Leading the push for more surround sound, Videologic has released the ZXR-750 7.1 speaker system -- that's 8 speakers in total. The package consists of a centre, two front, two side and two back speakers, rated 8W RMS each with removable speaker stands and wall mounting brackets, and a sub rated 28W RMS.

Out of the box, it was difficult to escape the jungle of cables (you know how bad 5.1s can be), but connection was not too challenging. The ZXR-750 inherits its air vibrating technology from the ZXR-500/550, and as expected, sound quality was exceptional throughout all volumes, from rumbles to tweets.

Before you get hypnotised by this 7.1 sound-sphere, hear out these gripes -- the volume dials are on the subwoofer itself. It's actually not healthy to keep a boneshaker like this within arms reach (woofers are floor-things), and thus, constantly adjusting the dials is an inconvenience -- too many speaker manufacturers still make this mistake. Unless bending down to twiddle dials is your thing -- you will have to settle for software volume adjustment instead.
The subwoofer also has two hollows, in the front and side, and these require breathing space. This means you will need to give it some extra real estate in which to rumble.

I am done complaining, so now for the ZXR-750's real treat. 7.1 sound means that you get two rear speakers, shifting the 5.1-rear-speakers to the side, and the theory of two rear speakers is that you will be surrounded by sound regardless of where you are sitting. But for true 7.1 sound you will need a 7.1 sound source. 7.1 soundcards are just seeing the light of day, and most DVDs offer 5.1 channel sound. To deal with the lack of 7.1 sources, the ZXR-750 highlights two technologies, SurFE and ConnX.1, that work together to make them 'backward compatible'. This simply means ZXR-750 will work with your older soundcards/sources, be it 2.1, 4, 5.1 or 6.1 without issue. The ZXR-750 can act like a 2.1 or 4 speaker system and can translate 5.1 and 6.1 channels to 7.1 output. The built in decoders of the ZXR-750 will generate rear-channels even where there are none; a dial at the back of the subwoofer lets you define the type of input (5.1, 6.1, or 7.1).
So there is no need to run out and look for a 7.1 channel soundcard, but if you want to, be wary that Windows XP is the only OS to support eight channels (7.1).

There are optional floor-stands for these speakers which should help them look a little more fashionable. If you like to dress yourself in sound -- well, these won't leave you feeling underdressed.