No room for one more component in your rack? How about half of one? At 2 1/4 inches thick, JVC's XV-N5SL DVD player won't crowd anyone. It still does everything a chubbier player can do, including deliver progressive-scan images through its component-video output and perform 2:3 pulldown to compensate for frame-rate differences between video and film. The graphical onscreen menus allow point-and-click operation, and a proprietary CompuLink connection will turn on your JVC receiver when a disc is loaded. Feel free to retire that slide projector—the player can display JPEG photos from discs on your TV, with 13-step zoom to check them out up close. There are both optical and coaxial digital audio outputs. A backlit universal remote is supplied. Price: $250. www.jvc.com, 800-526-5308 Samsung
If your portable CD player is starting to seem a little unwieldy in the 21st century, it's probably time to replace it with a shiny new MP3 player like Samsung's latest Yepp, the YP-300S. Weighing a mere 2 ounces, it can play MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA) files from the 64 megabytes (MB) of built-in flash memory, and there's a SmartMedia card slot for more. A USB port lets you transfer files from a Windows PC. The filename, along with artist and song information, appears on the backlit LCD screen, and you can store four presets for the onboard graphic equalizer. The player has a belt clip and comes with earphones, a USB cable, RioPort Audio Manager software, a carrying case, and a wrist strap. A pair of AAA batteries (included) is said to keep the YP-300S going 20 hours. Price: $149. www.samsungusa.com, 800-726-7864 Dynaudio
Adding to its Confidence series, Dynaudio introduces the C1 bookshelf speaker, a two-way ported design. Its Esostar soft-dome tweeter—said to have a smooth, extended response—is housed in an aluminum block to reduce unwanted vibrations. It's combined with a 63/4-inch woofer in an inverted array that's intended to minimize high-frequency reflections from the speaker baffle. The woofer is made of magnesium-silicate polypropylene, said to have a damping characteristic that reduces distortion. Frequency response is rated as 45 Hz to 22 kHz ±2 dB, sensitivity as 87 dB. The 7 7/8 x 17 1/2 x 17-inch C1 weighs 24 pounds and comes finished in maple or rosewood. The speaker attaches to the optional Dynaudio Stand, available in black or silver. Price: $6,000 a pair; stand, $450 a pair. www.dynaudiousa.com, 630-238-4200Fujitsu
For your TV, you want big, you want plasma, and you want to keep your kids in college. You just might want Fujitsu's PDS-5002 50-inch plasma HDTV monitor, which will fulfill your first two desires for under five figures. The widescreen monitor is less than 4 inches thick and has a native resolution of 1,366 x 760 pixels. It accepts high-def signals in the 1080i (interlaced) or 720p (progressive) format through its component-video, RGB+H/V, and DVI (Digital Visual Interface) input. A built-in scaler is said to upconvert standard 480i-format programs with optimum image quality on the fixed-pixel display. Price: $9,999. www.fujitsu.com, 888-888-3424NAD
Sure, it can play DVDs—and even has a progressive-scan output with 2:3 pulldown and a five-step zoom—but NAD's T 572 will also come in handy at parties as a five-disc CD changer. Besides letting you remove four discs while the fifth plays, the changer's flexible random-play function can shuffle all the tracks on one disc at a time or play two successive songs per disc until all songs on all five discs have been played. The rear panel has composite- and S-video outputs as well as optical and coaxial digital audio outputs, and there's a 12-volt trigger input for auto turn-on. A full-function remote control is supplied. Price: $699. www.nadelectronics.com, 781-784-8586Sony
You can burn CDs on the run with Sony's MPD-AP20U portable CD recorder. It comes with a cradle (shown, in black) that has a high-speed USB 2.0 port for data or music transfers. And not only can it record on CD-Rs at 24x speed (10x for CD-RWs), but it can be used with any computer that has a USB 2.0 port. There's also a Memory Stick slot enabling quick relays from Stick to CD. Shock protection and an 8-megabyte (MB) buffer will reduce the chances of ruining a disc while recording, and software for your Mac or Windows PC is supplied. The built-in rechargeable battery is said to last 1 1/2 hours for DVD playback, which is about enough juice to burn nine CD-Rs. The MPD-AP20U can play discs with MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA) files. Price: $299. www.sonystyle.com, 800-222-7669ATI
