Price, Power, Ease of operation

Center speaker a little flat sounding, Packaged Speakerwire

I picked up my system from Circuit City $579.00 on sale. I had been running an Aiwa MiniRack ProLogic system for about 4yrs, it was great with VHS but I needed something to go with my new Proscan DVD player. HTB-502 was the E-Ticket.

I did tons and tons of comparison shopping on the web and found that there were no other systems that bundled a DTS tuner with 100watts per channel power as well as a powered Sub for under 800 bucks. At 599.00 this is the steal of the new century. This is also why it is hard to find anyone who has it in stock.

After setting it all up and getting a Optical cable for my DVD I put in a few of my DVD's to check out the sound, I checked out Pleasantville for the crispness of sound. The scene where the kids are sitting in park and it starts to rain blew me away. I closed my eyes and was about to get out my umbrella. The sound was so rich. The thunder rolled across the living room. Then I popped in Face Off, and found my self wanting to duck from the bullet ricocheting around the room. The subwoofer performed fantastically. I can't wait till Star Wars Episode one is available for thump thump of Sabula’s pod racer. All in all the sound leaves one word in mind WOW. The system even works great with standard ProLogic sound that my DSS produces.

Drawbacks, the speaker wire that the systems comes with is very thin and not of any quality. I picked up some monster cable 16ga. 20 foot for $14 at CC. The center speaker sounds a little flat to me; needs better highs could be a little crisper.

Listening to straight audio from this system is also fun for all including the neighbors. This system produces crisp highs and deep rich bass from the subwoofer. I found myself lowering the sub volume a tad so as not to overpower the main speakers.

If Kenwood is listening I’d like to say thank you for getting it right.

Value, Dolby Digital, DTS

After getting a DVD player, I decided to upgrade my 3 year old prologic system, and, motivated by the positive reviews here, picked up an HTB-502 from H.H. Gregg for $513.

It set up without a problem, and after I sat down and took the time to configure the remote works well too. As a bonus, once the remote is set up, it'll make a decent universal remote, mine does the important functions for the TV, DVD, and VCR. (This is good, it'll keep me from buying a Pronto for a while.) Getting the remote set up took a little while, but once it was done it's worth it. I like the remote.

I do have a gripe with the tuner, though, it seems to work like the 'seek' button on a car radio, it'll scan through frequencies until it gets a good signal, and then stop. I tried presetting some relatively weak signals, and couldn't seem to make it stop on the frequency.

The subwoofer sounds good, and was a big selling point for me, getting a powered sub with the set.

But having Dolby Digital AND DTS in a ~$500 setup is a great deal, IMHO. I'm way excited about how much better the movie-viewing experience is with DVD/DD vs VHS/prologic.
I think even cable TV sounds better through this system.

I don't have any S-video components (the DVD is hooked up via component input) so I can't comment on that, but it will do S-video switching.

Can't beat a complete setup like this for the price. Two thumbs up.

Price and Subwoofer

Speaker wire is a bit cheap (and short)
CHORUS: "Remote"

For $525 (at Curcuit City), it is hard to beat this as a way to get into home theater with Digital and DTS. It has pretty good versatility as far as inputs/outputs go.

Of course, it can't be confused with a more sophisticated system, but again, for $525, its great. It gives one the ability to "audition" home theatre without big investment, as most who are looking at this model are new to the game (like myself).

Speaker wire should be replaced with better and longer wire.

Value=5
Overall=5 (does exactly what it should, gets you into home theatre)

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none

How can I find a new way to say it? How about "Most bang for your buck." DD & DTS decoding, complete package, great sound.

Remote won't control my Proscan DVD player, and is a bit sluggish to respond to the VOL+/- & CH+/- controls. Short (and thin) surround speaker wires. Receiver "clicks" when new audio stream begins (layer change, stereo-to-5.1, etc.).

Just couldn't stand the hype anymore about "surround home audio" and had to get into the game. But after spending $1000+ on DVDs, my budget was a little thin for hardware.

After reading reviews all over the place, and going to Circuit City to lay hands on the receiver I decided it was the system was the one for me. CC wouldn't budge on their $599, even after 3 different trips to talk to different reps, so I went to Shop4.com. It was out of stock, but it shipped just a couple of weeks after Christmas, and it's the best present I got myself this year.

Makes everything sound better, and though I'm no big-time home theater guy, I do have a discerning ear and don't hear the problems I've read elsewhere about "over-brightness" in the front & center speakers. It all sounds great to me, and my friends who refuse to watch movies at anyone else's house now. :)

(Note: I regret that there's not a 5+ stars I can award the HTB-502 for value rating.)

