26 Products of the Year – the best of the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2015

104 products took home Best Buy Awards at this year’s ceremony but there can only be one outright winner in each category. The Product of the Year represents the best performance-per-pound piece of kit in each section, and comes together to make the ultimate Christmas 2015 tech shopping list.

The following list of 26 products covers TVs, turntables, wireless speakers, headphones, DACs, stereo amps and much more besides, including two new categories for this year: portable music players and the Temptation Award, which represents the best in high-end tech.

Want to know more? Click through to read the reviews or head over to our Awards 2015 site for the full list of winners.

MORE: What Hi-Fi? Awards 2015 winners

TVs

Samsung UE48J6300

Tested at £700 - compare latest prices

A fantastic picture, decent sound and incredibly easy to use, this Samsung TV has it all.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best TVs

Soundbars and soundbases

Q Acoustics Media 4

Tested at £330 - compare prices

A second win in a row for this Q Acoustics soundbar. Not only has it been able to fend off the competition, it's had a price reduction in to the bargain.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best soundbars and soundbases

Stereo speakers

B&W 685 S2

Tested at £500 - compare prices

It's a repeat win for B&W with the 685 S2 speakers, which once again proved to be more enjoyable and engaging than any other pairs of speakers that we've heard this year.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best stereo speakers

Blu-ray players

Panasonic DMP-BDT370

Tested at £100 - compare prices

Panasonic has done what we thought was impossible, and taken Sony's crown for best Blu-ray player. This player delivers a stonkingly good picture for the money and throws in 4K upscaling too.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best Blu-ray players

Wireless speakers

Audio Pro Addon T3

Tested at £165 - compare prices

The wireless speaker market is always hotly contested, which makes the Addon T3 even more of a triumph.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best wireless speakers

On-ear headphones

AKG Y50

Tested at £50 - compare prices

The Y50s are a perfect example of style and substance done well, which is why they've won a Product of the Year Award for a second year running.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best on-ear headphones

In-ear headphones

Sennheiser Momentum M2 in-ear

Tested at £90 - compare prices

Sennheiser has had a great year with its Momentum range of headphones, but it's the in-ear model that really blew us away.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best in-ear headphones

Tablets

Apple iPad Air 2

Tested at £400 - compare prices

The iPad Air 2 is hands-down the best tablet on the market today, and the ultimate choice for bigger-than-smartphone-sized entertainment.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best tablets

Multi-room systems

Bluesound Generation 2

From £270 - compare prices

Bluesound already had the best-sounding multi-room system, but the Gen 2 has made it even better.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best multi-room speakers

Stereo amplifiers

Cambridge CXA60

Tested at £500 - compare prices

The CXA60 ticks all the boxes: great sound, good looks, digital inputs and high-res audio support. It's a brilliant success.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best stereo amplifiers

Turntables

Rega RP3/Elys 2

Tested at £550 - compare prices

We're really starting to wonder if there'll ever be another turntable that can dethrone the RP3. If you're looking to get into vinyl, or want to replace an old deck, this is the one to buy.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best turntables

Systems

Denon D-M40DAB

Tested at £349 - compare prices

Denon really does know how to make a micro system and the D-M40DAB sounds better than ever before.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best systems

DACs

Chord Mojo

Tested at £399 - compare prices

We fell in love with the Mojo as soon as we heard it. It delivers much of the sound of the £1400 Hugo at a fraction of the price.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best DACs

Home cinema amplifiers

Denon AVR-X2200W

Tested at £500 - compare prices

Denon's latest AV receiver delivers a wonderful articulated sound, has stacks of functionality and is future-proof for some years to come.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best home cinema amplifiers

Speaker packages

Monitor Audio Bronze B5 AV

Tested at £1500 - compare prices

The Bronze B5 AV package looks good and sounds even better. It'll play nice with movie soundtracks as well as music, making it a truly versatile option.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best speaker packages

Projectors

Epson EH-TW7200

Tested at £1900 - compare prices

Epson has triumphed for a second year with the TW7200. It delivers a truly immersive viewing experience and is the best option for big-screen entertainment.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best projectors

CD players & transports

Cyrus CDi

Tested at £975 - compare prices

Cyrus is another repeat winner in 2015 with the CDi. It's a hugely entertaining player that's better than anything else at this price.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best CD players & transports

Streamers

Cambridge CXN

Tested at £700 - compare prices

The CXN is a stylish, feature-packed streamer that sounds great and is a joy to use. If you're in the market for a music streamer, look no further.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best streamers

Radios

Roberts Stream 93i

Tested at £150 - compare prices

Roberts has won top honours again with the Stream 93i. It serves up a scintillating sound and provides some genuinely useful extras.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best radios

Set-top boxes

Sky+ HD 2TB

Tested at £250 - compare prices

Sky's offering of TV, catch-up and on-demand content betters the competition. The box also delivers a superb HD picture and an intuitive interface.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best set-top boxes

Portable music players

Astell & Kern AK Jr

Tested at £400 - compare prices

The AK Jr won the first ever portable music player Award thanks to its incredible build quality and performance, all in a relatively affordable package.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best portable music players

Accessories

Chord Company Clearway

Tested at £10 - compare prices

This Chord speaker cable will help stitch together all the instruments in whatever piece you're listening to, resulting in better musicality and greater dynamics.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best accessories

Smartphones

Apple iPhone 6S

Tested from £free - compare prices

The iPhone may not be able to compete on paper due to its lesser specs, but in reality it can more than hold its own. Couple a good screen and great sound with a slick interface and it's easy to see why it's our champion once again.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best smartphones

Temptation

VPI Prime

Tested at £3750 - compare prices

The Temptation category is another new one for 2015 and the inaugural winner was the VPI Prime. Never have we heard such an impressive sound from a turntable at this price. A well deserved winner.

MORE: Awards 2015: Temptation Award

Streaming services

BBC iPlayer

Tested at £free

BBC's iPlayer walked home with the Product of the Year this year thanks to its vast array of content, easy to use interface and its availability on pretty much every platform.

MORE: Awards 2015: Best streaming services

Readers' Award

Naim Mu-so

Tested at £895 - compare prices

No What Hi-Fi? Awards would be complete without you, the readers, having your say. The votes flooded in and the unanimous winner was the Naim Mu-so - and we won't argue. It's a tremendous wireless speaker that does a brilliant job of delivering hi-fi sound from one box.

MORE: Awards 2015: Readers' Award

MORE: See all 104 What Hi-Fi? Awards 2015 winners

Max is a staff writer for What Hi-Fi?'s sister site, TechRadar, in Australia. But being the wonderful English guy he is, he helps out with content across a number of Future sites, including What Hi-Fi?. It wouldn't be his first exposure to the world of all things hi-fi and home cinema, as his first role in technology journalism was with What Hi-Fi? in the UK. Clearly he pined to return after making the move to Australia and the team have welcomed him back with arms wide open.