Isn’t it cute? I’m not the biggest surround-sound fanatic, but I think that if I wanted to wire my media center up, I’d want speakers like this: compact and attractive. I’m consistently surprised by the sound small form-factor speakers can create, so I have no doubt these things would be up to my (admittedly not audiophile) standards. Each satellite has a 65mm and 13mm driver for mids and highs respectively, and while the 8-inch, 100W sub won’t be busting any windows, it should be quite sufficient for a contained space.
The design of the SoundWare XS 5.1 speakers is very understated and allows for placement at those special angles home media people seem to love so much. At $500 they’re in the budget-midrange area, so they’re worth a look if you’re fixing up a room but don’t want to overwhelm it with big chunky speakers. They’ll be available in July 2009. Wait, that’s now!