The next big thing

Make Bose Lover's day and just pretend that it's the latest Bose Lifestyle system!!

Give us a clue? Is it just Sound? Or Sound and Vision?

Have the Denon HD pre, power Home Cinema amps been tested yet??

OK it must be a BlueRay 1Tb Hard disk Recorder with built in 2x2 Freeview HD and Freesat HD tuners, ethernet connection for online HD download and all for 900 quid....

its a mains cable...........i'll get me coat...

sony reciever?

Damn, Tim just beat me to it. Has to be Sony STR-DG820. There's no need for the analogue inputs of the Onkyo 606 in low-end kit. As long as you use it with a decent screen, upscaling is redundant too. Do I get a free one if I'm right?

how about a 3D holographic projector?

You reckon these bods are going to be aghast over a £200 odd AV receiver??  This will be a heavy piece of kit.  Either the Denons I mentioned earlier or some huge speakers.....

Anyone got a new TV screen technology on the go? Something like Pioneer's zero-emission-on-black prototype would fit the bill. But that particular item's not due for some time - if ever - and wouldn't we have heard rumours if someone else had something similar in the works?

It's probably a speaker, maybe an electrostatic.

Keep guessing....

Anyone getting warm?

It's a "bargain" £500/m HDMI cable.

on a more serious note, could it be the new Panasonic Blu-ray system?

Denon's new micro system or one of their Blu-ray players?

Is it one of the new Pioneer plasma's ?

Gerrard, I guess I read it wrongly "so bafflingly brilliant AT WHAT IT SETS OUT TO DO" sent me off on the wrong tangent. Had just thought the mag got very excited over the 605 at £400 and its potential impact on the masses. This doing similar (on paper) for about half the price adds to the appeal of home cinema as a whole.

The new Lg Vision and sound

Some fantastic bit of upsampling kit from Cambridge, or the Naim HDX?  Personally, I would love to hear that someone has made a micro system which is not only real hi-fi, but can record to USB at varying bitrates for time-shifting quality radio broadcasts, and cleans up the sound of my old cds so that I don't keep getting suckered into buying the 'remastered' versions a few years down the line.

Fascinating to see some of the responses - an insight in to the hopes and dreams of the AV community! But nobody's guessed the product... which is probably a good thing. Lest we forget - the AUGUST issue is out today.

It'll surely be a budget product that outperforms far more expensive kit. Hopefully it'll be a low-cost receiver as I'm in the market for one at the moment.

It's not that Sony robot thing that rolls around and plays music is it?

Where's Lady Isobel Barnet when you need her?

Actually, I'm on hols this week, so I haven't got a clue what they're all getting so worked up about, either...

Could it be the Mitsubishi-developed laser display mentioned a few months ago?

I'm guessing it's not Sky Gnome II.

i reckon the first audio only blu-ray player to replace CDs

oh if you could just confirm for me that its def not the Sony strda 2400es as i ve just cancelled my preorder to buy an 875 at a discounted price that would be great

Mmmmmm......Is it the

Panasonic DMRE-Z28?

Mitsubishi rear projection laser tv ?

A Linn Sneaky DS or some other high bit-rate MP3 player that provides studio-quality sound?

No right answers as yet! We might give you a little clue when the mag release date gets closer...

Is it one of the new Cyrus 'SE' players?

It's the new Avi adm9.1 connected to a apple tv, making all future reviews on budget and mid-priced hifi equipment redundant. ;-) Sorry, couldn't resist!

Are we talking epoch making stuff here?

Only thing I could think of which could achieve that would be something like one of the Nintendo Megaton - a lightweight single user system which combines sound/vision.  360 degree sound and bi-ocular OLED HD panels.

Which is IMAX compatible, and has a sorta IMAX-style emulation layer built in.

Special dual channel disks, which do something clever with a 1080P signal to produce two 720P images in each eye.

That could be awesome.

If that ain't it, then I hope it's a convergence device which combines the input side of media, with storage (RAID) and streaming (SlingBox + MediaCenter) support.  The "one box to rule them all".

Or, finally, someone has their hands on the Xbox 720.

..or something like the Ovei Home Cinema pod, but for normal people? :-)

Onkyo TX-SR876 with Silicon Optix Realta.

Would be funny if the new Sony ES Line has a Faroudja Sequoia and  beats the Onkyo 876.

Mindblow XL!!!

I see Harman Kardon AVR never reviewed here.

I am not a HK fan, but why is that?

Or are they not in the same league as the Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo, Pioneer, Sony Amps?

