Surround Speaker Systems

The Bottom Line: The Atlantic Technology FS-7.0 is exceedingly stylish and has better-than-average sound on movies, but it's expensive and doesn't provide a perceptible "virtual surround" experience.

The Bottom Line: The Zvox Z-Base 575 sound bar gets loud and delivers deep bass from its unique pedestal design, but it's expensive and has a bare-bones feature package.

Specs: 36 in x 16.5 in x 5 in, High-gloss black, Active

The Bottom Line: The Zvox Z-Base 525 sound bar delivers better-than-average sonics and its unique pedestal design will make you forget it's even there.

Specs: 24 in x 12.5 in x 3.5 in, High-gloss black, Active

The Bottom Line: The Onkyo SKS-HT870 speaker package offers up tons of performance for the price, but it's not the most stylish speaker system.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Glossy black, Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 130 Watt, 230 Watt

The Bottom Line: Aperion's Intimus 4B Harmony SA package looks the part, but didn't perform up to the company's usual high standards.

Specs: home theater speaker system, High-gloss black, Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 84 dB, 100 Watt

The Bottom Line: Aperion's Intimus 4B Harmony SA package looks the part, but didn't perform up to the company's usual high standards.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Cherry, Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 84 dB, 100 Watt

The Bottom Line: The new and affordable Klipsch HD Theater 500 package prioritizes sound quality over cosmetic glitz.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Black, Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 100 Watt

The Bottom Line: Mirage's gorgeous Nanosat 5.1 Home Theater System may be small, but it produces a huge, room-filling sound for music and movies.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 75 Watt

The Bottom Line: Innovative engineering solutions propel Mirage's MX 5.1 Home Theater System to the top spot in the small system/big sound sweepstakes.

The Bottom Line: Thanks to its superbly matched satellites and subwoofer, Energy's Take Classic offers killer sound for a very affordable price.

Specs: home theater speaker system, High-gloss black, Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 89 dB, 100 Watt, 200 Watt