Best Buys – Audio & AV

Best Buys Audio & AV is loaded to the gills with authoritative reviews on all types of hi-fi and home theatre products, from wireless speakers to valve amplifiers, AV projectors and streaming computer audio – it’s a must-read for those looking to assemble or upgrade their home entertainment systems. By publishing easy-to-read, well researched reviews, Best Buys Audio & AV provides at-a-glance summaries together with detailed reviews by Australia’s most experienced hi-fi and AV teams from Sound+Image and Australian Hi-Fi magazines.

Best Buys Audio & AV

SIX WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR SYSTEM • Finding the perfect gear is one thing; getting the best from it can be quite another. Consider the basics, add a few tweaks, and you can reap the sonic rewards.

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO ALVA TT V2 TURNTABLE • This attractive turntable is unusual in keeping a full focus on sound quality, including a bespoke moving-coil cartridge, while still bringing convenience features such as its own internal phono stage, and the ability to play via Bluetooth.

HOW TO CHOOSE A PROJECTION SCREEN • Leaving the projection screen as an afterthought can seriously damage your overall home cinema performance, warns Paul Kutcher.

BENQ X3000i UHD PROJECTOR • Don’t leave it only to the gamers: BenQ’s X3000i is a serious projector capable of handling movies and streaming for all-round bigscreen entertainment.

EPSON EH-LS12000B 4K PRO-UHD PROJECTOR • The new LS12000B projector sees Epson lifting its midrange performance up to the next level, with high-brightness big-screen images, realistic colours and excellent optimisation. It’s a stunning performer.

TCL 55C835 4K MINI LED TELEVISION • TCL’s latest 4K 55-inch television shows how Mini LED screen technology is now challenging OLED performance levels across the board.

ANTHEM AVM 90 AV PREAMPLIFIER + PROCESSOR • Designed as a range-topping technology leader, Anthem’s AV processor provides for the highest quality of AV systems up to 15 channels, plus four differentiated subwoofers.

BOWERS & WILKINS PANORAMA 3 SOUNDBAR • Soundbars are supposed to be about simplicity, but some of them are downright complicated. Not the latest Panorama from Bowers & Wilkins. It’s genuinely plug-and-play, with not even a subwoofer to worry about.

POLK MAGNIFI MINI AX SOUND LOZENGE & SUBWOOFER • We were quite amazed by the movie sound performance from Polk’s little humpy of a sound lozenge which sits below or in front of your TV, backed by a rather special subwoofer tucked away wherever you can fit it.

HOW TO ENJOY BIG SOUNDS FROM SMALL SPEAKERS • There are good reasons for choosing standmounts rather than floorstanders. Here’s what to consider.

CHARIO ACADEMY SONNET STEREO LOUDSPEAKERS • Designed and built entirely in Italy, these stunning standmount speakers are as easy on the ears as they are on the eyes, writes Peter Xeni.

KEF LSX II ACTIVE WIRELESS SPEAKERS • The LSX active speakers may be the smallest of KEF’s wireless wonders, but in their rejuvenated Mk II status they are out to prove that they are anything but compact in the sound stakes.

MARCH AUDIO SOINTUVA WG STEREO LOUDSPEAKERS • These extraordinary Australian speakers leverage driver technology from Purifi in Denmark to deliver a size of sound you’d expect from floorstanders, but retaining all the merits of a large standmount design.

CYRUS i7-XR STEREO AMPLIFIER • Behind the neat frontage of the British-designed and built Cyrus i7-XR lies a high-quality full-sized amplifier that comes with the benefit of capable DAC and phono sections.

DENON PMA-900HNE SMART STEREO AMPLIFIER • From the outside Denon’s hi-fi amplifier looks traditionally analogue, but the inclusion of the HEOS streaming and multiroom platform transforms its abilities.

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