“Firstly, there’s the look and build of this beauty. The minute you lay your hands on the cold metal you know this is one very, very serious attempt to bring a one-box system up into the echelons of the real high-end... As far as facilities and features go, even the most fastidious of gadget freaks should be satisfied. TAG have paid great attention to detail... This is one of the sweetest sounds you’ll get in high-end audio, but it’s very involving too... With Mile Davis’s ‘Kind of Blue’ the imaging was superb, using either the company’s Calliope speakers or a pair of Living Voice Avatars (which erred on the warmer side but didn’t exactly match stylistically!). There was a good amount of transparency and neutrality, enough to bring the system up into the big boy’s league... My previous experience with both FM and DAB tuners from TAG McLaren have been good. The company know how to make radio work well in the audiophile environment. The Aphrodite is no exception to this rule...

“This system is a serious proposition for those in the market for a high-end sound from user friendly equipment. Few separates systems can deliver such quality, plus style, for the same cost. Think of the Aphrodite as a next step up from a Linn Classik and you get the idea... The Aphrodite offers good value for those in the market for a sophisticated product - and it’s miles ahead of certain ‘lifestyle’ systems that offer poorer build quality and sound, for little less cost.”

Hi-Fi World - November 2002

“Reference class.

"Aphrodite is a divine system, excellently manufactured, with superb ergonomics and high performance sound, justifying her considerable price. Those who succumb to her attraction almost certainly consider her to be the most beautiful of her kind.

"Sound quality: extraordinary; features: good; manufacturing quality: very good; ergonomics: extraordinary."

Audio - April 2002

Reviewing Aphrodite and Calliope

“A two-source, three piece, ‘bookshelf’ system enters an audition with high expectations to meet. We’d have to say Aphrodite met them. We were immediately and powerfully impressed... It was a product of impeccably neutral tonality, pinpoint positioning, as sense of the singer’s height and a strong impression of the stage depth.

“While you could equal Aphrodite’s sound quality for the money - and you might even find something that looks almost as good - you'd look long and hard for a system with such near-perfect scores in both categories.”

Sound and Image - October 2001

"This is a beautifully engineered one-box 'style' system with genuine hi-fi sound, and that fact alone blows most of the 'luxury' all-in-one competition out of sight. In fact, it's probably the best one-box stereo system in the world - another notch on TAG McLaren's increasing bedpost of achievement."

Hi-Fi Choice - November 2001

"If you want to wow him with your good taste and technological prowess, then splash out the ultimate in sexy sound systems - the TAG McLaren Aphrodite. Coolly designed and available in several gorgeous colours, it's the last word in style. The high-performance sound quality is absolutely stunning, and it's a must-have for all you techno junkies."  Excerpt from "creating the ultimate pleasuredome" for your loved one.

fluid - November 2000

"When you hear expressions like 'all-in-one' and 'integrated' applied to high-end home audio, it's hard not to emit a chuckle or two. It's kind of difficult to accept that a full stereo system can be shoe-horned into a small casing and still produce the sort of sound that makes us go weak at the knees. But the Aphrodite Music System AvantGarde has achieved this with room to spare. This is from a company that vowed to revolutionise the design of home audio equipment and, in the tradition of Bang and Olufsen and Bose, has certainly achieved that."

Tone (New Zealand) - Jan/Feb 2001

"The product group designer system has a new Goddess!"

"Sound: 100%."

STEREO - December 2000

"Does the TAG McLaren Audio's attention to detail border on the fanatical?... Most of us have preconceptions about these designer systems, but the Aphrodite/Calliope combination really does redefine standards in this sector of the market... The TAG McLaren system performs to a very high standard, and genuinely is a viable alternative to the more obvious separates path. I admit I came to this test hoping for greatness though fearing the worst, but the more I used the system the more impressed I became... The system can create an intimate, but superbly focused and naturally proportioned view of the music... The Aphrodite and its partnering speakers never sound bass-shy or insubstantial, and their tightly controlled low end is effective with basses and cellos, not to mention orchestral percussion, while the midband and treble do a fine job with everything.

