Auto power on/off Surround Speaker Systems

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 single-speaker Zvox 425 TV speaker system delivers excellent overall sound on movies and music and pumps out ample bass from its built-in twin subwoofers--but at this price, we'd like to see more inputs and some digital connections as well.

Specs: 36.5 in x 5 in x 7 in, Active, 90 Watt

The Bottom Line: Infinity's TSS-800 satellite speakers produce a highly transparent sound, but the subwoofer's muddied bass is the system's Achilles' heel.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Charcoal, Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 150 Watt

The Bottom Line: Infinity's TSS-800 satellite speakers produce a highly transparent sound, but the subwoofer's muddied bass is the system's Achilles' heel.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Platinum, Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 150 Watt

The Bottom Line: Paradigm's seriously svelte Cinema 110 CT 5.1 speaker system will rock your world like a much larger system.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Right x Right x Right, Center) x Center) x Center), Silver, 2-way Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 90 dB, 150 Watt

The Bottom Line: Infinity's microsatellites belt a seductively sweet sound, and the burly subwoofer takes care of business down below.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Platinum, Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 8 Ohm, 150 Watt

The Bottom Line: The low-budget Onkyo SKS-HT530 speaker package sounds as if it goes for more than double its humble list price.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Black, Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 230 Watt, 110 Watt

The Bottom Line: JBL's potent SCS180.6 speaker package can humble its pint-size competition.

Specs: home theater speaker system, Active subwoofer, passive satellites, 150 Watt

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