Huge scale

To my ears, this LS system is genuinely brilliant. Huge in scale and limitless in potency and attack. It may not be refined as, say, a Bowers &Wilkins or KEF 'mad-tweeter' technology soundstage, but it can work better under pressure than just about anything I have heard at the £4,000 price.

And, of course, that's the point. These things have the appearance of really expensive furniture and if you compared them to Bowers & Wilkins' 800 series at literally twice the price, you might wonder why the B&Ws are so much more costly.

Also, whilst ultimate refinement might not be what these models are all about, the sheer brio of this system made me grin like a nutter.

Plug 'n' play

You get two sets of speaker connections on the back of each enclosure. All bar the centre speaker have wide-mouthed port tubes set into their behinds for deep breathing.

The subwoofer is quite straightforward in operation – you get gain, crossover, a switchable phase flipper and an override switch to use your own crossover if you'd prefer. I was able to overload the woofer, but in time found a setting that was able to cope with the levels offered it, even during the Cars sequence.

If anything, the enormous, professional playback-room grade output of these barely-disguised control monitors is so big as to make the job of bass a tough one. Yes, the woofer is big (it employs a 12in driver) but I reckon this array really needs two of them.

Let them rip

Overall, JBL's LS 5.1 system is a hoot to hear. The brand has been keeping a low profile in the UK for the last few years (a mean-spirited act that's deprived the brand of both the limelight and new fans).

The good news is that this system is a joy to behold and great to pass off as hi-fi to the unsuspecting. That is until you decide to really let them rip, when their serious nature will be revealed...