This unit had everything I was looking for except a digital out connector which I will probably not need right now.

The remote is not illuminated.

I had been in the market for a unit and most had compact speakers which is what I did not want. Sers had a SOny model on sale for about $100.00 less and am glad I waited until this one came in. This unit impressed me right away. The setup was fairly simple after browsing through the manual. The sound was great and with a small listening area it is more compressed. Place the sub by the wall or better yet in a corner and try to make sure you can setup your area so you can have a "sweet spot" in the listening are. (sweet spot is where I consider you get all the best sound from your unit. I had considered ordering over the net but I would have paid more due to living in Hawaii.

Similar Products Used:

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This review is just to offset my previous (and preliminary) review. I have rewired the speakers and repositioned the subwoofer and it helped alot. The settings on the back of the subwoofer remains at maximum but it still makes really audible output with the receiver settings at default. That;s one problem fixed.

Two, for surround sound, I found out by disabling speaker system "B" and enabling only "A" I can play all sources in surround sound. I don't even know why they made "B" since "A" can handle all of the different modes (pro logic, stereo, DD 5.1, dts, etc...)

The only thing I dont like is the size of the front speakers. They're a bit small to leave standing as Tower speakers but too big to mount on walls (like cube speakers). If you want good visual presentation you have to buy speaker stands.

Similar Products Used:

none

None so far

SUBWOOFER

This is a review of the receiver AND the speaker package (HT? 503)

Ok I have the same problem as some of the other reviewers here. if ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO FIX IT PLEASE EMAIL ME.

The first time I hooked everything up the sub wouldn't work. I mean I could barely hear any bass emitting from the subwoofer. I hooked it up to the CD player and it seemed like only the front speakers were firing. Anyways the volume was at a moderate level and I still couldn't hear it. I disconnected the wires to all the speakers except the subwoofer and I finally could hear it--barely. The sound was so low it was negligible. Keep in mind I had the bass setting to max. Changing the switch-over frequency didnt seem to make a difference, so I left it in the middle. I set the subVolume all accross the dial and it didn't help much.

Anyways it's pitiful how I finally got it to work. I had to set the crossover at 120HZ (MAX) and the subwoofer volume to MAX. In the systems setup I had to set the front speakers to Normal. I had to crank the bass to the MAX. I had to set the front speakers loudness to -4. So I pretty much squeezed evrything out of the system to get it to play--and it didnt play that well. I was VERY disappointed.

And there's no SIMULATED Surround Sound! I wanted to listen to CD and RADIO through ALL the speakers but it wouldn't allow me. Atleast when I played a VHS movie it allowed for Dolby Pro Logic. I have yet to try a DVD (5.1 or DTS)

During the movie (Saving Private Ryan) the woofer finally started doing its job, but keep in mind I had all the settings for MAXIMUM performance from the subwoofer. Maybe I got a defect?!?!?!?

A lot of features for the price.

Remote and center speaker. Manual could be better.

I’ve enjoyed using the HTB-503 since August. My wife and I have listened to many CDs and have watched at least one movie a week. While it does have some drawbacks, the remote and center speaker in particular, overall it is a very good system.
While the consumer reviews listed here can be helpful in making a decision to buy or not to buy, what convinced me to buy the system was a professional review of it in the September 2000 issue of Home Theater magazine. You can read the review online at, http://www.hometheatermag.com/showarchives.cgi?38 The review actually starts on the second paragraph.
I took the reviewer’s recommendation and went to Circuit City and paid $499 to drag it out of the store. I’ve done a couple of “tweaks” to my system. Replaced the speaker wire and subwoofer cable with Monster Cable’s speaker wire and subwoofer cable. And I put the left and right front speakers on 8” stands.
Eventually I would like to upgrade the center speaker. I’m toying with the idea of using, if can purchase one, another main speaker for the center. From what I’ve read, having matching L,C,R speakers is the ideal setup.

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Low Price, Good receiver, easy setup

Speakers

As a second system for use upstairs, this is an unbelievable
value. The receiver, a Kenwood 407, is quite nice and outputs 500W. It has a nice a compliment of inputs/outputs, both digital and analog, and for a receiver included in a one-box solution, it is not bad. The weakest link in this equation is the speakers, but considering that you get 6 speakers, including a 100 Watt sub, it makes for an outstanding deal. One can consider replacing the speakers at a later date if you find them really lacking. For me, since this is my second system, they are fine. I can go downstairs if I want better sound. My overall rating reflects the weaking in the speakers. I expect that many will be please with those speakers at this price, however.
If, however, you are into music seriously, or you just like the best of everything, don't consider this system. This would make a nice gift for a kid about to go to college or someone finishing up and about to take a first job.

