surround

Polk's new SurroundBar adds a wireless subwoofer

As we mentioned in our CES 2009 home audio preview, the trend in home audio over the last few years has been toward simplicity, and sound bars have promised to deliver the full surround experience from a single speaker. In reality, it never quite sounds that good, but the Polk Audio SurroundBar systems are generally better than most. The newly announced SurroundBar SDA Instant Home Theater aims to improve on previous models by making the speaker even smaller and adding a wireless subwoofer. Here are the details.

Key features of the Polk Audio SurroundBar SDA Instant Home Theater :

260 watts … Read more

Philips unveils ultrasleek home-theater sound bars

Philips doesn't have a big presence at CES this year but it does appear to have some noteworthy products, especially when it comes to its new line of home-theater sound bars. The company's announced four new sound-bar packages, each geared to a slightly different target consumer.

Here's the rundown of the various products:

Model: The HSB2351

*All-in-one sound bar features integrated DVD player and subwoofer with 300 watts of total power

*Space-saving sleek design fits easily on an entertainment center or can be mounted on the wall

*Dolby Virtual Speaker for theater audio experience and HDMI 1080p … Read more

Psyko 5.1 headset puts speakers where they've never been before

We've seen our fair share of surround-sound headphones, but the Psyko 5.1 PC gaming headset goes about it in a unique way. Instead of loading separate audio channels in each ear cup, the Psyko 5.1 places them on the unit's headband and it's the ear cups that house the actual subwoofers.

With the speakers located on the top of your head, the Psyko 5.1 relies on the strategic positioning of the channels in the headband to create the surround sound effect. Currently the Psyko 5.1 is only available for PC, but the company … Read more

Ludacris gets down with Monster (and me) at CES 2009

Excuse me a moment while I brush the stars out of my eyes. I just spent the better part of my lunch hour chilling with a bunch of Monster executives and rapper Ludacris, who creates some of my favorite workout-friendly and anger-releasing tracks. OK, so maybe I only spent 5 minutes one-on-one with the guy, but it was enough to ascertain that he's not only a talented artist, but also an exceedingly nice and polite guy. He also has no idea what an MP3 player is. Well, now he does. But when I asked him what MP3 player he … Read more

Two-channel home theater vs. sound bar speakers

Let's face it, setting up a home theater with five speakers and a subwoofer is a hassle.

Home-theater-in-a-box systems ease the pain somewhat, but you still have to run wires to five speakers and a subwoofer. Single-speaker sound bar systems? Sure, they eliminate the tangle of wires, but they're just glorified stereo bars and never really sound all that good. You can get much better sound from a decent set of stereo speakers.

You could put together a much better sounding system with Integra's DSR-4.8 DVD/AV receiver ($600) and a nice pair of speakers and possibly a subwoofer. It's a stereo receiver with 50 watts per channel with a built-in DVD/DVD-Audio/SACD player; video connectivity includes a 1080p HDMI output, one HDMI input, and two composite inputs. (You can multiply the usefulness of that single HDMI input by adding an inexpensive HDMI switcher that multiplies the number of available outputs.)

Let's compare and contrast an Integra DSR-4.8 based system with Yamaha's YSP-4000 single-speaker surround system ($1,800). The Yamaha is self-powered so it doesn't need an AV receiver, but it doesn't make much bass. So, you'll need to add a subwoofer, like Yamaha's YST-FSW150 ($280) and a DVD or Blu-ray player.

Fifty watts may not seem like much, but Integra components sound pretty good; pair the DSR-4.8 with efficient speakers you'd get a big sound. Klipsch's RB-61 bookshelf speakers ($499/pair) would be ideal and make better and more powerful bass than the YSP-4000, so some of you won't have to get a sub. But if you're thinking about going whole hog, I like Klipsch's Sub-12 subwoofer ($500). That's all together a $1,600 MSRP system, so it's at least $500 less expensive than the Yamaha system.

The Integra/Klipsch system would be way, way more dynamic, with vastly greater clarity for movies and music (single-speaker systems never quite sound right for music). To be fair, the Yamaha big claim to fame is its ability to produce a facsimile of surround sound from the single speaker, and it's the best of its type (I've reviewed a ton of single-speaker surround systems for CNET--both units with built-in video connectivity and those without--so I should know). The Integra/Klipsch is strictly stereo, but it'll be really good stereo. Big and wide, with a great sense of depth and spatiality.… Read more

A kinder, gentler headphone

When earbuds just aren't enough to keep the distracting masses from interrupting whatever it is you're preoccupied with at the time, portable headphones are the next step.

On Thursday, Ultrasone announced the HFI-15G headphones. Deemed the smallest headphones in Ultrasone's line--although exactly how small is unclear--the HFI-15G features Ultrasone's patented S-Logic Natural Surround Sound technology. What exactly is the big deal about that?

Well, according to the company, the technology reduces sound pressure on the eardrum by up to 40 percent. It's supposed to result in a safer listening experience for the user. The S-logic … Read more

What's the best midpriced AV receiver?

Update (February 12, 2009): Check out our follow-up story, with full reviews of all the products mentioned here.

I receive a lot of e-mail asking why we haven't reviewed many AV receivers in recent months. First off, let me say: mea culpa. Reviews coverage of this category has suffered, mostly because AV receivers are among the most time-consuming products to analyze (because they now need to be examined in detail for their audio and video performance). But enough of the excuses; here's what we're doing to remedy the situation. … Read more

Eleven years later, 'Zaireeka' is within reach

In 1997, when the Flaming Lips released Zaireeka, I'd been following the antics of their leader Wayne Coyne pretty closely.

His Boombox Experiment, which involved 40 boomboxes and an equal number of nearly identical cassettes, was a great demonstration of how music is an actual physical presence in a room. As an audience member walked among the boomboxes, the sound changed. That's the power of acoustics, which is often ignored by gear freaks but is absolutely critical in everything from recording to live performance to setting up your home stereo correctly.

Zaireeka--the word is a combination of "… Read more

Energy RC-Micro 5.1: Small speakers, big sound

"The bigger the speaker, the better the sound" is a rule of thumb that you're likely to hear from many audiophiles. Thankfully, every rule has an exception. In this case, it's the Energy RC-Micro 5.1. Energy's latest surround-sound speaker system sports downright miniscule dimensions--the satellite speakers are a mere 4.7 inches high--but they deliver the sort of sound you'd expect from much larger speakers. Among the highlights were the $1,000 system's ability to blend seamlessly between the tiny satellite speakers and the 8-inch subwoofer. While the system's size does … Read more