Ken C. Pohlmann

First, let’s make sure everyone knows who Franz Mesmer was. Ok – good. Now, let’s consider the JBL Pulse 3. I wanted to post a video of the Pulse 3 in action, but S&V’s crack legal staff wouldn’t permit it. It’s just too darn mesmerizing, and hence poses a liability issue for the magazine. Instead, you’ll have to be content with a photo, and my wholly inadequate description.

Subwoofers are big and heavy. You hurt your back when you pick them up. One of the most important reasons for having children is so you can have them move your subwoofer. Right? Well, how about a watch-size subwoofer that you wear on your wrist? No children needed. Meet the Basslet.

You might not have heard of VOXX. But I bet you're familiar with Acoustic Research, Klipsch, AudioVox, Advent, Jensen, Terk and RCA - all members of the VOXX family. The VOXX press conference today highlighted everything from Bluetooth speakers to blood-oxygen sensing earbuds and more.

It has become trendy to bash corporations. And in some cases, if a corporation is big enough and faceless, it's easy to suppose that it's merely a shareholder profit machine that is uninterested in the needs of individuals. But of course many companies certainly do not fit that profile. Instead, you'll find that many small and medium size companies take a very different view of their role in society and, in many case, are family-run businesses. Case in point: Sennheiser and the Sennheiser brothers.