Home Audio Products of the Year 2022: The Award Winners Worth Buying

Introduction

2022 was a busy year for home audio. Receivers finally arrived with the connectivity people had been asking for, soundbars became genuinely convincing, and a handful of speakers reset expectations at their price points. What follows is the shortlist of products that earned top honours in this year’s awards, covering home theater receivers, soundbars, televisions, stereo amplifiers, speakers across three price bands, and one award for design.

If you are planning a single upgrade, the sections below explain what each winner does well, which listener it suits, and where a close runner-up might be the better answer.

How the 2022 Awards Were Decided

To be eligible, a product had to be fully evaluated between January 1 and December 10, 2022. That rule mattered most in the receiver category. The Denon AVR-X3800H and the Marantz Cinema 50 generated the loudest buzz of the year, but both were set aside because they were not finished products at the time of judging. The principle is straightforward: a product has to be complete now, not later. Anything that arrived late in December will be considered next year instead.

Categories were split by product type, and speakers were split by price band: under $1,000 a pair, between $1,000 and $3,000 a pair, and above $3,000 a pair. The overall Product of the Year was then chosen from the winners in every category. Each winner below was compared against its direct rivals rather than judged in isolation, and where a runner-up came close, that is noted, because the right choice often depends on your room, your existing system, and whether you plan to add a subwoofer later.

Home Theater Receiver of the Year: Integra DRX 3.4

The Integra DRX 3.4 took the receiver category, edging out the Onkyo NR7100 and the Marantz SR8015. This was the closest call of the year. The SR8015 is one of the best sounding receivers around, and on pure sound quality alone it would have won. The Integra wins on the practical details. Its 4K 120Hz and 8K 60Hz support is available across more than one input, so you are not forced to choose which source gets the higher-bandwidth connection, and it is the more current model of the two, with the SR8015 likely to be replaced within roughly six months.

For most buyers, that combination of current connectivity and flexible inputs is worth more day to day than a small sonic advantage.

Soundbar of the Year: Samsung Q990B

This one was not close. The Samsung Q990B won the soundbar category against the Klipsch Heritage Theater Bar, the Bowers & Wilkins Panorama 3, the JBL Bar 5.1, the Polk MagniFi Mini AX, and the Bose 600. It did so by proving that a soundbar can deliver a genuine home theater experience rather than a compromise. The Bose 600 was one of the most enjoyable soundbars of the year and the field overall was strong, but the Q990B was the one that stood apart.

That makes it the simplest recommendation in this list for anyone who wants big, room-filling movie sound without running cable to five separate speakers and an amplifier.

TV of the Year: Sony X95K

The Sony X95K, a Mini LED television, took TV of the Year ahead of the LG C2 OLED, the TCL 5 Series, and the Samsung QN900B. The reasoning is worth understanding, because it applies to most buyers. After calibration, the LG C2 OLED was as close to perfect as makes no difference, and if you calibrate your television or pay for a professional service, that argument holds. Most people do neither. The Sony is the better television for the way most people actually use one: put it on the wall, select the Custom 1 picture profile, set the colour temperature to warm, and it looks close to right without further work. Sony’s processing is also the best available in a television right now.

Amplifier of the Year: Marantz Model 40n

The amplifier category covered both integrated amplifiers and standalone stereo or mono amplifiers, and the Marantz Model 40n came out on top. The reason is simple: more than any other amplifier in the house this year, it kept being switched on for pleasure, and everything else that arrived was compared against it. Nominees included the Emotiva BasX A1, the McIntosh MA7200, the Rotel 1592 Mark II, the Technics G700 Mark II, the Roksan Attessa Streaming Amplifier, and the Denon PMA-A110.

The McIntosh MA7200 was the best sounding amplifier of the year and would have been a harder competitor had it shipped with its updated digital module including HDMI. The Emotiva BasX A1 offered outstanding value for the money, and the Roksan Attessa arrived late in the year and impressed immediately.

Best Speaker Under $1,000 a Pair: Pro-Ject Speaker Box 5 S2

The Pro-Ject Speaker Box 5 S2 won the entry price band against the Klipsch RP-600M II, the Arendal 1961 Bookshelf Speaker, and the Polk XT60 Tower. It arrived almost out of nowhere. Pro-Ject is a name most listeners associate with turntables rather than speakers, and this model proves the company can build a genuinely well-made, great sounding speaker at an affordable price. One practical note before you buy: there is another speaker with a very similar name that is not the same product, so check the exact model designation carefully.

Best Speaker Between $1,000 and $3,000 a Pair: Polk Audio R700

This was the most competitive category of the year, with the Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G, the Q Acoustics Concept 50, the Sonus Faber Lumina V, and the JBL 4309 all in the running. The Polk Audio R700, part of the Reserve Series, won because of what it does across the whole frequency range. Its bass response is the deciding factor over the Concept 50, which means many listeners can run a pair of R700s on their own and skip a subwoofer entirely. The Concept 50 remains a superb speaker, particularly if you intend to add a subwoofer anyway, but on all-round performance the R700 is the more complete package.

High-End Speaker of the Year: Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4

In the over $3,000 a pair bracket, the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 won against the Bowers & Wilkins 705 S3, the KEF LS60 Wireless, the Wharfedale Elysian 4, the Mission 770, and the Klipsch Cornwall IV. The deciding factor was longevity. It kept being pulled out of the rack, kept being enjoyed, and kept revealing new detail in familiar music. The KEF LS60 Wireless was very close and made a strong case of its own, the Mission 770 was among the strongest of the year, and the Wharfedale Elysian 4 delivers remarkable full-range performance for the money, but the 805 D4 was the speaker that stayed in rotation.

Design of the Year: KEF LS60 Wireless

Design of the Year rewards products that excel in design, construction, and innovation, and the KEF LS60 Wireless hit all three. It is a fully wireless speaker, so there is no separate amplifier to choose and no associated electronics to budget for, and the app lets you shape the sound to suit the room. The cabinet is far slimmer than its reputation suggests, which means it works in a small apartment as happily as in a large listening room.

It is an expensive speaker, but the money you would otherwise spend on amplification and cabling narrows the gap considerably, which is part of why it was such a persuasive package. The other design nominees were the Marantz Model 40n, the HiFi Rose RA180, the Roksan Attessa Streaming Amplifier, and the Bowers & Wilkins Panorama 3.

Conclusion

The overall Product of the Year was the Polk Audio R700. It earned that award because it forced a rethink of what a speaker at its price should deliver, and because its all-round performance makes it genuinely hard to fault. The full list of winners: Integra DRX 3.4 for home theater receivers, Samsung Q990B for soundbars, Sony X95K for televisions, Marantz Model 40n for amplifiers, Pro-Ject Speaker Box 5 S2 for speakers under $1,000 a pair, Polk Audio R700 for speakers between $1,000 and $3,000 a pair, Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 for high-end speakers, and KEF LS60 Wireless for design.

When choosing between them, start with your room and the system you already own. A soundbar solves a different problem than a pair of separate speakers, and the speaker price bands exist for a reason: the R700’s bass advantage only matters if you would rather not add a subwoofer, and the LS60’s wireless design pays off most if you would otherwise be buying an amplifier as well.