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Among the new stuff from Onix, a champion of the budget speaker genre, is the step-up Concerto. Eight hundred a pair will buy you a dual-drive woofer with magnets in front and back. We're betting that when we get to try it, that's going to be some pretty disciplined bass, with the driver starting and stopping on a dime, though of course, that's just speculation at this point. Also new is the X-Statik which puts the tweeter and midrange in an open baffle above the conventionally enclosed woofer. It'll be $699/pair.

KEF also demonstrated the smallest entry in its Reference series, the 201.2, in 2-channels. It sounded superb. $5000/pair now, going up to $6000/pair soon. Get 'em while they're hot.

120Hz operation, to remove motion lag in LCD displays, is exploding all over. Olevia's demo was highly effective, showing that its system smoothed motion at various speeds and with a wide variety of program material, including these white bars which scrolled across the screen.

Do it yourself (DIY) speaker builders gravitate to one of several suppliers to buy the parts they need for their projects. One of the biggest is Parts Express, and they had a small booth on the show floor this year. The elegant cabinet shown here, with the arched side walls now popular on many an upscale commercial design (almost invariably made in China), can be had for $129.77 (each) in polished black, cherry, or maple, ready to be filled with the drivers and crossovers of your choice.