Price Paid:  $280.00 from Good Guys

Summary:
When I first connected the speakers, I was very disappointed. The sound was just mediocre when driven by an old receiver that only supported DolbyProLogic. I soon bought a new DTS receiver and the speakers really came to life. They sound great. Unfortunately, I have already had to send the sub-woofer back to Sony for repair. After a few weeks, the sub started turning off for a few minutes, then back on. Very annoying. And to make matters worse, I was on the phone with Sony for over 20 minutes before I was told where to send them. At least the people I spoke to were very polite. I sure am glad the speakers have a 7 year warranty.

Strengths:
Great sound.

Weaknesses:
Had to be repaired less than 2 months after purchase.

Price Paid:  $270.00 from Empiredirect.co.uk

Summary:
The second you unpack the full 5.1 speaker system you are reassured by the weight and style of the satellite speakers and of the build quality (120w capacity). An added bonus is that the grills come off showing a really sexy and expensive front exterior. These satellite speakers feel expensive, most definitely not cheap. The Sub-woofer (150w) is, in addition very attractive, very heavy and powerful. The weight of the satellites and sub is very important as this reduces internal vibration and reduces distortions, giving a clearer sound. One tip that I MUST give and you SHOULD take into account is that the sub needs to be placed in a good location, or else you loose the very rich, deep sounds that this sub has to offer. The amount of bass that you receive when you put the front of the sub facing a wall or in a wardrobe tucked away (like I have) is ASTONISHING, WOW!!!! With Jurassic Park 3 and the T-Rex fight scene the room shakes far more with the sub in a cupboard out of sight rather than next to the tv. I suppose the only explanation that I can give you for this is that the sub uses the walls to amplify the sound to create a very rich bass, which sounds as though you have a sub which costs the same as the entire system put together. WOW is the sound of that sub good. As you can tell the subwoofer performs admirably beyond expectations, but only in the correct place. Don’t listen to people who say ‘it doesn’t matter where you put the sub because you’ll always get the same sound,’ these people need to learn a few things. The satellite speakers can chuck out loads of volume and with little distortion, which means they can pleasantly fill a large room. The satellites and sub integrate perfectly, creating warm and believable vocals in movie soundtracks. Films sound amazing with this system and Sony deserves full credit. Surround sound effects, soundtrack music and vocals are all fantastic, even when all three are on at the same time. Music is another key area of home entertainment and the speakers perform well, but they are best served with Prologic 2 decoding to make CDs sound like 5.1 movie soundtracks. Being honest this system isn’t designed for music, no speakers are designed for both movie and music unless you’re willing to pay huge amounts of money, but music with this system still performs adequately and most certainly far above average. This system is awesome, I wasn’t expecting as much in truth, but the surprise was extremely welcomed. So, for around £300 ($500) its value for money and the best 5.1 speaker system available for the money. (Two points, which really make this system shine, is to buy speaker stands to vastly improve the sound stage, to make surround sound effects even more exciting, and whenever possible play DTS soundtracks through the system, the depth and detail of the sound (even with the sub) is absolutely mind inspiring. DTS is far better than Dolby Digtal.) Full Marks! – A very satisfied Sony customer.

Strengths:
Surround sound, Movie soundtracks and Vocals always sound full of depth and detail. The system looks gorgeous. The built quality is superb. Great movie system, especially with DTS soundtracks WOW!

Weaknesses:
Music performance suffers only a little, but most people will never notice and be very happy.

Price Paid:  $28400.00 from ebay

Summary:
Purchased the VE535's on ebay brand new for a great price. What is even greater is the sound! I have had other Sony, Yamaha, and JBL surround speakers in the past, and these clearly blow them away. The audio for movies is unbelievable, music is a little above average. (But, I have towers for the music, so I mainly purchased these for movies.) I can really crank them loud with the Yamaha RXV-1300, and they don't distort one bit. Sub is also a little above average. Don't take my word on the sub though, it is only an 8" and my old was a 12" Klipsch. It doesn't come close to the Klipsch, but for the money you pay, it pretty much rocks your whole house! Overall, I give these VERY STYLISH surround speakers an A and the sub (also very good looking) and A-. Just pop in the Gladiator DVD and switch it on to DTS, you WON'T be disappointed!

Strengths:
Style! Price! Sound! - 'nuff said.

Weaknesses:
Music isn't the greatest, but, you shouldn't even be buying something like this for music.

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha (stick to their amps only), Sony, JBL, Klipsch

Price Paid:  $399.00 from Tweeter

Summary:
These are the best speakers I have ever heard. They sound much better than Bose, Polk, or Boston. And compared to Energy and Paradigm's, it's like night and day. These speakers make all others sound like junk.

Strengths:
Thunderous Bass

Weaknesses:
None