TVs & SPEAKERS FOR EVERY SPACE
The best screen and sound options for every room size and taste, from cute corner dwellers to epic home cinema beasts
55 INCHES AND UNDER
LG OLED55C3
LG’s mid-range C series of OLED TVs have become one of the home entertainment world’s most glorious certainties. Their joyous combination of stunning, contrast-rich picture quality (courtesy of each of their OLED pixels creating their own light), fantastic smart features courtesy of LG’s ground-breaking WebOS system and class-leading support for cutting-edge gaming and video has made the C series a long-time favourite among AV aficionados.
As you’d hope, the latest C3 range, as represented here by the great value 55-inch model, is the best C series yet, adding new processing to boost how HD and high dynamic range sources look on its 4K screen to the already stellar efforts of its predecessor. In short, the best mid-range TV in town just got even better.
£1,499, lg.com
SOUNDBAR
Picking the LG USC9S as the perfect soundbar for one of our recommended 55-inch and under TVs was pretty much a no-brainer. After all, the USC9S is specifically made to partner LG’s 2023 (and 2022) C series OLED TVs. Right down to the inclusion in its box of a bracket that lets the soundbar either become the desktop stand for 55-and 65-inch C3 TVs, or hang just below the screen if your C3 is wall mounted. The USC9S can also share the advanced sound processing carried by the C3s, as well as combining the TVs’ built-in speakers with its own to create a bigger, more detailed soundstage.
In fact, while the USC9S can be used as a powerful soundbar without a C3 TV, it’s in partnership with C3 TVs that its unique strengths really shine.
£799, lg.com
FURTHER OPTIONS
After years of being ‘stuck’ at 55 inches, OLED TV makers have finally realised that for some households, bigger isn’t always better. The new 48-inch OLED808 TV from a rejuvenated Philips brand is for our money the all-round most shining (literally) example of just how great smaller OLED TVs can be.
For starters it looks lovely with its ultra-trim frame, beautifully engineered stand and unique Ambilight technology, where pools of coloured light are cast from the TV’s sides that match the tone and position of hues in the picture you’re watching.
The 48OLED808 also supports all the latest PS5, Xbox Series X and premium PC gaming features, while Philips’ latest P5 processing system achieves peerless levels of sharpness, colour punch and contrast.
£1,499, philips.co.uk
Appealing though OLED picture technology might be, it’s expensive and doesn’t always suit bright rooms. Cue the TCL 55C745K.
TCL’s new mid-range LCD TV delivers a feature roster you have no right to expect for £649. Movie and TV fans will lo
