PRICE FEATURE SOUND DIGITAL I/O

NON FOR THIS PRICE

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST VALUED PACKAGE YOU CAN FIND TODAY.
EVERYTHING WORKS VERY NICELY IF YOU READ THE MANUAL AND KNOW HOW TO SET THESE THING UP RIGHT.
BE SURR THE SET THE FRONT SPEAKER NORMAL TO GET YOUR SUB WORK RIGHT.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR MINI-SYSTEM STEREO, YOU SHOULD LISTEN FOR THIS PACKAGE BEFORE YOU MAKE DECISION.
JUST DON'T TRY TO SET UP EVERYTHING W/O READING MANUAL AND RATE LOW IN YOUR REVIEW.
RECOMMAND THIS TO EVERYONE WHO WANTS GREAT SOUND.

Similar Products Used:

SONY

Price/Performance
Connections
Sound

Remote
Manuals

For a low priced system, this baby sounds real nice. There are more inputs and outputs than you can shake a stick at. If you run out of connections, then you got too much stuff.

The 5.1 output with DVDs is especially nice. The fairly large bookshelf front speakers have a nice sound. The small satellite speakers have a sound that belies their small size. The powered subwoofer provides an appropriate thump.

The VR-407 receiver has some nice features. I've seen reviews of the VR-407 and the only real complaint seems to be weak bass without a subwoofer. Of course, since the HTB-503 comes with a powered subwoofer, this isn't an issue.

A real nice budget system overall. It's definitely worth the $499 retail price and then some. For the under-$300 price I got it at ubid.com, it's an unbelievable deal.

The only low points are the remote control and the manuals. The remote is fine for the receiver itself. It blows as a universal remote. I have a nice RCA learning remote and I just added the receiver and programmed in all the keys and tossed this remote in a drawer. The manuals are okay, but not spectacular. If you have very little knowledge of connecting electronics, they might be a tad confusing. If you regularly build computers or stereo systems, you probably won't read them anyway. For everyone in between, you should be fine.

All in all, unless you need to go for all the glory of a $800+ home theater system, you'll be real satisfied with this baby.

Similar Products Used:

None

Subwoofer, receiver, universal remote, price

speaker wire

Firstly, this is for the Kenwood HTB-504...

After using my old stereo for 8 years and moving into a bigger new apartment, I decided it was time for a new system, preferably one with Home Theater capabilities. I researched several different products and went to numerous stores and outlets trying to find a system that delivered dynamic audio for movies as well as fluid musical CD sound. All this mind you while not costing a small fortune.

All of the web searches I did led me to the Kenwood HTB-504. This is truly a great system that can do it all. The subwoofer is very powerful. It literally shakes the windows of my apartment with bass if I have it set too high. The surround speakers in concert with the subwoofer provide amazing sound quality. I watched "Saving Private Ryan" the other day and sitting in my living room you can feel the shells and bullets whizzing past your head. The helicopters in "Charlie's Angels" can be felt descending through my ceiling.

And then there's the receiver. It can handle the TV, DVD(which also functions as my CD player), and VCR easily with several inputs to spare. There's no need to shell out extra money on a surround sound DVD thanks to the receiver's optical input jack. The receiver allows you to listen to movies either in Dolby Digital or DTS. There's a Cinema EQ feature. For music you get a beautiful sound via the Dolby Prologic II setting. There are also a ton of DSP settings for just about every musical taste out there. I tend to favor Prologic II or the "Disco" DSP setting.

The one weakness is the speaker wire that Kenwood supplies with the system. I invested in Monster speaker wire and it totally makes a difference in the sound.

Despite what I have read in the reviews, I did not find the HTB-504 difficult to set up. The manuals, at least for this year's model, seemed pretty straight forward to me.

Another nice unexpected feature is the universal remote that Kenwood supplied with this year's model. It is smooth, sleek, and definitely handy when you have 4 or 5 remotes for 4 or 5 peripherals.

All this for about $375.00 (plus the cost of Monster speaker wire) and you have an excellent product that can fill a dorm room, basement entertainment center, or large apartment with a wonderful sound for a very reasonable price. I very enthusiastically recommend this product. Thank you, Kenwood.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer

subwoofer reciever

spkrs, wires

Everybody over 21 has a pair of good speakers. So you trash down the sorround speakers included in the box, and put the sistems front speakers as sorround, and your decent speakers as main speakers.

Similar Products Used:

sony

Incredible sound reproduction; great receiver and subwoofer. Easy set-up. Good front channels and surrounds. Tons of ins and outs for excellent expandability

Manual sucks, Center Channel could be better (and some say the front channels could be better but you can always get better),

This system in its entirety is above all others in its class and some in the class above it. Many say that the speakers are the downfall in the system and to a point this is true. The receiver and sub are of such good quality that much more expensive speakers would be needed to keep up.

Set-up is easy but not if you're depending on the manual. It shows all possible ways to hook the receiver up to a component but does this in a single diagram. A little cluttery. But hey, color coded wires and speakers.

