The cabinet office war rooms beneath Whitehall was the location chosen for the first UK demonstration of Cambridge Audio's Incognito multiroom system. Down winding steps, past the tourists and glass-covered dioramas of wartime intelligence scene, a starkly unadorned low-ceilinged room was the atmospheric, but sonically less than ideal setting for a new concept in multiroom installations.
In keeping with the former Richer Sounds brand's quality at affordable prices ethos, this isn't an expensive, professionally installed system. It's not one of the quick and easy wireless options either. The Incognito is a fully-wired, entry-level multiroom system that can be built in stages, as you need them.
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| Incognito wall keypad. Tabletop version also available
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It consists of a small network hub, a small box that can be slipped behind your existing hi-fi set-up. This then connects to up to eight pairs of in-wall (or in-ceiling speakers) via a length of cat 5 cable, the kind commonly used to connect computers in a local area network. The speakers are available in either passive or active configuration, so they can be driven either by a separate amp, or their integral class D amplification.
Music in each room can be controlled by a minimalist wall-mounted control panel or a remote control. Any remote which controls your amp is also promised to work via the control panels. While it could be used to pipe music from your PC, or to control CCTV (there's a video option built into the hub) though Cambridge Audio's emphasis is very much on broadening the scope of your hi-fi.
The system starts from around £1,300, with a four-room system retailing for around £1,700.
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| Incognito AS10 active wall speaker
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The beauty of it is that it is compatible with virtually any hi-fi - simply connect your speaker cables to the hub, and the cat 5 cabling, which can be placed behind walls or even run along skirting, means it's a lot easier to fit than a traditional three-cable system.
It was difficult to get a feel for the sonics in the echoey, unremittingly bright (in audio terms anyway, the light's actually pretty dim down there) confines of Churchill's bunker. But by offering a self-install, relatively low-cost multiroom system that's compatible with virtually any hi-fi system, Cambridge Audio could well be on to something.
For your chance to win a Cambridge Audio Incognito system, click here.
More information on Cambridge Audio products can be found here .
