AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt was £259 now £219 at Richer Sounds (save £50)
Yet another Award-winner on a tasty discount: AudioQuest's tiny-but-mighty DragonFly Cobalt USB DAC is now £50 off at Richer Sounds. We haven't come across a DAC so capable and enjoyable at this price (you have to go more than double this price for the Chord Mojo 2 to get anything better). Snap it up at this price and your laptop-and-headphones system will be elevated.
JBL Charge 5 portable speaker now £129 at Amazon (save £31)
B&O Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) now £179 at Amazon (save £60)
Two portable wireless speakers on a good discount here: both five stars and both offer very different visual and sonic styles. The current JBL Charge 5 champ is a powerful, rugged-for-all-weathers portable Bluetooth speaker that is ideal for holidays. Meanwhile, B&O makes a rare Black Friday appearance with a good deal on its very elegant Beosound A1 puck-shaped wireless speaker.
Cyrus CDi was £1495 now £1195 at Richer Sounds (save £300)
I don't know about you, but I haven't let go of my CD collection. They're my equivalent of an old vinyl collection (I really like the booklets), and I still buy CDs when I go see a band live.
I have a cheap old CD player at home, but if I had the money, I'd splash out for this long-running Cyrus CDi player. It's pricey, yes, and it doesn't look like much. But it sounds stunning, has stood the test of time (both in sound and build quality) and likely will never need replacing. (Just like my CDs)
Q Acoustics 3030i standmounts was £329 now £249 at Peter Tyson (save £80)
Q Acoustics Concept 40 floorstanders was £999 now £499 at Sevenoaks (save £500)
There are currently two Q Acoustics speakers on sale - one standmount, one floorstander. The Concept 40 deal was the lowest price we've seen them at £499, but it was so popular (£500 off!) that they're all out, with more stock coming in early December. If you've got your heart set on them – and why wouldn't you, they're nicely built speakers and sound refined, agile and composed – then set your reminders now.
But if you're hankering for a new pair of speakers right now (and prefer smaller speakers for your space), the 3030i have been What Hi-Fi? favourites for a long while. Even with new contenders from Dali, Elac and B&W muscling in on their budget territory, these Qs are still such a great listen – engaging, insightful and plenty of weighty authority for standmounters. You can save £80 off at Peter Tyson on all four finishes.
These are the best Black Friday turntable deals from Technics, Pro-Ject, Sony, Audio Technica
Looking for a new turntable? Deals are few and far between this year, but there are some great savings on some great decks – even better, every single one of these five turntables got a five-star review from us. There are even a couple of Award-winners, too – and you can make as much as a £100 saving on a superb Technics deck.
Those in the UK can save on the following record players:
Pro-Ject Primary E was £199 now £119 at Richer Sounds (save £80)
Technics SL-1500C was £899 now £799 at Sevenoaks (save £100)
Audio Technica LP5x was £379 now £319 at Richer Sounds (save £60)
Sony PS-LX310BT was £249 now £229 at Amazon (save £20)
Five-star Triangle speakers drop yet again in the Black Friday sales
One of last year's most successful stereo speaker ranges, the Triangle Borea not only has two five-star reviews to its name but also two What Hi-Fi? Awards.
The decorated members in question are the five-star Borea BR03 standmounts, which have fallen in price for the second time this Black Friday week. They are now just £307 after a 23 per cent discount, making them all the more attractive for anyone looking for entertaining budget standmounts.
Prefer floortstanders? The two-time Award-winning Borea BR08 are also on sale – £100 off at Richer Sounds, AV.com and Amazon. Stock appears to be limited, though, so we would act sooner rather than later if you've decided on the BR08 as your next pair of floorstanders.
Grado's Award-winning SR80x headphones are just £99 for the first time
The SR80x are one of the best wired hi-fi headphones we've tested, and they're now under £100 in this great Black Friday deal. Yes, they look like old radio controller headsets, and yes the open design means they're incredibly leaky – but you do get really musical, detailed and comfortably airy sound. These headphones are feather-light, too – you'll barely notice them.
