Jonathan Evans, editor
WELCOME
Rega’s hugely impressive Planar 3 turntable has absolutely dominated the midrange record-deck market for almost as long as we can remember. Indeed, not only has it consistently won a Best Buy in our annual Awards (watch out for next month’s mag!) but it has also taken away our most coveted gong in the turntable category – Product of the Year – for the past decade and more.
That period of dominance for the Planar 3, though, is now being challenged. We have three new turntables (p30), from Cambridge Audio, Dual and Pro-Ject, attempting to overturn the apple cart. To borrow a phrase from the late, great Bob Hoskins in The Long Good Friday, “for more than 10 years there’s been peace; well now, there’s been an eruption…”
Talking of classic movies, we also present our pick of the best flagship TVs (p40) and 48-50in TVs (p57), each of which will do a sterling job engrossing you in both movies, and – fingers crossed – a successful World Cup to come for England and Wales. There’s plenty in this issue then, I trust, to bring you much joy.
HOW WE TEST
EXPERIENCE. HERITAGE.
We’ve been helping the world discover the best in hi-fi and home entertainment for more than 45 years, and have more than 100 years of reviewing experience under our collective belts – so you can count on our expert opinion.
DEDICATED TEST FACILITIES
We test every product against its peers in our extensive, bespoke reviewing facilities in London, Reading and Bath. We conduct all our tests as a team – our opinions and conclusions are always the result of collaboration.
HOW WE SCORE
All review verdicts are agreed upon by the team as a whole – not an individual reviewer. Each product will be listened to and/or viewed by several members of the test team, who will then discuss the final verdict before it
