A genuine hands-on testing operation with real test rooms and walled-off ad sales; just remember it earns affiliate commission on the gear it rates highly, which it discloses.
What it's really for An audio and AV testing magazine; earns affiliate commissions and runs sponsored content.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its hands-on hi-fi and AV star ratings, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
Retailers and advertisers pay it most, via affiliate commissions and display ads; by its own disclosure "no ratings or recommendations have been paid for" and the ad department never sees verdicts before publication, so payment does not buy placement.
Source →- Operating since
- 1976 (50 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- Makes money from affiliate commissions on products it reviews, display advertising, labeled sponsored content, and print/subscription sales.
- What they do
- Its in-house team hands-on tests hi-fi, headphones, TVs and home-cinema gear in custom acoustically-treated rooms and publishes consensus star ratings and verdicts.
- What to watch for
- It earns an affiliate cut when you buy through its links, so the products it praises are also the ones it profits from when you buy them, a structural incentive it discloses but cannot eliminate.
- Composite score
- 3.70 / 5.00 → grade B+
How the grade was reached
Does the site take money from the very entities it ranks? Pay-for-placement, vendor-funded data, and affiliate commissions all pull this down. The less the ranking can be bought, the higher the score.
What is the ranking actually built on? Hands-on testing scores highest, then verified first-hand reviews, then opinion or popularity surveys and self-reported figures, then pay-to-rank, which scores lowest.
Is the methodology published, specific, and reproducible? Can a reader see how a given rank was reached, or is it a black box?
Are commercial relationships, sponsorships, and affiliate arrangements disclosed clearly and near the rankings themselves, rather than buried?
How hard is it to game? Controls against fake reviews, solicited reviews, and vendor gaming raise this; an open box anyone can stuff lowers it.
Evidence
- What Hi-Fi? states it is 'the only UK-based brand to have a dedicated team of in-house reviewers, all working in the same acoustically treated test rooms,' with three custom-built test rooms and verdicts 'agreed upon by the team as a whole,' and that 'no manufacturer or PR is ever shown a review prior to publication, and our advertising department never knows what the test verdicts are before the review is published.' Source: What Hi-Fi? — How we test and review products →
- On its About page the publisher says products are selected 'based on their unbiased, expert judgement' and that 'no ratings or recommendations have been paid for,' while disclosing that it earns affiliate commission paid by the retailer that 'does not directly affect the price you pay.' Source: What Hi-Fi? — About us →
- Founded in 1976 by Haymarket Media Group and acquired by parent Future plc in 2018 as part of a roughly £14m brand deal; reviews are produced in-house at dedicated testing facilities in London, Reading and Bath. Source: Wikipedia — What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision →