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The best TV tech has finally come to ‘smaller’ sized TVs, and we round up the finest of those more compact premium sets
Once upon a time, 32 inches of television screen was big. It seems remarkable now, but the TVs we’re focussing on in this issue of What Hi-Fi? would have been considered huge.
But time moves apace, and the wondrous new flat-panel TV tech most of us now love means that the 55-inch screen is fairly commonplace and 65 inches is the new big. Some of us, though, simply don’t have the space to accommodate such screen acreage; but until recently the major manufacturers have devoted their attention – and the highest TV tech – to those larger sizes.
But those with more limited space and means rejoice. Finally, the joys of OLED and QLED have hit the mid-size, or ‘smaller’ TV categories: our round-up of top 42 and 43-inch TVs is perfect for a smaller room. To go with those lovely TVs we also round-up a clutch of new Dolby Atmos soundbars to rival the mighty Sonos Arc.
And, since it’s that time of the season, we present our Christmas gift guide featuring pressie ideas for the AV and hi-fi fan in your life. Read all this and more in this month’s What Hi-Fi?
And, as usual, we also have reviews of the very latest hi-fi and AV products in our First Tests section.
You can subscribe or buy the latest issue here (opens in new tab), or buy the digital edition on iPhone, iPad (opens in new tab), Android devices or Kindle edition (opens in new tab).
Buyers of ‘small’ TVs – 42 or 43-inch sizes that are a much more convenient size for the living rooms many of us inhabit – have for a while been at a disadvantage when it comes to genuine flagship quality, with the best quality displays, cleverest processing and most fully-featured specs generally reserved for TVs at least 55 inches in size. In short, until now, those with modestly sized rooms have been barred from owning the best TVs.
This last year though has seen true flagship performance hitting the TV small-time, with 42-inch OLEDs finally available in the form of LG’s OLED42C2 and Sony’s XR-42A90K. The quality of LCD TVs smaller than 55 inches, meanwhile, has also until very recently been disappointing. Thankfully, Samsung launched a 43-inch version of its QN90A QLED last year, and now there’s a 2022 edition, the QE43QN90B.
We’ve gathered all three of these brilliantly-sized TVs and put them to the test, pitching each one’s picture quality, features and sound quality against one another and the larger screen sizes in each one’s respective ranges.
So, if you’re after flagship quality with a more compact footprint, check out this month’s issue of What Hi-Fi? as we shine a spotlight on these small wonders of the TV world.
In this month’s mag, we round up the best earbuds that make use of noise-cancelling technology, with Apple, Bose, Sennheiser, Sony and Samsung battling it out in our group test.
Wireless in-ears are the most popular and arguably convenient way to enjoy your music on the go, and the premium buds we round up this month will all provide great audio alongside the impressive ANC tech.
So grab a copy of the latest What Hi-Fi?, shut out the outside world and settle in for our premium noise-cancelling earbuds round-up.
This month we lead with a review of Sky Stream – all the goodness of Sky TV without a satellite dish, streamed via a small, puck-like device. Read our thoughts on this latest, and some would say tardy, way to enjoy Sky’s quality content without having to get a great big dish stuck onto the outside of your home.
British hi-fi brand Bowers & Wilkins knows a thing or two about speaker technology, and its latest premium 705 S3 speakers have a lofty price tag, but does the performance match it?
Focal is a truly premium headphone brand (check out our Temptations pages this month to see the company’s Utopia reviewed), and its latest noise-cancelling over-ears, the Focal Bathys, are tested this month. That’s not it for over-ear headphones though, as we also run the rule over Bowers & Wilkins’ Px8 noise-cancellers too.
German TV brand Loewe makes a welcome return to the UK with a new set, the premium-feeling Bild i.55. And if you like your AV experience to be on-the-go, we also test Apple’s 10th-gen iPad for its worthiness in this regard.
Triangle’s AIO Twin is a talented, versatile and great-sounding all-in-one hi-fi system, and we have a full review this month, while reviews of Google’s latest smartphone, the Pixel 7, and an ingeniously upgraded speaker cable from Chord, the 2022 Rumour X, round off our testing this month.
Find out what we made of all these products in January’s What Hi-Fi?
This month we take a look at an AV receiver from Arcam that offers up serious performance for a serious price tag. The AVR31 has to be heard to be believed, and in our review we note that this great bit of home cinema kit “uncovers a nuance and lyricism in the strident score of the latest Bond movie that we hadn’t previously been aware of”.
And we promised you more from premium French headphones brand Focal. Its Utopia headphones are a cut above, and a good amount of money above, other noise-cancelling over-ears. Do they justify the price? You’d better believe it. Find out more in January’s What Hi-Fi?
Whatever you do, don’t miss the January 2023 issue of What Hi-Fi? Grab a copy today, or simply download it onto your tablet or smartphone. Enjoy!
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Chris is What Hi-Fi?’s Production Editor. He has 25 years under his belt as an online and print magazine journalist, editing and writing about music, film, sport, video games and more. Having started his career at the NME, he spent 10 years on staff at legendary lad’s mag Loaded, and has since been Editor of Rhythm and Official Xbox magazines.
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