Nakamichi has long been a name associated with higher-end hi-fi equipment, although they have more recently dabbled their toe into the world of DVD and home cinema.

The latest range offered by Nakamichi is the 'Soundspace', which offers a number of options to provide complete stereo and home cinema solutions. The Soundspace 10 is delivered in three very substantial boxes, and the immediate impression is quality - as you would expect from a system with a current RRP of £5,000. At this price point, the Nakamichi also enjoys superb dealer support, and customers purchasing the unit will have it delivered and installed by experienced staff, and are usually given a quick lesson in system operation.

With the Soundspace 10, Nakamichi are treading firmly on the toes of the Bang & Olufsens of this world by creating an all-in-one lifestyle system that is both functional and beautiful. This system would be extremely at home mounted in a 'yuppie' minimalist converted warehouse flat with stripped pine floors. Gordon Gecko of "Wall Street" would own this system, both because of the quality sound and picture it produces, but also for it's stylish image and the size of it's price tag. The question for this review though is - should you join him?

The main power unit is reminiscent of a typical home cinema amplifier, although it still manages to squeeze an extremely comprehensive specification into a very small space. This unit can take inputs from external tape or video sources and there are two optical and coaxial digital inputs, and an optical out is also available for something like a minidisc. This unit carries only a main power button (and standby is handled via the remote by the control unit) so it can be hidden in away a cupboard if so required, although you may want to keep the gorgeous aluminium chassis on display.

Technophobes might receive an unfortunate shock on unwrapping the Soundspace 10, for the system comes with not one, but two remote controls. The first huge main control remote somewhat resembles the Sony RM-AV2000 with a large clear touchscreen across the top half, and power, volume and cursor controls along the bottom. The bottom half also flips open to reveal a keyboard for utilising the more complex functions of the system. This remote is heavy and bulky, and best used as a coffee table unit, although the angle of this is more successful if the control unit is mounted on a line of site above where the remote is sitting. It is for this reason that the second remote is provided, which is a smaller unit with just eleven buttons. This smaller egg-shaped remote sits perfectly in the hand and is easy to carry and particularly comfortable. However, unfortunately the labelling of the buttons, and the inherent need for each button to activate numerous functions, results in the remote being rather challenging to use successfully.

All necessary cabling is supplied in the package, and I was impressed to note that speaker wires supplied were both high grade and of generous length. The connections between power and control unit were also long enough to give flexibility in their positioning. There were two major proprietary leads which were more difficult than most to secure satisfactorily. Users may also be given the word of warning that these wires would not be easily replaced should they become lost or damaged, however, at this price one would expect Nakachimi's support network would happily provide you with substitutes.

The one negative feature of the Nakamichi was the enduring use of spring clips on the power unit, the subs and the satellites. Although there was never any doubt that the connection was good, I would have expected a heavier grade speaker connection, and binding posts all round would have been welcome. This especially when one considers that much of the Soundspace 10 is intended to have a wall mounting option, and that would place significant stresses on cables being held in spring clips. Customers spending this amount of money will probably have expectations exceeding this standard.

The Nakamichi offers multi-room and multi-source operation, although this was not tested within the time I had available.

The best example of the difficulties encountered was when we decided that the white screen was glowing too brightly and detracting from the main picture during a lights-down film screening. Not wanting to randomly press buttons and spoil the current configuration, ten minutes of earnest study of the tome-like instruction manual was necessary before the required button was located. We have yet to determine how to deactivate the annoying 'beep' every time a remote button is pressed… The Soundspace 10 is, then, a system which will take some learning before the very best performance, and the very smoothest operation can be secured.

Interestingly, the menus and setup of the DVD player are strongly reminiscent of Hitachi players, and I would suggest that the lion's share of the firmware is shared with that company.

One criticism of the Nakachimi that I would voice is inherent in the operation of the 5-disc option. The speed of loading and spooling a disc to menu or play seemed to take an eternity. Couple this to the fact that it is not possible to see discs which are loaded, and Nakachimi owners will need to enforce a strict system of placing the empty boxes of discs currently loaded on a shelf near to the unit. Failure to do this resulted in the contents of the player being forgotten the next day, and it can then take an age to swap between discs and either start their menus, or eject them, to determine which they are.

