Price Paid:  $599.00 from MJ Show

Summary:
** This is for the HTB504DV - thus the higher price! ** I was gutting my family room and figured that as long as I had the walls open I''d go the home theater route since I could easily run wires all over the room. Read the reviews here and ended up getting the HTB504DV since it had a DVD player and I didn''t have one yet. Stayed up late one night and couldn''t get the surround sound - only analog stereo. Next morning picked up an optical cable to run between the DVD player and the receiver and next thing I know I have fantastic sound filling my 16''x16''x8'' family room. Star Wars I The Phantom Menace shook the house. Took a few days for the family to get used to the sound but now it''s "normal". Play radio, CD''s and DVD''s. Like others here - I didn''t bother with the wire it came with. I used 12 ga. Carol wire from partsexpress.com. Still have alot to learn about all the settings and the remote but compltely satified with the sound!

Strengths:
Great sound and easy setup for a newbie audiophile

Weaknesses:
Supplied wire......

Price Paid:  $405.00 from kenwood outlet

Summary:
Amazing system for less than 500 bucks. It tool a while to set up everything. Once done, it is number one.

Strengths:
Sounds perfect.

Weaknesses:
Nothing to specify for the price paid.

Similar Products Used:
Listened to Bose,Sony home theater packages.

Price Paid:  $400.00 from etronics

Summary:
AMAZING home theater sound for the money! Worth many times more.

I bought this with some reluctance about "out of the box" systems to go with a new RCA 38" HDTV widescreen I bought for the bedroom. My main system in the living room is a Mitsubishi 55" Diamond HDTV Widescreen projection set tied into a Yamaha DTS capable receiver and upper end Polk speakers. I had nearly $3,000 tied up in the speakers and receiver for the main system and thought I was getting good sound - until I installed THIS system in the bedroom.

I was so overwhelmed by the home theater sound from the HTB-504 that I dumped my Yamaha receiver downstairs and replaced it with a Kenwood VR-510 receiver. I'm happy with both setups, but I swear the sound from the HTB-504 setup is cleaner and fuller.

I cannot recommend this product any more highly.

Strengths:
AMAZING home theater sound for the money! Worth many times more.

Weaknesses:
Modes and remote could be better in some settings and control areas but very minor complaint.

Similar Products Used:
VR-510 Kenwood receiver.

Price Paid:  $379.00 from MJSHOW.com

Summary:
This is for the HTB-504.

This is my first venture into the "home theater" field. As such I wanted to thread lightly and get something that worked well with my newly acquired DVD player and yet wasn't going to break the bank (wife factor). Having done numerous and extensive research I chose the HTB-504 system over the Sony HTD DW830 based mainly on features. After identifying the system I wanted, the next search was for the best price. I came across MJSHOW.com out of Michigan. They are an internet only outfit. Excellent prices and terrific service with very knowledgable staff. Unit came to my door in ~1 week from time of order. Overall the unit is very easy to hook up, although I wish they identified specifically which components go where, as opposed to simply labeling them Video 1, 2, etc. Also, it was not very clear how my RCA satellite receiver should be hooked up. It took me about 3 hours to set up this system. Keep in mind this includes the disassembly of the old stereo, moving furniture, drilling holes in the floor for running the surround speaker wire through the basement and then fine tuning. The provided speaker wires never made it out of the bag, instead I used some 16 AWG wire I had from my other system. The remote is not that bad as others have made it sound to be. It can be programmed to control the other components in your set up. Once set up the unit delivers unbelievable sound from all sources but especially DVD ( I have it hooked in via optical cable). The video also is astonishing. Even some of my old VHS tapes sound great. It makes watching movies that much better. TV sounds are great especially watching football in STADIUM mode. Overall I think it's a great system that can grow with you as your needs/components change. I cannot directly compare it to anything similar but I think you definitely get a great bang for the buck.

Strengths:
Price, Features, subwoofer

Weaknesses:
Speaker wires, parts of manual

Similar Products Used:
Technics Stereo (~15 yrs. old)

Price Paid:  $465.00 from Local Retailer

Summary:
Anyone who is interested in a Home Theater System, wether they are on a budget or not, should at least give this system a listen. They will not be disappointed.

Strengths:
(For the HTB-504)
The system is much more powerful than I thought.The abundance of sound fields drives me wild. You have so many choices that you can watch a DVD any number of times and not get bored. The subwoofer and receiver by themselves make the system more than worth it.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Fisher Mini Home Theater System