Awesome system for the budget-minded !!
Written: Feb 22 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great value for the money. Lots of features and inputs in reciever for the price.
Cons: REMOTE SUCKS !!!
Cables that come with the system should be thrown out.
The Bottom Line: Great for people on a budget. It would have been a bargain even at twice the price.
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| vgovekar's Full Review: Kenwood HTB-502 |
This is a review for the updated HTB-503 system.
I agree with the majority of the reviewers here and think that this is an awesome system. As everyone else will agree, the remote is neither convenient to use nor 'Universal'.
I live in a tiny apartment and my only problem is that I havent been able to test the system to even half its potential fearing that the neighbors will complain to the landlord. .. and the sub-woofer, ... oh my god, the sub-woofer !!! I watched The Matrix on DVD last night. I had set the sub-woofer at the same volume as the rest of the speakers, and I kid you not, when the helicopter-crashing-in-the-building scene happens, I heard the window panes in MY apartment starting to vibrate. I had to turn the volume on the sub-woofer down. The sound quality from the speakers was great as well, much better than the Pioneer shelf system that I was using before this one. Again, this is not high-end equipment, but it is sure as hell not cheap, low-quality stuff.
So, bottomline, this is a great system for a first time buyer and it will be a while before it is out-dated. The great thing about it is that you can build around it. The reciever and sub-woofer should satisfy all but the most discerning audiophiles (snobs !). For the hoi-polloi (the rest of us), these two components are good enough to last a long time. Things that should be changed if and when your budget permits,
1. Front speakers (Try Paradigm Atom, Cambridge, or any of the cheaper high-end manufacturers, if there is such a thing)
2. Remote ( I have heard great things about the $60 Sony VR-9000 remote)
3. Cables (get Monster cables)
Remember, without changing a thing, this is still a great system.
I found a great bargain on ubid.com. I got the system for $229 (refurbished) plus $70 shipping. The first system that i got didnt work well, but the ubid people were very helpful. They usually dont replace items, just give you a store credit, but since they had another system in store, they sent that one to me. In the mean time, thinking that I wouldnt get a replacement from them, I ordered and recieved the ensemble IV speaker set from Cambridge Soundworks ($149). Later, I wanted to test those speakers against the ones that came with the replacement HTB-503, since I had heard that the ensemble speakers were among the cheaper high-end speakers at par with any mass produced ones, while being as small as your computer speakers.
After that comparison I reached the conclusion that while the Cambridge speakers are awesome and would make a great home theater system, they came a close second to my Kenwood speakers. I did this very scientifically. In a blind study, I subjected my wife and a few friends to 5 CDs and a movie while switching between both sets of speakers. They didnt know what speakers were playing, and yet they all chose the Kenwood speakers.
Needless, to say, I am sending back the Cambridge speakers. Of course, these are the cheapest speakers that Cambridge makes, and they were in no way inferior in quality. Just that the Kenwood ones were a teensy bit better.
I have had this system for less than a week, but I whole-heartedly recommend it. Go to ubid.com and you may even find a bargain like I did. I liked the convenience of optical cable inputs. The manual showed a confusing connection chart for 6 channel DVD that required 5-6 cables. Getting an optical cable meant that I needed just one more cable (video input) to hook the DVD up. The remote is too tiny for anyone over the age of 10. It does basic things like turn the TV, VCR and DVD player on, but is very choosy when it comes to performing other functions with them. I am going to get rid of it as soon as I have some more money to splurge. (We are students and my wife will kill me if I spend anymore money on toys).
Anyway, if you are on a budget and still want great sound, both in home-theater and audio, get the Kenwood HTB-503.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
vgovekar
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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