B&W LCR 3

The B&Ws excel in stereo, as you' d expect. You can listen with or without the subwoofer, the former set-up adding plenty of weight, although at the expense of speed. Imaging is exceptional for speakers at this price, and accuracy, with everything from Muse' s complex guitar frenzies through to David Gray' s melancholy acoustic, is quite exemplary.

Movies also work well, with good integration across the front three speakers, a dense, richly-textured surround soundfield, and realistic effects panning around the room. The eerie surround-channel steering on the The Evil Dead works well, while the jump-from-the-seat dynamics of What Lies Beneath are full of life and energy.