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If you’re looking for a budget home theatre system with outstanding performance and simple but decent looks, then AAD’s M series is the right choice. The Company AAD is not among the leaders like JBL in home entertainment products, but it has some outstanding products in this category and the speakers in the M series is one of those products with a low price and excellent performance.

At the price of this AAD M series 5.1 system consisting of Two Front Speakers, Two Rear Speakers, One Centre Speaker and One Subwoofer which is fully featured you normally get in the market ready made home theatres with low quality satellite speakers. All the speakers one this home cinema system are similar in style and have the veneer finish and are covered with a fabric of light grey colour. They are available in silver and silver grey colours. The M-5T model has been taken as the front Speakers, which are floor standing and are the most powerful speakers of 150 Watt per channel and have1inch Tweeter and two 5 inch woofers. The same configuration is also available in the centre channel speaker. The surround sound is taken up by the M-5X mini monitors which are of bookshelf category and comprise a 1 inch tweeter and 5 inch woofer and finally the M-10S which have the lowest frequency range. Similarly the drivers including the surrounds are of very good quality.

The quality of sound is quite superior. The vocal or the dialogue aspect has tremendous clarity which can be attributed to the centre channel speaker M-5C in specific and also due to matching tweeter and woofer across all the speakers. This also resulted in sharpness at high notes which stretched into the frequency range. The Bass is not overpowering but is just accurate. Similarly the mid-range was also very prominent with an impressive balance was noticed in treble and bass. Equally impressive was the surround sound which tested at low-frequency reproduced the positional audio impeccably and the volume spread was even and clarity excellent. To sum up the overall sound quality is perfect for movie watching and they reproduce sound with accuracy taking into account all the elements for a pleasurable listening experience.

If you are looking for a very smart and trendy home cinema system which will not only win your hearts by its sheer looks, but also bring satisfaction to people who want quality A/V products at affordable prices, then look no further than the Sony DAV F-200 home cinema system. The main unit holds a DVD player, an audio processing unit along with a radio tuner and its looks and elegance are unmatched. It also has the option of wall mounting with a bracket (optional) or can be arranged with a vertical stand.

The aesthetic of design can be felt from the fact that the playback controls are underneath on the silver section and get illuminated with a white light and the disc slot is also discreetly located on the right side. The Sony DAV-F200’s speakers are attractively slim, and compliment the main unit and the subwoofer. Further the back side connections are also covered by a panel which can be removed and the HDMI port offers up to 1080p resolutions. There is also a provision of coaxial input / output, optical digital audio input and provision of external audio gear through a pair of analogue phonos, a USB port for audio players for AAC, WMA and MP3 files, mobile phones and memory devices and also the DivX files from CD or DVD.

The set up is simple and once connected, you have option for quick set up or the custom set ups and the operating system of the unit is intuitive and works with great speed. The S-Master amplifier gives real power to Sound. The bass is excellent and the top end frequencies and the midrange perform outstandingly. Similarly the picture quality produced was also impressive with rich colours but still looked natural coupled with sharpness gives life like images.

To sum up a stylish and attractive home cinema packed with features and reproducing quality sound and life like picture at affordable price.

The Altair A381 HTPC is the latest high end home theatre system to come from GlacialTech. The HTPC can be described as that special type of home cinema system which has been integrated with the PC. HTPC is mainly used for playing DVD, storing music, playing games and recording videos. Most of the HTPC users try seeking elegant and stylish HTPC chassis which is capable of incorporating all the HTPC components and blend in perfectly with the style, size and capacity; besides this a special care should be taken it should not clash with the existing home theatre system and also there should be enough room for air circulation and expansion.

Altair A381 has a specially designed stylish aluminium chassis, which significantly helps in reducing the onboard component temperature by maximizing the internal system airflow. There is an all function IR remote control available in two colours of black and white which supports iMON or Microsoft Windows Vista software. This IR technology is compatible with both the wireless mouse as well as the keyboard. This remote control based on the IR technology is provided along with the entire GlacialTech Altair A381 package as it is capable of easily managing the all the existing components of a Home theatre system such as MP3 player, TV, DVD player etc.

This Altair A381 HTPC features USB based I/O ports on the front panel for an easy access, IR receiver, card reader and card and audio reader. This stands in contrast to the connections found on most ordinary home cinemas, like the Sony DAV-DZ260. The GlacialTech Altair HTPC also has the option of a 4.3 inch LCD and the system information display with VFD. This system has an inbuilt Bluetooth and wireless board along with the Bluetooth and wireless antenna. Altair A381 is available in two colours of rock black and glacier silver.

If you want to make your home entertainment system your lifestyle, then the Bose Lifestyle 48 DVD home entertainment system is the ideal system for you. It will revolutionize your opinion about home entertainment systems. With Bose’s proprietary technology of Audio Calibration, the system will automatically customize the sound effects as per your settings of the room.

This audio calibration system will study the shape and size of your room, analyze the textures of your room and all the other elements that may have an impact on the sound you hear, then this unique system will digitally make adjustments to give you a consistent and high quality listening experience, therefore the problem and hassle of moving furniture or looking for a proper place for speakers is taken care by the system and it will provide you with five different listening spots.

