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

Sony has launched its new flagship product called the STR-DA6400ES 7.1 channel network A/V receiver. It is a complete home entertainer and takes care of all your digital needs.

The Sony AV receiver features dual Faroudja DCDi Cinema chips that enable up-scaling of standard definition content to 1080i in up to two rooms. You can use it as a full entertainment hub by connecting an Ethernet cable to it and then sharing music, photos and videos. One of the best parts of the Sony ES series, such as the Sony STR-DA 5400 ES, is their strong connectivity. This DA 6400 ES A/V receiver can share digital data with the PC even if the two devices are kept in separate rooms. Connection to Ethernet makes data manageability and network upgrades really easy.

The STR has got an Xross Media Bar inspired GUI that has been enhanced to offer simplified access to content on a networked PC and can also be used in second room. You can enjoy your iPod, Walkman player, SHOUTcast Internet Radio and Rhapsody Music Service in up to three rooms through dual Digital Media Port (DMP) inputs. One unique feature that is found only in Sony STR-DA6400ES is its Quick Click onscreen remote control. It allows the users to easily operate all the compatible sources. The advanced A/V technology generates the audio formats via DTS and Dolby Labs.

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.

Sony has recently unveiled the latest all-in-one home cinema system to come from its ranks, the BRAVIA DAV-F200. With the launch of this model, Sony has once again driven home the point that there are few brands that can truly compete with the company when it comes to design. The all new DAV-F200 has a design to die for, consists of a glass front, and is also customised in a manner to give you an easy time if you ever decide to mount it on a wall. Moreover, the unit has a well designated wall-mountable control centre with slot-load DVD.

The unit is not all about design though, and has an extensive array of features that alone are enough to prove thee home cinema system’s quality. The Sony DAV-F200 boasts a remarkable 1080p upscaling feature, and has a USB port for plugging in memory sticks or music players containing MP3s. Then, there is Sony’s own DMPORT expansion slot, which can be outfitted with Bluetooth or WiFi adaptors, among other things; and allows the DAV-F200 to stream music from a wireless device. The DMPORT feature is supported by a range of media player docks, with models such as the iPod, Sony’s own Walkman range, and Sony Ericsson Walkman phones all being compatible.

A combined audio output of 405W emanating from the two stereo speakers and separate subwoofer, delivers quite a memorable audio performance replete with pseudo-surround sound. The DAV-F200 also has very few issues when it comes to compatibility, and, apart from playing the conventional DVDs and CDs, it is game to contemporary formats like MP3, Windows Media Audio, DivX and JPEG formats. The inclusion of the BRAVIA Sync feature comes in handy if you’re pairing the system with a BRAVIA TV, as it allows you to control everything with just one remote and connected with a single HDMI cable.

I have for been a fan of LG for a long time and I believe it is one of the most astute and competent manufacturers when it comes to producing high-end Hi-Fi systems. I especially love the way they keep on experimenting on the various intricacies associated with this interesting genre, i.e. Hi-Fi, and you will rarely ever find LG brands that do not take you by surprise. They are one brand that always keeps customers guessing about their next step and strategy, which invariably have such a profound impact on the global Hi-Fi market. Their latest innovation, the FA163DAB Micro Hi-Fi, is keeping in sync with such traits and is sure to catch your fancy. The model is, in fact, an upgrade of the now popular FA series and comes a few months after the launch of the FA 162.

The design of the unit is quite conspicuous by the fact that it basically resembles a black box, and well hidden buttons, as more emphasis even given towards giving you a taste of touch-enabled controls. This unique way of control though is in no way as swift as it might appear to be, as it requires quite a bit of pressure to get them into motion. The problem starts often, especially when you have to change the volume, though it is pretty okay for the play and pause options.

The unit features a number of varied features, including a FM/DAB radio, a CD player and iPod dock on top, apart from its innate ability to burn tracks straight from a CD to a USB-enabled MP3 player. There are also two speakers separated from the main unit that delivers an impressive 160W of sound which is pretty clear. The speakers in the LG FA163DAB are accompanied by a subwoofer that is supposed to add extra zeal to the scenario. Moreover, the inclusion of Levinson’s input has made a vast difference to the sound output as it appears more refined with a solid level of bass.

Apple as a brand needs no introduction, and has done enough to establish its credentials and capabilities. Just look around and you will get an idea about the extent to which Apple has monopolised the MP3 player market. It is hardly surprising that we today recognise many products only because they are associated with the name Apple. Such is the domination that Apple has over its rivals! It is no different now that it has come up with the iPod Hi-Fi, which is Apple’s answer to many third-party speaker systems available from companies such as Bose, Altec Lansing, and Logitech.

