Philips MMS460 PC 5.1 Speakers

Philips is not a regular in the PC speaker market, but nonetheless, the brand is respectable in all their endeavors, thus we gladly accepted this model of theirs for scrutiny. It’s called the MMS460, and is aimed at the increasingly popular 5.1 speaker segment, a segment that is a perfect compliment to the Media player and HTPC market, as more and more people combine their entertainment and work systems into one.

Design
It’s clearly one of the most uniquely designed pieces out of the bunch available today. The 5 satellites are globular, like a half ellipsoid, with the driver pumping outwards of the cross section. This view looks like the thrust nozzle of a spaceship. The silver accented drivers are 4 inches in diameter, and there's no tweeter in the system at all.

The sub is medium sized with slightly more depth than usual, with connectors at the back. The unique thing about this system is that the fronts and surround speaker have a common connector, thus no mixing up can happen. The center speaker also acts as a control pod, with buttons on top, and a Mini Din connector rather than regular EP.

Specs
Speaker power: 5 Watts RMS per channel (5 channels), 30 Watts RMS subwoofer
Frequency response:20 - 20000 Hz
Dimensions: Speaker (90 x 60 x 90) mm, Subwoofer (145 x 240 x 143) mm

Performance and Conclusion
Once on, we figured out that the bass is present but is not the most powerful in the group. It extends low too, but it lacks that thumping quality. The response of the system is more refined rather throughout the spectrum, with no real spiky levels poking out at you in any frequency range. The highs are clean and clear, and have a good amount of “air”. The loudness of the system is decent - it does not distort at high levels, but at the same time it’s not all super loud for a hall.

At a price of Rs. 5750, this product is really quite reasonably priced. It looks very futuristic and mainly has a clean output. It’s not the loudest product out there and also the bass is not all that powerful, but the frequency response doesn’t throw any nasty “spikey” surprises. It's uniform throughout. Recommended due to good pricing, good looks, and firm build quality. Those wanting a heavier bass response must pass.