Unlike oxygen, food, or water, surround sound isn't necessary for survival. But if you recently upgraded to a slim, big-screen HDTV, you're probably feeling a need to update the audio part of your system with something equally tasty. Home theater used to mean huge tower speakers or chunky satellites paired with subwoofers that took up as many cubic feet as an SUV's gas tank. But a new trend in speaker design has yielded a flock of systems that match the trim new video displays.

We pulled together a group of three sleek, stylish packages priced between $2,000 and $2,500: the Infinity Total Solutions TSS-4000 ($2,394), Mirage's Omnisat V2 series ($2,400), and Polk Audio's RM30 ($2,080). In addition to stylin' looks, these systems can be installed in a number of configurations. And each comes with hardware for wall-mounting the satellite speakers or placing them on bookshelves or stands. So let's fire up the plasma and get down to business.