Price Paid:  $670.00 from 2001 Audio Video

Summary:
Panasonic SC-HT70: After looking at the Sony Dav500, Dav300 and Panasonic SC-HT70, I automatically ruled out the DAV300 - awful CD audio, it sounded hollow. So it was between the Dav500 and Panasonic. At $200 less with roughly the same performance i decided on the Panasonic (also Sony has had a rough track record of late). Despite no DTS, Dolby Digital is more than sufficient for a smaller system like this (... I listened to a friend of mine''s killer system and DTS and dolby digital sounded the same anyways...) the sound is crisp and clear and can actually be much too loud for my tiny apartment so i gotta keep it down. 4 sub woofer bass levels is nice but the surround sound options (movie and music) really don''t make a difference - its the dolby digital that is really good. The only weakness I found is not being able to route my tv cable to this system. It works through the vcr, then the system but it''d be nice to go direct.

Strengths:
1) dolby 5.1 channels distributes clearly 2) center channel focus makes voices clear and louder 3) general sound quality is high 4) 5 disc changer lets you watch the best parts of movies without having to get up. 5) hardwired speaker wires are way longer than I though.

Weaknesses:
1) I tought you could route my tv cable directly to this system for stereo tv but it has to go through my vcr. 2) Also (not really a weakness) the Panasonic speaker stands are $150!!! for two, what''s up with that? 3) runs hot, the back is steaming but gets to a certain temperature and doesnt get any hotter it seems.

Similar Products Used:
DAV500 - 280watts, DAV300 - 180watts I recommend this to people in apartment buildings who cant rattle the ceiling but want a fairly loud, extremely clear system.

Price Paid:  $280.00 from ebay

Summary:
Very good overall performance..More than adequate for our townhome..Movies rock pretty well and music is acceptable..Has many features and UNBEATABLE at the price we paid..Nice little unit

Strengths:
Good overall sound..Especially with movies

Weaknesses:
Could use separate bass and treble controls.. but the presets are acceptable in this price range..

Similar Products Used:
JVC..Wharfedale Rubiance..AR..Pioneer..Polk..etc etc..

Price Paid:  $399.00 from hhGregg

Summary:
My 14 year-old daughter wanted a small home theater system in her bedroom. Since she already had a Panasonic 20" TV, I chose this system because of its apparent value (for me) and its CD/DVD changing ability, MP3 playback for her, and the belief that its remote, being already programmed for a Panasonic TV, would make its operation simple for her.

I have to tell you, I was impressed. I did not anticipate the quality of sound I got when we put the first DVD in. I was a little skeptical of 30 w/channel x 5, but thought it might not be too bad in a 14 year-old's small bedroom. The sound was beyond anything I imagined for such small speakers and for the price I paid. At full volumn, the sound was clean and could easily be heard throughout much of the house. The 90 watt sub did an admirable job with the low-end.

MP3 playback worked just as promised. I put a single CD of 190 MP3 tracks on it and it played without a hitch for what seemed like forever.

The remote has small buttons, but after I spent a couple hours with it, I felt like it was generally intuitive and controlled everything you could imagine. We were quickly able to put aside the Panasonic TV remote and use the SC-HT70's remote. A day's worth of playing and experimenting with the remote, and my daughter was changing input sources, channels, titles/chapters, and programming radio stations with ease. She was extremely pleased, and, if she was pleased, then I was pleased.

Set-up time was about 30-40 minutes. For what I paid, I'm extremely satisfied. Time will tell, but at first glance, it seems perfect for a bedroom or a small living room where it will be operated by someone that wants to enjoy home theater, CDs, and AM/FM with a minimal amount of complexity and with a single remote.

Strengths:
1) Value.
2) CD/DVD changer.
3) MP3 playback.

Weaknesses:
1) CD/DVD changer is slow and a little unusual, but at least it's there, which can't be said for everything in this price range.
2) Speaker wires are hard-wired on the speaker end with wire length at about 25'. This may not be a problem, but just keep it in mind for larger implementations.

Similar Products Used:
None.