In what Pioneer is describing as much more than a Home Cinema system, the LX01 combines a 250GB Freeview HDD/DVD recorder with a surround sound system and proprietary omni-directional speaker package with dual-drive subwoofer.

With a glossy black finish and space age looks, the LX01 has been designed to sit comfortably next to Pioneers new G8 generation of plasma screens. Although the Japanese manufacturer has dubbed the unit as a piece of electronic 'haute couture' the LX01 packs a technological punch that more than matches its looks.

A digital terrestrial tuner is joined by 3 HDMIs with 1080p scaling, and iPod connectivity as well as the HDD/DVD recorder. Notable by its absence is any sign of a central speaker which is replaced by a number of satellites making this a 4.1 system.

A subwoofer-receiver and a set of four satellites have a unique dodecahedron design making them omni-directional which essentially drives audio from the top, front and side faces of the speaker to generate a full 3D sound field.

The LX01 can be employed as a TrueHD/DTS-HD capable amplifier and is able to play a range of compressed formats such as MP3 and MPEG-4 and has the functionality to allow users to rip CD's to the hard drive.

Available in the UK towards the end of the year with no indication as yet on the likely price ...

Read a full review of the Pioneer PDP-508XD here