Before you unload $2,995 on anything, you're likely going to want the opinion of someone who has had a chance to try things out beforehand, no? Working under that assumption, we present to you a review of Meridian's stratospherically priced F80. Proudly called "the most expensive tabletop music system in the history of the civilized world," this unit was seen as a "model for all tabletop systems," with the reviewer even begging everyone else to look at this before starting up design on yet another ho hum alternative. The critic also noted that this unit pulled off what he thought was impossible: "identifiable left- and right-channel sound from a system that measures only 16-inches wide." As expected, the F80 was indeed the "best" he had ever heard in this category, but the omission of an iPod dock was a sore spot. For those with more disposable income than they know what to do with, this one seems a surefire winner; for everyone else, it's not worth going into debt over.

We fully expected that Ferrari logo and lacquered paint job to add a stuff premium to Meridian's F80, but this is undeniably insane. The "transportable home entertainment system," which has been hovering about since last March, is at long last ready to be purchased. Finding prospective buyers, however, will likely be challenging. The unit is now available in silver, yellow, white, black and the obligatory red, and each one will set you back a dumbfounding $2,995. We're thinking the unit itself would go for around three bills sans branding, but apparently Italian ponies aren't cheap.

If you thought LG had milked the Chocolate for all it was worth, you've got another thing comin'. That thing would be the HT972TR HTIB, which includes five satellite speakers, a 225-watt subwoofer, 1,000 total watts of amplification and a DVD player that handles 1080p upscaling as well as DivX. Moreover, the system boasts HDMI, DTS support, an AM / FM tuner and a USB port for loading up portable media. Not a lot of details beyond that just yet, but do yourself a favor and check out two more delicious shots waiting after the jump.

[Via Electronista, images courtesy of Le Journal du Geek]

There's iPod sound systems, and then there's Bluetooth streaming music stations, but GEAR4 is looking to meld both worlds together with its new HouseParty Blu. The multifaceted speaker station allows dock-connecting iPods to flank the top and recharge its battery while cranking out the jams, and moreover, it doesn't shun the elegant A2DP audio streaming capabilities of your BT-enabled music phone in the process. As with most portable sound systems, this one also includes a 3.5-millimeter auxiliary input for every other music source in the world, and specs wise, you'll find a pair of stereo drivers, 30-watts of amplification, touch-sensitive backlit buttons, and a wireless remote. So if you've been keeping an eye for a noise maker that would natively play nice with your Pod and mobile, you can snap up GEAR4's latest for a reasonable £79.99 ($159) right now.