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Three great AV systems using our Award winners. From a TV and soundbar, to a full surround system

There’s nothing like an extended period of time spent confined to barracks to make us appreciate our home comforts – not least our audio-visual equipment. Where would we be in these testing times without the ability to access that extensive world of boxsets, TV dramas, films and documentaries?

Of course, the flipside to the entertainment coin is the thought of how nice it would be to enjoy all that content on a better set-up. And that’s where the following pages come in.

We’ve put together three big-screen AV systems at differing price points to help you find the one that best suits your viewing room and budget. In each case we’ve adopted a nocompromise approach, which means that most of the products featured are What Hi-fi? Award-winners.

Of course, there’s more to creating a first-class system than simply combining a bunch of price-compatible five-star products. It requires the careful matching of components such that each complements and enhances the particular qualities of the others.

So, although we’ve made sure here that the best, Award-winning kit is front and centre, our selections also feature equipment that plays a key supporting role, even if it hasn’t achieved full laurel-wreath status in its own right.

We start off with a Sony-based, soundbarequipped system that has the company’s top-value KD-65XH9005 telly working in conjunction with its new Playstation 5, the latter bringing impressive Blu-ray-playing ability and streaming functions to its gaming role.

Our mid-price offering finds us in full-on surround-sound mode, thanks to the excellent Q Acoustics 3010i 5.1 Cinema Pack and the multi-faceted Sky Q box.

Finally, we move into premium home-cinema territory with a projector-based system comprising a seriously talented surround-sound combination (courtesy of a Denon AV amp and Monitor Audio speaker package) backed up by the treasure-trove of content provision that is the Apple TV 4K box.

We all long for the day when restrictions are lifted and we can spread our wings once again. But that day will be all the sweeter if, when we get back home, we have the delights of a newly acquired and carefully curated AV system ready and waiting for us to enjoy.