M&K MP-4512
Photograph: Marc SimonUnlike the other one-box units here, the MP-4512 has to be hooked up to a surround-sound A/V receiver. The MP-4512 houses five speakers inside its 17-by-5-by-5.5-inch box. These include individual speakers for the left, center, and right channels, along with two side-mounted speakers intended to project surround effects left and right. You'll need to provide the cables to hook the MP-4512 to your receiver. Audio delivered by the MP-4512 sounded superb. Dialogue was crisp, and we had no trouble discerning high and low tones. In fact, the audio sounded as if it were being generated by more than one five-speaker unit--you could easily blast the volume and enjoy the results. The downside: The MP-4512 lacks a subwoofer, though M&K sells various separate subwoofers that work with it. If you are willing to spend a little extra for great audio, and you don't want lots of wires crisscrossing your living room, the MP-4512 will deliver in spades.
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