If you've somehow managed to hold out from joining into the HTIB revolution, the time for caving is upon you. LG has just tapped Sir Mark Levinson to engineer the acoustics behind its latest bundle, the HB954SP. Packing a 5.1-channel sound system that includes 1,000 total watts of power, a quintet of oval drivers and a ported subwoofer, the system gets direction from a BD-Live-enabled Blu-ray player that's actually a fair bit more stylish than the tried-and-true black rectangle. You'll also find a pair of HDMI inputs, an iDock function for charging and controlling your iPod / iPhone right from the BD deck, 1080p upscaling of traditional DVDs, touch sensitive controls, a USB port for loading up external media and an optical audio input. There's nary a mention of price, but it should splash down this November for a hefty premium.

It's been well over two years since high-end audio outfit Bowers & Wilkins introduced the iPod-lovin' Zeppelin, and evidently it's time for a downsizing. Today, the good folks over at B&W slung out the Zeppelin Mini, which promises the same dirigible-inspired sound but in a form factor that fits in a wider assortment of areas. To be honest, this version seems toned down quite a bit on the design side, with the key differentiating features being an updated docking arm and the addition of USB connectivity. Said socket enables direct PC / Mac streaming if your iPod gets lost, and it also enables your 'Pod to sync with your computer whilst playing back tunes. As for specs, you'll find a pair of 3-inch full-range drivers, 36 total watts of power, a 3.5 millimeter auxiliary jack and a bundled remote. It's expected to hit next month for £299 ($495), but you can get acquainted right now by jumping past the break and mashing play.

[Via Macworld]

Klipsch won our hearts over years ago with its ProMedia 4.1 setup, and we're happy to say that the winning formula hasn't been significantly altered in the HD Theater 500. Honestly, the satellites presented here look an awful lot like those bundled in with the ProMedia kit, but these do check in with a bit less bulk and a bit more gloss. Upon unboxing the 5.1 system, we were actually pretty astounded by how light each of the speakers were, with even the subwoofer not being painfully heavy. All the small talk aside, we know you're here to see if these suckers are worth your hard-earned dollars -- follow us on past the break for a breakdown of the pros and cons.

We can already envision the flame fest on this one, so we'll just cut to the chase. Jonathan Berger, professor of music at Stanford, has been conducting some pretty interesting tests on incoming students, and he's been recording results that'll surely make audiophiles cringe. He has been asking his students to listen to tracks in MP3 format as well as in formats of much higher quality, all while asking them to select the one they like best; increasingly, youngsters have been choosing the sizzling, tinny sounds of MP3 over more pure representations. The reasoning may have more to do with psychology that audiology, as many conclude that generations simply prefer what they're used to. Ever known someone to swear that vinyl sounds best, pops and all? So yeah, what we've really learned is that MP3 is more of an "acquired taste," but those still attempting to build their SACD collection should be genuinely afraid of the future.

[Via techdirt, image courtesy of iasos]

Eclipse is up to speed with this whole high-end gig, so it's no shock to see the company outing a new pair of speakers meant for millionaires and Martians over in Japan. The TD712zMK2 loudspeaker sports a 12 centimeter driver, playback frequency of 35Hz to 26kHz and a stand that just might be more sturdy than the beams holding your apartment up. Of course, with a starting price of ¥325,500 ($3,539) per speaker, that's totally to be expected.

[Via Impress]

Man, what a difference a year makes. In 2008 we saw that Super Bowl XLII would be aired in 28 countries around the world, and this year that number is increasing substantially to 230. A grand total of 61 international broadcasters will televise the game in 34 languages, with the high-def signal going to 19 broadcast partners in 152 countries. DTS also notes that its Neural Surround technology will be tapped in order to deliver "5.1-channel" sound to international viewers through "any consumer surround sound system." The live action kicks off at 6:00PM ET this Sunday, and given the abundance of partners, you should be able to catch it (even in HD) almost anywhere in the world.

Ah, nothing like preying on the forgetfulness of the human brain. Nearly a full year after SRS Labs outed its SRS CS Headphone technology -- which supposedly takes 2-channel audio and creates the effect of surround sound -- the company is introducing a solution that sounds mighty similar, just with more channels. TruMedia, as it's so affectionately dubbed, is expected to make mobile phones, PMPs, Bluetooth headphones and "gaming consoles" (saywha?) emit "engaging, theater-like 5.1 surround sound" when multichannel video content is viewed. Kind of sounds like drawing blood from a stone to us, but who knows, maybe six bona fide channels of audio really can flow from a single set of earbuds.

This week's Ask Engadget HD inquiry caught us completely off guard -- we mean, how often do you hear of someone these days looking for the best of the best in pure stereo sound quality? Rather than buy a janky 5.1 system via a HTIB bundle, Thaddius is looking to make the best of a stereo situation. Help him out, won't you?

