Group test: Surround speaker systems £500-£800 pt2

Overview Price: £600 More info: Q Acoustics Left, front, right speakers Size: 160 (w) x 75 (h) x 300 (d) mm Weight: 7.2kg Drive units: 161mm BMR driver Frequency response: 60Hz - 20kHz Sensitivity: 88dB Power handling: 25-100W Subwoofer Size: 432 mm (w) x 170 mm (h) x 475 mm (d) Weight: 15.75kg Drive Unit: 200mm long-throw Frequency response: -6dB at 18Hz and 40/140Hz adjustable (EQ at i) Onboard power: 120W Q Acoustics Q-AV Q Acoustics is a new brand which offers a unique proposition with its Q-AV system. Its 5.1 sub/sat solution 'hides in plain sight' as the company puts it, with the front three speakers clamping to the wall below your flat panel TV and adjusting its own width to look like part of the set. Genius! What's more, the five satellite speakers are the first to use BMR (balance mode radiator) drivers, which combine regular cones with flat NXT radiators to give punchy sound in a very flat design. This makes it the ideal shape for a wall mounting, while the dispersive nature of NXT radiators is perfect for surround sound. The revolutionary drivers really succeed in producing a broad and cohesive surround sound effect. In stereo mode meanwhile, the necessarily tight positioning of the front pair compromises their stereo imaging a little, but the subwoofer does a marvellous job of picking up the bass frequencies. However refined they sound, we suspect it's their room-friendly design that will be their biggest selling point. The metal frame that holds the front three is flexible enough to exactly match the width and depth of any 37in to 50in TV and when you stretch on the elastic cover, you'd hardly notice them.

Verdict Plus points Cunningly blending with your TV, but delivering big surround sound Minus points Some compromise in stereo imaging and best with movies

Overview Price: £799 More info: Tannoy Arena Lite Satellites Size: 133.5 (w) x 187 (h) x 175.5 (d) mm Weight: 2.5kg Drive units: Dual Concentric drive unit incorporating 19mm neodymium tweeter Frequency response: 80Hz - 54kHz Sensitivity: 88dB Rec amplifier power: 15 - 100Watt Arena Lite Sub Size: 286 (w) x 323 (h) x 286 (d) Weight: 9.5kg Drive units: 250mm pulp cone Low Frequency response: 29Hz Onboard power: 300W RMS Features: Phase control, crossover defeat switch for LFE operation, soft limiting to avoid overload, LF extension control Tannoy Arena Lite Tannoy's credentials in speaker design are beyond question, having been successful in the trade for over 50 years and given that this system is a streamlined version of its excellent Tannoy Arena system, we expected good things from the new Lite package. The five identical die-cast satellites are smaller than the original Arenas, but just as dense weighing 2.5g apiece. Their beautifully engineered heavy alloy enclosures are trimmed with rubber baffles and come in either black or metallic silver finishes. The sub is a perfect cube and in a nice touch of design, its control knobs match the binding posts of the speakers. With build quality this high, you wonder how Tannoy has managed to hit the price point. Tannoy's distinctive dual-concentric drive units with the tweeter positioned inside the woofer so that high and low frequencies originate from the same point, are housed in each cabinet, while the dedicated centre channel has one of these and a mid/bass driver housed in a wider unit ensuring the all-important dialogue channel is always on-message, even in complicated mixes. The little subwoofer has a tendency to literally jump around if you turn it up too much and don't weigh it down, but match it well at a realistic volume and the overall sound is remarkably cohesive. The sweet and rich sound making this set a good all-rounder for music and movies.

Verdict Plus points Beautifully engineered cabinets with a lush musical sound Minus points Rather lightweight subwoofer

Final verdict Each of these packages are perfectly capable of delivering film soundtracks in glorious 5.1 surround sound and they'll do justice to your music too, but let's put them in order of greatness. It's hard not to love the look of the colourful Allroom Pros, but sonically they're shrinking violets compared to the others on test. Boston Acoustics has a similar system with a louder and prouder performance and great flexibility with their feet and bracket options. The Tannoy system is a little more expensive, but a lot more refined and musical, plus it looks fabulous. But the prize on this occasion goes to Q Acoustics for coming up with a unique, stylish and thoroughly practical way to deliver cinema sound at home that doesn't skimp on sound quality.

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