surround

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

If you like to flaunt your home audio system, you're probably not going to buy the Boston SoundWare XS 5.1 speaker system. That's OK; it's not made for you. But lots of people who don't make home theater their hobby still appreciate a true surround-sound experience, and Boston's system delivers that at an incredible size and price. The SoundWare XS 5.1 sounds surprisingly good, and we say surprising because its five satellite speakers feel only a little larger than a baseball in your hand. Combined with its compact 100-watt subwoofer, it's one … Read more

Unleashing the surround-sound capabilities of your game console adds an extra dimension to your gameplay, and TubeSurround is exhibiting at E3 again this year to show off its halo-style Tube Sound Headphones.

The technology has been around for years, and the company's Web site is still as indecipherable as ever, but the basic concept is that you wear the halo around your head and two earbuds stretch down and into your ears. Six mini speakers are positioned incrementally around your dome to create an immersive sound environment with a combination of bone induction and traditional audio sources.

Even hard-core … Read more

I view the rising popularity of sound bar speakers as proof positive that more and more people are rejecting the notion of deploying five or more speakers in their home theaters. It's not just the number of speakers, people are also not thrilled by the idea of running wires to the far corners of their home theaters. Truly "wireless" surround speakers are a recurring fantasy, but I've yet to see a wireless surround speaker that doesn't have at least one wire; most have two (one for signal, one for power), which as far as I … Read more

Remember when a Blu-ray player all by itself cost $400? Talk about the bad old days. Thankfully, times (and prices) have changed.

Today, for example, Wal-Mart has the Philips HTS3251B/F7 Blu-ray Home Theater System for $198, plus sales tax and around $6 for shipping (or not if you choose site-to-store). That is one mighty fine deal.

Let's start with the Blu-ray player. You'll want to run an Ethernet cord to it so you can take advantage of features like BD-Live 2.0 and Netflix streaming. (The product description suggests that the player also supports Wi-Fi, but it … Read more

3D Music Player Pro gives you some interesting options for enriching the sound of your music, and it does a pretty good job with only a few flaws. Upon launch, use the plus-sign button in the upper left to add a couple of songs from your music library and test the various effects. Once they're queued up, you can play a song and then touch the 3D Sound button to hear the basic audio enhancements in the app. We noticed a difference immediately in our testing, with the app adding a much fuller and warmer sound to our music.… Read more

Anyone who owns an HDTV has no doubt discovered an almost universal truth: built-in speakers stink. Unfortunately, as I noted the other day, you can't just plug in a set of external speakers; usually you need a receiver to act as the go-between, and that gets expensive.

Note that I said "usually." Another option is a sound bar, a speaker/receiver combo that sits above or below the screen and does the work of two or more standalone speakers. Of course, these can be pricey, too.

Not today: TigerDirect has the refurbished Vizio VBS200 HD Sound Bar for $69.99 shipped. … Read more

Hi Jeff,

I've read almost all your reviews about the gaming headsets that give you wireless surround sound, but there's a problem for us gamers who own more than one console. How do I hook up both my Xbox 360 and PS3 to one wireless gaming headset? Is it even possible?

Thanks, Paul, Chicago

Hi Paul,

Thanks for writing. Accomplishing this isn't impossible, but it's certainly an issue we think gaming headset manufacturers need to become more aware of. We've received dozens of similar questions with gamers anxious about having to finagle a way to get more than one source into a wireless gaming headset transmitter.

We'd love to see a device that allows for more than one digital input, though we are fans of Logitech's F540 system, which accepts up to three analog sources. However, if you're using something like the Turtle Beach X41s, Astro A40s, or Tritton AX 720s, you'll have to manually swap out the digital audio cables each time you want to switch consoles. Not only is this an arduous process, but if you're like me, most of these ports and wires are not conveniently accessible without some serious furniture moving.… Read more

Moving is always a time-consuming, life-upending experience, but it can also be an opportunity to rework, rewire, or completely redesign your multimedia setup. Having just moved 60-odd boxes, plus furniture, from one end of SoHo to the other (well, the movers moved, but I packed), that's the situation I currently find myself in.

As a native Manhattanite, I know going into any new apartment situation requires savvy use of minimal space. And in fact, while my new place is a larger than my old one (with an extra bedroom for the summertime arrival of Ackerman Jr. and a private … Read more