypropylene-coned driver. The HL Monitor was released in 1977, and four versions subsequently followed over the next decade.

Dynaudio P-series (1977/78)

We have to pedal back almost 50 years to find Danish brand's first speakers – the five P-series models in 1977. However, they were short-lived, had limited distribution and, while using the company’s own crossovers, were the only Dynaudio speakers to rely on OEM drivers.

The P series (P for 'passive') comprised the P16 (pictured), P21, P31, P46 and P76. All models used specially coated soft dome tweeter with high power handling – something Dynaudio would later become renowned for.

The first range to use Dynaudio’s in-house MSP (Magnesium Silicate Polymer) woofers and tweeters, and receive international distribution, was the four-strong MSP series in 1984. Dynaudio has used its own drivers ever since.

• That Was Then… Dynaudio Audience 52 review

ATC S50/S85 (1978)

After a few years making drive units, ATC produced its first speaker systems in 1978: the bass-reflex S50 (pictured) and infinite baffle S85, which established a naming tradition based on the internal volume of the speaker.

Inside the plywood-based 50- and 85-litre cabinets were 2.5cm soft dome tweeters, a 7.5cm soft dome midrange driver and a 22.5cm woofer (two in the S85).

Unusually, the crossover arrangement allowed for true active tri-amping, allowing you to choose between either the internal passive crossover or an external electronic crossover via a rotary switch.

ProAc Tablette (1979)

A few years after founding loudspeaker manufacturer Celef Audio Ltd in 1973, Stewart Tyler decided that producing more expensive designs in smaller quantities, rather than increasing production capacity and potentially sacrificing quality, was the way forward.

With that decision came a new company name: ProAc, short for Professional Acoustics.

The first speaker to bear the name was the Tablette; mini monitors – they really are dinky – which have spawned more than ten variations since their original production in 1979.

Wilson Audio WAMM (1982)

Following Wilson Audio’s Smart turntable, which was essentially a re-jigged Acoustic Research deck and became Wilson Audio’s first ever product, founder Dave Wilson introduced the company’s first pair of speakers, the Wilson Audio Modular Monitor (WAMM), in 1982.

Each channel comprised two towers: one sub-bass module, and one with twin mid-bass drivers and an electrostatic supertweeter flanked by twin midrange/tweeter modules. It sold for $28,000 and was the most expensive speaker you could buy at that time.

The WAMM evolved through six versions from 1982 to 1993, and has since been revived, with the Master Chronosonic and Master Subsonic speakers still current in the company's catalogue.

Focal DB13 (1982)

JMlab established Focal for speaker driver production in Saint-Étienne in 1979, and three years later the company's first pair of speakers appeared.

The DB13 bookshelf speakers were equipped with a double voice coil driver plus Polyglass and Polykevlar driver cones, and were capable of volumes more akin to larger speakers.

They propelled the company towards the high-end audio market and to international shores.

Martin Logan Monolith (1983)

Convinced they could make a class-leading electrostatic speaker capable of adequate bass and suitable for rock music, Gayle Martin Sanders and Ron Logan Sutherland (later ‘Martin Logan’) conceived a prototype in 1980. Unfortunately, its flat aluminium panel blew up when they turned up the volume...

Undeterred, their first production-ready speaker arrived three years later: the Monolith. A revised transducer saw a clear Mylar diaphragm sandwiched between two perforated-steel stators.

And to ensure good sound dispersion, a horizontally curved panel was implemented, and this curvilinear transducer has been central to the design of every Martin Logan electrostatic since.

Sonus Faber Parva (1983)

In 1983, three years after Sonus Faber founder Franco Serblin produced his first system (an all-wood, all-in-one model called the "Snail" that really needs to be seen), the brand was established in a small laboratory in Monteviale, northern Italy.

It was in that year Sonus Faber launched its first product: the Parva 2-way speaker, featuring a Kevlar midrange cone and solid walnut wood cabinet.

This paved the way for some legendary models (such as the Extrema and Guarneri ranges), and what is today, 35 years later, one of the world’s most distinguished and design-savvy high-end speaker brands.

Dali 2 (mid '80s)

The Dali 2 was released shortly after the renowned Danish speaker company Dali (Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries) began in 1983.

The debut speaker had a two-way configuration, with a 6.5in laminate pulp/polyvinyl cone woofer, 1in tweeter with a soft polypropylene dome, and walnut veneered wooden cabinets.

The Dali 2 was followed by larger models in the range, the 3, 4, 6 and 8, which Dali explained shared the same design philosophy and signature sound: they don't "'thunder' or 'boom' bass – they just handle more power and provide better bass response".

Acoustic Energy AE1 (1987)

With the introduction of the AE1 Loudspeaker in 1987, Acoustic Energy Ltd was officially born. The concept was to create a compact studio monitor (it measured 30cm tall and 18cm wide) that could handle the high volumes and dynamics of larger speakers.

To achieve this, Acoustic Energy lined its cabinet with a concrete/plaster compound to eliminate as much resonance as possible, and developed a new mid/bass driver. It featured a 10cm cone of spun aluminium, thicker at the centre than the edges and anodised to create a ‘ceramic sandwich’, and used an oversized magnet assembly that allowed the AE1 to accept 200W of power.

The AE1 was refined in several revisions until 2016, when its SEAS tweeter went out of production. The design has since resurfaced in the amplified AE1 Active model.

• That Was Then... Acoustic Energy AE2 Signature review

Neat Petite (1991)

Neat Acoustics began life as a hi-fi shop in Darlington called North Eastern Audio Traders. After identifying a gap in the market for a small musical speaker, its owners developed the Neat Petite.

When we reviewed them in 1993, we heralded these speakers a musical success. We called their sound 'hugely stimulating', mostly due to the way they portrayed timing and dynamics – something that's continued to be a trademark in the brand’s more recent speakers.

• That Was Then... Neat Petite review

PMC BB5-A (1991)

After a stint as the manager of BBC's Maida Vale studios, Peter Thomas and former BBC engineer Adrian Loader designed the first PMC speaker, the BB5-A.

It introduced the company’s hallmark Advanced Transmission Line technology, in which drivers were used to improve bass output.

In an interview with What Hi-Fi?, Thomas said: “The design was certainly not conventional. Whereas the majority of speaker designers used ported or sealed cabinets, we found that a transmission line system for bass loading, if refined, gave a performance that significantly exceeded conventional bass loading principles.”

Wilson Benesch A.C.T. One (1994)

Five years after launching its first product, the Wilson Benesch Turntable, the British company launched a second: the A.C.T. One loudspeaker.

Unveiled at the 1994 Frankfurt High End show, the A.C.T. One used carbon fibre – the world’s first curved carbon fibre composite panel in a speaker design. It sported the sloping top and solid metal baffle that remain part of the company’s distinctive designs today.

While many years before the implementation of crossover-free midrange driver designs, as seen in the company’s Eminence series, the A.C.T. One placed great importance on phase coherence and the reduction of crossover elements.

Eclipse TD 512 (2002) 

Deviating from the traditional two-driver configuration and box design, Eclipse’s speakers are as distinct as they come. The company’s first, the 36cm-tall TD 512 speakers, were a "radical departure from the speaker norm" (as we stated in our 2002 review), with only one drive unit and an egg-shaped enclosure made of marble-loaded resin.

The former’s job to cover the whole frequency resulted in some shortcomings – namely, a rolled-off treble – but ultimately these beautifully imaged and detailed speakers did more than enough to enjoy a five-star debut. As we said at the time: "Little else at their price (£2350) will deliver such unrestricted access to the recording."

Q Acoustics 1000 series (2006)

Q Acoustics may not have the heritage of some other brands, but the British company’s debut, the six-strong 1000 series in 2006, has been one of the most notable of the 21st century.

The 1000 series comprised the 1010 and 1020 bookshelf speakers, 1010C centre channel, 1030 and 1050 floorstanders, and 1000S active subwoofer. Each model featured the same ferro-fluid cooled, micro-polyester weave tweeter and Linkwitz-Riley crossovers, and every drive unit was ‘torque mounted’ into its front baffle.

The 1010s were five-star performers in their own right, and later received another five-star review as part of a complete multi-channel surround package.

MORE:

• The What Hi-Fi? Hall of Fame
• The best stereo speakers of the 21st century
• 10 of the best songs to test your speakers

The Amazon Big Spring Sale has kicked into full gear, with the second day themed around Easter essentials.

Why are headphones included in this theme? We're not quite sure, but we're very much for it.

• See the whole Amazon Big Spring Sale

This has led to several tasty deals, including savings on Award-winners such as the Technics EAH-AZ100 and the Sony WF-C510.

So if, like us, you view headphones as an essential, then check out the deals below:

Bowers & Wilkins has introduced a range of new finishes for two of its most popular headphones: the Pi8 flagship wireless earbuds and the five-star Px7 S3 over-ear cans.

The range-topping Pi8 buds are now available in new 'Dark Burgundy' and 'Pale Mauve' finishes, expanding on the four established colourways already on the market.

Further, B&W is introducing a new 'Vintage Maroon' finish for its five-star Px7 S3 noise-cancelling cans, sitting alongside the established Canvas White, Anthracite Black, Indigo Blue and Frost Blue finishes already available.

We never felt that either the Px7 S3 were particularly lacking in style to begin with, calling the latter a "delight" and noting that we were "struggling to think of a nicer-looking pair at this price" during our review.

The Pi8, meanwhile, have always been a "stylish" pair of buds which we liked "to see and touch" during testing, but given that you'll likely pick up a pair for their chic sense of style as much as their five-star sound, a few extra colourways are very much on-brand for B&W.

The new Pi8 Pale Mauve and Dark Burgundy finishes will be available from 19^th March, priced at £369 / €419 / $499, an advance on their original £349 / $399 price from 2024.

The Vintage Maroon finish for the Px7 S3 will be available on the same date, and will set you back £399 / €429 / $479, an increase of $20 on the original price for US buyers.

MORE:

I traded my Award-winning wireless earbuds for a pair of “trendy” wired earbuds – is being stylish worth the sonic sacrifices?

I’m nervous that Spotify has made an AI echo chamber for music fans

These are the best wireless earbuds you can buy

Take one look around a crowded London Underground train carriage, and you’ll see an interesting revolution in the world of audio. Wired earbuds are back, and they’ve become a serious trend among my generation. Yes, I can hide it no longer; I am Gen Z.

Let’s not dwell on that and get back to the matter at hand. Wired earbuds were, once upon a time, the only discreet in-ear option for listening to music from your smartphone, and there was rarely a point where I didn’t have a pair hooked up to my iPhone 5 during my time at secondary school.

For my sake, I won't share what I was listening to through those earbuds.

Speaking of, remember when phones had headphone jacks? I do, and while I have to give Sony credit for being practically the only manufacturer to keep the socket on its smartphones, I have come to terms with the fact that the battle against wireless audio alternatives is more or less over.

I bought my first pair of AirPods in 2018, and I quickly upgraded them to the first-generation AirPods Pros in 2021 after realising that cutting the cord really was the future – and I haven’t really used a pair of wired earbuds since.

However, my TikTok For You Page informs me that 2026 is the new 2016, and I’m seeing a lot of trendy, well-dressed individuals online and IRL with wired earbud cords trailing from their ears and into pockets.

In a feeble attempt to be vaguely fashionable, I have decided to imitate them. I have banished my five-star Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 wireless earbuds and my Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones to a drawer, as my pocket is now occupied by a pair of wired USB-C earbuds.

And you'll never guess which earbuds I've picked...

The popular choice

I’ve decided to go with the most popular pair of wired buds, according to what I’ve seen online and in London: the Apple EarPods.

From what I gather, the main draw of these earbuds isn’t anything to do with their sonic credentials, but instead their features.

The wire is a huge asset for those who are prone to losing earbuds (a friend of mine is currently on his third or fourth pair of AirPods, I’ve lost count), as they naturally keep the buds attached to your phone.

Furthermore, the microphone on the Apple EarPods seems to be surprisingly good for a pair of £19 earphones. I put this to the test, speaking to one of my friends over the phone while exiting a busy London Underground station and the results, err, spoke for themselves – I didn’t have to repeat myself once.

I think this is a key reason that these earbuds are so popular, as I frequently see influencers on TikTok record voiceovers for their videos using the microphone built into the Apple EarPods. And of course, for calls or voice notes, for us mere mortals.

You also don’t have to worry about the battery running out. Plenty of times when using wireless earbuds, I’ve got comfortable in my seat for a long plane ride or coach journey, only for my earbuds (and the charging case) to be completely dead.

The plug-and-play guarantee, plus no pairing faff or battery anxiety, has been my biggest pro from making this swap. With wired earbuds, I know I’ll be able to enjoy my music on my morning commute without any complications.

Another bonus has been the physical controls. Using these has been an absolute treat after dealing with unreliable touch controls on many of the wireless audio peripherals I’ve used over the years. The tactile volume and play/pause buttons "just work", and I found myself using them more than I’d expect.

However, it’s not all rosy in Apple EarPods land. My biggest issue with these buds is the fit. Apple’s hard plastic earbuds have never agreed with my ear shape, and I’m reminded of many embarrassing instances in which I’d have to chase one of my AirPods as it tumbled down the road after leaping to freedom out of my ear.

