Peter Pachal

NEW TRADITION Kevlar woofer cones, Nautilus tweeters, elegant lines - these are definitely B&W speakers. But there's a twist: The VM6 integrates the company's trademark components into a thoroughly modern design. It's only 4 inches deep, just enough for the tweeter's tapered tail to fit, so high frequencies sound free and clear.

With a big 65-inch HD screen, the Brillian 6580iFB HDTV ($7,999) already has a lot going on, but there's more in the box to justify its hefty price tag. First of all, it's one of the new high-rez 1080p TVs. LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) technology keeps the pixels small and the space between them smaller, so images always look sharp and clear.

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.

MULTITASKER Although described as a "multimedia" projector, Canon's REALiS SX60 has a Home Cinema mode for when you want images to pop. Its rated 2,000:1 contrast ratio means nice, deep blacks, and the 1,400 x 1,050-pixel resolution is more than enough for 720p HDTV.