The increasing affordability of audio decoding hardware has spawned a new breed of systems which allow access to home cinema presentation for a far more reasonable sum of money. Team this in a package with budget speakers, and the laughably low price of a decent DVD player in the current market, and a full home cinema system can be added to a basic television setup for no more than £400.

Scan Computers have cottoned onto this market and applied an iron grip, frequently offering their proprietary SC2000 player and this home cinema package the AV6 on the "Today Only" section of their web page for the price of around £363. The AV6 by itself costs around £179. While this is undoubtedly an extremely low budget entry into the wonders of multichannel sound, does it represent high quality and value for money, or is it a case of false economy?

The main amplifier and decoder unit plugs in a mains outlet with a rather short cable - limiting the flexibility for placing it unless you employ an extension. The four outboard speakers, the centre speaker and the subwoofer are all wired separately through the rear of the amplifier utilising spring clips, and the arrangement is well labelled and easy to perform.

Audio inputs are handled by dual analogue inputs, co-axial and optical sockets are available for digital information Without additional redundant analogue inputs though, the Scan can be a bit limited when it comes to extended systems which might have other sources such as a PC, a second DVD player, as well as the standard TV/Video, Digibox and DVD.

There are extremely clear instructions for setting up the Scan package printed on the outside of the box, so even complete novices should be able to get up and running in half an hour or so. A very clear and comprehensive instruction booklet also gives additional assistance and technical information. The majority of this guide is in rather good English, so it entertained and surprised me when I came across the following translation : "When volume goes from 13 o'clock and over, its volume is getting big rapidly, so put volume on remote controller by pressing one by one"!!

The amp itself is a smart looking box dressed in grey plastic. Indeed, the entire Scan package looks smart and modern. A volume control dominates the front, with green leds indicating what type of signal is being received, and the type of surround decoding being performed. Unfortunately, although the front fascia gives a certain aura of quality, this impression is somewhat spoiled by a circle of green leds which surround the volume knob and indicate the setting. While this allows the volume level to be graphically represented in a way which can be read from a distance or in the dark, it looks cheap and garish, and can be distracting from the main presentation if the amp is near to the screen. Surely volume is a subjective quantity set to the requirement of the listener, and it is only necessary to graphically represent when an increase, or a decrease is being performed?

While we're on the subject of the leds, unless the user knows the layout of the front panel, the lights indicating which source and decoding are being used is indecipherable from any distance because the accompanying labels are so small. I found myself having to approach the unit to check everything was as it should be. Once a user has lived with the system for a long time, it may be that understanding the layout becomes second nature, but I tested the Scan for a couple of months, and it always seemed counter-intuitive.

The amplifier itself as a unit has a reassuring solidity about it, and stands on its edge in a stable posture a la Playstation2. The design does however raise a question over the sense of this arrangement - users wishing to stack the amp with either other hi-fi components, or even a DVD player or video, will be out of luck. The end-on design is intended to stand by itself and look pretty, which indeed it does, but integration with other items, or even furniture, could be limited as a consequence.

One problem with the Scan which only becomes apparent after prolonged use is that it employs a cooling fan to the side. This fan is similar to a standard 80mm PC exhaust fan, and in practise in makes the same noise. While this is not a problem during sections with music or action, it can very quickly become intrusive over tense scenes or dialogue. It can only be that the decoding chipset or the amplifier power unit is heating up enough to require active cooling. I just hope that Scan experimented fully with large passive heatsinks before they settled on the fan, because they would have been a far more attractive proposition.

The build quality of the speakers in the Scan unit is surprisingly sturdy, and the satellites are unexpectedly heavy despite their miniature size. I was entertained to discover that the although all five speakers are identical square units, one is labelled specifically as the centre. This would be more effective if the centre speaker were custom designed for its handling of vocal duties, or if it was shaped to more easily sit atop a screen - the square box on top of the television looks a little odd. The subwoofer unit is the size of a normal bookshelf loudspeaker, but it is really rather light. Hi-fi fans who have ever risked back injury by moving a dedicated active sub will know that their lowest depths of sonic enjoyment are not under threat from the Scan. The sub on the Scan is designed more to supplement the mid-range and higher-end bass of the tiny satellite speakers, rather than offering the rumbling depths of hi-fi separates.

