Home theaters and the snowballing audiophile sector are upping the ante on the in-home audio experience, while portable audio devices continue to strike the right note with consumers. Not surprisingly, the accessories market on both fronts is pumping up as well.

In homes, an array of tools and the lower bar-to-entry are transforming one-time passive music lovers into do-it-yourself home studio aficionados with fervor. These audiophiles are discovering and purchasing a host of accessories to augment their audio experience.

They are upgrading their cables and power line conditioners to cut down on potential white noise and other disturbance. They are purchasing large XP cables to connect high-resolution speakers to A/V and home theater systems. They are sopping up coaxial digital cable so they can listen to music from their portable players on their home entertainment systems. These buyers are driving up sales in headphones, microphones, remote controls and other home studio accessories.

The market outside the home is rocking even harder. Lead by Apple’s too-tempting-to-pass-up iPod, today 28 percent of U.S. families have at least one MP3 player, a number that has skyrocketed from eight percent just three years ago. CEA projects MP3 dealer sales will reach $4.4 billion in 2006, up from $3.7 billion last year. This growth is fueling purchases of accompanying adapters, docks, portable speakers and chargers.