JBL has rolled out some new speakers it says are uniquely shaped to provide multiple installation options depending upon your space. They are called the Control Now speakers and they are priced at around $250 each ($280 for an outdoor version).

The JBL Control Now speakers sport a curved, quarter-round shape to let them be corner mounted, placed on a shelf or hung in a variety of places by themselves or joined to create half-round, three-quarter-round, or round configurations.

Some good news for sound. The Sony Tubular non-directional speaker concept has now become a reality. The speaker is being released on June 20th, 2008 and it measures 325mm x 1845mm x 325mm and 12.5kg. The “Sountina” speaker is a transparent and organic glass tube that vibrates to expand sound a full 360 degrees.

You’ll get a frequency response of 50Hz – 20,000Hz, an input line, 13cm subwoofer speaker, 7cm medium speaker and the tweeter which is also made from organic glass. It’s priced at around €6500. If they add some color, every Jedi in the galaxy will be using them and matching colors to their lightsaber.

It seems that the guitar mania that has engulfed the geek world with games like Guitar Hero and Rockband is here to stay. So you may as well embrace it and get yourself this iPod speaker amp. You probably already have the Guitar Rocker and the catbox 360 after all. I’m sure this will make your life complete.

Just plug in your MP3 player and you are ready. It’s not just for your mp3 player either, you can also use it as a computer speaker. It has working treble and bass knobs and a 5-watt output. It can be powered from your computer via USB, or by using 3 AAA batteries.

Creative has launched a new addition to it’s line of portable speakers with the TravelSound for the iPod nano. This one-piece speaker attaches to the docking port of Apple’s nano and pumps out the sound to share with others. This new TravelSound speaker appears very similar to the TravelSound i50 that we saw last fall for the iPod nano, and the design is no doubt inspired by it.

The new TravelSound portable speaker is relatively small and lets the 3rd generation nano fit right into the design giving it an overall thickness of less than an inch with 3.9 inches in total height. It also comes with a little plastic stand, and if you can keep from losing it since it’s not attached, will provide a safer rest for the speaker with your iPod in it.

We’ve seen a number of waterproof solutions that allow you to take your iPod safely on the beach or in the shower but the Icebar V2 combination case may be the best one we’ve seen yet (and the most expensive). The case provides a waterproof housing for you iPod nano and built-in waterproof speakers for places where it’s inconvenient to use headphones.

The case does have a port for headphones if you’d rather keep your tunes personal, and also has a click-wheel membrane to give complete control of the iPod through the case. The body is made of a shatter-proof polycarbonate which allows you to easily see the iPod display, but just be case the case is shatterproof doesn’t mean the iPod you put inside is.

At first these cute speakers appear to be mass produced and expensive, but that’s not the case. They are actually home made by a Flickr pool member, Fungus Amungus. It’s probably one of the simpler DIY projects you could undertake, since you basically just attach the speakers to the head of a Munny figure.

The important thing is that they look awesome. There really isn’t much info on the actual specs of the speakers, but I want to see the design mass produced. They have a lot of personality and almost seem to be saying, “Can you hear me now?”, while also plotting your demise.

Canton is pumping new life into its high-end Karat loudspeakers with the introduction of six new models. The new Canton Karat 795 DC, 790 DC, 770 DC, 755 DC, 730 DC and 720 replace, respectively, the previous Karat 711 DC, 709 DC, 707 DC, 705 DC, 703 DC and 702 models. Prices range from $2,400 per speaker for the top-of-the-line Karat 795 DC, to $600 each for the two-way Karat 720.

Canton has said its new Karat speakers “incorporate upgraded drivers and crossovers, subtly refined cabinet aesthetics, and new high-gloss finish options.” One example of the technology upgrade “is a refinement in the integration between the tweeter and midrange drivers accomplished through improvements in the aluminum diaphragm, soft rubber surround, and associated crossover circuits of the midrange drivers used throughout the line.”

Klipsch is taking what it calls an environmentally friendly approach to the development of its upcoming flagship Palladium P-39F floorstanding speaker. This speaker is currently due out this summer.

