The DAVIS50 isn’t invisible by any stretch of the imagination — the subwoofer sticks out like a sore thumb — but it does allow a lot of flexibility in placement, which might make it attractive to some buyers.

With a similar price to Sony’s PSLX300USB, this Akai turntable distinguishes itself with more features and its modern styling.

As a sound card to transform your bog-standard PC into a music or media centre, the UD10.1 is fantastic. It has a confusing layout of ports, but if you can live with this you’ll be pleased.

As an enthusiast device, the PSLX300USB's advantages lie in its ability to digitally encode vinyl via computer. For connecting directly to a home audio setup, there are better options.

Arcam’s Solo Movie 5.1 is the ideal AV hub for serious videophiles. It will allow you to hook up everything from your speaker system to your game console, with the quality components ensuring everything runs on top form. Just bear in mind that you'll need to connect an additional player to enjoy Blu-ray movies.

Teac's DVP221 is a small DVD player. That's about it — it doesn't do anything its competitors can't and isn't very good-looking. It does everything it professes to do quite well, at least.

Thanks to the Tivoli NetWorks radio there is now no need for you to sit at your computer to listen to streaming Internet music. It does have to make a few compromises, however — in design and sound quality.

For the price, Teac's DV3131 is a decent machine. It can handle DVD video as well as a variety of compressed formats through USB.

If you want high quality sound from your PC but aren’t prepared to shell out for a massive power-hungry amplifier, Trends Audio’s TA10.1 amplifier can handle almost anything you throw at it.

The ANPR1500H is a great stereo replacement for the in-built speakers of a flat-panel television as well as providing a stylish stand and A/V equipment rack. It won’t be able to emulate a proper surround sound system for movie playback, but it’ll do just fine for most users.

If you want a high quality HD set-top box but don’t need recording capability, Sanyo’s simple, speedy unit can do everything you need.