Scott Wilkinson

At CES, many companies set up shop in off-site hotel suites, making it more difficult to find and experience them first-hand. So it was this year with <A href="http://www.krellonline.com">Krell</A>, which shared a suite at the Mirage with SIM2. Among the items introduced there was the Evolution 555 Blu-ray player, the company's first foray into this product category.

Here's a question from Kirk Spencer in Bartlesville, OK, about the future of television technology:

What is it with glass speaker enclosures? I've profiled several such speakers here, but I remain puzzled by this choice of cabinet material. Is glass really that much better than MDF, wood, carbon fiber, or other materials? <A href="http://www.crystalcable.com">Crystal Cable</A> seems to think so&#151;this Dutch high-end cable company recently got into the speaker business with the striking Arabesque.

Late last week, D&M Holdings and Boston Acoustics announced that they have signed a definitive merger agreement in which D&M will purchase Boston Acoustics for $17.50 per share in cash for a total of approximately $76 million. The deal adds Boston Acoustics' premium speaker line (along with the Snell brand, which BA acquired within the last couple of years) to D&M's already impressive portfolio, including Denon, Marantz, and McIntosh, as well as the D&M Professional, ReplayTV, Rio, and Escient brands.