Naturally, their open, leaky nature means they're best suited for home listening – which is just fine by us.
This small, portable Marshall Emberton is only £90 now - save £60!
While What Hi-Fi? hasn't officially tested this portable Bluetooth speaker from Marshall, I actually have this original Emberton speaker at home. It lives in my bathroom and I sometimes carry it into the kitchen – it's light at just 0.7kg, and it's very rugged and durable. An IPX7 rating means I really don't care when it gets splashed with water or gets kitchen grease on it. (I've had it for two years; it still works perfectly).
The 20-hour battery life means I only really have to charge it once or twice a month, and it keeps me occupied with podcasts and terrible nu-metal playlists when I get ready for work. The bass is admittedly quite boomy, and you'll find better balance, clearer detail and more capable dynamics with the five-star JBL Flip or Charge speakers – but it's easy to listen to and Marshall's rock'n'roll aesthetics are hard to ignore.
And it's worth a look at this lowest-ever Black Friday price of £90 (save £60) at either Amazon or John Lewis. Note: you get this £90 deal on all colours (Black, Black & Brass, Cream) at John Lewis, not Amazon.
Marantz's excellent just-add-speakers system is now £450 off
Marantz's entertaining music system is a one-box of wonders that packs in so many streaming options, hi-res audio support (up to 24-bit/192kHz), and enough analogue and digital connections to connect your CD player or turntable. Bluetooth and AirPlay 2 are on board, and music streaming services Spotify, Tidal, Deezer and Amazon Music can be played over wi-fi or ethernet.
But features alone don't make a two-time What Hi-Fi? Award-winner – we loved its powerful, expansive and weighty sonic character, that also throws in rich dynamics and intricate detail for good measure.
There is a huge £450 saving to be made on this five-star system right now – and that's one of the best Black Friday deals we've seen so far.
We've spotted some more AudioQuest DragonFly USB DAC deals
We pointed out earlier that AudioQuest's Award-winning DragonFly Cobalt USB DAC was on a great deal: £219 at Richer Sounds. But now its younger siblings in the DragonFly family, the Red and the Black, are also on sale too. You'll get the lowest prices at Sevenoaks, and while they're older models and the sound quality is better as you go up the range, the Red and Black DACs are still very capable and an easy, affordable way to boost your laptop-based sound quality.
Looking for some good speaker deals? There are small but significant savings on Elac, Dali and B&W stereo speakers right now.
Elac Debut B5.2 are supremely talented speakers at a super-affordable price of £229 now at Amazon. It's not the hugest deal around, but it might sweeten the deal on these top budget Best Buy winners. There are only six pairs left in stock, so hurry if you want 'em.
The Dali Spektor 2 are as low as £189 at Peter Tyson right now – they're lovely speakers that I've been coveting ever since they nabbed a five-star review and a 2020 Award-win back in 2020.
And B&W has two excellent, current Award-winners on sale. The 606 S2 Anniversary Edition and 607 S2 Anniversary Edition are both now £100 off their RRP at Sevenoaks (and you get some QED cables thrown in for good measure - bargain).
This Black Friday isn't giving us the biggest savings on hi-fi speakers as we've seen in previous years (and hi-fi products in general have seen price spikes in recent years), but if you've got your heart set on a new pair, then these discounts might make it worth diving in.
Here's a good one: Cambridge Audio's five-star DacMagic 200M desktop DAC is now £150 off at Richer Sounds – so it's now just £399 (it's been £549 these past few months).
It's a lovely piece of kit and will fit neatly on your desk (and look good too). You can plug it into your old hi-fi system to give it a modern digital boost, or simply connect your laptop and headphones for a very good, compact desktop hi-fi system. It now has a full MQA decoder alongside its PCM hi-res skills, and the smooth, clean and insightful sound is very pleasing.
