Price Paid:  $900.00 from dow stereo/video

Summary:
very good system, i like dsp on it,very stylish, invisible in the living room and hughe bass in the home entertainment center,

Strengths:
bass front speakers

Weaknesses:
rear speakers

Similar Products Used:
bose lifestyle

Price Paid:  $450.00 from best buy

Summary:
I was stupid, didn't (at the time) know about these type of systems.

Weak base!
Poor surround sound from all five speakers.
Cloth is torn easy on speakers.

I haven't been happy with this system. It's now in the play room. I don't think my kids even like it.

Strengths:
Looks...its small.

Weaknesses:
Everything!!!
Keep away from this system.

Price Paid:  $699.00

Summary:
Overall a pretty good setup. Does'nt sound quite as good as the Bose or Polk, but also a whole lot cheaper and well worth it.

Strengths:
Good Bass, Easy set up

Weaknesses:
Highs lack a little on some music CD's, but movies sound pretty good.

Similar Products Used:
Bose,Polk Audio

Summary:
I bought the AV1 a while ago, at a great deal as it was one of the last ones Best Buy was carrying (like $450 for the setup). For products in this price range, it does an excellent job. It's very compact, and provides a fairly rich sound. It's in my master bedroom, which is just about the perfect size for this system. Music sounds decent, though there is a noticable miss in the higher notes. Home Theatre is OK, but the center was difficult to get to the perfect pitch where it was audible but not overpowering the fronts. (I guess thats what you get when you use the exact same speaker for all 5 speakers.) The remote is useful, not too confusing and glow in the dark (nice feature). The sound reproduction is fairly accurate, with nice setups for Concet Hall and Arena and such (not that I use them much, but they sound impressivly realistic). Overall I'm very pleased to have this for my bedroom unit for watching TV and the occasional movie late at night, as well as listening to CDs while I'm working or reading.

My setup is the AV1, driven by a Sony 550ES DVD Player, and a Sony 26" TV.

Notably missing is Dolby Digital support or DTS support, and the fact that all your speakers connect to the sub instead of the central unit is annoying. The cables that come with it weren't very high quality, and it'd be good to replace them if you get your hands on this unit.

Strengths:
Compact size, strong subwoofer.

Weaknesses:
Amp in the sub makes cableing a bit strange. Only provides 2 wall mount backets for 5 speaker system.

Summary:
Don't get this system to rock out, but if you're a poor college student who want's surround sound in a bed room or dorm room for movies, T.V., video games, and such then you can't beat this system. I'll probably hold on to this sytem long after I've upgraded to better sound and use it for a spare bed room or office system.

Strengths:
Small satelites fit anywhere. Plenty of Audio inputs. The louder it gets the cleaner the sound seems to get.

Weaknesses:
Full range speakers don't offer crisp highs. System doesn't give CD's the low or high end punch they need.

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood, Bose, aiwa