[Review] What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision Award Winners 2007

Discussion in 'Hi-Fi and General Audio' started by BlueMax, Nov 15, 2007.

  1. BlueMax

    BlueMax

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    What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision Award Winners 2007

    This forum has some experienced and knowledgeable posters who don't need hi-fi mag review and awards, but the list below might still be useful to compare notes. Others might find it useful when making a short-list from the huge number of equipment in the market place.

    Anyhooooo.... What do you all think? How do they compare with your own views, listening tests and experiences?

    CD PLAYERS
    BEST CD PLAYER under £300 : Marantz CD6002
    BEST CD PLAYER £300 - £750 : Rega Apollo
    BEST CD PLAYER £750 - £1500 : Cyrus CD8X
    BEST CD PLAYER +£1500 : Leema Antila
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Rega Apollo

    TURNTABLES
    BEST TURNTABLE under £200 : Pro-Ject Genie £124.99
    BEST TURNTABLE £200 - £750 : Rega P3-24
    BEST TURNTABLE £750 - £1500 : Roksan Radius 5
    BEST TURNTABLE +£1500 : ClearAudio Performance
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Rega P3-24

    STEREO AMPS
    BEST STEREO AMP under £300 : Rotel RA04
    BEST STEREO AMP £300 - £750 : Roksan Kandy L.III £649.99
    BEST STEREO AMP £750 - £1500 : Cyrus 8VS2
    BEST STEREO AMP +£1500 : Cyrus Pre VS2/8 power/PSXR
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Roksan Kandy L.III £649.99

    STEREO SPEAKERS
    BEST STEREO SPEAKERS under £150 : Tannoy Mercury F1 from £89.99
    BEST STEREO SPEAKERS £150 - £250 : Monitor Audio Bronze BR2 from £179.99
    BEST STEREO SPEAKERS £250 - £500 : B&W 685
    BEST STEREO SPEAKERS £500 - £1000 : ATC SCM11
    BEST STEREO SPEAKERS £1000 - £2000 : Proac Studio 140
    BEST STEREO SPEAKERS +£2000 : Wilson Benesch Square 2
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - B&W 685

    CABLES
    BEST MAINS CABLE Clearer Audio Copper Line
    BEST VIDEO CABLE Chord HDMI Silver Plus 1
    BEST SPEAKER CABLE QED Silver Anniversary XT from £5.35
    BEST STEREO INTERCONNECT Atlas Equator
    BEST DIGITAL AUDIO CABLE QED Performance Digital Audio
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - QED Silver Anniversary XT from £5.35

    ACCESSORIES
    BEST EQUIPMENT RACK Atacama Equinox Range from £64.99
    BEST PHONO STAGE Camebridge Audio Azur 64DP
    BEST UNIVERSAL REMOTE Logitech Harmony 555 £85.99
    BEST SPEAKER STANDS under £100 : Soundstyle Z2
    BEST SPEAKER STANDS +£100 : Partington Super Dreadnoughts £159.99
    BEST HI-FI HEADPHONES Grado SR60 £79.99
    BEST VALUE UPGRADE Brightstar Isonodes
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Atacama Equinox Range from £64.99

    ALL-IN-ONE SYSTEMS
    BEST HI-FI SYSTEM under £500 : Onkyo CS-515DAB £230.00
    BEST HI-FI SYSTEM +£500 : Meridian F80
    BEST HOME CINEMA SYSTEM under £750 : Sony DAV IS10 £569.99
    BEST HOME CINEMA SYSTEM £750 - £1500 : Samsung HttXQ120
    BEST HOME CINEMA SYSTEM +£3000 : Arcam Solo Movie 5.1
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Sony DAV IS10 £569.99

    DVD & HD PLAYERS
    BEST DVD under £100 : Samsung DVD HD870
    BEST DVD £100 - £300 : Denon DVD-1940 £249.99
    BEST DVD & HD PLAYER £300 - £500 : Sony PS3
    BEST DVD £500 - £1000 : Marantz DV7001
    BEST DVD & HD PLAYER +£1000 : Pioneer BDP-701XA
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Marantz DV7001

    DVD RECORDERS & PVRS
    BEST DVD RECORDER under £250 : Samsung DVD HD870
    BEST DVD RECERDER +£250 : Sony RDR-HXD970 £255.99
    BEST HD PVR SKY HD
    BEST FREEVIEW PVR Sagem DVR64250T
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Sony RDR-HXD970 £255.99

