Aluminum Surround Speaker Systems

The Bottom Line: The Canton Movie 150 QX sounds terrific with movies and music, despite its plain-Jane style.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Black, 2-way Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 88 dB, 120 Watt

The Bottom Line: The little Canton Movie 120 MX delivers home theater punch beyond its fighting weight, but it's sapped by an underperforming subwoofer.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Black, 2-way Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 85 dB, 100 Watt

The Bottom Line: The little Canton Movie 120 MX delivers home theater punch beyond its fighting weight, but it's sapped by an underperforming subwoofer.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Silver, 2-way Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 85 dB, 100 Watt

The Bottom Line: The Marantz ES7001 has a bigger, more full-bodied sound than most virtual surround speakers.

Specs: speaker system, 42.5 in x 5.7 in x 6 in, Active, 26 Watt

The Bottom Line: The Definitive Technology Mythos SSA-50 raises the bar for soundbar speakers' design and sound quality.

Specs: 46.3 in x 4.1 in x 5.4 in, Brushed aluminum, Passive, 8 Ohm, 90 dB

The Bottom Line: The Definitive Technology Mythos SSA-50 raises the bar for soundbar speakers' design and sound quality.

Specs: 46.3 in x 4.1 in x 5.4 in, Passive, 8 Ohm, 90 dB

The Bottom Line: The Polk SurroundBar 50 sounds great with music and movies, making it a worthwhile improvement over the company's earlier single-speaker surround offering.

Specs: five channel speaker, 51.2 in x 5.1 in x 4.5 in, Titanium silver, 2-way Passive, 8 Ohm, 90 dB

The Bottom Line: Polk's new plasma-friendly home-theater solution looks the part--and sounds pretty darn good, too.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Titanium silver, Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 89 dB, 100 Watt