Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Nelson 77 REALLY needs an education in surround sound wiring. Using 4 cheap subs and 2 even cheaper centers and fronts does not equal better sound or more sound, especially from a Jensen speaker system. Compare the Jensen speakers to a real set of speakers and see what you have really been missing.

Price Paid:  $99.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
Absolutely Great!! After spending $350 for a Sony 985 (100 watts x 6), $699 for a 36" Sony Trinitron, $175 for a Sony DVD/CD Changer, I then ooked at 5.1 Speaker Sets and couldn't believe the prices!! Easily appraoching $600 - $1,000!!! Surround Sound is primarily dependent on the location of the speakers. And a good Powered Subwoofer!!! So I went out to search for a Basic Black set of Basic Speakers. Came upon this Jensen JHT805 set at Circuit City, then on sale for $99!! Jensen has always made decent speakers and the removable speaker grills proves that Jensen has nothing to hide. A close inspection of the Front Center shows not one but two shielded 4" drivers and a super tweeter, in an insulated wooden cabinet. The speaker material is paper with a foam outer ring with good throw action. While not some exotic cone material, these sound great, will do fine and last 10+ years!! The Front Satellite Speakers contain just one of the same 4" driver and the same super tweeter as the Center Speaker, in an insulated wooden cabinet. The rear satillite speakers contain just one 4" driver and no tweeter, in an insulated wooden cabinet. The rears aren't even close in quality to the Front Speakers, but in most cases, the rears aren't crutial. The Sub is a 100 Watt Powerhouse!! The speaker is a high quality 8" Woofer and the cone is not Paper but a durable Plastic Material!!! A good move by Jensen to handle years of Sonic Sound Effects!! With the sub on carpet, the sound is muffled. So I used a 12' x 12' ceramic floor tile to elevate the sub off the carpet and give it a harder surface to fire down on - WOW! what a difference. Music and Movies alike sound great. Now, when the time comes to upgrade or if you simply feel the need, buy another Jensen JHT805 set at Circuit City, again on sale for $99!! Then you will have 2 - 100 Watt Subwoofers!!! And you can either double up on the speakers and space them apart for more effect, or use the 2nd set of good Front Satellites for the Rear!! What I did was buy 4 sets of the Jensen JHT805 Speakers at $99 each!! I put 4 - 100 Watt Subwoofers in the 4 corners of the room and used 2 sets of the Front Satellite Speakers for each the Front left and right and 2 sets for each the Rear left and right!! And then using 2 of the Center Speakers for the Front Center and the remaining 2 Center Speakers for the Rear Center. This is the Most Powerful System in the World you can buy for just $396!!! 400 Watts of Powered Subwoofers coming from all 4 corners of the room is the Best Ever!!! And 100 Watts coming from each of the other 6 Speakers gives you 1,000 Total Watts of Very Good Surround Sound!!! I have read many articles claiming that you cannot detect the source/direction of the Very Low Subwoofer Sounds! Not really true!! When you have 4 Very Low. 100 Watt Subwoofer Sounds coming from all 4 directions, you CAN tell the difference!!! You are now TRULY SURROUNDED!!!! This is not only the Best Speaker System to start with at $99, this is the Best System to grow with!!! There are no 400 Watt Powered Subwoofer Systems out there in the World for less than $1,000!!! But with 4 of these Jensen sets, the total cost is just $396 for an astounding 4 separate 100 watt subwoofers and more surround speakers to truly surround you in high-powered surround sound!!

Strengths:
Good, Solid Base, especially with 4 of these 100 Watt Powered Subwoofers used together for 400 Watts of Sub Power!!

Weaknesses:
While a 10" or a 12" Speaker will produce better base, this Powered Subwoofer works great when used as a pair or when 4 are used together!! Paper speaker cones limit the speaker life to ~10 years

Similar Products Used:
Bose Polk

Price Paid:  $99.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
These speakers were advertised in the Sunday paper as a closeout for $99.99, regularly $199.99. I figured what so I have to loose? They seem to be pretty good, but the first thing I noticed about the rear speakers is the paper wizzer cone. I don't figure this to last forever, but I should get my hundred bucks worth!

Strengths:
Price; not bad looking; (not exotic looking either)

Weaknesses:
Paper speakers probably won't last long. Semi-cheap looking boxes.

Similar Products Used:
None.

Price Paid:  $149.00 from Sears

Summary:
A Great Buy, I'd recommend giving it a try.

