Modern audio players face many challenges and Marantz’s SA8003 meets them all. It plays CDs and the stereo tracks of SACDs. It handles MP3, AAC or WMA files via an advanced USB port, which can even control an iPod directly. Based on the successful SA7003, the SA8003 benefits from the work of Marantz’s ‘tuning wizard’ Ken Ishiwata, who has pushed the quality up to audiophile standards. This has been achieved through various technical and mechanical upgrades, including the use of Marantz’s trademark copper-plated chassis. You will find lots of other familiar Marantz ingredients in this player, such as powerful HDAM output stages and a low-noise disc drive. So it’s no wonder that the hugely versatile SA8003, available in champagne or black, is top among the players in its class.

Visually, the 6 PerspeX turntable is one of Pro-Ject’s happiest creations, its elegant design featuring an eye-catching slab of clear acrylic for the plinth and a thick MDF platter finished off in a matt black plastic. Floating above the plinth is a composite subchassis, supported under its substantial bearing housing by a sorbothane block and at a further three peripheral points by a series of opposing magnets. The matching tonearm is a luxury version of Pro-Ject’s carbon fibre arm called the 9cc Evolution. It’s possible to ‘tune’ the sound of the 6 PerspeX by using the supplied record clamp, which brings some added focus to midrange detail while tightening-up the bass register. Without the clamp, its music sounds slightly softer and lighter but also freer and arguably more natural. It looks fabulous and sounds very impressive indeed – a natural EISA winner.

This is no mere ‘new amplifier’ from Harman Kardon, for the HK 990 represents a root-and-branch evolution of all previous HK integrated models. Marketed as a ‘2.2-channel’ amplifier, this heavyweight performer also includes on-board DSP for bass management and a synchronising clock feed to optimise the flow of digital data from its partnering HD 990 CD player. With its own sophisticated DAC stage, the HK 990 further enhances its flexibility as the hub of a modern digital audio system. Moreover, its rated 2x150W specification is very conservative as this amplifier is capable of delivering over 200W/8ohm in practice and up to 1.5kW under dynamic conditions. Its sound is equally powerful, compelling and uncommonly detailed, creating a deep and broad soundstage populated with believable musical instruments. In short, the HK 990 is an audiophile bargain for enthusiasts, offering a lucid and highly detailed window into all recordings.

This handsome floorstanding loudspeaker offers tremendous value for money, and features B&W’s highly regarded FST midrange unit as part of a four-driver system. The woven Kevlar cone of the FST driver is swaged at its edge and rests on a ring of foamed plastic that acts in compression. This novel arrangement improves the driver’s dissipation of unwanted vibrations but limits its excursion, so the unit hands over to twin 165mm bass drivers, reflex loaded through a dimpled port, for deep and extended low frequencies. The speaker offers a healthy sensitivity but is reasonably tough to drive – weedy amplifiers need not apply! Suitably partnered, the CM9 offers a very lush sound, big and expressive with a very realistic sense of musical dynamics. It’s one of B&W’s most compelling floorstanders to date and at a price that seals its EISA commendation.

Like the other new models in the latest incarnation of Focal’s high-end Utopia series, the Diablo has a luxurious lacquer finish, with a choice of many colours. In this relatively compact two-way design, the drive units are mounted in two separate enclosures, arranged with a small angle between them and connected by an external structure. While the 165mm bass/midrange unit uses Focal’s Power Flower magnet technology, the tweeter has an inverted beryllium dome and its enclosure works as a Helmholtz resonator. The comprehensive owner’s manual is a model of clarity, with instructions on how exactly to position the speakers in a room, with recommended distances from walls. Despite its moderate dimensions, this new Focal loudspeaker manages to recreate an ample soundstage, bringing a realistic sense of scale, rhythm and joyous anticipation to the musical presentation.

This super-slim system comes in above Yamaha’s established PianoCraft line, and consists of a CD player, FM receiver and a pair of small but decent-sounding speakers. In spite of their small size, these units match the quality of many bigger components. The amplifier section is rated at some 60W per channel (into 6ohm) while the player handles MP3 and WMA files from CD-R or a USB stick. Of course, one of its most important features is the iPod dock offering full remote control. Also very useful are the MM phono input and the 30 FM station presets. The MSC-1330 benefits from advanced electronic parts, an excellent lab performance and a smooth, balanced and astonishingly ‘big’ sound that few would expect from such a compact combination.

