Typical price: £140
What is it: Speaker system with integrated valve pre-amplifier and solid-state amplifier
What we think: Purists will accuse the valve stage of gimmickry, but sound quality is fine for this price
Compare the Sonic Gear i-Steroid
Sonic Gear i-Steroid compared to all other accessories
 Sonic Gear i-Steroid |
 Sling Media Slingbox Solo |
 Denon DHT-FS3 |
 Popcorn Hour A-110 |
|
| Review date | 11 Oct 06 | 11 Oct 07 | 14 Mar 08 | 26 Aug 08 |
| Editor's rating |
5.7
|
9.1
|
9.1
|
9.1
|
| Price range | £140 | |||
| Review summary | Transistors overtook valves decades ago, but for some audio equipment (notably guitar amplifiers and some microphones) tubes give a warmer, subjectively more enjoyable sound. It's a struggle to justify a cheaper valve stage in an entry-level iPod amplifier, but the i-Steroid gives it a decent try Read full review |
The Sling Media Slingbox Solo is fantastic. If you're not bothered by the fact it only supports one source at a time, and lacks a TV tuner, the Solo is the best way to control and watch your TV on a laptop or mobile phone Read full review |
While it's not the cheapest single speaker surround sound system on the market, it's right up there with the best, not only in terms of performance but also of design. Compact, sturdily built and attractive to look at, it delivers surprisingly effective multi-channel sound without the fuss and mess of a full 5.1 speaker setup Read full review |
The A-110 is a decent improvement over the original A-100, with a few useful features that will be attractive to some. The price increase is quite significant, but if you must have HDMI 1.3, DTS decode and SATA support, you'll think it worthwhile Read full review |
| User rating | ||||
| Full specification | Full specification | Full specification | Full specification |
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