Price Paid:  $230.00 from Vanns.com

Summary:
I will spare the specs of the HC4's they can be found at www.acoustic-research.com
I have had these for a little over a month and have them paired with the Pioneer vsx d811 receiver.

These speakers do very well with dvd's there is plenty of dynamics
the sound is clear and bright I have noticed distortion as I have pushed them to the max out put of my receiver but I very rarely would want the volume to be that intense.

Music reproduction is good, I am pleased listening to rock and country. I f you listen to rap the sub may not provide enough kick for you.

to wrap it up these speakers deliver a great bang for the buck, for entry level 5.1 on a tight budget.

Strengths:
1. Small size
2. very well built eg. binding post
3. very good home theater sound for the $
4. sub has crossover and phase control

Weaknesses:
1. Music reproduction is a little flat

Similar Products Used:
JBL SC135

Price Paid:  $220.00 from Consumer Direct

Summary:
Just hooked these babies into my surround system. Using a Kenwood VR-6070 100 watt receiver. The movies we played sound great and it feels like your right in the center of the action.
During the receiver setup I kicked on "tone test" and the subwoofer scared the crap out of me. It has been a welcome addition to my audio setup.
DVD movies, concerts, music CD's and FM radio all sound good.

I'll write more in a few months.

Strengths:
Great sound!
Look Good!
Price is right
All the speakers you need.

Weaknesses:
Have not been able to figure out how to mount the simple wall mount brackets. No instructions supplied.

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $219.00 from Consumer-Direct.com

Summary:
These speakers sound great. That's all you need to know. They have a 1/2 tweeter with a 4" midrange/woofer in each sattelite speaker and 2 4" midrange/woofers and 1 1/2" tweeter in the center speaker with a 100W sub. The sub is wonderful! So powerful it made my previous sony sub look weak. These speakers give fantastic highs and lows!

Once I hooked up these babies, I began hearing sound in my DVD's that was not previously heard in my sony speakers. If you are looking for a comparable set of AR's that look better check out the HC6 series.

Overall, even for the MSRP these speakers are the best bang for your buck...not as loud as bose, but WAY better sound. Easily as good as mid to high end Cerwin Vegas.

Strengths:
-Correct speakers in each satellite and center cabinet.
-Subwoofer is AMAZING
-Crystal clarity sound
-Wall mount brackets included

Weaknesses:
None. Just make sure you have a good receiver to let these babies sing like they should.

Similar Products Used:
Sony, Pioneer speakers.