What Hi-Fi? 2023 Awards are... 72% British.

[VintageFlanker]

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023 winners revealed!

We’ve revealed the first batch of winners for the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023

www.whathifi.com

Sorry, folks, but I just wanted to beat a dead horse. What Hi-Fi 2023 Awards have just been revealed today... Not that we should care much here at ASR, but let's have a bit of fun....

Some might say it is common knowledge that this magazine essentially rewards and praises products from UK companies. But is it a legitimate statement in reality ? Oh yes, it is !

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023 | The best tech products of the year

Welcome to the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023 – read about the best hi-fi, home cinema and portable products of 2023 as decided by our expert reviews.

www.whathifi.com

If I only count categories directly related to Hi-Fi (and do not consider categories where UK has no manufacturer, such as tablets or TV), I got something like this :

Stereo Amplifiers : 4 amps out of ten 5 are from a British company.

Best stereo amplifiers 2023

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023

www.whathifi.com

Standmount Speakers : 7 out of 9 are from UK.

Best standmount speakers 2023

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023

www.whathifi.com

Floorstanding Speakers : A whooping 4 out of 4 !

Best floorstanding speakers 2023

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023

www.whathifi.com

Speaker Package : 4 out of 5. Fair, I guess...

Best speaker packages 2023

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023

www.whathifi.com

Streamers : 3 out of 4 are from a British company.

Best music streamers 2023

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023

www.whathifi.com

CD Players : 2 out of 3...

Best CD players 2023

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023

www.whathifi.com

Full System : Wow ! Only 3 out of 7 are British !

Best systems 2023

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023

www.whathifi.com

DACs: 3 sur 4 are from UK... (Yes, sure. China probably isn't a thing in DAC market...)

Best DACs 2023

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023

www.whathifi.com

Turntables : 4 out of 6...

Best turntables 2023

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023

www.whathifi.com

Accessories : 8 out of 11. Great.

Best accessories 2023

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023

www.whathifi.com

You get the picture. I'm going to do the maths for you: Out of the 58 products above, 42 are from a British company. Which makes a total of 72.4% of products that received a 2023 Award. Plaudits !

 

[GDK]

Rule, Britannia!

 

[Purité Audio]

What kind of percentage of Stereophile’s recommended components are US manufactured?
Keith

 

[Mart68]

We're just the best at it lads, what can I say?

(I looked at the amps and speakers, there's not a one I would even consider buying. Or recommending).

 

[617]

How many of these companies manufacture in GB? KEF's high end stuff? Maybe Rega?

 

[VintageFlanker]

How many of these companies manufacture in GB? KEF's high end stuff? Maybe Rega?

Chord Electronics, Naim, higher end B&Ws, PMC...

 

[GXAlan]

[If I only count categories directly related to Hi-Fi (and do not consider categories where UK has no manufacturer, such as tablets or TV), I got something like this :

This is where you have introduced sample bias. If a product category has a UK manufacturer, the manufacturer is likely survived to have survived natural selection of the economy so it’s likely to be a reasonably good product from metrics that range from audio performance to aesthetics or ergonomics.

 

[Berwhale]

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023 winners revealed!

We’ve revealed the first batch of winners for the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023

www.whathifi.com

Sorry, folks, but I just wanted to beat a dead horse. What Hi-Fi 2023 Awards have just been revealed today... Not that we should care much here at ASR, but let's have a bit of fun....

Some might say it is common knowledge that this magazine essentially rewards and praises products from UK companies. But is it a legitimate statement in reality ? Oh yes, it is !

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023 | The best tech products of the year

Welcome to the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023 – read about the best hi-fi, home cinema and portable products of 2023 as decided by our expert reviews.

www.whathifi.com

If I only count categories directly related to Hi-Fi (and do not consider categories where UK has no manufacturer, such as tablets or TV), I got something like this :

Stereo Amplifiers : 4 amps out of ten 5 are from a British company.
whathifi.com/awards/best-stereo-amplifiers-2023

Standmount Speakers : 7 out of 9 are from UK.
whathifi.com/awards/best-standmount-speakers-2023

Floorstanding Speakers : A whooping 4 out of 4 !
whathifi.com/awards/best-floorstanding-speakers-2023

