Virtual surround

Editors' Top Home audio
updated May 15, 2006

Want home-theater sound without all those pesky home-theater speakers? Well, too bad. Until ventriloquism trickles down to home audio land, you simply can't achieve the realism of true surround sound without using rear-channel speakers. You can come kind of close, however, with these speaker-lite HTIB systems. They represent the cutting edge of virtual surround technology, employing fewer than the traditional six speakers and, in some cases, as few as one.
-- David Katzmaier, senior editor

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Virtual surround

Home audio	Editors' rating	Price	Summary
Denon S-301 Released: 10/15/2005	8.3 Excellent	$1099	With its abundant feature set, great sound quality, eye-catching design, and superlative ease of use, iPod-friendly Denon S-301 2.1 home-theater system is the best we've reviewed so far. Specs: Home theater system , Main unit , Speaker system , DVD player , CD ( PAL ) , DVD ( NTSC ) , CD-R , SACD , CD-RW , DVD+R , DVD-R , DVD+RW , DVD-RW , Video CD , DVD-Audio , Kodak Picture CD , Stereo , 140 Watt, 70 Watt, 140 Watt, Remote control (Infrared)

Yamaha YSP-800 Digital Sound Projector (silver) Released: 09/15/2005	7.7 Very good	$499-$516 from 2 stores	Yamaha's second-generation single-speaker YSP-800 Digital Sound Projector is more affordable and easier to set up, and it sounds better than last year's model. Specs: five channel speaker , 31.5 in x 4.5 in x 6 in , Silver , Active , 82 Watt

Sony DAV-X1 Released: 07/01/2005	7.4 Very good	$999	Sony's DAV-X1 virtual-surround Dream System can unleash a full, enveloping sound from DVDs, but it's less satisfying with CDs. Specs: Home theater system , DVD player , Speaker system , DVD player , CD , DVD , CD-R , SACD , CD-RW , DVD+R , DVD-R , DVD+RW , DVD-RW , Video CD , Surround Sound , Remote control (Infrared)

KEF KIT100 (silver) Released: 06/15/2004	7.4 Very good		KEF's luxurious KIT100 Instant Theatre makes believable surround from a pair of speakers. Specs: DVD surround system , Speaker system , DVD player / radio tuner , DVD player , CD , DVD , CD-R , CD-RW , DVD+RW , DVD-RW , Stardust silver , Surround Sound , Remote control (Infrared)

Polk Audio SurroundBar (titanium) Released: 09/09/2005	7.3 Very good	$499	A single-speaker surround system, the Polk Audio SurroundBar works best as a home-theater solution for small rooms. Specs: five channel speaker , 42.6 in x 5.1 in x 4.4 in , Active , 8 Ohm, 89 dB

Yamaha YSP-1 Digital Sound Projector (silver) Released: 03/01/2005	7.0 Very good	$699	With the YSP-1 Digital Sound Projector, Yamaha's bleeding-edge speaker technology creates a convincing surround-sound effect, but the quality won't satisfy audiophiles. Specs: five channel speaker , 40.6 in x 4.6 in x 7.6 in , Silver , Active , 120 Watt

Bose 3-2-1 GS Series II (graphite) Released: 06/15/2005	6.4 Good	$575-$724 from 3 stores	The Bose 3-2-1 Series II DVD system does a surprisingly good surround-sound imitation with just two satellites, but it's overpriced. Specs: DVD surround system , Speaker system , DVD player / AV receiver , DVD player , CD , DVD , CD-R , CD-RW , DVD+R , DVD-R , Video CD , Graphite gray , Stereo , Universal remote control (Infrared)

Pioneer HTP-3600 Released: 05/15/2005	6.1 Good		The Pioneer HTP-3600 combines flexible setup versatility and good sound quality at a very affordable price. Specs: Home theater system , Receiver , Speaker system , None , Surround Sound , 1000 Watt, Universal remote control (Infrared)