Logic3's Soundstage is a surround sound unit that has only one speaker section instead of the usual six.

While normal surround sound speaker sets rely on the user to place the various speakers in the right positions around the room, the Soundstage sits directly under the television and distributes the sound around the room from there.

It's similar to the Evesham Soundstage in this regard, but unlike the Yamaha YSP products.

While those speakers use an in-built microphone to figure out the shape of the room and how to distribute the sound accordingly, the Logic3 Soundstage simply uses a built-in estimate of how the surround sound should sound.

It comes with an impressive number of inputs, including two optical connections and two coaxial digital connections, plus analogue sound input and even an FM radio tuner. All of these can be controlled using the supplied remote control, or the inputs can be selected using the buttons on the front of the unit.

We were able to set up the device easily, although its weight - the box weighs 17Kg - and its bulk mean that it's worth having someone else to help put it in position. It also comes with fittings to fix it in place.

Basic sound quality was very impressive, with good response at all levels, and able to reach high volume levels without any distortion. The surround sound was less convincing - although the sound was noticeably fuller using five channels rather than the two for normal stereo, we weren't able to tell the distinct channels apart as much as we could from a real six-speaker surround sound system.

Bottomline: Decent overall performance, but we still prefer a cheaper six-speaker setup.

Vista compatible: Yes

Price: £250