Panasonic is one of those rare companies that is only going one way, i.e. towards the top. This is not without reason though, as the company has been consistently delivering quality products over the years. The company has a well established research and engineering team that has helped to fit each of its products with unique features that give them a genuine edge over rivals. The latest to come out from the company’s ranks is the critically acclaimed PV-V4623S, which offers you practically almost everything the format has to offer.

The device, gives you the luxury to take advantage of a novel setting that includes four-head playback and stereo sound. Unfortunately this device does lack the DVD playback of other Panasonic VCRs like the Panasonic DMR-EX98V. There is the commercially advanced one-month/eight-event advance programming feature as well, along with the presence of a host of front-panel audio/video inputs that can used to connect other entertainment equipments to it.

The 4 head VCR has a special role to play in ensuring a smooth display of images, that are crystal clear and with a great deal of detail. Further, the hi-fi reproduces a high-fidelity sound output, while also playing back stereo audio tracks. Meanwhile, the device also dishes out an impressive performance via its four-channel Dolby Pro Logic mixes from TV and Dolby-encoded cassettes.

Users would also love the fact that the device comes equipped with a Ready-to-Play feature which automatically sets its own clock and local TV channels once it is switched on. Other notable features include rapid rewind/fast-forward and tape-position display, among others.

Philips in recent times has come up with two affordable models to accompany the expensive Philips MCM906 Heritage series hi-fi set, which is the company’s flagship model. The Philips MCM772 hi-fi sits pretty between the two extremes. The design of the unit is a bit laid back, with traditional and conservative touches clearly visible. The gadget comes adorned with a two-way drive system that delivers some stimulating audio sound measured at 50W.

The device digresses from its cousins in the sense that the amplifier is all solid-state, with no signs of any valve whatsoever. The sound tends to twitter a bit when heard in very high volume, but that is no cause to discourage you as the sound levels otherwise is quite vibrant and sufficient for a home-setting.

The device is build of brushed aluminium separates and boasts of chunky silver knobs which elegantly complement the speakers. In fact the aesthetics of the Philips MCM 772 may prompt you to use it as a decorative element in your bedroom, a fact that is also supported by its other specifications. One aspect that may leave you dissatisfies is the unimaginative LCD display, which for the major part looks out of sync with device.

The compact build quality of the device is another nice thing, and so are a host of connectivity options that enable you to optimise its output. Meanwhile, the hi-fi device scores a lot of good vibes also because of its user friendly attributes as you can avail most of the services that the model has to offer with the minimum of fuss.

Logitech Squeezebox systems are always known for their impressive build quality and impeccable performance. The aesthetically designed boxes plug into your Hi-Fi system and afford you the luxury of wirelessly sourcing your tunes from the PC to your Hi-Fi. The advantage of this arrangement is that you can listen to your tunes with a lot more clarity than what you tend to get through your PC’s speakers.

The model signifies the first Squeezebox to have come out of the company after Logitech took over. There were many apprehensions at the initial stage with people wondering about the abilities Logitech to make the transition given its computer background. But Logitech has put all these speculations to rest with this amazing product which now appears to be the most ideal device to accompany your Hi-Fi system.

The device has a different appearance from the old Squeezebox, and comes equipped with a more comprehensive range of control and display options. Meanwhile, the Logitech Squeezebox Duet’s LCD display screen stands at a reasonable 2.4 inches and you also get to have an intuitive remote to control the various functions of the system. This arrangement also means that you can get enthralled with your fave music without having to bear the inconvenience of moving around.

That’s not all as the device can be directly connected to Pandora, Slacker Internet Radio, Rhapsody and iTunes without the aid of a PC, signifying that you can listen to your tunes without having to bother for boot-up.

This latest offer from Hitachi in the field of home cinema system has turned out to be quite an eventful one. The reason behind the unit, the Hitachi AX-M140, generating such a level of drama and excitement is that the unit for one resembles a regular hi-fi system. Then, the fearsome array of features adorning it, most of them high-end, acts as a magnet pulling you towards it all the time. The icing on the cake however turns out to be the ability of the system to play DVD movies and pump out MP3 tracks from a built-in hard drive. These features come in addition with the ability of the unit to play CDs and has a built in digital FM tuner.

