Rewind: our final verdict on the Sony Bravia 9 TV, a retrospective on a KEF classic, and more

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

Happy Monday and welcome to the latest entry into What Hi-Fi?’s Rewind news digest, were we detail all the big hi-fi and home cinema headlines to break in the past week.

As much as our team of experts would love a break, it was another busy one in What Hi-Fi? towers, with our experts delivering their final verdict on Sony’s latest flagship TV and our hi-fi wizards taking a fond look back at a landmark in speaker design.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Sony’s Bravia 9 is a tricky beast

Sony Bravia 9 Mini LED TV — (Image credit: What Hi-Fi? / Netflix, Our Planet II)

2023 was a great year for Sony TVs with its flagship A80L OLED winning a product of the year accolade at the What Hi-Fi? Awards. So we had high hopes for its 2024 flagship, the Bravia 9, which is interesting for a couple of reasons.

First, because it’s huge with sizes starting at a whopping 75-inches in the UK and most other territories. The US is the only territory to get a smaller 65-inch option.

Second, because despite Sony’s success with OLED, it uses a Mini LED panel. Did the changes pay off? After thorough testing our team found for the most part, yes, though the TV is undeniably fussy and needs a lot of tweaking if you want to get the most out of it.

Read our full Sony Bravia 9 review

We compared Dyson’s OnTrac headphones to Bose’s best

Dyson OnTrac headphones with red, green and silver finishes — (Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

Last week our team took the time to take an opening look at how Dyson’s newly unveiled wireless headphones, the OnTrac, compare to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. This is a key comparison as Dyson made a big song and dance about the OnTrac’s active nose cancellation (ANC) capabilities, claiming its experience designing vacuums and fans means it has “mastered the physics of sound”. This apparently puts it in a prime position to dethrone the class leader, Bose, at ANC performance.

Read the full article: Dyson OnTrac vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: what are the differences?

Physical media is making a comeback

A stack of Blu-ray cases on a wooden shelf — (Image credit: Future)

For years, outside of vinyl, most forecasts suggest physical media is in rapid decline. But last week fresh sales numbers from retailer HMV suggested this may not actually be the case as of DVD and Blu-ray are back on the rise! As fans of the formats, this was music to our ears. Now we just need to get the same thing happening for MiniDisc and SACD…

Read the full story: 4K Blu-ray strikes back against streaming according to one of Britain's largest entertainment retailers

We reminisced about KEF’s iconic Reference 104/2 (1984) speakers

KEF Reference 104/2 floorstanding speakers — (Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

Old enough to remember, or even have listened to KEF’s legendary Reference 104/2 speakers? Even if you’re not you’ll want to read our technical editor, Ketan Bharadia’s latest That Was Then… column where he takes a fond look back at what to this day are remembered as a landmark in speaker design.

Read the full article: That Was Then… KEF Reference 104/2 (1984)

MORE:

These are the best TVs we've reviewed

Our pick of the best KEF speakers

We rate the best Blu-ray players

TOPICS

Alastair is What Hi-Fi?’s editor in chief. He has well over a decade’s experience as a journalist working in both B2C and B2B press. During this time he’s covered everything from the launch of the first Amazon Echo to government cyber security policy. Prior to joining What Hi-Fi? he served as Trusted Reviews’ editor-in-chief. Outside of tech, he has a Masters from King’s College London in Ethics and the Philosophy of Religion, is an enthusiastic, but untalented, guitar player and runs a webcomic in his spare time.