Bob Ankosko

NuVo Technologies, a company with roots in the music business that date back to 1924, was onto something when it introduced its first multi-zone home audio system back in 2002. A decade later, the company offers a lineup of wholehouse audio systems designed for professional installation and recently introduced the NuVo Wireless Audio System, its first DIY consumer product.

Price: $299 (accessories: Air DAC Receiver, $149; iTX Transmitter, $79; uTX Transmitter, $59) At a Glance: Easy setup • Excellent wireless performance • Good sound from compact speakers

The promise was enticing: A compact wireless speaker system offering “exceptional” performance with the option of using an outboard digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to achieve a “much needed, audiophile-grade alternative to mediocre wireless sound.” Amen. The last thing the world needs is another pair of bad-sounding wireless speakers.

Video projectors that reside in the ceiling have long been a fixture of high-end home theaters and are usually accompanied by a screen that retracts into a wall-mounted sleeve or disappears behind a curtain—everything controlled by remote control. Flat-panel TVs can benefit from the same sort of crafty concealment.

Procella Audio, a Swedish company specializing in high-performance speakers for home theaters, professional studios, and screening rooms, prides itself on building speakers that can play 24-bit/96-kilohertz program material at THX reference levels with full dynamic range. Its latest model—the P6V—can be used for main-channel applications in small- to medium-size rooms 10 to 20 feet deep and is rated to produce a maximum continuous output of 110 decibels, 116 dB peak. Impressive, considering the P6V is only 18.5 inches tall, 11.4 inches wide, and about 5 inches deep, which also means it can be mounted on a wall (brackets included) or, when used as a surround speaker, concealed in an architectural column.