A hi-fi system relies on its amplification for much of its success. However talented a turntable or pair of speakers, without a great integrated stereo amplifier doing the hard work and providing the power, those more 'obvious' entertainers aren’t able to do justice to your music.
Happily there are a number of excellent integrated stereo amplifiers for less than £750 that will allow the rest of your hi-fi system to truly sing.
At a slightly more lofty pricepoint, there is a new challenger to the Award-winning Cambridge Audio CXA81 amp, in the form of Rega’s Elex Mk4. Our circa-£1100 amplifier head to head shows that the competition is fierce – and we are all winners.
We also pit two premium AV amplifiers against one another and highlight our favourite headphone amp/DACs to get the most from your music.
And, as usual, we also have reviews of the very latest hi-fi and AV products in our First Tests section.
You can subscribe or buy the latest issue here, or buy the digital edition on iPhone, iPad, Android devices or Kindle edition.
Power to the people
Your stereo amplifier is the beating heart of any hi-fi separates system, and which one you choose will have a huge impact on the sonic quality and character of your whole system. It’s vital, therefore, that you put as much love and care into choosing your amp as possible.
Integrated amps can, like all hi-fi components, reach dizzying heights, price-wise, with a range of qualities that justify the price tag – but for most of us, there are plenty of affordable integrated amps that will do your system proud. These six What Hi-Fi? favourites are all five-star beauties that deliver wonderfully on our performance-per-pound metric.
Specifically, we are looking here at amps retailing below £750. Most amplifiers at this level will still have a good range of connectivity and a decent feature count, but what makes those in this test so special is their performance. The best of this group will have enough in the way of insight, dynamics and rhythmic drive to get the best from your sources.
We have great amps from Cambridge, Rega, NAD and Marantz in our list, and we’re sure you’ll find something to love in any of these five-star models.
AVR head-to-head
And let's not forget AV amps. In this month's mag we pit two of our favourite home cinema amps against each other, the JBL Synthesis SDR-35 and Arcam AVR31. These two amps lead the pack at their price point – but as you'll see, each has a particular advantage over the other, making it a close-run contest for sure. Find out which AVR comes out on top in May's What Hi-Fi?
Get DAC to where your music belongs
Did you know, for a relatively modest outlay you can transform the sound quality of the music you listen to on your smartphone, laptop or desktop from the passable-but-unremarkable to something akin to domestic hi-fi standard – just by adding a digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) into the mix?
The hardware used by most smartphones and personal computers to convert a piece of music’s digital fingerprint into an analogue signal is pretty basic, whereas a dedicated DAC typically employs more sophisticated circuitry for this task. So, a DAC can make significant improvements to sound quality.
We round up a half-dozen affordable-DACs starting at just £79. For more, check out the May issue of What Hi-Fi?
High end hi-fi secrets
We're big fans of Mark Levinson products, and In May's What Hi-Fi? we talk to Danial Shimiaei, the director of engineering at the high-end hi-fi brand. Regular readers will be familiar with some of their products, such as the No.5105 turntable and impressive No.5909 headphones, the latter of which gained a five-star review. On our recent visit to the impressive Harman Luxury Audio site in Northridge, California, we got a chance to chat with Danial about his journey in audio, his personal taste in music and just what it is that makes the Mark Levinson brand so special.
First with reviews
Our First Tests section is where you'll find our famously in-depth, impartial and expert reviews of the very latest AV and hi-fi kit.
We kick things off with the superb Philips 55OLED907, which our reviewers found to be an irresistible combination of spectacular pictures, potent audio and Ambilight design. All of which adds up to a five-star performance in our book!
We also have in-depth expert reviews of a new projector from Xgimi, the Horizon Pro, over-ear headphones in the form of KEF's Mu7 and the AKG K371, the top-of-the-range Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Nothing's competitive Phone (1) smartphones, and last but not least a five-star review of JBL's Live Pro 2 TWS in-ears.
Find out what we thought of all these products in the May 2023 issue of What Hi-Fi?
Chips are cheap, these products aren't
Our Temptations section of What Hi-Fi? is where you'll find high-end hi-fi and AV products with a price-tag to match.
The Linn Selekt DSM: Edition Hub is a pricey network streamer that has all the bells and whistles required of such a product, and justifies the high price-tag with a five-star performance. Find out what makes it so special in this month's mag!
We also take a look at the TAD DA1000TX, a digital to analogue converter that we describe as bringing a sound to your recordings that is "balanced, neutral and revealing". If you value those qualities in your set-up, and you've got the readies, this should be on your wishlist.
Finally, don't forget to check out our Buyer’s Guide, featuring a definitive list of all the best home entertainment kit you can buy – including winners of 2022's What Hi-Fi? Awards. If you’re looking to purchase anything from a pair of 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 May 2023 issue of What Hi-Fi?. Grab a copy today, or simply download it onto your tablet or smartphone. Enjoy!
You can subscribe or buy the latest issue here, or buy the digital edition on iPhone, iPad, Android devices or Kindle edition