The dock does feature Dolby Virtual Surround and can double as a computer speaker system, but the rotating holder is something I can't quite get behind as a concept. Watching a movie on your iPod or iTouch is convenient because of its portability, but if it's tethered to a dock, why not just use your TV or monitor? If you disagree, the XS-SR3 will be available this month for $150. [JVC]

How Speakers Work
Especially when you consider just how simple the overall mechanism behind a standard speaker is: It moves air. Essentially, what happens in a speaker—loudspeaker, to be technical—is that the alternating current from an amplifier runs to the speaker and through the voice coil (which is just, wait for it, a coil of wire) turning the coil into an electromagnet. That, in turns, creates a magnetic field between it and the permanent magnet in the driver. As the current alternates between positive and negative, the magnets are attracted and repulsed, moving the cone back and forth. Voila, it emits the soothing sounds of Bach or Korn. (Driver diagram from Wikipedia's unusually exceptional loudspeaker article.)

But that's probably not quite what you think of when you hear "speaker." You're probably thinking of a box with a circle thing and maybe a hole in it. That's actually a loudspeaker system, and it actually has more than one kind of speaker inside of it, called drivers. That's because the driver tuned to deliver high frequencies—a tweeter—ain't so good at delivering bass, which is why you need a woofer or subwoofer (low and lower). And then you've got mid-range speakers—for mid-range sounds—in higher-end systems. Your average GENERIC SPEAKER COMPANY set skips this middleman. So generally two or more drivers are stuffed in a box or cabinet, called an enclosure.

Lovely, but that doesn't explain what separates these $107,000 YG Acoustics Anat Reference II speakers from the $50 Logitech Z-2300s on my desk—which are even THX certified. So, we enlisted some help: Cnet's Audiophiliac Steve Guttenberg, who lives and breathes speakers ranging from the sensible to the ludicrous, and Paul DiComo and Matt Lyons, speaker guys who came from Polk and are now at Definitive Technology.

If you read our profile of Audiophile Maximo Michael Fremer "Why We Need Audiophiles," it probably won't surprise that when initially asked simply, "What the difference between ten dollar speakers and ten thousand dollar speakers?" the Definitive guys' initial answer was, "Well, it ought to be that they sound better." Even Steve told us, "You can't apply a Consumer Reports kind of index to something that's as subjective as audio quality."

No, but seriously.

The Goal of a Loudspeaker
A speaker's ultimate goal is "to sound like reality"—the elusive dragon that every audiophile chases—so on a broad, not-very-useful level, how close it comes to matching that reality is the difference between good and bad, expensive and cheap speakers. To be slightly more technical, the "spec" is clarity: The lower the distortion of the original sound it recreates, the better the speaker. In fact, basically every other spec, every confusing number you read on the side of a box is actually totally meaningless, according to both Steve and the Definitive guys. Steve singles out watts as "one of the more useless specifications ever created." If you have to look for a number when buying speakers, Steve said one that's "kind of useful" is sensitivity/efficiency, which would be something like 90dB @ 1 watt, which relates how loud a speaker will play at a given power level.

Three Characteristics
But when pressed, there are a few qualities Paul and Matt from Definitive singled out in amazing speakers—what they call the big three:
• More dynamic range, or simply the ability to play louder without sounding like trash as you crank the volume. With good speakers, you want to keep cranking it up, like accelerating a fast car.
• Better bass. That doesn't mean louder, "but better." It's more melodic, and not muddy—you can actually hear individual notes, an upright acoustic bass being plucked.
• "A very natural timbre." Timbre is the "tone color" or how natural the sound is—if you played the voice of someone you know on a speaker with excellent timbre, it would sound exactly like them. Or if two different instruments play the same note, you'd be able to tell them apart very easily and cleanly.

Beyond that, what audiophiles are looking for—which Mahoney alludes to in the audiophile profile—is a speaker's ability to create an image, the picture. That is, its ability to create a sense of three-dimensional sound. The defining problem of designing speakers, say the guys from Definitive, is that "physics is dogmatic." So every speaker is built around a set of compromises.

