Prime Day 2024's opening salvo of deals is just about over, and boy did it bring a lot of ammunition to the event.
Over the past 24 hours our team of hi-fi and home cinema experts have trawled through hundreds, if not thousands of store pages and deals spreadsheets hunting for the best discounts to recommend to you, our lovely readers.
But from this heavily culled shortlist of deals our experts recommend, which number in the mere dozens, three in particular stood out to What Hi-Fi?’s crack team of editors.
Cambridge Audio’s five star amp gets a hefty discount
It’s no secret that many of the best core hi-fi deals during Prime Day aren’t actually on Amazon, which is why we always keep an eye on specialist retailers, including Richer Sounds, Sevenoaks Sound and Vision and Peter Tyson during the event. But this year Amazon massively bucked that trend with its stellar saving on the Cambridge Audio CXA81 amp. Though the new CXA81 MK II has since been unveiled the original is still a very impressive piece of hardware, as evidenced by the fact it was a repeat What Hi-Fi? Award winner all the way up until 2022. Having used it repeatedly over the past two years I can also confirm it’s still an excellent performer sonically, with it offering confident audio when paired well. As a prog rock fan I'm particularly fond of its stellar rhythmic precision and strong dynamics. With a massive £300 shed of its price, letting you grab the amp for just £699 it’s also one of, if not the best amp you’ll find at this price and a personal Prime Day highlight.
The LG C4 gets its price slashed
I’ve covered Prime Day since it became a thing. So, it’s rare for me to get genuinely surprised during the yearly sales event. Usually we see the retail giant use the sales festival as a clever way to clear stock of last year’s TVs, as it makes room for the newer sets, which only tend to get “proper” deals during Black Friday in November. This year specialist retailers including Richer Sounds and Sevenoaks, as well as LG with its direct store well and truly bucked that trend offering genuinely enticing savings on the LG C4 OLED TV. Today I saw huge savings including a “blink and you’ll miss” reduction on the 77-inch LG C4, that let you grab the set for just £2000, a huge discount on its regular £3800 price. While that deal came and went fast, there are still a number of deals on the smaller sizes, the most enticing of which for me is on the 55-inch LG C4, which is still selling heavily discounted on LG direct. Considering how well the C4 performed in our test rooms, where it delivered a wonderfully authentic, but dynamic picture and significantly improved audio on its predecessor – though I’d still recommend picking up a soundbar with it – this makes it my current personal highlight of Prime Day 2024.
A lovely saving on a reader-favourite streamer
I’ve been keeping an eye on the WiiM Pro Plus’s price for any drops the second Prime Day started – that’s because while this little music streamer is already terrific value at its full retail price of £219/$219, any discounts are more than welcome, and they only come around once or twice a year and is gone in a flash. Sure enough, you can make significant savings on this Award-winning compact streamer right now – with £50 off at Richer Sounds, Sevenoaks and Peter Tyson in the UK, and over $40 off at Amazon US – and boy, is it worth it. I’ve been living with the WiiM streamer for a year now, and not only does its tiny size fit neatly in my cramped hi-fi cabinet, but it also connects easily to my mid-80s hi-fi system and imbues it with all the wireless streaming powers I could possibly want at my fingertips. Add in a detailed, enjoyable and organised sound and slick app experience, and this little box is a delight to use and listen to with all genres of music. It’s one of the most affordable Prime Day hi-fi deals around, too.
MORE:
Check out our picks of the best Prime Day hi-fi deals
We rate the best Prime Day OLED TV deals
We rate the best Prime Day soundbar deals