Was it a guitar, and you'd all forgotten how good live music is?

Ok, at a slight tangent, how about Real Time Racing? Looks really interesting...

Or maybe the OV/E home entertainment pod?

A 3-D TV

SONY OLED 52" Full HD Tv with built in Freesat reciever??

It's got to be the Garmin Nuviphone!

give us a price bracket to guess in??

£100-15,000

that narrows it down a bit...although my guess is for some sort of media streamer or all in one box.

New 9th gen Pioneer Kuro?

Is it the Cyrus CD 8 SE....hey psst thats what I heard....purple monkey dishwasher

Could it be an all-in-one surround sound amp that can configure multiple rooms with differing speaker setups, whilst supporting every kind of input, with built in Freeview/Freesat that supports 10 simultaneous viewing channels and can record simultaneous to it's 1TB hard disk.

To top it off, it has built in blu-ray and can multi-stream video/tv to 10 destinations internally and if you add more memory and addition processing it can do even more.

Better still you can watch streamed DVD, video recordings or live TV direct from it's built-in hosting service via a web page which also happens to be supported by mobile phone browsers.

The hi-resolution camera support video conferening over the web and you can record video messages for anyone with appropriate access rights.

Guess what, you're only paying £4500 for the privilege.

I wonder if they're using this to get our ideas and make the next big thing in home entertainment?

I so wish I knew what "purple monkey dishwasher" meant...

It just HAS to be either the new Pioneer PDP-LX5090 / PDP-LX6090 plasma OOOOR How the new KRL range of Pioneer LCDs. Something tells me it might have something to do with the plasmas though.....possibly even the new 64mm thick KRP-500A with seperate media server???

It's a new surround sound wireless speaker package which sounds just as good, if not better than current cable reliant speakers? wrong or right?

Susano?

Remote hob-nob dipping machine?

A stylus cover that makes the tea for you? Brilliant!!

As an aside....isn't it a little early to call something the kit of the century, whilst we still have 92 years ahead of us!?

I mean what would have the scientists at the beginning of the 20th century come up with? Certainly not the computer, mobile phones or dishwashers (;-))

Food for thought.

Is that it? Everyone run out of ideas?

And yes, Solomon1, let's just say 'of the century so far', OK?

And by the way, I still haven't a clue what it is myself...

This tech teasing makes me a little miffed to say the least.  Here I am just about to spend a large amount of hard earned cash and now there is a strong possibility it will be obsolete by the end of the month.  If this turns out to be the case I for one will be mega p****d off.

"The most startling piece of kit this century so far"

for me would be a hard disk based media center, playing and delivering the best from all kinds of music and video discs.

Since you've sofar totally ignored the new Cyrus SE player.... must be it.

Yep, Cyrus

Is it the new pioneer lcd tvs

Just in case there was any confusion, we won't of course reveal the answer until our September issue hits the shops on July 24th...

OK Joe, you wont reveal the answer - but if you want the debate to keep going - how about a few "getting warmer", "getting colder" comments.....  or how about ruling things 'out' just to help keeping the dialogue alive....

e.g I think its the new Denon 2809 Receiver (now please tell me I am wrong as I am about to but the Marantz 7002 tomorrow.........)

Is it the new Sony HT-IS100?

It isn't Cerwin Vega's new line in loudspeakers fully endorsed by Motorhead by any slight chance?

One of the new Sony bluray players.

Is it a box of four robot monkeys that can play tennis?

Is that a Gadgetshop product, Murdo?

Oh come on Andrew, don't be so... hold a minute, maybe, just maybe.

Is it a mini Terminator destroying any equipment that's underachieving? That would make a great present for the holidays...

Gotta be time for a clue??

OK, Messiah - it's not Miss Scarlet in the library with the candlestick

As none of this 'clue' relates to HiFi I would hope not! Thanks anyway....

As it appears clues are not going to be forthcoming I will not ask again.

However you have built up quite some hype for this product so lets hope it does not disappoint eh!

Oh I don't know - "it's not Miss Scarlet" could be a cryptic way of ruling out the possibility of it being an LG TV...

Potentially less than a week to go until you find out - subscription copies of the mag with the mystery product reviewed therein are posted out this Friday....

'Therein' Clare??

;o)

Could it be a pair of £300-500 active loudspeakers that demolish £1500 seperates systems

So, do we give a prize to the first person to post the answer? ;-)

You confident about the Xbox 720, radicalbyte!?

I think she meant 'Theremin' - maybe it's a musical instrument

You're welcome to give a prize if you want, radicalbyte

Onkyo CS-525?