Size
To put that in some concrete—rather than seemingly religious—terms, you can't have a small speaker that sounds good. So one defining quality of six-figure speakers is that they are large. They have bigger woofers and tweeters. More surface area means better sound. There are also simply more drivers—every driver you add is like when you add another string to a guitar, to create a better-nuanced sound. So, for instance, a $300 speaker from a "quality manufacturer" you'll get a 5 1/4-inch woofer and a 1-inch tweeter. A $3000 pair of speakers might have two 5 1/4 mid-range drivers and then a 10-inch woofer.

Build Quality
Build quality is the other thing. A "dead box," or an enclosure that doesn't create any sounds of its own—since that's distortion—is key and something that costs a lot of money. You just want sound from the drivers themselves. The quality of the woofer and tweeter themselves, obviously, comes into play—their ability to handle more power, since that's what translates into volume.

At the extreme end, Steve says, they can just handle more power without breaking—as the copper wire inside heats up, it can deform or melt, and the driver gets messed up. Pricey speakers don't do that. In terms of exotic materials or construction, Steve mentioned ribbon tweeters, which are only in the highest-end speaker systems—they're "literally a piece of aluminum foil that's suspended between magnets that vibrates back and forth" producing excellent clarity. Better speakers also have intricate dividing networks to make sure the right signals go to the right place—they get more complicated as the price goes up.

Dollar Figures
So how much do you have to spend to get a good system in the eyes (ears?) of an audiophile? Definitive recommends $1000 for a home-theater component setup. (In other words, don't buy a home theater in a box.) You can also get a pretty decent pair of "neutral, natural sounding" speakers for $300—they "won't knock your ass" and won't be great as some things, but they'll be alright. There's no magic one-size-fits-all speaker system, however. It depends on the room and the situation. (If your couch is against a wall, skip the 7.1 surround, says Steve.) Heavier speakers tend to sound better than lighter ones, though that's not an absolute.

But what's the upper limit? Well, there isn't any. Paul from Definitive said he heard these $65,000 Krell Modulari Duo last month and "was mezmerized." It's like wine to oenophiles, Paul said. As Steve puts it most simply: "To people who are into it, it's worth it."

Still something you still wanna know? Send any questions about speakers, KoRn or John Mahoney's secret Britney shame to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line. Big thanks to Steve from Cnet and Paul and Matt from Definitive Technology!

Listening Test: It's music tech week at Gizmodo.

The sound was clear and, watching the demo DVD, I could actually position things on the screen with the surround simulation. Designed to use during long periods of gaming, the Gamecom 777 is very light and the cushion does a good job to make them extremely comfortable.

The Dolby circuitry that does the sound magic is not in the headphones, but in an add-on dongle that connects directly to the USB port. The speakers are 40mm and the sound they provide is good, with clear bass and high tones. As you can see in the video, it also has a controller for adjusting the volume and muting the sound at any time. Overall, if you are looking for a nice cheap headset for gaming, with good quality sound and convenient design, this may be the ticket.

We're assuming you know some of the basics—like that 5.1 audio is five channels of audio positioned at center, front right, front left, back right and back left, and then one subwoofer channel. And that a higher bit rate means more audio data is coming through, which, generally, means it's higher quality and gonna sound better, since you're losing less of the original studio sound.

The building block of digital audio is "pulse code modulation"—an old technology used for CDs and everything since. It can be rendered in several resolutions, from 16-bit stuff on CD to 24-bit on newer DVD and higher-res formats. It can also have varying frequency ranges, typically from 44.1KHz to 96KHz. Without going into more detail, you just need to know that PCM is bulky, and it is this PCM data that both DTS and Dolby work to encode into more manageable files. When audio tracks are decoded in a disc player, they are either sent out analog via multichannel RCA outputs, or they become PCM tracks that any digital receiver can easily interpret.

We're taking you through the major branded audio formats that you'll run into if you're dealing with a home theater, or hell, a Blu-ray player.

First up: Dolby. There are basically three tiers of audio: Dolby TrueHD at the top, then Dolby Digital Plus, then good old Dolby Digital.