Strengths:
Good Sound coverage and detail, especially on Jazz and other complicated arrangements. I auditioned this package against other competitors at Circuit City and came away impressed with the sound quality, given the inexpensive price. It TOTALLY serves my purposes for a small and only moderately used bedroom system. I've found myself being delighted by these speakers and the sub is adequate for small rooms. In the demo/comparison the sub didn't get quite as low and filling as the others (Polk, Infinity, Yamaha, Bose), mainly because it's smaller in size (I speculate). I couldn't justify spending $200-500 more for incremental improvements only noticed on some media material. These speakers are pretty good!

Weaknesses:
Upon inspection the cone/drivers are paper and not exotic by any means. However, if you don't abuse them or expect to keep them for the next 10 years, I wouldn't worry about it.

Similar Products Used:
None. This is my first small sat, sub combination. All my other speakers are full size, i.e. large.

Price Paid:  $150.00 from CIRCUITCITY

Summary:
IF YOU ARE STARTING OFF IN YOUR 1ST VENTURE IN HOME THEATER AND DONT HAVE A BIG BUDGET ID RECOMEND THESE. THEY SOUND GREAT IN A BED ROOM/DORM SETTING. JUST PLACE THE SUB IN A CORNER, WORKS BEST ON HARDWOOD FLOORS.
I HAVE A SONY RECIEVER STR-DE875 AND WITH THE RIGHT EQ SETTINGS YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW MY SPEAKERS ONLY COST 150. THE ONLY DOWN SIDE IS THAT THE SPEAKERS ARE MADE OF PAPER WHICH IN MY OPINION SUCKS IF YOU PLAN ON KEEPING THEM FOR A LONG TIME. I USED TO WORK FOR THE GOOD GUYS AND YOU WOULDNT BELEIVE WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO A PAPER SPEAKER OVRE TIME. BUT BESIDES THAT THESE JENSEN SPEAKERS REALLY DO LIVE UP TO A TRUE HOME THEATER SYSTEM IN THE $400-500 PRICE RANGE. BUT I MUST ADMIT IT DOES HELP TO HAVE A GOOD RECIEVER SO YOU CAN TUNE YOUR SYSTEM TO YOUR TASTE.
I PLAN ON UPGRADING TO POLKS OR BOSTONS (BECAUSE IM AN AUDIO SNOB THANX TO WORKING AT THE GOOD GUYS AND I KNOW PAPER WILL BREAK DOWN AND TEAR OVER TIME) BUT I DOUBT ILL REPLACE THE SUB WOOFER, IT DOES VERY WELL. I FIGURE WHY WAIT 6 MONTHS SAVING FOR SPEAKERS WHEN I CAN SPEND THE 150 AND HAVE SOME DECENT ONES NOW AND SAVE AT MY LEISURE.
IF YOU DONT BELEIVE MY REVIEW OF THESE SPEAKERS JUST TRY THESE SPEAKERS PLAYING EITHER THE MATRIX (HOTEL LOBBY SHOOT OUT SCENE) OR GLADIATOR (FIRST BATTLE) AND THEN YOU WILL SEE THAT JENSEN HAS PUT TOGETHER A GREAT SYSTEM FOR THE ENTRY LEVEL BUYER. AND EVEN A GREAT SYSTEM FOR THOSE AUDIO SNOBS (LIKE MYSELF) WITH NOT ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY HIGH COST A/V EQUIPMENT.

P.S FOR SOME REASON IT SEEMS CIRCUIT CITY IS THE ONLY PLACE SELLING THESE AT 150. MAYBE IM WRONG BUT IVE SEEN THESE PRICED AS HIGH AS 300, EVEN ON PRICESCANE.COM THE LOWEST (BESIDES CC) WAS FOR 168. BUT ADD THAT $30 + SHIPPING AND YOUR UP PAST 200 EASY. JUST GO TO CIRCUIT CITY AND SKIP THE SHIPPING FEE. HA HA AND IF YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO WORKS THERE THAT CAN HOOK YOU UP, THE EMPLOYEE COST IS ONLY $101.

Strengths:
2 FRONTS, 2 REARS, 1 CENTER AND 8" DOWN FIRE SUB FOR 150. THE SUB PUNCHES HARD IF PLACED IN A CORNER ON HARD WOOD FLOOR (WILL NEVER SOUND RIGHT ON CARPET BECAUSE ITS DOWN FIRE). ALSO CENTER HAS DUAL WOOFER AND TWEETER

Weaknesses:
IS IT JUST ME OR DO PAPER SPEAKERS SUCK OVER TIME?
NEVER REMOVE THE GRILL TO THE REAR SPEAKERS, YOU MIGHT CRY WHEN YOU SEE THE PAPER CONE TWEETER, HA HA

Similar Products Used:
KLH 9006 5.1 SYSTEM