Now you're playing with power -- Digital Audio's DA3200 car stereo amplifier is rated to deliver up to 300 watts per channel into 4 ohms, or 840 watts into a single 4-ohm load in bridged mode. The amp includes crossover controls, with the low-pass filter variable from 50 to 120 Hz and the high-pass from 90 to 750 Hz. There's also a bass boost (0 to 18 dB at 45 Hz), and gain is variable from 0.1 to 2 volts. The bare-wire hookup terminals are solid brass, and the 10 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 18-inch chassis is chrome plated. Price: $660. 800-299-9035, www.digitalaudioinc.com
Generally, outdoor speakers should be heard, not seen. Enter Sonance's SoundHenge II, which looks like a boulder left by a passing glacier. The craggy camouflage is built to order around any Sonance Mariner speaker (not included with the SoundHenge II shell). Empty, it weighs 28 pounds, and dimensions are 22 x 18 x 16 inches . . . more or less. Granite, black lava, sandstone, and Sedona red finishes help the SoundHenge II blend in nicely with your landscaping -- or your living room, Flintstone. Price: $400 each. 800-582-7777, www.sonance.com
Truly a preamplifier for the 21st century, the AVP digital surround preamp/processor from ATI has 5.1-channel analog inputs to accommodate DVD-Audio signals and can be upgraded for 7.1-channel operation. Any video source can be displayed on the built-in color screen (!), which also shows operating menus. There are three component-, six composite-, and six S-video inputs; one component-, one S-video, and two composite-video outputs; and eight balanced XLR analog audio outputs. The 25-pound AVP can also control a second zone. Price: $3,995. 818-343-4777, www.ati-amp.com
Leaping into the flood of portable digital music players is the Jumper II from Taiwan's CMC Magnetics. It weighs less than 2 ounces and has 32 megabytes (MB) of built-in flash memory, which can be augmented with a removable 96-MB MultiMediaCard (not supplied). MP3 files are transferred via the USB port, and file-management software is supplied on a CD-ROM. The 2 x 11/2 x 5/8-inch player has a built-in microphone so it can also function as a voice recorder. A single AAA battery is said to keep the Jumper II going for up to 8 hours. Price: $149. 925-829-5311, cmc.taiwanet.com