Bose has provided a horizontal centre channel speaker and the award-winning Tiny JEWEL CUBE speaker arrays to provide an outstanding surround quality sound which will fill your entire room with wondrous effect and also provide the effect of live performance. It is also provided with uMusic intelligent playback system which is an intelligent music organizer; it learns your preferences by listening to your music and then organizes according to your preference to give you up to 340 hours of music of your choice so you get total freedom from the hassle of managing your treasured CD collection. Place the proprietary ACOUSTIMASS module out of sight and get the effect of smaller speakers delivering resounding low notes to give you the effect of live action sequences besides providing fullness to music.

Another key feature is the new VS-2 video enhancer which simplifies the integration of the LIFESTYLE system by synchronizes the video and audio automatically with a touch of a single button to give you the highest video resolution compatible with your television set which can extend up to 1080p over HDMI.
To sum up LIFESTYLE 48 DVD System is your Digital DJ which will also revolutionize the way you watch films.

The Philips HTS-3544 is for those who want both power and style in their surround sound home cinema systems. This combination of performance and style makes it one of the most popular Philips home cinema systems. It gives a real theatre like experience both in video and audio performance.

The output touches 1000 watts of quality sound. With all six channels of audio processing through the Dolby Digital decoder and the in-built DTS plus the five channels of surround sound processing from any stereo by and the Dolby Pro Logic II you get an amazing natural effect of surround sound system of real theaters. Just like its sibling the Philips HTS 3357 and other Philips home cinemas, the HTS3544 system has the added advantage of Multi – format compatibility which gives the freedom to play a wide range of file formats including MP3, JPEG, WMA and the DivX digital media format. Enjoy the Philips home Theater Quality music from your portable MP3 players. It is simple, just plug in to the in-built headphone jack provided in the system. The system also gives you the pleasure of sharing your precious moments with your loved ones by plugging your device into the USB port available on the system and playing your music and photos. There is also a docking cradle for playing and charging media players like iPod and GoGear.

The system is provided with a 12-bit Video DAC which is a sophisticated converter which catches even the minutest digital signal and converts into analog signals giving the true and natural picture quality with all the natural shades of colors even on large screens / projectors. Further with superb features like combining DivX playback multiple audio language, tracks and menus and integrated subtitles into single convenient file format by DivX Ultra and compatibility with encoded files on CD, VCD, DVD, DVD+R/RW plus up conversion to 1080i HDMI resolution, makes the Philips HTS 3544 Home Theater System a worthy buy for all home theatre lovers.

Time to introduce another feature packed personal home cinema system from Panasonic, the SC-PT950, which comes with a 5-disc DVD/CD Changer, iPod dock for music, and playback for DVDs, MP3s, WMAs, JPEG Files, and XM radio. You can also connect the latest HD televisions with resolutions of up to 1080p, like Panasonic’s own Panasonic Viera TX-37LZD800F, via the system’s provided HDMI port. The Panasonic unit boasts of Front Tower Speakers, Wireless rear Speakers, a subwoofer module and a centre speaker to give you a real life like sound effects.

The sleek and slim main unit holds the DVD/CD changer and the amplifier hardware with the wireless transmitter as well. The front holds the input for the portable devices and in the rear end you have connections for the front speakers and subwoofer, along with a stereo input jacket.

The two-way Tower and Centre speakers, which are also supported by a midrange cone and separate tweeter for each, not to mention complimented by the subwoofer, will provide more than adequate sound for any home cinema. The good thing about the centre, front and subwoofer speakers is that they can be upgraded in future if required. The remote is also pretty handy and a setup microphone is a pleasant surprise. With an optional antenna, you can also use the XM radio provided with the system.

To summarise, this home theater with multiple options for playing DVD, Radio and other Portable audio devices, attractive tower speakers and wireless receivers, is a good bargain for home cinema lovers.

Normally one associates entry level home cinema system mainly with an amplifier, surround-sound speakers and, last but not least, a DVD player. The Samsung HT-TZ512T is one of the best entry-level home cinema system s available in the market today. This home cinema system from Samsung features a five CD or DVD changer with a built-in amplifier, wireless rear speakers, 5.1 surround speakers, iPod docking station and an HDMI output resolution of 1080p.

The Systems main unit is sleek and has a very smart look. The main unit consists of the DVD player and the amplifier and the front portion has a USB port, an auxiliary- port and a headphone jack, but it is hidden by an attractive flip-down panel. The Fluorescent display further compliments the smart and attractive looks. The navigation through the graphic interface is extremely easy and smooth, whether it is for playing WMA, MP3 digital files or viewing JPEG Photos or even WMV, and DivX digital video files. All of these files can also be burned to a CD-R disc and then played off the disc. The remote control’s programming is also very versatile and it is compatible with multiple brands of televisions and various different models.

