Featured Gear

Call it the invasion of the on-walls. Or just call it a change in the way speaker companies think about design. Either way, the audio world is being overrun these days with speakers made to go with flat-panel TVs. What these systems have in common are shallow, wall-hugging cabinets.

Designers of surround sound receivers have a tough job. In a multikilobuck flagship model they can use the best parts, the most advanced signal processing, and the most elaborate construction to deliver the features and performance specs users want.

Most people would agree that the real goal of any audio system is an illusion of transport - the musicians to the listening room, the listener to the recording space, or both to another place entirely. I'll tell you right now that NHT's long-awaited Xd speaker system, though not without its flaws, is one of those rare products that lives up to this promise.

With new TV technologies springing up like crazy, it makes sense to sift through the options and single out the best deals. Although a new 50-inch plasma TV costs much less today than it did a few years back, at around $5,000 and up, it still ain't cheap. But a $3,300 DLP (Digital Light Processing) rear-projection HDTV with a 52-inch screen - now we're talking!