As we stagger towards Christmas and the end of the year, it's customary and occasionally advantageous to reflect on the highs (and maybe lows) of the previous 12 months.
The What Hi-Fi? Awards are always front of mind for us – as a high, of course – and since we introduced the Outstanding Contribution Award back in 2017, it tends to be that moment, when the winner comes to the stage and says a few words, that shines brightest in the memory.
In case you're unaware, our annual Awards ceremony has been a black tie dinner in London for several decades now, with all the winners honoured during the ceremony, and the Product of the Year winners revealed for the first time.
Happy and emotional members of the industry are festooned with trophies and the ceremony is brought to a close with a speech from our Outstanding Contribution winner.
And you don't have to take our word for it. Below you can watch this year's winner, Roy Gandy, co-founder of Rega, saying a few words to an enthralled audience.
Gandy co-founded Rega Research in 1973. The company's first product of note was the Planet turntable, with its unusual platter-less design and minimalist appearance.
However, it was the arrival of the Planar 3 record player in 1976, and subsequently the rest of the Planar family, that really set the foundation for Rega as we know it today.
The company is best known for its turntables, of course, with the various Planar decks dominating our Awards for more years than we would care to remember, but we're also big fans of the company's electronics.
Always happy to go against the grain – "I don’t think I’ve ever been interested in hi-fi" – we thought Gandy was a more-than-deserving winner of this year's Award, and the hundreds of people in the room certainly seemed in agreement.
MORE:
What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025: all our Product of the Year winners
16 of the best Rega products of all time: turntables, amps and phono stages
Naim Audio's Roy George wins our Outstanding Contribution Award 2024
