Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025: experience 8K Mini LED picture quality and surround sound with a twist at our exclusive demo
This year’s choice of speaker package is a little left-field…

The Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 is just around the corner and, as ever, the team at What Hi-Fi? will be on hand to answer all your home cinema and hi-fi questions.
But that’s not all. As is the tradition, we will also bring you a home cinema experience like no other with a big-screen TV and surround sound system wired up and ready to blow you off your feet (don't worry – there will be seating). And this year we’ve decided to try something fun and a little bit different with our choice of speaker package.
We’ll be showing you how video content has changed through the ages by working our way up through the formats (DVD, Blu-ray, 4K Blu-ray and even 8K) and we’ll do it via Samsung's top of the range Mini LED TV. If you've been wondering just how good picture quality can get, now is your chance to see it for yourself.
Our demo will centre around the 85-inch version of the five-star Samsung QN900D. This is a TV that wowed us when we had it in for review and we are delighted to be able to show this enormous version of it to you at Bristol in the flesh.
But the fun doesn’t stop there. Besides the picture, we’ll also bring the noise with an explosive surround sound demo. This year we’re trying something a little bit different and firing up a full-blown 7.2 speaker package built using one of our favourite standmount speakers, the Wharfedale Linton. They might not be a traditional choice for a home cinema system, but they blend retro good looks and outstandingly natural sound. And we think they will be a great match for the electronics we’ve chosen…
The speakers (and two Wharfedale SW-12 subwoofers) will be powered by the mighty Marantz Cinema 30 AV receiver. This is a five-star performer that also happens to power the reference home cinema system in our London test rooms – and we’re sure it’s going to help the Wharfedale package hit all the right notes at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show.
The system’s picture and sound will be delivered courtesy of one of Magnetar's fabulously premium 4K Blu-ray players. We haven't actually reviewed this disc spinner yet, so you can help us in the early stages of our evaluation!
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The demo will run from Friday 21st February through Sunday 23rd February, at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Bristol City Centre hotel – get your tickets now.
MORE:
Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025: dates, tickets and what to expect
7 hi-fi products I’m looking forward to hearing at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show next week
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Andy is Deputy Editor of What Hi-Fi? and a consumer electronics journalist with nearly 20 years of experience writing news, reviews and features. Over the years he's also contributed to a number of other outlets, including The Sunday Times, the BBC, Stuff, and BA High Life Magazine. Premium wireless earbuds are his passion but he's also keen on car tech and in-car audio systems and can often be found cruising the countryside testing the latest set-ups. In his spare time Andy is a keen golfer and gamer.

