The Klipsch Palladium P-39F speaker will be using a style of zebrawood veneer, which is reportedly common in select luxury goods. Klipsch’s approach, however, will instead be a “Linia” veneer, described by the company as real wood source from trees which were part of a government sanctioned controlled harvest.

It should be noted that I don’t trust anything that smiles constantly. Especially when it looks like this. The thing looks like it’s wearing some kind of gruesome death mask meant to be ironic when it kills you.

But if, unlike me, you find these little terrors cute, this Happy Alien Mini-Speaker can attach to your iPod, MP3, or MP4 player. With a USB rechargeable Li-ion battery, you can extend or retract its neck to change the volume. The speaker also features a 3.5mm stereo audio connector and comes in orange or blue. Get one for $11.90.

We’ve seen our share of portable speakers and so far our favorite so far has to be the X-Mini Capsule speakers, mostly because they are compact and they went wireless recently. Close behind would probably be the Easter Egg Tumbler Speaker. This device, like the X-Mini, pops open to extend out the chamber a little bit and add some more bass into the pint-sized speaker (or about as much base as you can expect from something like this.) It also comes egg-shaped and heavy at one end so that it can’t be tipped over when being bumped around on your desk

Each comes as a single speaker with an audio cable for input and a USB cable that powers and charges in the internal battery. No word on exactly how much juice the speaker puts out but we’re guessing 1W, and it’s pretty hard to say on the battery life if you wanted to use this with your media player.

Sony’s SRSZX1 2.0 Speaker System is for the average desktop computer user that does not need or want huge-ass bass. It claims to have “an enriched sound range and fuller bass sound reproduction”. It’s best for casual use like PC gaming, audio and DVD playback etc. Design-wise it’s not Earth shattering, but it has a nice aluminum finish and comes with a compact wireless remote controller.

Some technological advances include Mobius Duct technology that ‘minimizes wind noise’, Turbo Shift technology for extended bass range and a Sigma-Type magnetic circuit for upgraded sound reproduction. Nothing on pricing yet, but I’m sure it won’t be very expensive.

Targus has introduced something new for the portable speaker market called the Speaker Book. Creating a good set of portable, battery-operated speakers seems to be quite a challenge, and although we’re not sure how it sounds quite yet this one at least looks like a pretty cool solution.

The Speaker Book, like the Targus SonicPak backpack, uses the super-thin NXT Balance Radiator speaker technology and pumps out the tunes from your portable player through a standard 3.5mm jack. Also it can be powered by either three AAA batteries or from a USB connection if you want to run it from something like your notebook computer.

If you are looking for some speakers that look totally different, check out these tubular Gais Lisire 2.1 aluminum speakers. The Gais Lisire Series 020 is a complete 2.1 channel sound system with aluminum cylindrical styling. The Lisire’s aluminum covered ported subwoofer tube is 12-inches wide and is accompanied by a pair of matching satellite speakers.

The sub is powered by a built-in 6-watt amp and the satellites output 2.5-watts per channel. Perfect for your PC or a small stereo. These are now coming to the states for $199.99.

JBL is out today with news that it is now shipping its line of ES Series loudspeakers. Multiple units are being made available with prices ranging between around $330 and $1,200 per pair.

The JBL ES Series loudspeakers include a wall-mount/bookshelf monitor (ES10); two bookshelf loudspeakers (ES20, ES30); two floorstanding speakers (ES80, ES90); a center channel speaker (ES25C); and two subwoofers (ES150P and ES250P). The company said all offer new styling with tapered enclosures and a front baffle that curves into the top surface.

If you love Mickey and want a pair of speakers to stick in your iRiver MP3 player, this might be for you. As you can see, he’s all ears as usual with his typical goofy grin. (What’s the deal with only having Mickey. What about Donald Duck? No one likes Donald?)

The stereo speaker measures 6.3 x 3.46 x 4.96 in, weighs about 21 oz, and connects to any music player using a 3,5mm stereo audio jack. Looks like it comes in silver only. You can get it from DealExtreme for $20.10.