Speaker Package : 4 out of 5. Fair, I guess...
whathifi.com/awards/best-speaker-packages-2023

Streamers : 3 out of 4 are from a British company.
whathifi.com/awards/best-music-streamers-2023

CD Players : 2 out of 3...
whathifi.com/awards/best-cd-players-2023

Full System : Wow ! Only 3 out of 7 are British !
whathifi.com/awards/best-systems-2023

DACs: 3 sur 4 are from UK... (Yes, sure. China probably isn't a thing in DAC market...)
whathifi.com/awards/best-dacs-2023

Turntables : 4 out of 6...
whathifi.com/awards/best-turntables-2023

Accessories : 8 out of 11. Great.
whathifi.com/awards/best-accessories-2023

You get the picture. I'm going to do the maths for you: Out of the 58 products above, 42 are from a British company. Which makes a total of 72.4% of products that received a 2023 Award. Plaudits !

What's with all the dodgy dealabs.digidip.net links? Are you trying to moneytise us?

 

[VintageFlanker]

What's with all the dodgy dealabs.digidip.net links? Are you trying to moneytise us?

Nope. I just copy/pasted the links from about the same comment In posted in French on Dealabs. Will edit that ASAP. Thanks.

Edit: corrected.

 

[Ken1951]

What kind of percentage of Stereophile’s recommended components are US manufactured?
Keith

I'm not going to bother to check, but I doubt it's much different. Just very, very snake oily!

 

[VintageFlanker]

I'm not going to bother to check, but I doubt it's much different.

It is kind of different :

Stereophile's Products of 2022

What does it mean to be Stereophile's Product of the Year? It's an honor, certainly, and probably helps the winner sell more products, but is there anything more we can say about it?

www.stereophile.com

Stereophile's Products of 2021

Here's another Stereophile milestone, our second one this year. In August, we celebrated the magazine's 500th issue. This month, we celebrate a number that's smaller but almost as round: our 30th Annual Product of the Year Awards.

www.stereophile.com

More "international", it seems. At least for the last two years... Also, way less products that get a reward.

 

[617]

Traditionally, Stereophile has focused on USA made stuff. Audio Research, Vandersteen, Wilson, McIntosh, Rockport, Manley, PS Audio, Pass, Lamm, Thiel, Magico. Probably more EU stuff in the mix and some expensive Japanese stuff as well.

German hifi always seems like the odd one out to me. Acapella, Thorens, Avante Garde, Burmester? Who am I missing? ME Geithaine?

 

[Mart68]

the problem with American equipment in the UK is cost of importing it means it's not competitive. Same going the other way.

No point a UK magazine giving awards to kit the reader can't buy.

 

[Jeromeof]

the problem with American equipment in the UK is cost of importing it means it's not competitive. Same going the other way.

No point a UK magazine giving awards to kit the reader can't buy.

Nice to see the Wiim Pro Plus mentioned in both magazine awards.

 

[VintageFlanker]

the problem with American equipment in the UK is cost of importing it means it's not competitive. Same going the other way.

There are tons of Audio manufacturers from Europe, Asia, Canada that have a good distribution in UK and could have been promoted either way.

No point a UK magazine giving awards to kit the reader can't buy

Well, you speak like readers are mostly British. But they are not. What Hi-Fi? is virtually the most popular Audio magazine in the world. There is no doubt the website is the most visited one regarding Hi-Fi reviews, and "only" 22 to 30% of the traffic is coming from UK.

https://www.similarweb.com/website/whathifi.com/#geography

 

[restorer-john]

British companies? A significant number of those former British companies are now under foreign ownership and manufactured in overseas factories.

 

[sarumbear]

Isn't the Royal family like 72% British

You may want to check the meaning of British.

 

[cochlea]

I wonder how What-Hifi? chooses it’s winners. Seems like they give everything they review 5 stars.

 

[PyramidElectric]

It has nothing to do with where the equipment comes from (or is manufactured), but it might have something to do with where their ads come from

 

[VintageFlanker]

Seems like they give everything they review 5 stars.

About 35% of reviewed products are rated 5 stars. 75% of the total gets either 4 or 5 stars. Their rating system means basically nothing.