LATEST ADDITIONS

After a slow start, sales of Blu-ray players have passed a couple of significant milestones. They're selling better than DVD players and VCRs did at equivalent moments in their histories.

If you've never heard of XStreamHD, that's OK. Up until now, they've kept a pretty low profile. But that doesn't mean they haven't been busy quietly building the groundwork and infrastructure for a system that may very well be a total game changer for the way you view movies, listen to music and play games. I actually had heard of them.

CES is three weeks away, and my inbox is already filling up with new-product announcements. Among them is the X260.5, a new monoblock power amp from <A href="http://www.passlabs.com">Pass Labs</A>.

Price: $2,599 At A Glance: Unusual shapes and many choices of color • Better build quality than most sat/sub sets • Balanced performance

From People Who Do It Right

Whenever the depravity of the human race plunges me into despair, I think of Paris. Then I feel better.