Dolby TrueHD is a lossless compression format that is bit-for-bit identical to the studio masters. It can handle a bit rate of up to 18 megabits per second, and support as many as 14 channels of audio, though you're more likely to see it at 7.1. It's actually optional in the Blu-ray spec, but it's supported by the PS3 and most other new Blu-ray players. Some players decode the TrueHD internally, then stream out uncompressed PCM audio through HDMI, while others can send the TrueHD file itself out over HDMI in bitstream for the receiver to decode.

Dolby Digital Plus is the next step down. It still delivers 7.1 audio, but at a max bit rate of 3Mbps. It's a more efficient codec than the original Dolby Digital, and is a mandatory minimum in the Blu-ray 1.1 spec. Dolby Digital Plus can be used for Bonus View picture-in-picture audio tracks on a Blu-ray disc, with the main audio track encoded as TrueHD.

Dolby Digital is the lowest rung, at 5.1 audio channels, running at 448Kbps on DVD (though a richer 640Kbps on Blu-ray, used, again for special features or supplement language tracks).

DTS's offerings follow a similar tiered setup.

DTS-HD Master Audio is at the top. It's a lossless format that is also bit-for-bit identical to the studio master. It supports a bitrate up to 24Mbps (though the average Blu-ray flick's audio is only about 2-3Mbps, with 4-5Mbps spikes) and up to eight channels (like 7.1). (It too, is supported by the PS3.)

DTS High Resolution Audio is below that. It also supports eight channels at a constant bit rate of up to 6Mbps. It's for situations where a studio doesn't want to eat up disc space with a full lossless track (like bonus features or tracks), though DTS told us 95 percent of studios who use DTS use the full HD Master Audio.

DTS Digital Surround is down at the DVD end, with support for 5.1 channels and bandwidth up to 1.5Mbps, though post-2000 DVDs typically keep the track at 768Kbps to save disc space.

You may have heard a few things about Dolby ProLogic II or IIx, or maybe DTS Neo:6. These aren't digital codecs, so much as they are "matrix" programs that take stereo tracks and route it to to the different speakers in a surround system. A vestige from pre-digital days, people used to master stereo tracks deliberately for ProLogic—try watching The Simpsons opening credits through your receiver with ProLogic turned on.

Dolby and DTS also have virtual surround technologies that do the opposite of matrixing: They take 5.1 tracks and perform hocus pocus on them so that they sound surround-y, but play through stereo speakers or headphones. It's more subjective, and has a whole different science to it, so maybe we'll save it for another time.

That, in a nutshell, is what all of those Dolby and DTS logos on the back your Blu-ray player, A/V receiver or movie box means. If you want to know how "golden-eared" audiophiles feel about the highest qualities, and how well they fare against uncompressed PCM, check out this informative piece from Home Entertainment Magazine. As a rule, DTS HD Master Audio or Dolby TrueHD will kick ass, but unless you have a $50,000 sound system, you may not be able to tell the difference between the middle and top tiers anyway.

Something we missed, or you still wanna know? Send any questions about Dolby, DTS, Dubbly, Dobby or anything else to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

At the press of a button, the Emperor’s tail section (the large articulated arm that holds the monitors) rises to allow the user to be seated, then lowers back into position the three monitors at the perfect height and angle for perfect viewing comfort.

The Emperor has three large monitors for a panoramic view, THX Dolby surround sound, air filtering, light therapy (so you can get a tan without having to go out under the sun), webcam, battery backup and other niceties. It can be built to order with a desktop Mac or PC, as well as the biggest docking station ever for laptops. If you want one, you will have to go rob a bank—price is not listed yet, but we can imagine lots of zeros in it—and wait for the release date: July 2008. [Novelquest]

The system "continually monitors (or 'listens' to) the audio at all times and performs content-dependent processing...[on] all types of audio." The processing isn't just straight-up compression, it's more of a smart EQ that takes dialogue and music into concern, and adjusts many frequency bands. This has the benefit of keeping funky artifacts out of the process, but it does of course take more horsepower to do, hence the slow roll-out. The first TVs to have it will be Toshiba's REGZA ZH500 and ZV500 series LCD HDTVs, which will be out in Japan next month. No word yet on the US arrival.

