As the nights start to draw in and your favourite autumnal TV shows finally air (we know you're excited to hear that Strictly is actually going ahead this year), you'll want to know which TV is categorically and unequivocally the best for 2020.
Great news: your search ends the moment you grab the latest copy of What Hi-Fi?
Of course, it's not all gloriously-detailed pixels – want to know what we thought of Audeze's latest open-back headphones, LG's new Dolby Atmos soundbar or whether we'd plump for Rega's refinement over Marantz's energy when it comes to stereo amplification for your system? It's all in the new issue.
And before we forget, there's a £10 subscription deal live right now! For a limited time you can take out a quarterly subscription of three print and digital issues for only £10, meaning that on top of saving a princely sum over the newsstand price, the three months of technology news, reviews and features will land on your doormat and on your iPhone, iPad, Android device or Kindle.
You can subscribe or buy the latest issue here, or buy the digital edition on iPhone, iPad, Android devices or Kindle edition.
We've got to test these colour TVs
This month we've shone our spotlight on the world's first 48in OLED. Since the first full-size OLED TV arrived in 2012 (a 55in model) the industry took its time to manufacture anything smaller. It is finally here, and it's called the LG OLED48CX. Has the wait been worth it, and do we recommend delving a little deeper into your sky-rockets to buy one? It's all in the new issue.
But that's just one of seven products in our First Tests section this month. This is the place where you'll find our original independent reviews of new kit arriving on the market.
Under our intense gaze this month are the new open-back LCD-1 headphones from Audeze, Neat's Ministra standmount speakers (boasting ribbon tweeters, isobaric bass configuration and unfussy placement), two Dolby Atmos soundbars (one from LG, one from JBL), Dynaudio Contour 20i speakers, and Audio-Technica's new stepped-up MC cartridge – now part of a five-strong range.
You can subscribe or buy the latest issue here, or buy the digital edition on iPhone, iPad, Android devices or Kindle edition.
For a limited time, you can take out a quarterly subscription of three print and digital issues for only £10.
Ready for your close-up?
If we were to audition for the best female screen star of all time, Glenn Close, Gloria Swanson, Nancy Olson and Meryl Streep might be chatting in the holding room. Cate Blanchette and Judi Dench could be comparing notes in the hall. Katharine Hepburn would probably be laughing with us, in the studio. Yes, it's quite the line-up of talent.
That scenario sadly isn't possible, of course, but it does set the scene: the five 55in TVs we auditioned in order to cast our winner all boast high-calibre performances before they even step in the room – it's hardly a spoiler to divulge that each gained a five-star review in its own right.
But will the winner be an OLED from Sony, LG, Panasonic or Philips, or will the Samsung QLED get the call? You'll have to read the new issue – you simply won't find out any other way.
One-on-one sonic skirmishes
When two excellent machines go toe-to-toe, the result is a gripping fight to the finish line. This month, we've lined up three such sonic head-to-heads, kicking off with the Award-winning Marantz PM6006 UK Edition versus the relative newbie Rega io. It was a photo-finish, but we did find a winner.
Other scuffles this month were fought between the as-yet unreleased Xbox Series X and Sony PlayStation 5, plus the 606 and 607 bookshelf speaker siblings from Bowers & Wilkins – and as Whitney Otto once wrote, "No one fights dirtier or more brutally than blood; only family knows it’s own weaknesses, the exact placement of the heart."
So when push came to shove, which one won? There was a clear victor. You'll understand why when you pick up your new issue of What Hi-Fi?
You can subscribe or buy the latest issue here, or buy the digital edition on iPhone, iPad, Android devices or Kindle edition.
For a limited time, you can take out a quarterly subscription of three print and digital issues for only £10.
Cliff notes
No, we're not offering a thorough appraisal of We Don't Talk Anymore – although it's a stone cold Cliff Richard belter. Turn your minds instead to HDMI 2.1. This new standard makes some big promises: ultra hi-res pictures and impeccable surround-sound to your home cinema set-up.
But are these names still just, well, pure letters and numbers to you? If you don't know your eARCs from your VRRs (variable refresh rates) yet, we've got just the piece in our new issue. Give us 20 minutes, we'll put you in the best possible picture.
Hi-fi in the sky
3D holographic football? KEF LS50 wireless standmount speakers as floorstanders? A Spotify Hi-Fi tier? Cambridge Audio Melomania 2 true wireless headphones? We're so spoilt for choice these days, it seems like the only boundary limiting our scope for invention and innovation is our imagination.
So we've taken the bull by the horns and dreamt it, in the hopes that the audio outfits involved will do it. We humbly hope that the talented audio engineers concerned will go ahead and take it to the limit one more time.
You can subscribe or buy the latest issue here, or buy the digital edition on iPhone, iPad, Android devices or Kindle edition.
For a limited time, you can take out a quarterly subscription of three print and digital issues for only £10.
The artist always has the master in their eyes
If you're keen to put all of your new-found HDMI 2.1 knowledge to the test, our Midrange Masters round-up is the one: three larger-screen TVs from Panasonic, Samsung and Hisense. You'll find three inches and a £400 difference between them, but size isn't everything and paying more money doesn't always buy quality...
Our Temptations section features some pretty expensive kit, but that's why we bring it to you. The delectable offerings featured this month are the Audiovector R1 Arreté standmount speakers, and Cambridge Audio's integrated amplifier, the Edge A.
On top of all this, there is our definitive guide to the best home entertainment your money can buy, our regularly updated Buyer's Guide. If you're looking to upgrade what you currently own, don't click 'buy' unless you've read about it here first.
You can subscribe or buy the latest issue here, or buy the digital edition on iPhone, iPad, Android devices or Kindle edition
For a limited time, you can take out a quarterly subscription of three print and digital issues for only £10.