The EarPods are, thankfully, a slightly better fit, and they didn’t fall out quite as much, but they didn’t feel very secure either. I struggled to get any sort of seal, and while I’m not expecting miraculous noise isolation without silicone ear tips (more on that momentarily), I found that my music was easily drowned out by the screeching of the Northern line.

I’ve had to turn the EarPods up to maximum volume to counteract this, whereas my Pi8 earbuds can happily sit at the middle volume point while remaining perfectly audible.

These downsides comprise the most important aspect of any earphones for me: audio quality. Which is why I don’t think I can make the EarPods my day-to-day earbuds.

The fact that I have to crank the volume up to compensate for a poor seal and lack of noise cancelling, and I've found that bass and dynamics leave a lot to be desired. That being said, I found the mids and highs to be clear and balanced, which also meant that vocals sounded pretty good.

Now, is it fair to compare a pair of £349 noise-cancelling wireless earbuds created by one of the most notable British hi-fi brands to a pair of £19 wired earbuds?

No, it is not, but considering I’ve seen plenty of people online supposedly drop their AirPods in favour of the wired alternatives, it’s also quite a relevant comparison.

This means that, unfortunately (but ultimately not surprisingly), I won’t be joining the trendiest echelon of London’s most fashionable individuals.

However, not all hope is lost…

The smart choice

Surprise! I haven’t just been using the Apple EarPods. I’ve also taken the five-star Sound Magic E80D buds for a test drive as part of this experiment, and these have yielded much better results.

These buds come with a selection of silicone eartips. Personally, the dual-layered eartips suited me, as I could burrow them into my ear holes for a more secure fit and better sound isolation.

Furthermore, these buds sound great and are a cut above Apple EarPods. They sound fuller and more dynamic, and the tighter seal against my ears does wonders for the bass.

It’s not all perfect. As expected, they don’t rival my Bowers & Wilkins buds in terms of volume or musicality.

I also found cable noise to be pretty problematic with these earbuds. The sound from the cable rubbing against my coat was irritating, although this may become less prominent in the warmer months when I can comfortably leave the house without layering up.

There's also the annoying “L” shape connector. It’s amazing for laptop use, but using them with a phone is another story – as someone who shifts their phone between hands fairly frequently, I found the palm of my hand often clashed with the wire.

And this is the one instance in which style counts (I’m testing “trendy” earbuds after all), so seeing “Made In China” staring at me as I plug them in is somewhat utilitarian.

My overall choice?

I won’t beat around the bush here – I’m going back to my wireless earbuds and headphones. I’m sorry.

That being said, there are some genuine audio and quality of life upgrades that I enjoyed while trialling these wired earbuds.

Not having to charge my earbuds, and the tactility of the physical controls, were both major bonus points, but the lack of noise cancelling proved to be the biggest hurdle in how I use my earbuds day-to-day. Having to crank these wired buds to their limit is far from ideal (and I’m being constantly nagged by my phone that the volume is too high).

For the sake of my music (and my ears), I’ll be crawling back to the imperfect, but ultimately preferable, world of wireless earbuds.

MORE:

Check out our picks for the best wireless earbuds

As well as the best wired earbuds

And read our full Sony WF-1000XM6 review

If you're looking for enthusiastic sound quality in a compact form factor, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi6 wireless earbuds are a solid choice, based on our testing.

Especially as they've now plummeted to just £144 at Amazon. That's £75 off the original price and a record low.

This unbelievable price is just for the green colourway, but internally, you're still getting the same high-quality tech as the grey and storm grey alternatives.

It might just be time for an upgrade.

While they missed out on a fifth star in our review, coming up against immensely strong competition from rivals, at this price, we'd say they're seriously worth considering with the discount.

The Bowers & Wilkins Pi6 buds share a lot of common DNA with the firm's flagship, Pi8.

Design-wise, there's really not much difference – same shape, dimensions and even weight. In fact, when we placed them side by side during testing, we said: "It's pretty tricky to tell the Pi6 apart from the Pi8, a fact that unquestionably works in the former set's favour."

When it comes to the Pi6 feature set, there's plenty on offer, including handling 24-bit/96kHz audio transmission, thanks to aptX Adaptive codec support alongside the standard AAC and SBC codecs.

But where they really shine is through their noise-cancelling capabilities. While one of their biggest rivals, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, holds the top spot for ANC, the B&W buds have a seriously impressive offering, softening most background noises if not entirely eliminating them.

A couple of minor caveats worth noting: they lack spatial audio and wireless charging. But we think these are likely niche features for most people.

When it comes to battery life, the Pi6 buds match the Award-winning Sony WF-1000XM5 with around 8 hours of playback when using ANC, 24 hours with the charging case, and the bonus of a 15-minute fast charge feature that will give you two hours of playback.

For audio, the Pi6’s 12mm drive units are essentially scaled-down versions of the ones found in the five-star Px7 S2e over-ears, which is no bad thing.

After testing, we said: "Their power and attack grant genres such as hip-hop, rock and heavy metal extra helpings of excitement, while their solid detail levels mean that you’ll still be in the picture no matter the tunes you choose."

While they don't quite knock our socks off like the Award-winning Pi8, a £144 price tag at Amazon certainly does.

MORE:

Read our full Bowers & Wilkins Pi6 review

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 vs Pi6: which B&W wireless earbuds should you choose?

Our pick of the best wireless earbuds: top pairs tested by our reviewers

When it comes to Mother's Day gifts, it's tempting to fall back on the usual flowers, chocolate and card routine.

But have you thought about what would really excite her? Perhaps it's a chance to dig out her record collection and play them back in glorious sound quality? Bluetooth speakers for her yoga and wellness sessions? Or just some peace and quiet courtesy of noise-cancelling headphones?

Whatever the personality of your mum, as long as she's a music fan, there's sure to be a gift here that will show how much you truly care.

And, as usual, all the products below have been rated and reviewed by our expert testing team. So you can be sure your mum only gets the very best this Mother's Day.

Roll up, deal hunters! These five-star Bowers & Wilkins ’buds have never been so cheap – and that’s certainly something we love to say about some of the best wireless earbuds we have tested.

Right now, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 can be yours for just £244 at Amazon, which smashes the previous record we've seen of £279. A slight caveat: this deal is available only on the Dove White model.

If you're desperate for another finish, you can pick them up in Anthracite Black or Jade Green for the previously low price of £279 at John Lewis.

The Bowers &Wilkins Pi8 certainly come in pricier than your average wireless buds, but in terms of performance, we were impressed as soon as we got our hands on them for a review.

They offer serious performance across the board. As our expert testers said: “Immediately you’re made aware that this is no pair of budget earbuds. There’s a maturity and refinement to the sound which you just don’t get from entry-level and mid-price wireless earbuds.

“This level of sophistication really allows the Pi8 to stand out. They shine a light on any music streamed their way with a beautifully balanced approach – you can savour every frequency from the lowest of lows to the highest highs.”

From dynamic insight to genuine rhythmic drive, you can be kept entertained for the duration of the buds’ 6.5 hours of battery life, which can be extended to 20 hours with the case.

And that charging case is smarter than you think, doubling up as wireless audio re-transmitter. This means that you can plug the case into a source that does not support Bluetooth, such as an in-flight entertainment system, and play audio through the wireless buds.

There is also support for Bluetooth 5.4, the inclusion of AptX Adaptive support at up to 24-bit/96kHz and also aptX Lossless. Plus, the ANC uses the same technology as B&W's Px8 over-ears, which can be switched off entirely or switched into Transparency mode.

All this led us to reach an incredibly positive verdict, saying: “Their wonderfully sophisticated, balanced and transparent sound delivers a level of insight that’s rare in wireless earbuds. You do have to pay for that quality but, ultimately, we think it’s a price worth paying.”

Fortunately, right now, you don’t have to pay as much as you once would have. In fact, you can save over £100, securing the Pi8 for just £244 at Amazon. Only in Dove White.

MORE:

Read our full Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 review

These are the best wireless earbuds we have tested

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 vs Pi6: which B&W wireless earbuds should you choose?

We've thought about it a lot and when it comes to Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 wireless headphones, they really nail that potent combination of style and substance.

And right now, they've crashed down to just £318 at Amazon, which is the lowest-ever price we've seen them drop to. Though there's one small caveat, this deal is only available on the White model.

If you've got your heart set on Black, then you'll have to pay £25 more. Either way, you'll be securing a premium pair of wireless headphones at a seriously competitive price.

The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 are amongst the best wireless headphones we've ever tested, especially if you're looking for appealing alternatives to the Sony XM6.

Lovely to look at and a pleasure to listen to, they launched back in April 2025, so it's not all that surprising to see a discount, but we've never seen one quite as good as this.

And at 20 per cent off, you can still secure headphones capable of full-bodied sonic character, benchmark levels of textural insight, and a decent array of features.

And it's both their performance and feature talents which led our expert testers to say: "The Px7 S3 really are exceptionally refined and detailed headphones... [they] drop you deep into a performance, breaking the boundary between you and your music and insisting that you become a part of the experience, a little like a mate at a gig who ushers you ever-closer towards the stage."

Thanks to their cannily-positioned eight-mic array, the Px7 S3 deliver a reasonably solid barrier between you and the outside world. And while we consider their biggest rivals, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra and Sony XM6, to block out sound a little more competently, these Bowers do a reasonable job. And at this price, they're cheaper than the XM6.

Elsewhere, their features satisfy the price point, with aptX Lossless and Adaptive Bluetooth support and a 30-hour battery life (with ANC on). A lighter construction makes for an even more pleasant fit than their very comfortable predecessors, the Px7 S2e, too.

Plus, there's Bluetooth Multipoint, which makes listening and switching between multiple connected source devices easy.

All this led us to say in our full review: "B&W’s follow-up to the five-star Px7 S2e has been a success. Matching their predecessors’ overall appeal was never going to be easy, but the Px7 S3’s powerfully entertaining sonic performance and refined design make them a good contender in a crowded marketplace, though we do have a few doubts about their absolute noise-cancelling abilities."

So, if you're looking for a blend of style and substance at a price that feels a little more affordable, the B&W Px7 S3's are easy to recommend, dropping to just £318 at Amazon, though only in White.

MORE:

Read our full Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 review

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: which premium headphones are better?

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: which noise-cancelling pair is better?

In all my years of testing wireless headphones, one thing I have never thought to myself is, “is Bose falling behind the competition?”

After all, this is a brand that has consistently mixed it with the best in the market and has been a benchmark for noise-cancelling headphones of all shapes and sizes.

And it’s not just because of its brilliant noise-cancelling that Bose consistently found itself among the class-leaders. Historically, its wireless headphones have produced some of the best sound quality too.

But in the past year or so, I’ve been testing Bose’s premium wireless earbuds and wireless headphones, comparing them with their main rivals; and the more time I’ve spent listening, the more I have found myself thinking that the cracks are starting to show.

Most recently, I’ve heard the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) against the Sony WF-1000XM6, and the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) against the Sennheiser HDB 630.

Both Bose pairs are still very comfortable, with good build quality, great noise-cancelling and decent features for the money. But there is a clear gap between them and the competition when it comes to overall sound quality.

The Bose offerings aren’t poor performers by any stretch, and when compared with their predecessors, you can certainly hear that the tech brand has managed to make small improvements in sound quality.

But when you compare the levels of detail, dynamics and clarity, they just can’t match what the class-leaders now offer.

And that lies at the heart of Bose’s current position. Rival brands have made significant advancements in sound quality in recent years.

Apple is now a serious contender in the headphones space – its AirPods Pro 3 earbuds being arguably its best wireless earbuds to date. And the AirPods Max show there is room for luxury wireless headphones at higher price points, offering exceptional build quality and sound quality for the money.

Technics has arrived on the premium scene and is now a contender, while Bowers & Wilkins has continued to push its headphones to new levels of performance. We have also seen Sennheiser do its own disrupting in the space with its new flagship, the HDB 630.

The market has evolved and improved when it comes to sound quality, and rivals now offer much more bang for your buck – they, it seems, have been making significant strides compared with Bose’s baby steps.

Have we reached a point where perhaps it's time for Bose to consider a serious overhaul of its tech and engineering? Possibly.

If its current trajectory continues, the noise from the competition could become too loud for even Bose’s talented noise-cancelling to handle.

MORE:

Our pick of the best wireless headphones you can buy

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): which flagship wireless over-ears are best?

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: which noise-cancelling pair is better?

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): which flagship wireless over-ears are best?

Here atWhat Hi-Fi?, we endeavour to test every major pair of premium wireless headphones and put them thoroughly through their sonic paces in our listening rooms.

It's well established among our review team that the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 are the most stylish of the bunch, but also have the substance to back up their good looks.

But they're also currently the cheapest of the major premium wireless headphones we recommend right now – especially with another price crash bringing them down to £311 at Amazon.

That's £88 off their test price of £399, and the cheapest we've seen the cans yet.

It's also a fair bit cheaper than their premium rivals – namely the Sony WH-1000XM6, Sennheiser HDB 630 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) – which are currently all stubbornly sticking to £399.

The Px7 S3 are some of the best wireless headphones we have tested.

They are the successors to the Px7 S2e, and Bowers and Wilkins have made some major improvements to the sound, thanks to some design tweaks – namely redesigned 40mm paper drivers furnished with a new chassis, voice coil, magnet and suspension.