"I have some nice speakers left over from a recording facility, and I'm looking to find a great receiver / amplifier that does stereo right. I'll be relying on two towers and possibly a subwoofer in the future, and I'm hoping for something known for excellent sound quality and a nice feature set. Any 2.1 aficionados out there care to chime in?"

Surely this fellow isn't the only one looking to make their 2.0 / 2.1 system shine due to a lack of space for a full blown multi-channel setup, so why not provide a bit of assistance if you're in the same boat? Santa will love you forever, you know.

Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.

We should've seen this one coming, because whatever Dolby can do, SRS can do one better -- something like that. Anywho, SRS is debuting its own volume controlling technology today by way of Vizio's snazzy new 55-inch XVT HDTV and VSB210WS soundbar / wireless subwoofer kit. In SRS' words, the tech is an "advanced, intelligent volume control solution that delivers a remarkable TV viewing experience by eliminating irritating fluctuations in volume." Oh, and if you're not exactly looking to buy either of those products, don't be shocked to see this stuff flooding across Vizio's line in short order; Ken Lowe, the company's VP and co-founder has been quoted as saying that he believes "all of [Vizio's] TVs should have SRS TruVolume going forward." And we all know the VP gets what he wants.

We've already seen one speaker guide pop up this fall / winter, but for those not so keen on piecing together a multi-channel setup themselves, PC World has a solid alternative. It has taken a cold, hard look at seven home-theater-in-box (HTIB) setups ranging from $500 to $3,000 and picked the best one at each price level. We won't spoil anything here, but if you've been looking for some assistance in choosing from the plethora of options out there, this ain't a bad place to get educated.

The path to Netflix-enhanced glory hasn't been entirely trouble free for everyone, this time it's posters on AVForum noticing a distinct lack of audio on Xbox 360s connected to their HDTV by HDMI. So far suggested solutions for the afflicted include plugging in the hard drive while the system is on, or waiting several minutes before switching the monitor to HDMI, and repeating them every time the system is started. It's not the first time we've heard of UK-centric HDMI weirdness, any of you hearing a whole lot of nothing while gaming (that's not attributable to hard drive installs)?

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

There aren't too many firms out there posting awesome Q3 reports, but DTS is one of the rare exceptions. Recently, the firm reported a net income of $2 million on revenues of $14 million, though $1.6 million of those revenues were in the form of royalties. CEO Jon Kirchner was quoted as saying that "overall, we remain cautious about the near-term industry outlook, but we continue to believe in the attractive long-term prospects for the Blu-ray format and for our business." Guess that's assuming Blu-ray adoption picks up in Q4 and beyond, huh?

Dolby's homegrown volume controlling technology has wiggled into a few HDTVs here and there, but now the tech is finally maneuvering into devices that HT amateurs / professionals will end up seeing. At CEDIA, Dolby is announcing that it's Dolby Volume will be featured in the all new Harman Kardon AVR 7550HD and Arcam FMJ AVR600. For those that forgot, Dolby Volume is an approach to "delivering consistent volume levels across a wide variety of content, channel programming, or input sources," giving users fed up with those astonishingly loud MHD Palladia commercials a better, more lawful way to deal. Whole release is after the cut.

Just when you thought nothing else on this planet could ever earn THX certification, here comes Serious Materials to prove you wrong. The image you are inevitably peering at above is the world's first THX-certified soundproof door, the QuietHome. Boasting an STC rating of 51 in a 2.25-inch thick door, it's said to be the only door in the world to stand up to those mighty THX standards. Just for reference, it's noted that typical hollow-core doors have an STC rating of only 15 (and solid-core doors around 27), and we're told that this one will reduce noise between 65% and 85% compared to traditional alternatives. Of course, such a marvelous addition to your home won't run you cheap -- the QuietHome family ranges from $1,495 to $2,495 per door, so you better have dead silence really high on your list of priorities before pulling the trigger (on a silenced Walther PPK, of course).

Need another option for streaming multiple jams to multiple places? Enter CasaTunes, which is debuting a pair of devices along with accompanying software today at CEDIA. The CasaTunes XLi sits neatly within just about any desktop PC, and when connected to a CasaTunes XLa or third-party amplifier (plus speakers, natch), users can stream five separate sources of music to up to six rooms. Yeah, as in it'll manage which tracks are being pumped to which rooms. The entirely more professional CasaTunes XLe (pictured) is a rack-mount version of the XLi that adds support for 12 rooms and can be scaled up to support four boxes (or 48 rooms). There's built-in support for playing back songs coated with Microsoft's DRM, though there's no mention of any others. As for pricing / availability, expect the XLi to ship in September for $999 while the XLe departs sometime in Q4 for $1,699. Full release is after the break.