Sound+Image is a renowned Australian magazine offering in-depth home theater and hi-fi articles and tests. Every year since 1982, the Sound+Image Awards have recognized the best in hi-fi and audiovisual equipment. Discover the top equipment of 2024 according to this specialist magazine!
Sources (CD players, turntables), hi-fi amplifiers, speakers, AV equipment (TVs, projectors, wireless surround systems, AV receivers, soundbars) and headphones. Sound+Image takes into account sound and/or image quality, value for money, features, build quality, design, ease of use and ergonomics when awarding the best-performing devices in these different categories. Here’s a look at the Sound+Image Awards 2024 winners.
Sources
In the source category, Sound+Image magazine chose to award the Marantz CD50N CD player, the Denon DP-3000NE turntable, and two JBL turntables: the JBL TT350 Classic and JBL Spinner BT. The latter is a versatile semi-automatic model, equipped with a phono preamplifier and a Bluetooth transmitter compatible with the aptX HD protocol. This ensures a high-quality transmission, so you can enjoy your record collection with ease.
The phono output is the best quality, the line-level output the most versatile, and Bluetooth wireless playback the most fun. Solid performance and a cool aesthetic from JBL.
Hi-fi amplifiers
As far as hi-fi amplifiers are concerned, the Advance Paris A12, Yamaha R-N1000A and Roksan Attessa BluOS received high praise from the Australian magazine. With 2 x 80 watts of power into 8 ohms or 2 x 130 watts into 4 ohms, a wide range of connectors and WiFi, Ethernet and Bluetooth controllers, the Attessa amp lets you get the most out of all your analog and digital sources, as well as digital music.
The inclusion of BluOS streaming makes this a thoroughly modern amplifier, while the basics of power and control are impressive at this price.
Read: Roksan Attessa BluOS : powerful and intuitive connected amplifier
Speakers
In the field of connected speakers, the magazine singled out the Sonus Faber Duetto. This elegant wireless speaker combines a luxurious design with sophisticated acoustic engineering. What’s more, the Italian speaker offers a host of streaming features, so it can receive music via AirPlay 2, Chromecast or Bluetooth aptX HD. It even offers direct access to Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect.
The Duetto speakers sound fantastic, and they nail the active streaming speaker brief in a highly consumer-friendly way, while being able to add TV and audio inputs.
Read: Sonus Faber Duetto: Italian-style connected hi-fi
Audiovisual equipment
In the AV category, Sound+Vision selected a wide range of equipment, including the BenQ GV31, BenQ W4000i, Xgimi Horizon Ultra and Leica Cine 1 projectors, as well as the Marantz Cinema 40 and Denon AVC-A1H AV receivers. The magazine also named the Hisense 65U8KQ “Television of the Year”. This 4K TV boasts an LCD panel and Direct LED backlighting with QLED technology for detailed, nuanced images with rich colors. The Hisense 65U8KQ is also a top performer for video games, supporting 4K games at 144Hz and featuring AMD FreeSync Premium technology.
The care that Hisense has taken in producing a balanced, authentic and consistent performance is clear and suggests it probably won’t be long before the company is challenging the established leaders at the premium end of the TV market.
Another winner in the audiovisual category, the Yamaha True X system offers an elegant, modular solution for enjoying immersive Dolby Atmos sound at home. A real highlight of this home theater, True X technology allows you to connect the Yamaha SR-X40A soundbar to the Yamaha SW-X100A wireless subwoofer and Yamaha WS-X1A wireless surround speakers without any additional cables.
Yamaha’s True X package does an excellent job, led by the clarity of the soundbar, supported by the attractive subwoofer, and expanded with the versatile little wireless rears.
Read: Yamaha True X SR-X40A: a modular wireless home theater
Headphones
Finally, in the category of Bluetooth headphones costing over €500, the T+A Solitaire T won the Sound+Image award. This top-of-the-range wireless model features 42mm dynamic transducers with damping to eliminate coil reflection and preserve the best frequency response. What’s more, the Solitaire T headphones’ active noise cancelling system lets you enjoy your music to the full in noisy environments.
The T+As are gems, alone in a territory of wireless performance quality that no other pair we’ve heard can occupy, and also a fine listen via cable or USB-C.
Diapason, Les Numériques, What Hi-Fi?, Trusted Reviews… Find all the hi-fi and home theater equipment awarded by the French and international specialized press with our press selections on Son-Vidéo.com.