    MULTI-CHANNEL RECEIVERS
    BEST RECEIVER under £300 : Onkyo TX-SR505 £249.99
    BEST RECEIVER £300 - £750 : Onkyo TX-SR605 £399.99
    BEST RECEIVER +£750 : Onkyo TX-SR875 £999.99
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Onkyo TX-SR605 £399.99

    SPEAKER PACKS
    BEST SPEAKER PACK under £750 : Q Acoustics 1010i 5.1
    BEST SPEAKER PACK £750 - £1500 : Tannoy Mercury F1 Custom
    BEST SPEAKER PACK £1500 - £3000 : Dali Ikon 6 5.1 £2,238.00
    BEST SPEAKER PACK +£3000 : Jamo c809 hcs3/c80sub
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Dali Ikon 6 5.1 £2,238.00

    STYLE SPEAKER PACKS
    BEST STYLE SPEAKER PACK under £500 : Jamo A102 HCS5 £225.99
    BEST STYLE SPEAKER PACK £500 - £1000 : Kef KHT3005SE
    BEST STYLE SPEAKER PACK £1000 - £2000 : B&W MT30
    BEST STYLE SPEAKER PACK £2000 : Tannoy Arena Highline
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Kef KHT3005SE

    SUBWOOFERS
    BEST SUBWOOFER under £300 : Wharfedale Diamond SW150 £239.95
    BEST SUBWOOFER £300 - £750 : Monitor Audio RS W12
    BEST SUBWOOFER +£750 : B&W PV1
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - B&W PV1

    TVS
    BEST 26" TV : Panasonic TX-26LXD70
    BEST BUDGET 32" TV : Samsung LE32R87BD
    BEST PREMIUM 32" TV : Panasonic TX-32LXD700
    BEST 37" TV : Panasonic TH-37PX70
    BEST BUDGET 40 - 42" TV : Panasonic TH-42PX70 £784.99
    BEST PREMIUM 40 - 42" TV : Pioneer PDP-428XD £1,549.99
    BEST +46" TV : Pioneer PDP-LX508D
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Pioneer PDP-428XD £1,549.99

    PROJECTORS
    BEST PROJECTOR under £1000 Infocus IN76 £999.00
    BEST PROJECTOR £1000 - £2000 : Themescene HD80
    BEST PROJECTOR £2000 - £4000 : Infocus IN82 £2,999.99
    BEST PROJECTOR +£4000 : Sim2 HT380
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Infocus IN82 £2,999.99

    RADIOS
    BEST PORTABLE DAB : Pure Digital Evoke-1S £89.99
    BEST TABLETOP DAB : Vita Audio R2 £219.98
    BEST INTERENT RADIO : Tangent Quattro £179.954
    BEST HI-FI TUNER : Denon TU-1800DAB £199.99
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Vita Audio R2 £219.98

    MP3 & MP4 PLAYERS
    BEST MP3 PLAYER under £50 : Apple iPod Shuffle
    BEST MP3 PLAYER £50 - £150 : Apple iPod Nano
    BEST MP3 PLAYER +£150 : Apple iPod Classic
    BEST MULIMEDIA PORTABLE : Sony PSP Slim & Lite
    BEST MULTIMEDIA PHONE : Nokia N95
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Apple iPod Classic

    PC & MP3 ACCESSORIES
    BEST DESKTOP SPEAKERS : Lars & Ivan BK21
    BEST ACTIVE SPEAKERS : Audioengine A5
    BEST PORTABLE SPEAKER SYSTEM : Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere
    BEST iPOD AUDIO SYSTEM : Fatman iTube Valve-Dock £279.99
    BEST PORTABLE HEADPHONES : Grado iGrado £39.95
    BEST IN-EAR HEADPHONES : Shure SE110
    BEST NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONE : Sennheiser PXC450 £269.99
    BEST MUSIC SERVER : Sonos Digital Music System £949.00
    *PRODUCT OF THE YEAR* - Fatman iTube Valve-Dock £279.99

     
    BlueMax, Nov 15, 2007
    #1
  2. BlueMax

    andyoz

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    Meridian F80

    Meridian F80 gets best all-in-one >£500.

    I still haven't heard one.
     
    andyoz, Nov 18, 2007
    #2
  3. BlueMax

    han25

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    Hi Guys,

    Do any one know the sound quality of Jamo C809 and how much just for the a pair of front speakers ?

