The amplifier is the beating heart of your hi-fi. But, while the turntable (or streamer, or CD player) will take the general plaudits, along with the loudspeakers, as far as ‘front of house’ appeal goes, the amplifier tends to take a back seat, while doing more than its fair share of the actual work.
Without a top amplifier, though, there is absolutely no point in spending big money on anything else in your system. And what we have in our £1000-£1300 amplifiers Group Test this month are four truly top amplifiers. And one serious winner. After which, we suggest a stunning hi-fi system using that winner as the starting point.
Also in this issue we test some standalone soundbars and coffee-table projectors that will do any home cinema proud.
Stereo amplifiers from £1000-£1300
Which amplifier you choose will greatly impact your overall system performance, so you want a best-in-class performer that also offers the physical connections your sources need.
And that, of course, is where we come in. We’ve been testing stereo amplifiers since 1976, and our in-house reviews team have experience with integrated amplifiers of all types and budgets.
Every amp we test is compared to the current class leader at its price point, in our dedicated listening rooms. This thoroughness and wide contextual knowledge allow us to judge the relative talents of each amplifier we test.
Here though, we’re pitting four of our current favourite integrated amplifiers against each other in a Group Test to help identify the amplifier we’d most recommend in this price range of £1000-£1300.
This is a competitive market, with excellent models from hi-fi hard-hitters to choose from: step up Rega, Cambridge Audio, Arcam and Quad.
Rest assured, all these integrateds will work well in a range of systems, and much of your decision will come down to personal preference. However, there can only be one winner here. Find out more in this month's What Hi-Fi?
Premium soundbars
Even the best-sounding TVs have plenty of room for improvement by home-cinema standards.
We don’t all, though, have the space, budget or patience for a full system comprising an AV receiver, a surround (or Atmos) speaker package and the cables required to wire everything up.
In truth, even the super-popular soundbar systems that typically combine a bar, a wireless subwoofer and two wireless surrounds are simply “too many boxes” for many people.
What’s the solution, then, for those who have forked out for a gorgeous, premium TV and want equally gorgeous sound without all of the boxes and/or cabling? The premium solo soundbar, that’s what. In fact, that’s exactly the problem the soundbar was originally designed to solve.
These days, a premium soundbar is a very sophisticated bit of kit that typically combines svelte styling with effective Dolby Atmos processing, plus music streaming, simple operation and the option to add additional speakers further down the line. Here, we’re pitching four such soundbars against one another, from LG, JBL, Sonos and Sony.
Which of these premium soundbars deserves the spot beneath your lovely TV? The Dolby Atmos battle commences, only in this month's mag!
Coffee table projectors
Today’s best ‘lifestyle’ projectors are designed to deliver huge-screen entertainment without requiring you to reorganise your entire home around them.
That makes them particularly appealing for big communal events. With the World Cup kicking off soon, there’s obvious appeal in bringing out a projector and plonking it on your coffee table for a giant match-day picture, before packing it away again afterwards.
The same applies to movie nights, gaming sessions, and TV binge-watch marathons: you get the scale and spectacle that only a projector can provide, but with far less of the inconvenience traditionally associated with it.
We have rounded up four coffee table projectors – with different prices, approaches and even different priorities – but all four prove that going big no longer means having to build a bat cave.
Find out more in July's What Hi-Fi?
First with reviews
As always, our First Tests section is where you'll find What Hi-Fi?'s considered verdicts on the very latest hi-fi and AV gear.
This month's reviews section leads with Cambridge Audio's very first pair of active speakers (yes, you'd think they'd have made a pair by now) – the Cambridge L/RS. Compact, desk-focused and available in some smart colours, they are certainly an enticing proposition. But will they achieve our coveted five stars? Find out in this month's What Hi-Fi?
Elsewhere we have reviews of the Hisense UR9 Mini LED TV, Sonos' latest portable speaker the Sonos Play, a new home cinema projector from Optoma, the UHZ78LV, and a new Sony speaker package, the Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + S.
But that's not all. Our expert reviews team also took their time with Samsung's HW-Q990H speaker package, the Merlin Tarantula speaker cable and the A7.2 floorstanding speakers from Spendor.
Find all these reviews in July's What Hi-Fi? – out now!
Temptations for your delectation
Our Temptations section of the magazine is where you'll find the highest of the high-end of hi-fi and AV products.
First up is a new pre/power amplifier from hi-fi kings, Naim, the NAC 552/NAP 500 DR. Together, this a stunning bit of kit, and we had no hesitation in awarding the pairing five stars, noting its "well-engineered, no-compromise design from decades ago that can still compete at the highest level".
Then we have a pair of mighty standmount speakers from JBL, the Summit Ama. With a lofty price to suit their mountain-themed moniker, they "generate a sense of solidity and authority that is rare among high-end standmounters in our experience", to quote our review.
Find out more in this month's What Hi-Fi?
Finally, don't forget to check out our Buyer’s Guide, featuring a definitive and freshly updated list of all the best home entertainment kit you can buy – including winners of 2025's What Hi-Fi? Awards. If you’re looking to purchase anything from a pair of the best wireless headphones to a home cinema speaker system, this section will tell you where to spend your money wisely.
Whatever you do, don't miss the July 2026 issue of What Hi-Fi?. Grab a copy today, or simply download it onto your tablet or smartphone. Enjoy!
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