In the world of tellies, slim is sexy. The problem is that there's even less room for speakers, and this means sound quality's going from bad to worse.
Q Acoustics may just have solved this little conundrum with the genuinely unique Q-TV2, a 2.1 system that you strap right onto the back of your telly.
The main unit, which contains an ultra-slim subwoofer with built-in amplification, clings onto your flatscreen's wall mount sockets out of sight, leaving just the two thin speakers visible either side of your display.
The Q-TV2 is designed to fit 32-42in tellies, and the use of the industry-standard wall-mount sockets combines with excellent horizontal and vertical adjustment of the speakers to ensure a good fit.
What's more, the range is soon to be expanded with versions for smaller and bigger tellies, and if you're wondering how to wall-mount the TV if the sockets are taken up by the Q-TV2, Q Acoustics has a whole range of compatible wall brackets available too.
Simplicity is the key
The idea behind the unit is one of simplicity, so instead of being designed to accept signals from all of your sources, it takes just one signal direct from your TV. Your DVD/Blu-ray player, set-top box and/or games console plug into your TV in the normal way.
The best available connection is an optical input, and given the abundance of optical outputs on flatscreen TVs these days, we suspect many people will use this.
A standard analogue is also catered for (there's even a cable in the box), and if your TV doesn't support that, you can even send the signals from its headphone socket to a dedicated 3.5mm socket on the Q-TV2 (which can also utilise the output from an MP3 player). There's even a remote control included with volume and mute controls.
Regardless of which connection you opt for, the improvement over your flatscreen's own audio performance is huge.
True, some tellies sound better than others, but none have the weight, width, detail and solidity of the Q-TV2. Suddenly the action scenes of Fast & Furious have the openness and authority to make proper sense and to create greater excitement, and although this system doesn't even pretend to offer surround sound, the Q-TV2's sense of width does create an element of envelopment.
Your TV will gain extra depth
If that sounds good, and it should, there are a couple of things to bear in mind. Firstly, the Q-TV2 inevitably adds extra depth to your TV.
If you're lucky enough to have a flatscreen with connections that aren't obscured by the unit, this will be just 5cm, but many will find they need to use the bundled spacers to create enough space for their cables, and even then disconnecting and reconnecting equipment will be a pain.
Of course, how much these things bother you will be down to individual circumstances, so they don't cost the Q-TV2 a star.
However, there's a touch of uncomfortable sibilance in the treble, and a degree of missing definition in the bass that prevents us from awarding full marks, even though we like the Q-TV2 a great deal.
