If this product is a poor as many of you claim why did it win the CES 2009 Design and Engineering Award?

"SRS Labs iWOW Adaptor for iPod Wins the Prestigious CES Innovations 2009 Design and Engineering Award"

My experience with SRS is mostly attributed to Windows Media Player. I always keep the built-in SRS WOW effect turned ON in my WMP (a standard feature in all WMPs). It does make anything I play through WMP sound better in my opinion.

I'm not sure why everyone in this forum has been so hard on this product...SRS wants to improve the sound of the iPOD and this is a bad thing??

No one should claim it's crappy (or good) without actually hearing it. Has anyone in this forum listened to it? I haven't and thus I won't pretend to judge it.

Most of the time I agree with engadget's analysts, but Mono...and in case you didn't notice SRS hasn't just partnered with Vizio lately. They also announced partnerships with Syntax Brillian (Olevia) and Sharp.

Also, the 76% number is rather low in my opinion. The CEA only reports data on US consumers. Even so, for those US consumers that hook up an AV receiver and a 5.1 speaker system with their main FPTV, more often than not they have 2nd, 3rd …FPTVs elsewhere in their home without a 5.1 AV system.

Moreover, more FPTVs shipped to Western Europe last year, than N.A. I understand that right now Vizio is only sold in N.A. but last I checked they’re in the Top Ten in WW LCD market share and they only sell TVs in the US.

So, even if you're gullible enough to think that US CE consumers represent the average WW CE consumer take a look at the price of gas or perhaps the business section of a newspaper...disposable income is decreasing rapidly. Thus, US consumers capable of affording a FPTV in these recessionary times are flocking to Costco or similar bargain warehouses and aren't likely to be throwing in that extra (not to mention crappy) $150 HTiB to go with their new FPTV. If they are considering adding a separate AV receiver system, my guess is they will wait until they can afford something better than a $150 HTiB and purchase one at a later time.

SRS offers a great psychoacoustic solution. Without getting into the technical nature of the technology, TruSurround XT does a great job of overcoming the poor enclosures, cheap drivers and overall poor audio equipment that FPTV makers give them to work with and not only increases the quality of the audio but also gives consumers the best possible surround experience given the constraints.

Personally, I think we should expect and demand more from the TV manufacturers in terms of audio....how cool is a 1080p 120 Hz refresh rate picture without sound or with poor sound. In fact, few if any would watch TV without sound. If the TV manufacturers were to devote $150 instead of the $20 they currently devote on a good day to audio to improving the audio in the TV, I bet it would sound better than a $150 HTiB and wouldn’t require a complex set-up or wiring speakers and placing them around the room.

As consumers we should expect an HD like sound experience to go with our HDTVs....just my opinion but at least there's a company out there trying to do something about it and it looks like the FTPV makers are "listening" to them.