"For now the Aphrodite/Calliope system is a fascinating alternative to conventional separates, and will, I suspect, be causing a few shivers among the likes of Bang & Olufsen and Bose. This is a striking and potentially significant debut."

Gramophone - October 2000

"The minute you see it [Aphrodite], you just have to take it home. Only you won't get the usual 'not another hi-fi' whines from your partner" "The Aphrodite even manages to make rival 'quality' lifestyle systems from Bang & Olufsen and Bose looking archaic.

"Fanatically sexy lifestyle system that's beautifully bolted together and sounds the biz with decent recordings.

"Like the F3 Series the Aphrodite/Calliope combo is so transparent and revealing... Pick a decently mastered disc though and the systems' qualities through-a large soundstage that doesn't ask you to grow a beard, wear only one sock and sit in the middle of the 'sweet spot' to get the best out of it, with plenty of tuneful bass and large lashing of treble."

T3 - October 2000

"The Aphrodite and Calliope has a sound to match its style, and while those alarm functions might suggest this is an ideal bedroom system, it's more than good enough to be considered as the primary system for all one's home entertainment needs.

"This is a beautifully realized system, delivering on its promise of the kind of performance usually associated with separates hi-fi, while at the same time offering style, a high degree of flexibility and complete user-friendliness. There's no need to make excuses for the sound due to the way the thing looks, and neither do all those useful facilities exact any sonic penalty."

Gramophone (Japan) - September 2000

"Reference Class" 

Hifi Test Magazin - September/October 2000

"Radically different from anything else in the shops, the Aphrodite is the mini system concept taken to the max. And it delivers on sound too, with an effortless yet direct presentation that never fails to draw the listener in.

"Style a-plenty and performance to match; no other system looks like the Aphrodite or is built to these high standards.

"The Aphrodite/Calliope system/speakers combination may be 'reassuringly expensive', but then it has the both the sound and the looks to match that eye-watering price. Gorgeous!

"Sound: 5 stars, Build: 5 stars, facilities: 5 stars, verdict: 5 stars"

What Hi-fi? - September 2000

"Like many other things that have come out of the TAG Group (the McLaren F1 Road Car, McLaren Formula 1 race cars, and TAG Heuer watches), this provocative-looking unit is a beautiful piece of technology that performs just as beautifully... The Aphrodite's reference-quality sound lays waste to the old notion that stereos that look like a million bucks sound like $21.95..."

Esquire (USA) - August 2000

"Aphrodite AvantGarde, by TAG McLaren Audio, is without any doubt, the best and most beautiful 'Music-System' (preamplifier, CD player, radio AM/FM with RDS) on the world market."

Diário de Notícias - July 2000

"Aphrodite created in AUDIO's listening room with large loudspeakers a seductive sound. Nobody would expect such completeness, superiority and dynamic scale from such a compact system. Aphrodite demonstrated multi-layered sound ability and resolved the finest details of the music... The loudspeaker Calliope is a sensitive partner, transparent, homogeneous and dynamically convincing. They are a perfect fit."

AUDIO - May 2000

May 2000: Esquire puts Aphrodite on their "Gear most wanted" list!

"By and large, considering the amount of money one can spend on top-end music systems, hi-fi set-ups are pretty darn ugly... And although the sound may be heavenly, it looks, well, a mess. So it comes as something of a surprise to discover a hifi-system that looks as good as it sounds"

ES Magazine - April 2000

"Object of Desire: Like space travel, Formula One involves such intensive engineering expertise that breakthroughs occasionally extend to less rarefied applications. The TAG McLaren AvantGarde Aphrodite music system is a case in point."

Times Magazine - February 2000

"HiFi-Beauty: Aphrodite is the name of the audio innovation by the F1 constructor, TAG McLaren."

Capital - November 1999