In case you're wondering, Dolby Volume does have an advanced "night" mode that lets you hear everything in big epic films without waking the significant other kind enough to put up with your midnight epic marathons. That's all we know for now—when it hits the US (hopefully this year) we'll test it with American broadcast TV, a boatload of DVDs and Blu-rays, and an iPod, to see for ourselves how it fixes those nagging problems. [FAQ via Press Release]

The Skinny: The YSP uses 40 1-inch drivers individually powered and controlled to steer sound beams. This is based off the same tech that subs use to steer Sonar.There are two midbass speakers, too. Secondly, this unit has 2 HDMI inputs and one output, as well as the usual connections. It also upscales standard def to HD, and new to this model are concert hall modes developed from acoustics from real performance venues all over the world. There's an XM and iPod dock port, too. Calibration is done via an included microphone in less than 5 minutes. Sound is big and clear and I almost can forgo the sub. Voices were convincingly strong and even, and only above the din of the Tom Cats in the Top Gun HD-DVD pumped full volume did the speaker crackle.

The Problems: The soundbar can be table or wall mounted, but as with previous generations, if you table mount, you block part of most TVs (see shot in galleries). Speaker won't fit in most cabinets (too long) and doesn't correctly throw surround when placed on the ground (center channel too low to throw believable voices in movies). Here's another placement catch: I put my TVs on a wide wall. Most people put the TV where they have a lot of width, yes? Well the right and left channels grow increasingly weak as the room gets wider: The manual asks for a room no more than 23 feet wide. I have a room like this, so the discreteness of the channels was greatly diminished. Interestingly enough: when I stood to one side, those beams became much more intense.

The Verdict: Loud and clear and highly directional under the right conditions. The best soundbar I've ever tested. Great for a room within the recommended dimensions of 23 feet on each side, but still difficult to place under a TV unless you are wall mounting. Also, it is expensive at $1799, too. I'd get one simply because I hate wires just that much.

Unlike past YSP setups, this fourth generation is so good, out of the dozen or so demonstrators, from sound engineers to casual listeners, all sorts of CEDIA audio nerds were satisfied by the directionality of the sound beams. Each is so discrete, even in the demo room's open top and back, all that could be seen were the heads of the audience nodding in approval. I love this thing, and I'd even be willing to place the tallish speaker in front of my table-mounted LCD, blocking the bottom few inches of my picture. That's a bit crazy, I know, but I'm impressed. For more details, hit our last post.

No word on who makes the upscaler, but I notice that their new flagship receiver uses a not so great scaler by the usually high-end Anchorbay.

But back to audio. Those speakers all coordinated by a DSP, and by tweaking delay and volume, convincingly eliciting sweeping surround audio that seems to come from all 360 degrees, and then some. There are "seven Cinema DSP programs (three movie, three music and one sports)" and "Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS Neo:6," all of which are selectable via the remote and on screen display or LCD. The YSP-4000 is iPod and XM ready and goes for $1800.

Then there's a YSP-3000 and YSP-900, which only have 21 beam drivers, two midbass speakers. It has the same surround format compatibility, and the YSP-3000 has 2 HDMI inputs/outputs, but no analog upscaling. (The YSP-3000 is iPod/XM ready, btw.) Oh, like the YSP-4000, you'll still need a subwoofer to go along with these things, which is Yamaha released a slim, downward firing models:

Yamaha is also debuting two new subwoofers, the YST-FSW150 (130w; $279.95 MSRP) and YST-FSW050 (100w; $199.95 MSRP), with slim, rack-mountable, down-firing active designs that work perfectly to give its new YSP systems extra low-end audio presence. The YST-FSW150 and YST-FSW050 both have minimal heights of 5 15/16-inches and 6 7/16-inches, respectively, that make them ideal for rooms and installations with space limitations. They both feature the company's latest proprietary Yamaha Active Servo Technology II (YST II), which provides extremely stable performance and high sound pressure levels that result in natural and energetic bass reproduction and linear ports for minimizing extraneous noise.

The YSP line is my favorite, despite the inability to table mount without blocking the bottom portion of a TV. Can't wait to hear these at CEDIA.