The design is rather unique in the sense that it is a one-piece speaker system, and has a built-in dock that can be used to connect it to other dock-connector iPods. The unit is powered by no less than 6 D batteries, and works with a simple iPod remote. You will be quite taken aback by the quality of sound delivered by it, considering that it is all but a miniature player. It typically has all the traits of an average Apple product from its white, glossy plastic to its minimal, boxy design.

Another great aspect of the unit is its lightning-quick controls, especially when you use the remote accompanying the unit. Then there is also a digital line-in feature, apart from a complete set of dock adapters that allow you to extract the maximum out of this wonderful gadget.

The unit is not bereft of its fair share of flaws, and considering its fairly sharp price its sound quality is not that much better, when compared to similar other models in the fray, like the Daewoo TC-656. Moreover, the menu button on the remote is not smooth enough to allow you unrestricted passage. Connectivity wise as well, you will feel handicapped as there is no video line-out, headphone jack, or dock-connector output.

The Micro HiFi System FB163 from LG is a recent addition to an already superfluous HiFi market. The unit is peculiar in the sense that you have to insert your CDs and DVDs ballot style into a stealth vertical slot. This unconventional design doesn’t endow you with any additional advantage though; instead you will feel rather apprehensive to put your favourite discs in this mysterious slot. What complicates matters is the fact that the LG FB-163 is not compatible with 8cm discs, which invariably get jammed and swallowed up in the unit’s innards. The unit is designed rather impressively and the most intriguing aspect of the unit, in fact, is its audio. These factors notwithstanding however, you will feel immensely let down as two of its most vaunted features an iPod and USB dock are pretty useless.

Starting with the USB; it takes an estimated 20 minutes to copy five tracks! Meaning you have to wait for ages before you can finally tune into the tracks. The songs are again stored in a peculiar folder named “CD_REC” and the tracks display strange names like TRK-001.MP3 unless you manually customize each and every song with their respective artist and title information. Similarly, it is no respite with the iPod feature also. Even though the manual states that you can access the iPod menus via the remote control when in OSD mode, this is hardly the case. The end result is that you can play, pause and skip tracks via the remote, but there is no way of telling what track is coming up next.

The unit is compatible with audio formats including CDs, DVDs and discs stuffed with MP3, WMA, JPEG and DivX files. You can also find some standard inclusions such as a radio and an alarm clock that are joined by an iPod dock. You, however, have to make do with SCART and component/composite video as the input and output option as it doesn’t have the more contemporary and competent HDMI option.

You can now enjoy non stop music with Sony’s two new Giga Juke hard disk drive HiFi systems. These multi room systems let you store and play music of your choice in any, or all, of your rooms in your home.

The NAS-SC55PKE and NAS-E35HD are the two Giga Juke multi-room music systems from Sony offering you unmatched features. The NAS-SC55PKE has storage capacity of up to around 40,000 songs, which can then be streamed all over your home. Another interesting feature is its high ripping capacity. This system can rip a sixty minute CD in just about four minutes.

The interface also lets you create themed playlists to suite any occasion. With the NAS-SC55PKE, you can now transfer music to your mobile phones, PSP or your MP3 player at a good speed.

The model NAS-E35HD comes with a storage capacity of 15,000 songs and its own considerably high CD ripping speed. The Sony Giga Juke E35HD allows you to transfer music to your mobile phone and MP3 player at a good speed as well. Some other features offered by the Giga Juke range from the ability of recording music directly from MP3 players, vinyl, CDs, radio and cassettes, to the automatic transfer of music through label identification and an iPod dock.

Features like hard disk storage, the ability to copy songs to the HDD from the CD player at a high speed, the iPod dock and radio tuners, ensure a gigantic collection of top quality digital music can be enjoyed anywhere at any time.

You can simply transport your home cinema to another level altogether with the wireless Panasonic SHFX85 multi-room speaker kit. This system effectively transports a channel power of 90 watt x 2 to a different room of your choosing, and is especially effective with a Panasonic home cinema. You can access exceptional quality audio with the help of a music port on your digital audio player or even your iPod.

This speaker kit is most effective with a wide range of Panasonic models like the SC-PT753, SC-PT 953, SC-PT760, SC-PTX7 and SC-PT467. The wireless technology eliminates problems with messy wires hooked up all over the house. You can now effortlessly listen to music from the home cinema system in at least three rooms with the help of this wonderful and convenient wireless technology.

Extremely good quality audio can be generated from the music port. You can connect this port to any other audio device or iPod and then listen to the great quality music at your convenience. The kit can also optionally come with the Panasonic Universal Dock for recharging music players like the iPod.

With the purchase of the SHFX85 you get an AC power supply chord. Other functional features include the digital amplifier, music port for portable audio players, ID set switch, 2.5 inch full range box type speaker, 2.4 Hz frequency, adaptor terminals (which can be inserted easily), simple control to host model, multi source and multi room audio, and many more elements.