Select owners of Guitar Hero III for Wii have been moshing uncontrollably as best they can in mono for months on end, but it seems as if Activision has finally got its interconnects sorted and will start issuing replacement discs. According to direct end-user reports and the (admittedly blurry) shots in the gallery below, the firm is now dishing out pre-paid envelopes in which customers have to ship back their faulty GH III disc and wait "3 to 4 weeks" before getting a new, stereo-enabled one free of charge. Live sans your favorite game for a month, or keep rockin' in the monaural world? Tough call, indeed.

[Thanks, Sam K. and Michael S.]

With all these companies honing in on bringing HD capabilities to handsets, we were beginning to wonder when someone would step up and lend a hand on the audio front. Thankfully, both Dolby and SRS Labs have come forward at Mobile World Congress to announce separate enhancements to mobile audio, so we'll touch on the former first. Dolby Mobile, hailed as an "audio processing technology platform that brings rich, vibrant surround sound to music, movies, and television programs on mobile phones and portable media players," is available as we speak on the FOMA SH905i and FOMA SH905iTV in Japan, but will hopefully float out to other handsets in due time. As for SRS Labs, it's boasting its own SRS CS Headphone technology, which reportedly "takes stereo or surround encoded 2-channel audio and processes it using an ultra-low-power Circle Surround decoder to create 5.1 highly accurate channels." Granted, we're still wondering exactly how 5.1 channels make their way though stereo earbuds, but we'd be up for a listen, regardless.

Read - Dolby Mobile
Read - SRS CS Headphone technology

Recall that curious "3-channel" speaker we peeked back in November? Turns out, Samsung was saving the good stuff for CES, and now we're being blessed with a whole heap of official details. The YA-BS900 speaker automatically connects to your BT-enabled PMP / handset / etc. and features Bluetooth 2.1, a motion detector to power on the system when a paired device comes near, 30-watts of power and a USB port for playing tunes stored on a flash drive. Furthermore, it even boasts automatic volume reduction when a call comes in on your paired mobile, and while the onboard touch controls are fine and dandy, we'd certainly take advantage of that remote if we were you. Sadly, this beauty won't be available for two more months, and as if that weren't depressing enough, it'll cost you a staggering $399 when March finally does roll around.

Samsung's YA-BS900 won't deliver any jams in 5.1, but it most certainly is "Hyper-Directional," for whatever that's worth. The interestingly designed speaker touts Bluetooth technology, claims to be "3-channel" in nature and possesses the innate ability to play back tunes streamed in with your BT-enabled cellphone or DAP. Furthermore, the unit will take Ozzy down a notch if it notices that a Bluetooth phone is answered, but we're not told what other inputs (you know, like a totally convenient 3.5-millimeter jack) are included. Per usual, price / availability remain a mystery, but those tidbits can't hide for too much longer.

We don't know who thought it'd be smart to mess with the gods of rock, but choosing not to include surround sound support for Guitar Hero III just doesn't sound like an intelligent move. Nevertheless, a assemblage of Wii gamers are reporting that the game is outputting audio in mono, despite the packaging advertising that Dolby Pro Logic II is supported. We've even seen users with Pro Logic II-capable decoders explain that while other Wii titles sound fine, GHIII in particular refuses to cooperate. Supposedly, Activision is busy looking into the problem, but there doesn't seem to be a definitive time frame for when we can expect a fix. So, any of you shredders out there experiencing something similar, or have we only heard one channel, er, side of the story?

[Via Joystiq]

Logitech is breaking away from all those iPod-friendly speaker stations a moment and getting down to business with the G51 Surround Sound Speaker System. Designed for PC gamers and film-watchers alike, this 5.1 rig features "360-degree surround sound with dual Matrix modes," which creates a "surround-sound experience from any common two-channel stereo source." Furthermore, users can look forward to built-in headphone / microphone jacks, a convenient mute button, customizable satellites, gaming and music Matrix modes, 155-watts of total power, a ported, down-firing subwoofer, and independent volume controls for good measure. Notably, Logitech's latest setup won't exactly break the bank, as interested consumers can bring these home for just $199.99 this October.

[Via TheNewsMarket]

Samsung's delivering the perfect receiver coming to add some wattage to your volume-deprived home entertainment system: the AV-R720. Clocking in at a massive 850-watts, the home-theatre-ready box should add a little kick the next time you're watching Bad Boys II or Animal Planet. The receiver can rock 1080p video, features 7.1 surround sound, and has two HDMI ins and outs, plus component, composite, digital coaxial, and optical jacks. As of right now, the AV-R720 is only available in Germany (for around €659), but hopefully it will make its way Stateside.

[Thanks, Tony C]

Yamaha's single unit surround sound bars have come a long way since the YSP-1 made its debut, and the company's latest entry, the YSP-4000, continues to up the ante, with 1080p HDMI compatibility, analog video upscaling to 1080i / 720p, XM Neural Surround compatibility, optional iPod dock, and a host of calibration modes, including one designed to make compressed audio sources sound better. Yamaha is being pretty coy with the frequency response numbers, suggesting that the YSP-4000 isn't an ass-shaking bass machine, but the 120W of power through six channels should provide plenty of clean sound for average TV and movie viewing. Available in October for $1,799.

