Yamaha YAS -306

£350, yamaha.co.uk

Available in black or silver (actually grey fabric), the YAS-306 is a mid-ranger that wants to do more. As part of Yamaha’s MusicCast system, it can stream content across other MusicCast kit. It’ll also play hi-res audio. But there are caveats. Offering very little below 100Hz, it’s light on bass, which removes heft for action movies and diminishes deep beats from music. Arguably the best reason to audition the 950mm YAS-306 is its brilliant Air Surround Xtreme virtual surround mode, which effectively recreates a cinematic soundstage from its tweeter/woofer array.