LG ARX-8000 Home Theatre as new

Before LG's snappily-named ARX-8000 came along, South Africans interested in a home theatre system with big speakers were limited to two choices.

The first was to go the proper home theatre route: a component system with an AV receiver, an active subwoofer, a set of big-name speakers and so on.

For many, the bespoke mix and match route wasn't an option. An AV receiver alone can cost as much as an entire home-theatre-in-a-box (HTIB).

The other option was to get one of Sony's big home theatre kits. Presently, it's the Sony DDW-1600, which comes with six speakers, of which two are chunky floor-standing main speakers, two subwoofers, a DVD player and a receiver.

Spotting this gap in the market, LG knew it had to pounce. So, out of Korea came a team of engineers to evaluate what was needed. After extensive market research and technical consultation, the ARX-8000 was born.

Once set up, it stands loud and proud. Each of the five main speakers is finished in gloss black and boasts extroverted styling, with ostentatious curves and no speaker grilles. The big floor standers are quite hefty, despite having just a single subwoofer and horn tweeter in each.