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Most anticipated audio and home theater products in Fall 2014

If you're looking to upgrade your home theater in the next few months, these are some of the new products to look out for.

Ty Pendlebury
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Ty Pendlebury
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1 of 9 Pioneer

​Pioneer Speaker Base SP-SB03

Availability: October 2014

Price: $349

There aren't many speaker designers you could name off the top of your head, much less those whose moniker isn't included within that od the company they work for, but Andrew Jones has made his own name designing excellent speakers for Pioneer and its spin-off TAD. The SP-SB803 is the company's first sound stand and based on the performance of the excellent Pioneer SP-SB23W sound bar we expect it will be a firecracker.

See all the most anticipated products in our Fall Tech Preview.

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2 of 9 Monster

Monster SoundStage

Price: From $199

Availability: October

Multiroom music is all the rage right now but it is a lawless landscape with multiple "standards" vying for your attention. Instead of inventing its own as others have Monster has opted for Qualcomm's AllPlay initiative, so at least there'll be some cross-compatibility with other brands. With prices starting at $199 it's a system worth a look.

See all the most anticipated products in our Fall Tech Preview.

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3 of 9

Samsung M3 and Link Mate

Price: From $199

Availability: Fall 2014

With the addition of the $399 Link Mate and the $199 M3 Samsung now has the strongest lineup of streaming products behind Sonos. The beauty of the Link Mate in particular is that you can not only connect it to any stereo system but also enable components like turntables to stream around the house.

See all the most anticipated products in our Fall Tech Preview.

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4 of 9

PonoPlayer

Price: $400

Availability: From October 2014

While you'll have to wait until 2015 to buy one of these "off the shelves" the lucky few who put in pre-orders via Kickstarter will get their hi-res players in October. Despite its awkward looking shape this device could be the Trojan horse that brings respectability and acceptance to high-resolution music formats.

See all the most anticipated products in our Fall Tech Preview.

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5 of 9 CNET

Android TV

Price: not yet announced

Availability: Late 2014

It's hard to talk about Google's next play for the living room without bringing up the specter of Google TV. Previous mis-steps aside, one of the biggest and most welcome changes looks to be to the interface. While Google TV looked like an early and poorer version of Android, the eponymously named TV version looks nothing like a smartphone and more how a smart TV interfaceshould appear.

See all the most anticipated products in our Fall Tech Preview.

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6 of 9 Sarah Tew

Onkyo TX-NR636

Price: $599

Availability: Now

The Onkyo TX-NR636 is one of the few existing receivers that can be upgraded to accept Dolby Atmos surround processing. That, plus it sounds good!

See all the most anticipated products in our Fall Tech Preview.

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7 of 9 Denon

Denon HEOS

Another day another streaming system right? Not so fast. This one was developed Down Under--the home of Men At Work where everyone eats Blooming Onions and rides kangaroos to school--so it must be "fair dinkum", as they say.

See all the most anticipated products in our Fall Tech Preview.

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8 of 9 Ty Pendlebury/CNET

​Sony NWZ-A17

Price: $300

Availability: Fall 2014

The sun may have already set on the Walkman brand but the new Sony NWZ-A17 looks to be intriguing alternative to the Ponos and Astell and Kerns of this world. It doesn't do streaming or internet or even Sony's own DSD format but it does do other hi-res file types, and based on a brief demonstration it sounds pretty good.

See all the most anticipated products in our Fall Tech Preview.

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9 of 9 Denon

Denon AVR-X4100W

Price: $1399

Availability: To be announced

Love it or hate it surround sound is here to stay, and Dolby Atmos is one of the first true innovations in the field since the 80s--at least when it comes to the cinema. Now, there are a handful of products offering support for the in-home version starting at around $500.

As one of the first receivers to officially support Dolby Atmos at its launch the Denon AVR-X4100W is nothing if not cutting edge.

See all the most anticipated products in our Fall Tech Preview.

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