March is here, and we’ve already got a growing queue of new hi-fi and home cinema products forming at our test room doors, eager to be given the proper What Hi-Fi? review treatment.
Some of these products are under embargo, so we can’t talk about them yet, but there are four big ticket items we can confirm are in our rooms for testing. These include Google’s answer to the Apple TV 4K, a premium CD spinner from Cyrus and more.
As ever, we’re publishing this month’s In for Review to give you an early heads up and chance to ask questions about the products.
Ping us a question in the comments section of this page, on our forums, social media or via email (whathifi@futurenet.com) and we’ll endeavour to get back to you with the answer ASAP!
1. Google Streamer
The Google Streamer is the successor to the much loved, but fairly long in the tooth, Google Chromecast and a direct rival to the award-winning Apple TV 4K, which sits at the top of our best video streamer buying guide. After months of chasing, we’ve finally got the unit in our viewing rooms and primed for testing. Featuring a completely new design, more power, better connectivity and a new remote, we’ll be curious to see how it performs against its award winning rival when we run the two head-to-head.
2. Cyrus 40 CD
As the name would suggest the Cyrus 40 CD is the latest CD player in the firm’s current 40 series. This means the 40 CD sits in the same family as the excellent Cyrus 40 AMP integrated amp and Cyrus 40 ST music streamer we recently reviewed and gave five-star ratings to. That gives it some pretty big shoes to fill.
Thankfully it comes loaded with some impressive features. This list is headlined by its redesigned power supply, which has a custom layout bespoke designed to minimise interactions between the different signals resulting in cleaner, more precise performance. We’ll be putting it through its paces this month to see if the 40 CD can match its siblings’ stellar track record.
3. Pro-Ject T1 Evo BT
The Pro-Ject T1 Evo BT is one of the newest affordable turntables from the iconic brand. The unit’s split into three different options: a standard T1 Evo, a T1 Evo Phono that is bundled with a switchable MM phono stage and a T1 Evo BT. The latter is what we’ve got coming in for review and adds wireless atpX streaming capabilities to the mix. Considering how well past affordable turntables from the brand, including the five-star and repeat Award-winner Pro-Ject Primary E, we’re excited to see how the new model fares when we get it into our listening rooms this month.
4. Elac Debut 3.0 DB53
The DB53 is one of seven new speakers in Elac’s latest Debut range. This gives them a pedigree, with the Elac Debut B5.2 impressing our reviewers enough to not only get a perfect five-star rating, but also picking up a What Hi-Fi? Award in 2023. Can the third generation repeat this success? We’ll find out this month when we test these affordable standmount speakers and see if their upgrades, which include a new 25mm aluminium dome tweeter, enhanced bracing to reduce unwanted vibrations and lower power consumption, lead to significant sonic improvements at this price.
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