Product of the Year 2025
It is time to reflect on the year, review the best pieces of equipment we have listened to at HF&MS in 2025, and conclude with the Product of the Year 2025. This article considers the contenders. Over the next couple of weeks, some of the Best of 2025 products will be highlighted.
It has been a terrific year here at HiFi and Music Source throughout 2025, with many varied reviews from the likes of McIntosh and Focal in the home, as well as Astell & Kern, Meze Audio, and Edifier on the move.
New Website
The website underwent a significant update this year, with the launch in January. Additionally, several new writers have contributed to the site, including the esteemed writer Chris Baillie, Ian Ringstead, who brings extensive knowledge of analogue and retail, and John Pickford, with his expert background in pro-studio production.
2025 Trends
It’s that time of year when we reflect on the past, and therefore, it is award season, looking back at the Best of 2025. The year started with a bang with a review of the Focal DIVA UTOPIA Active Loudspeakers. This release reflected a shift with some manufacturers moving away from rack-filling stacks for the living room, favouring powerful, all-in-one streaming amplifiers or fully active speakers. The DIVAs, followed by the even bigger Mezza UTOPIA, received an Editor’s Pick Award in February of this year, announcing themselves as early contenders for Product of the Year.
This year, we had a World-first review of the full Audiolab 9000 Series (9000Q Preamplifier, 9000P Power Amplifier, 9000N Streamer, 9000CDT CD Transport). Indeed, the 9000CDT in this stack hinted at another trend we have seen this year: the renewed market for high-quality CD transports (pure disc spinners with no internal DAC) and integrated CD players. This was also seen with Fell Audio launching their new entry to the market with a CD player, ahead of a proposed Streamer that is due soon. Unitra & MBL both featured prominent CD playback solutions in their 2025 lineups.
“Affordable” British manufacturing
“Affordable” British manufacturing is back in 2025 (did it ever go away?), focusing on build quality and local heritage to compete with the blizzard of budget imports from the far east. We’ve seen this with Fell Audio (a new brand from Cumbria) being one of the most significant entries in 2025. In the last month, we have seen the same from Rega with their stunning Brio Mk 7, the latest iteration of their classic, reinforcing Rega’s dominance in UK-built affordable integrated amps. Acoustic Energy & Merlin Cables have also continued strong showings from established UK names.
Expansion of planar drivers
Another theme this year has been the expansion of planar drivers appearing in wireless earbuds and closed-back portable headphones, promising “fast,” detailed sound to commuters and others. Here at HF&MS, we have experienced the terrific Edifier Stax S10 with the planar magnetic technology in an In-Ear Monitor (IEM) format. Meze Audio offered the POETs at the beginning of the year, bringing Meze’s high-end planar sound into more consumer-friendly designs.
VU meters
Finally, this year, we have seen boxy, industrial designs with VU meters and tactile switches emerge, such as those from Unitra (the resurgent Polish brand), with their unique “Eastern Bloc” heavy-duty aesthetic that stands out against the sleek, minimalist designs of competitors. HiFi Rose, with their RA280, had their “steampunk” aesthetic with physical gears and levers, catering to the desire for tactile mechanical interaction.
Indeed, we can conclude the themes of 2025 with a nod to HiFi Rose with their GanFET technology (they are not the only ones moving to this technology), which claims to offer lower distortion and deadtime (in switching processes) than more widely used Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs).
Product of the Year 2025, contenders
Here is a list of all of the Product of the Year 2025 contenders. They can only be those reviewed here at HF&MS. What is your audio highlight of 2025?
January 2025
• Edifier NeoDots (True Wireless Earbuds)
• McIntosh C2800 (Preamplifier)
February 2025
• Focal DIVA UTOPIA (Active Loudspeakers)
• Astell&Kern A&ultima SP3000M (Digital Audio Player)
March 2025
• Edifier Stax S10 (Planar Magnetic In-Ear Monitors)
• Meze Audio POET (Planar Magnetic Headphones)
• Townshend Audio Seismic Isolation Podium (Equipment Support)
• Meze Audio 105 AER (Open-Back Dynamic Headphones)
• Tellurium Q Ultra Silver II (Loudspeaker Cables)
• AVID Accent (Integrated Amplifier)
April 2025
• Q Acoustics M40 (Powered Micro-Tower Speakers)
• HiFi Rose RA280 (Integrated Amplifier)
May 2025
• Focal Bathys MG (Wireless Headphones)
• Fell Audio System (Integrated Amplifier and CD Player)
• TCI Podium 2 (Equipment Isolation)
• iFi Audio GO-Link MAX (Portable DAC/Dongle)
June 2025
• MBL Cadenza C31 & C51 (CD/DAC and Integrated Amplifier)
• DALI EPIKORE 3 (Standmount Loudspeakers)
• Naim Audio CI-Uniti 102 (Streaming Amplifier) – Published late June.
July 2025
• Elipson Prestige Facet II 24F (Floorstanding Loudspeakers)
• Lindy BNXe (Wireless ANC Headphones)
August 2025
• Audiolab 9000 Series (9000Q Preamplifier, 9000P Power Amplifier, 9000N Streamer, 9000CDT CD Transport)
• Hana SL Mk 2 (Moving Coil Cartridge)
• Unitra WSH-605 (Integrated Amplifier)
• iFi Audio Valkyrie (DAC/Headphone Amplifier)
• Arendal 1723 Monitor THX (Loudspeakers)
September 2025
• Meze Audio 105 SILVA (Open-Back Headphones)
• Moor Amps 4i (Integrated Amplifier)
• Unitra ZGB-401 (Loudspeakers)
• Astell&Kern PD10 & Cradle (Portable DAC/Amp)
October 2025
• JPLAY UPnP Control App (iOS App)
• REL T/9x SE (Subwoofer Stereo Pair)
• Rega Brio Mk 7 (Integrated Amplifier)
• EAT F-Dur (Turntable)
• iFi Audio GO Blu Air (Portable Bluetooth DAC)
November 2025 (as of mid-November)
• Acoustic Energy 320² (Floorstanding Loudspeakers)
• Merlin Cables Tarantula (Loudspeaker Cables)
New Music 2025
In the year of the Oasis revival, it has been a solid year for new music. I can’t say I have been gripped by anything in particular, but I have enjoyed releases by Loyle Carner, Laufey, and the Nebraska reissue in the light of the Springsteen film. The HF&MS Album of the Year will be announced later this month; the contenders are scrolling below.
Thank You
The Best of 2025 Award Season will begin this afternoon. I want to add my thanks to all those who have supported the site, whether through technical support (thanks, Dan) or accounting (thanks, Emily). There are also the new writers, thank you guys, and the PR teams across the spectrum, you know who you are.
I also want to thank those advertisers who have supported the site, enabling me to invest in the website and pay for the odd train ticket!
Finally, I’d like to thank you for clicking and reading this article and others.
Enjoy your music and don’t take it too seriously!
Further Reading
