As we look back over the last 12 months, it’s clear to see that digital audio products and the tech within them is evolving fast, to meet our demands for the very latest gear that takes the home-listening experience a step closer to the original recording.
Yet in perhaps in stark contrast, the rise of long respected approaches and formats in the analogue domain, from large retro styled standmount speakers to turntable hardware without compromise, has also been welcomed. 2024 has been a showcase of affordable meets aspirational for us, and here’s the cream of our review crop from across the year.
Amps aplenty
We’ve also split the ever popular integrated amplifier category into two this year. With so many amps starting from entry level to stratospheric, £3,000 seems an acceptable dividing line between affordable and hi-end, with an array of models and brands on each side of the line.
Categories
Best integrated amplifier up to £3,000
Best integrated amplifier over £3,000
Best turntable
Best affordable turntable
Best turntable cartridge
Best tonearm
Best hi-end network player
Best affordable network player
Best DAC
Best floorstanding loudspeaker
Best large standmount loudspeaker
Best compact standmount loudspeaker
Best compact system
Best desktop device
Best over-ear headphones
Best in-ear monitors
Best hifi cables
Best accessory
Best hifi support
Best debut product
Outstanding product of 2024
Best integrated amplifier up to £3,000
Roksan Caspian 4G Amplifier
A welcome return for the iconic Caspian line, this new model has been brought bang up to date with the brand’s current design language, but it’s its sonics and features that stood out the most. Effortless dynamics, a sense of realism, drama and control are its hallmarks, packed into a quality case. There’s little to fault.
Best integrated amplifier over £3,000
Rotel Michi X3 Series 2
We’ve tested some stellar amps this year, worthy of their stellar price tags, so this was a hard fought category. But what sets the Michi apart from the pack is just how much amp this is, with ultimate levels of power, control and composure, making it in many ways highly underrated. Thankfully the Michi line is finally getting the respect it deserves as one of the greatest amplifier ranges on the market today, regardless of price, and it starts with the X3 Series 2.
Best turntable
VPI Avenger Direct
New Jersey’s finest took an already class-leading design and added an even more class-leading direct-drive motor to create what is a stunningly made and sounding machine. Anyone questioning the relevance of vinyl as still at the top of the hi-end audio game needs to give this a listen.
Best affordable turntable
Pro-Ject Debut Evo 2
Back in September the Pro-Ject Debut Evo 2 had a fight on its hands to win over our experienced Contributing Editor Lee, and win him over it did, thanks to its engaging and assertive approach combined with ease of use and range of finish options. What more can you ask for from an affordable vinyl spinner?
Best turntable cartridge
Goldring Ethos Moving-Coil
It may have lost its top-of-the-range spot to the SE model, but this one is three hundred quid cheaper while offering much of the same performance. This little beauty was more than able to punch above its weight on turntables costing the same as a family saloon. For the price it’s an absolute corker.
Best tonearm
AVID Nexus
What a refreshing change this was. We’ve waited years for a hi-end tonearm from British analogue engineering masters AVID and then two come along at once! The Nexus is an outstanding bit of kit, exquisitely engineered with an effective mass that makes it much more cartridge friendly than its rivals.
Best hi-end network player
MOON North Collection 681
As the first step into MOON’s flagship North Collection, the 681 Network Player/DAC is packed full of the brand’s proprietary tech with a class build, class user experience and class sound. Making it…well…best in class!
Best affordable network player
Cambridge Audio CXN100
Following up something as iconic as Cambridge Audio’s CXN V2 isn’t easy when your biggest rival is your well respected ancestor, but follow up CA did – going on to go better it in many ways. With its built flagship DAC chip, colour display and robust app it’s this year’s model to beat. Superb value.
Best DAC
Chord Electronics Hugo TT 2 and Hugo M Scaler
Chord Electronics has been going its own way in the digital domain for some time, setting out its stall as one of the best digital audio designers there is and the Hugo TT DAC/upsampler pairing is a technical tour de force in a deceptively compact package. Having heard them, it’s easy to see why this brand has such an admirable reputation.
