When my dad asked me to help him plan his 5.1 home theater setup a while back, my mother realized, to her horror, that this would involve large, clunky speakers and extensive wiring running all over her living room. If she had been in charge of picking the sound system then instead of my dad's totally sweet, geeky setup, they would have ended up with Boston Acoustics' TVee Model 2 home theater speaker system. All you have to do is plug the set into your TV and it's ready to go. The subwoofer is wireless and can go anywhere in the room, and there's no remote control—it learns to work with the existing remote for your television, cable box, or even a universal remote.

From this simple setup, Boston Acoustics unleashes a lot of rumble and power. It lacks, however, the wide stereo field (because the left and right channels cannot be moved further from each other) that some music snobs, like me, would want. Boston Acoustics uses acoustic algorithms in an attempt to widen the stereo field, and the effects are pretty obvious: The aforementioned music snobs probably won't enjoy it, and folks looking for more room-filling sound for their movies will likely be pleased. Because I love my dad's 5.1-channel setup, I'm glad the TVee Model 2 wasn't on the market back then—but it's hard to argue with good-quality, practically cable-free sound. Serious listeners should look elsewhere, but for those who just want to upgrade their TV's integrated sound system without cluttering up the room, this is a smart choice.

The TVee Model 2 comes in a variety of colors (among them Glacier, Rosebud, Pearl Gray, Caramel, Chocolat, and Chili Pepper), as well as the Onyx (all black) of my review unit. The nondescript, oblong sound bar is made to blend in with your flat-panel TV; it measures 3.8 by 31 by 4 inches, and the subwoofer is 11.5 inches cubed. The joy of the subwoofer, which has a bass-level control knob on the rear panel, is that you simply plug in its power cable and it's ready to work wirelessly. The lack of connected cables means you can place the subwoofer anywhere in the room (and since your ears cannot detect the directional nature of very low frequencies, this works out just fine). The sound bar's top panel has power, volume, and mute buttons, and the rear features a three-position trim switch for adjusting input levels and the audio input. Both the subwoofer and the bar require power, and the appropriate adapters and cables are provided.

The most disappointing aspect of the TVee Model 2's design is its lack of inputs: There's only one left/right RCA-in. That means you can't, say, have your iPod or laptop plugged into your speakers at the same time your TV or DVD player is, unless you choose to get creative. Even without trying to connect multiple sources simultaneously, you'd still need to buy a special (3.5mm-to-RCA) cable-out for your iPod. (The TVee Model 2 comes only with an RCA-to-RCA cable). This is a disappointing oversight that requires more work to get the most use from these $400 speakers.

Audio performance is impressive if you have reasonable expectations. Is this a system for serious music addicts? No, because it applies a stereo-widening effect to all signals, a process that will undoubtedly annoy purists and occasionally irk the rest of the crowd with its unnecessary enhancements of perfectly good mixes. This algorithm is used, ostensibly, to make up for the inability to move the left and right channels further apart. Once you get over it, however, the speakers can deliver some exciting sound. Each channel pumps 25 watts of power (the sub uses 50W), and the high end is pretty crisp. The system shines most on DVDs—explosions and car chases don't disappoint, and the subwoofer, while not huge, certainly makes its presence felt. I found myself pushing the bass levels on movies almost to the max to show off the speakers to coworkers. With the knob at about 50 percent, the kick drums and bass guitars on Bob Dylan's Modern Times definitely had thump without sacrificing too much balance in the mid-to-high frequencies.

The stereo-enhancing effect, however, was enough to drive me batty. The algorithm that Boston Acoustics uses here is intended to widen the stereo field, creating the sense that sound is coming from areas far beyond the speaker's physical boundaries. It might fool some, but to the discerning ear, it's not ideal for musical listening. I was bothered far less by the effect while watching Balls of Fury in the labs recently.

One nice feature is the lack of remote control. Let me explain: Rather than add to your armchair armada, the TVee Model 2 simply learns to work with your existing remote. The setup process is easy, and it's compatible with most cable, TV, satellite, or universal remote controls. This is also an environmentally friendly design choice, resulting in one less plastic, battery-eating case in each household that buys this system.

Is the TVee Model 2 worth $400? That might be pushing it. It delivers good but not stellar sound and does not offer true stereo. But it also removes that pesky subwoofer connecting cable, and the whole system consists of only two manageable pieces. Based on audio performance alone, I don't think it warrants such a high price tag, but add in the clutter-free convenience factor and I'm sure a lot of people (my mom, for one) would say it's worth every penny.

Boston Acoustics offers a one-year limited warranty. For tech support go to http://www.bostonacoustics.com/tec_home.aspx.

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