"The Px7 S3 really are exceptionally refined and detailed headphones, stunning us with their ability to outstrip their predecessors and even outperform the more expensive Dali IO-8 for textural insight," our Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 review reads.

"These are wireless headphones that dig deep into your music, eschewing a broad or general sonic overview and instead pulling out instrumental timbres with the relentless curiosity and enthusiasm of a bloodhound on the scent of a new lead."

This is a sound performance on level terms with the Sony XM6, and even better than other more expensive rivals such as the Apple AirPods Max and Focal Bathys.

The Px7 S3 are not quite class-leading when it comes to noise-cancelling, but they do a reasonable job of creating a barrier between you and the outside world. A cannily-positioned eight-mic array reduces rumbles, softens chatter and takes the edge off sharp bangs.

Features are also solid, with aptX Lossless and Adaptive Bluetooth support, a 30-hour battery life (with ANC on) and Bluetooth Multipoint.

The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 were already five-star cans at full price, and for £311 at Amazon, they are one of the best value premium headphones on the market right now.

MORE:

Read our review of the Dali IO-8

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: which premium headphones are better?

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: which noise-cancelling pair is better?

The best floorstanding speakers are not cheap, but they deliver room-filling sound in ways that most bookshelf speakers can't manage.

One of our favourites is the four-star Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3, which is fortunately discounted down to £1,499 at Richer Sounds. That's lower than it's ever been, even during Black Friday sales.

Better still, for a limited time only, you can get a QED XT25 2m terminated pair of cables (worth £79) included free of charge! The free cables will be added automatically at the checkout.

With this discount and a freebie thrown in, there's no better time to upgrade your sound system.

The 603 S3 are the largest and most expensive speakers in Bowers & Wilkins' 600 series and are also recommended by us as the best Bowers & Wilkins floorstanders we've tested recently.

The 603 S3 use a 25mm titanium dome tweeter, B&W’s custom 15cm Continuum midrange cone, and a pair of 16.5cm paper bass drivers.

Tech has also trickled down from the more expensive 700 series, including a more powerful motor assembly for the midrange driver, which utilises a special type of foam to suppress vibrations in pursuit of a purer, clearer sound.

Be warned that the 603 S3 are sizeable towers, measuring 102cm in height, but they're ideal for anyone with ample space who wants an eye-catching speaker set-up.

Luckily, the 603 S3's sound lives up to its size. As we said in our Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 review: "There’s fullness and weight (to the music), with lots of drive and power that will please anyone looking for their music to enjoy a whole load of weight and muscle."

During testing, the speakers brought out detail and nuance while also adding clarity, focus and robust bass. They also showed an admirable knack for control and authority.

If you're on the lookout for large speakers and substantial sound, consider the 603 S3, available with £500 off at Richer Sounds.

MORE:

These are the best floorstanding speakers you can buy

How to choose the right speakers and get the best sound

Building a hi-fi system? Here's the secret to matching the right components

In the market for some great standmount speakers? Well, there's a rather excellent deal on some of the best Bowers & Wilkins speakers we've ever tested, but you'll have to be quick!

The Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3 are pleasingly large-scaled, spacious and refined performers for the money. And right now, they've dropped to just £549 at Richer Sounds, which is a price we haven't enjoyed since Cyber Monday.

The five-star Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3 are the top standmounters in B&W's acclaimed 600 Series 3 range, and the bigger siblings to the also-excellent B&W 607 S3. And they're certainly some of the best Bowers & Wilkins speakers we've had the pleasure of testing.

The 606 S3 offer a more mature presentation than the 607s, with bigger, punchier and more open sound, as well as stunning clarity, detail and refinement which makes them very easy to listen to.

In fact, our expert testers said: "Did we have any trouble playing albums continuously without getting bored through the 606? Absolutely not. The pristine, capable nature of these new standmounters is still very impressive and they are a big, easy listen."

Plus, if you're after more oomph to your bass, the standmounts' 16.5cm mid/bass driver and deeper cabinet mean added weight, punch and authority, which we surmised in our review means they "aren't quite as prone to the slightly excitable and forward treble of its lively 607 S3 sibling".

If you're after an easy listen and have the space, these standmounts at just £549 at Richer Sounds might be just what you're after.

MORE:

Read our full Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3 review

Find out more about the best Bowers & Wilkins speakers: 7 great models, all tested by experts

And check out the best bookshelf speakers: top standmounts for every budget tested

It's a battle of the British hi-fi Titans today; and this time it's being fought on the home cinema battleground.

We are pitting two five-star 5.1 surround sound speaker packages against one another. Each is a fierce competitor – and a What Hi-Fi? Award-winners at that – but which one is worth your hard-earned cash?

In the KEF corner, we have the Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System, which combines the talents of the Q Concerto Meta standmount speakers, Q1 Meta bookshelf speakers, Q6 Meta centre channel, and Kube 12 MIE powered subwoofer.

And in the Bowers & Wilkins corner, it's the three-time Product of the Year winning 606 and 607 S3 Speaker Package. This includes the 606 S3 standmount speakers, 607 S3 standmount speakers, HTM6 S3 centre channel, and ASW610 subwoofer.

Both sound great, and they look good too, but which should take pride of place in your home cinema setup?

KEF vs Bowers & Wilkins: price

These two launched with a pretty significant price disparity, but the current-day story brings something of a plot twist.

When we reviewed each of these speaker packages, we found that neither was available to purchase at an all-in-one bundle price. This meant that we tested the KEF package at £3146 / $4050 / AU$5650, and the Bowers & Wilkins package at £2496 / $3799 / AU$3947 – those prices established by adding the cost of each component separately.

However, since we bestowed these systems with five-star reviews and various Awards, retailers have begun selling the packages as convenient bundles, with all components supplied together.

The Bowers & Wilkins system can now be found at a heavily discounted price of £1999 (at Sevenoaks Sound & Vision), whereas the KEF package is down to an all-in-one price of £2549.

It's worth noting that these systems don't seem to be sold in bundles outside the UK.

That still gives the Bowers & Wilkins system an edge in the pricing department; however, the KEF can be found at a much more comparable price than initially seemed likely.

**Winner: Bowers & Wilkins**

KEF vs Bowers & Wilkins: design

We won't beat around the bush here; there's one speaker package that we have been swooning over ever since it strutted into our home cinema testing room late last year.

The KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 package is a rather handsome set of speakers, especially in the all-black finish that adorns our review sample. The finish is good too; the whole system is furnished in solid-feeling wood cabinets and wrapped in quality vinyl.

This is the more expensive package of the two, but its more premium feel goes some way to justifying the extra outlay.

The Bowers & Wilkins package, on the other hand, still looks and feels rather nice and is plenty premium enough for the asking price. It looks suitably suave in all three of its available finishes; but the little touches make the KEF system the better-looking of the duo.

The top-mounted KEF tab on the front and surround speakers, paired with the fossil-like waveguide, Uni-Q driver array (more on that in a moment), and sharp lines, really seal the deal.

We should note that you will need to invest in appropriate speaker stands to accommodate either of these systems – unless you want to set them up at shin-height, which we wouldn't recommend.

**Winner: KEF**

KEF vs Bowers & Wilkins: features

Each brand features its own proprietary driver technology throughout their respective speaker packages.

KEF employs its Uni-Q driver array, which places the tweeter in the centre of the mid-range driver, and accompanies the company's “tangerine waveguide”, which supposedly removes the traditional “sweet-spot” position that is a common factor with other speakers, producing an overall wider dispersion of sound throughout your listening space.

This is backed up by the company's Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT), which is claimed to “absorb 99 per cent of the unwanted noise from the rear of the driver for pure and natural sound”, according to KEF.

Taking a closer look at each component, the Q Concerto Meta speakers feature a 10cm aluminium midrange driver combined with a 19mm vented aluminium dome tweeter in the Uni-Q array configuration, alongside a 16.5cm hybrid-cone bass driver with a rear-firing port that's used to tune the lower frequencies.

The Q6 Meta centre channel sports an almost identical driver setup, but it sports an additional bass driver.

The Q1 Metas have a slightly larger Uni-Q array, comprising a 25mm vented aluminium dome tweeter with MAT, and a 130mm aluminium cone for mid/bass purposes.

As we reference in our review, “while that driver is a few millimetres bigger, it’s also expected to do a lot more due to the lack of a dedicated bass driver.”

Finally, the Kube 12 MIE features a 12-inch woofer, powered by 300W of Class D amplification.

Jumping over to the Bowers & Wilkins package, the 606 S3, 607 S3, and HTM6 S3 speakers all feature the company's titanium-dome tweeter, accompanied by midrange and bass drivers made of B&W’s Continuum cone material.

The 606 S3 sports a 25mm-dome tweeter and a 16.5cm-cone driver, whereas the 607 S3 surround speakers feature the same dome tweeter and a slightly smaller 13cm-cone driver. The HTM6 is most akin to the surround speakers, with the same 25mm tweeter and two 13cm mid/bass drivers.

Rounding things out, the B&W ASW610 subwoofer features a 25cm paper and aramid fibre cone long-throw driver and 200W of Class D amplification.

Taking stock, we find that the KEF package is the more fully featured of the two. It sports larger drivers for the front speakers, with KEF's Award-winning MAT technology, alongside a more powerful subwoofer and the Uni-Q driver array that features in many other What Hi-Fi? Award-winning speakers.

**Winner: KEF**

KEF vs Bowers & Wilkins: sound

This is the all-important category in this head-to-head speaker package comparison. So which surround sound system comes out on top?

Well, the good (and diplomatic) answer is that both of these surround sound packages sound fantastic, hence why they proudly sit shoulder to shoulder on our current Awards list. We'll start with the B&W package as it is defending its place as our Award-winner for three consecutive years.

We pretty much had only good things to say about the 606 & 607 S3 package's sound performance in our review, citing its warm, rich and detailed sonic signature as being a key component as to why we score it so highly. It blends insight and agility, without sounding too lean or skipping important details; it truly ticks all of the boxes.

We find it to be dynamically impressive at each end of the scale, too. The delicate handling of low-level dynamics captures the subtle inflexions of emotion in dialogue, whereas the system's extraordinary subwoofer delivers punchy, controlled and tonally varied bursts of bass when required.

This is all packaged in a system that works harmoniously, with no obvious sonic mismatches or conflicts, and the dispersion of sound means that no obvious gaps are left between the channels.

If there is one small drawback to this system, it would be the scale of the sound. It's by no means a deficiency of the system as a whole, but compared with other speaker systems we have tested, we find that the B&W package isn't as spacious or large-scale as others on the market.

This is where the KEF system steps in. It delivers all of the above, and more.

We rave, in our review, about its rich, powerful sound that ticks all of the boxes. Detail, agility, dynamics, timing; it's all here, and it handles all of this with an added sense of scale that helps tip the scales into KEF's favour.

All of this comes at the minor expense of a slightly less tuneful subwoofer, but its controlled and precise bass presentation ensures it remains a very worthy component of this Award-winning system.

What really seals the deal is the KEF's seriously impressive centre channel. It delivers crisp and deeply detailed dialogue to an extent that it almost feels as if the characters are in the room with you. This natural, balanced and rich sound is supported by the talented Q Concerto Meta front speakers, which capture fine details with ease, and the Q1 Meta speakers are the icing on the cake, delivering a tonally matched surround sound experience.

**Winner: KEF**

KEF vs Bowers & Wilkins: verdict

The truth is that you would find little to complain about if you pick either of these systems, as they both deliver high-quality cinematic sound. That being said, the KEF system puts the extra outlay to good use, as it comes wrapped in a more stylish design, and puts an emphasis on upping the ante when it comes to scale and subtlety.

Bowers & Wilkins has delivered an impressive speaker system in its own right, so if you're looking for something slightly more compact and a touch cheaper, you definitely won't be disappointed if you opt for the B&W package.

**Overall winner: KEF**

MORE:

Check out our full list of the best surround sound speaker systems

As well as the best AV receivers

And read our full Fyne Audio F500E AV Pack 2 review

Bowers and Wilkins are well known for their good-looking headphones, whatever the colour.

Which is handy, as the five-star Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 have hit a record low price, but only in the Canvas White colour.

Said price is £319 at Amazon, the lowest we've seen for these cans since earlier price drops in January and December.

Given that we tested the B&W Px7 S3 at £399, that's a solid £80 saving. And we think the white colour is rather fetching.

Luckily, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 are not just all looks – they have the substance to match and are one of our recommendations when it comes to the best wireless headphones.

They're aided ably by improvements on the Px7 S2e, such as redesigned 40mm paper drivers furnished with a new chassis, voice coil, magnet and suspension. We were suitably impressed by the results.

"The Px7 S3 really are exceptionally refined and detailed headphones, stunning us with their ability to outstrip their predecessors and even outperform the more expensive Dali IO-8 for textural insight," said our Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S3 review.

"These are wireless headphones that dig deep into your music, eschewing a broad or general sonic overview and instead pulling out instrumental timbres with the relentless curiosity and enthusiasm of a bloodhound on the scent of a new lead."

A cannily-positioned eight-mic array delivers a reasonably solid barrier between you and the outside world, resulting in organic-feeling noise-cancelling that is decent if not quite not class-leading.

Features are ample too, with aptX Lossless and Adaptive Bluetooth support, a respectable 30-hour battery life (with ANC on) and included USB-C and 3.5mm cable connections for listening at rates up to 24-bit/96kHz.

