One month after the What Hi-Fi? Awards, the famous British magazine has just announced the winners of the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2022: Product of the Year. From the 109 devices in the running this year, the magazine selected one winner per category to receive this ultimate title. The winners of this award stand out in their respective categories with their particularly impressive value for money. LG, Sony, KEF, Pro-Ject, Naim, Astell&Kern… Here are some of the lucky winners.
Find all the winners in the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2022 selection. .
Home theater: LG, Sony, Panasonic, Denon
Regarding TVs, Korean manufacturer LG was awarded the What Hi-Fi? Product of the Year award with the LG OLED65C2. The latter is equipped with a very bright OLED Evo panel and features the powerful LG α9 Gen5AI Processor 4K image processor. The LG OLED65C2 TV offers excellent picture quality with all 4K HDR content thanks to Dolby Vision IQ Precision Detail technology. Its highly efficient audio section is Dolby Atmos compatible and allows you to use Bluetooth speakers as wireless surround speakers.
Japanese brand Sony wins three Product of the Year awards, notably for the best soundbar with the Sony HT-A700 and the best video projector with the Sony VPL-XW5000ES (read the review of the Sony VPL-XW5000ES projector). The Sony HT-A7000 soundbar is 7.1.2 channel Dolby Atmos compatible with 500 watts of amplification power so you can enjoy Dolby Atmos and DTS:X 3D audio tracks. The Sony VPL-XW5000ES projector, on the other hand, features an all-new native 4K UHD SXRD array, a high-performance ACF lens, and the X1 Ultimate processor to delight movie lovers.
This year, Panasonic is the winner of the What Hi-Fi? Product of the Year – best Blu-ray player award with the excellent Panasonic DP-UB820. This top-of-the-line 4K model features the HCX video processor developed and calibrated by experts at Hollywood’s top movie studios to deliver a sublime HDR image. Its built-in WiFi system allows it to access streaming services like Netflix and Amazon, in UHD-4K resolution and HDR. Another winner in the home theater market, Denon won the Product of the Year award with the Denon AVR-X2800H AV receiver. This ultra-comprehensive 7.2 or 5.1.2 channel model is DTS:X and Dolby Atmos compatible and includes three HDMI 2.1 inputs that are UHD 8K at 60 fps and UHD 4K at 120 fps compatible. This Denon AV receiver will also appeal to video game enthusiasts with its support for VRR, ALLM and QFT technologies.
Hi-fi: KEF, Pro-Ject, Naim, Grado, Cambridge, Chord, Astell&Kern, Technics
A regular winner of What Hi-Fi? awards, British brand KEF has been awarded the Product of the Year label for the KEF LS50 Meta bookshelf speakers (read the KEF LS50 Meta review). Despite its compact size, the KEF LS50 Meta delivers a rich sound experience thanks to the manufacturer’s advanced technologies, including MAT technology that eliminates 99% of interference at the back of the tweeter and the 12th generation of the famous Uni-Q driver that helps reduce distortion and coloration. Another award-winning speaker this year, the Naim mu-so Qb 2 is a connected model equipped with a set of seven drivers and two amplifiers with a total power of 300 watts. Compatible with AirPlay 2, Bluetooth and many online music services, the Naim mu-so Qb 2 connected speaker is a high-performance solution with a stylish design to enjoy all your music.
Cambridge Audio is one of the hi-fi specialists to receive a What Hi-Fi? Product of the Year award this year with the Cambridge CXA81 stereo amplifier. Successor of the Cambridge CXA80, it delivers 2 x 80 watts of power into 8 ohms and integrates an ESS Sabre ES9016 K2M DAC. Versatile, the Cambridge CXA81 has a Bluetooth aptX HD receiver that allows it to receive and wirelessly stream music played on a smartphone, tablet or computer.
The Japanese brand Technics wins the best system award with the Technics SA-C600 amplifier. In addition to 2 x 60W of amplification into 4 ohms, this all-in-one solution includes a CD player, DAB/DAB+ tuner, USB DAC and network media player. In the vinyl arena, Pro-Ject was awarded the What Hi-Fi? Product of the Year Award for the Pro-Ject Debut Pro turntable. Designed for the brand’s 30th anniversary, the Pro-Ject Debut Pro adopts a minimalist design and is equipped with a new tonearm arm and a Pick it Pro phono cartridge to extract the slightest details from record grooves.
In the world of headphones and mobile hi-fi, the American brand Grado managed to stand out with the Grado SR325x hi-fi headphones. Flagship of the Grado Prestige X series, the Grado SR325x are an open-back supra-aural model featuring transducers with anti-resonance treatments. These hi-fi headphones offer a warm, dynamic and smooth sound. The Astell&Kern A&norma SR25 MKII wins the DAP of the year award. This powerful and versatile model allows you to enjoy HD tracks at up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD256. Its impressive amplification and triple output ensure it can optimally power many headphones and IEMs. Finally, British manufacturer Chord received two Product of the Year awards, including Best DAC with the Chord Mojo 2. This bestseller is capable of powering demanding hi-fi headphones and IEMs with its output of 90 mW into 300 ohms and 600 mW into 30 ohms. It has an autonomy of about 8 hours for mobile use.
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