THIS MONTH

CONTENTS>02>12

First Tests

First Tests 15 pages of new reviews p6 Including Motorola’s RAZR smartphone, PMC’s Twenty 22 speakers and the superb value Toshiba 46TL858 3D LED television p6 Class-leading black levels from this Philips 46in set p26 This Epson might be cheap,

but its spec is a real treat

Tests

Supertest Headphones p36

For the stylishly minded among you, 10 pairs of premium on- and over-ear headphones with more than a touch of class – and priced between £150 and £250 – lock horns in this Supertest

Wall-mounted speakers p54 If you think speakers should be heard and not seen, on-wall designs could be the answer. You can even adorn them with your own art…

Hi-fi streamers p65

Open the door to a world of internet-based music, and stream your own music library all over the house: streamers are now cheaper and higher-specified than ever

Projectors p72

Panasonic’s Award-winning projector finally has worthy rivals. We put four £3000 projectors through their paces in our home cinema room

Temptations Five pages of high-end kit p82 If you got some money for Christmas, then take a look at a spanking new premium iPod dock/transport set from Wadia and a sparkling premium home cinema receiver from Onkyo

Supertest Headphones p36

p27

A dock with DAB

from Pure

Projectors p72

Wall-mounted speakers p54

p15

High-quality sound by PMC’s Twenty 22s

4 www.whathifi.com First Test p23 It’s got a consistently capable picture, whatever you decide to throw at it

Temptations p86 This combination has a sense of control and stability that many listeners will love

A-Z of kit tested Televisions Philips 46PFL9706 £2500 p6 Toshiba 40TL868 £500 p23

Home cinema Blu-ray players Onkyo BD-SP809 £500 p16

Home cinema amplifiers Onkyo TX-NR5009 £2700 p82

Projectors Epson EH-TW6000W £1650 p26 JVC DLA-X30 £3000 p74 Optoma HD83 £2400 p75 Panasonic PT-AT5000E £3000 p74 Sony VPL-HW30ES £3000 p75

Style speaker packages Boston Acoustics SoundWare S £510 p19

Subwoofers REL T-7 £650 p14

Hi-Fi Amplifiers Wadia 151 Power DAC Mini £999 p86

CD players Rega Apollo-R £550 p11

DACs Cambridge Audio DAC Magic Plus £350 p20

Dock systems Revo K2 £300 p11 Soundfreaq SoundStack £400 p13

iPod docks Wadia 171 iTransport £599 p86

Stereo speakers Elipson Planet L £600 p13 Focal XS Book £300 p10 Image Audio IA8 £2000 p57 Monitor Audio Soundframe 1 £900 p58 PMC Twenty 22 £1825 p15

PMC Wafer 2 £2295 p61 Scandyna Micropod SE Active £299 p14

All-in-one systems Music streaming systems Pioneer X-SM5 £308 p24

Digital media devices Media streamers Cambridge Audio NP30 £430 p66 Denon DNP-720AE £430 p66 Marantz NA7004 £430 p67 NAD C446 £695 p67

Freeview PVRs Sagemcom RTI90-320 T2 £170 p26

Portable DAB/FM radios Pure Contour 100DI £100 p27

MP3 players Creative Zen X-Fi3 £90 p10

Smartphones Motorola Razr £379 p24

Accessories Analogue interconnects Atlas Equator Mk III £75 p19

Headphones AKG K550 £250 p38 Audio Technica ATH-CKS55i £70 p27 Audio Technica ATH-ES88 £230 p39 B&W P5 £250 p40 Beyerdynamic T50p £240 p41 House of Marley Freedom: Stir It Up £150 p42 HRT Headstreamer £145 p23 InCase Sonic £170 p44 Nixon RPM £170 p46 Phiaton MS300 £150 p47 RHA CA-200 £40 p19 Sennheiser HD598 £190 p48 Sennheiser iE80 £270 p16 Ultrasone HFI-780 £160 p49

Speaker cables Ecosse CS 4.2 £3.99/m p27

Our ratings explained

We always test products as a team, and always compare them with their peers – which is why our ratings are the most authoritative in the industry

Stunning all-rounder Well worth considering Decent Disappointing Awful

★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★

If it’s one of our winners, you know it’s top quality

CONTENTS

Playlist p88 An instant testing favourite, it’s a film for all to enjoy and an essential Blu-ray purchase

Features

APPS

Top 10 music apps p52

There’s more to apps than just Angry Birds and Facebook. We’ve gathered our top music tools and timewasters, from gig guides to virtual bands – and they’re all available for peanuts.

Every month

Insider p28

The second generation of streamed content providers is already upon us – we look at what the future could hold for music and video

Subscriptions p32

Every new subscriber will receive a pair of Sennheiser HD 202-II on-ear headphones!

Best Buys p35

What to buy and what to partner it with. We’ve assembled our favourite products into some fantastic complete systems

Playlist p88

The latest music and video releases rated, including the JJ Abrams/Steven Spielberg collaboration Super 8 and Amy Winehouse’s posthumous Lioness: Hidden Treasures

Sound Advice p90

Our team of experts dive onto the forums and into the postbag to answer your queries

Buyer’s Guide

The ultimate AV bible p95

Over 1200 products tested and rated

For a full list of specifications and other useful info visit whathifi.com www.whathifi.com 5