Eclipse TD510

The basics

The Eclipse TD51 is a five-speaker home cinema set-up comprising egg-shaped speakers and housing a single, full-range drive unit, perched on steel and aluminium speaker stands. Available in black, white and silver.

The good

Quiet at the back, there, you’re about to learn some serious physics. The exceptionally precise output of TD510 uses the time domain principle to reproduce sound waveforms exactly as they were recorded, without colouration or sloppy phase-shifts. That means audio sounds perfectly balanced, if a touch clinical to ears used to less rigorous reproduction. Dialogue is particularly well served, although action fans might be less appreciative – especially as a subwoofer isn’t included in the standard package. Naturally, the visual impression of five smoothly curving sonic eggs can’t be understated either – the moulded resin casings are virtually a work of art in themselves.

The bad

You can’t make a sonic omelette without breaking financial eggs. We put the price of a five-speaker Eclipse set-up at about the equivalent of 12,000 free-range fry-ups – and the cost doubles again if you add one of Eclipse’s thunderous subs. Clucking hell!

The bottom line

If you have any of the Fast and Furious Blu-rays sitting on your bookshelves, this sophisticated Eclipse set-up isn’t for you. In fact, if you’ve even heard of Fast and Furious, you’re not its target market. But if you prefer smokey thrillers like Michael Clayton, the soaring sweep of Lawrence of Arabia and fancy operas with titles in foreign languages, you’ll find yourself right at home. And that’s no egg-aggeration.