2025 is already proving to be an incredibly busy one for the What Hi-Fi? reviews team.
As well as covering the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where we saw key OLED TVs including the LG G5, Panasonic Z95B and Samsung S95F break ground, our reviewers also finished testing a wealth of big name products last month.
However, only six of them impressed our hi-fi and home cinema teams enough to earn our hallowed five-star rating.
Here’s what you need to know about them.
Rega Planar 3 RS Edition
Rega is a company with a strong track record in the turntable space. Over the decades our reviewers have constantly been impressed with its offerings, awarding numerous iterations five-star ratings.
So when we describe the latest RS edition as “the iconic Planar 3, but even better”, you should immediately understand quite how special it is. The record player features a number of additions, including a new plinth and brushed metal finish, that are designed to improve performance. Though it increases the unit's price, the tweaks worked a treat during testing, with our reviewers reporting:
“The Rega Planar 3 RS Edition is an elevated Planar 3, further refining an already excellent build and performance to deliver even more from your vinyl records and bring you closer to the music. It’s a beautifully designed turntable, too.”
Score: 5/5
Read our Rega Planar 3 RS Edition review
Austrian Audio Full Score One
Austrian Audio is a new brand that is already carving a strong track record in our listening rooms, with its stellar-value headphones, including the recently reviewed Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT, earning five-star ratings from our reviewers.
This continued with its first ever headphone amp, the Full Score One, which we finished reviewing last month. Though the unit isn’t as feature packed as some rivals, the purist, frill-free approach paid off during our checks.
Paired with with everything from Austrian Audio's The Composer (22 ohms), Sony’s MDR-Z1R (64 ohms), Focal’s Stellia (35 ohms) to Grado’s RS-1x (38 ohms) and early-generation Beyerdynamic T1 (600 ohms), the amp deliver excellent results. Hence our five-star rating and conclusion:
“For most headphone listeners the addition of a product like the Full Score One is a bit of an over-kill. But if you are truly obsessive about getting the most from your high-end headphones and have sources of sufficient quality, this Austrian Audio amplifier is warmly recommended.”
Score: 5/5
Read our Austrian Audio Full Score One review
Dali IO-8
The Dali IO-8 are the latest set of wireless headphones to earn a perfect five-star rating from our reviewers.
They sit in the upper end of the standard wireless market, above the Sony WH-1000XM5 but below the T+A Solitaire T. But based on our testing they are among the best wireless headphones money can buy right now. As well as delivering solid codec support, robust battery life and reliable ANC, the headphones offer brilliant audio quality, with our reviewers reporting:
“Dali’s core business may be based around an extensive range of hi-fi speakers but the IO-8 show that the company has plenty to offer the premium wireless headphones sector. Sure, we have some small ergonomic quibbles, but when it comes to performance and build quality these headphones are top-class.”
Score: 5/5
Read our Dali IO-8 review
Technics EAH-AZ100
The Technics EAH-AZ100 are another big product that fundamentally changed our buying advice last month. They're the first wireless earbuds from Technics to impress our reviewers enough to earn a five-star rating. They’re also the new recommended premium set in our general best wireless earbuds guide. Why? Because they sound sublime. As we said in our EAH-AZ100 review:
“The AZ100 is a well-thought-out design, with a comfortable fit, useful features and scope for customisation at nearly every step. But it’s the elevated performance that combines the Technics’ strengths of clarity, detail and spaciousness with the punch, presence and dynamic impact we were hoping for that cinches the deal.”
Score: 5/5
Read our Technics EAH-AZ100 review
Sony Bravia Projector 9 (VPL-XW8100ES)
The Sony Bravia Projector 9 is a device with big shoes to fill, being the successor to the Award-winning Sony XW7000ES and a direct rival to the JVC DLA-NZ800. Thankfully during our tests the projector lived up to the Japanese brand’s strong legacy in the home cinema space.
Paired with our reference set-up, the unit delivered stellar results with class leading image processing and offered a stunningly bright, colourful, detailed picture regardless of what test disc we threw at it. Hence our verdict:
“We don’t mind admitting that we’ve fallen head over heels in love with the Sony Projector 9. Its picture quality is truly, madly, transportatively magnificent, enjoying levels of detail, colour volume, brightness and three-dimensionality, especially with HDR visuals, that we’ve just never seen before.”
Score: 5/5
Read our Sony Bravia Projector 9 (VPL-XW8100ES) review
Cyrus 40 AMP
Cyrus’s 40 AMP is the latest integrated amplifier from the brand in quite some time – which automatically makes it interesting. It sits in the same new 40 series as the Cyrus 40 ST streamer we reviewed last year, which aims to modernise Cyrus's hi-fi offering. Thankfully, as well as clear modernisation features like the addition of a colour screen and sleek new design, Cyrus has also worked on its engineering and internals.
The end result is a modern, swish looking unit that delivers excellent sonic results when properly partnered – in our case with Naim’s ND555/555 PS DR and the Cyrus 40 ST music streamers as sources and either the Wilson Benesch Discovery 3Zero or ATC SCM 50 speakers.
As we said in our Cyrus 40 AMP review:
“It is fair to say that the Cyrus 40 AMP is a terrific product. It is well made and sensibly featured, but it is the excellent sound quality that sets it apart from the competition. We can’t think of a better all-rounder for the money, and given the quality of its rivals, that is saying something. Having heard the 40 ST streamer and now the 40 AMP, we believe that they have the star quality necessary to give the brand the kind of rebirth it craves. Highly recommended.”
Score: 5/5
Read our Cyrus 40 AMP review
MORE:
These are the best wireless headphones we’ve tested
We rate the best projectors
Our picks of the best stereo amps
