New Products

SOUND COUNTS It's tough to pick the perfect home theater gear: You want something that'll impress your A/V-junkie friends but still be easy enough for your girlfriend to use. Cambridge Audio's Azur 640R receiver comes at you with serious audiophile cred - seven discrete 100-watt amps, all well-isolated from the digital processor and input stages. But it's the three HDMI inputs, which deliver both audio and video, that are key to keeping things simple.

WEIGHT MATTERS At 33 pounds, the 640R has the heft you'd expect from a high-end component, thanks in part to the aluminum acoustic-dampening chassis. True: This is one receiver that really earns its silver finish. $1,399. cambridgeaudio.com, 800-663-9352

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