Sony has a good reputation in the audio market and its typical attention to aesthetics is particularly evident in the new SRS-DZ10.

This 2.1 multimedia speaker system is intended primarily for computer users but would fit nicely into other environments.

A cylinder-shaped sub complements the mid-range satellites and in terms of looks is light years ahead of the more standard and frankly rather boring grey or black box.

You’re also provided with a separate terminal that houses volume and bass controls along with a headphone socket and two inputs, ideally suited to wiring up a PC while leaving a spare for an mp3 player or other audio source.

The sub-woofer incorporates a dramatic blue light (that you can turn off in dark environments) and seems equally effective either on its end or lying flat on the floor. 25W RMS output, with 6W for each of the satellites makes it a pretty versatile beast without really pushing the boundaries of power.

In terms of audio quality it’s certainly no slouch, but we were expecting a little more considering the technology giant’s reputation. Achieving well-balanced sound is the main issue; bass tends to get mixed up somewhat with higher tones from the satellites, something that’s particularly evident at high volumes.

You can resolve the issue to some extent if the audio source offers a graphics equalizer or environment presets, but it would have been nice to see a dedicated treble control or perhaps loudness feature on the device itself.

Available online for around £90, it’s reasonably priced, particularly taking the high design standards into account. There are other solutions around that, while not as pretty, offer better audio than this Sony, but for the casual user or those who consider looks important it should certainly satisfy.