Bob Ankosko

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you don’t have good speakers, you don’t have a good sound system. Period. The speakers you use (or choose) have a disproportionate impact on how your music sounds — more so than the source, amp and preamp, or any other component or accessory in the audio chain. Simply put, your speakers define the character of the sound, which is why they are so important and why we’ve compiled capsule reviews of our Top Picks in speakers so far this year. With prices that range from $250 for a simple smart speaker to more than $9,000 for a topnotch home theater ensemble and lots of interesting choices in between, there is something for everyone.

Klipsch today announced a series of portable Bluetooth speakers that will bring the total number of portable models it offers to seven, at prices ranging from $99 to $349.

The world will be a better place when we can get rid of all those messy wires. Though we still have a ways to go before a full-on wireless AV system is a reality, Austin-based Audioengine is doing its part to advance the cause with a mini subwoofer that is wireless and sells for $439.

ZapperBox, the Des Moines-based maker of the M1 TV tuner/DVR that lets you receive and record high-definition TV signals over the air without any fees, has announced an update that enables the M1 to decode encrypted TV channels.