These features are not only for decorative purpose or to just rake up the number of features as the Hitachi AX-M140 delivers quite a devilish performance on the DVD side. The playback is simply superb with no undue disturbances. Party goers would also love the surround sound feature of the unit which creates quite a party atmosphere once it is switched on.

Apart from the DVD feature on the AX-M140, it also has a built-in hard drive MP3 player that can store around 10,000 tracks. Moreover, it has a USB port that can be used to transfer tunes from a PC or portable hard drive. You can even connect an iPod to the unit and play songs directly from its music collection.

You will however, feel the heat when it comes to controlling the whole set up. Hitachi’s unimaginative menu navigation and frighteningly small two-line display option for the MP3 player leaves you begging for a magnifying glass!

Launched by the world leader in digital entertainment, The Sony, NAS-S55HDE is a hi-fi juke box designed to meet the needs of the pro music maniacs. This acoustic machine has got two sophisticated speakers and one main unit. It can be used to store and play music tracks.

The NAS-S55HDE features a built-in 80 GB hard disk drive, which offers a decent space to integrate and manage all the necessary data without any hassle. You can also play CDs in its CD player section and copy songs from it to HDD. The NAS-S55HDE can easily handle a huge audio library consisting of 15000 songs.

Sony’s NAS-S55HDE takes you beyond the traditional music players. You can use its music recognition feature to tag your songs from 3, 50,000 albums and it also manages and updates the entire collection automatically. Powered by the Sony’s x-DJ technology, the Sony NAS-S55HDE music system intuitively categorizes your music files under 27 different categories. It also lets you create your own customized play lists, surf them and choose from a variety of listening environments and moods as per the song.

NAS-S55HDE main attractions:

• Great sound quality
• Supports CD to HDD ripping @ 16x
• Music transfer to Sony walkman, Ericsson mobile and other compatible devices @ 50x
• 4.3″ color LCD
• High quality speakers and powerful bass duct
• Radio tuner
• DMPORT adapter for iPod
• Compliant with L.PCM, ATRAC, MP3 and WMA files

Cambridge Audio has come up with its latest innovative product, called Fusion, that has been designed to meet the demands of the next generation digital entertainment addicts. It not only offers hi-fi audio equipment but also has iPod dock.

The Fusion has been loaded with lots of features and options. It hosts variety of interfaces and thus you can use it with most other types of electrical equipment. The Fusion also features a 2.1 amplifier delivering 30W per channel, a sophisticated CD player and a DAB/FM tuner. Its front-mounted USB, line-in and SD card connections offer you the flexibility of storing and using digital media in different formats via different sources. For instance, its integrated CD player supports LPCM CDs as well as MP3 and WMA encoded discs. The additional iPod dock adds to the versatility of the Fusion. However, it has not been optimised for use with the Apple iPhone yet. Apart from this, the Fusion has got DAB/FM with 20 presets, RDS support and a two line LCD display.

Cambridge Audio Fusion attractions:

• CD player supporting LPCM CDs, MP3 and WMA encoded discs
• iPod dock
• Powered by X-bass technology
• USB/SD card connections
• DAB (band III and L band)/FM tuner with RDS
• 2.1 subwoofer
• Two line LCD display

Onkyo, a renowned company in the electronic market with a global presence, has recently unveiled the CS-715 DAB Hi-Fi System. The launch of the unit bears a great deal of significance, not only for its mentors and makers, but for consumers as well as the unit, apart from having many cool features, also comes adorned with a DAB radio. The inclusion of the DAB radio feature is in no way revolutionary, but the manner in which Onkyo has fitted it is definitely noteworthy.

The dimensions of this stylish looking gadget are 205 x 116 x 335 mm, while the front panel is made of titanium coloured aluminium. The new CS-715 represents an upgrade from older models like the Onkyo CS-525. Made with the most advanced VL Digital Technology, the CS-715 supports Wolfson 192 kHz/24- Bit DAC and has 3 gold plated audio inputs and 2 out puts. Adept at playing CDs and also MP3-Encoded CDs, it has a front panel audio input and an optical digital output, apart from a subwoofer pre-out. The unit, in addition, has also been inscribed with a super bass function that comes into play when you decide to control the bass. A tone control function is there too.