Best floorstanding loudspeaker
SVS Ultra Evolution Tower
A nightmare to photograph (curved reflective piano black 😩) but a joy to listen to. Usually more well known for its subwoofers, SVS’s loudspeakers certainly don’t get the recognition they deserve on these shores and the Tower model occupies the sweet spot of generous sounds without overwhelming in a great value package.
Best large standmount loudspeaker
ATC SCM100PSL
A longstanding design that goes back decades, ATC’s SCM100PSL were up against stiff competition, including new contenders in this category courtesy of Wharfedale’s much cheaper Dovedale. But as best in class for detail and accuracy few come close to the ATCs. They’re a reviewer’s dream and sound nothing short of stunning, I’d buy them in a heartbeat if I had the readdies. Probably the loudspeaker that has impressed us the most this year.
Best compact standmount loudspeaker
Monitor Audio Studio 89
Monitor Audio breathed stylish new life into its Studio loudspeaker line with the 89 model this year. And like Jason Donovan’s best selling album of 1989 (the year in which this new model takes its title from), we could give you ten good reasons why these speakers take our standmount top spot, but we’ll just give you one – they sound utterly compelling.
Best compact system
System Audio Silverback 1
Sometimes you don’t want a system as big as a house, which is why this well thought out and great sounding pairing came to our attention back in March. It’s deceptively advanced active speakers and stereo hub pack a lot of tech into a minimalist looking package.
Best desktop device
Chord Electonics Mojo 2 & Poly
This pocket sized DAC and partnering streamer takes more than a handful of the Hugo range’s tech and distills it down for music on the move. While others may have more sophisticated apps and some extra features, if it’s sound quality that matters the most to you, then this is where it’s at.
Best over-ear headphones
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e
The problem with Bowers & Wilkins headphones is that they’re becoming so good that they’re starting to gain more attention than the brand’s loudspeakers. While we’ve tested other brands at more expensive price points this year, there’s no denying that Bowers still offers the best for value, features and audio quality. And the reason is simple, because they never stop iterating for improvements. At under four hundred quid, they’re an absolute bargain.
Best in-ear monitors
Bowers & Wilkins Pi8
Another Bowers’ product? Listen to the Pi8 and understand the improvements made over the outgoing model and its easy to see why. As the flagship buds in the brand’s stable they’re more expensive than many rivals, but as my granny says, you get what you pay for.
Best hifi cables
Nordost Leif Red Dawn 3 and Blue Heaven
Tested as a bundle, Nordost’s Red Dawn 3 and Blue Heaven cables from its Leif range are rather special. They injected new life into our Editor’s system’s arteries and he’s been bemoaning their loss ever since. These truly are Best of products that show how far the art of cable engineering has come.
Best accessory
Russ Andrews Network Purifier
This dinky little add-on from the masters of mains and signal purification paid dividends with our streaming gear. It’s well made, well designed and offers an industry leading guarantee approach.
Best hifi support
Blok Stax 2G hifi equipment support
Hifi furniture need not be ugly or complex, and as evidenced above, Blok’s modular system is quite the opposite. With a wealth of options and finishes, it’s what hifi furniture should be, making it a delight to use and experience.
Best debut product
Ultrafide U4PRE and U500DC amplifiers
A debut product from a debut brand and we got the debut review. After impressing the crowds on the hifi show circuit, we were keen to hear what all the fuss was about and were not disappointed. Based on decades of pro-audio knowhow, Ultrafide’s amps are built like tanks and are a break from the norm with their take on marrying Class A with Class D. A well deserved debut award for a brand we expect to be seeing and hearing a lot more from.
Outstanding product of 2024
While every product in this list is a winner in its own right, we also want to celebrate those products that have gone that bit further in challenging the industry and our perceptions of longstanding favourites.
Not only did AVID do this with its Nexus tonearm, it also deserves merit for taking on the tonearm establishment with something different that breaks from convention. A true reference product on any turntable (not just AVID’s), it’s our outstanding product of 2024.
