There's a new issue of Australia's top magazine for audio & AV – and the July-August edition of Sound+Image is packed with reviews, news and comment to keep you up on all the latest, while considering your next hi-fi or AV purchase.
We lead on a set of new gear aiming to deliver bigscreen entertainment at home, perfect for the incoming wave of sport from Paris and elsewhere, and equally suited to movies, music and more on the big screen.
BIG SPORTS = BIG SCREENS
Big screens bring big sport home, as they do movies, TV drama and everything else! Start here for news of the giant TVs coming to Australia this year, then check our product reviews of top AV gear.
GIANT TVs from 98 to 115 inches coming to Australia
Not only giant, but with prices as low as $5999, 2024 is the year that giant TVs become a reality on the Australian market. But should you buy one?
BenQ W5800 4K DLP projector REVIEW
A full-sized ‘True 4K’ home cinema projector that brings brilliant colours and brightness for up to 200-inch screens.
Hisense C1 4K DLP ‘mini’ projector REVIEW
Hisense has ported its ‘Laser TV’ projection skills into this more conventional ‘mini’ projector, an easy-to-use smart and streaming cube.
Marantz Cinema 30 flagship AV receiver REVIEW
The company’s reference integrated brings 11 channels of power and 13 of processing. So we listened in 5.3.6…
JBL Bar 300 soundbar REVIEW
Just $530, but the Bar 300 combines an impressive five-channel feature set with sound both crisp and deep, from one box.
HI-FI REVIEWS
Rega Naia turntable REVIEW
The entry price for Rega’s top new vinyl spinner, a stunning skeletal marvel born from a cost-no-object R&D exercise.
Yamaha NS-2000A stereo loudspeakers REVIEW
Yamaha’s ‘Natural Sound’ concept as rarely described a product better, as exotic materials and piano gloss combine in these 2000 Series floorstanders.
OVER-EAR HEADPHONE REVIEWS
beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro ‘X’ Limited Edition over-ear wired headphones
Marking a company centenary, these ‘X’ limited-edition headphones upgrade to the latest driver technology.
Sonos Ace wireless noise-cancelling headphone
The long-awaited first headphones from Sonos look stylish and feel good. But sonically they play it very safe compared with talented competition.
Austrian Audio The Composer over-ear open wired headphones
Simply magnificent high-end home headphones from the former staff of AKG in Austria; these are a new and must-hear product.
TRUE WIRELESS EARBUDS
Find your new best buds among our 10-strong group test of True Wireless earbuds, ranging from $100 (or less) to $500.
- How to choose
- Earfun Air Pro 3
- Sony WF-C500
- JBL Live Pro 2 TWS
- Panasonic RZ-S500W
- Audio-Technica ATH-TWX7
- Sony WF-1000XM5
- Apple AirPods Pro 2
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds
- Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless
- Denon PerL Pro
PLUS NEWS, COMMENT, & FEATURES GALORE!
comment: Back to AI Again
The Editor becomes addicted to AI all over again, and this time it’s AI-generated music.
News
Vivid Audio goes massive with the Moya 1
Viewsonic 4K projectors
Sonus faber’s $1.4m Suprema speakers
KEF downgrades the little LSX II
Paradigm’s different kind of soundbars
Anthem shrinks AV receivers to 3cm high
Meze rewrites the Lirics
PSB re-Imagines its entry-level speaker series
Stax unpacks new earspeakers and driver
B&O respins a classic, at a price…
Meridian’s dinky Ellipse wireless speaker
WiiM brings affordable California streaming
Yamaha’s neat little mixer for gamers
Genelec @ JMC
We head to creative powerhouse JMC to hear a radical new floorstander from the Finns at Genelec.
show report
Munich High End 2024
Crazy hi-fi, even some relatively affordable systems — High End Munich continues to deliver Europe’s biggest annual hi-fi show.
Yamaha hits 70 years of hi-fi
The Japanese company was first to use the term ‘Hi-Fi’ on a consumer product back in 1954. Much has changed, but some things haven’t.
tech guide
Auracast broadcasting
If Auracast takes off, and we think it will, we’ll soon be able to tune into passing streams from TVs, stages, and strangers on trains.
interview
Reflections on Sennheiser
At Vivid in Sydney, Sennheiser launched its ‘Hear More’ campaign and we spoke with GM Anthony Brady about how Sennheiser is changing.
interview
Robby Krieger
The Doors were unstoppable until it all came crashing down. The band’s guitarist looks back at the highs and lows, and forward to his new work.
music reviews
New music from old names
New tunes from Paul Weller, Black Country Communion, Crowded House, and some rediscovered AI-enhanced Blue Őyster Cult.
classic track
Bat Out Of Hell
Jim Steinman wrote it for a Peter Pan musical. Thank heavens he met Meat Loaf first.
It’s all in Sound+Image #357 for July-August 2024. The magazine is available in newsagents now, and digitally through multiple platforms, including Readly, where you can peruse Sound+Image and thousands more Aussie and international magazines with a 1-month free trial, then AU$9.99p/m.
IN PRINT, DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR: Get any issue delivered for $16 now!