Bluetooth Multipoint also makes switching between multiple connected devices easy, ideal if you use both a phone and a laptop.

As long as you have no objections to the Canvas White colour, this is an excellent deal on headphones that exude style as well as some seriously good sound. Get the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 for £319 at Amazon now.

MORE:

Read our review of the Dali IO-8

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: which premium headphones are better?

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: which noise-cancelling pair is better?

If you want a great pair of premium wireless headphones, you are currently spoiled for choice. Many of the major audio brands are desperately vying for wire-free supremacy, with each sending its flagship champion out to bat armed with alluring designs, bulging feature sets and boundary-pushing sound in a bid to tempt would-be buyers into making a lasting commitment.

Sony’s What Hi-Fi? Award-winning WH-1000XM6 spent much of 2025 as the champions of the arena, but don’t think for a moment that this is a one-horse race. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) are still staking their claim as the active noise-cancelling kings, while Bowers & Wilkins’ Px7 S3 blend style and substance into one very appealing package.

Then there’s Sennheiser’s five-star HDB 630 flagship headphones which made a late play at the end of last year with one thing on their mind: knock Sony off its perch and take the premium wireless crown back to Sennheiser Towers.

We’re struggling to think of a time when this particular space has been so competitive. That’s great news for the consumer – higher standards and greater choice are never a bad thing – but all of that fierce competition can be a double-edged sword. After all, how are you supposed to know which cans deserve a place atop your noggin when they all promise potent performance and so many tantalising tricks?

That’s where we come in. Thanks to our exhaustive Group Test of the most talented premium headphones around, we're in the best position possible to let you know which wireless wonders are right for you.

We have tested the top four models across a range of criteria, including design, comfort, features and sound quality, putting you in the best position when it comes to picking your perfect pair of premium partners.

Each year, it seems, the needle is pushed further and further north, so that some brands which could once have expected a full five-star haul might find themselves outmatched by the sheer quality showcased by their talented rivals.

In isolation, Bose's flagship QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen are better than ever, and their punchy, entertaining sound is certainly a noticeable step up over their first-generation antecedents.

For their lightweight comfort, foldable design and class-leading noise cancelling, they have so much to recommend them, especially for frequent flyers and commuters who value noise-cancelling above all.

Bose’s problem is that it hasn’t quite kept up with the rest of the pack on the audio front. We can still see the appeal of the overall package they provide, but if you’re looking for the best sound available at this premium level, their price-comparable adversaries have widened the margin to such an extent that Bose is in danger of being somewhat left behind.

Partly responsible for such a growing divide are the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3. While the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Sennheiser HDB 630 advance things further in the sound quality department, we can’t deny that the B&Ws’ premium quality materials and design make them worthy of their high price tag.

Their noise-cancelling abilities may not be class leading, but they deliver a rich, full-bodied sound that drops you into the centre of your music to thrilling effect.

Bluetooth codec support is impressive. The higher-quality aptX Adaptive codec is on board, and of the four pairs of headphones tested here, the Px7 S3 are the only ones to offer support for aptX Lossless, offering CD quality (16-bit/44.1kHz) audio transmission from compatible sources.

The B&Ws’ sonic talents, combined with the sleek, prestige design, will make them an eye-catching proposition to anyone who values style as much as substance.

The Sonys push those sonic boundaries even further in nearly every area, all while boasting some of the most impressive all-around credentials you’ll find. Whether it’s their excellent noise cancelling, the superbly detailed and excellent dynamic presentation, effortless usability or superb comfort, the WH-1000XM6 are headphones built to please most of the people most of the time.

Topping the might of their predecessors was never going to be easy, but clever design and performance tweaks have elevated Sony’s flagship cans to the next level.

That next level is, on the sound front at least, not quite enough to overcome the fresh challenge of the Sennheiser HDB 630 – the HDB 630 have proved themselves to be a true force of nature.

Their standard sound quality is nuanced, spacious and a detail-rich delight, outstripping the Sony XM6 for textural insight, emotional engagement and the breadth of their soundstage.

The clever USB-C Bluetooth dongle that comes bundled with the headphones takes the sonic ability to new heights, as it lets you stream in hi-res aptX Adaptive Bluetooth quality from practically any source you plug it into, be it Android or iOS.

Plus, they don’t leave us feeling starved in other areas. While they might look a little bland for some (especially at this premium level), and they don’t quite reach the heights set by Sony or Bose’s noise-cancelling powers, they are still capable enough for everyday use. The HDB 630s’ plush headband and well-cushioned earpads make long listening sessions a breeze.

Additionally, a claimed 60-hour battery life and solid call quality only sweeten the deal. If only they folded away…

It’s gratifying to see the myriad ways the biggest headphone brands in the game have approached the premium wireless space, with each of these strong contenders bringing their own unique skillset to the table to appeal to specific needs.

For us, sound quality is king, so we’re giving the win here to the headphones that impressed us the most on the audio front. If you want the best-sounding wireless headphones you can get at this level it’s impossible to look past the benchmark-setting Sennheiser HDB 630 – for our money, they’re the cream of the current crop.

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Best noise cancelling headphones: rated and reviewed

Good news, Bowers & Wilkins fans! The five-star Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 are continuing to buck trends – not only did they go on sale straight after Black Friday, but they're still holding strong at an excellent price.

Which means you can still get the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 for £279 at Peter Tyson, on all three finishes no less.

That's a good £70 off the RRP of £349, and the lowest price we've seen for these brilliant buds.

The Bowers &Wilkins Pi8 launched with a hefty price tag, but came with the performance to match.

"Immediately you’re made aware that this is no pair of budget earbuds," our Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 review reads. "There’s a maturity and refinement to the sound which you just don’t get from entry-level and mid-price wireless earbuds.

"This level of sophistication really allows the Pi8 to stand out. They shine a light on any music streamed their way with a beautifully balanced approach – you can savour every frequency from the lowest of lows to the highest highs."

You can enjoy this performance for up to 6.5 hours at a time, with battery life extending to 20 hours with the case.

One of the most notable features of the Pi8, however, is that they can double up as a wireless audio re-transmitter. This means that you can plug the case into a source that does not support Bluetooth, such as an in-flight entertainment system, and play audio through the wireless buds.

The Pi8 is also aimed at those using an aptX-compatible source, with support for aptX Adaptive at up to 24-bit/96kHz and aptX Lossless. There's also Bluetooth 5.4 compatibility and active noise cancelling using the same technology as B&W's Px8 over-ears.

All of this fancy technology can now be yours for only £279 at Amazon. For such a wonderfully sophisticated, balanced and transparent sound, we think it's a price worth paying.

MORE:

Read our recent Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) review

These are the best wireless earbuds we have tested

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 vs Pi6: which B&W wireless earbuds should you choose?

2025 was a massive year for premium wireless headphones, with many of the big-name manufacturers pulling out all the stops in a bid to eke out a slender advantage in this hugely competitive market.

Such a standard was typified by the arrival of both the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 early in the year, before Sennheiser threw its oar in at the last moment with its unveiling of the HDB 630 flagship over-ears.

Fierce competition is clearly pushing brands to new heights of performance and innovation, evidenced by the ever-climbing quality of the premium arena. Both B&W and Sennheiser have staked serious claims to this contested territory, but which should you pick if you want the best premium performance possible?

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: price

The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 cost £399 / €429 / $449 / AU$699 at launch, placing them firmly into what we would term the 'premium' tranche of the wireless headphone market. Discounts have occasionally knocked that UK figure down to £329, but at the time of writing, we've never seen the Px7 S3 fall below the £300 mark.

The Sennheiser HDB 630 will set you back a good deal more cash, especially if you're buying them outside the UK. At £400 / $500 / AU$1000, they're also decidedly premium over-ears, and unlike their sometimes-discounted rivals, we don't expect to see major price cuts just yet – the HDB 630 were only reviewed in December 2025, lest we forget.

**Winner: Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: design and build

What our two head-to-head rivals prove, at least from the outside, is that there's more than one way to design a pair of premium wireless headphones. Both cost the same sort of money, yet from an aesthetics perspective, they walk decidedly different paths.

The Sennheisers are about as straight down the line as a pair of headphones can be, adopting the design language of recent Sennheiser Momentum cans via their chunky ovular earcups and complete lack of adornments or thrills. Functional is the word we'd be tempted to use.

The B&W Px7 S3 are a blingier, more eye-catching affair, and if you're into perceived value, this is where you'll find it. Every part of the cans' more complex construction has been lovingly realised, from the premium hinges adjoining the earcups to the textured woven fabric of the headband.

In terms of comfort, it's a closer affair. The Sennheisers aren't flashy, but they're also easy to wear, with a nicely judged clamping grip which, when combined with their nicely cushioned earcups and headband, means they're rarely an oppressive experience.

They offer a less plush, padded fit than the more all-encompassing Sennheisers, but we imagine many wearers will prefer their slimmer earcups and lighter overall profile.

It's the same when switching over to the Px7 S3. The clamping force is again well-judged, while the earpads’ blend of firmness and suppleness means our ears rarely feel as though they're being squashed into oblivion. We did experience some on-ear heat during testing, but nothing too disastrous.

Rather interestingly, the B&W opt for the more traditional physical buttons rather than flashy touch controls for their on-unit operations, but we've no gripes when the systems works as well as it does here.

The backside of the right earcup offers a play/pause button flanked by longer volume controls, whereas the left cup features a sliding Bluetooth/power toggle alongside a configurable ‘Quick Action’ button we currently have reserved for cycling through our test pair’s noise-cancelling modes.

For Sennheiser, it's mainly a touch-control affair, with the only proper button reserved for launching your phone's voice assistant. Happily, the HDB 630 offer solid touch integration, with controls which we find are responsive and work across a generous surface area.

Not a huge amount to choose from here, so this might depend on whether you have a preference for button or touch controls.

**Winner: Draw**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: features

These are premium headphones we're dealing with, so naturally, both are equipped with premium-level feature sets as befits their status.

Let's start with the simple stuff. The HDB 630 are ahead of the game when it comes to battery life, clocking in at a maximum of 60 hours of playtime with ANC switched on when compared with the Px7 S3's 30 hours. A 10-minute fast charge will provide a further seven hours of life for the Sennheisers, while you'll get the same amount of playtime from a 15-minute boost to the Px7 S3.

Whichever over-ears you pick, you'll get access to Bluetooth Multipoint, so listening and switching between multiple connected source devices should be a doddle.

App support for the Px7 S3 is handled by the Bowers & Wilkins Music app, an admirably exhaustive platform from which you can adjust your user experience, tinker with the equaliser or checking your headphones’ key vitals, all while granting direct access to music streaming service libraries such as Tidal, Deezer and Qobuz.

With the HDB 630, you'll be handling similar functionalities from the SmartControl+ app, and while there's less all-in-one streaming integration here, excellent ANC, EQ and touch control customisation than make up for it.

Both pairs of headphones offer Auracast support, meaning that they can receive audio transmissions from compatible broadcast sources, although that's only true of the Sennheisers when they have their clever Bluetooth dongle plugged in. Speaking of which...

Right, let's talk about that dinky USB-C dongle bundled in with the Sennheiser headphones, shall we? Our full Sennheiser HDB 630 will give you a full rundown, but basically, the clever little accessory (BTD 700) grants superior quality codec powers to devices which might not have otherwise had them, providing hi-res streaming up to 24-bit/9kHz via aptX Adaptive. That means you can stream in higher quality when the dongle plugged into an iPhone, for example, which doesn't natively support the aptX codecs.

For the more straightforward Px7 S3, Bluetooth codec support comes courtesy of the standard AAC and SBC codecs living alongside higher-quality flavours such as aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless. Those codecs are higher than Sennheiser's, but they will only work with certain compatible smartphones, so if you have an iPhone, they won't be supported.

If you want to go all out on audio fidelity with the Px7 S3, USB-C and 3.5mm cable connections are provided straight out of the box for listening at rates up to 24-bit/96kHz.

Impressive on both counts, but for that clever dongle and a much more durable battery span, we're giving the win to Sennheiser here.

**Winner: Sennheiser HDB 630**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: active noise cancelling and call quality

We'll be blunt: at this level, you can find better noise cancelling, with the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) both leading the charge in this regard.

Sennheiser's effort is far from bad, but it's what we'd term 'good' rather than 'great', and certainly not class leading. Still, as we said in our review, the cans' ANC "takes the sting out of disruptive surrounding noise, reducing the rumble of traffic and bus engine noise", so it'll do the job if your music is playing at a decent volume anyway.

With the B&W Px7 S3, we're a little disappointed. While the chic over-ears are capable of reducing the low-frequency rumbles of, say, road traffic, they're less able to match their rivals when it comes to muting traffic noise or the chatter of voices, while high-frequency noises will intrude on your listening with surprising insistence.

Voice calls are ably handled by both rivals. Calls via the Sennheisers are crisp and clear, albeit with a hint of that slightly processed sound some headphones are capable of producing, while the Px7 S3, thanks to their repositioned microphones and B&W’s ‘ADI Pure Voice’ voice processing technology, make speech sound a touch fuller and more natural without seeming muffled or mechanical. They're not quite as clear as the Sennheisers, but perhaps a little more personable.

