Philips MCD702 Theater System
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- Main Speakers Power Output: 70 Watts
- Included Components: DVD Player
- Number Of Speakers: 5 Speakers and Subwoofer
- Subwoofer Power Output: 100 Watts
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Philips MX1055D could be better
Pros
loud, shiny, reads nearly any format, CD/DVD/Tuner all-in-one, many inputs
Cons
slow to load disks, cannot eject while in tuner or other modes
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
If you can find it for $300 or less, get it! DO NOT buy at list price: not worth it. Loud and bass-heavy, looks cool, pretty easy to use.
I recently received my factory-refurbished Philips MX1055D home theater system, and am already a little disappointed... Do not get me wrong, there are some really great aspects to this system, but it seems like Philips could have done a little more to satisfy their customers with this flagship home-theater-in-a-box.
My first concern is with the load time. After spending about twenty minutes setting the whole thing up (placing speakers, hiding speaker wires, etc), I popped in my favorite audio CD (Portishead's "Dummy") to see what kind of sound I could get out of my new monster-system, and test the low-end on the sub-woofer, and it took 15 full seconds to register it as an audio CD (SEVENTY FIVE SECONDS for a burned CD in .CDA format), another full five seconds to read the number of tracks and then five more to start playing. Now, this is a store-bought CD, not a burned CD or disk of mp3's or anything like that... just a plain old audio CD.
The next concern is with the systems inability to multi-task. After I was sufficiently blown away by the sound of the system (and the downstairs-neighbor started pounding on the floor with a broom handle to tell me to turn it down), I switched to the Tuner mode to program the stations. Once that was completed, I wanted to put in a new CD. I tried ejecting the disk while still in tuner mode... no luck. The MX1055D cannot access functions from one mode while operating in another. I know that this does not sound like a big deal, but that is exactly why it is disappointing: how hard would it have been for Philips to allow the system to perform such a simple task?
The DVD reading is also a bit touchy (overly sensitive to dust or superficial scratches), and takes plenty of time to load, but I tend to be more patient with movie veiwing. I mean, really: chapter selection on a DVD that takes 10 seconds versus fast-forwarding on VHS that takes 10 minutes (and isn't really accurate)... no contest.
The remote I received (different than the original control) works much better than the buttons on the unit itself, but its range is limited, and the buttons are somewhat less responsive than I would like. Also, use of the remote for CD's is kind of bulky (who needs 39 buttons?!?) and not very intuitive.
Other little things, like the non-intuitive nature of the radio-preset programming process, the poor response of the buttons on the face of the unit and the poor FM scan abilities, bug me, but not enough to go into it.
THE GOOD STUFF:
The bottom-ported sub-woofer kicks out clean, clear low end like you would not believe. My living room is not huge (about 18 ft by 12 ft), but the sub is more than strong enough to fill it with gut level bass. In addition, the five speaker surround array can keep up in the mid- and high-range so that you get a well balanced aural effect with music or video.
The sub also has independent level control for all us bass-heads. You can adjust how loud the sub is in relation to the rest of the speakers so that you can enjoy your loud explosions right where is counts: 3 inches behind your solar-plexus!
PLENTY of a/v inputs for all of your components, including in and out RCA jacks for the VCR so you can watch your old videos with fantastic sound (or dub your DVD's to VHS for later viewing on your friends' punier systems).
Plenty of color-coded speaker cable was included with the system, making set-up a cinch. All of the jacks on the back are well labeled, and color-coded to match the speaker cables and the the jacks on the backs of the speakers themselves. They are the normal spring-type jacks, not RCA or screw-vise types, so they are very easy to use and it's easy to get extensions for larger rooms.
The base unit itself is rather large (see dimensions in the listing), but still smaller than a tuner plus an amp plus a CD player plus a DVD player, so space-wise it is great. The speakers are surprisingly small (4"x4"x6" satellites, 4"x4"x12" center) and will fit almost anywhere. The packages that are listed as new are supposed to come with mounting brackets, but my (factory-refurbished) system did not, so I can't really comment on their ease of use.
