Fenton SHF700W System

Is the Fenton SHF700W System worth buying?

Yes, the Fenton SHF700W System is worth buying at £280 if there is no amplifier in your house: two 400W white towers, an Audizio AD220A amplifier with Bluetooth, optical, AUX and RCA inputs, and 10 m of speaker cable arrive together, so one order gets music playing. It suits a first hi-fi or a living room TV setup where nobody wants to research receivers.

If you already own a stereo amplifier, the towers alone do the same job. The Fenton SHF700B brings the same 400W rating and the same dual 6.5-inch woofers with horn tweeters for £159.90, which is £120.10 less. Six buyers have rated the SHF700W system 4.8, so the record behind it is short but positive.

How much of the £280 is the amplifier?

Count the three boxes and the £280 splits into £93.33 each for two towers and an amplifier. Put the amplifier aside and the £120.10 gap between this system and the £159.90 Fenton SHF700B tower pair is what pays for the Audizio AD220A, its remote-controlled tone section and the 10 m of cable.

Measured against output, the system delivers 1.43 W per £: 400W across the pair divided by £280. The same 400W pair without an amplifier works out at 2.50 W per £ at £159.90, so the amplifier is a convenience charge rather than a power upgrade. What you gain is one mains plug and no matching to do, and what you give up is the £120.10 difference.

What comes with the Fenton SHF700W System?

Three items arrive: the powered amplifier, two white floor standing towers and 10 m of speaker cable, so the runs to both cabinets are covered without a separate reel. Each tower stands 56 cm high and 28 cm wide in a white aluminium cabinet, with a rear bass reflex port, metal screw terminals and anti-slip rubber feet instead of spikes.

The Audizio AD220A has separate treble, mid and bass controls, so you can lift the top end for speech or add weight for films without touching the tone settings on the TV. Bluetooth streaming takes a phone, tablet or laptop, and the amplifier is a corded electric unit, so plan one socket near the cabinets. The warranty runs for one year, and it is registered to the amplifier, not to each speaker.

Where does the Fenton SHF700W System fall short?

There is no HDMI input on the amplifier. A TV connects over the optical socket, which carries the sound but leaves volume on the amplifier remote, and console owners will be routing audio through the TV rather than straight into the amp. It also only comes in white, so it is the wrong pick against dark wood or black media furniture.

The amplifier adds a box, a mains lead and a socket that the £159.90 tower-only pair does not need, and at 1.43 W per £ it is the dearer way to buy the same 400W of output. The rating of 4.8 comes from six buyers, which is thin next to the 194 behind the Fenton SHF700B. On thick carpet the anti-slip rubber feet do not couple the cabinets to the floor the way spikes would.

How does the Fenton SHF700W System compare with the Fenton SHF700B and the Q Acoustics M40?

The Fenton SHF700B is the cheaper sibling at £159.90, £120.10 under this system, and it carries the same 400W rating and dual 6.5-inch woofers per tower in a black wood finish. Buy the SHF700B if you already own an amplifier that handles a pair of towers, and buy the SHF700W system if you do not.

The Q Acoustics M40 costs £499, which is £219 more, and it is a powered pair only 71 cm high with a built-in 200W amplifier and Bluetooth aptX HD streaming. It plays with no amplifier and no cable runs between cabinets, but it is half the rated output and walks into the same thin record, 3.9 from 21 buyers. The SHF700W system suits a bigger room and a smaller budget; the M40 suits a small room and the neatest possible setup.