Each set, be it the Px7 or the HDB 630, does a fine job of reducing background noise, and as we stand next to a busy road in the pouring rain, the splash of puddles and the pitter patter of the falling raindrops subside nicely into the background.

For their finer ANC talents, the HDB 630 take the win.

**Winner: Sennheiser HDB 630**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: sound

When they landed last year (and before the Px8 S3 had been released), Bowers & Wilkins claimed that the Px7 S3 were its most “advanced and capable” wireless headphones ever.

Big words, yet thanks to their redesigned 40mm paper drivers furnished with a new chassis, voice coil, magnet and suspension, it's hard to disagree with what might initially have seemed like marketing hyperbole.

As we stated at the time, the Px7 S3 "are exceptionally refined and detailed headphones", a pair of cans that are capable of dropping you right into the heart of your music to rather thrilling effect.

Play Nick Cave & Warren Ellis’s Song For Bob, and you'll marvel at the bite and grip of those mournful strings, while the varying components of John Williams’ Duel Of The Fates blend authenticity with a thrilling sense of drama when pumped through the B&W over-ears.

These are muscular, forceful headphones, with grip and power in spades. There's more than enough lower-end clout to keep bassheads happy, and while headphones that go big on bass can often sound blobby or out of control, we remain impressed by how well the Px7 S3 are able to meld power and punch with control and bottom-end refinement.

The Px7 S3 are tremendously talented performers, and unequivocally entertaining, but even they aren't quite capable of outgunning the remarkable abilities of their Sennheiser rivals. As our review verdict summarises, the HDB 630 "move the goalposts for wireless sound quality at this level, while going the extra mile to upgrade iPhones and other audio sources to make it easier for people to benefit from it".

Plug in that clever USB-C dongle, get them playing from an appropriately quality source and the HDB 630 will reward you with arguably the most detailed and nuanced performance we've heard at this level. We perform much of our testing using an iPhone 16 and a Samsung Galaxy S21, with the dongle upgrading their connectivity to aptX Adaptive and helping us eke out news levels of clarity and solidity.

The dongle certainly helps, but however you listen, you'll find the HDB 63O to be strikingly smooth and natural sounding headphones that go big on dynamism and articulation across the frequency range.

Instrumental textures are replete with detail and body, while the rhythmic patterns are outlined with outstanding precision, all of which gives tracks a lush, emotional appeal that we find utterly gripping.

The Sennheisers are also capable of painting on a pleasingly expansive canvas, one that sounds much wider and more cinematic than the outgoing Momentum 4 Wireless over-ears can manage. Musical elements are cleverly and precisely placed, making even dense productions seem more easily digestible.

All of that lovely precision and analysis are wedded to a tangible feeling of drive and liveliness, making for, we think, "the most informative and entertaining sound we’ve heard from wireless headphones at this price". What a result!

**Winner: Sennheiser HDB 630**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: verdict

There's no question that the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 are very, very good wireless headphones. These are five-star operators, and we completely understand their appeal given just how nice they look, how easy they are to use and, of course, how great they sound. That robust, punchy personality is never less than thrilling, all underpinned by outstanding levels of textural insight.

The Sennheiser HDB 630, however, are in a class of one. Put up against any price comparable rival we can think of, the Sennheisers are at the top of the leader board, and it's going to take something remarkable in 2026 to knock them from their perch.

If class-leading sound is your priority and you're happy to spend a decent sum to get it, there's simply no looking past what might be the best wireless headphones Sennheiser has ever made.

**Overall winner: Sennheiser HDB 630**

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These are the best wireless headphones you can buy

Take Bowers & Wilkins’ top 700 Series bookshelf speaker, add a new luxury finish, take some of the components from the 705 S3 Signature, and you arrive at the 707 Prestige Edition.

Being billed as the “Ultimate Bowers & Wilkins bookshelf loudspeaker” the new 707 model comes in a special Santos Gloss finish, which is created using 12 layers of paint and lacquer, and is inspired by the Santos Rosewood finish of the 805 D3 Prestige Edition.

The 707 S3 on which it’s based is a two-way loudspeaker with a rear-firing bass port and curved baffle. It already uses a 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter and 13cm Continuum cone mid-bass driver, and these carry over to the Prestige Edition.

The new model adds the “carefully optimised” tweeter grille mesh and upgraded speaker terminals from the 705 S3 Signature, which, according to Bowers & Wilkins, help deliver “an even more refined and spacious sound than the standard model.” The speakers also get a new “unique identifying logo plate” which highlights the new model.

And how much do they cost? Well, the 707 Prestige Edition come in at £1550 / €1750, which is a slight increase compared to the standard 707 S3, which launched at £1300 / €1500 back in September 2022). Need stands? Bowers & Wilkins has the optional FS-700 floorstands in either black or silver.

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It’s no secret that we’re big fans of the Sony Bravia 8 II. It did, after all, take home the TV Product of the Year gong from the most recent What Hi-Fi? Awards.

To win that prize, Sony’s flagship OLED set had to defeat not only the Samsung S95F, with which it shares its QD-OLED panel, but also the LG G5 and Panasonic Z95B, which both feature cutting-edge Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel technology.

All four of those TVs are utterly awesome, so for the Bravia to come out on top was quite the achievement.

But there was one rival that didn’t make it in time for our Awards-deciding flagship OLED shootout – the Philips OLED910.

This features the same super-bright Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel tech as the LG G5 and Panasonic Z95B, but it combines it with super-sexy European styling, a B&W sound system, dazzling Ambilight and super-aggressive pricing.

So, is all of that enough to unseat our current Award-winner? We directly compared these two flagship sets over several days, using all of our favourite discs and streams, to find out.

Spoiler alert: it’s a mighty close contest.

Sony Bravia 8 II vs Philips OLED910: Pricing

Philips went super-aggressive with the OLED910’s launch pricing, releasing it to the market for £2199 at 65 inches and £3399 at 77 inches.

Even though rival sets, including the Bravia 8 II, had been on sale a while and been discounted, the OLED910 was cheaper out of the gate.

It’s dropped in price now, too, with the 65-inch model currently available for £1799, and the 77-inch version for £2799.

The Bravia 8 II has been further discounted, too, but the 65-inch model still currently costs £2199. There’s no 77-inch version, but unlike the Philips, there is a 55 incher, which is £1799 at the time of writing.

So, in the 65-inch size in which both sets are available (and which we directly compared), there’s a big £400 price difference. That’s extremely hard to ignore, and means the OLED910 takes first blood in this face-off.

WINNER: Philips OLED910

Sony Bravia 8 II vs Philips OLED910: Design

The Sony Bravia 8 II is a smart-looking TV, but it’s barely any different in appearance to the preceding A95L, which launched back in 2023. A design refresh to match the ambitious performance upgrade would have been nice.

Still, this is a very purposeful-looking, monolithic TV that looks particularly neat when the feet are installed at their default low–profile setting, which keeps the bottom edge of the TV within about a millimetre of the surface upon which it’s placed.

Those feet can alternatively be installed in a taller setting that creates a gap of a few centimetres between TV and furniture, into which you can slot a soundbar.

The Bravia 8 II does, of course, have an integrated sound system (a good one at that), but thanks to the technology it uses, it’s completely invisible from the front, contributing further to the stylishly clean appearance of the TV.

The Philips OLED910 is a very different aesthetic proposition. The integrated sound system includes front-facing speakers, but these are incorporated into a slim bar that’s wrapped in grey Kvadrat fabric and has nicely rounded corners, giving the set a softer, more appealing appearance.

Like the Sony, the Philips OLED910 has feet rather than a pedestal, but these feet are installed further towards the centre of the bottom edge of the TV, rather than the furthest points as they are on the Bravia 8 II. In other words, while the Sony can only be placed on top of furniture that’s at least as wide as the TV, the Philips will be happy on something narrower.

And, unlike the Sony, which has a fairly uniform thickness of about 3.4cm, the Philips combines its fairly chunky 5.6cm section with super-thin panel sections at the sides and top of the chassis. To our eyes, that makes it more visually striking, but beauty is, of course, in the eye of the beholder.

On that note, we have to mention Ambilight here. This is Philips’s unique bias lighting system, which features coloured LEDs around four sides of the OLED910’s rear. These can dynamically extend the on-screen image onto the wall around the TV in the form of coloured light.

Ambilight isn’t for everyone and isn’t a bonus for all content, but it does look spectacular, and for bright, colourful movies and games, it can really add something special.

All told, while the Bravia 8 II’s monolithic styling will certainly appeal to many, the OLED910’s softer, more living room-friendly appearance and (at least occasionally) thrilling Ambilight mean it wins this round.

WINNER: Philips OLED910

Sony Bravia 8 II vs Philips OLED910: Features

On paper, the Sony Bravia 8 II and Philips OLED910 take notably different approaches.

The Bravia 8 II uses Samsung Display’s latest QD-OLED panel, paired with a custom heatsink and the XR processor. Sony claims this enables a 25 per cent brightness increase over the preceding A95L and a 50 per cent uplift over the Bravia 8 W-OLED, alongside improved colour volume and better dark gradation.

Philips, meanwhile, has stuck with LG Display technology but upgraded from MLA to Primary RGB Tandem OLED. Philips quotes eye-catching brightness figures of up to 3700 nits for small highlights and 350 nits full-screen – numbers that should translate into a more dynamic image than the preceding OLED909, even in restrained picture modes.

Processing is a major talking point for both sets. Sony’s XR Processor introduces a new AI scene recognition system, which analyses content in real time and adjusts picture parameters for greater realism.

Philips counters with its 9th Gen P5 AI Engine – a powerful processor packed with features including Machine Learn Sharpness, AI Smart Bit Enhancement and AI Perfect Reality, all designed to optimise sharpness, colour and contrast depending on what’s on screen.

HDR support is one area where Philips holds a clear advantage.

The OLED910 supports all four HDR formats: HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision and HDR10+. The Bravia 8 II, meanwhile, supports Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG, but, as ever with Sony, HDR10+ is not supported.

The Sony does, however, boast IMAX Enhanced certification, and leans heavily into its Studio Calibrated Modes, with dedicated Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Sony Pictures Core presets designed to present content as the creators intended.

On the subject of Sony Pictures Core, the Bravia 8 II also comes with credits that can be used to ‘buy’ movies from Sony’s exclusive streaming service, which delivers content in almost 4K Blu-ray quality.

Gaming support is broadly similar. Both TVs offer 4K/120Hz, VRR, ALLM and a Dolby Vision game mode, though the Philips also supports 4K/144Hz, which will appeal to hardcore PC gamers with super-serious rigs (current consoles can’t go beyond 120Hz).

Frustratingly, both sets are limited to two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which doubles as the eARC socket, potentially leaving just a single 4K/120Hz input once a soundbar is connected.

Sony adds its ‘Perfect for PlayStation 5’ features, but these are a little less grand than they sound – only the HDR Auto Tone Mapping does something beyond the capabilities of other sets, such as the OLED910, and while this is useful for getting a fairly accurate HDR performance out of most PS5 games, it isn’t quite 100 per cent accurate.

Both TVs use the Google TV smart platform, which is pretty good these days, but while Sony has sought to fill in Google TV’s terrestrial catch-up app gaps through the addition of YouView, the Philips OLED910 is missing BBC iPlayer.

We’re not going to factor the two different OLED panel technologies into the round, as it’s the actual picture performance that matters, and we’ll cover that in the next section. That leaves the two TVs fairly evenly matched on the features front: the Philips has HDR10+ and 4K/144Hz support, but the Sony has IMAX Enhanced, Sony Pictures Core, and the BBC iPlayer.

Ultimately, we’re calling this a draw, but you can call it a win for one or the other TV based on which of those feature differences matters to you.

WINNER: draw

Sony Bravia 8 II vs Philips OLED910: Picture quality

Both the Sony Bravia 8 II and Philips OLED910 deliver genuinely excellent pictures, but when viewed side by side, it becomes clear that they prioritise slightly different strengths.

The Bravia 8 II sets the benchmark for balance and effortlessness. Straight out of the box, its core presets – Dolby Vision Dark and Professional – deliver a beautifully judged image with no need for tweaking.

Peak highlights are brighter and more piercing than those of Sony’s previous OLEDs, colours are richer without exaggeration, and improvements to dark gradation reveal noticeably more shadow detail.

Crucially, all of this combines to create an image with exceptional solidity and three-dimensionality: objects have weight, people feel rounded and lifelike, and backgrounds possess genuine depth.

That sense of realism holds across all content types. HDR movies benefit from punchy highlights and immaculate tone mapping, animation bursts with colour without tipping into garishness, and even standard-definition material is upscaled with impressive cleanliness, sharpness and restraint.

Nothing ever feels forced or over-processed, and the Bravia 8 II consistently presents content in a way that feels authentic and natural.

The OLED910, by contrast, can take more work to get right, but rewards that effort with a thrilling, high-impact image.

Once switched into HDR Filmmaker Mode and properly dialled in, it delivers bright, punchy HDR with excellent sharpness, fluid motion and a strong sense of vibrancy.

OLED’s perfect blacks are paired with strong shadow detail and consistent colours in dark scenes, and motion handling is a particular highlight, striking a rare balance between smoothness and cinematic integrity. In fact, we’d go as far as to say it’s a match for the Sony in terms of motion processing – something we absolutely hadn’t anticipated.

