Earlier this year, we were fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on perspective) enough to get our rumps on one of the famed ButtKickers. For those unaware, these devices are meant for installation underneath a seat or sofa in order to provide chair-rumbling effects to help you "feel" the film. Now, the Guitammer Company is making them even easier to install by cutting the wires, bringing low frequency audio transducers just inches from your derriere without any cords necessary. The above pictured kit will go on sale next Friday (yes, that's Black Friday for you Americans) for under $300 on Amazon -- are you really ready to rumble?

Not that we haven't seen a tube-based iPod sound system before, but it's been awhile. And besides, this one's for the UK market first and foremost, so chew on that, rest of the world. Logic 3's Valve80 includes a pair of 2-way bookshelf speakers coated in a black lacquer finish along with a swank tube amplifier that pushes out 40-watts per channel. You'll also find an iPod dock, composite / S-Video outputs and a pair of audio ins and outs. Yeah, £299.99 ($448) is pretty steep, but we're sure there's some cheap credit left somewhere on that Diners Club International card.

[Via T3]

Not to be outdone by Target's camera gift card gimmickry -- or perhaps to be exactly outdone -- Best Buy is offering gift cards this year with built-in speakers and a 3.5mm hookup. This is ostensibly to rock some tinny tunes while pondering how best to spend a $50 card on a $4,000 home theater system -- there's an alternative, highly discouraged usage after the break. What's absolutely clear here is the incredible margins these retailers enjoy on gift card purchases, and while we'd love to stick it to the man and buy real presents for our loved ones, we're probably looking at another mad dash on [respective holiday] Eve to gather up an assortment of cards to be accompanied by misattributed scribbles and perhaps a bow. We can't wait!

[Thanks, Oscar]

Seriously, is there anything carbon nanotubes can't do? We've got shock absorbers, flexible displays, atypically small eating utensils and now, film-like speakers. For times when NXT flat drivers simply aren't thin enough, a team of Chinese researchers have reportedly found a way to create sound from a thin sheet of carbon nanotubes. The film, which could be stretched and placed on PMPs, HDTVs or even clothing, can generate sound when "zapped with a varying electric current." Great, the perfect recipe for a new wave of Milli Vanilli copycats. A video of the tech can be seen after the jump.

[Via Physorg]

Mmm, elastic, is there anything you can't do? First it turned that quitter of a sock into a winner, now it promises to assist in producing "the deepest music" from an open Aigo E086 portable speaker. The 1.7 watt USB speaker features a single 36mm driver, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, and a 3-hour charge for up to 4 hours of usage. And hey, Cingular was done with that logo anyway. Yours in Japan for ¥2,580 or about 27 greenbacks.

[Via Impress]

CY-FI just unwrapped its latest wireless speaker system for your bike. The CY-FI Bluetooth wireless sport speaker weighs just 4-ounces, supports hands-free and stereo Bluetooth profiles, and works for about 5.5-hours on battery when clipped to your bike or pretty much anything else. But by attaching it to a bicycle, Cy-Fi can call it a world's first Bluetooth sport speaker, which is nice. Unfortunately, the September 22nd launch with a $180 price tag is not.

Pioneer didn't bring a whole lot of firepower to this year's CEDIA (though it did toss in 16 new speaker models), but the star of its show was definitely the über-expensive Elite BDP-09FD Blu-ray player. Thankfully, the company had a couple of units setup for photographing, one of which was dissected within a glass case. Needless to say, we snapped images from each, giving you a rare look at what makes this thing worth $2,199. As with most of its Elite components (HDTVs notwithstanding), this unit was also on the chunky side, but it's still a beauty in our eyes. The gallery awaits your attention.

If there's anywhere exactly wrong for displaying a speaker's prowess, it's in the middle of a tradeshow booth. The subtle musical stylings of Sony's ultra-high-concept Sountina speaker were a bit lost to us as our ears warred against the IFA drone, but what we could hear sounded just fine to us -- and there's no arguing with the looks. We kept expecting Tesla to jump out from behind a curtain and start spouting off about some free energy properties of the organic glass tweeter, but sadly walked away Tesla-free. If we were to make a value call about the sound, we'd say the mids were a bit of a no-show, while the smooth variances of the high-end were alright, but not life changing. But we won't.

Next up is iriver's latest take on the Unit2, the UNIT2-S, a simpler multimedia communications device for the home. Remember, it's just a concept, but as envisioned, the working prototype functions as a video phone, digital photo frame, web browser, FM radio, flash gaming rig, SMS/MMS receiver, and audio / video player with DMB television tuner. The specs list a 4.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, 30GB hard drive and 2GB of flash (presumably in the base unit and handset, respectively), mic, stereo speaker, and Li-Polymer battery all packed into a 185.4 x 117 x 19.8-mm tower.

Last up is the R1 DAB radio concept (pictured bottom). Again, the prototype is fully functional and capable of playing back internet, DAB, and FM radio or audio streaming from PC or local storage through a pair of 2W stereo speakers. They also included an alarm clock to remind you that these concepts are just part of an iriver dream -- for now.

What can we say? Intempo has launched a new pair of iPod-compatible speaker systems, and unless you're somehow just entering the market for one in the latter half of 2008, chances are you're already yawning. Nevertheless, the RDi-W (pictured) does distinguish itself somewhat by including support for DAB and wireless internet radio, and there's a 30-watt internal amplifier to kick out the jams. The much drabber Fusion keeps things small and simple by offering up just 25-watts of power and DAB / FM tuners. Expect the couple to sashay into e-tailers next month for £169.99 ($316) / £99 ($184).

Read - RDi-W
Read - Fusion

Not a lot here that you can't already make out for yourself, but we'll give ya the down low, anyway. The Crystal USB Desktop Speakers are powered via USB 2.0 and only pack 1-watt per channel, yet somehow, they're touted as "audiophile" grade. The product description rambles on in embarrassing fashion about just how amazing these things will sound, but seriously, we'd just be happy with the decently cool looks (yes, we're being generous here) and relatively low $39.99 price tag.

[Via Random Good Stuff]

We're closing in on one year since we first heard about Astro's A40 gaming headset, and for those of you who've held off in anticipation of these changing your life, here's a few more details you'll surely want to know. Astro founder Brett Lovelady sat down with Core77 in order to talk about the company and the headset in detail, and he gives us a first hand look at what the A40s are all about. We'll warn you, he does ramble on for a solid four minutes, but it's good stuff if that's what you're into. Check the vid just after the break.

For those of you (we know, pretty much everyone in existence) who already picked up a set of Pink Pig PC speakers a few years back, you can carry on with your daily routine. For everyone else that owns an iPod, hold it right there. Speakal is delivering the iPod docking iPig, a unique speaker system that packs five total drivers (including a 4-inch subwoofer), adjustable bass controls, 360-degree sound distribution and a very debatable design. You'll also find a 3.5-millimeter auxiliary jack for hooking up every other source, and the bundled remote makes it easy to switch tracks and such from your sofa. The only problem? That $139.99 price tag. Check the full release after the jump.