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The DVD receiver is joined by LG's excellent XTS Pro digital amplifier, which controls and stabilises the sound by balancing the high and low frequencies. Should neither of these modes appeal to your aural tastes, you can switch them off using dedicated buttons on the remote.

Of course, the system performs all the other duties you'd expect, such as Dolby Digital and DTS decoding and Dolby Pro Logic II processing. There's also a straight stereo mode for playing music and a range of DSP modes that simulate a variety of environments.

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If you fancy belting out a few Sinatra tunes, then the system can also be used as a karaoke machine, thanks to the inclusion of two microphone ports on the front and a couple of dedicated settings in the setup menu. Curiously, our sample also came with a karaoke DVD, songbook and folder in the box, all of which were in Russian - we doubt this comes as standard.

Rigging up the system is self explanatory, as the various speaker parts screw into each other and the speaker cables are all colour-coded. We had it ready to go in 10 minutes. There isn't a great deal to configure elsewhere, apart from the speakers - a well-hidden setup menu allows you to change the level of each channel, set the bass requirements and use a test tone to check your settings.

The setup menu itself is well laid out, while the remote is slightly on the large side and teeming with buttons, but they're nicely sized and well labelled. Also pleasing are the dedicated buttons for changing the resolution and switching the HDMI output on and off.

But onto the serious matter of performance, and we have to raise a glass to the Champagne's picture quality. With the resolution set to 1080p and viewed on a Full HD TV, our Revenge Of The Sith DVD looks beautifully sharp and clean, with the system clearly relishing the chance to reproduce the movie's immaculate CG images. Shots of Coruscant, with its plethora of buildings and moving vehicles, are reproduced with pin-point clarity, while colours look powerful and perfectly balanced. Even on a 52in LCD screen the image stands up well to close scrutiny, demonstrating the quality of the on-board upscaling.

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