SINGAPORE — If you’ve ever wondered if the music you’re listening is the best it could sound, it might be time to take a step into the audiophile world where no effort is spared in maximising one’s listening experience.

You might think that doing this would require a heavy investment — some headphones, for example, can cost thousands — but thanks to technological advances the entry point for audiophile bliss is getting lower.

LG is introducing the CM3330, a 2.1 speaker system that comes in a sleek soundbar-style package and comes with audiophile features. It plays CDs, radio (with the supplied wire antenna), and songs via Bluetooth or via USB. But what sets the CM3330 truly apart is its ability to handle FLAC files — digital versions of songs that, unlike MP3s, undergo lossless compression. MP3s, while popular, does cut out audio information to ensure small file sizes. FLAC files can be a few times larger than MP3s, but most audiophiles prefer FLAC when handling large libraries of songs. With lossless compression, songs sound exactly like they sound off the CD or whatever source you’re getting them from.

The CM3330’s good looks is backed up by its sound. The CM3330’s sound definitely can hit hard, with the in-built subwoofer performing capably even at the deepest, rumbliest bass. One thing to note, however — if you’re reading a bass-heavy file from a USB drive, the shaking of the CM3330 is going to start shaking your USB drive too. While it won’t fall out, you’re likely to hear the drive rattle, depending on how it’s built.

The bass is CM3330’s strong suit — which will suit many modern music listeners who prefer music with stronger bass. That said, the highs do lack some sparkle and the mids can seem a little recessed even when you’re not boosting the bass. Still, these are powerful speakers which can be driven very loud, and at the same time they’re able to handle quieter passages quite confidently. The CM3330 works well, especially when you’re letting it run while you focus on other things.

Sadly, playing FLAC files requires external storage like a USB drive. The CM3330 doesn’t have any inbuilt storage, which is a pity, and you’ll have to make sure your USB drive is organised into folders, because the speakers don’t seem to be able to sort the files according to album or artist for you. There’s also a 999-file limit — somewhat small, but this also helps to make sure that finding the song you want is a lot easier.

The CM3330 comes with a remote, but if handling one more controller is too much to handle for you, LG has a LG Bluetooth App for but Android and iOS that works as a remote. I tried it on iOS, which was somewhat confusing — connecting via Bluetooth prompted me to download one of three apps, of which one was named LG Bluetooth Remote, and the other two “btc 2” and “btc 3”. You’ll end up with at least two icons on your app screen, so using the app meant launching the Bluetooth Remote app then “btc 3” before I could control the player. It all seems rather convoluted, and it would have been nice if LG had integrated all the apps.

Using the app was straightforward — you could tune the radio, or select tracks to stream over from your iOS device. Sadly there seems to be no access to selecting the files in USB mode from the phone, which would have been useful — the small LCD screen on the CM3330 doesn’t quite give all the details on what it’s playing.

In the end, the LG CM3330 offers a first step into the audiophile world with a pretty enjoyable sound, but the sound quality won’t wow the experienced audiophile. Sadly, what might be the CM3330’s biggest flaw is how FLAC files aren’t easy to come by — most online stores, including iTunes, don’t sell songs in that format. You will most likely be ripping the songs from your own CDs, and since the CM3330’s cataloguing abilities for FLAC files aren’t great, you might be better off investing in a CD rack if you do get the CM3330.

The LG CM3330 comes in green, black or white, and is now available at S$349.