sp-pk21bs

Awesome-sounding audio gift ideas

Looking for gift ideas for that special audiophile in your life? Here are some, priced from affordable to crazy expensive. Let's get started!

"Miles! Live at Montreux - The Definitive Miles Davis at Montreux Collection, 1973-1991" This historically important 10-DVD set ($150) captures all of Miles Davis' performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival between 1973 and 1991. The final concert features Davis paying tribute to his collaborator and close friend Gil Evans, who died in 1988. The audio and video quality of the collection varies, but most of it is surprisingly good.

Audio Technica ATH M50 headphones These headphones are nearly impossible to fault; they're extremely comfortable, great-sounding, ruggedly built, and fairly priced. The ATH M50 ($199) is a closed-back design and provides nearly as much isolation from external noise as noise-canceling headphones, but sounds better than any NC headphones I've heard to date.… Read more

Quick Take: Pioneer SP-C21

CNET reviewed the SP-C21 center channel speaker as part of Pioneer's SP-PK21BS 5.1 speaker system. While we didn't directly compared the SP-C21 with other center channels sold individually, the full 5.1 system offers outstanding sound quality for the price.

For more information on the SP-C21, read CNET's full review of the Pioneer SP-PK21BS.

Quick Take: Pioneer SW-8

CNET reviewed the SW-8 subwoofer as part of Pioneer's SP-PK21BS 5.1 speaker system. While we didn't directly compared the SW-8 with other subwoofers sold individually, the full 5.1 system offers outstanding sound quality for the price.

For more information on the SW-8, read CNET's full review of the Pioneer SP-PK21BS.

Quick Take: Pioneer SP-BS21-LR

CNET reviewed the SP-BS21-LR bookshelf speakers as part of Pioneer's SP-PK21BS 5.1 speaker system. While the SP-BS21-LR speakers weren't directly compared with other two-channel bookshelf speaker systems, the full 5.1 system offers outstanding sound quality for the price.

For more information on the SP-BS21-LR speakers, read CNET's full review of the Pioneer SP-PK21BS.

Pioneer SP-PK21BS review: Best-sounding $400 5.1 speaker package

It can be hard to get excited about budget audio products, with even the best sound bars and home-theater-in-a-box systems just sounding "good enough." That's what makes the Pioneer SP-PK21BS 5.1 speaker system so impressive. Not only does it sound much better than everything else in its price range, it sounds legitimately great without qualification.

Its spectacular sound quality comes with trade-offs, though; the Pioneer SP-PK21BS system is absolutely huge compared with any of the competing systems. The oversize speakers also lack the furniture-level finish of some other speakers, so they stick out a little more … Read more

Three awesome-sounding under-$500 home theater speaker systems

How much room-shaking home theater power can you expect five minispeakers and a pipsqueak subwoofer to deliver? Technological advances have certainly changed my thinking on this matter, but my listening tests proved speaker size still matters when I compared the Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS 5.1, Energy Take Classic 5.1, and Pioneer SP-PK21BS subwoofer-satellite packages.

The Boston SoundWare XS cube satellites are incredibly tiny, just 4.43 inches wide, 4.25 inches high, and 4.43 deep. Each one weighs just 1 pound. The speaker's rear is faceted, so instead of being a six-sided cube, the SoundWare XS … Read more