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The Arcam MS 250 Music Server ($6500) isn't your father's iPod. In fact, Arcam prefers to call it an archiving CD player. It will play CDs, rip them to its 400GB hard drive, and also compile play lists that may be recorded back onto a CD—the MS 250 is also a CD recorder. The hard drive is said to be able to hold up to 1200 entire CDs (not "songs") when they are recorded in full, uncompressed PCM.

If you just need a pre-pro, the Primare SP32 dispenses with the amplifier channels and provides essentially the same features as the SPA22, though with upgraded parts and both single-ended and balanced outputs. The price is expected to be comparable to that of the SPA22, and both units look virtually the same from the front (and are available in either a black or titanium finish).

The Epson Ensemble HD home theater system is a skillfully assembled package consisting of a control center/DVD player (shown here) with two HDMI inputs, a 720p or 1080p Epson LCD projector, a screen, and a speaker/amplification package from Atlantic Technology. The front speakers are integrated into a sleek cabinet that sits at the top of the retractable screen, the surrounds are built into the sides of the projector case (visible in the following entry), and the amplification for the entire system is built into the subwoofer cabinet. The entire package sells for $5000 with a 720p projector and $7000 with 1080p.The overall performance was very impressive and will blow away most consumers with its performance and slick, elegant design and setup. Equal to a more upscale system? No, but a lot closer to it than even the best home theater in a box can manage.

To those of us chasing the Nth degree of performance from our home theaters, it's always exciting when a truly audiophile company like Sim Audio attempts to define the state-of-the-art.