Derived from the long audio tradition of Panasonic’s one-time sister brand, Technics, this micro audio system enhances any table or bookshelf like a piece of audio jewellery. Its slim and compact vertical design features a sliding door which opens to reveal both a CD player and an iPod docking station. Each loudspeaker includes one active drive unit, plus two passive units which increase the effective bass output of the system. The full-range active driver uses a 65mm cone made of a bamboo material. Despite the system’s small size, its sound quality is surprisingly bold and impressive. It plays CD’s, includes a radio tuner, and has an auxiliary line input which allows you to connect another source component if desired. Overall, it’s a system that’s slim in size yet big in sound.

Here is a new top-of-the-range model from one of the world’s most renowned headphone manufacturers. The challenge was to create a large diaphragm, essential for powerful bass reproduction, while avoiding unwanted resonances which result in distortion. The solution? Instead of the usual circular shape, the diaphragm is designed as a ring, which provides a large surface area, yet minimises distortions. The sound is astonishingly clean, even at high sound pressure levels. Low resonance materials contribute to this clear reproduction and include high-quality plastic ear cups, a metal-plastic sandwich for the headband and a special high-precision gauze made of stainless steel which holds the transducers. Though the HD 800 is not a lightweight headphone it is extremely comfortable to wear. Neither is its sound exaggerated – it is just true to the original, at every frequency from the lowest bass to the highest treble.

It’s not easy to provide the budget-conscious home theatre enthusiast with an AV receiver that offers comprehensive feature set as well as stunning audio and video performance – but Denon’s brand-new AVR-1910 accomplishes this to perfection. It comes with decoders for all the latest HD sound formats, automatic room correction with Audyssey MultEQ, four HDMI inputs, and a powerful video section that up-converts all video sources to 1080p. Also, it is one of the first products on the market to include the Dolby’s ProLogic IIz algorithm, which adds ‘front height’ channels to further enhance the listening experience. The 7.1 channel amplifier section produces enough power even for larger cinema rooms, and delivers a crisp, controlled and dynamic sound that is equally well suited to music and movie soundtracks.

User-friendly and stylish, the LG HB954PB is a 5.1 channel home theatre system based on a Blu-ray disc player with built-in amplifiers. Completing the package are four speakers in an attractive champagne and silver-blue finish, a dedicated center speaker and a passive subwoofer. The system combines appealing design with a balanced, detailed sound – the sonic performance was tuned by high-end audio guru Mr Mark Levinson. It also provides simple and easy installation with HDMI in/out, BD Live (Profile 2.0), full HD 1080p upscaling from DVD, a sliding docking station with iPod playback and recharge, and LG sound gallery. With the LG954PB you can experience Blu-ray in full High Definition and surround sound, for a high quality music and movie experience in your own living room.

Dvico’s TviX HD M-7000 offers an easy and comfortable way to play your entire media library – MP3, AVI, MKV, FLAC files and more – including family videos filmed on a digital camcorder. This player supports all current HD codecs while Dvico’s firmware updates keep you ready for future developments. It includes a built-in hard disk drive (various sizes are offered by different sellers), but it can also be connected easily to any Network Attached Storage unit. An HDMI v1.3 interface gives easy and reliable connection to any modern TV with very good video/audio quality, while legacy TVs can be connected to the player via its composite video output. And if you connect this player to an AV receiver via HDMI or S/PDIF, your media files or DVDs may be enjoyed with full multichannel sound.

Monitor Audio is well known for its good quality audiophile speakers and these ranges seem to provide excellent solutions for home theatre systems too. This time Monitor Audio has come up with a new version of a series made especially for home theatre, dubbed Radius HD. The line-up consists of two subwoofers and six satellite speakers, giving a wide choice of system combinations. Radius HD speakers claim an extended high frequency response thanks to their C-CAM gold dome tweeters, and offer a natural, balanced midrange, thanks to patented Metal Matrix Polymer (MMP II) bass/mid drivers. The satellite speakers are easily stand- or wall-mounted using the brackets supplied and their high-gloss finish lends an attractive look to any modern living room. Monitor Audio’s Radius HD could be the perfect solution for your high-definition home theatre experience.

