Price Paid:  $192.00 from online auction

Summary:
I was impressed with the price of the unit and then this past summer it would work for an hour and then turn off! I took it to a local service center where it took aiwa several months to send the right parts. Finally got it back and it seems to work! The center speaker is very weak to say the least and I am not impressed with the sound quality of the speakers will be upgrading them soon!

Strengths:
humm what to put here! Nothing

Weaknesses:
very poor speakers in my opinion you should buy the reciever and the speakers of your choice seperate!

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $229.00 from Bestbuy

Summary:
I am not audiophile but have to agree with most of the other reviews I have seen. This is a good value, but do not expect superb sound quality right out of the box. You will have to work it some. The receiver itself is a good solid unit if somewhat basic. Aiwa’s remote could have been much better, but it is functional. The powered sub is adequate for my application. If you currently use your TV’s built-in speakers you will love the sound. I had been running mine through a cheap shelf-system with surrounds and was rather unimpressed with the improvement the HT-D580 made. The previous reviewer was exactly right when he recommended buying the receiver separately and adding speakers as you go. I did not even make it a week before replacing the L/R with a pair of Yamaha NS 6390 speakers at $100 pair. I thought these were the best sounding in this price range at the store. They sound great at home too but now tend to wash out the surrounds but unfortunately not the center speaker. Now I have to come up with some excuse for the wife as to why I need to replace the other three speakers. Oh well, another trip to town. I expect I will have spent around $500 dollars when through, and that is not bad for a home theater system. This figure does not including cables and brackets which you would have to buy regardless of the system. I think I will be happier with my system with $500-$600 in it than I would have been purchasing a package at the same price range.

Strengths:
Low price, good value.

Weaknesses:
The remote is the major weakness of the system.

Price Paid:  $188.00 from 6th Ave

Summary:
Very good deal. $188 for the whole thing... I'm VERY happy.

I'm not going to bring town the walls or anything but I'm in a townhouse so my neighbors wouldn't like that anyway.

The bass is very good. Watch the Matrix and Gladiator. I had to run downstairs when I was doing something because the walls were shaking..

Very happy with it.

Strengths:
Price
Features
Sound

Weaknesses:
Speakers
Remote features

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Sixth Ave Electronics (online)

Summary:
This system is a great buy, but the satellite speakers are bottom barrel quality and do not fully develop the potential that the receiver can reach. System with these speakers sounds like its a 100 Watts rather than 400. The sub isn't bad, but at only 50 watts is a bit underpowered unless you live in a Manhattan studio with cranky neighbors. My advice:
1) buy the Aiwa D58 separately ($150) and then buy speakers piecemeal as your budget allows. Match the 2 front speakers and the center if at all possible. The surrounds can be cheaper as long as they're paired, and the sub can be any brand that suits your fancy. My own expansion tips run as follows:
2) for fronts, buy 2 RCA 3 way 75W RMS bookshelf speakers from Radio Shack ($100 for 2 on sale) and the RCA center speaker with the Linnaeum tweeters ($100 list). If you can afford it or need smaller front speakers, get 2 of the Linauem tweeter models, tinier, higher performance, but costlier at about $100 each. (there is no review section for RCA speakers, but to call these the most unfairly reviled speakers in audio land is an understatment. yes, some RCA stuff is crap, but these three speakers described are pro-quality stuff--sturdy construction, 100W RMS power handling, 90 DB sensitivity, huge dynamic range. Try em and see!)
3) get a good 8" sub ($100-$150l I like AR's PS108) or the JBL PS10 ($190) if you have a big listening area.
4) get 2 AR PS15 bookshelfs as the surround satellites ($60 for a pair)
5) get 16 gauge speaker wire (generic OK; Monster etc is a waste)

This is a thunderous system for roughly $500. If you can't afford this much at once, buying the 580 for the $200 that Sixth Ave sells it for is not a bad deal, but unless you are very undemanding, you'll soon replace the 4 satellites and the sub, so you'll have wasted $50-$70 as compared to just buying the receiver alone. Other HT In A Box systems for less than $600 or so are equally unimpressive so I highly recommend my piecemeal purcahse system.

In conclusion, receiver is great, rest of the components range from adequate to cheap. The system is reliable out of the box, does give you surround sound though on a rather anemic level, and is an excellent bargain for the casual user who wants to hear what all the surround sound buzz is about.

Strengths:
Competent receiver, good basis for later expansion. Subwoofer is not atrocious. Reliable, easy to assemble. Very very inexpensive.

Weaknesses:
Satellite speakers are unimpressive. Remote is not too useful. Speaker wire provided is cheap high gauge stuff (20 gauge I believe.)

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood. Panasonic.