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Ten... Living Room Gadget Treats

For laddies who lounge

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Gizmo Week

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Once, living rooms were the places kept solely for entertaining guests. Now they’re games rooms, home cinemas – and places to crash when you’re just too exhausted from all the fun to do anything else.

But kitting out your living room isn't just a matter of picking a TV and a console. There's a host of gadgets you can bring home to tech-up your lounge, not all of it AV equipment. Here's our selection of the devices we'd most like in our homes.

Of course, you could spend more than ten grand building a system, but the components here represent some of the best in class for their price. The PS3 gets the nod over the Xbox because it doubles up as a Blu-ray player and media streamer, and we’ve gone for Virgin’s TiVo box over Sky+, because it’s a better all-round DVR.

Arcam rCube iDevice speaker dock

RH Numbers

Arcam’s rCube looks like it’s far too small to be a serious addition to your hi-fi set-up. But plug an iPod or iPhone into its Dock – or play audio wirelessly using one of the accessories for Dock connector or USB port – and you’ll discover just how good it is. Sit it in a corner and the outward firing drivers send sound waves bouncing off the walls to provide a broad soundstage and beautifully balanced audio. And a built-in battery and carry handle allow you to move it from room to room or take it outside.

Arcam rCube
Price £349
More Info Arcam

Logitech Harmony 200 universal remote control

RH Numbers

You could spend a couple of hundred quid on a universal remote for all that home cinema kit if your really wanted to. Alternatively, for £20 the Harmony 200 will do the job nicely. Hook it up to your computer and download the settings for the devices you want to control from Logitech’s website and you’re good to go. As a budget remote, it’s limited to three devices, but that’s enough for a set-top box, TV, and amp or Blu-ray player. The remote itself sits comfortably in the hand and feels robust. And £20 for the convenience of getting rid of two remote controls is a bargain.

Logitech Harmony 200
Price £20
More Info Logitech

So if I come up with a top 10 list, can I wax lyrical about some stuff that's been sent to me, whilst not really explaining why they were picked over more obvious better candidates?

PS3-Xbox 360 (Why blu-ray when you can have 1080p digital media?)

Sony Amp, Vs Onkyo amps, cheaper with rae reviews.

Ikleen vs Roomba, Roomba gets the rave reviews, and can be picked up for nearly 100 less than the ikleen, plus has a 30 day, I'm not happy send it back guarantee, that the ikleen doesn't....

Perhaps we should just list...top 10 things I can see from my desk.

top 10 things I saw on the way to work.

10 top things I wish people would send me for review...

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It "wood" be nice to be able to spell

I also have a lumber heating system - it's called a log fire. The part of the lower back that the chair heats is the lumbar region.

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Re: Are you shitting me?

fuck off.

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"You’ll also need a pair that are comfortable to wear for long periods and which don’t cost the earth"

£120 for a pair of occasional use headphones is "costing the earth" as far as I'm concerned - I know you can get more expensive ones, but there are also perfectly reasonable cheaper ones that do the same job.

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Anonymous Coward

That's just cunting one-upmanship.

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