Audyssey

Sitting atop CNET's list of Best Bluetooth Speakers, you'll find the Audyssey Wireless Speakers. These Bluetooth-enabled version of the earlier (wired) Media Speakers sound great and -- unlike most of the mini-soundbar portable models -- the Audysseys offer true stereo separation. The only problem, then, is the price: at $249 to $299, they're on the expensive side.

Thanks to Black Friday madness, though, that price is heading down to $199. And there are two ways to cash in:

Exclusive deal for the first 2,012 CNET readers -- $199 at Audyssey.com: Normally, buying the Wireless Speakers … Read more

This week CNET paired up with our friends at Audyssey to bring a can't-beat deal to our audience: save more than 30-percent off on CNET's top-rated speakers, The Audyssey Media Speakers. Have nothing to listen to? Don't worry! Audyssey is also throwing in a $10 iTunes gift card to beef up your music library with some summer hits! The Audyssey Media Speakers offer excellent sound quality and will look great on your desktop. Head over to CNET Exclusives now to snap up these savings!

Already set on desktop speakers? Stop by CNET Exclusives to get your hands … Read more

There are times when you can't quite believe what you're hearing. Little speakers' bass limitations are a fact of life, but Audyssey's Lower East Side Media Speakers can generate considerably more bass punch than I've heard from any speaker of this size and price. Beyond the bass, the sound was lively and fun; I really enjoyed spending time with these speakers.

The Audyssey Web site lists the price at $249.99 a pair, but Amazon sells 'em for $199.95.

The red-accented, matte-black plastic cabinets feel sturdy and come mounted on metal desk stands that tilt the speakers back at a rakish angle, so the sound is aimed up toward your ears.… Read more

Admit it: you'd love to watch movies at home that never get too loud or too quiet. You'd never have to lunge for the remote when the villain's plane crashes, to turn the sound down. We want movies that always have the same volume, like music, where the volume never changes. We like it that way, right? Why should movies be any more dynamic than music?

Now, sure, most receivers and sound bars have some sort of "Night Mode" scheme to compress movies' soft-to-loud volume shifts. Some receivers include more sophisticated volume-leveling processors such as … Read more

Merely buying a great subwoofer is no guarantee you'll wind up with great bass. There are too many ways to squander its performance potential. That's why putting in the extra effort to achieve proper subwoofer setup is crucial.

The No. 1 setup myth is: You can place a sub "anywhere" in the room. Well, of course you can, but chances are it won't sound very good.

The "anywhere" strategy might be an even more tempting option with wireless subs, which sometimes come with claims that they can be placed 60 feet from the … Read more

If you're interested in a new pair of media speakers, Audyssey's running a Cyber Monday $149 special on its Apple TV-friendly Lower East Side Media Speakers that trims $50 off the $199 street price (list price is $249).

In my review, I said, "The Audyssey Lower East Side Media Speakers have an attractive, compact design, and offer good sound with lots of bass. They're also one of the few powered stereo speakers to have an optical digital connection (for Apple TV or the PS3, for instance) in addition to an analog input."

The company's … Read more

Welcome another AirPlay speaker to the fold as Audyssey has officially launched its cubist Lower East Side Audio Dock Air. Alas, like all speakers that feature support for Apple's wireless-streaming platform, this one doesn't come cheap: it'll list for $399 when it hits stores in November.

In case you've never heard of AirPlay, it's built into Apple's iOS for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, and it allows you to stream audio to an AirPlay-enabled device such as Apple TV and a host of speakers and AV receivers that are trickling out onto the … Read more

Last year's Audyssey iPod/iPhone Audio Dock was named for the South of Market neighborhood in San Francisco. This time the company has gone east, naming its new $199.99 Lower East Side Media Speakers for the Manhattan neighborhood. (We'll use "LES" for short.)

Why the Lower East Side?

Well, the marketers behind the speakers were inspired by the neighborhood's gritty "tenement-lined streets that have been home to immigrants from nearly every country since the neighborhood's inception" and rich musical history that included such "hallowed venues" as CBGB, ABC No … Read more

It's a strange turn of events, but mainstream manufacturers long ago gave up on the idea of selling receivers on the basis of superior sound quality. I'm not claiming today's receivers sound "bad," but since almost no one ever listens to a receiver before they buy one, selling sound quality is next to impossible.

Back in the days when brick-and-mortar stores ruled the retail market, audio companies took pride in their engineering skills and designed entire receivers in-house. Right up through the 1980s most of what was "under the hood" was designed and … Read more