Price

Remote Control is not 100% compatible non-kenwood components such as the 27920 JVC 27" TV (partially effective) The receiver clicks when switching.

I paid $429.00 for the unit at Circuit City. It normally sells for $599 but they matched the price at DOW. It's an outstanding value for the price because the receiver alone is valued between $299.00 - $399.00. The center and surround speakers are valued between $50 - $100 and the two front bookself speakers would probably sell for $50 - $75/pr. The 100 Watt powered subwoofer is a gem. It has it's own crossover circuitry and sounds great. The other speakers produce an O.K. sound but you get what you pay for.
The user manuals to set up the remote is less than desirable. I've had to call Kenwood several times to figure out how to program the remote and set up Macros. The receiver runs cool to the touch but it clicks when you switch input modes. Although the system is rated at 100W I do not believe that you can get any more than 70W before the system shuts itself down or distortion becomes noticable. It's great for home theatre but lacking when it comes to music. There are no digital signal processing modes (DSP) which you'll find on the lower end models of the receiver but it'll handle like a champ in an apartment environment. All in all I'd have to recommend the system as the #1 entry level home theatre set up based on it's functionality. It's definitely worth a listen. Be prepared to replace the speaker wires esp. for the surround speakers. They barely give you 30 ft/ speaker. I recommend replacing the wire with 14 gauge for the rear surround speakers.

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Awesome Movie Audio, Easy Set-up, Digital and DTS, and a killer sub

Nothing has dissapointed me as of yet

I also bought this system from Shop4.com. Got it for 459 delivered. And man, what a deal I got. After a quick trip down to the store for some longer and better speaker wire, some RCA wires and a wire for the digital output from the DVD player, I set it up. Setup was quick and easy. After watching all my DVD's over again, I wonder why I waited so long to get it. The sound quality is fabulous, and the subwoofer just plain kicks ass. It sits in the floor and just pumps its little heart out. I cannot speak of the video switching, since I opted not to let the reciever do that. But over all, I am very pleased with my new system. I may someday upgrade the speakers, but I think Im set for a while. Ive got some pictures of my setup at www.uncg.edu~caoverby/stuff/ss/ I would reccomend this system to anyone starting out or looking for a good quality decent priced system. A truly unbeatable home theater value!

Excellent value, easy set-up.

Speakers are lacking.

I bought the Kenwood HTB about 6 months ago based on the excellent write-up in Home Theater magazine. The first go-round, I have to admit, was a little disapointing: I prefer to listen at low levels, and sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between the system and my 5-watt TV speakers. Perhaps someone can advise me on what I'm doing wrong.

Those quibbles aside, this is an absolutely tremendous value for home theater. Similar products in the same price range are available from JVC, Denon, Aiwa, etc., but none (the god-awful Aiwa can't-remember-the-model-#-cause-it's-so-bad being the worst offender) measure up to the Kenwood. The sub is easily worth 200 bucks by itself. My tip: buy the system for the excellent package that it is, and think about replacing at least the front speakers in a few months' time. I'm considering going with the Energy Take 5 set-up. Really unbeatable value overall.

Exceptional Value

krytopnite and overall quality...what would you expect for $500

great system at a great price...
newbie (ain't it obvious)

Price

Sound quality on music

The HTB-502 is probably the best value on the market for an entry level home theater. It's priced at only $600 and has a reciever included (VR-309) that sells for $400 everywhere. It includes 5 main speakers and an 8" powered subwoofer.

The subwoofer is a real gem-it just keeps on cranking like a 10-12". Early magazine reviews state that the sub was sealed-the production models are a bass reflex design, but there is no boominess apparent.

The other speakers leave a bit to be desired, but at that price, I'm not complaning. They are fine on movies, but lack the upper end detail for music-otherwise the system is pretty lay back and not at all bright.

Setup is pretty staightforward-just about everything is included, though if you're going around the corners of your room, they don't include enough wire.

If you want a system now-buy this one-even if you throw out the 5 main speakers later on and upgrade, you're still getting a hell of a deal with the receiver and subwoofer.

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Only had it two nites, but for the money (or more - got it for about $470 from shop4.com, delivered in less than a week), it is a great choice. I read the reviews here and at Home Theater Magazine online and it sounded like a good HTB. I checked it out at Circuit City ($580) and I have to say I wasn't that impressed, but I ordered anyway (they had it all bunched together playing some lame CD - maybe that was the problem). Once I hooked it up in my environment, wow, sounds good. Definetely not as good as you could get, but you would have to spend 4 times as much. I only run audio through it (Toshiba DVD player and cable TV), I don't see any reason to mess with video switching. Just getting started rewatching DVD collection - so far so good.Final thought - 5 stars