LATEST DIGITAL SOUND PROJECTORS OFFER HDMI, VIDEO UPSCALING, iPOD COMPATIBILITY, FM TUNER AND ADVANCED LISTENING SETTINGS

—Three New Models Enhance Market-Leading Single Component Surround Sound Solutions; New Entry-Level YAS-70 Features Exclusive Air Surround(TM) Technology —

BUENA PARK, Calif.—Yamaha, the innovator in home theater and digital audio and video reproduction, today unveiled the YSP-4000, YSP-3000 and the YSP-900 Digital Sound Projectors, each of which provides true multi-channel surround sound from a single component that can easily be installed underneath a flat-panel television. All of these units provide true surround sound performance by focusing audio signals into precisely controlled and directed "beams" that keep consumers from having to install numerous speakers throughout a room. Members of the press are invited to experience the new systems at CEDIA 2007 in Denver, Colorado, at Yamaha's booth (#450), between September 5 and 9.

The top-of-the-line YSP-4000 sets a new standard in single component surround sound and home theater installation capabilities. It features 40 beam drivers, two built-in subwoofers, 42 corresponding digital amplifiers, seven Cinema DSP programs (three movie, three music and one sports), analog to HDMI video upscaling, high definition video upscaling to 1080i/720p and advanced custom installation compatibility. The YSP-3000 and YSP-900 both feature 21 built-in beam drivers and two built-in woofers, with 23 corresponding digital amplifiers and three Cinema DSP modes, but the YSP-3000 also includes a 1080p (24Hz and 60Hz) compatible HDMI interface with two inputs and one output to facilitate pure digital connections with the latest home theater components.

The YSP-4000 and YSP-3000 are fully XM Satellite Radio ready with XM HD surround sound powered by Neural Surround. An integrated FM tuner further broadens the user's entertainment choices. The YSP-4000 and YSP-3000 also offer iPod compatibility via the optional YDS-10 dock. Once docked, the iPod can be operated (song selection, play, etc.) via the YSP's remote control and on-screen display. Yamaha's proprietary Compressed Music Enhancer technology compensates for the lost detail of audio that is compressed during the "ripping" process, recapturing the essence of the original recording.

All three models create a wider soundstage than previous Digital Sound Projectors, to fill the whole room with convincing surround sound regardless of where listeners are seated. The YSP-4000 and YSP-3000 offer two all-new modes: 5-Channel Stereo and My Surround. To accommodate even the most difficult installation environments where walls may not be present or are covered with unsuitable materials, My Surround mode provides surround sound without needing to reflect the beams off walls.

Each model offers additional sound settings, including 5-Beam Mode, 3-Beam Mode, Stereo+3-Beam Mode, Stereo Mode and My Beam Mode, which allows users to focus sound to a specific position in the room to avoid disturbing others. Yamaha's proprietary IntelliBeam(TM) automated system calibration enables users to quickly and easily set up each system for the optimal listening experience and intuitive, multi-language on-screen displays.

All three systems offer full support for surround sound standards, including Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS Neo:6. Each also features Yamaha CINEMA DSP technology to create realistic soundscapes in any room. For late night movie and music enjoyment, a Night Listening Enhancer mode that allows dialog and quiet passages to be heard clearly, even at low volumes. Moreover, a TV Equal Volume mode prevents sudden bursts of sound from TV programs and commercials.

All three of the new models feature SRS TruBass technology to provide exceptionally deep and rich bass response, and a subwoofer output to accommodate one of Yamaha's new slim design subwoofers (YST-FSW150 and YST-FSW50) for clean, rich bass reproduction.

The YSP-4000 ($1,799.95 MSRP) will be available in October and the YSP-3000 ($1,199.95 MSRP) and YSP-900 ($899.95 MSRP) will be available in August. The SPM-K30, a new YSP bracket which is adjustable for use with all three models, will also be available in August for $79.95 MSRP. For wall-mounting applications, an optional 15-foot cable (YDS-CBL15) for the Yamaha YDS-10 iPod dock will also be available for $49.95 MSRP.

