Six of the best: One-box home cinema

1] Arcam Solo Movie 5.1 (£2,000) When Arcam packed a bunch of high-end hi-fi components into its one-box Solo two years ago, it marked something of a revival in one-box systems—some feat in an industry where the more boxes the better is the usual maxim. Now it’s done it again, this time using its well regarded home cinema components to create the Solo Movie. Just as the Solo confounded expectations, so the Solo Movie packs a powerful punch. Sound and picture quality are high, as is ease of set-up. If you’ve got £2,000 to spend on home entertainment, start here.
www.arcam.co.uk

2] Bang & Olufsen BeoCenter 2 (£2,800)
Style over substance or style and substance? That’s the long-running debate surrounding perennial style survivors B&O. Stating that design is at the heart of everything B&O does is about as obvious as pointing out the Pope’s religion. But, as with all great design, there’s function as well as form here. This offers good looks and everything you’d expect from a high-end AV set-up in one stylish (naturally) unit. Now you just need the bachelor pad to go with it.
www.bang-olufsen.com

3] Phillips HTS9800W (£700) Voted the best home cinema in its price range in 2006 by the experts at What Hi-fi, this tidy package may not demand much of your wallet, but it is likely to command your attention. As the good folks at What Hi-fi  said, this wall mountable system is “stylish, well equipped and highly capable.“ With a feature list that includes 6.1 surround sound and wireless rear speakers, there’s not a lot to match it for value for money.
www.phillips.co.uk

4] Naim N-Vi (£2,995) Naim has been making kit to warm the hearts of audiophiles for decades. With an uncanny knack for turning out gear with a warm, open sound, it’s no surprise that this home cinema kit is also a winner. This one-box system doesn’t come cheap, but it certainly doesn’t let the family down, delivering staggering quality output. The awful pun of a name is its only weak point—even if it is likely to be accurate.
www.naim.co.uk

5] Bose Lifestyle 48 (£4,000) Bose is accused by some naysayers of over-charging for its kit. Bose argues that developing kit this clever is expensive. This box is packed with tricks, including a hard drive, its AdaptIQ sound set-up—which adjusts the sound to suit your room—and U-music, Bose’s  “intelligent playback” system that learns your music preferences.
www.bose.co.uk

6] Denon Smart S-301 (£1,250) The boffins at Denon are well known for stuffing small boxes full of surprisingly high-quality components. The Smart S-301 is no exception. As well as seriously good sound and pictures, it is the only system here that works well with only two speakers (and a subwoofer) and is great for smaller rooms. For those who can’t leave their MP3 players, you can play your iPod through this box, too.
www.denon.co.uk