It’s nearly Christmas! But wait – before we start counting down the sleeps and getting ourselves merry on mugs of mulled wine, we have a handful of hi-fi and AV treats waiting for us in the What Hi-Fi? test rooms.
While the post-Awards schedule is less hectic, there is still a queue of products waiting to be reviewed – and here, we’ve picked the five most exciting hi-fi and TV models that we are currently testing or are excited to get started on.
These include a new product category entrant from the legendary Rotel brand, a successor to an exquisitely made phono stage, the next iteration of Cambridge Audio‘s five-star streaming amplifiers, and two TVs at either end of the spectrum: an entry-level Sony LED and a range-topping Philips OLED boasting brand-new panel technology.
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As ever, if you have any questions about the products we are reviewing, comment below or email us at whathifi@futurenet.com, and we’ll do our best to find the answer during our testing process and get back to you.
As we head into the holiday season, we hope everyone reading What Hi-Fi? has a wonderful and restful festive break, and we thank you for all your support throughout this year. See you in 2026!
Rotel DX-3
(Image credit: Rotel)
Rotel has been around for 60 years, but this marks the first time the hi-fi brand has made a headphone amplifier. The DX-3 wants to be the “ultimate desktop audio companion”, offering DAC and preamp functionalities alongside two headphone ports (6.3mm and 4.4mm) with selectable gain options.
That’s not all: it has aptX HD Bluetooth, supports hi-res files up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD256, and has a good complement of analogue and digital connectivity to plug into hi-fi systems, too. The compact footprint makes it about the size of a WiiM Ultra, making it desktop-friendly. It costs £1399 / $1499, and we’re looking forward to taking it for a spin.
Luxman E-07
(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)
We are big fans of Luxman’s stunning, high-end EQ-500 phono stage, which we tested back in 2017. It’s a beautifully made product, with exquisite sound quality to match.
We have its successor, the E-07, in for testing and we are fizzing with excitement to hear how it performs. Announced as part of the brand’s centennial celebrations, the new Luxman E-07 features a refined build, the return of tactile toggle switches and dials, and “carefully selected components prioritised for supreme audio quality”.
Costing £5500, the E-07 needs to be tested in an appropriately highly talented turntable system – which is exactly what we’ve been doing.
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Cambridge Audio Evo 150 SE
(Image credit: Cambridge Audio)
It’s been four years since Cambridge Audio launched Evo 75 and Evo 150 – the brand’s first just-add-speakers streaming amplifiers that combined style, features and sound in an enticing manner.
Those five-star models have now been discontinued and replaced by a single model: the Evo 150 SE (£1999 / $3299). This continues the sleek industrial design language, with a large display screen and swappable side panels, while there is ample connectivity (including MM phono stage and HDMI ARC) and extensive streaming features thanks to the StreamMagic Gen 4 platform.
The internal Class D amplification uses a new Hypex NCOREx module and delivers 150 watts per channel (into 8 ohms). Cambridge says it has made improvements throughout the signal path and used more high-quality components to elevate the Evo 150’s sound performance even further.
Let’s hope this new ‘Special Edition’ mode continues the Evo range’s fine form.
65-inch Sony Bravia 3
(Image credit: Sony)
Bravia 3 is Sony’s new entry-level 4K HDR TV series, and the cheapest LED in the range does without local dimming entirely. This means it goes up against TCL models with full Mini LED backlights.
Can Sony’s legendary processing overcome this specification deficit? We can’t wait to find out. We have the 65-inch model in for testing, which currently costs £849, and we’re reviewing it against the 65-inch TCL C7K – a 2025 What Hi-Fi? Award winner we tested at £899 and lauded for its excellent value and punchy picture.
Philips OLED910
(Image credit: Future)
After a rather long delay, we are finally finishing our review of Philips’ first Primary RGB Tandem OLED TV.
The OLED910 series combines the super-bright, next-generation panel tech found in the LG G5 and Panasonic Z95B, with Philips’ classy styling and lovely four-sided Ambilight. The OLED910 undercuts those rivals (and the Samsung S95F and Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II) on price, too.
The Philips also has an integrated premium Bowers & Wilkins 3.1 sound system (81W total, 8 channels), and supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. A very enticing proposition!
You can read our first impressions in this Philips OLED910 hands-on review, but stay tuned for the final verdict very soon.
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