Sony TV and earbuds win big, hi-fi price hikes, and a cool new feature from Spotify

It may be Easter Monday, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make every effort to stay apprised of all the latest hi-fi and home cinema news.

Here to help you do just that, our team of experts has penned a fresh entry into our weekly Rewind news digest.

It was a busy week for our team. Fresh off the back of running our Vinyl Week special event, we published our final verdict on two big releases from Sony and dealt with the fallout of a hi-fi price hike resulting from US tariffs.

Here is what you need to know.

Sony’s affordable ANC earbuds are excellent

The Sony WF-C700N have been a staple sight in our best wireless earbuds guide for quite some time. Which is why last week we were impressed to find Sony has miraculously managed to improve on the 700N’s Award-winning formula with its new WF-C710N earbuds.

The buds offer the same unique selling point, aiming to offer a great value set of active noise cancellation earbuds at a bargain price. During testing we found they deliver key improvements in all the areas we care about.

At a technical level they have an additional mic in each earbud, which helps improve call quality and ANC performance. Sony’s also lengthened their battery life by an hour, making them last just about long enough for a flight from London to New York.

But most importantly, they sound better than their predecessor. During testing we found they offer a more controlled bass, and can deliver tracks with a sense of musicality you simply don’t get with most earbuds this price.

Which is why they earned an impressive five-star recommendation.

Read our full Sony WF-C710N review

Its latest Mini LED is also pretty cool

The C710N were one of two Sony products to get the thumbs up from our reviewers last week. We also gave its latest Mini LED, the Bravia 7, a five star rating.

The TV is interesting as it targets the upper mid-range market. Its key selling point is that it features a lot of the same features as the flagship Bravia 9 Mini LED we reviewed and gave four stars to last year.

These include the advanced backlight tech, Quantum Dot colour system, driven by Sony’s Triluminos technology and latest Sony XR processor.

Does it deliver the goods? During testing we were incredibly impressed with the Bravia 7, with it managing to avoid most of the pitfalls associated with Mini LED. Specifically, rather than focus on “oomph” and showing how bright the panel can go, the Bravia 7 focusses on consistency and control.

The end result is a Mini LED that offers a truly immersive viewing experience where you’re focussed on what’s playing on screen, not what the panel is doing. Hence our glowing conclusion:

“While not feeling quite as explosive and ‘next-gen’ as the Bravia 9, the Bravia 7’s images are actually a little more consistent, resulting in as good a mid-range LCD TV as we’re likely to see this year.”

Read our full Sony Bravia 7 review

Hi-fi price hikes look inevitable

The current global climate means there is a lot of uncertainty around the cost of electronics. This is especially true in the world of audio, where a lot of companies rely on parts and manufacturing from regions currently being heavily targeted by US government tariffs.

Last week we did a call-around with some big name brands to gauge what impact this will have on the cost of everything from premium separates to affordable headphones – and the responses we got aren’t good.

Audio Pro confirmed it will have to increase prices and Cambridge Audio told us it expects it will have to follow suit in the near future. Off the record numerous others told us, while they have nothing to announce yet, they are monitoring the situation and expect the cost of products to increase “soon” if the economic climate doesn’t change.

Read the full story: A key audio brand has confirmed it is raising prices – and others may soon follow

Spotify got one up on Tidal

If you’ve checked our best music streaming services buying guide recently, you will know we recommend Tidal over Spotify.

Tidal offers hi-res streams and costs less. Spotify meanwhile is stuck in the dark ages, capping its quality at CD, so until its improved Spotify HiFi tier appears, it’s a very hard sell for serious music fans.

But last week, our managing editor, Becky Roberts, found herself green with envy over one feature her partner was enjoying that she couldn’t on Spotify.

Specifically, its new “Concerts Near You” playlist, which uses your geo-location data to offer a curated mix of tracks from artists with gigs near you.

Read the full story: Spotify finally has a feature I'm truly envious of as a Tidal user

MORE:

These are the best Sony earbuds we’ve reviewed

Our picks of the best Mini LED TVs

We rate the best wireless headphones