What Hi-Fi? Awards 2024: discover this year’s winners!

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After months of rigorous testing, the team of hi-fi and home theater experts from the renowned trade magazine What Hi-Fi? reveal their selection of the year’s best audio and video equipment, the majority of which is, of course, from British manufacturers. The What Hi-Fi? Awards recognize the best-performing equipment in a wide range of categories, from hi-fi speakers and projectors to headphones, turntables and TVs…

Once again this year, discover all the image, home theater and hi-fi references in the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2024 selection.

Image

In the image sector, the LG C4 range of high-performance televisions is this year’s star performer, winning several What Hi-Fi? Awards: best 40-43-inch TV and best gaming TV for the LG OLED42C4, and best 48-50-inch TV for the LG OLED48C4. According to the magazine, the 42-inch LG C4 TV “is the best small OLED TV money can buy right now.”

LG C4 TV in a living room
What Hi-Fi? praised LG C4 series TVs for their dynamic picture quality and gaming features.

As for projectors, the Hisense PX3-PRO ultra short throw model won the Award for its image quality, and in particular for its handling of dark scenes, which the British magazine described as “is particularly excellent by UST standards”.

Hisense PX3-PRO projector
Offering an alternative to traditional 4K UHD projectors and living room TVs, the Hisense PX3-PRO ultra-short-throw model projects a very large image from just a few dozen centimeters from the screen.

Here are all the winners of the best Image products of 2024:

Home theater

This year in the home theater category, What Hi-Fi? crowned the Marantz Cinema 30 AV receiver. The flagship of the Japanese manufacturer’s Cinema range stood out, because according to the magazine, “It has the promised richness, smoothness and control, but it also delivers all of the scale and punch that one could hope for – and it’s talented with music, too.”

Marantz Cinema 30 AV receiver
With 11.4 channels, UHD 4K and UHD 8K compatibility and support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X streams, the Marantz Cinema 30 AV receiver immerses you in movies, video games and music.

Among the soundbars tested by What Hi-Fi?, the brand Sonos stands out with its Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and Sonos Arc. Very easy to use, the latter is an all-in-one model that not only optimizes sound for films and TV series, but also allows music to be streamed from iTunes, online music services and web radios. “Rarely does a device arrive that does so much and does it all so well.”

Sonos Arc soundbar with TV
The Sonos Arc soundbar offers Dolby Atmos 5.0.2-channel playback thanks to the integration of 11 drivers.

Here are all the winners of the best home theater products of 2024:

Speakers

As usual, What Hi-Fi? puts the spotlight on British speakers, including an award for the Q Acoustics 5040 floorstanding speakers. The magazine highlights the impressive sonic performance of this model, stating: “The Q Acoustics 5040 are even-handed performers that simply step out of the way of the music and let it shine. When partnered with care they deliver a wonderfully expressive and insightful performance that’s class-leading at this level.”

Q Acoustics 5040 floorstanding speakers and center speaker in a living room
The Q Acoustics 5040 floorstanding speakers benefit from state-of-the-art technical solutions such as the C3 driver and P2P cabinet to deliver dynamic, natural and detailed sound.

Another 2024 winner, the KEF LSX 2 LT wireless hi-fi speaker wins the What Hi-Fi? Award for its “tight, impressive sonic presentation”. The magazine also praised the ease of use of these Bluetooth and WiFi speakers, which are compatible with the KEF Connect control app.

KEF LSX 2 LT speakers
Thanks to their 11th generation driver Uni-Q, as well as the KEF Connect app offering numerous connectivity options, the KEF LSX 2 LT wireless speakers combine versatility, performance and ease of use.

Here are all the winners of the best Speakers of the Year 2024:

Hi-fi

In the Hi-fi category, English brand Rega has received several What Hi-Fi? awards for its Rega Planar 1, Rega Planar 3 + Nd3 and Rega Planar 6 turntables, as well as for the Rega Aethos stereo amplifier. According to the magazine, this all-analog audiophile model “delivers an exceptional combination of insight, dynamics and rhythmic precision to produce class-leading sound.”

Rega Aethos amplifier on a cabinet
With a dual-mono design featuring high-performance components and a class A preamplifier circuit, the Rega Aethos stereo amplifier is capable of powering the most demanding speakers.

As far as network audio players are concerned, the WiiM Pro Plus earned the praise of What Hi-Fi?. This compact, versatile streamer can play tracks shared via DLNA or streamed via Chromecast, AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth. What’s more, it accesses the majority of online streaming services with support for Hi-Res tracks, and can integrate into a multi-room band. “It sounds poised and accomplished, it has a surprisingly well-executed control app, and it’s ready to form the basis of a multi-room system too.”

WiiM Pro Plus network player on a desktop with B&O headphones
Versatile and ultra-compact, the WiiM Pro + audio network player is the ideal solution for multi-room listening with a wide range of online music services.

Here are all the winners of the best Hi-fi products of 2024:

Headphones and earbuds

This year, Japanese manufacturer Sony has once again stood out in the field of wireless headphones and earbuds. What Hi-Fi? has chosen to reward the Sony WH-CH720N Bluetooth headphones, as well as the Sony WF-C700N and Sony WF-C510 True Wireless earbuds. The latter combine comfort, robustness and an immersive listening experience, all at a very affordable price. According to the British magazine, “you can’t really argue with the comfort, sense of fun and musicality that they convey. They’re brilliant buds with a bargain price tag.”

Man wearing Sony WF-C510 earbuds
With an adjustable ambient sound mode, customizable equalizer and compatibility with 360 Reality Audio, the Sony WF-C510 earbuds offer a high-quality, customized listening experience.

Here are all the winners of the best headphones and earbuds of 2024:

Diapason, Les Numériques, AVForums, Trusted Reviews… Find all the hi-fi and home theater equipment awarded by the French and international trade press with our press selections on Son-Vidéo.com.

Discover our selections on Son-Vidéo.com

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