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What Hi-Fi?!
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BRING POWER TO THE PEOPLE
We have a power-packed issue this month, with a round-up of our favourite stereo amplifiers (p32) below £700 – perfect for that system upgrade you had always promised yourself. There is also a plea to the industry (p42) from our technical editor to bring back the entry-level amplifier; it’s a breed that seems to have pretty much disappeared in the past couple of decades. We juxtapose the step-up two-channel amps with some absolute powerhouse (and extremely premium) home cinema amplif ier s (p50) to show you just what might be possible with a high-end cinema set-up in your own home. An audition with these behemoths is a real experience, believe me – and there are two products brand new to our test rooms to showcase.
Also in this issue we have our usual packed First Tests (p6) section, where the latest of KEF’s impressive line of speaker systems brings the range well below the £1000 mark. And don’t miss our feature on a new Bluetooth technology, Auracast (p60), which could revolutionise the way we listen in public.
Jonathan Evans, editor
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MY PRODUCT OF THE MONTH
KEF LSX II LT, p6 A slightly stripped-down version of an Award winner that sounds just as good for far less money? Yes please.
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What Hi-Fi? (ISSN 0309-3336) (April 2024, issue 485) is published monthly with an extra issue in March by Future Publishing,
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HOW WE TEST
EXPERIENCE. HERITAGE. We have been helping the world discover the best in hi-fi and home entertainment for more than 45 years, and have more than 100 years of reviewing experience under our collective belts – so you can count on our expert opinion.
DEDICATED TEST FACILITIES We test every product against its peers in our extensive, bespoke reviewing facilities in London and Reading. We conduct all our tests as a team – our opinions and conclusions are always the result of collaboration.
HOW WE SCORE
All review verdicts are agreed upon by the team as a whole – not any individual reviewer. Each product will be listened to and/or viewed by several members of the test team, who will then discuss the final verdict before it appears in the magazine or on the website. This avoids any individual bias creeping in.
OUR SCORES EXPLAINED One of the best ★★★★★ A serious contender ★★★★★ Worth a look ★★★★★ Disappointing ★★★★★ Awful ★★★★★
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