Any true home theater needs a surround sound system with multiple speakers. But does that mean the flat-panel LCD set you just picked up for your bedroom has to settle for tinny sound from its built-in speakers? "Hell, no!" says soundmatters, maker of the MAINstage HD ($399), a single speaker (like the Zvox Mini) that holds the power of an entire home theater in its chassis. Well, at least a virtual one. With three drivers and some fancy surround processing, the MAINstage HD (will people please stop using this abbreviation willy-nilly?) can pump out some home theater-esque sound in a pinch, though nothing's a substitute for surrounding yourself with actual speakers. For extra boom, get yourself the flattest subwoofer you've ever seen, the wall-mountable SUBstage100 ($299). Or get both for the fairly decent price of $649. — Peter Pachal

soundmatters, via Mark Fleischmann Blog