Whether or not you think it's too early to be force-fed Christmas tunes or to put up your decorations, the supermarkets will always be quick out of the blocks, with their Christmas adverts all lined up and ready to go in November.
We haven't even arrived at the official dates of this year's Black Friday deals extravaganza, but we're already being bombarded by ads from multiple major UK retailers, all of which are designed to fill you with festive cheer.
Some use comedy; others favour kid-friendly characters. You are also guaranteed a tearjerker or two, something that pulls on the heartstrings and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, reminiscing about past life events and wrapping them all up into a box with a shiny bow on top.
John Lewis has become renowned for taking this approach, and it has used the same formula for its 2025 Christmas ad. But it has also added a sprinkling of audio products that you will find reviewed on this very website.
This year, to quote one member of our team, it’s the turn of the “crusty old rave dads” to be targeted. The ad really kicks in when a vinyl record, bought as a gift by the dad’s son, is placed on a turntable and begins to spin.
Cue the 90’s club classic Where Love Lives by Alison Limerick, and a flashback to the dad raving and (possibly misbehaving) on the dancefloor of a club.
The son can also be seen using some tech, in the form of a pair of wireless headphones. You can just about make out a logo on one of the arms, so, being the tech geek that I am, I couldn’t resist whipping out my magnifying glass to identify all of the kit in question.
Looking at the headphones, in particular the logo, the shape of the arms and the curve of the headband, you can see that it’s a pair of Sony WH-1000XM6 wireless headphones.
Sony has dominated the category in recent years, and the XM6 are its best to date. They are stunningly comfortable all-rounders with amazing audio, excellent noise-cancelling and top-drawer call quality.
As we say in our Sony WH-1000XM6 review, they “deliver a performance more than befitting a flagship pair of wireless headphones” and, given that they are also one of the pairs I use daily, I can’t recommend them highly enough.
The record player is a little trickier to nail down, but it has been confirmed by my sources as a Technics SL-1500C, a step-up deck from a brand which has seen a major resurgence over the past decade. In our Technics SL-1500C review, we describe the five-star machine as, “A beautifully made and fuss-free record player with a fine built-in phono stage.”
If you’re thinking of treating either yourself or someone else to either the Sony or Technics this Christmas, I have good news. With Black Friday just around the corner, you can probably expect both products to be given a decent discount.
The XM6 launched back in May, and decent deals have been relatively rare in the past few months. I expect this to change in the coming weeks, and would consider a drop in price to anywhere below the £349 mark or below a great excuse to take the plunge.
We tested the Technics SL-1500C at £899, but it can currently be found for £799 at multiple retailers. Could it drop lower during Black Friday? I think it certainly has the potential to do so. I wouldn’t expect it to come down more than a couple of hundred pounds, but you never know!
MORE:
Our pick of the best turntables for every budget
And the best wireless headphones
