Product: Sonos Playbar
Price: $699.00
Rating: Recommend*

Soundbar speakers evolved as a compromise between improved sound (compared to tiny built-in TV speakers) and retaining the sleeker presence of a flat panel display. Sonos has further improved the design by further streamlining the form factor, offering the Sonos Playbar, a wireless streaming speaker designed for wall-mounting or positioned underneath a display. With a selection of TV shows, action movies, and favorite songs, I recently had the opportunity to put this all-in-one soundbar to a real world test to see if its beauty went beyond skin deep...

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Laptops, headphones, computers, tablets, gaming consoles, and smartphones...they've all gotten the skin treatment, with a variety of artists and designers embellishing stock equipment with personalization in mind. Los Angeles audiophile Josh Ray is hoping to follow the footsteps of fashionable-tech accessories like Beats by Dre, adorning a category of electronics normally considered conservative and staid: floorstand audio speakers.

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Any home theater aficionado will tell you audio is just as important as a top notch picture. Try watching a movie on mute with close captioning and you'll obviously notice something important is missing. 

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We've always had a soft spot for the iconic Tivoli radio, whether it be the classic radio editions or the revamped digital models. And although we personally think they're the sort of device which shines out in the open, these special edition Scandinavian design sideboards by Hansen Family do nothing but complement the audio systems... More

There's something insanely cool about geodesic, faceted pieces. Maybe it's how they manage to look futuristic and crafty at the same time. Or maybe it's the way their many surfaces scatter the light. Or maybe they're just cool. Either way, we want to get in on this. 

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DIY Bluetooth Speaker Kit
• $58.00
• Furni

I recently posted this beauty of a wireless radio/speaker constructed using a customizable audio kit designed specifically for an array of DIY projects. Furni sells the same innards inside their fancy Kendall, a pair of 5 watt class "D" audio amplifier, two  2" magnetically shielded speakers, with full Bluetooth v2.0, and everything to power up the system. For a few dollars more you can even download the plans to build a cardboard boombox shown above using the speaker kit.

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If there's anything we believe here at Apartment Therapy is using what you've already got, whether it be an old chair makeover or leftovers cooked up to perfection. So goes the same for old tech...in this case old audio speakers you might have laying around the garage, attic, or basement waiting to be brought back to service...and with wireless connectivity! More

Product: Denon Cocoon
Price: $599.00
Rating: Weak Recommend*

With speaker docks becoming the boombox of today, it's no surprise that Denon has finally come to the table with its own offering. Features for ease of use are always important, but a full listen often reveals the true tonal balance capabilities of any speaker system. Here we'll dive in and evaluate the true sonic signature of this new Sound Dock from Denon.

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Despite the fact I've donated and sold almost every CD I own, I've yet to let go of one of my favorite designs: the Muji Wall Mounted CD Player (I have the original, shown above, without the FM feature added later). The "pull the cord to turn on/off" feature, alongside the minimalist design from Naoto Fukasawa/IDEO look as fresh as the first day it was prototyped back in 1999. But times and technologies have changed, and so must this design...

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