Introduction

Expanding horizons

No, that title is not a typo. This is a review of an Abit speaker system. Abit now does much more than motherboards. They have expanded into the graphics card business and now the multimedia market.

A few years ago, Abit was a little known Taiwanese corporation. The PC enthusiast community changed all that making the Abit Slot-1 motherboards the most popular boards on the net. Just ask yourself how many people you know with Abit BH6 motherboards. Almost all overclocking motherboard buyer guides have the Abit products among the most recommended.

Abit has recently expanded into video cards and its new Siluro GF256 GTS had been well received. Trying to expand on this winning streak, Abit has announced a new multimedia line of products.

Headlining this multimedia product line is the new Home Theater SP-50, a 5.1 speaker system bundled with a Dolby Digital sound card. A smaller Home Theater SP-51, a 5.1 channel system, and the Home Theater SP-20, a 2.1 channel system are also available. Why the top of the line SP-51 model carries a smaller number than its little brother is beyond me.

The System

The multimedia speaker market seems to be heating up once again with new product announcements from the major players. It makes you wonder what Comdex will offer next month. The standard stereo speaker setup has been overtaken by true Dolby Digital systems using the same decoding technology as our home theater receivers. Priced at $279, including the 5.1 sound card, the Abit Home Theater SP-50 is very competitively priced. Echoing a trend started by Steve Jobs's iMac, the SP-50 satellites are offered in five different colors.

Aww.. it's like a nest.

Abit has always pushed the performance envelope with its past products. Will this continue with the Home Theater series? Let's find out.