Three formats on their last legs – and one new product about to take the world by storm: we look back to the November 2000 issue of What Hi-Fi?

With the annual Awards issue of What Hi-Fi? out in the shops now, I thought it would be a good time to look back a quarter of a century to the November 2000 issue of the magazine. How mad is that, by the way? Twenty-five years ago is still in the 21st century…

I chose this particular issue to venture down memory lane – and to juxtapose with the 2025 Awards issue – for a couple of reasons. First, because it happens to coincide with my first stint on What Hi-Fi?, when I served for 15 months or so as deputy editor; I have always been partial to a little bit of nostalgia.

More importantly, though, this particular magazine jumped out at me for the sheer quality of some of the products in the First Test section. And then it surprised me again for the main Group Tests and round-ups: almost all of them are for products that, in effect, simply don’t exist any more. One, though, is for a product type that was only just starting back in 2000, but that has absolutely thrived since then.

There’s something in all that lot, then, to tick pretty much all the boxes for Back Issues requirements.

The cover of the November 2000 issue sums things up rather nicely as far as referencing those product types that have disappeared in the first quarter of the 21st century. The main cover line announces “MiniDisc vs CD-RW – we pick the best digital recorders from just £160”. That’s two down right there.

Four-saken

But there’s more. Taking third and fourth billing (after “Britain’s best £1000 system”) are two more product types that have gone the way of the VHS: “DVD-Audio has arrived!” we trumpeted, above a final round-up – “Put up your jukes” – on a trio of 200-disc CD multichangers.

Now that’s four products right there, I would wager, that most people today under the age of 35 (possibly even older) wouldn’t even have heard of – with MiniDisc possibly the honourable exception.

What I do know is that the concept of a bulky machine holding 200 compact discs caused much hilarity and no little bewilderment in my offspring – three young adults aged between 22 and 27. (Might as well take that November 2000 test headline and run with it…) Back then, though, it was a brilliant way of storing and playing your music collection.

Some stunning First Tests

While the cover of the November 2000 issue doesn’t age particularly well, inside there are a few stunning products making their What Hi-Fi? debuts that have stood the tough test of time remarkably well.

Chief among those is the lead First Test, the stunning and stylish Naim Nait 5 stereo amplifier. This marked the start of Naim’s 5 series of products – and it kicked things off with a real bang, proving to be competitive with such illustrious products as the Arcam Alpha 10, Cyrus 7 and Musical Fidelity A3. Tough rivals indeed.

Talking of the Cyrus 7, further along in the First Tests section is the Cyrus CD 7, the series mate to the amplifier above. Another product in this magazine that punched well above its weight and hung around our Awards judging for many years.

Joining these two heavyweights, and alongside a Linn Pekin tuner (also five stars), is a superb pair of speakers. The KEF Reference Model One-Two blew us away with their class and proved to be even more impressive than the Reference Ones they replaced.

From super dupers to the stuff that streams are made of

After the First Tests section, I was intrigued to see a half-page story announcing that “The world’s favourite hi-fi website just got better!” And yes, before you start being unkind, that was in reference to whathifi.com which had just undertaken a site-wide revamp.

Those were the days still, though, of What Hi-Fi? being first and foremost a magazine, with a website attached to it. It would be a decade and more before things started shifting to the digital-first strategy that the brand enjoys today.

Which brings us to the trio of tests that can no longer stand in 2025. We started with the digital format war of its age: MiniDisc vs CD-RW. There were a mighty 12 products tested, with star ratings ranging from a frankly dire one star for the unfortunate Goodmans GMD920 MiniDisc recorder, to five-star triumphs from Marantz, Sony and the Supertest-winning Pioneer.

I hope some of these fine machines are still doing service out there for their owners; but most people will certainly have moved on with their digital music to streaming from the likes of Spotify at the very least.

Then we come to a “New technology” feature all about DVD-Audio – and specifically testing the JVC XV-D721 player. Which, to be completely straight with you, didn’t cover itself – or the format it had intended to champion, come to that – with glory.

An overall two-star verdict, with another (in one issue!) one-star decision for sound, rather damned both machine and format.

The first steps towards wireless wizardry

But what’s this, tucked into the back of the test section, just before the Temptations? A double-page spread on upgrade headphones: six options, and three of them boasting a shiny new “cordless” feature. Not only new, but also (thank heavens) surprisingly effective at bringing users’ precious music to their ears.

The AKG K105 UHF were particularly impressive, with a five-star rating for sound, build and the overall verdict. I’m not sure we would have guessed at the time that such wizardry would become not only commonplace but the norm for listening on the go – but it’s good to know that we knew a good thing when we saw it.

Which brings us full circle, back from November 2000, to the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025. The 2025 Awards issue is in the shops now – and it is full to bursting with products that we know are not merely a good thing, but the very best thing out there in their particular category. Now that is praise indeed.

I wonder, though, how our choices today will seem to the What Hi-Fi? observer in 2050 when they are seeking Back Issues comparisons of their own.

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

I’m a MiniDisc fanatic and this is my love letter to the format