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What Hi-Fi?
Pick of the month: Marantz’s premium AVR and Wilson Benesch’s high-end speakers earn perfect marks
By Alastair Stevenson,
2 days ago
August is upon us, and as well as finally getting some good weather it has also brought with it one other key treat – the latest entry into our Pick of the Month column.
In it we reveal the latest batch of hi-fi and home cinema products that impressed our reviewers enough to earn a five-star rating over the past month.
It’s a big entry for July as a whopping seven items made the cut, which is just shy of a record. These included everything from premium laser projectors to affordable Bluetooth speakers.
Each has been subject to thorough testing in our dedicated viewing and listening rooms to ensure it truly is worth your hard earned cash.
Without further delay, here are the What Hi-Fi? team’s top products from July.
Monitor Audio Studio 89
(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)
The Monitor Audio Studio 89 are being pitched by the UK hi-fi house as a reimagining of the Studio 15 model the brand first introduced in 1989.
While our reviewers weren’t altogether convinced of the family resemblance, with the new Studio 89 having a very different look that is more akin to 2018’s Monitor Audio Studio, we can safely confirm they sound great.
The moment we got the Studio 89 set up in our listening rooms it was clear Monitor has taken great efforts to apply many of the lessons it learned developing the high-end Hyphn floorstanders to its new standmounts.
Highlights include the use of a new third-generation MPD (Micro Pleated Diaphragm) tweeter, and appearance of two of the firm’s latest RDT III C-CAM mid/bass drivers.
Paired with a variety of reference hardware ranging from the Cambridge Audio CXA81 to more premium Naim Nait XS3 , the speakers delivered an impressively seamless and robust sound. Hence our reviewers’ conclusion:
“Monitor Audio's Studio 89 are talented and engaging performers that excel in clarity, precision and resolution.”
Our only caveat is that they require space to breathe to perform at their best, so think about the environment you plan to use them in carefully.
The JVC DLA-NZ800 is the latest premium 4K laser projector to pass through our viewing rooms, and based on our testing a fantastic option for home cinema fans with deep pockets.
Despite its high price, this is actually the step down option in JBL’s current line, sitting just below the DLA-NZ900. This means it has a smaller 65mm all-glass module. The more expensive NZ900 has a larger 100mm unit.
It retains a very impressive feature set despite its step-down status. One highlight is the inclusion of JVC’s Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) projection technology which aims to combine the best aspects of DLP and LCD to deliver deep black levels and improved levels of detail.
Backing this up there’s JVC’s Blu-Escent laser diode system, which offers 2700 lumens of brightness and in turn lets it deliver a 100,000:1 contrast ratio – both figures are significantly higher than what you’ll find on most projectors in this class.
Fancy specifications aside, our reviewers were delighted with how well it performed during our tests. Whether it was Dune II , Oppenheimer , Barbie , Drive or The Dark Knight Rises , the projector delivered balanced yet engaging colours and oodles of contrast. Hence our testers’ verdict:
“The JVC DLA-NZ800 is about as cinematic as projectors come, with a beautifully balanced and deeply captivating picture that truly puts the ‘cinema’ into ‘home cinema’.”
Our testers’ description of the Ruark Audio R1S as being “as close to hi-fi as a small radio can get”, tells you pretty much everything you need to know about it.
The R1S is the smallest option in UK brand Ruark’s growing line of radios. It costs a little more than its predecessors, but for the money Ruark has added key functions including wi-fi and built in music streaming support, which make it a lot more versatile.
Featuring Ruark’s trademark wooden design and a full-range driver powered by Class A/B amplification, the R1S justified the price increase on the previous R1 model during our tests. As well as looking lovely, it also performed admirably during our listening checks, delivering impressive audio for a unit its size with pleasing amounts of clarity, detail, precision and agility. This earned it a five-star rating and led our reviewers to heap praise on it, concluding:
“With an articulate and authoritative sound and stylish design, this sophisticated, versatile internet radio is a tempting proposition.”
If you’re looking for a rugged travel companion that can deliver impressive levels of volume without completely compromising audio quality then we’d recommend considering the JBL Xtreme 4 Bluetooth speaker.