Where the Philips falls slightly short of the Sony is in absolute accuracy and subtlety. Reds can occasionally appear a touch over-emphasised, particularly in skin tones, and while this is rarely obvious in isolation, it becomes more apparent when compared directly with the Bravia 8 II’s more natural colour handling.

In HDR10 content, the OLED910 gets impressively close to the Sony overall, but the Bravia has the edge in terms of contrast control, three-dimensionality and overall image cohesion.

Dolby Vision performance on the Philips is excellent in Filmmaker Mode, though blacks can appear slightly raised in very dark scenes – again, something that’s most noticeable next to the Sony.

SDR content, meanwhile, is significantly over-brightened in all picture modes. It looks great, with oodles of punch, but having at least one preset that tracks SDR brightness accurately would have been nice.

Ultimately, the OLED910 is a superb picture performer and one of the closest challengers to Sony’s flagship. But the Bravia 8 II remains the reference, delivering a more natural, solid and consistently cinematic image across all formats, with less effort required from the viewer.

WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Sony Bravia 8 II vs Philips OLED910: Sound quality

Both the Sony Bravia 8 II and Philips OLED910 rank among the very best-sounding TVs available, but they go about their audio delivery in notably different ways – and in this case, the Philips ultimately comes out on top.

The Bravia 8 II uses Sony’s Acoustic Surface Audio+ system, with actuators vibrating the screen itself to produce sound, supported by twin subwoofers.

This creates an unusually strong sense of cohesion between picture and sound, with voices and effects locked precisely to their on-screen positions. Dialogue is clear, detailed and warm, and there’s enough dynamic subtlety to convey emotional nuance in performances, as well as enough punch to handle larger shifts without flattening out.

Spaciousness is also impressive by TV standards. Effects stretch well beyond the edges of the screen, creating a soundstage that feels wider and more immersive than most integrated systems can manage.

Bass depth isn’t class-leading, but it’s controlled and weighty enough to underpin action scenes convincingly, without unwanted distortion or boom. Overall tonal balance is excellent, making the Bravia 8 II one of those rare TVs that doesn’t immediately demand the addition of a budget soundbar.

The OLED910, though, raises the bar further. Its Bowers & Wilkins-tuned 3.1-channel system delivers a sound that’s bigger, weightier and more room-filling than the Sony’s, with excellent width, precise effect placement and impressive dynamic range.

Dolby Atmos soundtracks are handled with confidence, producing a convincing sense of scale and height, particularly when the Entertainment mode is engaged.

Low-level detail is a real strength, with subtle background sounds and musical elements placed clearly and naturally, while dialogue remains full-bodied and expressive. Dynamics are handled with assurance, too, from quiet conversational moments to louder, more demanding sequences.

Deep bass is a touch soft, but crucially remains clean and distortion-free – and there’s much more of it from the Philips than there is from the Sony. Compared directly, the Philips sounds more powerful, more immersive and more expansive than the Sony.

While both TVs will still benefit from the addition of a dedicated sound system, the OLED910 noses ahead if you’re determined not to go down that route. If you are prepared to add discrete sound, you need to be looking at something on the level of a Sonos Arc Ultra before you’ll hear a clearly worthwhile improvement on either TV.

In short, the Bravia 8 II delivers excellent, finely balanced sound with superb picture-to-audio cohesion, but the OLED910 sets a new benchmark for built-in TV audio at this level, edging ahead as the best-sounding TV of the two.

WINNER: Philips OLED910

Sony Bravia 8 II vs Philips OLED910: Verdict

This is one of the closest TV head-to-head battles we’ve seen in some time, and the fact that the Philips OLED910 gets so close to the Sony Bravia 8 II is a huge achievement – particularly given its lower price, more adventurous design and genuinely outstanding built-in sound.

The OLED910 wins convincingly on value, and edges the Sony on design flair and audio performance. It also delivers a thrilling, high-impact picture once properly set up.

If you want a premium OLED that looks and sounds spectacular, and you’re keen to avoid adding a separate sound system, the Philips makes a hugely compelling case.

But picture quality remains the deciding factor – and here, the Bravia 8 II still stands apart.

Its image is more natural, more consistent and more three-dimensional across all formats, with none of the small compromises that occasionally creep into the Philips’s delivery.

Just as importantly, it achieves this with less effort from the user, delivering reference-level results straight out of the box.

That combination of accuracy, balance and cinematic realism is why the Bravia 8 II earned its Product of the Year crown – and why it keeps it here.

The OLED910 pushes it harder than almost any rival we’ve tested, but when it comes to the overall best TV you can buy right now, Sony’s flagship remains the one to beat.

OVERALL WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

We're halfway through January now, but the New Year sales are still delivering the goods when it comes to discounts.

The bar has been set particularly high this week, with every product featured either a past or present Award winner.

This includes a Product of the Year winner in the Fyne Audio F501E, fantastic floorstanders which are seeing a ten per cent saving.

That is far from the only great deal available, though – see what else is on offer below:

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When it comes to 5.1 surround sound systems, the Bowers & Wilkins 606 & 607 S3 speaker package is one we constantly recommend, even at full price.

The two-time Award winner offers detailed and insightful sound as well as excellent warmth and vocal richness.

If our glowing five-star review isn't enough to seal the deal, how about the fact that it's discounted down to £1999 at Peter Tyson. That's a near £500 saving and a return to their lowest ever price.

And, if you're looking for an equally impressive AVR to plug the speakers into, then grab the Marantz Cinema 30 that is currently discounted at Peter Tyson.

The fact that this speaker system is primarily composed of two Award-winning pairs of Bowers & Wilkins speakers – the 606 S3 and 607 S3 – should explain why this system is so impressive. Throw in the HTM6 S3 centre speaker and ASW610 subwoofer, and the 5.1 system is primed for home cinema sound duties.

We should remind you that the front and surround speakers are standmount units, so you should factor in the price of speaker stands if you're thinking of picking this system up.

The front, centre and surround channels all feature B&W's titanium-dome tweeter for crisp and stable high-frequency signals, which are backed up by Continuum cone material bass/mid drivers.

That tweeter design is crucial to the centre channel, which we found to deliver a “captivating vocal performance”, while the system as a whole offers up a rich, dynamic and engaging sound that ticks all of the cinematic boxes we look for.

B&W has been known to create some excellent subwoofers in the past, and the ASW610 is no exception. It’s small, to fit in with the fairly compact nature of this system as a whole, but it's also mighty when it comes to delivering weighty, controlled bass.

With a discount just shy of £500, this system is an easy recommendation for anyone looking to upgrade from a soundbar to a fully fledged 5.1 system. Don't miss this deal at Peter Tyson.

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Read our full Bowers & Wilkins 606 & 607 S3 speaker package review

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Need an AVR for this speaker package? Here's a five-star Marantz deal

According to Bowers & Wilkins, “David Beckham wears Pi6.” If that does it for you, then you'll be glad to hear that you can snap up the Pi6 wireless earbuds for just £149 at Amazon.

If, on the other hand, you're not compelled to do whatever the ex-England football superstar does, then you'll be glad to hear that the buds actually offer robust, powerful and entertaining sound.

Whatever reason you have for buying them, we can all agree that a generous £70 off is a win for everyone. Get them while stocks last.

The Bowers & Wilkins Pi6 buds sit in the premium space as an affordable alternative to the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8. And they have just got even more affordable.

For only £169 at Amazon, the Pi6 cost £180 less than their costlier sibling, but design-wise, there's really not much difference – same shape, dimensions, and even weight.

In our review, we say: “Everything here just oozes class, and while it's hard to make plastic sound or feel particularly premium or glamorous, Bowers does an excellent job of making the Pi6's smooth, slightly glossy exterior seem enticing.”

And we're happy to report that when it comes to features, the Pi6 won't let you down either, especially when it comes to noise-cancelling capabilities.

While one of their biggest rivals, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, holds the top spot for ANC, the B&W buds have a seriously impressive offering, softening most background noises if not entirely eliminating them.

A couple of minor caveats: they lack spatial audio and wireless charging.

Instead, the Pi6 are focused on other sonic considerations, such as handling 24-bit/96kHz audio transmission, thanks to aptX Adaptive codec support alongside the standard AAC and SBC codecs.

And when it comes to battery life, the Pi6 can contend with the Award-winning Sony WF-1000XM5, matching figures of around 8 hours with ANC on, 24 hours with the charging case and a 15-minute fast charge that will give you two hours of playback.

For audio, the Pi6’s 12mm drive units are essentially scaled-down versions of the ones found in the five-star Px7 S2e over-ears and give the buds their own distinct flavour.

After testing, we said: “A powerful, full-bodied pair of earbuds, they bring ample music to your tunes, which, especially when paired with the right songs and genres, delivers a thrilling listen.”

They may not match the sparklingly clear sound of the more high-end Pi8 buds, but they are also a whole lot cheaper – especially right now, at just £169.

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Read our full Bowers & Wilkins Pi6 review

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Our pick of the best wireless earbuds: top pairs tested by our reviewers

When I go on a press trip overseas, I need to make several difficult choices. These include how many pairs of pants to take, how many shirts, and occasionally how many pairs of trainers – if I’m going to be covering miles stomping around a show floor like CES, I want to be comfy.

The toughest choice, though, is which pair of noise-cancelling headphones to take.

You see, having reviewed headphones of all shapes and sizes for the best part of two decades, I have a wide range of models available (from our vast stockroom) to take for a spin, and I find myself looking at the options like an all-you-can-eat buffet. In this instance, however, filling my plate isn’t going to leave much room in my case for pants.

So imagine my procrastinating at the thought of having to pick a pair for a pre-Christmas long-haul flight to the US to see a sneak preview of some upcoming audio goodness from one particular brand. But more on that in a few weeks…

When it comes to trips, I always find myself torn between big and bulky wireless headphones and more pocketable wireless earbuds. Most of the time, I end up taking one of each, so I can wear them depending on my mood and what I’m doing.

This time round I took three. First was the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2, which I had just tested. I know from my extensive testing just how amazing they sound, but I wanted to take them for a spin in the noisy confines of an aeroplane cabin to see how their noise-cancelling coped.

But this meant I needed a pair for comparison. Step forward a pair of Apple AirPods Max. Not the original version, but the updated 2024 version in Apple’s rather eye-catching Blue finish. (The other pair I chose was the AirPods Pro 2 earbuds, if you were wondering).

I haven’t spent a huge amount of time with the Max in the past, and, given I’m pretty immersed in Apple’s ecosystem, I thought it might be a good opportunity to spend some quality time with its flagship five-star headphones.

They have been around for quite some time now (the originals launched in December 2020), so I thought it would be good to see how they stack up against a more modern rival.

And, following my time with them, I’ve come to a couple of conclusions.

My overriding thought is that Apple missed a trick with the lightly tweaked 2024 version. Instead of going for a bigger, bolder revamp, it stayed super safe, just adding USB-C for charging and wired listening, and a sprinkling of new colour options.

They still look the same, feel the same, and use the same H1 chip. Oh, and they still come with that ridiculous carry case.

And it might be just me, but I think the Max now look rather dated. I also think they look quite bulky, feel heavy and lack a little luxury compared with the refined-looking Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2. Dare I say the AirPods Max have an air of clown feet about them compared with the stylish brogues of the Bowers? Well, I just said it.

The digital crown control is still an intuitive way of interacting with the headphones, although the way I sometimes hold the headphones when taking them on and off can have me pressing both the crown and the sound mode button at the same time, which isn’t ideal.

In absolute terms, Apple’s over-ears no longer sound as good as the very best at the money. For example, they don’t have the insight or dynamic thrust of the Bowers & Wilkins. They are still very likeable, listenable, and easy to live with, but a skilled rival such as the Px8 S2 is simply capable of digging up extra layers of detail and giving a greater sense of dynamic expression.

The AirPods Max are still a comfortable design, though. That wide headband looks like a suspension bridge stretching between left and right earpieces, but it helps spread the weight well.

The earpieces might be chunky, but the material used for the earpads, in my experience at least, is very breathable and makes a nice change from the leather or pleather used by some rivals, which I find can make my ears feel hot during extended listening.

The noise-cancelling feature for the AirPods Max is also still very good by current standards, with the Apple over-ears proving more than a match for the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2. During my time on the plane with both pairs, the AirPods Max did a better job of cutting out frequencies across the board.

The Bowers seemed to allow more bleeding in of the outside world, from people having a conversation around you to the tunes being played through the plane’s speakers.

Of course, the differences shrink a little when you’re playing music through both pairs, but you can still tell that the Bowers are struggling to suppress the outside world that little bit more.

So while I believe the AirPods Max are starting to show their age, I think they’re still competitive enough, and this is perhaps why Apple decided against a wholesale upgrade, favouring just the tiniest bit of tinkering.

I haven’t seen sales figures for Apple’s flagship cans – perhaps it’s also the case that they’re not selling in big enough numbers for Apple to justify going back to the drawing board. Or perhaps it’s a combination of the two?

All I know is that I’d like to see Apple push the design to the max (pun intended). Their flagship headphones blazed a trail for premium cans, and, given how big the brand went on the iPhone Air, I’d love to see a similar design-philosophy applied to its top-of-the-range headphones, whether they retain the Max moniker or they make way for a whole new model.

MORE:

Apple AirPods Max vs AirPods Max 2024: what are the differences?

