Xitel SOUNDaround

It's Xitel's contention that, while surround sound systems can sound fabulous, to achieve a satisfactory experience can be a pain. If a speaker is placed wrongly or is not appropriate for the task, the results can be very disappointing.

While we're not hip on their marketing direction (home theater systems are hard to set up and therefore should be avoided in favor of a $99 2-speaker solution) it is OK to offer a low-cost solution to present a surround sound experience on just 2 speakers.

Xitel states that the SOUNDaround works by way of advanced principles of psychoacoustics, the scientific method of mapping how the brain processes what your ears hear. Using complex mathematical calculations, the SOUNDaround stimulates you into believing sounds are coming from everywhere in a room, using just two ordinary speakers. Quickly and affordably, users could convert their existing two-speaker hi-fi system, stereo TV, or even headphones into a home theater experience in a few simple steps.

The SOUNDaround system is based on Dolby Laboratories TruSurround from SRS Labs. That means that you'll need to set up your system to downmix surround content to two-channel since there is no Dolby Digital or DTS decoding done in this box. So in essence, the SOUNDaround is functioning as a TruSurround decoder for your room.

To us, the goal will be to provide a solution for people who are unable to run surrounds at all in their viewing area. For those people, the SOUNDaround may just be the ticket to experiencing some kind of rear channel involvement. For others, the challenge will be for the SOUNDaround system to beat out entry-level HTIB systems - many of which come in at around $200 these days.