Welcome to the first entry into our new In For Review column where we’ll reveal the latest products we have coming into our viewing and listening rooms for testing (embargoes allowing) on the first Monday of each month.
As well as detailing the products our team of hi-fi and home cinema experts will be testing and publishing full reviews of each month, we’ll also be taking questions for every item on the list – so if you’re curious about a specific design detail, area of its performance, or anything else, make sure to get in touch on our forums, social media feeds or whathifi@futurenet.com email address.
Kicking us off we have an epic list of audio and home cinema products, ranging from Technics’ latest turntable and Cambridge Audio’s latest all-in-one system, to entry level TVs and premium soundbars, in the pipeline for the What Hi-Fi? review treatment.
Here’s what you need to know about them.
1. B&W Zeppelin Pro Edition
The Bowers and Wilkins Zeppelin is an iconic line of speakers that, believe it or not, started in 2007 as an iPod dock before becoming a wireless speaker in 2021 as the four-star B&W Zeppelin, which you can still find and buy in most stores.
We currently have the newest Zeppelin Pro wireless speaker in for review. The Pro variant was unveiled at the end of last year and brings a number of design and technical improvements to the table. The two biggest are the use of B&W’s latest titanium dome tweeters – which also feature in its latest 600-series loudspeakers – and 9cm midrange drivers featuring the same 'Fixed Suspension Transducer' (FST) technology seen on a wealth for firm’s premium floorstanders.
2. Cambridge Audio Evo One
The Cambridge Audio Evo One was unveiled last year and is the British hi-fi house’s answer to the Naim Mu-so 2 and Ruark Audio R410 – two all in one systems that earned perfect five star ratings from our reviewers.
Thankfully Cambridge Audio’s armed it well to give it a fighting chance against its established rivals. Under the hood it houses four 25mm silk dome tweeters, four 5.7cm aluminium cone midrange units and six 7cm woofers. That adds up to a total 14-driver count, that’s powered by 700W of amplification. Here’s hoping it delivers the goods when we run it head-to-head with its arch-rivals later this month!
3. Esoteric F-01 integrated amplifier
The Esoteric F-01 integrated amplifier is the only Temptation level product set to get the What Hi-Fi? review treatment this month – which automatically makes it an interesting unit. Outside of this it is a big deal as it sits in the same space and family as the Esoteric K-05XD SACD player, which won a What Hi-Fi? Award last year.
It’s the premium option in the Japanese firm’s current line of integrated amplifiers and comes with some impressive hardware. The 30-watt per channel (into eight ohms) Class A amplifier features a number of the technologies the firm pioneered and continues to use in its Grandioso X Edition designs. We’ll be excited to see how it performs when we fully review it this month.
4. Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 8
The Bravia Theatre Bar 8 is the step down option in Sony’s current line of soundbars, sitting just below the five-star Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 we reviewed last year. The big difference is that it has 11 drivers to the Bravia 9’s 13 drivers. These include four X-balanced woofers, up-firing drivers and side speakers. Considering how impressed we continue to be with the Theatre Bar 9, which offers a solid sense of height playing Atmos audio, we have high hopes for the Theatre Bar 8.
5. LG QNED91
The LG QNED91 is one of the top Mini LED options in the Korean firm’s “QNED” range of TVs. This puts it in direct competition with the four-star Hisense U8N and Samsung QN95D we tested last year. Will it finally be able to break flagship Mini LED TVs’ run of four star ratings? We’ll find out this month when we put it through its paces in our dedicated viewing rooms.
6. Epson EF-22
The Epson EF-22 is a compact “coffee table” laser projector from the giant home cinema brand. Designed for ease of use, the projector has some decent specifications considering its target market. These include the ability to project a 150-inch image onto nearby walls and 1000 lumens max brightness.
Sure, these aren’t best in class, especially compared to the “proper” home cinema options in our main best projectors guide, but considering its £1000 (around £1320 / AU$1955) price it looks pretty impressive. If it delivers the goods when we run it against rivals from Xgimi, Hisense and their ilk in our viewing rooms later this month, it could be a nice option for casual movie fans on the hunt for a no-fuss projector.
MORE:
These are the best TVs we’ve tested
Our picks of the best stereo amplifiers
We rate the best hi-fi systems