CES 2026 live: we’ve got the inside scoop on new OLED TVs, Dolby Atmos treats and more

Read our Bowers & Wilkins PX8 S2 review

How do active noise-cancelling headphones work? Are they worth it?

The Philips OLED910 really surprised me when I tested it right at the tail end of last year.

It's a TV that combines the latest and brightest Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel technology with a Bowers & Wilkins sound system, great styling, and delightful Ambilight.

It's the best-sounding TV you can buy right now, and it gets close to the awesome Sony Bravia 8 II for picture quality, all while costing a lot less.

In fact, not only did the OLED910 launch for significantly less than rivals such as the Bravia 8 II, LG G5 and Samsung S95F, but it's been discounted further, too, so you can now pick up the 65-inch model for just £1699 at Richer Sounds.

That's almost £300 less than the equivalent Bravia 8 II, which is currently £1979 at Richer Sounds.

Right out of the box, the OLED910 looks and feels like a high-end television: a slim, elegant screen framed by a clean, understated design, and finished off with Philips’ signature four-sided Ambilight.

This isn’t a gimmick – the ambient lighting genuinely enhances immersion, framing movies and games with dynamic light that dances with the action on screen. It's not necessary for all content, but with bright, colourful movies and games, it's stunning.

Under the hood, Philips has chosen a Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel (the same panel that's found in the LG G5 and Panasonic Z95B) and its P5 AI processor, giving you bright, vivid images with punchy highlights and rich shadow detail.

Unlike the LG G5, Samsung S95F and Sony Bravia 8 II, the OLED910 also supports all major HDR formats, including Dolby Vision and HDR10+, so you’re set up for the best possible streaming, disc and gaming content.

One of the OLED910’s standout features is its built-in Bowers & Wilkins 3.1-channel sound system. By TV standards, this is exceptional: full, detailed, and spacious enough to fill a room.

A premium soundbar such as the Sonos Arc Ultra will sound even better, but if you're determined to stick with your new TV's built-in speakers, the OLED910 is the best-sounding model you can buy right now.

There are a couple of small compromises – slightly raised blacks in Dolby Vision, over-brightened SDR and just two full-fat HDMI 2.1 ports – but these are minor caveats given the overall package.

At this price, you’re getting a super-premium OLED picture, class-leading integrated audio and a stylish, feature-rich package – making the OLED910 arguably the best performance-per-pound flagship OLED available right now.

MORE:

Read the full Philips OLED910 review

And here's our Sony Bravia 8 II review

These are all of the best TVs you can buy right now, and the best TV deals

As one of What Hi-Fi?’s resident wireless headphones aficionados, I will regularly be found pinching the latest pairs from our stockroom to take for a test drive. And, over the past 12 months, I’ve spent a lot of time swapping between new pairs while also revisiting older models to get a good feel for how the market has (or hasn’t) evolved.

The more I’ve heard, the more it’s given me time to take stock of different brands, what they offer and where there might be a little room for improvement. After all, even with all the five-star models we have reviewed, there really isn’t such a thing as a perfect pair of wireless headphones.

I have cherry-picked four of the biggest brands in the business and made a note or two on what I think they need to bring to the table with any future models they might be thinking of launching in 2026.

Here’s what I’m wishing for and why…

Apple

I can’t be the only person who was disappointed by the September 2024 update for the AirPods Max. I’m still surprised this premium pair of cans was given barely more than a lick of fresh paint. I’m of the opinion that these impressively engineered over-ears are still competitive in the current market, but I think it’s time for Apple to consider a bigger revamp.

To me, they need a bit of an update in terms of design – and I’m not just talking about that travel case. They do now feel quite bulky and hefty compared with many of their rivals. Multiple pairs have passed through my hands this year and although build quality is excellent on the AirPods I think the time is right for a revamp.

I also think that sound quality could be improved, especially given that key, cheaper rivals from the likes of Sony and Sennheiser have now caught up. The AirPods Max showed there was mileage in premium-priced headphones back in 2020; now it’s time to move things on.

Bose

I have always been a fan of Bose’s premium wireless headphones, especially when it comes to noise-cancelling, but I can’t help but feel that the brand might have taken one eye off the ball when it comes to sound quality with its latest top of the range over-ears.

We rate the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) as four stars – they’re solid performers, but we do think they have fallen behind the current class-leaders when it comes to clarity, detail and dynamics.

For me, there’s now a clear gap between Bose and the top performers from Sony and Sennheiser. That’s mainly down to sound quality, but I also think build quality could be improved given their asking price.

Bowers & Wilkins

I have been impressed with the consistent level of sound quality from B&W’s recent premium over-ear and in-ear headphones. Anyone looking for an entertaining sound that majors in insight should start their search with what this brand has to offer.

But moving forward, and being very picky, I’d like to see more from the noise-cancelling technology used in its headphones. This is especially the case when it comes to its over-ears such as the Px8 S2, which, based on our recent experience, do struggle to block out external noise as effectively as some rivals, especially in the upper midrange and treble.

Bose and Sony’s implementations of ANC in its premium headphones are quite different from each other, but both are hugely effective and leading the way in this department.

Sony

It’s fair to say that Sony’s recent highlight reel for its wireless headphones is nothing short of astounding. Its most recent premium over-ears, the WH-1000XM6, arrived on the scene in May 2025 and basically swept all before them, winning our Product of The Year gong in the wireless headphones category at the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025.

One launch I’m crossing my fingers for in 2026, though, is a potential replacement for the existing WF-1000XM5 in-ears. They are still great performers for the money, but having used them on and off for some time now and having had the chance to compare them with a lot of rival models, I do believe they’re in need of an update.

The main thing I want any successor to address is comfort. I struggle to gel with the eartips on offer from these particular Sony buds, and I’m not the only member of the What Hi-Fi? review team to feel this way. A new, softer, more pliable yet acoustically isolating material would be very much appreciated.

MORE:

Our pick of the best wireless headphones for every budget

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): which flagship wireless over-ears are best?

Sony WF-1000XM6: release date and price predictions, plus 6 features on our wishlist

Apple AirPods Max vs AirPods Max 2024: what are the differences?

Isn’t it fascinating how such seemingly similar recipes can produce such wildly different results?

The exciting world of cooking keenly highlights this phenomenon. Add just a touch too much flour to your Yorkshire puddings and they’ll let down your entire Sunday roast. Too much salt in your Bolognese will have your Italian grandmother weeping similarly saline tears, while dialling up your mustard intake by a fraction can take a perfectly palatable sausage from tasty treat to eye-watering episode.

All very similar things, but change things just a touch and you’ve got something new entirely – a pancake and a Yorkshire pudding are the same recipe cooked in a different way, lest we forget, but you don’t eat Yorkshire puddings for breakfast. Anyway, enough of this culinary detour.

Standmount speakers are the same, believe it or not. This year, we’ve had the pleasure of testing (or else revisiting) a raft of contenders drawn from the same tranche of the market, and while our assessments have tended to be positive across the spectrum of models sampled, the underlying reasons for our enthusiasm have varied significantly from case to case.

2025: the year of the standmount speaker

Perhaps the most notable set to pass through our doors were the Acoustic Energy AE300 Mk2, a pair of mid-price (£649 / $1099 / AU$1580) standmounts featuring a two-way design and a rear port. In case you missed it, they went on to become 2025 What Hi-Fi? Award winners (and received a coveted Product of the Year trophy) thanks to their natural, nuanced sound.

We also enjoyed the talents of KEF Q3 Meta (originally £649 / $900 / AU$1300), another pair of bookshelf belters which, while a little shorter and squatter than their Acoustic Energy rivals, again featured a rear port and a two-way design.

Then there’s the Monitor Audio Bronze 50 7G (£500 / $849 / AU$1099), which go in a different sonic direction to their rivals. Not that you’d know it to look at them – once again, two drivers housed in a handsome cabinet with a port at the back.

The only pair to break that pretty rigid formula have been the recently reviewed Triangle Borea BR04 (£529 / $649 / AU$1100), yet another pair of standmounters which hover around the same sort of price point and employ a two-way design, but with the key difference of having a port at the front rather than hidden away around the back.

What’s remarkable about this ever-growing roster of budget-to-mid-range speakers is just how different they are in terms of audio performance. Each showcases a unique character and general temperament which is distinct from its rivals, to the extent that our recommendations can often fluctuate depending on what any would-be buyer desires in their chosen speaker candidate.

Similar designs, different results

Push us, and the Acoustic Energy would be our pick as the speakers that we’d want were it our money being spent. They’re subtle and nuanced performers as opposed to showy dynamos, but that character only grows more engaging and enthralling when, after a time, you realise just how revealing these Award-winners can be. That all said, they’re still the most expensive pair here as they push well into what we would term ‘mid-range’ territory.

Were we to choose a safe alternative at a lower price, however, it’s hard to look past the KEF Q3 Meta, especially now that their price has dropped considerably since release. With their balanced, controlled presentation, flexible, accommodating temperament and impressive levels of resolution, they’re speakers that we’re confident would please most people most of the time. These aren’t specialists boasting one standout feature – instead, they’re truly accomplished all-rounders.

KEF’s Q3 Meta standmounts use the 12th generation of the company’s signature Uni-Q driver, in which the driver array acts as a single point source to disperse audio more evenly, something which lends to that immersive, cohesive soundstage we’ve experienced across other models in the KEF range, such as the LS50 Meta and KEF LSX II LT.

If you are after a more characterful presentation, the Monitor Audio Bronze 50 7G might be more to your tastes. The Monitors take a completely different direction entirely, prioritising punch and snap over trying to be even-handed and conciliatory. They’re not ones to sit back and relax with, but if sheer entertainment is what you want in speakers, these are born to have a good time.

Oh, and let’s not forget that the Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3 and 606 S3 are still around at this price range (albeit lower than their launch a few years ago) and they too have their own signature sounds. Clear, crisp and detailed, with a slightly forward treble and a looser, freer bass, they’re not the most forgiving standmounts you’ll hear, but these are still former What Hi-Fi? Award-winners, lest we forget. And yes, both are two-way configurations with a port at the back.

So, all seemingly similar designs at similar price points and with so many common elements, all producing wildly different sounds. The lesson here, naturally, is how those subtle differences in design philosophy, construction and tuning preference add up to create a diverse array of standmounted wildlife.

Put the smaller 607 S3 side-by-side with the larger Triangle Borea BR04, and it won’t surprise you to learn, it’s the latter pair that pump out more bass than the leaner, treble-forward Bowers boxes. That extra cabinet size clearly makes a serious difference, as does the fact that the BR04 are working with a 16cm mid/bass driver, whereas the 607 S3 have a comparatively compact 13cm alternative.

Then you’ve got to factor in driver materials. The 607 S3 employ a titanium dome and favour a clear, slightly bright treble reproduction, whereas the Bronze 50 7Gs’ light, thin 25mm C-CAM gold dome tweeter with an updated waveguide makes good on its promise of a wide, precise sound with excellent time alignment.

There are other factors at play, of course, from cabinet construction to how the crossovers are designed, but those materials are unquestionably having an effect, adding or complementing the other to give each speaker its own unique flavour.

Choice is king

The take home point is that all this is great news for the end consumer. That there are currently so many good, if not excellent, standmount speakers available in this mid-price range, with different styles, sizes and sonic characters – meaning there should be a pair to suit almost any set of personal sonic tastes for those looking for a new set of speakers.

Yes, we believe in certain qualities that make hi-fi objectively ‘good’, ‘bad’ or somewhere in the middle, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t lots of ways of achieving a positive outcome, as all the speakers we've tested here prove.

In the world of midrange standmount speakers, you’ve rarely been so spoiled for choice. Now it’s time to go out and find exactly which pair is right for you – once you do, it’ll be a match made in heaven.

MORE:

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Goodbye, 2025! Check out 7 of our favourite test tracks of the year

Best bookshelf speakers: top standmounts for every budget tested

If you're after a stylish pair of wireless headphones that also deliver on features and performance, then look no further than the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3.

The PX7 S3 are a joy to look at and listen to, and as a Christmas treat, they’ve just hit their lowest price ever.

These B&W headphones are now available for £331 at Amazon, setting a new lowest price record for the second time this month.

Bear in mind that this price is only available on the Black model; White and Frost Blue are still selling for £349.

Currently our "best for style" pick in our list of the best wireless headphones, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 are some seriously good-looking cans.

Looks are not everything, of course, and luckily, the Px7 S3 also deliver the goods when it comes to audio performance and features.

"While it’s always prudent to be wary of hyperbole, our time cross-examining the Px7 S3’s sonic talents leaves us finding few gaps in their armour," our Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 review reads.

"The Px7 S3 really are exceptionally refined and detailed headphones, stunning us with their ability to outstrip their predecessors and even outperform the more expensive Dali IO-8 for textural insight."

Features should satisfy at this price point also, with aptX Lossless and Adaptive Bluetooth support and a 30-hour battery life (with ANC on).

Noise-cancelling capabilities are decent, impressively blocking out roads and low-frequency rumbles, though they are behind market leaders such as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra in this regard.

At the time of writing this Px7 S3 model is currently cheaper than the Sony WH-1000XM6 (£349), so this is the perfect time to purchase if you've been looking for an XM6 alternative.

Matching a beautiful design with a powerfully entertaining sonic performance, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 are a great choice at this price level. And this price level just got even better, dropping to a new low of £331 at Amazon.

