I like happy surprises, so say hello to the Millennium Theater System’s (MTS) Cinema Series 3200 Home Theater System. It provides a host of features, and is priced well below many home theater systems. Plus, it’s small – thanks to the audio amplifier’s inclusion in the subwoofer case.

Samsung’s public relations guy gasps at my audaciousness: I enter the meet-ing room and pick up the Blu-ray player sitting on the table before him.The BD-P1000 is much lighter com-pared to the Toshiba HD DVD player that I had seen earlier, but unlike the Toshiba, the Samsung’s power cord is permanently attached and there isn’t an Ethernet port for an online connection. 

When I opened my humble little retail store, The Audiophile, back in 1973, Denon was a small company just entering the country. Giants like Yamaha, Kenwood, Pioneer, Marantz, and others dominated the receiver market. But I was a tweak and always looking for something better. My lo-cal rep would drive up on his moped to Venice, California,