Someone has worked out how to get sound out of a moving strip of celluloid covered in iron filings?

Andrew, smart move turning it into a cryptic clue.....

So how's about a cryptic clue?? It's only a matter of days before we find out now.....

OK then - nor was it Col Mustard in the hall with the rope.

And that's as cryptic a clue as you're going to get.

Wikipedia: "Miss Scarlett (Miss Scarlet in the North American version) is the stock Femme Fatale character. She is typically portrayed as young, cunning, and beautiful.

So we can deduct the mystery product is not a cunning new technology, the end product not beautiful to the eye.

Wikipedia: "Colonel Mustard is the stock character of a great white hunter and colonial buffoon. He is a military man with a European heritage and a tendency for botching things, both dignified and dangerous. As with many of the male characters, the Colonel is rumored to have an affair with Miss Scarlet in some sources."

Mmm..difficult this one...is it the Naim hdx?

Something to do with airSound speakers, a sound bar or the like?

I can offer the gratitude of an ex-pat who'll otherwise be waiting another month for his subs copy as a prize! ;-)

Got another guess:  someone has invented a box which has a vast range of digital filters for music.  Something like anti-aliasing for badly recorded music.  It would make poor recordings sound decent on good hifi systems.

Nope, not the HDX, Solomon1, but you might just be on the right track with your Cluedo research.

Let me add a further clue, in case it helps: not Rev Green, either, and we can rule out the lead pipe and the ballroom.

April music's Aura note music centre?

is its a samsung ''scarlett'' TV?

Mrs Peacock with the Revolver in the Lounge.

Denon DVD-2500BT Blu-ray Disc Transport.

Hi,

A Freesat HD box with PVR built in?

Cofnchtr.

No, timwileman, covered that one in my post of July 13.

And no, PaulR, neither is it anything to do with Captain Peacock with Mrs Slocombe's pet, nor the loudspeaker company you mention.

Is it a magic box, filed with hot air, producing the most startling sights and sounds -for the money?

Does it make things disappear- like cds and dvds for instance? Can you also pull a rabbit out of it?

anyone know yet?

Could it perhaps be that Professor Plum likes to eat Apples whilst talking on the phone?

Don't suppose it's a piece of budget kit that still works properly AFTER the guarantee's expired?  No, didn't think so....

Quenzer - please god no.

dont care.

just buy a mobile, people.

don't care any more, either.

Nope, Quenzer

Having just received the new issue and read the review of a certain optical disc playing product from a certain high-end brand beginning with the letter 'C', I'm guessing this was the device that this blog post was referring to. It certainly does sound impressive for the money!

just to clarify, i just mean i dont care bout the iphone.

AgentCool - you sound a wee bit uncertain tho. i was hoping it'd be blatantly obvious what the oroduct is. i mean, if they like it that much, it ought to be obvious.

Kef Speaker

al7478 - no I don't care about the iphone either.

I think Andrew has been leading us up the garden path with his Cluedo 'clues'.

AgentCool - Yes, this blog 'must' be referring to the 6se, judging by the review in the September issue. If the 6se is that good, how good will the 8se be? Well, I have one! In one word 'SEN-bloody-SATIONAL'

"I think Andrew has been leading us up the garden path with his Cluedo 'clues'."

As if...

hmmm....i use of the term eyes in the blog, threw a few of us off the scent :-)

It's pretty hard to operate without using your eyes...!

I really hope it isnt a CD player.

Kind of OTT saying "The most startling piece of kit this century?"

well said that amphibian.

i agree joe but it looks like all the other ones they make :-) i though and i bet so did other that you were indicating that it blew you away visually and sonically ... which of course it didnt, just sonically

Please keep this blog in your what hifi records and look back at it in about 25 years- it will look so out of date!

As good as it is now compared to it's contemporary cd-players, it's SO NOT the kit of the century! Tsss what an anticlimax

I should think almost anything written now will look out of date in 25 years.

It was always going to be a disappointment after a build up like that, but a CD player?

I bought the magazine though, so I guess mission accomplished.

Never mind 25 years. Its out of date right now.

Perhaps it ought to just have read...

"The best value CD player this century so far!!!!"

Well, naturally it wouldn't have been anywhere near as startling if it wasn't a CD player! The whole point was that it was a CD player – that we were being so blown away not by a new technology but by a product that has been around for years. As you are all proving, the idea of being startled by the performance of a CD player seems almost ridiculous... which is exactly why we wrote a blog about it!