[Via Apartment Therapy]

Altec Lansing's unveiled its own entry into the sound bar market, designed to cut down the number of components and match up with that sleek new flat panel TV. The PT8051 consists of two parts, with left center and right channels up front, and left/right channels in the rear wireless speaker, while the PT7031 uses virtual speaker technology from Dolby Labs to give 5-channel surround through one piece with three speakers in it. Whether the sleek design and easy setup can provide a surround sound experience comparable to discrete systems remains to be seen, as both will be available in August: the PT8051 for $999.5 and the PT7031 for $599.95. Check out the latter after the break.

If we had a revolution for every surround sound headphone that promises us one, we'd all be so directionally aware we wouldn't know what do with ourselves. Today's "revolutionary" headphones come to us from Turtle Beach, who promises to turn the very waveform on its head with this new Ear Force AK-R8 "True Surround Sound" headset. Lucky for Turtle Beach, it has indeed packed a couple of notable features into the AK-R8, including a whoppin' eight speakers, dual mics to monitor outside sounds, and a USB audio interface / sound card that includes a 10 band EQ and positioning abilities to (theoretically) get that big room system feel without all the calls from the neighbors. The AK-R8 also includes a removable boom microphone for chatting up your frag buddies, is Windows only, includes an optical S/PDIF adapter for tapping into your sound system, and should be retailing now for about $150.

Believe us, we've seen "surround sound" get put in places it was never meant to be, and while the likes of headphones, laptops, and even PDAs have yet to be spared as companies try anything to attract attention to their presumably lackluster offerings, the mobile phone doesn't typically see such desperate measures -- until now, of course. While minor gimmicks are fairly commonplace on humdrum overseas handsets, a mysterious Hong Kong-derived smartphone (another snap after the jump) purports to rock 7.1 audio right on the device itself, and by the looks of things, it's not lying. Of course, there will be absolutely no separation of channels with this thing, and we've got to believe that there's a few wires crossed within giving off a more matrixed wall of sound in reality. The rest of the specs (if they're to be trusted) include a 3.5-inch QVGA touchscreen, Bluetooth, two-megapixel camera, a microSD slot, and a transparent protective lid, and please, shut off that little voice that's urging you to ponder about where to find and purchase this hunk, alright?

[Via JustAMP, thanks Wigald]

Sorry Tritton, but whenever you slap the "Xtreme" moniker onto any product (Audio Xtreme PC), we're required by law to point and laugh at you. That aside, we're sure these new TRI-UA512 AXPC USB headphones are just peachy. It's always rather dubious to hear we're going to get "true" 5.1 surround sound out of a pair of cans, but with four speakers in each ear, things are going to get at least a tad bit directional. There's a removable mic included for VoIP or game chat on the quick, and an in-line volume adjustment doohickey has controls for all four speaker sets. Looks like you can grab one of these sets for $60-$80 at various online outlets, which isn't bad for what you're getting -- just don't expect to be blown away here, we won't.

[Via I4U]

Audiovox is broadening its XM love from the portable / in-car units to a home theater in-a-box with its DV7600XM XM Mini-Tuner home theater system. This all-in-one solution features 600-watts of earth-movin' power, five satellite cubes, a passive subwoofer, and a slim, retro-styled DVD player / XM tuner. While we assume you'll find the usual assortment of AV ins and outs, there's not too many details floating around on this one just yet, but if you're scouting a 5.1 system with a dash of XM already throw in, the DV7600XM should go for $159.95 when it skedaddles on out of CES.

There's nothing quite like shoving six speakers over your ears, and while bulky these cans may be, it's still an awful lot smaller than a full home theater rig. While Wave-on just unveiled its own rendition of surround sound 'phones, Novac's upping the ante quite literally by offering up two pairs of Dolby-loving units. The Champion (HP-850XB) model rocks the more common headphones-plus-decoder-box setup, as the standalone unit accepts 3.5-millimeter stereo and coaxial / optical digital inputs, and channels the tones through a G9 connector where it hits your head. The headphones themselves sport both cinema and game modes and weigh (an admittedly hefty) 17.6-ounces. The USB-powered counterpart, dubbed Tusnami (HP-850U), was designed for PC use, and uses the internal decoder to deliver that svelte 5.1 goodness. Additionally, it sports a handy microphone for use with VoIP, voice chat, and online karaoke applications. So if you're stuck in a studio apartment, but lust after the luscious surround sound experience, the HP-850XB should run you ¥24,800 ($214), while the USB-friendly HP-850U requires just ¥12,800 ($110).

Read - Novac's HP-850XB headphones
Read - Novac's HP-850U headphones
[Via Impress]

There's nothing like a good pair of headphones that can offer some decent, 5.1-channel surround sound support, along with planet destroying capabilities in a pinch. The new AON MDH-501H/D headphones from Wav-on can take a juicy S/PDIF plug straight from a HD source, which is then decoded for the six internal speakers inside the gargantuan headphones. Of course, with the power requirements of the decoder, along with the extreme bulk of all included components, it's going to be a bit difficult to take this surround sound gig on the road, but we're sure plenty of gamers and movie nuts can find refuge in its sound-containing capabilities for late night media consumption sessions. The unit should be available late November in Korea for 149,000 KRW, about $159 US.