Mark Fleischmann

The venerable Baltimore-based speaker maker showed three new monitors, two new soundbars, and three new subs. The three StudioMonitors include the SM65, an LCR with two 5.25-inch woofers ($449/each), SSM 55, a two-way design with 6.5-inch woofer, $299/each), and SM 45, two-way, 5.25-inch ($199/each). The two larger models have passive radiators on top; the smaller one is back-ported. All have woofer phase plugs whose rubber surfaces are dimpled to control air flow. These speakers are voiced for the audiophile on a budget, as opposed to the home theater buff looking for deep thrills, so the bass is said to trade off midbass force for greater extension. Shipping October. DefTech's two new soundbars include the XTR-SSA5 ($999) which has woofer-tweeter-woofer arrays for three front channels plus some extra drivers that sorta kinda contribute to surround effects (it's a long story). With Pink Floyd's "Money," the five-channel bar managed to break the cash-register effects free from the bar, about a foot out and to the sides. The three-channel version is the XTR-SSA3 ($799). Three new subs range in price from $599-799 and have remote controllable preset EQ modes. Coming this fall is the ProCinema 400 sat/sub set ($599).

Why bolt a speaker onto a sub? Well, if you deploy five or more of them, your surround system's regular sub will have huge reinforcement, great coverage, no holes in bass response. That's what Procella does with products like the new P610. Thanks to shallow depth, it's not as bulky as it looks. Inside are a 10-inch sub driver at bottom with a 6.5-inch midrange and one-inch tweeter at top, the latter recessed deep into a waveguide. Price $3199 for the speaker half and $1499 for the sub half.

Price: $2,199 At A Glance: Spherical steel sats and rounded fiberglass sub • Attractive aesthetics, high construction quality • Outstanding sound quality

Life is full of strange synchronicities. Around the time my friends in the country were posting pictures of their spring mushroom harvests on Facebook, I just happened to be setting up Morel’s SoundSpot Music Theatre 2 Ultra, a 5.1-channel satellite/subwoofer set based on the adorably spherical SP-2 sat and PSW10 sub. Would Morels in my system sound as good as morels taste on pizza? In omelets or pasta? With steak or veal? With asparagus? In wine or cream sauces? In gravy?

Price: $7,480 At A Glance: Two-way monitors with ribbon tweeters • High-quality parts including silver cabling • Three veneer and two lacquer finishes

No home theater system is complete without both a big screen and surround sound. But it’s no secret that the former is more popular than the latter. Surround’s Achilles’ heel is the audio/video receiver, with its peculiarly named features and labyrinthine menus. On the other hand, speakers are fairly straightforward. They usually have no controls aside from a few on the sub. Cable connection is red to red, black to black. Placement is key to performance but as much a matter of simple experimentation as knowledge. You don’t need to be a nuclear physicist to hear bass get louder when you shove a speaker toward a corner.