New Products

Pelican i1030 ($45; pelican.com). Think "pelican" and you may rightly think "watertight." But the i1030 micro-case is dustproof and crushproof, too, so take that, big bird! The polycarbonate case is available in yellow or white.

DOME IF YOU WANT TO So you need to pimp your ride with the ultimate speakers because your car tunes are that important - and you wanna shut up the dude down the block who goes on about his titanium tweeters (that match his titanium wheels, naturally)? Throw in a set of Focal's high-end Utopia BE component speakers, and tell that sucka that titanium is just so '90s.

SXRD FOR ALL Sony raised the bar when it debuted its SXRD front projectors a couple of years ago, although they also set a new standard for price. Today, the vibrant high-def images SXRD is known for can be yours for just $5,000 (!) from the VPL-VW50, a front projector that'll bestow upon you all the 1080p-res goodness you can stand.

THE NICOLE RICHIE FACTOR They've each got six drivers, an aluminum cabinet, and a precision crossover, but Paradigm's Millenia Series speakers will get noticed first for their rail-thin style - designed to complement (all together now) flat-panel TVs.

WINDOWS 1080P If you loved Legos as a kid, a Media Center PC will fulfill your need to build stuff in a grown-up, home theater kind of way. Niveus's Rainier, an "entry-level" model in the Summit series, gives you unprecedented tools: an HD DVD drive and an HDMI output capable of feeding your display 1080p video.

SOUND COUNTS It's tough to pick the perfect home theater gear: You want something that'll impress your A/V-junkie friends but still be easy enough for your girlfriend to use. Cambridge Audio's Azur 640R receiver comes at you with serious audiophile cred - seven discrete 100-watt amps, all well-isolated from the digital processor and input stages.