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Denon 3300, Sony DE935, Mirage FRX-7, Mirage Substrata 1000,
Mirage FRX-S8, Mirage FRX-1

incredible value. can be played loud. upgradability.

center speaker is lacking. doesn't have a popular brand name behind it.

i have used this product for close to a year and have completed several upgrade cycles so i hope this review can be somewhat useful. first of all this system was meant to be played loud. this is why i cannot recommend any other cheap (under 500) home theater package in the market. this system will blow away any other budget HTIAB with sheer loudness. first impression was very favorable. sounds are always crisp and lively. there is surprisingly good imaging and separation coming from the bookshelf mains. however the sound can easily be perceived as harsh or bright and this did tend to annoy me after awhile. transitions were not very smooth and certain sound effects and movie soundtracks can sound a bit scratchy. however i do feel that the mains can hold their own with other more respected speakers. i've done several A/B with speakers in the 200-600 dollar (a pair) price range and none of them were able to shame the kenwoods. the kenwood mains are in no way smooth or laidback, but their crisp and lively character can be enjoyable in their own right especially for home theater. the subwoofer is what sets the system apart from the rest; it is a powered subwoofer that will shake any moderately sized room silly. the receiver does well as a home theater receiver. it doesn't have any fancy DSP modes or bells and whistles, but does offer plenty of inputs/outputs that you can read about at their website or in the other reviews below. as far as negatives go, they include some crappy speaker wire in the box, but this shouldn't bother anyone since they just threw it in to be complete. the remote isn't all that great, but i purchased a cheap learning remote. also the speakers don't look all that great unfortunately. the worst part about this system however, is the center speaker. hopefully kenwood will include a better center in the future because then this system would be an unbeatable value. however, since the center speaker is sorely lacking, i'd recommend to most people that you immediately start searching for a good center speaker. then of course you'll have to upgrade the mains eventually to match. but even with that fact, the subwoofer+receiver alone are worth close to 500 dollars together. so even knowing that you'll likely upgrade the speakers, this is still an excellent value. your next receiver will cost more than this entire system. i don't see how you can go wrong unless you find a < $300 dollar receiver (possibly from yamaha, sony, pioneer) that you feel is significantly better than the kenwood vr-407 and build an entry level system from there. so i guess i should recommend that you at least try to spend around $1000 dollars and build an entry level system (minus a sub i suppose) which will sound noticeably better than the kenwood and you'll probably be happy with it longer. but for those who only have 500 dollars to spare or want to jump into home theater, this system is highly recommended. as i said, no other home theater in a box that i've seen can compete. but just the fact that you visit this website will guarantee that you'll catch upgrade fever. so be sure to consider other alternatives to a home theatre in a box.

Receiver, subwoofer, value

Generic manual, remote

Amazing little system for the money.
My DVD player alone cost 3/4 as much as the HT-503 system.
Yeah, the manual is generic in the extreme.
The remote is a bit tricky in a darkened room until you get familiar with the key buttons.
With careful set up and decent cabling the overall sound is coherent, non-fatiguing and has real impact. I've watched double-headers in one sitting with no problem.
Who should buy this system? Anyone who wants to take advantage of the incredible value it offers.
Who shouldn't buy this system? Anyone expecting reference quality for $400.

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Everything

None

This without a doubt is the best HT in a box that you can get for less than $500. No question about it. I don't really know what else to say, except if you're in the market for a GREAT $500 system, this is it.
The sub absolutely rocks, the receiver is worth $300 alone, and the 5 other speakers are more than adequete.The manual is a little confusing, but with some careful reading and by looking at the diagrams, I set my system up in less than 2 hours. To get anything comparable to this, you'd have to spend double. I don't know how Kenwood does it, but I'm damn glad they did!
If I could give this thing 11 stars, I would.

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Ancient Sony Pro-Logic

One-stop jump into entry-level HT, the VR407 receiver. DTS and DD capable.

Speakers, included speaker wire, the worst remote I have ever seen

Let me just say that for $500 you could not come close to the performance of the HTB-503. Movies sound great! The VR-407 has a *TON* of inputs (3 S-Video, 2 Optical-Digital, 2 Coaxial-Digital, Tape, CD, DVD, Video 1, 2 and Aux ...).

Now for the bad ...
The drivers on all speakers are exactly what you would expect on low-end stuff. They produce very *shallow*? sound on music. Almost to the point of echoing. My Cambridge PCWorks speakers sound better on music. Once you listen to music on the Kenwood speakers, you will be able to notice the same nuisances in movies ... which is unfortunate because now you have to upgrade and/or hand-them-down. The included speaker wire should be left in the tie-wraps and thrown away. Finally, there are no pre-amp outs on the VR-407.

I highly recommend the HTB to anyone new to the home audio scene .. for ENTHUSIASTS and PHILES ... you won't be satisfied so spend another grand and peice together your own home theater.

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JVC Pro-logic receiver, Sherwood Theater-in-a-box

price

no DSP modes

chances are if your looking around for a complete system, instead of individual components, you will be escatic with this purchase. i've never been big into audio. the speakers on my RPTV seemed just fine, but i got curious as to how much the experience would be enhanced by (any) surround set-up. since Sears had a good return policy, i figured i'd try it out for a few weeks and then take it back. it took me a week to properly set it up since i didn't bother hooking up a digital coax. big mistake. initally i was underwhelmed, but once the digital coax was put in, thoughts about taking this back quickly receeded. some times i still wonder if i shouldn't have waited to piece together a 'higher quality' system. then i'll get a disc like Superman or U-571, and i'll realize just how weak most of these 5.1 soundtracks are. the above mentioned titles make the basement sound like a $25,000 home theater. i'll upgrade the speakers someday, maybe next year, but for now they fit the bill perfectly.
one of the best values of any of the home theater gear i've purchased so far!