Ferrari and Meridian have teamed up to bring us a top-quality home entertainment center that not only looks great, but sounds great too.  Lately we have been seeing Ferrari’s logo on many things besides automobiles, but this one feels justified. Ferrari knows their way around a sound system (check out the Ferrari F430 Spider’s system), and they have certainly done an exceptional job on the F80.  Lets begin with the features.

The F80 has two front mounted speakers and one rear subwoofer.  These deliver 80 watts of sound, which is pretty good for how small it is.  It does feel a bit heavy, but I doubt anyone would buy something this expensive to bring to the beach.  Which brings me to the price.  Last time I checked, the F80 is $2,995 and with the i80 iUniversal Dock for iPod the system price is $3,390!  Ferrari is definitely marketing the F80 to the same people who buy their cars.  This is a good thing – I would hate to see the Ferrari brand get diluted to the point of losing brand value.  The F80 can play CD’s,  DVD’s, Ipod’s, and AM/FM radio stations.  It has antennae, optical, headphone, RCA and Video inputs – all very important for home entertainment.  The F80 comes with a stylish remote, and is available in five different actual Ferrari paint colors.  The one I tried was Modena Yellow, which is very sleek indeed.

Yet once we get past the legacy of Ferrari, the bevy of important features, and its overall aesthetic, does it actually sound good?  For how small this thing is -yes.  Obviously it won’t be competing with anyone’s 5.1 Home Surround Sound System, but this thing gets loud.  Its volume can easily rise above the noise of even the loudest party, mainly thanks to its rear subwoofer.  Yet at full volume the music becomes distorted, and starts to clip.  Overall, however, this is a great centerpiece of any room.  Think of it as the Swiss army knife of the bedroom and living room.  Would it be worth approx $3k if it wasn’t made in part by Ferrari?  Probably not.  If you have money to burn and are a Ferrari fan, this one’s definitely for you.  The Meridian Ferrari F80 will definitely garner its fair share of attention if you place it high on your living room mantel, but then again, thats what Ferrari’s are designed to do.