MORE:

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: which premium headphones are better?

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: which noise-cancelling pair is better?

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 vs Apple AirPods Max: which premium headphones are top of the pops?

In the grand scheme of things, most TVs sound pants.

It's little wonder: as TVs have become ever-thinner, the space for speakers has become even smaller, so tinier and tinier drivers are having to be used.

Manufacturers do what they can with clever processing, but there's really no compensating for shifting air when it comes to making decent sound, and small speakers will always struggle to shift big air.

One manufacturer has a special solution to all of this, at least when it comes to OLEDs: Sony uses actuators that actually vibrate the OLED panel itself, essentially turning it into one big speaker.

Before you ask, no, you can't see the panel vibrating, and what you get in terms of sound is a really big (by TV standards), open, direct and detailed performance. There's not a great deal of bass depth, despite the presence of two accompanying integrated subwoofers, but the Bravia 8 II is nevertheless the benchmark for TV sound in 2025.

Well, it was.

Philips has taken a different approach to Sony and its other rivals. Instead of trying to come up with creative ways to make tiny, hidden speakers sound good, it's partnered with British hi-fi stalwart Bowers & Wilkins, which has built a sound system for the new OLED910 that you can see, and that actually adds to the TV's visual appeal.

This isn't a new initiative – the Philips/B&W partnership goes back a few years and several models – but the OLED910 is the most effective implementation of it so far.

This is a mild refinement of the sound system that was developed for the OLED909, which is no great surprise, as that was a near-perfect blend of form and function.

It involves a speaker bar that is attached to the bottom of the TV's screen. If that sounds ungainly, the opposite is true: the bar is slim, rounded and covered in Kvadrat fabric, and it softens and enhances the appearance of the TV, rather than detracts from it.

Within that stylish bar are nestled three sound channels (for left, right and centre), each one consisting of two 30x50mm midrange drivers, a single titanium dome tweeter, and a Nautilus tube.

There's a subwoofer mounted to the back of the TV's chassis, too, resulting in a 3.1-channel system with 81W of claimed power.

None of that would matter if the sound was poor, but I wouldn't be harping on about it if that were the case.

No, the OLED910 sounds excellent for a TV. B&W's hi-fi heritage is evident in the detail, dynamics and rhythmic precision of the delivery. Voices sound more human and evocative as a result, soundtracks deliver the drama they're designed to, and action scenes have punch and excitement.

There's plenty of spaciousness to proceedings, too, with Dolby Atmos soundtracks stretching far to the sides and above the TV, and effects placed precisely within the wall of sound.

And there's plenty of bass, too. It could be a little tighter, but the OLED910 reaches depths that the Sony Bravia 8 II won't dare dive to, and completely avoids the distortion that is the bane of flagship sets from the likes of LG and Samsung.

And, if you want to add some serious bass, the OLED910 actually has an old-school subwoofer output among its array of physical connections, so you can add any traditional sub that you fancy.

To qualify all of this, I'm not saying that the OLED910 sounds amazing in an ultimate sense.

A dedicated audio system is absolutely the way to go if you want the sound to match the excellent picture quality, but you will need to go for a soundbar in the region of the Sonos Arc Ultra for the extra component to be worthwhile, whereas most TVs can be substantially sonically improved by a Sonos Beam Gen 2.

And I'm very aware that for many people, the idea of adding an extra component (even a stylish soundbar) to their set-up is an absolute no-no. For those people, there's a new best-sounding TV in town, and it's the Philips OLED910.

MORE:

Read the full Philips OLED910 review

And here's our Sony Bravia 8 II review

Here are all the best TVs you can buy right now

It's officially Christmas present-buying season! So while several Black Friday discounts have melted away, we're still seeing great deals pop out of the woodwork.

There have been some seriously low prices on top stocking filler contenders such as the wonderful Earfun Air, while there are also savings to be had on several premium speakers, headphones and soundbars for the AV fan in your life.

And who's to say you can't snag a little Christmas gift for yourself? There's no better way to celebrate a great year of hi-fi and home cinema products!

For now though, here are the best deals we spotted this week at What Hi-Fi?.

MORE:

See all our 2025 What Hi-Fi? Award winners

These 7 films have been dazzling us in our test room this month – and will give your home cinema system a workout

9 affordable ways to upgrade your hi-fi system

Bowers & Wilkins’ entry-level 600 series of speakers have a slew of five-star reviews and What Hi-Fi? Awards, so it was no surprise that the Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3 won us over.

It was, however, a surprise when the standmount speakers fell in price again – after Black Friday.

The five-star speakers are now available for £439 at Peter Tyson, a whopping saving of £160!

It's not far off the lowest ever price of £429, and the best price we've seen for these crowd-pleasing speakers in several months.

The entry-level 607 S3 are the smallest and most affordable stereo speakers in Bowers & Wilkins' latest 600 series range, and we're big fans. Such big fans, in fact, that we bestowed them with a What Hi-Fi? Award in 2024 and named them as the best Bowers & Wilkins speakers overall.

It's easy to see why. In our Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3 review, we were treated to a wonderfully detailed and rhythmically cohesive sound.

"But how do the new 607 S3 sound?" our review asked. "Incredibly fun. There’s clarity and refinement in the mix here – to a really admirable level – but we’re struck by just how entertaining, zippy and musical this new pair sounds right from the start."

Such an enjoyable sound came courtesy of a number of upgrades from the previous 607 S2 Anniversary Edition, including a new 25mm titanium decoupled double dome tweeter, an elongated tube loading system, a revised motor assembly and higher-quality components used in the crossover.

All of this technology is still housed in compact cabinets, making them an ideal choice for those with limited space.

It should be noted, though, that the 607 S3's excitable treble can be rather top-heavy, so we recommend pairing with a more balanced amplifier to help round out the presentation.

Overall, though, the 607 S3 speakers are tremendous amounts of fun and very much recommended either as an upgrade or for your first speakers – especially now that they're available for just £439 at Peter Tyson.

MORE:

Read our B&W 607 S3 review

Check out our list of the best standmount speakers

B&W 607 S3 vs 606 S3: which should you buy?

If a lovely deal on the five-star Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 over-ear headphones is what you're looking for, then let us bring to you a touch of festive wonder.

For just £349 at Amazon, B&W's beautiful headphones with stunning sound are £50 off – and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the lowest price we have seen them drop to.

They enjoyed a £24 discount during Prime Day, but nothing as spicy as this. A proper price drop just in time for the holidays? Go on then.

A quick note to say though that, while this discount is available on the Black or White model, if you've got your heart set on Frost Blue, you're out of luck on this occasion: it's still at full price.

The Px7 S3 are among the best wireless headphones we have tested, and they look remarkably stylish to boot.

Looks are one thing. Throw in full-bodied sonic character, benchmark levels of textural insight and a decent array of features, and you've got a seriously impressive set of cans.

As a Sony XM6 alternative, there is none better when you find yourself on the search for wire-free headphones with noise-cancelling convenience.

Our expert testers say, in our Px7 S3 review: "While it’s always prudent to be wary of hyperbole, our time cross-examining the Px7 S3’s sonic talents leaves us finding few gaps in their armour.

"The Px7 S3 really are exceptionally refined and detailed headphones, stunning us with their ability to outstrip their predecessors and even outperform the more expensive Dali IO-8 for textural insight."

You won't be upset by the features on offer, either, with aptX Lossless and Adaptive Bluetooth support and a 30-hour battery life (with ANC on).

The Px7 S3 provide some pretty decent noise-cancelling capabilities, too, with our testers praising them for delivering a reasonably solid barrier between you and the outside world.

The follow-up to the Px7 S2e headphones is a huge success. If you want the newest cans and have the budget to spare, you can save yourself a handy £50 with this deal and secure the Px7 S3s for just £349 at Amazon. But you'll have to be quick!

MORE:

Read our full Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S3 review

Discover the best wireless headphones for your budget

And the best wireless earbuds: top pairs tested by our reviewers

Traditionally, prices tend to go back up after Black Friday, particularly on high-ticket items such as floorstanding speakers.

No one seems to have told Bowers & Wilkins, however, who have slashed another £60 off one of their fine floorstanders in the aftermath of Black Friday.

The Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 are now £1,539 at Sevenoaks, which is a whopping £460 off the original launch price. That's a new lowest price for this pair!

Better yet, you can still get a 3m run of QED XT25 Speaker Cable (worth £84.95) included free of charge! You'll need to join Rewards by Sevenoaks for this, but have no fear – joining is completely free.

We recommend moving quickly, however, as the oak finish has already sold out.

The 603 S3 are the largest and most expensive speakers in Bowers & Wilkins' 600 series, and are also recommended by us as the best Bowers & Wilkins floorstanders we've tested recently.

The 603 S3 use a 25mm titanium dome tweeter, B&W’s custom 15cm Continuum midrange cone, and a pair of 16.5cm paper bass drivers.

Tech has also trickled down from the more expensive 700 series, including a more powerful motor assembly for the midrange driver, which utilises a special type of foam to suppress vibrations in pursuit of a purer, clearer sound.

Be warned that the 603 S3 are sizeable towers, measuring 102cm in height, but they're ideal for anyone with ample space who wants an eye-catching speaker set-up.

Luckily, the 603 S3's sound lives up to its size. As we said in our Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 review, "There’s fullness and weight (to the music), with lots of drive and power that will please anyone looking for their music to enjoy a whole load of weight and muscle."

During testing, the speakers brought out detail and nuance while also adding clarity, focus and robust bass. They also showed an admirable knack for control and authority.

For context, we only gave the 603 S3 four stars, as the five-star PMC Prodigy 5 launched at a similar price and offered greater dynamism.

At the time of writing, though, the Prodigy 5 are still sitting at £1,995 – making the Bowers & Wilkins floorstanders a more affordable proposition. If you prefer large speakers and a substantial sound, consider the 603 S3, available with £460 off at Sevenoaks.

MORE:

These are the best floorstanding speakers you can buy

How to choose the right speakers and get the best sound

Building a hi-fi system? Here's the secret to matching the right components

Black Friday is a great time to secure an excellent deal on some fabulous hi-fi gear. But as stocks deplete over the weekend, some great hi-fi products are getting even cheaper on Cyber Monday.

If you've been patient, you're in luck: we've checked the prices and have found six hi-fi deals that are even cheaper today than they were over the weekend, so you can save even more money on some five-star products.

Every one of these products has been reviewed by a member of our expert in-house team so we can personally recommend them. But hurry – we don't think these deals (or in fact stock of these products) will last very long!

Cyber Monday quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 38% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Headphones: save over £100
• Bravia 8 TV: lowest-ever price on 55in Sony TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £600
• Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £268
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £179
• Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £165
• LG C5 55-inch: lowest-ever price at Richer Sounds
• JBL soundbar: now better than half price
• John Lewis: £200 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• Sony headphones: now just £29
• Stereo amplifier: Cambridge Audio now £299
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals
• Vinyl: 3 for £66 at Amazon
• Wireless earbuds: Award winners now £75

We've tested many great standmount speakers in our time, but there's one pair that we've found ourselves recommending over and over again in recent years: the Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3.

Even with sterling competition making life trickier for the former-Award winners, they're still a firm five-star recommendation, offering a punchy, open sound that goes big on clarity, refinement and detail by the bucketload.

Best of all, the legendary standmounts are now just £549 at Peter Tyson, representing a £200 saving and the lowest price we've seen the B&W boxes fall to this year. Cheers, Cyber Monday!

Best B&W Cyber Monday deal

The Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3 are former What Hi-Fi? Award winners, receiving a five-star rating from our team of experts during testing and a whole lot of acclaim along the way.

The 606 S3 are the top standmounters in B&W's acclaimed 600 Series 3 range, acting as the larger siblings to the also-excellent B&W 607 S3. The 606 S3 offer a more mature presentation than the 607 thanks to their bigger, punchier and more open sound, boasting stunning clarity, detail and refinement with which only the finest rivals can compete.

If you're looking for serious oomph to your bass, the standmounts' 16.5cm mid/bass driver and ample cabinet mean serious weight, punch and authority at the lower end, especially when compared with their 607 S3 stablemates.

As we said in our review: “This extra bass power means the 606 S3 speakers aren’t quite as prone to the slightly excitable and forward treble of its lively 607 S3 sibling; but we’d still take some care with partnering hi-fi products to get the very best out of these speakers.”

You'll get a subtler, more refined sound from the more recent Acoustic Energy AE300 Mk2, but as they only debuted this year, major discounts aren't likely to be forthcoming any time soon.

What we have here, in truth, is a pair of outstanding speakers enjoying a major discounts due to their increasing age rather than due to any major sonic limitations. The 606 S3 have been around for a while now, but their musical, entertaining performance is still capable of thrilling you for a knocked-down price.

If you're looking for some serious standmounts for a very attractive price, Sevenoaks and Peter Tyson are the places to be.

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Black Friday 2025 hi-fi deals live: our audio experts picks of the top savings on speakers, headphones, vinyl and more

Cyber Monday quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
• Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in Sony TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £500
• Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £299
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
• Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £169
• LG C5 55-inch: lowest-ever price at Richer Sounds
• JBL soundbar: now better than half price
• John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• Sony headphones: now just £29
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals
• Vinyl: 3 for £66 at Amazon
• Wireless earbuds: Award winners now £75