Lenco L-85 USB record player for as low as £80
Looking for a very beginner-friendly turntable for a complete vinyl newbie or a young 'un? This Fisher Price-style turntable is an easy plug-and-play deck with good features and good sound, especially for this very budget price. It's semi-automatic, has a USB output for ripping vinyl into MP3s, and even has a built-in phono stage. And the sound isn't too bad: it has a likeable, even balance, with voices clearly the strongest point.
There are a few deals for this four-star deck around: £99.99 at HMV and £94.99 at Currys, but the lowest price we've seen is at Robert Dyas - just £79.99. Sadly none of these deals is for the bright green version we reviewed over five years ago, but we still think it's a cut above those 'trendy' suitcase-style decks (which are actually awful for your records).
Marantz's PM6007 stereo amplifier is at its lowest price right now
This Award-winning integrated amplifier is Marantz's latest and finest at this affordable price level. It's our current budget stereo amp Best Buy, and it's nice to see a few pounds off the retail price too.
A sturdy casework that is recognisable Marantz, plenty of inputs and outputs, a built-in MM phono stage, and a performance that's dynamic, textured, and clearer and punchier than its formidable previous generation. It all adds up to a very capable and talented amp that can be partnered with just about any source and speakers.
£20 off isn't the hugest saving we've seen, especially for a hi-fi product this Black Friday, but we'll take any deals we can, and it genuinely is the lowest price we've seen the Marantz amp for a good six months or so.
Get 3 months of Roon for just $2
Ever wanted to know what the fuss was about Roon? You can now try three months for just $2 – a monthly subscription is usually $12.99 (about £10.74), so that's quite a good deal for this long trial run (you'll be saving $38.97, roughly £32.23).
The $2 deal is available worldwide. I just got it and it converts to about £1.66 in the UK for 90 days (not including any bank fees) – not bad for the cost of a cheap cup of coffee.
What is Roon? It's essentially a music management and discovery service that pulls in all your music files stored across local network storage, Qobuz and Tidal streaming services, and displays and organises them in a really attractive interface, along with nice tidbits like liner notes and listening stats. It works with an increasing number of hi-fi streamers, DACs, music systems and more. On the nerdy side, it shows the exact signal path of your hi-res music file from source to speaker/headphones – so you can see the music file's journey (and if it's subject to any lossy compression) as it goes through your system.
Denon D-M41DAB micro system is now just £279 (without speakers)
We love this little Denon micro system. Every iteration of this model has been a five-star recommendation and Award-winner for what feels like decades. It's just such a great, compact music system – it has a CD player, DAB/FM radio tuner and Bluetooth streaming. It's more than enough for many for listening to their tunes. And it sounds so entertaining and detailed, even despite its budget billing.
We normally recommend the micro system with the matching Denon speakers (usually £350-ish altogether) but this £50 off Black Friday deal is on the unit only (named RDCM41DAB). Which means you can add in your own choice of speakers for an upgrade – the £189 deal on the Dali Spektor 2 perhaps?
Save £400 on the Naim Mu-so 2 wireless speaker
Naim Mu-so 2 is a superb-sounding, fully-featured wireless speaker system that justifies its considerable price tag – and now it's down to £899 with a huge saving.
Yes it's still pricey but we've not seen it under the one-grand mark for a long while, but the Naim is more than just a wireless speaker. It's an all-in-one system that packs in many streaming features and can even be hooked up to a TV thanks to its HDMI ARC input. And despite being around the block for a while, that classy design and giant illuminated volume/control dial still impress.
The £400 deal is available at both Sevenoaks and Peter Tyson, and hey, it looks nicer than most soundbars.
