What Were the Best Hi-Fi Audio Products of 2024?

TL;DR

The standout Hi-Fi products of 2024 ranged from the $135 fzy audio speaker switcher to the roughly $2,500 Advanced Paris A10 classic amplifier. Other monthly highlights included the Sonus Faber Lumina 2 speakers, Cambridge Audio Evo 150 DeLorean Edition, Jelly Labs Daisy DAC, and WiiM’s room-correction update. Read on for their prices, features, and the reviewer’s reasons for choosing them.

Transcript

woo 2024 big huge year and today I'm going to talk about kind of I don't know the highlights of 2024 the highlights of each month what I've learned from the comments what I've learned from YouTube and the most popular videos of each month huge thank you to today's sponsor the pxn 308e you looking for an affordable wireless gaming headset well look ... Read More

Key Insights

• The Advanced Paris A10 classic is a tube integrated amplifier with large VU meters priced around $2,500, positioned as offering more than a Macintosh at roughly three times cheaper. Its January review reached 130,000 views total.
• Swappable op-amps are valued because they add modularity, letting owners buy an affordable amplifier at $80, $110, or $150 and upgrade it over time instead of paying everything upfront.
• The fzy audio speaker switcher costs $135 and lets a listener quickly A/B two different speakers and two different amps to decide which they prefer, making it the most popular March video after a thumbnail change.
• The Sonus Faber Lumina 2 is a two-way bookshelf speaker handmade in Italy priced at $1,500, described as very dynamic; the reviewer liked them so much he bought them himself.
• The Cambridge Audio Evo 150 DeLorean Edition is an amplifier with a built-in streamer priced over $2,000 to $3,000, tying in Back to the Future themes; its April review has reached over 141,000 views.
• Thumbnails and titles heavily affect a video's performance, as the speaker switcher video underperformed until its thumbnail was changed, teaching how to maximize a video's mileage on YouTube.
• The Jelly Labs Daisy is a higher-end DAC around $1,300 that uses separate DAC chips for the left and right channels, made in the US by a family-run company that builds every unit to order.
• WiiM released a free firmware update in July adding room correction to all of its products except the WiiM Mini, following the May announcement of the WiiM Ultra streaming preamp at High-End Munich.

Questions & Answers

Q: What were the best Hi-Fi audio products of 2024?

The reviewer’s monthly highlights included the Advanced Paris A10 classic amplifier, Sonus Faber Lumina 2 speakers, fzy audio speaker switcher, Cambridge Audio Evo 150 DeLorean Edition, Jelly Labs Daisy DAC, and WiiM products. His selections covered both affordable equipment, such as the $135 speaker switcher, and higher-end products costing more than $1,000.

Q: What is the Advanced Paris A10 classic amplifier, and how much does it cost?

The Advanced Paris A10 classic is an integrated amplifier with tubes, large VU meters, and numerous inputs and outputs. It costs around $2,500, and the reviewer considered it one of his favorite products from a brand he had not heard before. Its January review reached 130,000 total views.

Q: Why are swappable op-amps useful in affordable amplifiers?

Swappable op-amps let owners upgrade their equipment gradually instead of paying the full cost of a more advanced setup upfront. The reviewer valued this modularity in amplifiers priced at $80, $110, or $150 because buyers can start with functional, affordable gear and improve it over time.

Q: Why did the reviewer buy the Sonus Faber Lumina 2 speakers?

The reviewer bought the Sonus Faber Lumina 2 because he enjoyed their beautiful, highly dynamic sound and considered them among his favorite bookshelf speakers. They are two-way speakers handmade in Italy and cost $1,500.

Q: What does the fzy audio speaker switcher do, and what does it cost?

The $135 fzy audio speaker switcher enables quick A/B comparisons between two speakers and two amplifiers. It became the reviewer’s most popular March video after he changed its thumbnail, demonstrating how presentation can affect a video’s performance.

Q: What is special about the Cambridge Audio Evo 150 DeLorean Edition?

The Cambridge Audio Evo 150 DeLorean Edition combines an amplifier with a built-in streamer and uses a theme connected to Back to the Future. It costs between more than $2,000 and $3,000, and its April review accumulated more than 141,000 views.

Q: What is the Jelly Labs Daisy DAC?

The Jelly Labs Daisy is a higher-end DAC costing around $1,300, depending on its configuration. It uses separate sets of DAC chips for the left and right channels. It is made to order in the United States by a family-run company and was the reviewer’s biggest June video.

Q: Which WiiM products received room correction in 2024?

WiiM released a free firmware update in July that added room correction to all its products except the WiiM Mini. This followed the May announcement of the WiiM Ultra, a small streaming preamp, at High-End Munich.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The 2024 recap, modeled on a Marques Brownlee format, walks month by month through the channel's Hi-Fi highlights. January's standouts were the tube-based Advanced Paris A10 classic amplifier at about $2,500 and an op-amp video praising swappable, upgradeable gear, closing the month at 1.5 million views.

• Spring mixed price extremes: February featured the $1,500 Sonus Faber Lumina 2 bookshelf speakers and Florida Audio Fest, March's top video was the $135 fzy audio speaker switcher, and April's AXPONA month was led by the Cambridge Audio Evo 150 DeLorean Edition and a cheap AliExpress amplifier experiment.

• May brought a press trip to Italy visiting Goldnote, Unison Research, Opera loudspeakers and Audio Flight plus the WiiM Ultra announcement, hitting 1.5 million views. June's top video was the family-made Jelly Labs Daisy DAC around $1,300, and July featured WiiM's free room-correction update.