It does what it does well ..... don't ask for more
Written: Sep 09 '07 (Updated Sep 09 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Price, Good Sound, Surround effect, ipod dock, Digital In
Cons: Clostrophobic audio options, speaker wire (cheap), lots of plastic, bizarre Sub ID process
The Bottom Line: I would buy again... the intended use being general family entertainment.. and that it does well.. audiophiles need not apply.
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| d_anno's Full Review: Panasonic SC-PT1050 Theater System |
As I uncrated the components from the large but managable box... I was curious how a "non-techie" ... would feel about the 15 major pieces and the bags of wires and misc parts. (not quite a gas barbeque assembly.. but getting close) I am a "techie" so I couldn't wait.. so without instructions I went ahead with my set up.. I did cheat a couple of times (and check the manual).. but all the pieces fit together and the result was just what you see in the pictures. The most compelling set up was the front speakers.. just use caution not to pinch the cabling. The speaker wire is um... modest.... I may look at upgrading. Some tips I used to help put this together.. The power cables (3) are interchangable. I set up the sub and the wireless rears first to get rid of those parts & wires (& two power cables). I was replacing an old HTIB so my cabling and such was already thought out.
Now with the unit set up... time to look at it.. It is what it is... shiny plastic abounds. It isn't unattractive.. but it is plastic... leaving you actually wisping nostalgic about the old days of "Pressboard". Kidding aside.. it did fit our decor quite nicely.
Now to start up... The reason I got the 1050... And Boys & Girls this is CRITICAL... The 1050 has digital input (Toslink) If you get another lesser unit from Panasonic.. good luck with your digital Cable/Satellite box. The remote.. needs a few brain crunches to become intuitive. You cycle through AM, FM, XM, DVD, D-In, Option(ipod) and each uses some of the remote functions. A lot of stuff is preset.. not enough is at your discretion. 4 equalization settings... surround settings etc. but they are all preset.
The sub-woofer box follows a six step program to ID itself.. Someone was drunk when they decided that similtaniious pressing of buttons on the unit.. the remote and then the Sub box.. made sense.. but it really wasn't that bad.. a curious feature though.. to say the least. The wireless rears just worked out of the box. (Oh & please don't complain that the rear speakers have wires... yes they do.. a more descriptive way of explaining the rears would be.. wireless rear amplifier... but I knew what they were before I bought and am happy)
To get to my HDTV took me a minute or two to get sound. Now I have my learning curve and time to talk about the sound... um.. BOOMY... they have it set up with factory presets for a 12 year old.. huge bass and the sub just overpowers... Five minutes of tweaking... Sound is crisp.. sharp.. and clearer then the Kenwood I replaced. The room is large for this unit.,.. 15 X 30... with high Ceilings.. but it holds it's own. Bright is a word that comes to mind to describe it.. Only a high volume romp through some Collective Soul (Home HD 5.1 - from my HD PVR set box.. not DVD) revealed some of the lower tones getting cloudy. (Drum smashes weren't as sharp as I liked)
So bottom line on sound.. From a unit in this price range.. you are getting all you can expect... upgrading speaker cables might be a help there.
Connectivity...... Do not ask to be creative with this unit.. there are limited (VERY) limited options.. no audio out.. no options for other HD units you may have (I don't have any .. thank heavens) Even little things like a head phone jack that cuts out ALL the speaker sounds.. I have a unit that sends sounds wirelessly to our patio... my Kenwood would allow me to get sound from the headphone jack and choose to kill the speakers (or not)... this unit has no other audio out.. and won't allow the headphones to double as one either.. It does exactly as advertised... so leave your creativity at the door with this one. I knew that before I bought and was prepared.. but I was even amazed with the restrictions.
My daughter loves the ipod dock.. It brought a huge smile to all our faces.. and sounded nothing short of spectacular.. One feature I do like is you can force surround sound.. and listen to all the speakers.. it really fills the big room .. this was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.
DVD up - encoding.. or whatever it does to the video signal to makes the DVD's look good... WOW.. it works.. My old stand by (The Matrix) benefitted from this technology.. movies over all sound better on this system than just music... the quality was evident.. (I'm left to wonder how many Home Theatres "The Matrix" has sold)
This is getting long winded... but some other first impression likes.. the 5 DVD changer.... Unit programmed to my PVR remote.. (but not with a Panasonic code.. I had to manually search it) it was easy to set up, and I can find a happy place even with the restrictive settings.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
d_anno
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Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 1 member
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