For those of us whose birthday cakes have candles representing decades rather than years, Audiolab is a name one will remember with affection.

Back in the hi-fi bonanza years of the 1980s, this UK brand all but dominated the mid-priced range. And rightly so; the original Audiolab 8000 series two-channel components were fabulous.

The new 8000 series AV kit reviewed here not only re-kindles that nostalgic flame but throws in a gallon of petrol to re-ignite a hitherto forgotten area of the multi-channel market; simplicity.  read more »

In part two of our credit crunch system special, we cherry pick a bargain screen, projector and speakers and then crank the whole darn rig up to eleven.  read more »

Even when the credit crunch starts to bite you really don't need to compromise in your quest for high-performance kit.

HCC auditions hundreds of components a year in a ceaseless search to find the best-performing AV gear in the land. But what kit stands out from the crowd without breaking the bank?  read more »

Panasonic has a long and distinguished history in amplification.

Admittedly, its glory years came and went with the Technics brand, but the guys behind the scenes certainly know their way around hi-fi separates.  read more »

Much has been said of OLED and, specifically, it’s superthin nature, but LCD is also slimming down at a rate of knots. Sharp’s XS1E Series of panels feature a footprint of a mere 23mm (at their thinnest points), thanks to being served images from separate media boxes, and, during a trip to the company’s UK headquarters, I’ve managed to have a good old gander at the 52in and 65in supermodels.  read more »

All brands like to brag about their professional users. Eclipse claims some of the most respected recording engineers and musicians amongst theirs, including the legendary Brian Eno.

So when it comes to bragging rights the brand is off to a good start. It also wins designer plaudits.  read more »

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, Marantz took the whole THX concept to heart. The technology has since been widely implemented on its AV amplifiers and receivers down the years, even as some other AVR brands appeared to lose interest in the philosophy. On the SR8002 this takes the the form of THX Select2.  read more »

JVC’s DLA-HD100 is a substantial beast for any AV room to accommodate. Just as well, then, that it wears its dimensions well, thanks to a reassuringly robust and  glossy black exterior, finished off by tastefully curved edges. Even the front-mounted fan ports to either side of the centrally-positioned lens fail to spoil the aesthetic pleasure.  read more »

Amy Winehouse. Girls Aloud. Keira Knightley. Twiggy. The justification for invading Iraq. All of these have one thing in common; they're unfeasibly and, in some cases, unnaturally thin. But, with the exception of the Iraqi war, they're incredibly popular.  read more »

Sony’s long-awaited PlayTV PVR bolt-on for the PS3 promises to finally turn the console into a genuine multimedia hub. But is the Freeview recording peripheral really going to change the way people use the PS3?

When the Play TV gizmo arrived in HCC Towers we jumped on it to find out for ourselves. It transpires that the PlayTV is a sizeable, rather ugly twin tuner-equipped adapter. It's designed to let you watch and record Freeview channels using your console.

Sporting an aerial input and a single red LED, it connects to the console via a mini USB lead. It can be reasonably well controlled using the PS3 Sixaxis controller but if you have the PS3 Blu Ray remote you can use that with the button overlay provided.  read more »

For many years, I’ve moaned about DTT PVRs with one tuner. Now, I encounter this non-PVR curiosity with two tuners and no hard drive. It’s presumably designed for those who want to digitally-upgrade their existing TV and VCR. True to form, the Zapbox Gemini has separate Scarts for TV and VCR. The idea is that you can independently select the channels sent to each.

The Metronic approach is not perhaps as odd as it seems. Unlike hard disks, VCRs don’t crash; if you live in an area with unreliable mains then you’ll get the entire recording until the point where power was lost. Some people too are just loath to part with their old-tech VCRs.  read more »

Quite simply, the range-topping PDP-LX6090 is the best TV in the world bar none. The 60incher’s smaller sibling, the LX5090, runs it a close second and is, in itself, a standard-setting TV. But size, in this case, is everything. At present, I’d argue that there is no better way of viewing hi-def movies or games than on Pioneer’s king of screens, unless you require a much larger picture and therefore a projector. But I’d even suggest that the image quality of the LX6090 is so good that it represents a viable alternative to a projection-based home cinema installation.  read more »

So Sharp’s second-gen 100Hz TVs come to market with quite a big credibility gap to bridge. Enter the LC-46XL2E, new champion of Sharp’s flatset. A look at the form book indicates that this screen should be a notable improvement on what’s gone before. While Sharp has yet to break into the premier league in the UK, the brand is rapidly becoming the go-to company for LCD panels for the rest of the Japanese TV industry.  read more »

Two things have come from the demise of HD DVD. Firstly, my hi-def movie collection has become massive since the format’s back catalogue started selling for silly money, and secondly, it’s encouraged fence-sitting manufacturers to fast-track Blu-ray decks.  read more »

This new LCD screen from Ambilight advocate Philips boasts the sort of design flourishes you’d expect from a top-of-the-range HDTV: the 42in screen is surrounded by a narrow gloss black frame and transparent plastic lip; the glass tabletop stand is slightly angled forward to give it a sense of poise; and push the power switch and two LED backlights kick into life, bathing the wall behind the TV in dynamic colours that instantly shift to replicate the tone of whatever’s on screen at the time. So it might surprise you to learn that this is merely a mid-range model in Philips’ new television range – one that’s available for well under £1,000.  read more »