Introduction All too often, we as consumers gravitate towards the latest technology and stylistic trends with reckless abandon. One only has to look at flat panel display sales over the past few years in the U.S. to understand. Fortunately for consumers, this often frothing at the mouth attitude helps propel technology further faster, while helping to keep overall costs relatively low. While flat panel displays are no flash in the pan, other facets of the consumer electronics industry, mainly speaker manufacturers, have been forced to play catch-up. Sure, you can stick with your bulky floor standers that take up as much space as a sofa and chair but that’s not sexy. Is it? While in-walls provide an aura of stealth and sophistication to many installations, there are still those out there who rent their homes and/or do not wish to cut holes in the walls, making in-walls less of an option. It’s this simple ...

Introduction The mighty Monster Cable is diversifying. The company that successfully taught mainstream consumers the value of high-performance cables is now taking extraordinarily measures, like buying naming rights to sports stadiums, to teach consumers that they now sell home automation products, cables (of course) and, believe it or not, loudspeakers. Head Monster Noel Lee knows exactly how competitive the loudspeaker business is and, armed with 20 years of trendsetting industry experience, he is not holding back. Consumers should be excited. The Monster speaker line consists of a tower speaker, two monitors, a dipole surround and two different subwoofers. The system I reviewed was comprised of the Monster THX Select Tower 200s for the front left and right speakers, a Monster THX Select Monitor 200 in center position, Monster THX Select Dipole Surround Sound Speaker 100 in the rear and two Monster THX Select Subwoofer 200s on the LFE channel. The speakers are priced at $800 for ...

Introduction There is a war going on, and it’s waged every day in living rooms across this country, where the casualties can often be found sleeping on the couch. I’m talking about a war between good and evil. Right and wrong. You vs. her. I’m talking about the war over the WAF, or Wife Acceptance Factor. For years, you’ve wanted those towering, monolithic speakers of yore, capable of shaking your house off its very foundations and coming in every color so long as it’s black. And she wants, well, Bose. Let the games begin. Time and time again, manufacturers have attempted to bridge the gap between the sexes, creating pocket-sized speakers in every shape and color, only to produce pocket-sized sound, which is great for the bedroom or office but not for your living room. Still manufacturers persist, and some succeed: my former reference Definitive Technology ProCinema 80 system is one such success story. ...

Introduction Zvox Audio may sound like a new brand name, but President Tom Hannaher is no stranger to the high fidelity electronics industry. Tom has worked at Advent, with such industry pioneers such as Henry Kloss, the inventor of projection television and high fidelity cassette decks. Later, Hannaher went on to run the marketing of Cambridge Soundworks before eventually transferring his energy to Zvox. What this impressive resume boils down to is that Hannaher knows both the audio and visual side of the home theater business. Even better news is that Hannaher surrounds himself with talent that can create an incredible-sounding miniature amplifier/speaker system that can be easily set up and enjoyed. The Zvox Mini can provide amply rich sound in virtually any room, with the simplest of connections and fine-tuning, for a modest $199. What is so special about the Zvox, you ask? The Zvox is a simple preamp, amplifier and speaker array that ...

Introduction Ever since HDTVs started working with Richard Simmons and eating a healthy diet, their significant others (high-performance speakers) have been forced to follow suit. Before you break out the drywall saw to bury some in-walls in your 2x4s, B&W has a creative new loudspeaker system that has audiophile soul and, as James Brown would say, are “super bad” (“bad” meaning “good” in this case). The Mini Theater concept from Bowers and Wilkins comes in three different configurations, depending on the level of subwoofer in the package. Each of the three levels uses the same identical complement of five identical M-1 speakers. The MT-10 package is mated to the 85-watt AS1 subwoofer at $1,250 for the package. The MT-20 utilizes the 150-watt AS2 at $1,499 (which B&W sent for review), while the MT-30 that sports B&W’s much-heralded 500-watt PV1 at a cost of $2,500 for the 5.1 package. The M-1 speakers priced at $200 ...