| Average Customer Rating: 3.5/5
Total Reviews: 4 |
Rating: 4
A Lovely bit of work!
| Purchased one of these last week and am very happy with it. Setup is truly a snap and it looks like a million bucks in my living room. One minor nit to pick seems to be the unit's sensitivity to voltage flucuations in that it temporarily goes into standby when I turn on my television (even manually). I have yet to test whether this is a voltage issue or if the unit does this automatically based on an impedance load to the video output, in which case it would be intentional. So far the unit has digested all discs I have thrown at it and while it is not the speediest mechanism in the world it is very surefooted once it makes up its mind. A headphone jack, alas, is not included. I do, however, appreciate the inclusion of SACD and feel Philips should be commended for making a unit that is as easy to setup as it is beautiful to look at. The unit sounds extremely good and the dipolar nature of the radiators (speakers) means the surround tends to 'follow' you if you are not within the specific field of sound. The ribbon tweeters are exceptionally smooth (never calling attention to themselves; which is the highest compliment I can pay a tweeter) and their coaxial location helps contribute to a very palpable 3 dimensional field when listening to stereo or three track sources. This is a rare bird indeed, an (almost) all-inclusive system that performs as well for critical listening (although not at ear-splitting levels) as it does for home theatre because its DVD performance has so-far been stellar. I don't know that I want to throw away my 963SA just yet, but this is easier to use and not nearly as idiosyncratic as the old system. The owner's manual is top notch and overall build is quite convincing for a unit that might be considered mid/low level by some AV snobs. Let them snob then, it'll leave more of these for the rest of us and can be our little secret as I feel this unit must represent one of the best values in HTIB (Home Theater in a Box). And you have to admit she is a looker. Maybe in the next iteration they can make the whole front panel a menu-driven LCD touch-screen to include wireless internet, video and home control; throw in Blu-Ray and it would be downright irresistible. |
Rating: 2
Problematic and Wireless Audio Problems
The front speakers sound decent. The sound is quite good for speakers that are only 1" thick.
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Rating: 4
Rear Channels Are Not Exactly Wireless
Slight differences might exist between the U.S. version and the European version. I was forced to buy the European because this system can not handle dual voltage and I'm currently in Europe.
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