When you've got a small apartment and hate wires like I do, something like the Yamaha YSP-800 sound projector is an agreeable compromise. To be frank, the sound experience is a fraction of a proper home theater system, but it actually quite surprising what 23 sound beam drivers can recreate in terms of a surround sound experience, and I don't ever regret getting one of these compact home theater solutions.

Well...okay...I do regret not waiting a bit longer to get one of their new updated sound projector solutions after reading about the newest features.

The YSP-4000/YSP-3000 are Yamaha's most recent additions (joining the previously announced YSP-900) and they've got a few new enviable new options and features unavailable on my model. The YSP-4000 is powered by forty sound beam drivers and two midbass speakers, while the YSP-3000 gets by with just 21 beam drivers, both calibrated to recreate Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS Neo:6. But the real big selling point with these two new models is the inclusion of HDMI pass-throughs and analog/720p/1080i upscaling to 1080p, for those of you so lucky to have a capable HD monitor set. Both models are iPod and XM Satellite Radio ready, with 2 HMDI input/outputs and even an integrated FM tuner. The overall package looks like it got a lot more svelte too. That's a lot of features in a pretty compact package and pretty much a godsend for a small apartment dweller such as myself . The YSP-4000 will be available in October for $1799 and the YSP-3000 will be available in August for $1195 (the YSP-900 comes in at $899).

–Gregory