If you’ve got a wide selection of CDs or SACDs, you’ll notice a difference stepping up to a dedicated CD player like the CD-S2000. Of course, just like with other high-end components you need the appropriate system to take advantage of that jump in sound quality.

An excellent low-end receiver. Doesn't pump out too much power to each speaker, but sound quality doesn't suffer at all.

A wonderful home theatre experience. If the buyer can match it to their living room and has a spare few hours to set it up, it is one of the best choices available.

The Panasonic DMP-BD10 is delivered exceptional image quality but had some functionality issues and carries an high price tag.

If you’ve got somewhere to put it, Claritas’ new media centre PC is more than powerful enough for your high-definition media playback needs.

If you have a bundle of cash and are looking for a good looking device to add to your home theatre or a PC that can handle most media related tasks, then the Maestro is for you. If you are looking for a gaming PC, you may want to look elsewhere.

Pioneer's DreamVision machine is unique and looks striking, but a lack of polish makes it better suited to tech-savvy users than mainstream consumers.

A very decent media centre, however it is outperformed in terms of value for money by some of the competition.

The Acer Aspire iDea 510 makes a set-top box out of a computer, without losing many of the perks of a PC. It's reasonably easy to set up and it worked with a number of test displays. It performed well enough in our performance tests for a media centre, and it did it quietly, too.

Expensive, but stacked with features and has power to burn.

We cannot in good faith recommend this system to anyone. Even if the sound quality was exquisite, a similar level can be achieved at a much lower price and in full surround.