Want to hear that back surround channel in Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES soundtracks? The processing power of ATI's ATP7500 preamp can help fill in the rear of your home theater, plus give you Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS Neo:6 for rendering surround sound from stereo sources. An eight-channel analog input lets you hook up a DVD-Audio or SACD player, and it provides analog bass management for the input. A pair of component-video inputs can switch HDTV signals, and S-video signals can be downconverted to composite video. There are two optical and four coaxial digital audio inputs as well as six composite/S-video inputs. Price: $2,995. www.ati-amp.com, 888-777-8507Earthquake
Not the first product to be named after the Roman god of agriculture, the Saturn from Earthquake is a five-speaker system comprising two Model 3611 towers, a Model 2511 center speaker, and a pair of Model 1511 surrounds. Each ported 3611 has a 6 1/2-inch carbon-fiber woofer and a 1-inch tweeter. Rated bandwidth is 20 Hz to 25 kHz, and sensitivity is 90 dB. The speaker measures 8 7/8 x 41 3/8 x 13 inches and weighs 49 1/2 pounds. The center and surround speakers both have 5 1/4-inch woofers; the center has two of them. Available finishes are cherry and black oak. Price: $1,999. www.earthquakesound.com, 650-327-3003NHT
Taking its Evolution series of modular speakers in a different direction, NHT has created the slim L5, an on-wall speaker designed to tonally mate with other Evolution satellites. It's a three-way design with dual 5 1/4-inch woofers, a 3-inch midrange driver, and a 1-inch tweeter. Rated frequency response is 65 Hz to 20 kHz ±3 dB, and sensitivity is 86 dB. Finish is a paintable matte white, and proprietary mounting gear lets the speaker swivel for aiming while keeping the mounts out of sight. The L5 measures 7 3/4 x 21 7/8 x 5 3/8 inches and weighs 18 pounds. Price: $450 each. www.nhthifi.com, 800-648-9993Blaupunkt
Folks in the Sunshine State will feel right at home with one of Blaupunkt's CD72 car DigiCeivers—the models are nicknamed Miami (shown) and Orlando. Each in-dash receiver has a CD player behind its motorized faceplate and controls for a separate changer. Its amplifier is rated to deliver 50 watts each to four channels, and there are line-level subwoofer outputs. A set of auxiliary inputs lets you hook up external sources. Its coolest feature is Dynamic Sound Adjustment, which equalizes the sound to compensate for the acoustics. It measures frequency response using test signals and a calibrated microphone, and then automatically corrects the response with its five-band parametric equalizer. Prices: Miami, $499; Orlando, $529. www.blaupunktusa.com, 800-950-2528
Redline Studio
Your home theater system gives you plenty of perks—why not return the favor? Put your components in Redline Studio's RS-3201 A/V rack, and they'll appreciate the spacious digs. The 6-foot-tall rack has plenty of room for multiple components, and there are four adjustable shelves made of tempered glass. A pair of vertical wooden strips accent the front of the steel frame, with openings in the rear to keep cables out of sight. The rack's footprint is only 23 1/2 x 22 inches, but it can be linked, via bridges, with other Redline shelves to become part of a larger entertainment center. Price: $499. www.redline-studio.com, 800-898-9005
MartinLogan
Are typical subwoofer designs making you feel trapped in a box? MartinLogan's Depth subwoofer mounts three 8-inch aluminum drivers at 120° angles, making the six-sided cabinet refreshingly unsquare. More important, along with a servomechanism, the shape is said to reduce bass distortion. The sub is rated from 20 Hz to 150 Hz ±3 dB, and its amp can deliver 300 watts. It has an LFE input, line- and speaker-level inputs, and line-level outputs. The phase switch has four positions from 0 to 270°, and the low-pass crossover control has six settings from 30 to 80 Hz. Overall dimensions are 16 1/4 x 16 5/8 x 16 1/8 inches, and weight is 65 pounds. Price: $1,795. www.martinlogan.com, 785-749-0133
Atlantic Technology