Galaxy Quest DTS demonstrated stunning control of contrast and black levels, and fine detail was rendered faithfully. The Nakamichi brought out excellent results from a range of discs, and did not suffer from any incompatibilities with any discs including the usual suspects such as Buena Vista discs like Tarzan or The Insider, or the perennial jokester The Matrix.

The Matrix disc tested was, in fact, an Australian Region 4 disc, which highlights another benefit of the Nakamichi - it is easily rendered automatically Region-free. The code can be found in our Region Hack pages, and when entered it frees the Nakamichi to play discs from all Regions automatically 'no questions asked'. I did not find any discs from Regions 1,2 and 4 which it couldn't cope with.

In DVD use, film soundtracks defined between effects and music well. Placement of sounds around the soundstage covered 360 degrees, with voices being portrayed particularly clearly. Bass notes on soundtracks, and explosions and gunfire sounded rich and believable - having two subwoofers certainly helped to add depth and grunt to the proceedings. The Nakamichi isn't all shout though, it also has subtlety when required. Background sounds like lapping water or a quiet breeze were convincingly expressed all around the listening room. This is home cinema at the top end.

To take a couple of scenes from the superb Galaxy Quest DTS disc, one impressive section sees the USEA Protector damaged and adrift in space. The ship drifts past the camera, and the engines hiss and splutter. The Nakamichi amazed me with it's portrayal of this scene, as the effects placement was spot on and moved smoothly from left rear to centre. Further, the intermittent gentle sounds of the struggling ship were clarity itself.

The second scene to impress was the hilarious exit from spacedock. As the ship scrapes the side of the space station, I thought it possible that at higher volumes, the small size of the satellite speakers would limit their performance. On the contrary, the squealing, tearing metal was perfectly rendered and the satellites seemed to take everything well within their step.

Moving to straight stereo and DTS encoded music discs, the performance of the Soundspace 10 was a distinct improvement over all but the finest integrated A/V amps. Stereo imaging was superb, and the music retained the clarity that was demonstrated so well with DVD material. A Paul Kimber CD transported the listener to the heart of the jazz club, and the sax soared as the plucked bass reverberated across the centre of the soundstage. There is no mistaking Nakamichi's audio pedigree when it comes to music on the Soundspace. It was much less 'listening' to music, and far more 'enjoying the experience' which is reminiscent of true quality hi-fi.

The Sting and Police DTS music discs proved that surround-encoded music has a lot to offer even true audiophiles. With the precision of the Nakamichi behind it, the music was truly surrounding, with the integrated soundfield filling in completely between the speakers. Bass clarity was as good as with straight CD, and the swirling effects of the newer Sting mix (Brand New Day) make the whole experience very involving.

However, for those with any concern about money, the Soundspace 10 is not necessarily the cheapest way to get a similar level of performance. £5000 is an awful lot to pay, even if it does cover the whole system. If technically minded, or if hooked up with a helpful dealer, a buyer could treat themselves to a well balanced separates system and have enough money to invest in an entire CD/DVD collection. For example, quick arithmetic puts a Pioneer 717, Yamaha A2, tuner, twin REL Q200's, Mission 703 speakers and Mission centre and rear speakers at £2800-£3200 street prices. This separates system could probably give the Nakamichi a run for it's money in the sound and vision stakes (although straight stereo would probably not be so good, you'd still have good money for a dedicated CD and Amp setup !).

However, that's just not the point. That system would have different badges, would require shopping around and expert knowledge to ensure the correct mix and balance, and there's always a risk that something might not be right. The Nakamichi buyer worries not about these things. They pay the premium for knowing that they get a system which looks great, integrates perfectly and is delivered and installed for them. If they have any problems or questions, they look to one person. In the mean time, they wow themselves and their friends with great looks, and greater performance.

If you have the necessary flat/house, money and attitude, then you will not be disappointed with the Nakamichi.

Dan Bates

	Build	Picture	Sound	Features	Speed	Value	Overall
	9	9	10	8	7	7	9