THIS MONTH

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First Tests

Tests

First tests 15 pages of new reviews p6 Including new surround sound amps from Onkyo and Sony, NAD’s first music streamer, and a 55in TV from Samsung p13 Monitor Audio is taking on the

Zeppelin Mini p25 The InFocus ScreenPlay 8604: worth £2500?

Supertest 40-42in TVs p34

No other size of telly will give you the same features or level of performance for your money

Micro hi-fi gets serious p49 Whether you want a £500 streamer or a budget box with speakers, we’ve found a micro for you

Transform your TV sound p58 Neat, high-tech soundbars mean you need put up with weedy flatscreen sound no longer

Movie – and music? – marvels p63 Four feature-packed AV receivers from £450£500 do battle in this ultra-competitive test

Go for surround in style p72 It’s no secret that full-size speaker packs sound best, but which of these is the best of the best?

Temptations Five pages of high-end kit p80 This month: a £14,000 Wadia CD player, and a massive pair of old-school Spendor speakers

Speaker packages p72

p11 Bedroom-friendly HD from Panasonic p12 Rega’s RP3 turntable is back for another spin p12 This £800 Onkyo is well connected

4 www.whathifi.com First Test p21 Show-stopping scale, power and detail – few speakers can match this ability

Temptations p80 So what do you get for your £14,000? A lot. This player weighs a whole 25kg

40-42in TV Supertest p34 Micro systems p49

A-Z of kit tested Televisions LG 42PW450T £475 p36 LG 42LW650T £1000 p37 Panasonic TX-L24E3 £450 p11 Panasonic TX-P42G30 £700 p38 Panasonic TX-P42GT30 £1000 p40 Samsung UE40D5520 £600 p41 Samsung UE55D8000 £2500 p22 Sony KDL-40CX523 £500 p42 Sony KDL-40NX723 £1300 p43

Home cinema Blu-ray players Denon DBP-2012UD £750 p18

Projectors BenQ W1200 £1200 p17 InFocus SP8604 £2500 p25 Surround amps & receivers Denon AVR-1912 £500 p64 Onkyo TX-NR609 £500 p65 Onkyo TX-NR709 £800 p12 Pioneer VSX-921 £450 p12 Sony STR-DH820 £300 p24 Yamaha RX-V671 £500 p67 Subwoofers Velodyne WiConnect-10 £525 p25 Style speaker packages Q Acoustics Q7000 £800 p6 Speaker packages Ac. Energy Radiance 2 5.1 £1895 p74 KEF Q300 5.1 £1880 p75 Monitor Audio Sil. RX6 £2200 p76 Tannoy Revolution DC6T £1899 p77

Hi-Fi CD Players Wadia S7i £14,000 p80

Turntables Rega RP3 £550 p12

Stereo speakers Acoustic Energy Compact 1 £150 p10

Dali Zensor 5 £500 p14 Spendor SP100R2 £6495 p84 Wharfedale Jade-5 £1600 p21

MP3 docks Cambridge Audio iD100 £150 p17

Dock systems Monitor Audio i-deck 100 £300 p13 TEAC SR-80iDAB £150 p14

All-in-one systems Micro and style systems Denon CEOL £500 p50 Marantz M-CR603 £500 p51 TEAC CR-H700DAB £550 p52 Denon D-M38DAB £300 p54 Yamaha MCR555 £380 p55

Soundbars LG HLX56S £800 p59 Panasonic SC-BFT800 £600 p59 Panasonic SC-HTB520 £300 p60 Samsung HW-D570 £330 p60 Sharp HT-SL50H £180 p61 Yamaha YSP-2200 £800 p61

Digital Media Devices Media servers/clients NAD C446 £695 p16 Popcorn Hour PopBox 3D £139 p18

Portable Multimedia phones HTC Sensation From £free p10

Accessories Mains products Clearer Audio Alpha One £40 p11

Equipment racks Gecko OBS-600GB £380 p25

Headphones AKG K540 £90 p11 Marshall Major £99 p17

Headphone amps Fidelity Audio HPA-100 £350 p22

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 p86 Bjork has shown the music industry a way out of the endemic piracy cul-de-sac

Features

The Big question How much for brill Blu-ray? p46 When you can buy a quality, feature-packed Blu-ray player for just £100, is there any need for high-end models? Three readers find out SYSTEM builder Affordable hi-fi stars p70 Dali’s excellent Zensor 1 speakers cost just £180 but they suit systems both budget and high-end. Here we find their perfect partners

Every month

Insider p26

We take a peak in our crystal ball and see the future of 3D, plus all the latest news and views

Subscriptions p30

A five-star rated Wireworld Luna analogue interconnect for every new subscriber!

Best Buys

What to buy and what to partner it with p33

Playlist p86

The latest films, music and games reviewed, including the incredible new album/app from Bjork, and Paul Bettany in action-fest Priest

Sound Advice p88

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

Competition p94

Three lucky readers will each win a brilliant, £1600 Cyrus Streamline, which we described as ‘a streamer straight from the top drawer’

Buyer’s Guide

The ultimate AV bible p93 Over 1200 products tested and rated

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