TOP FIVE LAUNCHES

Five products to look out for this month

1 Sony WH-CH720N

£130

Sony’s WH1000-XM5 sit atop many of our best headphones lists, but we wouldn’t recommend them if you are on a budget. Thankfully, Sony’s latest pair of entry-level wireless headphones include the same Dual Noise Sensor technology and Integrated Processor V1 as the flagship XM5, for almost a third of the price. The WH-CH720N also feature a 35-hour battery life with ANC active, Multipoint Bluetooth connectivity – and you can customise the noise-cancelling experience via the Sony Headphones Connect app. Voice controls come as standard and buyers can choose between black, blue or white finishes. whf.cm/whch720n

2 Fiio R7

£650

Fiio’s first desktop hi-res audio player features a unique design and, on paper at least, promises much. The system is powered by ESS Sabre ES9068AS DACS and a high-level THX-788+ desktop-grade amplification chipset. It also has a multitude of wired and wireless connections for hooking up both headphones and speakers. These include Bluetooth 5.0 and compatibility with all of the major music-streaming services on the wireless side, and optical, coaxial, line-level and balanced XLR outputs for wired connectivity. There is also the option to download music files locally to the device, as well as a touchscreen to navigate the Android system running on the R7. whf.cm/fiio_r7

3 Sony A95L QD-OLED

£TBC

2023 is already proving to be a massive year for OLED TVS, and just when we think we have seen the major players reveal their biggest and brightest sets, Sony chips in with a sequel to one of the best TVS of 2022. The A95L is (as its name may suggest) the successor to the five-star A95K – this time with an even brighter QD-OLED panel that, says Sony, pushes 2000 nits in the brightest HDR mode. It will be available in a new 77in size option this year and will support 4K/120HZ, Dolby Vision gaming and Sony’s Acoustic Surface Audio+ tech. whf.cm/

Sonytv2023

4 Wharfedale Dovedale

£5000 (£5500 with stands) The heritage speaker revival trend continues apace, and Wharfedale is introducing its biggest pair yet with the renewed Dovedales. Taking inspiration from the Dovedale 3s, which were originally released in 1971, this new model is slightly taller, wider and much deeper. This larger build houses a 25mm fabric-dome tweeter in its own rear chamber and a pair of 3cm midrange and 25cm bass drivers made from Kevlar. Wharfedale says that these speakers deliver a sound that “reveals a lively and transparent level of reproduction that suits all styles of music at whatever power level you choose”. whf.cm/dovedale

5 Final ZE8000

£299

Japanese audio brand Final has revealed a flagship pair of wireless noise-cancelling earbuds to rival the Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds II and Apple Airpods Pro 2. The ZE8000 offer what Final is dubbing “8K sound”; a result, the company says, of the innovative technology used in the driver, DSP and amplification. These buds feature Bluetooth 5.2 with support for higher-quality aptx and aptx Adaptive codecs. When it comes to noise cancelling, Final says that the earphones’ ANC “does not degrade the audio in any way” and has promised that sound quality will “always be the focus of the ZE8000”. whf.cm/final_ze8000