Surround sound has come a long way over the last decade. Unless you were born in the last decade, you will probably remember a lot of different surround sound formats. The first format that was well known was Dolby Surround. This was then replaced by Dolby 5.1 which subsequently was replaced by Dolby Digital. These formats are using 4, 5 or 6 speakers. One of these speakers is a low-frequency subwoofer. <br /><br />During the last few years, new formats have emerged that support an even larger number of speakers. The new 6.1 and 7.1 formats support up to 8 speakers. 7 of those speakers are full-frequency speakers while the last speaker is the subwoofer. Many manufacturers have started to offer home theater kits that include some wireless speakers since many people have become frustrated at the tedious process of setting up all of these speakers.<br /><br />Some vendors are offering accessories such as universal wireless speaker kits that can be used with any home theater kit. You can read a review of these kits in the latest issue of Consumer Reports magazine. One of the problems with the newest surround systems is that there isn't really that much programming available yet that has a 7.1 sound track.