Though the name makes our editor think of a fairly terrible cover band he once saw of early-’90s legends Extreme , during our checks the Xtreme 4 delivered solid results and ticks all the boxes required of a travel-ready Bluetooth speaker.
For starters, it’s been designed to meet IP67 ruggedisation requirements, which make it safe to use by the pool or in a bathroom. To accommodate its large size, JBL’s also included an attachable strap, that makes it easy to use on the go.
But most importantly, JBL’s taken advantage of the increased chassis size to load it with two 70mm woofers and two 20mm tweeters.
During our checks, this configuration let it deliver reliable, engaging audio by Bluetooth streaming standards, that easily matched, if not beat, rivals including the three star UE Everboom , which we also reviewed in July.
Hence our conclusion:
“The Xtreme 4 might look beefy, rugged and uncompromising but the sound quality on offer is anything but. It’s another hugely engaging and entertaining Bluetooth speaker for the brand.”
The Bose SoundLink Max is the second Bluetooth speaker to earn a five star rating from our reviewers in July. Though it costs considerably more than the above JBL, if you have the money it offers a wealth of features you won’t find on most rivals.
For starters, it has a discreet but durable design, complete with a travel handle for those that want to lug it to their local park or take it on their travels – though be warned at 2.13kg it’s a little heavy to lug with you on long walks and hikes.
The big differentiators that justify its increased cost are the use of Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity and aptX codec support, which combine to accommodate higher quality streams and lower latency than you’ll find on many more affordable speakers in the same class.
Most importantly, the speaker delivered great audio, once we tempered its bass – which was a little too pushy out of the box.
Once this issue was sorted in the accompanying mobile app’s settings menu, the results were excellent – whether it was Guns N’ Roses Welcome To The Jungle or Visions by Lane 8, the speaker delivered a lively energetic sound. Hence our reviewers’ verdict:
“Bose wraps up excellent sound quality and an enjoyable user experience in an attractive, outdoor-friendly package.”
Though they could also be described as “speakers”, the Wilson Benesch sit on an entirely different end of the spectrum to the above JBL and Bose units. The high-end speakers are about as hi-fi as you can get, retailing for £18,995 / $32,000 / AU$41,000 and aimed squarely at the audiophile market.
We first got a glimpse of these speakers at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show earlier this year. They’re the standmount siblings of the floorstanding Wilson Benesch A.C.T 3Zero we reviewed and also gave five stars to last year, and share a lot of the same core DNA.
This means that while they require careful pairing with equally high-end hi-fi, they can create truly magnificent results. Paired with our reference Naim ND555/555 PS DR music streamer, Technics SL-1000R record player and Burmester 088/911 MkIII pre/power, the Discovery 3Zero offered exceptional levels of transparency and insight. This led our reviewers to conclude:
“If you are after a transparent and revealing pair of speakers then there are few alternatives as capable as these. They may be hugely expensive but when partnered well and carefully set up they are capable of sounding magical.”
The Marantz Cinema 30 is a premium AVR designed for home cinema fans that want the best audio possible when watching movies.
At its heart, it shares some of the same hardware and features as the Denon AVC-X6800H , which we also gave five stars to when we reviewed it in April. This thankfully includes the useful ‘Setup Assistant' which makes it blissfully easy to get the unit up and running, even for home cinema newbies, using a series of step by step instructions.
At a hardware level it does have a few differentiators from its Denon sibling, however. Two of the biggest are the use of HDAMs, which are effectively amplifier models made of discretely mounted components, as opposed to an integrated circuit, and a newly developed DAC section. The HDAM’s aim is to let the Marantz deliver 'more dynamic, accurate and detailed sound'.
Putting the unit through its paces with our reference PMC Twenty5.23 7.2 speaker package, the Cinema 30 delivered the goods. Whether it was with our tried and tested Blade Runner 2049 chapter two or our new Dune Part II stress test, the Cinema 30 delivered audio full of scale, punch and spatial precision. Hence our conclusion:
“The Cinema 30 delivers all of the luxury and refinement you would expect from Marantz with all of the crispness and punch you could desire and all of the latest tech specs, too, making it a rare all-rounder of an AVR.”
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