Black Friday is upon us and, as the team and I warned in our survival guide, there’s a temptation to go in all-guns blazing and grab whatever is cheap.
While that snatch and grab mentality might have made sense in Black Friday’s early years, when it was a physical event and stores had very limited stock of the products with the best deals, these days, you should do just the opposite.
Now, it's best to go in prepared with a hit list of things you actually want. And to stick to it. Otherwise you risk picking up a product that either doesn’t properly meet your needs or (as I have done many times before) something you just don’t need period. I mean, I still have three duplicate Gundam toys…
This year, I have decided to heed my own advice and create a shopping list of two systems I’ve been planning in my head for quite some time. I share them with you here on the off chance some of you share my tastes.
A hi-fi system for music fans who value a neutral sound
Regular What Hi-Fi? readers will know two key things about me. First, that as a hi-fi and music fan I value a neutral, composed sonic profile. This is a key reason I still use the Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 as my daily-driver wireless headphones. Second, I have been eyeing an upgrade to my current hi-fi setup that meets these needs.
This year, during What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025 testing, I spotted a number of awesome new products that should combine perfectly to deliver a wonderfully balanced system, perfect for people with my sonic tastes on a semi-strict budget.
Matched with the help of our audio wizard and global technical editor, Ketan Bharadia, in our dedicated listening rooms, the system comprises, at its core, three Award-winning products – an Arcam A5+ stereo amp, Bluesound Node Icon streamer and Acoustic Energy AE300 Mk2 standmount speakers.
Kind soul that I am, I have also included the cables and stands you’ll need to truly make the system shine – so long as you remember to measure your space and place the speakers with enough room to breathe as well.
A Dolby Atmos home cinema system for those short on space
Next up is a fantastic home cinema system designed to offer people short on space a big screen, Dolby Atmos movie watching experience that doesn’t require a cavernous room to work.
Designed to overcome the inherent issues I’ve documented many times before while trying to fit a proper long-throw projector with a multi-speaker 5.2.2 speaker system into my normal sized, Victorian terraced house, the system combines two What Hi-Fi? Award winners.
Starting off, we have the Hisense PL2 Ultra Short Throw (UST) projector – a tiny unit capable of delivering a 80-150-inch picture when placed less than a foot away from the screen, or wall, you’re projecting onto.
Why this one? Because when myself and our TV and AV editor, Tom Parsons, tested it during Awards season, it proved to be the most balanced and sensibly priced option currently available – which is why it won a Best Buy trophy. For your money you’ll get a compact, well priced UST that offers the most consistent, immersive home cinema experience you’ll find in its class.
Backing it up, I have paired the PL2 with another Award-winner, the Samsung Q990F – the brand’s current flagship Dolby Atmos soundbar system. It combines a central soundbar with twin, wireless satellite speakers and a subwoofer. And it's one of the best ways to experience Dolby Atmos in your home without going all-in with a full ceiling-mounted speaker setup – I know because the team and I checked when we ran it head-to-head with rivals in our viewing rooms.
To make sure you do the projector, in particular, justice, I have also added a screen to the list. This is a key step you should take that will help improve picture quality – the reflective, non uniform, nature of most walls impacts things including contrast and colour accuracy, so you really should invest in a screen, even with an ultra-short throw projector, if you want the best results possible.
Excited about any of the systems I've built? After something a little different? Or got your own Black Friday hitlist you want to share with our community? Let us know in the comments section of this page!
Black Friday quick links
- Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
- B&W speakers: save £200
- Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
- Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
- Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in Sony TV
- Denon AV receiver: save £500
- Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £299
- ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
- Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £169
- John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
- Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
- Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
- TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals
