AAD’s M Series surround sound home theatre offers great sound quality for movies at an affordable price. The speakers are quite light and easy to set up, although their styling is more conservative than impressive.

Sharp’s CD-MPX880H is a sound system that has legacy format support in the form of two cassette trays, as well as a five-CD stacker. It fulfils its tasks admirably but we would have liked to see some more advanced features like USB support.

Philips’ newest sound-bar works well as an unobtrusive addition to your home theatre, fitting in well with the most recent LCD and plasma panels. The addition of a subwoofer means it isn't as streamlined as other sound-bars, but it does provide a welcome boost to bass response.

KingRex's UD-01 digital audio converter replaces your PC's sound card for transporting audio to an amplifier. By cutting out the PC's noisy internal circuitry the UD-01 offers a significant boost in sound quality with a warm yet clear signature.

As a storage device, the ScreenPlay HD excels — it’s fast and has plenty of storage space. Its media playback abilities leave plenty to be desired, however, with limited format support and an uninspiring interface.

LG’s XA63 is a solid mini Hi-Fi system. Its advanced features are more novel than useful, but it handles most tasks easily.