Price Paid:  $763.00 from Visions

Summary:
For our first 5.1 Dolby surround system, we are very happy with the DVD playback. The centre channel speaker could produce a better, fuller sound. The surrounds and subwoofer do a fine job. The CD's we've played sound great. We haven't taken advantage of the SACD capability because stores in our hometown don't sell them, not even the Sony Store! The remote has been dropped quite a bit. Which may have led to the volume button quitting about 1.3 years later. The other buttons worked absolutely fine. I took it back to Visions where I'd purchased the extended warranty and got the remote replaced in two weeks no charge(they had to determine they couldn't fix it.) While the remote was away, we tried to watch more movies. With the buttons that were on the DVD/receiver we managed to play the DVD, but we could not select any menu items. There were no buttons for up, down, etc. So we bought a univeral remote to substitute and that did not work on the volume control, but at least we could select the menu options. This unit was the best available for price and options when we purchased in May 2002. The price has dropped to around $500 CAD now, so my value rating is low because we'd bought it for more. Overall it's a good system.

Strengths:
Different surround modes, fun to change your environment. Small size of receiver allows it to fit and sit anywhere. Amount of button on remote allows manipulation of DVD without going into menu.

Weaknesses:
Special ends on wire connecting speaker to the unit, to change speakers you'd have to splice onto the special ends, or pay $100 for aftermarket connectors. Remote buttons and print is small. If your remote breaks down, the buttons on the DVD/receiver aren't all there to be able to move around the DVD menus!

Similar Products Used:
Philips MX3900D - just got this one, we'll see how it compares...