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Of course, buying the equipment is only one part of the journey. To get the best from your multichannel setup, consideration of speaker placement is key, before you get into system EQ and the effects of your room environment. Spend time getting it right (or as right as you can), and you'll be on the path toward a sound performance that perhaps Mr Lucas would be proud of...

Thanks mainly to the 4K HDR experiences unlocked by its new X1 for Projector processing silicon, Sony has already wowed us with two of its current home cinema beamers, the mid-range VPL-VW590ES (see HCC #318) and step-up VPL-VW790ES (HCC #316). Can it complete the hat-trick with the high-end VPL-VW890ES? Or, put another way, is this £25,000 laser-powered behemoth really £12,000 'better' than the VW790ES?

The soundbar market is saturated, but amongst the myriad models it's possible to see trends, as brands coalesce around specific price points and feature sets. A disadvantage for Denon's Home Sound Bar 550 (beyond the somewhat clumsy name) is that its basic specification – a compact 'bar with no subwoofer, Atmos/DTS:X decoding with no upfirers – is mirrored by models around the £300 price point. And it sells for £550.