Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I shopped extensively for inexpensive home theater audio trying to delay my purchase until equipment using HDMI 1.3 comes out to use in conjunction with the new Blue ray or High Def DVD players. Currently if you want home theater done right you have to spend about $4k or more. If you spend that now you'll get equipment that can only play back the current compressed soundtrack formats for the current crop of DVD movies. Evidently Blue ray and HD DVD is supposed to be putting out movies in the new lossless format which means no compression of the signal so we will finally get great sound to satisfy an audiophile taste if you have the right home theater equipment to play it. So the trick is now to get home theater audio for your current tv or HD tv setup. This samsung system has a couple of unique things going for it. Namely HDMI input and output. Only a handful of HTIB (Home theater in a box) setups have a HDMI plug at all for the new HDTV sets and almost none of them have an HDMI input for any other HDMI friendly devices such as a DVR (digital Video recorder). Only the Onkyo does and not all of the onkyos only a couple of their systems do but to get the onkyo you have to spend 700.00 plus stands for the speakers so you are going to be out at least 850-900.00. I found this samsung with the unique HDMI in and HDMI out so I bought it from Brandsmart for 428.00 and after finally connecting it was amazed at the excitement it brought to my viewing experience on my 60 inch Sony SXRD rear projection 1080i HDTV. Bear in mind this HTIB system on FM radio or music cds sounds atrocious (horrible). It comes with FM radio tuner, plays all kinds of music formats such as DIVX, MP3, etc but again it sounds AWFUL. But for movies on DVD it sounds balanced, proper, clean, exciting and very satisfying. I dont know how it can sound so amazing for such crappy electronics and such a low price but it does. The dynamic range is there, the power is there, it conveys a lot of emotion and makes any movie more engaging. I am using this setup in a room that is approximately 14 by 20 feet. The remote has the basic keys that glow in the dark and one lighted key up top when you push the button. Assembly was easy, electronics inside are suprisingly advanced. Unit is well lit, plenty of speaker cable included but no component or HDMI cables. Dont get suckered into spending big dollars on an HDMI cable. Avoid the Sony's HTIB systems as they sound surprisingly distorted. Look at the onkyos with the HDMI inputs as they are good units. Also pay attention to having a digital optical input too as this unit has one. Also be careful with wireless rear speakers as they add to the cost and may be hissy or fussy to keep working. I highly recommend this Samsung system.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Samsung HT-TQ85 XM-Ready Five-Disc DVD Changer Home Theater System (5.1 Channel)
Imagine the allure of 1000 watts of audio power. Samsung's elegant HT-TQ85 Home Theater Audio System offers industry-leading power through four sleek tower speakers and a center speaker, enhanced by Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic, and DTS decoders. The HT-TQ85 offers the convenience of a 5 disc changer, as well as improved USB host play which lets you plug and play your portable digital devices without loading software.
