If you're a home theater enthusiast, a decent 5.1 speaker setup partnered with a receiver is a given. But what happens when theaters start upping their game? Sound engineers report the human ear is capable of discerning sounds well beyond what a 5.1 system can offer: 7.1, 9.1, 10.1 and even 11.1 surround sound setups are here, bringing home viewers closer to the movie theater experience one extra speaker at a time.

The era of setting up a home theater is changing: wired connections between speakers to a receiver and to an audio or video source is becoming hopelessly outdated. There are now so many easier ways to attain home theater sound and now even video, and none of them involve little white, red, and yellow cables, let alone speaker wire or HDMI cables...

Many of us like to listen to music, podcasts, or the radio while we administer our daily ablutions in the bathroom, on that we can agree. But there are a few bathroom entertainment topics which bring out differences in opinion: whether or not we sound good singing along in the shower and just which features our bathroom audio devices should sport.

While there has been some debate over the idea of bringing the television outdoors, we're sure that this guide to bringing tech outside will be met with more joyous sounds - the sounds of music, that is. Today we'll talk about options to bring audio outdoors.

Fess up...you like to bring your smartphone into the tub, don't you? It's certainly not uncommon for people to listen to music while getting ready in the morning, browse the internet, or even email/text from the bathroom. Muji offers those tempting fate (and humidity) with this splash-proof speaker housing, which augments both sound and water resistance. Audio playback is rated for 30 hours with three AAA batteries, and the see-thru touch panel permits use of the device screen even with damp or wet hands, all in Muji's signature minimalist modern style.

Like countless others, I celebrated Record Store Day with a vinyl purchase this past weekend (don't you love the tinted see-thru 12"?). But in the future, with the widespread adoption of 3D printers, we might be seeing a mainstream return of vinyl  with print-on-demand records being delivered from bands/labels right to your turntable!

Technology has advanced so quickly in the last decade that many of the devices and media we were once accustomed to seeing, hearing, and using have become completely obsolete. There was a time when homes and offices were equipped with loud dial-up modems, the chimes of AOL services, and the mechanical songs of dot matrix printers racing across filled the air. Take a journey back to those good ol' days by listening to some of the sounds that have practically disappeared from the public soundscape in just a decade.

It seems like Record Store Day 2013 is marked down on more than few calendars among vinyl loving types. With special vinyl releases set for April 20th, you'll discover new music and full album artwork that is often worth displaying. I've compiled some of my favorite solutions for displaying or storing your favorite records once you get back home with your pile of good sounds...

Product: Crosley Cruiser Portable Turntable
Price: $99.95
Rating: Recommend*

Saturday, April 20th is Record Store Day, an international celebration when independent record stores release exclusive vinyl releases and special performances all over the world in honor of the beloved record. It's as good a day as any for a beginner to dive into the world of record collecting and listening, and this compact portable turntable is just the player to get started with.

Product: Wren Sound Systems V5AP AirPlay Speaker
Price: $399
Rating: V5AP (AirPlay): Recommend*; V5PF (Play-Fi): Strong Recommend*

Until now, there have been two main choices for people who want to stream wireless audio from a computer or device in one room to speakers located in another: a smattering of black AirPlay devices that look a lot alike, and the pricey Sonos system that creates its own mesh network over Wi-Fi.