This remote is quirky because it tries to be all things to all people. It will easily control your TV,DVD,VCR,Receiver, and more once you get used to it. I just have this thing about needing 3 or 4 remotes though so I'm not much on critiquing a remote control.

That being said, there is no disappointment in this system. The sound reproduction is amazing. Digital, DTS, and Dolby pro logic. Although not THX certified, the sound on THX DVD's is superb. You will drive your neighbors crazy with this system. Clean, crisp, and not available in any other model for anywhere near $500. Sound is full without any noticeable deficits in frequency range. The receiver allows you to adjust the distance of each set of speakers is from the listener and thereby calculates millisecond delays recreating perfect sound fields. An excellent resource for those who love to play with the toys.

Expandable for years to come. If you're picky, just buy this system and replace the center channel and front speakers at a later date. I priced the receiver separately and it was around $300 so $200 more gets you a sweet sub, and the 5 speakers. Nice.

Just get it and enjoy The Matrix and Twister like never before (even if you hate these movies, they rock on DVD)

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Atlantic Technologies, Sony, Yamaha

great system for the price

poor remote, terrible center channel speaker

not a bad start into HT. I replaced the center channel and mains right away, but the kenwood VR-407 that comes in the package is a pretty good receiver and the subwoofer that comes in the package isn't bad at all, those 2 are worth the price alone.

Similar Products Used:

none.

Great sound,Perfect intro to HT,Dollar to performance ratio

speaker wires and manual

I purchased this system based on the opinions posted on this site and alittle bit of research I did on my own.
I have no regrets. Out of the box this thing rocks.
I would ( and have ) recommend this to anyone that's looking for a Home Theater package and doesn't have a ton of money to spend. To repeat a common theme from the other posts, For the price you can't get anywhere close to this system the reciever alone goes for @ $300.00. I checked reviews on other sites and everywhere I looked it was highly rated. I figured I couldn't go wrong. As it turned out,.... I didn't.

Similar Products Used:

none

Decent Receiver for the price and application

Speakers SUCK.

I listend to this set-up today for well, not very long. I couldn't listen to it for long. Speakers are shrill and "fuzzy" undefined sound. I have read glowing reviews of it and was considering it for a bedroom system. I don't want to be snobbish, but my main system is all Paradigm Reference, and this set=up sounded abysmal to me. I would strongly recommend getting different speakers if you get the receiver (it is sold separately for a few hundred bucks.) You'll spend more money no doubt, but you can have much better sound for not much more money. Consider JBL N-24 speakers and a 10" JBL sub.

Similar Products Used:

None

Everything it comes with

I hate the remote...all remotes suck, the Sony digital with
the LCD display is very nice.

I bought this system a few weeks ago and it is absolutly FANTASTIC! The whole package cost me $500 from Circuit City and it is worth every penny. If you want the best then go spend $4500 on Proceed eqipment and $75,000 on Wilson Audio speakers. When i was in the store i listened to Bose(junk), Harmon Kardon, Sony, Poineer...The Harmon Kardon sounded GREAT! - but it was $1995! The Kenwood kept right up with the HK. I have this system in my bedroom, and my girlfriend's parents have the same system in their living room and the whole family loves it. So if you have $80,000 to blow on home audio go for it...but for us normal people on a budget, but still want quality sounding equipment, get the Kenwood...oh, buy the way the Matrix sounds GREAT on this system - and i play it REAL loud. One more thing - DON'T USE THE CABLES THAT IT COMES WITH - YOU WILL CHOKE YOUR SYSTEM. I PUT IN $77 EXTRA AND GOT ALL MONSTER CABLES INCLUDING AN INTERLINK SUBWOOFER CABLE. I ALSO USE A MONSTER DATALINK DIGITAL COAX CABLE FOR MY DVD PLAYER. TRUST ME DON'T USE THE FACTORY CABLES. ONLY MONSTER

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer, Proceed, HK, Kenwood...basically everything

Receiver, Sub, price

Speakers, remote is kinda small

I recently purchased this home theater system and am very happy with it. I bought it for $750 canadian and found it to be an excellent deal considering what you get. For a decent home theater in a box you can't beat it. Obviously you get what you pay for with electronics, but this system has the benefit of an excellent receiver(Kenwood VR407)which has DD(Ac-3) and DTS decoders, as well as optical ins and S-video in and outs. Obviously the speakers could be better, but those can be upgraded at a later date. I wouldn't say they "suck" they still sound pretty good, but they aren't top of the line.I highly recommend this to people on a budget or who want a system they can upgrade later. Setup was a snap and the included instructions were pretty straightforward. The sub is also pretty kickin. The remote could have been designed a little better but who cares? but compared to what else is out there for this price, this sytem is excellent. Any questions please feel free to e-mail me.

Similar Products Used:

various... sony,yamaha,panasonic,jvc,h&k, aiwa, sansui