Flat Panel 5.1 speakers good quality sound, a great sub woofer, these six components plus the ubiquitous remote control make up the Philips Acoustic Fusion A3 610 offering.
Let me start by saying they are rather pricey, however you will have to read on to find out just how pricey they are.
These speakers replace the A3.600 of last year that retailed around £100. To start with the sub woofer is more than twice the size and weight and is as all decent sub woofers should be made of solid wood. It also pumps out a floor shaking 100w. The back of the unit has five mini jack sockets for the five satellites each of which has a five metre lead so plenty of leads to snare the kids or dog if they are not laid with care.
The sockets on the back of the sub woofer are not finished yet as there are stereo phono and a mini auxiliary input for MP3 players and stereo game consoles and the like. Finally there is also a connection for the infra red remote that sits neatly under the centre satellites stand so if the sound is just too loud you can turn it down from a distance - providing you took the remote with you! The remote can control basic functions such as volume, bass, treble and mute as well as three preset EQ levels.
Next perhaps the most subjective item, sound quality, I found there was plenty of depth in the sound and this was not at all tinny as some speakers sets become when ramped up. This I am told is because of Philips latest revision of its NXT technology. The signal to noise ratio was one of the best I have used. Playing DVD movies was almost as good as going to a modern cinema, after action sequences you tend to check for bullet damage to the furniture.
Finally the flat panel satellites work by moving a flat membrane allowing the overall depth of the units to be only a couple of centimetres something that would not be possible with conventional magnet speakers.
Okay I cant put it off anymore the price is a penny short of a whopping £180. For me I am afraid, great as the sound quality is in the sweet shot area, this is just quite a bit to much. New technology is not cheap and at the price of last years offering they could be a winner but not at the current price.
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