Price Paid:  $349.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I am very pleased. I spent my entire tax return on this which is not much since I am a college student. The system works very well paired to my xbox via a optical cable. S-Video switching would be nice as well as a few more inputs as I have many video gaming systems. I love the blue light that comes on during multi channel decoding. I would say that the light is a key feature. The bass is very ample and more than I can enjoy due to my abode being an apartment so I am often forced to turn it down. But the sub does have a volume control which is nice. In a perfect world the surround speakers would have a wireless connection. I can dream can't I ;P

Strengths:
DTS Digital, DOLBY 5.1 Digtal and Dolby Pro logic II decoding are all supported. Who really needs that center surround anyway?

Weaknesses:
Having to buy a $25 optical cable kind of sucks and I could floss with the supplied mono sub cable.

Price Paid:  $309.00 from Etronics.com

Summary:
Well I have for a long time felt the need to indulge myself in a 5.1 home theater system but could never make up my mind as to what to get. One day I finally decided this system over the Kenwood HT-205 because the Sony HT-DDW840 came with a better subwoofer and because of the countless posive reviews the Sony system received. When it came I proceded with installing it, which was rather easy. The one problem that I did have though was with the controller. Although I consider myself to be technologically knowledgeable, I could not get the darn controller to control my other electronic equiptment or the receiver which it came in. After finally figuring out what I needed to do and resetting the receiver, I tweaked the settings and popped in a movie. The sound coming from the small satellites is great and the subwoofer is just awesome, it made my whole room shake. The one letdown that I have is when music suchs as CDs or radio stations are played on this system. The subwoofer doesn't seem to hit as hard as it does in movies. The sound is still nice though, but I'm a bass fanatic so this is a minor quirk of sorts. Overall, if you're in the market for a moderately priced home theater system and aren't a die hard audiophile you should look into buying this system, you will definetely feel like you're getting more than what you paid for.

Strengths:
Great sound with movies.
Great price.
A lot of decoding options.

Weaknesses:
Controller a bit hard to use at first but once you figure it out it's great.
Music doesn't hit as hard as do movies.
No S Video.

Similar Products Used:
Klipsch Promedia 4.1

Price Paid:  $379.00 from Circuitcity

Summary:
Best sound "home theater in a box" I've heard for the price. Very nice bottom sound in surround (DVD's sound incredible). The little speakers are awesome for surround sound movies but if you want to get a more full sound (more midrange tones) but for listening to music, audiophiles will want to upgrade their front pair to a bigger more full speaker set (I got a pair of Infinity bookshelf speakers). It comes with all of the speaker wire and digital coax needed but audiophiles might want to get quality monster cable for this setup.

Oh, and by the way:
A reply to a previous review ...I had a issue with "proctection-mode" kicking in alot too until I figure (after reading those warnings in the manual about 100 times) that it was my speaker wires touching each other or metal. if you cut the wire ends to the shortest possible and stick them flush in the speaker connections you shouldn't have a problem anymore (work for me anyway). apparently the protection mode is preventing a short circuit from happening. hope this helps...

Strengths:
Cheap!
Easy to setup
Sound great with movies.
Great booming subwoofer.
Crisp clear sound from speakers.

Weaknesses:
Midrange is lacking a little in music mode (stereo not surround sound).

no optical digital connections (only one coax)

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo

Price Paid:  $275.00 from Traded friend for Po

Summary:
This is my third Home Theatre System - first was a cheap RCA system, next was my Kenwood (which I was very pleased with and had for years) and now this one...I was looking to buy a new system and was comparing quite a few...I looked at the Kenwood, Panasonic, Magnavox and I even considered going way out of my budget for the Bose...
...and then I went over to my friends house and heard his Sony! I could not believe the sound that was coming from that system...it was UNBELIEVABLE!! I walked into that living room and it truly felt as if I was in an actual Movie Theatre - INCREDIBLE!!
The Sound is Crystal Clear (so much sound from such small speakers - reminds me of the Bose) and the Bass was BOOMIN - SHOOK THE FREAKIN HOUSE - I LITERALLY SAW THE PICTURE FRAMES BOUNCIN OFF THE WALLS!!...and that was in 5.1 - then he turned on the DTS and I was completely blown away!!
A few days later, it turns out that he fell in love with a portable DVD Player that I had just bought for $275 and he had two of the same identical systems - one in his LR and one in his Basement - and he offered me an even trade - Needless to say - I TOOK HIM UP ON THAT OFFER!!
Brought it home, hooked it up and am completely in love with this system - this system is by far the best value for the money...and even beats those out that are even more expensive!
But there is something else that I would like to add: I have quite a few DVDs but I have many more VCDs - and the sound that comes off of a VCD is not Dolby Digital or DTS - it reads like a VHS - but when I played my VCDs on this system I was very impressed with the Dolby Pro Logic II!! I had never heard it before but it sounded very close to the Dolby Digital 5.1 because it will play it on all 5 speakers and the sub!! Very, Very Nice!! Get this one and you will not be disappointed!

Strengths:
Deep Base, Crisp Clear Sound, Great Decoder for 5.1 Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby Pro Logic II!!

Weaknesses:
None.

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood and RCA Home Theatre Systems but they don't even compare to this one!

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
Best bang for your bucks. I've had this system for 6 months and I'm extremely happy with it. The sound is crystal clear and thumping. Crank this baby up and enjoy. The bass is awesome when playing DVD's. My only compliant is the lacking bass when using normal sound mode. Also, I surround sound speakers are not accessible when listening to 2-channel mode. It's a shame since the bass is truly remarkable using the center and front speakers.

Strengths:
Great bass, great price, clear sound

Weaknesses:
Lacking bass when using normal surround/2 Channel modes

Similar Products Used:
Philiips Magnavox MX-920