Mark Fleischmann

If this rosewood piano-gloss finish looks good to you, Onix will sell it to you in a two-way stand-mount speaker for $269/pair. The company also makes electronics. In fact, a previous incarnation of Onix made the stereo integrated amp that powers my desktop system.

Audio Physic's Sky on-wall suits a variety of decor situations with four choices of side panel for a mere $2000/pair (the company has a high-end rep on the block). Without panels, it also functions as an in-wall. The Spark mini-tower, Celsius center, and Step stand-mount speakers may find their way into my listening room.

Only the latest version of the HDMI interface, 1.3, will carry DTS-HD Master Audio, though 1.2 and 1.1 will do for DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, not to mention Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus. Sherwood receiver model R-872 ($999) is the lowest-priced one with the full monty. Also fully qualified to be your man is the R-972 ($1499).

What's the best way to arrest rapidly moving showgoers and convince them that your noise-cancelling headphone technology is the best? Sennheiser plopped a couple of plane seats (first class, of course) on the show floor with a speaker between them spewing recorded jet turbine noise. I then sat down next to the speaker, put on the cans, and got the point. The PXC 450 is comfortable, despite its ear-enveloping size, and sounds full, rich, and spacious, with profound bass.