Options, options, so many options with Atlantic Technology's System 8200—the company's first THX Ultra2-certified speaker system. It includes the 31-inch-tall 8200 LR front left/right speaker, the 8200 C center speaker, and as many 8200 SR surround speakers as you can handle. For deep bass, you can choose between a traditional subwoofer or two modular 8200 PED Pedestal 12-inch woofers for the main left and right speakers, driven by separate amplifiers. All three front speakers are three-way designs with dual 8-inch woofers, a pair of 5 1/4-inch midranges, and a 1-inch tweeter. You can switch the surrounds between dipole and biople modes, and pedestal stands are optional for them, too. All speakers come in a matte-black finish, with optional black lacquer and wood panels for the front speakers. System price: $6,000 to $18,000. www.atlantictechnology.com, 781-762-6300
Runco
After you've found a good spot for Runco's Reflection CL-700 video projector, the rest should be easy. After all, the projector handles the hard stuff—like creating high-definition images with 1,280 x 720-pixel resolution using nearly a million microscopic mirrors on its Digital Light Processing (DLP) chip. HDTV signals are fed through the BNC-type component-video/RGB+H/V inputs, and there are regular component-, composite-, and S-video inputs as well. Rated for 30.1 footlamberts of brightness, the projector has a six-segment color wheel and features digital keystone correction. Price: $9,995. www.runco.com, 800-237-8626
Sherbourn
The Sherbourn PT-7000 preamplifier/tuner can handle 6.1-channel Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES soundtracks on DVDs, and it has Cirrus Logic Extra Surround and Dolby Pro Logic II for multichannel playback of stereo sources. A multichannel analog audio input allows hookup of a Super Audio CD or DVD-Audio player, with a rear-panel switch to activate an 80-Hz crossover for bass management. The two component-video inputs can switch HDTV signals, and you also get six composite/S-video inputs, one tape loop, and four optical and two coaxial digital audio inputs (one output in each flavor). The AM/FM tuner can receive Radio Data System (RDS) information. Price: $1,500. www.sherbourn.com, 978-663-7385
Infinity
The latest speakers to bear Infinity's Kappa label include the Model 600 and 400 tower models, the Model 200 bookshelf design, and the Kappa Center speaker. The Kappa 600 (far left) is a three-way speaker that stands 373/8 inches tall. It has a 1-inch tweeter, a 6 1/2 midrange driver, and a 10-inch woofer for a rated frequency response of 20 Hz to 27 kHz ±3 dB. The 33 1/2-inch-tall Kappa 400 has an 8-inch woofer and is rated down to 40 Hz. With dual 6 1/2-inch woofers, a 4-inch midrange, and a 1-inch tweeter, the Kappa Center measures 24 5/8 x 7 3/8 x 10 5/8 inches. All four models use Infinity's proprietary ceramic-coated aluminum drivers, said to eliminate unwanted resonances, have biwirable gold-plated binding posts, and are available in maple, cherry, or black ash finish. Prices: Kappa 600, $2,400 a pair; Kappa 400, $2,000 a pair; Kappa 200, $1,200 a pair; Kappa Center, $900 each. www.infinitysystems.com, 800-553-3332
Sim2 Multimedia
The 55-inch Grand Cinema RTX-55 HDTV monitor is the first TV from Sim2 to use Texas Instruments' new HD-2 Digital Light Processing chip. Its Digital Micromirror Device reflects light from almost a million tiny mirrors to create high-def images with 1,280 x 720-pixel resolution. A Faroudja DCDi deinterlacing chip performs 2:3 pulldown to compensate for the frame-rate differences between film- and video-based material as well as other processing to optimize upconverted images. HDTV signals can be fed through the set's four component-video/RGB+H/V, one Digital Visual Interface (DVI), and two VGA inputs. There are also two composite- and two S-video jacks. Price: $12,995. www.sim2usa.com, 888-695-3113
X3D
Nostalgic for 3-D movies? Thought those "magic eye" posters were cool? X3D has just the thing for you—its three-dimensional rendering system turns watching video into a deep experience. After you connect the small processor between your video source and your PC monitor (or certain HDTVs), the screen will appear in 3-D to anyone wearing a pair of X3D glasses. The high-tech shades open and close liquid-crystal shutters in alternate lenses while shifting the image between right-eye and left-eye views. The glasses are wired to the 3-D processor, but wireless glasses are available, too. The system only works with monitors that have VGA connectors, but X3D says versions using TV-style connections will be available by April. Price: wireless, $125; wired, $99. www.x3dworld.com, 800-206-7446