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Samsung isn’t known for its AV receivers, but that hasn’t stopped the Korean behemoth having a stab with this affordable 5.1-channel effort. It doesn’t have the reputation to rival audio luminaries like Onkyo, Yamaha and Denon, but the HW-C500 may attract owners of other Samsung kit who like their system’s collars and cuffs to match.

Although I’m not as familiar with Paradigm as with some brands, I’ve now heard a bunch of its loudspeakers and have learned one essential thing. It uses lots of cone area in its kit, albeit by slapping lots of midrangers into the towers, or by cramming a 10in woofer into the sort of box most normal people would only use for an 8in.

We’ve certainly seen some interesting combos in the past: VCRs with onboard surround hard disk recorders, TVs with built-in DVD players, and iPod-ready melons. Okay, we might have made the last one up. Taking us back to into the solid realms of reality, though, is Sony’s KDL-40EX43B, which updates the DVD/TV concept by combining a smart-looking 40in LCD TV with a Blu-ray player.

Onkyo has built up an excellent reputation for its AV receivers. And here we have something intended to leverage this accumulated experience: a budget yet full-blown AVR, packaged with a matching 5.1 sub-sat speaker set.