The Best Home Theater and AV Gear

In the absence of the side-by-side benchmark comparisons when you find when shopping for computers, home theater gear can be particularly hard to get a handle on. Giz has your back.

Best 3DTV
The LG 50PZ950's THX Certified display has amazing picture quality worthy of your Blu-ray collection. If streaming services are more your style, the TV has built-in apps for Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and even a web browser. 3D performance itself could be better, but the whole package is one of the best TVs out there. (September, 2011)

Best Budget TV
The well-loved Vizio's XVT3SV series is a cheapass's dream come true. Its matte screen especially drew high praise. (Dec 9, 2010)

Best Blu-ray Player
The LG BD570's key virtue is file compatiblity-you can use this thing pretty much like an HD media player, a full-fledged Apple TV killer. The PS3 still holds its own, though. (May 13, 2010)

Best Receiver
The Pioneer VSX-1020-K is controlled by your iPhone, and anyone who's slagged through their fair share of shitty AV receiver menus-whether on screen or on the receiver itself-knows what a boon it is to have a nice GUI in the palm of your hand. (Mar 4, 2010)

Best Game Console
The new Xbox 360 is smaller, has more ports, runs quieter and costs the same: $300. It has a 250GB hard drive and built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi. (Jun 14, 2010)

Best Media Extender
Now taking claiming the title as champion video streamer is Sony's diminutive, underrated almost to the point of nonexistence NetBox. It streams Bravia Internet Video (read: Netflix and Amazon), is DLNA-compatible and plays MKV and DivX files streamed across your local network. (Aug 25, 2010)

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Best Affordable Amplifier
The Topping TP-30 is the best audiophile-worthy amplifier to be had for under $500.

Best All-in-One Home Entertainment
The home theater doesn't have to be a patchwork affair of gear you put together one layaway at a time. The LG LHB976 all-in-one does a downright enviable job, with solid speakers, a great user interface and an iPod dock.

Best MP3 Player
When Apple reshuffled the iPod lineup, theiPod Touch became something else. It's not the expensive, fancy iPod. Or the cheap, gimped iPhone anymore. It's the iPod.

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Best iPod Dock
The Octiv 650 nails a near perfect harmonybetween sound quality, easiness, and price with a few unique features to boot. If speaker docks are unremarkable almost by definition, the Octiv 650 is a shooting star.

Best Speakers
Audioengine's been proving that you don't need to spend thousands of dollars on a good set of speakers for a while now. Their A5 speakers last year were our favorites, and theA5+s are a direct upgrade. They have an improved cabinet design, better thermal management, a remote control, and a bunch of other nice improvements.

 Best Headphones
We're finally recommending an official pick for cans, Bowers & Wilkins P5s —and they're a doozy. As our Joe Brown says, they are, in a word, "DOPE." (March 22, 2010)

Best Budget Headphones
With a closed-back, over-the-ear design, and a durable design that has some portability, the Sennheiser HD280 cans are the king of the budget earphone mountain. They're not the cheapest, or the smallest, or the best looking, but they strike the best balance between clarity and resolution and the ability to handle multiple genres of music old and new. (December, 2011)

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Best Home Audio Streaming
We've added the dreamy Sonos system to our end of year list—read Brian's lifechanger-status writeup and you'll understand why. (Nov 26, 2010)