What all-in-one music system is good for a living room?

Ah, ‘all-in- one music system’, what a wonderfully vague term. There really is no set formula for these systems apart from ‘one box which does a lot of things’. So before we start spouting off products, we need to decide what you need.

Do you have a large collection of compact discs? If so, a system with a CD drive would be a good idea – the sonoroHIFI (£1,199) we featured last issue is a great choice. It’s smart looking, with an optional cable-hiding stand, and pretty compact considering the speaker power inside. It also features Bluetooth streaming (including aptX for higher quality) and plenty of auxiliary inputs.

Or do you prefer to stream music from a portable device? AirPlay, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are therefore a necessity. We love the elegant Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 35 (£1,945) for this. It looks stunning, sounds amazing and will stream audio from just about anything, including internet radio.

Do you have your own speakers, or will your all-in-one system need them built in? If you’ve already got an expensive pair of speakers, the Naim Uniti Atom (£1,750) is an impressive system. The accompanying app can summon music files from anywhere on your system, as well as your mobile devices, with Spotify, Tidal, AirPlay, UPnP and HD Bluetooth all supported. The Uniti Atom also includes a handy range of physical inputs, such as co-axial, optical and HDMI.

Other great audio devices include the Devialet Phantom Gold (£2,189), which literally vibrates with power.

However, if you’re looking for a good all-rounder that costs less than £1,000, the Ruark R4 (£699) is definitely worth considering – we love its classic styling.