Wall of Sound: Three new surround formats from Audyssey, Dolby and DTS aim to bring your theater sound to a whole new dimension. Literally.

You want me to buy more speakers? Yeah, I get that. To be honest, that was my first thought when I heard about height speakers. Just a gimmick, right?

Well, to find out, I journeyed up and down the California coast visiting the headquarters of the formats’ creators.

The Light Fantastic

“See me, touch me, hear me!” Those would be the Solista MkII's first words, if it could talk.

The amplifier's flowing lines and voluptuous shape couldn't be from anywhere but Italy. And it is, entirely hand-crafted in Vicenza. The chassis' undulating curves and exquisitely machined knobs show this is no ordinary high-end amplifier. Listen to your favorite tunes and it becomes clear the Solista MkII was designed to preserve, above all else, the essence of the music.

An Audio Lover’s Video Player.

Over the past year, Denon has quietly assembled an interesting array of Blu-ray players designed to suit a host of budgets and systems—from the digital-only DVD-2500BTCI transport ($999) to the recently announced “entry-level” DVD-1800BD ($749).

Residing at the top of the chain is the reference DVD-3800BDCI ($1,999), a beefy unit whose build quality and high-end components befit that higher price tag.

Silver Sounds

Well, it looks huge. Maybe not huge, but certainly hefty.

And yet at 38 pounds, it’s not.

There must be some kind of magic in there doing something.

Ultimate Hybrid

One of the fastest-growing product categories is high-end audio devices that decode digital audio from a computer or iPod.

This amuses me, as for years many in the high-end audio realm thought of the iPod somewhere above the Anti-Christ but just below one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Not sure which, maybe the green one.

3Dⁱ Pass-Through, Audyssey and Dolby Upgrades Added

"We are very excited to bring these leading-edge features to owners of our flagship products, noted Jeff Talmadge, Director, Product Development & Systems Integration, Denon Electronics. "Early adopters who purchased these components nearly 4 years ago bought them with the confidence that they would experience the very best home entertainment for years to come. This upgrade opportunity is yet another example of how Denon is committed to ensuring that our customers are ‘future ready' and remain at the leading edge of all the latest performance-enhancing technologies."

Users Can Unleash Their iTunes® Music Libraries, Stream Songs from iPhone®, iPad^TM or iPod Touch® Devices to Denon or Marantz Systems

Denon Electronics, the 100 year-old technology innovator and Marantz America, a leader of advanced home entertainment solutions, have announced the availability of AirPlay music streaming capability on nine network-capable audio/video components in their respective lineups, making the A/V receivers the world's first to include AirPlay capability. Given the availability of the newly launched Apple iOS 4.2 update to its mobile operating system, owners of AirPlay-compatible Denon and Marantz components may now stream songs directly from their iTunes music libraries, as well as music stored on their mobile devices, though their Wi-Fi enabled networks from their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch devices.* The AirPlay upgrade is available at both the Denon and Marantz websites for $49.99.

"With the inclusion of HDMI 1.4a with repeater and Audio Return Channel in the introduction of the RG-6506 and RD-606i, we've brought the price point on these advanced functions down to a new level. In addition to providing 3D video capability, we are making it easy for users to seamlessly connect their Blu-ray player to the receiver to ensure they can enjoy lossless high-resolution DTS or Dolby audio," said Gary Graning, Sherwood's Vice President, Sales.