You will also feel good that each channel of the unit is driven by 50W of power, enough to extract the maximum out them. Moreover, it has 25- tracking programming and a 4 timer setting. Using the preset option offered by the FM, you can tune into a mammoth 40 stations. Another feature that deserves special mention is the Aero Acoustic drive feature, as it ensures that the sound reproduction is powerful and natural.

The last time Onkyo came up with a HI-Fi product was the CR-505DAB, which was not well received by the critics. However, despite the heavy criticism, the Onkyo CR 505 managed to do great business all over, particularly in Japan. The surprising outcome has highlighted the point that it has done something right that critics failed to take note of. The brand has now come up with its latest model, the X-N7UWX Wi-Fi Mini HiFi, which this time around, quite surprisingly, has drawn a lot of good vibes from the critics.

It won’t take you long to establish the reasons behind the approval by the critics though, as the deivce impresses you from the word go with its gorgeous looks. The unit is smartly dressed in a silver finish with a large LCD panel, and comes with a USB port and separate Hi-Fi unit. It thus lets you wirelessly connect the stereo up to your PC and listen to MP3s on your hard drive, or stream content from your desktop.

Apart from offering a wide range of listening options, it also has Wi-Fi and PC compatibility. You can easily notice the shrewdness displayed by the manufacturers as it comes stuffed with a number of convergence technology, including an iPod Dock compatibility feature that lets you control your iPod from the unit. Moreover, Onkyo has still persisted with the tried and tested MiniDisc format, including a MD player/recorder as well as a CD player. The unit also has an AM/FM receiver and a DAB radio onboard.

Traditional car stereos may soon seem like past tense with the arrival of the Panasonic CQ-VW100U. This new car stereo makes use of revolutionary features meant to provide you an unparalleled video performance. One of these prominent features includes a large LCD screen that maintains the vivacity of colours and displays them in their full glory. Apart from this, the unit’s high powered graphics processor offers an exceptional image resolution and excellent picture quality. Moreover, by using the tilt function you can adjust the LCD screen to suit your requirements and whims.

Advanced technology, like the touch screen controls, make the unit a great pleasure to operate, as you can zoom through the menu with negligible complications. The touch screen feature also allows you to access most of the system functions with a simple touch or two. Moreover, you can enjoy the convenience of answering your mobile phone calls while still concentrating on driving, simply by inserting a Bluetooth adaptor into the device from a Bluetooth enabled mobile phone.

Music enthusiasts will be happy to realize that the unit is adept at playing all the popular disc formats including DVDs and CDs loaded with WMA or MP3 files. You can even connect an Apple iPod touch by using the optional adapter. The three band equalizers in the form of the SQ3, alternatively, let you adjust the highs, lows and mids according to your choice. The competently built filters consequently filter the frequencies and send them to the speaker system.

The unit also allows you the flexibility to widen your entertainment options as you can add a satellite radio or a CD changer to it. You can even add an amplifier or subwoofer to the system with the three sets of preamp outputs so that the performance level gets even more impressive.

An attractive looking Hi-Fi set is always welcome and the Onkyo Cs 515 DAB Micro system won’t disappoint on this front. The unit’s main system glows in a silver finish and the speakers, attached to it, come in wooden finish. The great thing about the design is that you can place the unit just about anywhere, without disturbing the harmony of the environment. To top that, it comes packed in an all-metal case, fascia and has a metal knob. The package, in addition, includes an automatic alarm and sleep-timers, apart from the auto-time-set feature to keep it accurate.

The music emanating from the system’s 2 x 20 Watts amplifiers with separate bass modes the music is unarguably a listener’s delight. The manufacturers need to be applauded because even after having an abundance of features, it weighs only a meagre 2 pounds; unlike the Onkyo CS-V815 and other Hi-Fi micro systems that weigh much more. The connotation is that you can practically carry the CS-515 unit with you and listen to some enchanting music just about everywhere. The fact that it is highly durable gives you the luxury to place it anywhere as well. The fact that it is compatible with almost all genres of music, be it rock, classical, or jazz, is also an advantage.

It also comes equipped with features like DAB with 59 presets, FM/AM reception with 40 presets, FM RDS with CT/PS/RT, auto scan and preset of FM stations. It effectively means that you have a wide repertoire of sources that you can access at anytime. Furthermore, the unit is fitted with all the sophisticated technology necessary to take you to an entirely different world of soul stirring music.