New Products

It's kind of amazing that a component that hasn't changed much outwardly for 20+ years can change so much internally in the course of just a couple of years. I'm talking about Pioneer's surround-sound receivers, which I first encountered in 1989 ... and which still looked almost exactly the same when I walked into the demo room at the company's Long Beach, Calif., headquarters last week to check out its four new affordable models.

But they don't work the same. The new receviers, priced from $249 to $599, are even more packed with technology than the generation they replace. Fortunately, though, Pioneer's taking some steps to help consumers deal with all that complexity.

You can't buy Emotiva gear like the UMC-200 pre/pro and UPA-700 amp we just reviewed in retail stores, but if you're in the Chicago area this weekend, you can see it and hear it for yourself, on Saturday, April 13 from 9 am to 5 pm.

Even though Sony's one of the top brands in several audio categories, the company hasn't made much of a push with its audio products in the last few years. That all changed at an event today in Los Angeles, where Sony showed off a new A/V receiver and a new soundbar, and also announced new HTiB (home theater in a box) systems.

Speaker Standouts
An old-school category sees surprising innovation

One could argue that this spring will see as much innovation in the speaker category as in headphones. But when you think about it, that’s not really so surprising. After all, speakers can be almost any size, almost any shape, almost any weight, while headphones will always have to be small and light enough to fit on your head.

Speaker Standouts
An old-school category sees surprising innovation

One could argue that this spring will see as much innovation in the speaker category as in headphones. But when you think about it, that's not really so surprising. After all, speakers can be almost any size, almost any shape, almost any weight, while headphones will always have to be small and light enough to fit on your head.

Speaker Standouts
An old-school category sees surprising innovation

One could argue that this spring will see as much innovation in the speaker category as in headphones. But when you think about it, that's not really so surprising. After all, speakers can be almost any size, almost any shape, almost any weight, while headphones will always have to be small and light enough to fit on your head.