Q. I just read the review of the ZVOX AV855 home theater soundbar. We currently are using the ZVOX AV120. Is the AV855 better enough to warrant the upgrade? The ZVOX website is showing it sold out. How will I know when it is available again?

—K.K., Milwaukee

A. It is absolutely worth the upgrade. Not only does the AV855 have the kind of sound quality one associates with a hi-fi home theater soundbar, it also has the best implementation of AccuVoice that ZVOX has ever offered. When used with a compatible television (most TVs are compatible) the HDMI-ARC connection provides easy and seamless operation. It makes the soundbar an extension of your TV, turning off and on automatically and controlling the volume with the television remote without any extra programming. Combining pristine sound, the best vocal clarity available, high-quality aluminum construction, and complete ease of setup and operation seems to be the package much of the viewing public is looking for, given the marketplace buzz and how quickly the AV855 sold out after launch.

If you go to the AV855 product page at zvox.com there is a link to a form where you can sign up to be notified when it is available again. I received many emails like yours given it sold out, and ZVOX said they will be repeating the $100 off promotion for those who missed out the first time. Though there may be some delayed gratification since you can't have an AV855 delivered right now, I do think it is worth the wait.

Q. I am looking for your recommendation to replace a Bose CD player that stopped working. We liked the high-quality sound from the Bose, but I have heard they have reliability problems (as we experienced) and that they aren’t making them anymore.

The last CD player recommendation I found on your site was for a Technics model at about $1,000. I’d prefer to pay less, but if I must I will pay $1,000 to get good sound quality like the Bose CD player had, and hopefully get better reliability, too.

—R.S., Lafayette, California

A. You are referring to the $1,099.99 Technics SC-C70MK2. I have recommended it for almost seven years now without a single reader complaint regarding reliability, and with a lot of reader praise for how absolutely fantastic it is. Though it is not much bigger than your Bose radio, it sounds like a very high-quality, full-sized component system with tower speakers. It also does much more than play CDs and radio. When I first heard it I expected a price between $3,000 and $5,000. It is hard to imagine a compact system for $1,099.99 being a bargain, but that is the case with the SC-C70MK2. us.technics.com

If you are OK with separate speakers and a small component, the excellent TEAC PD-301-X CD Player/FM Tuner was recently reduced to $349, a $200 reduction that makes it a hi-fi best buy. teacusa.com

The PD-301-X can be connected to powered Bluetooth speakers to make it a complete system that plays CDs, FM radio, music from USB drives and streaming via Bluetooth. A perfect match would be the new Onkyo Creator Series speakers, which won a bunch of awards at the Consumer Electronics Show in early January. I heard both the $199 GX-10DB and $299 GX-30ARC speakers at the show, and both models are stylish and sound extremely good. Both aesthetically and sonically these speakers would make a fine combination with the PD-301-X, and you benefit from the pedigree of two legendary Japanese audio manufacturers. onkyo.com

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