A fully-grown subwoofer powerhouse with enough juice for even the most ambitious home theatre enthusiast, Elac’s Sub 2080 D still manages to please the eye with its stylish looks and relatively small footprint. Twin 250mm drivers are employed vertically, featuring very stiff aluminium sandwich cones, and arranged in Elac’s unique ‘push-push/pull-pull’ configuration. This allows for optimal sound dispersion from a compact enclosure. Thanks to Elac’s ‘Subwoofer Precision’ technology, which electronically minimises distortions, the 2080 D makes full use of its 500W power amplifier across an 18 to 180Hz frequency range, providing a bone-shaking home theatre experience with supreme bass control, no matter how demanding the movie.

Hailing from Canada’s Paradigm stable, this massive AV processor/power amplifier combination offers decoding for all the Dolby and DTS HD-audio formats while the modular amplifier platform is available in both two and five-channel variants, rated at a substantial 325W. Packed with useful features, the D2v processor offers no less than 8 HDMI 1.3 inputs, 2 outputs, 10 S/PDIF digital inputs and a full 10 channels of balanced analogue outputs. The latest V2 version also includes Dolby Volume together with a bespoke and powerful EQ system called Anthem Room Correction (ARC) developed from research conducted by the Canadian National Research Council. This software is run on a PC hooked into the processor via an RS232 connection. The sound of the combination is both massive in its architecture riveting in its detail, a tour-de-force of musical and movie action to power the grandest of home theatre systems.

Beautifully finished and comprehensively equipped, Pioneer’s BDP-LX91 is one of the very first BD players with sufficient on-board processing power to decode both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. It’s also one of the first to offer a full 7.1 channel analogue output – perfect for direct connection to the multichannel analogue inputs of new and legacy AV receivers alike. Naturally, the BDP-LX91 also offers HDMI 1.3a connectivity and the full flexibility of Profile 2 BD Live functionality with its 4GB of internal memory. Powerful DSP is included, offering audio bass management and Pioneer’s own ‘adaptive bit expansion’ which interpolates BD’s native 8-bit per channel to 16-bit colour. Picture and sound quality are spectacular, being both vibrant and hugely detailed. The very brightest whites look pure, free of spurious colour and any suggestion of dynamic crushing, while the multichannel sound is amazing, the most dense acoustic imaginings depicted in seemingly intricate detail. The BDP-LX91 is the jewel in Pioneer’s AV crown.

Trying to find a cost-effective BD player that will fulfil all your needs? The LG BD390 can! Its unique appeal is based on wireless connectivity plus complete compatibility with all the standard interfaces (USB, HDMI 1080p, S-Video, YUV), and it even provides 7.1-channel analogue outputs. For the Internet, you can hook up the player with an Ethernet cable or go wireless via 802.11n Wi-Fi. You can enjoy multimedia content from your local DLNA net or PC stream, download BD-Live content, or connect to YouTube. You can also play media files from external FAT and NTFS drives. The BD390 offers comprehensive handling of compressed audio, video and photo codecs, and formats like DivX, DivX HD and even MKV. Last but not least, this extraordinary player comes at a very attractive price.

Billed by Samsung as ‘the world’s slimmest’, the 42mm-high BD-P4600 is also the world’s first wall-mountable Blu-ray player. Its black glossy finish blends into platinum-grey to complement Samsung’s Crystal TV range, and the curvy chassis looks great when mounted vertically on its special hidden bracket below a wall-mounted flat screen. Wireless internet access is provided simply and painlessly by connecting Samsung’s accessory Wi-Fi dongle to the player’s USB 2.0 port. Alternatively, you can use a cable Ethernet connection. The BD-P4600 supports Bonus View for picture-in-picture movie extras and BD Live (BD profile 2.0) for a wealth of interactive entertainment features, with 1GB of internal storage for downloadable content. You can also stream multimedia from your PC to the BD-P4600. Finally, this sleek and effective Blu-ray player offers 1080p upscaling when playing a standard DVD disc. A genuinely innovative design with ‘must have’ visual appeal.

The announcement of Philips’ Cinema 21:9 HDTV was greeted with great enthusiasm by home cinema buffs. And for a good reason, for as more BD releases are offered in their original cinematic aspects of around 2.35:1, this is the first set that gets close to offering the widescreen impact intended by the director. Philips’ 56PFL9954H, named in full, still partially scales the BD’s 1080p output to fill its 2560x1080 pixel screen but the results are both natural and compelling. Philips’ own BDP9100 Blu-ray player with subtitle-shift function is the ideal partner. This is a Profile 2.0 machine that handles Dolby and DTS HD audio formats with 1GB of internal memory to accommodate BD Live extras. Philips is the first to offer a truly cinematic widescreen experience from a TV, but you can bet others will follow!