Awards 2010

Best Turntable up to £1,500 Pro-Ject 6 Perspex Winning the Blind-listening Group Test (HFC 338), against competition that included a more recent version of last year’s award-winner, the 6 Perspex truly deserves this year’s top-spot. We loved its open and even-handed sound, the handsome design and its excellent build quality. Details PRICE: £1,280 (incl arm) TYPE: Turntable TELEPHONE: 01235 511166 WEBSITE: project-audio. com Clearaudio Concept Details PRICE: £1,100 (incl arm/ cartridge) TYPE: Turntable TELEPHONE: 01252 702705 WEBSITE: clearaudio.

Best Tuner Pure Sensia More than just a simple radio, the Sensia won over the judges, thanks in part to its excellent Pure DAB reception. It can also stream music over a wireless network and even surf the internet. That it does all of these things with aplomb easily makes it this year’s award-winner. Details PRICE: £250 TYPE: DAB/FM/web radio/media player TELEPHONE: 0845 148 9001 WEBSITE: pure.

Best Interconnect Cable QED Signature Audio S The QED achieves the single most important aim of any hi-fi cable, in that it imparts no character of its own to the performance. The sophisticated ‘quasi-balanced’ design and excellent quality materials throughout, combine to give the QED a near total transparency that is the mark of an award-winner. Details PRICE: £190 (1m pair) TYPE: Interconnect TELEPHONE: 01279 501111 WEBSITE: qed. co.

Best Loudspeaker cable Kimber 4VS The Kimber really stood out with a wonderfully natural and relaxed performance. It did a fine job of making itself unobtrusive and letting the music take centre stage. The traditional woven construction is retained and the fit and finish is extremely high. The price has even gone down since we reviewed it!.

Best DAC Naim Audio DAC Having shown no previous interest in external DACs, for Naim to win this category at the first attempt is a remarkable achievement. But then this DAC combines the traditional Naim attention to detail with clever technology. The end result being a fantastic performer and a flexible addition to any system. Details PRICE:£1,950 TYPE: DAC TELEPHONE: 01722 426600 WEBSITE: naim-audio.

Best Amplifier over £1,000 Rotel RC1580/RB1582 This combination impressed us from the outset. The Rotels are handsome brutes with an impressive spec and massive power reserves. They went on to beat all comers in their group test, combining a powerful and convincing performance with an ability to reproduce the most delicate of pieces without losing a single detail. A very accomplished duo.

Best Headphone Beyerdynamic T1 The T1 impressed us from the outset. Even before it was plugged in, the beautiful build quality and attractive design did wonders for its desirability. This was backed up by a strong and engaging performance that showed remarkable detail-retrieval, resulting in a very transparent and natural-sounding headphone. .