Philips - HTS3555 Home Theatre System Review

     First off let me start by saying this is a great unit for those that don't need to wake up the whole neighborhood. I purchased this unit at Sears for $189. I was looking for something for the bedroom so I don't need it to rattle the whole house.

     With that said for a 1000watt system at this price you won't be disapppointed. Setup was a breeze, if you've ever hooked up stereo equipment it should go pretty smooth. Every thing is clearly marked and color coded, and the manual is easy to understand. The speakers are hard wired so if you want to use better wires you will have to cut and splice. The dvd player is good that comes with the system, it even plays dvd's you have burned including dual layer discs. Cd's are not a problem either. The only problem I have with the dvd player is sometimes when you put a dvd or cd in you can't use the controls like shuttle, skip, or anything until you eject it and insert again then it works fine. This could be a firmware problem but I have updated the firmware with the latest and it didn't change this problem. Firmware upgrades are easy just go to the Phillips site download and put the firmware on a disc and the player does the rest. Also the remote only has basic buttons, no angle button and some others that you would normally find on a dvd remote.

     The sound is great, sometimes depending on the tv channel or dvd you have in the center channel tends to distort a little with certain sounds, even when not driven loud. But this doesn't happen all the time and is not annoying enough to overlook this great priced power system. Most 1000w systems you can't touch for under $300, so this is a great find.