Our comprehensive reviews help you buy the very best tech products for your money, from speakers to TVs, headphones to soundbars. Everything is tested by our dedicated team of in-house reviewers in our custom-built test rooms.
Our advice section gives you step-by-step information on what to buy and how to make the most of your purchases, while our features offer music and movie tips, opinions, interviews and more.
For almost 40 years, the What Hi-Fi? Awards have been the ‘Oscars’ of the hi-fi and home cinema industry, honouring Product of the Year and Best Buy winners across a huge range of product categories and price points.
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How we test
We have state-of-the-art testing facilities in London and Bath, where our experienced reviewers put more kit through its paces than any other brand. We can, and do, handle anything from the smallest portable speaker to the largest home cinema system.
We’re the only brand in the UK to have a dedicated team of in-house reviewers delivering all of our reviews, all working in the same acoustically-treated listening rooms. This gives us complete control over how products are tested and the environment in which they are tested.
The team has more than 100 years of collective experience reviewing, testing and writing about consumer electronics.
The test labs
Our London test room:
The main hi-fi test room is used for all separates stereo components such as CD players, turntables, amplifiers and stereo speakers.
Our current hi-fi reference system is:
Naim ND555/555 PS DR music streamer (£20k)
Naim Uniti Core (£1900)
Technics SL-1000R/Kiseki Purple Heart turntable (£17k)
Cyrus Phono Signature/PSX-R2 phono stage (£1900)
Burmester 088/911Mk3 pre/power (£36,150)
ATC SCM50 speakers (£10k)
Analogue, digital and speaker cables from Chord Company and Vertere Acoustics
Our Bath test room:
The main home cinema room is currently equipped with:
Pioneer UDP-LX500 UHD 4K Blu-ray player
Oppo UDP-203 UHD 4K Blu-ray player
Denon AVR-X6700H Dolby Atmos home cinema amp
Epson EH-TW9400 projector
PMC Twenty5.23 surround speaker package with KEF R50 Dolby Atmos speakers
Chord Company cables
Sky Q, 4K streaming and Freeview HD
We also use the Future photographic studio and in-house photographers, so all equipment is photographed for the magazine and website to the highest standards.
All products are tested in comparison with rival products in the same price category. We have a warehouse full of kit, so even in a First Test a product will be reviewed in the context of other products in that sector of the market.
All review verdicts are agreed upon by the team as a whole – not an 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.
No manufacturer or PR is ever shown a review prior to publication, and our advertising department never knows what the test verdicts are before the magazine is published or a review appears online.
So you can rest assured that all What Hi-Fi? reviews are fair, honest and accurate and brought to you by the most experienced team in the business.
IPSO membership
What Hi-Fi? is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism.
If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint please contact whathifi@futurenet.com. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk.
If you see the word ‘Promoted’ or ‘Sponsored’ in a headline it means one of the following things:
‘Promoted content’ is paid for and provided by an advertiser but is content that we believe is relevant to and of interest to our readers, and is written in the style of What Hi-Fi? It is not written by the editorial team.
‘Sponsored content’ is commercially supported by a third-party sponsor but is written by our own editorial team and may not include sponsor sign-off on the content or a direct product message.