The Hollywood Take 2 is a 5.1 all-in-one DVD set-up, with a sub/sat speaker arrangement and a central unit that does all the hard work while retaining an air of dignified calm. Such systems are increasingly under threat from those offering recording capability as well, but Marantz is obviously hoping that sheer quality will win the day here.

The main unit features a gorgeous design,with a central volume display highlighting a largely impassive fascia.There are copious sockets at the rear, allowing for component video hook-up (with PAL and NTSC progressive scan) or an RGB Scart connection.

That's a tick for quality video connections then (there is also S-video and composite support). Audio inputs come in both optical and electrical digital varieties, so you will be able to connect your other AV goodies and enjoy 5.1-channel sound.There is also an optical digital audio output.Speaker connections are only springclip types.This is a shame, given the otherwise high quality nature of the fixtures and fittings.

The speakers themselves do get diddy binding posts,showing that they can be squeezed into small places.Each speaker (including the passive subwoofer,which is styled like a generous chunk of cheese) gets 80W from the onboard amplification - more than enough to put a rumble in your jungle.

Sound formats offered include Dolby Digital EX,DTS-ES and Pro-Logic IIx,which offer 6.1 or 7.1 channel sound.Wait a minute,you cry, I thought you said this was a 5.1 system! This is where some rather nifty rear speakers come in.They are of a different design to those used in the front soundstage and actually house two drivers.The second driver in each speaker is an offset full-range cone that creates a phantom surround back speaker. It's important to put the left and right surround speakers in the correct position to ensure this effect works.

You can also add a dedicated surround back speaker via more spring-clip terminals and there is a subwoofer pre-out for hooking up an active sub.

The front satellites carry an 80mm woofer and a 19mm dome tweeter with a frequency response quoted at a sensible-sounding 100Hz-20kHz. The rears have the 50mm offset cone and an 80mm conventional driver, rated at 150Hz-20kHz and 100Hz- 20kHz respectively.