Page 16 - AV & Home Cinema

The soundbase: a bit like a soundbar or a sound projector – but much more compact. These little boxes are designed to fit snugly and discreetly beneath your television screen, which means they don’t take up any more space than the TV would by itself – leaving you with more breathing room than a complete surround sound system – or even a sound bar – would allow.

Much like its soundbar brother, soundbases are designed with the goal of bringing the sound – and atmosphere – of home cinema into any living

Soundbars. They’re easy, they’re affordable and they serve a very precise function: transforming whichever room they occupy into a something which embodies the sound and atmosphere of a real home cinema. Interested? Of course you are.

The best thing about soundbars – aside from how they sound – is how accessible they are. There are models to suit any budget, and they are very easy to set up and use. You don’t need to be an audio-aficionado to set up and use a soundbar to its fullest capability and

For the past 15-20 years, enjoying cinema surround sound in the comfort of your living room has been a reality. Home cinema systems and terms such as "5.1" and "7.2" have been commonplace, and watching your favourite movies and TV shows in immersive surround sound is no longer just available to cinema goers.

However, this technology has seemed somewhat stagnant in recent years, and while small technological advances have been realised, the format of cinematic sound has remained largely the same.

We all remember the days of the big old fashioned television, and it was not that long ago that these monsters sat in the corner of our living room (for some of us they still do!). Thankfully, the flatscreen HDTV has become the display of choice for most - offering numerous advantages over the old CRT style (as shown below). They look sleek and elegant, have a high quality image and most of all they save acres of space.

However, the one disadvantage of the sleek flat screen

What is a Soundbar / Digital Sound Projector

Sound bars are a “one box” solution for complementing your existing television, some offer the ability to portray a 5.1 setup where space is limited or traditional larger speakers are not acceptable.  We often find customer requiring something that looks smart and does not become the main feature of the room, aesthetics are key here and manufacturers go to great lengths to make slimline designs sound as good as possible. Let’s have a look at the theory

The popularity of soundbars has increased dramatically in recent months, and it's down to a few main reasons: they eliminate the wiring and confusions when setting up the traditional 5.1 or 7.1 home cinema system, with minimal space required. And to be honest, it just looks damn sleek when placed under your flat screen HD TV.

We've cherry picked the top 5 sound bars for you to consider, make sure to read this before you buy!

Substantial low bass for a small enclosure
Yamaha YAS-101

Perfect for the

While seasoned audiophiles will be used to what cable goes where, for anyone new to hi-fi or home cinema, the number of sockets on the back of an AV receiver can be a daunting sight. However, connecting your home cinema needn't be as worrying as it might first seem and is fairly straightforward once you understand how everything all fits together.

So, take a breath & we'll do our best to explain it.

For the purposes of this example, we've used the rear of the

It can be a challenge to get the speakers in your hi-fi or home cinema sounding at their best in your listening room, but it’s more straightforward than you might think and simply requires a little patience and some handy tips.

1) Keep away from the walls
Your speakers should be at a distance of one foot or more from the rear and side walls. If your speakers are too close to the wall you may experience “boomy” bass.  Experiment with positioning of your speakers as much as you can until the level

We know how important it is for our customers to be able to visualise a product before making a purchase. "A picture speaks a thousand words" as they say, but we have gone a step further, no, we have gone 360 steps further. Making a product to be viewable at every angle in 360 degrees. Take a look at the Vita Audio R2i DAB Radio & iPod System and the Acoustic Energy Aego M Active Speakers 2.1 System, the 360° view is located at the middle of the page, just drag your mouse over the image and

We know that there’s more to a really great home set-up than just amplifiers and speakers and know our customers are discerning listeners / viewers who want to keep ahead of the curve. With that in mind we are always sure to stock the latest equipment, including Yamahas stunning new DSP 3D ready AV-line up. Priced as reasonably as they are, these AV receivers and Blue Ray players represent a very cost effective way to upgrade your system and make it 3D ready – set to be the ultimate must have of