Kef KIT100 Home Theater System

What they'll get for £1200 is absolutely EVERYTHING bar a monitor. The two boxes contain a pair of KIT100 speakers, a stylish KIT100 PSW subwoofer and the KIT100 DVD, a single die-cast zinc unit housing a DVD player, an AM/FM tuner and the processing. Around the size of a London phone directory, you can hide it away thanks to dimensions of only 2.32x12.75x10.31in (HWD), and most people won't even know it's there. Which would be a pity, as it's gorgeous and cool in a very iPod-y way

Also supplied are all the accessories you need: a remote control, dedicated wiring, indoor aerials, pictograph instructions a moron could follow. The only option is a pair of dedicated floor stands at £150 per pair; straight out of the box, the speakers are fitted with circular plinths so you can stand them on shelves.

In a way, the subwoofer is the heart of the system because everything links to it. Inside is a 10in long-throw woofer, but that's just part of the recipe. The single mains cable plugs into its back and a single block-plug connects, via two leads emerging from it in single 'Y'-cord style, to the left and right main speakers. The sub also contains all the amplification in its 15.6x6.9x20.3in (HWD) chassis, a handsome silver enclosure with a mirrored front. A computer lead also connects from the sub to the main DVD/tuner unit, to accept all signals and control data. That's it. Aside from minor assembly of the floor stands, should you opt for them, set-up is a true no-brainer.

Every command appears on the remote, with the front of the DVD player containing only power on (from stand-by; main power on/off is on the subwoofer), source select, volume up/down, play/pause and open/close. Mirror-finished like the subwoofer, it's uncluttered, with only a blue-lit display to show you the status of the chosen source: Dolby or DTS, track number, times, mute, tuner channel and status, including RDS, preset number etc. At the back, in addition to the single computer socket that connects it to the sub, are a SCART for VCRs or external DVD players, video inputs and outputs for component (progressive scan), composite and S-Video, optical digital inputs and outputs, and three line inputs for stereo sources including VCRs, TV, set-top satellite boxes and the like.

KEF stresses that the KIT100 DVD does NOT feature a virtual surround system, 'like most of the others on the market. ' Hear, hear, say I. Instead, it has five discrete channels, with real Dolby Digital and DTS processing and five analogue amplifiers in the sub. KEF doesn't state power output, but it's irrelevant as, like the Niro system, it's a 'closed' system in that you have to use the provided sub and satellites. But more about that anon, power-wise.