It’s been successfully proven that floor-standing speakers are responsible, in part, for at least one in every 1,000,000 divorces. As much as all humans love the sound of 5.1 surround sound, not all of them like having their lounges filled with hulking great speakers. Jamo, luckily, understands this dichotomy, and has sought to reduce speaker size to a mere suggestion of their previous dimensions. Its A 102 system is compact, but designed to provide a room-filling sound.
The system consists of two A 102 speakers, which take care of the front stereo sound effects and a similarly sized pair of A 10 rear-effects speakers. Also included is a single centre-channel speaker, the A 10 CEN, which will make speech delightfully audible and un-muddied by the crashing explosions that the SUB 200 subwoofer provides. It’s a fairly conventional system, and it won’t suit those looking for a 7.1-channel setup — but let’s be honest, for most of us 5.1 is more than suitable for a loveable home-cinema experience.
The construction of the whole package, is — as we’ve come to expect from Jamo — lovely. The small, stylish speakers feel sturdy, look delightful and are easy to wall-mount, with built-in brackets. We like that they allow the speaker to be rotated, which means you can direct the sound in your room to the correct location of your sofa. Even the cable bindings are clever, offering a more sturdy push-release mechanism that makes wiring them up very easy, but still maintains a good grasp on the cable.
The black colour scheme might not appeal to all, so Jamo also does a white version — handy if you’re looking to blend the speakers walls and you’re not a Goth. The speaker system has an RRP of £330, but you could knock as much as £100 off that if you hunt around online. If you’re looking for a matched system, Jamo will also sell you an AV receiver, the DMR 45, or a DVD player, the DMR 70 — or, if you’re feeling flush, both.