The £199 ELS3 is a cracking mini speaker that works well in a wide range of circumstances (including A/V). The reviews have been exceedingly kind too, so post purchase justification is a doddle. Thankfully you might even like the sound they make.

For A/V use the centre integrates well and a package of 4 x ELS3, 1 x ELS3C and one of Tanoy's excellent little TS8 sub woofers is yours for £800. Epos' own £349 sub is almost with us.

One word of warning is that the ELS 3s can sound truly dire straight out of the box. Even one hour of playing can make a huge difference.

Being rear ported, they do not look like ideal bookshelf fodder. In our experience they can work well near walls but these things are always room and system related judgements. The fundamental character is open, clean, not overly bright and genuinely engaging. As stereo speakers (remember?) they have enough low end muscle and overall sophistication to fool you into thinking that you would not need anything more. Genuine bargains.

"A mini monitor with a performance level that is astounding. At its price it can’t be bettered..."

Colours are light cherry, dark cherry and black. All in vinyl wood grain wrap.

We were never great fans of the old M12 or M15. More composed than the old ES11 or 12, certainly, but just a bit too rich, cosy and safe to be taken seriously in the company of similarly priced alternatives from the likes of ATC. At least that was our opinion.

The M series has recently undergone significant revision. And, sorry to say, we were distinctly underwhelmed when we first fired them up. The best of the bunch seemed to be the diminutive and very modestly priced M5. Much of the package was brilliant. The fast and open midrange a delight, as was the tight and tuneful bass, way above the expected standard for the size and price. The trouble was that it shared the same flaw as the others in the range : hard edged, spot lit, over emphasised (get the point?) treble.

At the Bristol Hi-Fi show we noticed that Creek / Epos were demonstrating them without the trademark perforated metal cover over the metal domed tweeter. 'Oh, that?. It just lifts off. You should try".

Now that's what you call a difference. Lifting the metal cover away is easy since it is only held in place by the drivers magnet. With the metal dome open to the elements, the treble quality improves dramatically, bringing the larger models well and truly into the running. On reflection, the M5 probably sounded best because its lighter tonal balance gave the least contrast with the edgy top end.

These are smooth, clean and engaging products. The floor standing M15.2 actually performs very well, and looks far better than the dumpy old M15. Mind you, the £350 M5 still takes the value for money honours. It really is amazing at the price point.

The M8 centre integrates well with older Epos designs, such as the 25 and is certainly well matched to the M5 / M12.2 / M15.2. It is probably fair to say that Epos have judged the ability level quite cleverly. These loudspeakers do not subject a system to intolerable levels of analysis. They are musical and safe enough to match with budget equipment yet sufficiently open to reward an element of upward mobility.

We have not tried the M22 yet.

Electronic compatibility is high, with the Creek integrated amplifiers and Naim Nait 5i giving excellent results. The rich real wood cherry veneer finishes look good too with the light cherry being a little nearer "normal" cherry finish on other brands than was the case with the previous generation M12 / M15.

Arcam, ATC, Audio Technica, Creek, Chord Company, Eichmann, Dynavector, Epos, Focal / JM Labs, Grado headphones, Harbeth,

Isoblue (and special branch), Kudos Audio, Lyngdorf, Lyra, Michell Engineering, Naim Audio, Neat Acoustics, Nordost, Origin Live, Ortofon, Nottingham Analogue, Partington, Primare, Rega, Roksan, Sim2, Graham Slee, Shahinian, Something Solid, Stands Unique, Stax Earspeakers, Sumiko, Trichord, Wireworld, Wyrewizard