The quality of the entire sound system, consisting of three front speakers and two rear wireless speakers, is also one of the best available for this price bracket. While it might not have the wattage, versatility or power of the HT-BD2, for example, the home cinema system is far more affordable. Furthermore, the HT-TZ512T supports a very simple and convenient setup which can be easily achieved by placing the two front speakers on either side of the T.V and the wireless speakers on any convenient place and finally just plug-in and play. The Auto Sound calibration further adds to the above features. It also has an FM radio with 15 preset stations. It also features an Auto clock set and built-in Clock Sleep timer.

In short the home cinema is a real value for your money in this price range.

The HTS3544/37 is a 5.1 channel digital home entertainment system has been released by Philips as one of the company’s flagship products. It possesses many technological components that collectively help in delivering powerful surround sound and a cinema-like audio/video experience. This Philips Home Cinema System gives you the convenience of enjoying movies in high resolution picture quality, tuning into your favourite FM channel, or listening to your selected playlist through your MP3 player.

The Philips HTS3544/37 features an iPod docking station, 1080i HDMI connections and a USB port. The docking station included in the system supports both Apple’s iPods and Philips’ GoGear, such as the Philips SA5125 2GB, while the USB port supports any portable media device for sharing video, audio and still pictures. The system is also compatible with MP3, JPEG, WMA and DivX formats.

The HTS3544/37 is a complete home cinema system which includes a 5.1 channel digital amplifier with multiple built-in surround sound decoders, such as Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby Pro Logic II. Moreover, the system also comes with four satellite speakers, each with a 3 inch full-range woofer, a magnetically shielded one centre channel speaker with two 2.5 inch woofers and a 2 inch tweeter, eight inch high efficiency passive subwoofer, AM/FM tuner with 40 stations presets and a progressive scan CD/DVD/DivX/MP3 player; in short, it is fully loaded. The surround sound decoders such as Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS and Dolby Digital help in enhancing the quality of audio output, while the 1080i HDMI provides sharp, cleaner and precise video imaging.

The system supports a contemporary look with a sleek main component and smaller box speakers. The HTS3544/37 gives effective and crisp results and can be placed in almost any size space.

The HT6900DP is a truly robust home cinema system to come from Sony. It will give you everything you ever wanted and need, in terms of acoustics, to transform your house into a personal cinema with surround sound effects. This Sony HT6900DP home cinema in a box features a STR-K6800P receiver, 1000 watts of power, 6.1 channels of Dolby Digital sound, a 5-disc DVD player/changer, six speakers, a 10 inch subwoofer, 3 surround satellites and 2 front satellites; in short, massive power.

The five-disc DVD/CD player is compatible with a variety of disc and file formats, such as DVD, CD, MP3 files and JPEG image files. This DVD/CD player comes with Sony’s Precision Cinema Progressive Technology to ensure a sharp and crisp picture quality during the playback. It is also primarily the included DVD changer that separates the HT6900DP from other similar home cinemas like the Sony HT-1300. The Dolby digital sound system delivers dramatic, clear, true and perfect surround sound for your home cinema system.

The HT6900DP home cinema system features a sleek centre speaker, six satellite speakers, a 10” 160watt subwoofer, a 5-disc DVD changer and a receiver. To obtain a perfect blend, Sony’s speakers are specially designed using crossovers and matching blending designs. The system looks great too with a wooden finish on its twin drive centre and two way front speakers. This system also features one coaxial digital audio input, two optical digital audio inputs, five discrete analogue inputs and one composite video input for a signal from a SCAD player or a DVD audio.

The Sony HT6900DP is an affordable and stylish way to experience any of the 6.1 channel surround sound formats.

If we were to draw up a FAQ on how to set up an audio system, the question at the top of the list would be ‘Where to place the speakers?’ Speaker placement is one of the most critical elements involved in tweaking your audio system, and fortunately, it costs nothing except your precious time. To begin with, the most important factor to be taken into consideration is the size of the room, and everything else will follow.

The full range speakers that stand on the floor should always be kept as far as possible from the back wall. A minimum distance of 2-3 feet should be kept from the back wall in the case of smaller rooms, whereas 5-6 feet is the actual optimal distance from the back wall. Small speakers on stands, such as the satellite speakers on the Sony HT-SF 1300 home cinema system, and mini monitors are the best suited for smaller rooms where the speakers are to be kept in a closer proximity to the back wall. This helps in reinforcing lower frequencies.

The speakers should be placed as far apart as possible, say 5-10 feet considering centre to centre, and at the same time the distance between the outside edge of the speaker and the side wall should be held to approximately 2-3 feet. Always make sure that the distance of each speaker from the back wall and the side walls is around the same; in other words, symmetrical. The tweeters should always be placed at about the same level as that of the ears when seated. Position your chair about 8 feet from both the speakers. It is also very important that the chair be positioned at equal angles from both the speakers.

Excellent results can be achieved by listening at a greater distance. Of course, if the rooms are really small, then you are really left with no choice.

The paragraphs above are just the guide lines, and not hard and solid rules. However, if equidistant spacing and angling is achieved, it can change the overall performance of your system immensely. And remember ‘Don’t be afraid of experimenting’.