This super sleek ‘micro theater’ (CD and DVD player) is something you would expect to find in an ultra-modern New York City loft apartment. The MCD289 comes with the option to wall mount or free stand. It looks rather chic when wall mounted, a true piece of functional art.

The micro theater sports a high-gloss black display illuminated by nothing more than a mesmerising blue ring and basic information in digital form. The speakers are fitted on either side of the unit; akin to the positioning of elephant ears but in no way resembling them. The unit comes with a wireless subwoofer which just makes good sense if you are wall mounting it.

Unfortunately the unit only has a single disc slot but it does support a ton of audio and video formats, too many in fact to mention. Suffice to say you won’t encounter very many compatibility issues at all. In addition it has a USB host which allows you to view photos and listen to music directly from an external device. Video output is very sharp indeed due to the Progressive Scan feature and 12-bit Digital-to-Analogue Converter. On the audio front there is a Digital Sound Control feature which allows you to preset Rock, Jazz, Pop and Classical controls to suit your musical taste.

All told this is a great product and if you are willing to sacrifice a little sound quality- in terms of keeping within this price bracket- for an audio unit that will lift the design of the room it occupies then the Philips Micro Theater is for you.

Get it from R2200 from Game, Makro or HiFi Corp.