If you own one of Pioneer's gorgeous Kuro plasma TVs and need a home cinema system to match, the Pioneer LX01 is just the ticket.

It comprises a DVD/HDD recorder, a 400W subwoofer receiver, four compact satellite speakers and a display unit that accepts commands from the remote control, enabling you to hide the other components out of sight.

The speakers feature a unique shape, which allows them to deliver an omni-directional sound. This is why there are only four channels as opposed to five - the centre channel is integrated into the front pair.

Pioneer's stylish home cinema system

Behind the style lies a super-talented system with a phenomenal features list, which is inevitably reflected in the price tag. The DVD/HDD recorder boasts a 250GB hard disk, built-in Freeview tuner and the ability to record onto every DVD format - plus 1080p upscaling.

That huge hard disk not only lets you pause live TV, simultaneously play/record and edit recordings, but it also holds your collection of compressed audio and photo files, turning the system into a multimedia jukebox.

You can transfer these from disc, a USB flash memory device or PC running Windows Media Player 10 or later. You can't transfer DiVX video to the hard disk, but you can play files from CD or via the USB port.

Amazing audio talents

Impressive, too, is the ability to rip CDs directly onto the hard disk in lossless LPCM, and, thanks to the built-in Gracenote database, track information is automatically updated.

There are seven recording modes ranging from the highest quality XP down to SEP, offering up to 711hr of HDD recording time - plus 32 manual modes that enable you to record using bitrates in between the seven presets. You can edit chapters, delete parts of a recording, copy them onto DVD at high-speed and much more.

There are two EPGs: the regular Freeview version and Guide Plus, both of which allow you to set the timer simply by selecting the relevant programme from the list - but stick with the Freeview guide, which is much easier to use.

The system's audio talents are remarkable. It decodes Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio piped from a Blu-ray player, as well as Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks, while Dolby Pro-Logic and DTS Neo:6 are also present.