Over all, this was a great buy for the price, but I would not have been satisfied to buy it new for the list price (I've seen anywhere from $400US to $700US plus tax and shipping). Try some bargain hunting at orderbox.com or on an auction site before zipping out to Good Guys. The savings is worth the wait in shipping time.
My first concern is with the load time. After spending about twenty minutes setting the whole thing up (placing speakers, hiding speaker wires, etc), I popped in my favorite audio CD (Portishead's "Dummy") to see what kind of sound I could get out of my new monster-system, and test the low-end on the sub-woofer, and it took 15 full seconds to register it as an audio CD (SEVENTY FIVE SECONDS for a burned CD in .CDA format), another full five seconds to read the number of tracks and then five more to start playing. Now, this is a store-bought CD, not a burned CD or disk of mp3's or anything like that... just a plain old audio CD.
The next concern is with the systems inability to multi-task. After I was sufficiently blown away by the sound of the system (and the downstairs-neighbor started pounding on the floor with a broom handle to tell me to turn it down), I switched to the Tuner mode to program the stations. Once that was completed, I wanted to put in a new CD. I tried ejecting the disk while still in tuner mode... no luck. The MX1055D cannot access functions from one mode while operating in another. I know that this does not sound like a big deal, but that is exactly why it is disappointing: how hard would it have been for Philips to allow the system to perform such a simple task?
The DVD reading is also a bit touchy (overly sensitive to dust or superficial scratches), and takes plenty of time to load, but I tend to be more patient with movie veiwing. I mean, really: chapter selection on a DVD that takes 10 seconds versus fast-forwarding on VHS that takes 10 minutes (and isn't really accurate)... no contest.
The remote I received (different than the original control) works much better than the buttons on the unit itself, but its range is limited, and the buttons are somewhat less responsive than I would like. Also, use of the remote for CD's is kind of bulky (who needs 39 buttons?!?) and not very intuitive.
Other little things, like the non-intuitive nature of the radio-preset programming process, the poor response of the buttons on the face of the unit and the poor FM scan abilities, bug me, but not enough to go into it.
THE GOOD STUFF:
The bottom-ported sub-woofer kicks out clean, clear low end like you would not believe. My living room is not huge (about 18 ft by 12 ft), but the sub is more than strong enough to fill it with gut level bass. In addition, the five speaker surround array can keep up in the mid- and high-range so that you get a well balanced aural effect with music or video.
The sub also has independent level control for all us bass-heads. You can adjust how loud the sub is in relation to the rest of the speakers so that you can enjoy your loud explosions right where is counts: 3 inches behind your solar-plexus!
PLENTY of a/v inputs for all of your components, including in and out RCA jacks for the VCR so you can watch your old videos with fantastic sound (or dub your DVD's to VHS for later viewing on your friends' punier systems).
Plenty of color-coded speaker cable was included with the system, making set-up a cinch. All of the jacks on the back are well labeled, and color-coded to match the speaker cables and the the jacks on the backs of the speakers themselves. They are the normal spring-type jacks, not RCA or screw-vise types, so they are very easy to use and it's easy to get extensions for larger rooms.
The base unit itself is rather large (see dimensions in the listing), but still smaller than a tuner plus an amp plus a CD player plus a DVD player, so space-wise it is great. The speakers are surprisingly small (4"x4"x6" satellites, 4"x4"x12" center) and will fit almost anywhere. The packages that are listed as new are supposed to come with mounting brackets, but my (factory-refurbished) system did not, so I can't really comment on their ease of use.
Over all, this was a great buy for the price, but I would not have been satisfied to buy it new for the list price (I've seen anywhere from $400US to $700US plus tax and shipping). Try some bargain hunting at orderbox.com or on an auction site before zipping out to Good Guys. The savings is worth the wait in shipping time.
