The CD player's character is dominated by the sound of the Power Plant, but happily the latter is fairly transparent. Used together the effect is bold and powerful, with just a hint of the softness identified earlier. The FM tuner is also a serious source, at least it is on BBC Radio 3 and 4, which these days are about the only stations that make a serious attempt at delivering good sound, one of course with music and the other with speech.

This is an intriguing combination. Either product can be used with alternative partners, of course, but they do seem to belong naturally together. The amplifier needs extra warming-up before it fully delivers, which is odd for an amplifier that runs so cool. At power up, the sound balance is a little cold, but within half an hour or so, the system sounds considerably more comfortable.

On balance, this is an excellent system which we regret passing back to the manufacturer. When you consistently find it almost impossible to locate discs you want to access, a server-type solution is a natural way of resolving the problem.

In its favour the Music Player is extremely well priced, which makes it a particularly attractive option. But as it stands, the lack of a graphical interface to help sort through a large disc collection would be a major limitation and, of course, the promised add-on would mean a much higher price, though it should still maintain a useful differential over the obvious competition.