Sony MHC-V73D high power audio system, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, karaoke, FM radio

According to Sony, the Fiestable app lets each guest add their favourite songs to a shared playlist. The music comes from the guest's own smartphone and travels to the system over your Wi-Fi network. Nobody has to pass a single phone around the room or swap cables: everyone queues up what they want to hear, while the host keeps control of the system itself.

Alongside Wi-Fi, the system has Bluetooth, so you can play music straight from a phone, tablet or laptop. NFC means an NFC-capable phone pairs with a simple tap, without hunting through Bluetooth menus. That is handy at a party, when the music choice keeps changing hands and a new phone needs to connect within seconds rather than minutes.

Sony lists karaoke support, so the system doubles as the centre of a singing night. The equaliser lets you tune the sound to the room and the music, for example adding bass for dance tracks or making vocals clearer. The number of microphone inputs, the connectors and whether a microphone is in the box are not given in the manufacturer data, so plan on a separate microphone for karaoke.

Through the USB port you can play music and video from a flash drive; the supported formats listed are MP3, Xvid and MPEG4 (Simple Profile). That lets you prepare the party playlist on a stick in advance and stop worrying about anyone's phone battery. FM radio adds ordinary radio listening for times when a station in the background is all you need.

The system measures 428 × 921 × 370 mm and weighs 20.43 kg. This is a large floor-standing speaker rather than a shelf-sized micro system, so choose a place where it stands securely and does not block a walkway. Given the weight, moving it is a job for two people. If it goes into a corner, make sure there is a power socket nearby and easy access to the USB port for a flash drive.

The Sony MHC-V73D suits people who host house parties, birthdays or karaoke nights and want one big system that every guest can connect to. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, USB and FM radio cover most music sources. It is not a portable speaker but a system that stays in place at home or in a party room.