    Regards

    Han
     
    han25, Sep 6, 2008
    #3
  4. BlueMax

    sq225917 Exposer of Foo

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    Well that's another advertisers sponsored shit fest
     
    sq225917, Sep 7, 2008
    #4
  5. BlueMax

    YNMOAN Trade - AudioFlat

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    As above.

    Mind you, the 'What Hi-Fi Awards' have never really had anything to do with reality - why should this year be any different.
     
    YNMOAN, Sep 7, 2008
    #5
  6. BlueMax

    dudywoxer Regaholic

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    Strange comment, Rega won two product of the year awards. Care to point me at a Rega advert
    ________
    Vaporizer Review
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 18, 2011
    dudywoxer, Sep 7, 2008
    #6
  7. BlueMax

    Robbo

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    Don't think I have listened to (or seen in the case of the screens) one item on the list above!

    Something tells me that I am not missing anything either.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2008
    Robbo, Sep 7, 2008
    #7
  8. BlueMax

    D Louth 77

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    All the usuall Suspects . How boring and predictable . Not saying some of the above are not quite good but ,there is better and more interesting kit about .

    Any way about what i would have expected from WHAT NO HI-fi,
    OOPS keyboard errorrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

    D Louth
     
    D Louth 77, Sep 8, 2008
    #8
  9. BlueMax

    bottleneck talks a load of rubbish

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    so the very best hifi mankind has to offer the universe is Cyrus pre/power and Wilson Benesch floorstanding 2 ways with a 7" bass cone?
     
    bottleneck, Sep 9, 2008
    #9
  10. BlueMax

    Corruption

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    There are so many caveats here that they might as well not bother.

    How many products do they test in a year?
    How many manufacturers do they receive test products from?
    Why is this year's model always an improvement over the same one from last year?
     
    Corruption, Sep 9, 2008
    #10
  11. BlueMax

    mr cat Member of the month

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    oh noi - I was tempted by the rega apollo too...probably won't bother now... :(
     
    mr cat, Sep 9, 2008
    #11
  12. BlueMax

    andyoz

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    They could have at least picked something with two 7" bass drivers.:D

    I'm glad I got off the hifi treadmill years ago FFS
     
    andyoz, Sep 9, 2008
    #12
  13. BlueMax

    D Louth 77

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    Hi Guys

    With this bit of info you will be able to predict how products reviewed at What (NO) Hi-Fi will fare(HI_FI ONLY). They had a sound room built for them . Rather than use an accoustic engineer or other expert . They built it themselves . What they built is so dead the only thing deader is an anacoic chamber .

    The reason now that bright and thin and toppy audio does well is because anything more neutral or warm sounds wrong in this room . Now i will say that some kit that isn't bright etc does well from time to time but this is IMHO a miracle or accident rather than by design. I have this info from several sources. It explains a lot ,i think.

    Regards D louth.
     
    D Louth 77, Sep 10, 2008
    #13
  14. BlueMax

    chirs1211

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    Re; Cd players, Cyrus and Marantz again this year :( didnt check any further.
     
    chirs1211, Nov 11, 2008
    #14
  15. BlueMax

    amazingtrade Mad Madchestoh fan

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    So you are lot saying those old classic Marantz CD players were not worthy of their reputation because they had good What HIFI reviews?
     
    amazingtrade, Nov 14, 2008
    #15
  16. BlueMax

    mr cat Member of the month

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    no, they're basically saying that Marantz have a big advertising budget... ;)
     
    mr cat, Nov 15, 2008
    #16
  17. BlueMax

    amazingtrade Mad Madchestoh fan

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    But surely they would not get away with such things? I remember What Hifi in the early 00's didn't like Kenwood or Pioneer stuff much, both of them advertised in their magazines despite the magazine giving low ratings.

    However I do see that a product may be awarded 5 stars instead of 4 if they spend a lot of money advertising with the magazine as they would not want to upset them.

    I think it is a balancing act.

    I think the most disapointing thing I have bought under What HIFI influence is the PM4000 in 2000. My parents use it now, the mid range sounds fine lovely and smooth but the rest just sounds flat.

    My Cambridge Azure A640 sounds much better.
     
    amazingtrade, Nov 15, 2008
    #17
  18. BlueMax

    Smiffy

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    I gave up reading hifi mags two years ago, I dont know if I am missing much and dont worry about it.

    I do think I was steered wrong and taken by rave reveiws and have now learnt my lesson,which is use a good good dealer, listen to as much gear as you can and then try it at home in you're own system for as long as you can get away with,then let you're ears/brain choose.:boogie:
     
    Smiffy, Nov 17, 2008
    #18
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