10 BEST SURROUND SOUND SYSTEMS - The Independent, 2 Dec 2004

As chosen by technology expert Mark Harris

Yamaha DSP-AX750SE amplifier £400
Forget about having a quiet night in with this AV monster – it roars up to 700W of surround sound via an all-encompassing 7.1 channels. It’s compatible with all the latest movie sound formats (including Dolby Pro Logic IIx) and has a bewildering 53 audio programmes to ensure that you never short of something to tinker with.
Yamaha (01923 233166 ; www.yamaha-audio.co.uk)

Mordaunt-Short Genie speakers £800
Getting big sound no longer means cluttering your house with big speakers. Despite being just 22cm tall, Mordaunt-Short’s Genies have the bottle to fill a room with all the music, explosions and scary behind-the-sofa noises your DVD player can manage. The all-aluminium construction (even including high-tech metal drivers) keeps the weight down for wall-mounting.
Mordaunt-Short (0845 128 3951; www.mordaunt-short.co.uk)


KEF Instant Theatre home cinema £1200 --- BEST BUY
While some systems deliver immersive audio with up to eight speakers, KEF is trying to do the same using just two (plus a subwoofer). The trick is that the side panels are speakers, too, firing out audio to bounce off the walls and surprise you from behind. The effect works better in some rooms than others but is generally very realistic. The DVD player has progressive scan output for flatscreen TVs.
KEF (0800 0664040; www.kefinstanttheatre.com)

Mission M-Cube speakers £1200 --- BEST LUXURY BUY
Welcome to home cinema for the iPod generation. These stylish and compact cube-shaped speakers use sophisticated flat panel technology to belt out rich, powerful audio. The speakers come in ivory white or midnight black and you can customise them further by swapping their coloured fabric surrounds. Even the hefty subwoofer looks great – and has simple pop-up controls.
Mission (01480 541777; www.mission.co.uk)

Monitor Audio Radius R270AD speakers £1550
For home cinema convincing enough to charge admission, nothing beats a full 7.1 speaker set-up. Having said that, you’ll need a theatre-sized room to accommodate three magnetically-shielded speakers at the front, two at the sides, two at the back, plus a bass-heavy subwoofer, so perhaps you should go the whole hog and buy a popcorn machine. Note that you’ll need a special 7.1-channel amplifier to get the best from these superb speakers.
Monitor Audio (01268 740580; www.monitoraudio.co.uk)

Denon 2910 DVD player £600
There are two competing surround sound audio formats vying to replace your ageing stereo CD collection, although the choice of albums is still very limited. This audiophile Denon plays both DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD discs, as well as normal DVDs, CDs and some recordable DVDs. It also has progressive scan and the new HDMI output, for use with modern flatscreen TVs and digital projectors.
Denon (01753 888447; www.denon.co.uk)

Samsung HT-DS470 home cinema £250 --- BEST BUDGET BUY
Digital radio isn’t available in full surround sound yet, but that hasn’t stopped Samsung building a DAB receiver into this entry-level home cinema system. While you’ll still have to wake up to Wogan in stereo, the 5.1 speakers will make the most of your DVD movies and the player can also cope with digital movies, MP3 music and images recorded on computer CDs.
Samsung (0870 242 0303; www.samsungelectronics.co.uk)

Sony DAV-LF1 home cinema £1500
Is flat the new black? All these Sony speakers (except the subwoofer) are just 5cm thick, enabling them to hang on the wall alongside your flatscreen telly or perch on ultra-thin stands provided. The two rears speakers use wireless infrared technology to cut down on cabling and the DVD deck can play surround sound Super Audio CDs as well as movies.
Sony (0870 511 1999; www.sony.co.uk)

Tube Surround headphones €150 (about £115)
Just how serious are you about your surround sound? If you’re always tweaking settings and rearranging the furniture in search of that perfect balance, check out these bizarre headphones from Denmark. They have five built-in speakers that circle your head, pumping sound at your ears from every angle. If, instead, you’d rather not look like a saint whose halo has slipped, stick with traditional speakers.
Tube Surround (no UK phone; www.tubesurround.com)

Creative I-Trigue 5600 PC speakers £150
Gone are the days when computers were only good for word processing and spreadsheets. Today’s 21st-century PCs are multimedia powerhouses, capable of playing DVDs, recording TV shows and storing thousands of albums. This computer-friendly system comprises five small satellite speakers (with wall brackets) and a heavy subwoofer with a wired remote control. It can even ‘up-mix’ stereo songs to artificial 5.1 surround sound.
Creative Labs (no phone; www.europe.creative.com)

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