Cambridge Audio CXA81 was £1099 now £999 at Amazon (save £100)
Cambridge Audio CXA61 was £749 now £699 at Amazon (save £50)
Had your eye on a new stereo amp? Cambridge Audio got in early with some big discounts on two 2022 What Hi-Fi? Award winners – these deals started last week but it's still kicking around at Amazon, Cambridge Audio and specialist hi-fi retailers.
Both CX integrated amplifiers have been at the top of their game for a couple of years now, delivering a combination of sonic ability, features and build quality that even the finest rivals have struggle to match.
Save £300 on KEF LS50 Meta + get free kit worth £190
Our favourite standmounters for three years running are now £899 at Amazon and Sevenoaks, thanks to a £300 Black Friday discount. But if you shop with Sevenoaks, you'll also get not one but two freebies: Sennheiser CX true wireless earbuds (£119 RRP) and a 2m QED XT25 speaker cable (RRP) £79.95. That's a total saving of £490, making this arguably the best hi-fi speaker deal we have encountered this Black Friday.
The KEF LS50 Meta have been available for £999 at previous shopping events and in the build-up to Black Friday, but we can't remember seeing them drop to this low price before. A no brainer if you're looking for new standmounters around this price.
Add streaming to your system with the Award-winning Bluesound Node - now £100 off
Our favourite budget music streamer is now just £449 at Amazon and Sevenoaks thanks to a £100 Black Friday discount, making it hugely appealing for anyone after an affordable way to add network streaming to their hi-fi system.
With the BluOS streaming platform at its heart, the Node is a gateway to music streaming services, internet radio and local and networked libraries. There's AirPlay 2 and aptX HD to boot, and whichever way you decide to stream the Node will ensure it comes through musically.
Happy Cyber Monday! Here are the 3 best hi-fi headphones, from £99
Black Friday might be over, but the deals are far from it now that Cyber Monday is in the spotlight. Another huge online shopping day that promises plenty of excellent hi-fi deals, so keep an eye on this blog throughout the day.
We're kicking Cyber Monday off with three stellar home headphones, all tried and tested by yours truly and perfect for plugging into your home hi-fi or desktop system.
Save £50 on Award-winning Wharfedale Diamond 12.3 speakers
These are currently our 2022 Product of the Year in the floorstanders category, not to mention our favourite budget pair. And they are down to £449 right now – that's a whole £50 off their usual £499 RRP. Available currently at Peter Tyson and Sevenoaks, this discount is across all three finishes of black oak, light oak and walnut pearl.
Floorstanders aren't always easy to come by when you're on a tight budget, but if you have the space, these Wharfedales will offer a superbly balanced presentation that's expressive and refined, and will deliver a bigger scale of sound than small bookshelf speakers. A great hi-fi bargain.
AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt now down to £199 at Sevenoaks - low stock
We've been seeing the 2022 Award-winning DragonFly Cobalt USB DAC down to £219 (a £50 saving) in the last few days, but we've now spotted an even lower price of £199 at Sevenoaks.
Unfortunately, stocks for this DAC are very low here, but there are some still available in store or you can order it now at this lowest-ever price and get your new hi-res DAC/headphone amp in the next stock shipment. If you're able to wait – and this is a great, easy and convenient way to boost your laptop's sound – then you'll reap the rewards of this brilliant £100-off deal at Sevenoaks.
However, if you're impatient and want the Cobalt DAC on a deal right now, you can still buy it for just £219 at Richer Sounds.
Award-winning KEF LSX II wireless system now just £999 (save £200)
KEF's LSX II is a delightful box of wonders: extensive streaming features, broad connectivity including HDMI, a gorgeous design and a compact-enough footprint that it can be placed on a desk. This all-in-one wireless system might be the only hi-fi set-up you ever need, with fewer wires and even few boxes compared to a separates system. It's a neat but also terrific solution. And they're now on a pretty great deal with £200 off at Richer Sounds, Sevenoaks and Peter Tyson.
For a system that does it all (and looks so good while doing so), this is one of the better bargains you'll find on Cyber Monday.