The Scan comes with quite a nice miniature remote which is unbranded. This remote is about as small as it could be but is still comfortable in use, and large enough not to disappear under the latest issue of Empire lying on the coffee table! The remote carries the most important functions without becoming crowded or confused. I had some reservations over the strength of the remote - set up in a large room where the viewer was some 12ft from the amplifier, adjustment of volume seemed to be a slightly hit-and-miss affair.

When it comes to power output, the Scan is the best example I have come across of how misleading PMPO (Peak Mean Power Output) figures can be, in comparison to RMS (Root Mean Square) values. According to the AV6 technical specifications, each satellite speaker has a PMPO output of 200 watts, while the sub pumps out an earth-shattering 500 watts! Look at the RMS specs, and these come down to a far more realistic, and far less impressive 5 watts and 20 watts respectively. This means the mean output of the entire unit is only 45 watts.

As an experiment, I tried replacing the front left and right speakers with Mission 732i stand mounters. This certainly gave the front sound stage more depth, become it remained clear that the amplification to the units was limited. The Scan struggled to drive full size speaker units, and volume was a problem. Predictably, the tonal matching and crossover no-longer suited the system, and indeed, the Missions appeared to achieve similar bass depth to the Scan's subwoofer. Looking at the paper specs, this turned out to be not far from the truth, as the bottom range of the Scan is 70hz, about that of most mid-range Hi-Fi speakers.

With stereo music, the sound quality of the Scan is lacking. There is not much in the way of true stereo imaging, and the sound has a thin, brittle consistency. It's no worse than many cheap micro hifi setups, but neither is it any better, and it certainly does not challenge budget separate arrangements for sound quality. Sounds trot along quite happily, and certainly keep pace with the rhythm quite well, but there is a complete lack of true low end.

When the presentation moves on to audio-visual ground, the result is pretty much the same. Although an initial impression can be one of pleasant surprise, this soon fades once a few different titles have been played. The output of the unit is just not enough to cope with the broad range of more modern DD and DTS soundtracks, and the result is quite severe clipping on any movies where stronger sounds are used. One particularly bad experience was watching "James Bond - The World is Not Enough", where explosions caused the speakers to crackle and clip (cut out), while quiet scenes and voices were difficult to hear. This introduced us to a phenomenon which was common with the Scan - that of volume surfing : during most films or TV shows, it was necessary to monitor the volume level to ensure that it was turned up during conversations and quieter moments, but quickly reduced when loud music or sound effects were introduced.

Once again, as with stereo music, those interested in the Scan should not assume that just because it has a subwoofer, that it can reach the lowest depths of sub-audio sound. The sub has a limited lower range, and this shows through when bass notes, or large explosions are required on-screen. While they are reproduced with a reasonable amount of detail, there is just not any more depth than with reasonably-sized normal speakers.

The experience is not all bad however. On films with a more even volume level, the user can retire the remote to the sofa and enjoy the experience of DD or DTS surround sound, and that experience is good. The decoding carried out by the Scan is actually very good, and it is a shame that the amplification and production cannot match it. Effects are placed and panned well, and move around a fairly robust soundstage with quite a zing. There is certainly nothing to be criticised about the processing from the unit at this price point.

If you are on a particularly tight budget, and currently have a NICAM or Pro-Logic television, the Scan AV6 would be a good package to step up to digital surround in one move. The fact that it supports both Dolby Digital and DTS is a definite plus, as all your format bases are covered. However, the drawbacks of the Scan must be kept in mind. It is effectively a dead-end system because it is not really possible to usefully upgrade any further. Changing the speakers at a later date might be worth trying, but the limitations of the amplifier cannot be overcome without a replacement of the whole system. While budget separates would cost considerably more, they could be built up over time, and upgraded as necessary.

At such a low price, the Scan can be considered value for money. However, when looking at the package as a whole, any prospective purchaser must consider carefully exactly what they want, and be aware what they will get. When it comes to audio quality, anyone considering themselves an audiophile or an enthusiast will almost certainly find initial pleasure turning into long term dissatisfaction over the strength and depth of the sound which the Scan produces. While the surround processing is good, the lack of power and the excessive clipping, means that a less budget-minded setup might be more suitable. When it comes to the crunch, the Scan is best suited to use with a PC, or for bringing one's parents into the world of home cinema. As a single, integrated package, the Scan offers simplicity at all levels. At least parents might prefer the smaller speakers, and not notice any lack of finesse in the presentation, although they might complain about the fan noise, and having yet another remote control to manage.

Dan Bates

	Build	Sound	Features	Value	Overall
	8	5	8	9	6