We always maintain a reference system for our home cinema reviews. It combines a selection of Award-winning products that act as benchmarks, allowing us to accurately assess the performance of whatever we may be reviewing.
It's a collection of premium home cinema devices, with equally premium price tags to match, but if you want a reference system in your home that matches ours, then Black Friday is the best time to buy the components.
Our projector: Sony VPL-XW5000ES
Sony's entry-level native 4K laser projector is on a What Hi-Fi? Award-winning streak, scoring its fourth Product of the Year title earlier this month.
It's still a pricey piece of kit, but this deal at Richer Sounds knocks £2000 off a supremely talented beamer that delivers seriously impressive contrast and black depths, sharp details, and rich yet balanced colours for an overall showstopping cinematic experience.
Our only gripe is the lack of motorised lens controls, but once you have the VPL-XW5000ES in place, you'll quickly forgive this minor shortcoming on account of its stellar picture.
Read our full Sony VPL-XW5000ES review
Our OLED TV: Sony Bravia 8 II
The Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II has been the TV we've obsessed over this year, and for good reason, too.
It's served as a benchmark in our reviews for the Panasonic Z95B and Samsung S95F, beating both TVs in terms of sheer picture performance thanks to its deeply engaging and three-dimensional picture.
Sony's masterful picture processing paired with the QD-OLED panel technology makes this TV a sight to behold, and it's backed up by impressive built-in sound, a solid set of gaming features (HDMI 2.1, VRR and ALLM) and a sleek design.
Read our full Sony Bravia 8 II review
Our Mini LED TV: TCL C7K
For the times when we're not reviewing a pricey OLED TV, we find ourselves reaching for the TCL C7K.
This surprise hit of 2025 delivers a bright and punchy image when required, but it also has a trick up its sleeve to ensure it impresses during dark scenes too.
TCL's new Halo Control technology hugely mitigates blooming, and black depths are seriously impressive by backlit TV standards.
If you're not interested in OLED or want a TV that offers a stunning picture without a ludicrous price tag, then the C7K is for you.
Read our full TCL C7K review
Our AVR: Marantz Cinema 30
We've swooned over this AVR plenty of times, but we're here to do it once again.
The Marantz Cinema 30 is a handsome piece of home cinema kit, with a premium sculpted metal design, tasteful ambient accent lights, and even a gorgeous remote control; but in the grand scheme of things, none of that really matters, as we care most about sound quality.
The good news is that the Marantz Cinema 30 is a showstopper when it comes to delivering cinematic sound, with a rich, weighty and smooth performance that is guaranteed to immerse even the toughest audiophiles.
It's dynamic, can deliver huge scale sound, and features excellent connectivity; it really is the full package.
Read our full Marantz Cinema 30 review
Our speaker package: KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1
The latest addition to our reference home cinema system, the KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 was the sleeper hit from this year's Awards testing process.
It won us over almost instantly with its rich, powerful and engaging sound, complete with a subwoofer that handles bass like a champion. It's accurate and agile, yet warm and inviting, which is a surprisingly difficult balance to strike.
We're also huge fans of its dashing good looks, and the fact that it's comprised entirely of standmounting speakers means it should take up slightly less room than an equivalent floorstanding setup.
It's become our new reference system for a reason, and we're already looking forward to the next time we can watch a movie using it.
Read our full KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 review
Our soundbar: Sonos Arc Ultra
Surround sound speaker packages will always be our favourite method of achieving cinematic sound, but we can't deny the convenience of a soundbar. And this soundbar happens to be pretty fantastic.
The Sonos Arc Ultra had massive shoes to fill, but it did so with ease, delivering the punchy, big-scale sound of its predecessor with added richness and height, as well as a whole lot more bass.
This all-in-one cinematic sound solution is a perfect accompaniment to the Sony Bravia 8 II, and it's primed to be made into a full system with the Sonos Sub 4 and a pair of Sonos Era 300 speakers.
Our 4K Blu-ray player: Panasonic DP-UB820
We tend to use the Oppo UDP 203 for a majority of our 4K disc spinning duties, but that player has been sadly discontinued.
Fret not, as the Panasonic DP-UB820 also has a permanent spot in our reference lineup, and considering it just took home yet another Product of the Year win, we don't see it leaving any time soon.
This easy-to-use 4K Blu-ray player delivers a vibrant, rich, and crisp 4K HDR image alongside powerful and spacious sound.
We've sung the praises of 4K Blu-rays over streaming countless times, and this player is one of the best ways to experience the benefits of physical media.
Read our full Panasonic DP-UB820 review
Black Friday 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
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