Slim Subwoofers Offer Ideal Complement to YSP Models

Yamaha is also debuting two new subwoofers, the YST-FSW150 (130w; $279.95 MSRP) and YST-FSW050 (100w; $199.95 MSRP), with slim, rack-mountable, down-firing active designs that work perfectly to give its new YSP systems extra low-end audio presence. The YST-FSW150 and YST-FSW050 both have minimal heights of 5-15/16-inches and 6-7/16-inches, respectively, that make them ideal for rooms and installations with space limitations. They both feature the company's latest proprietary Yamaha Active Servo Technology II (YST II), which provides extremely stable performance and high sound pressure levels that result in natural and energetic bass reproduction and linear ports for minimizing extraneous noise.

(There are 21 in the older YSP-800 and 42 in the YSP-1100). The soundbar does Pro Logic II, tweakable for "width, dimention and panorama". The way that the YAS-70 was kept so compact was by placing the amps that drive the 6 x 35 speakers inside the subwoofer (which saves 100w for itself). Surround compatibility includes "Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby Pro Logic II." In fact, this might be completely different technology. While all those "beams" in past units worked together to form discreet surround channels using delay and volume differences. This one seems to use a pair for rear, a pair for front, and a pair for center channels. It's called "Air Surround".

Shit, this doesn't have HDMI, let alone HDMI pass through for your TV. That's kind of a deal breaker for me.

The $600 soundbar has an FM tuner, an optional iPod dock YDS-10, and a 15-foot cable (YDS-CBL15) for $50, which goes to show this wasn't meant for wall mounting first and foremost. Yamaha is also releasing a YSP-3000, YSP-4000, which I'll be posting on in a bit.

YAS-70: Moderately Priced, Space-Conscious Solution for Home Theater Sound

Yamaha also introduces the affordable YAS-70, featuring exclusive Air Surround technology. The YAS-70 system affordably delivers multi-channel listening experiences through direct and reflected sound. The YAS-70 utilizes Yamaha's exclusive Air Surround technology to provide 5.1-channel surround sound from just two units: a front surround module and an active subwoofer. The slim front surround module can be mounted underneath any flat-panel display or placed on a shelf without disturbing room aesthetics. Although the YAS-70 system is primarily recommended for smaller rooms, it can be effectively used in larger rooms as well.

An amplifier that resides in the subwoofer provides 35 watts to each of the front surround unit's six built-in beam drivers, and has 100 watts on tap to power the sub's direct-firing driver. Yamaha's YST technology ensures deep bass by combining negative-impedance and consistent-current principles to drive the subwoofer cone with remarkably precise control.

Other highlights include iPod compatibility via the optional YDS-10 dock, one-touch CINEMA DSP selection, night listening mode and a built-in FM tuner. The YAS-70 is fully compatible with Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby Pro Logic II to provide surround sound from all sources.

The YAS-70 will be available in October for a suggested retail price of $599.95. For wall-mounting applications, an optional 15-foot cable (YDS-CBL15) for the Yamaha YDS-10 iPod dock will also be available for $49.95 MSRP.

During their demo at CES, listeners didn't hear any artifacts or delay when Volume was active. The only problem is cost, which Dolby says will be negligible when included in the price of most TVs or home sound systems. We look forward to the day when a commercial with a grandma in it isn't automatically louder than Jack Bauer's shouting. – Jason Chen

Press Release [Dolby via TGDaily via Ars Technica]

Soundmatters Slimstage: Surround Sound from One Speaker [Crave]

But if you had $5,000, what kind of system would you build? Off the top of our heads, we'd grab:

•Sony KDL-40XBR3 40-inch LCD
•Yamaha YSP-110 Faux Flat Panel Surround Sound Speakers
•A nice recliner like the Stokke's Gravity Chair (but cheaper)
•Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii

We're not sure this even comes out to $5,000, but we want'm. – Jason Chen

Entry Page [Revision3]

Image courtesy Avtinc

Hear Dolby's new tricks in Sharp SD-SP10 system [Sci-Fi]

Thomas Dolby's Blog, Road Rig, Build Your Rig Cheap [Create Digital Music]

Our Korean is a little rusty, but we're guessing that the MCH-501U is selling for around $90 in Korea. No word if they will become available in the United States anytime soon.

Waveon offers AON MCH-501U USB headphones [ bergizmo]

Product Page [Audistry]