Philips HTS3571 Home Theater in a Box

Double Bass. Besides the name given to a noble string instrument, it’s also the positioning given for this nifty little DVD home theater system by Philips. It is placed as an entry level model, a segment that sees serious demand especially during shopping season. Check it out!

Design and Features
The system is quite neatly designed, keeping a thematic approach of black gloss for some exteriors and black matte for the rest. The speakers are small and cube-shaped, with the front panel covered edge to edge by a fine metallic grill. The sub is large, in comparison to the compactness of the rest of the set, the former having a cuboid, straight edged shape. The front panel contains a reflex port on its bottom half, plus a side firing woofer. The subwoofer driver size is 8 inches, while the satellites have 3 inch drivers. The center speaker has 3 drivers horizontally positioned, one central 2 inch tweeter, sided by two 2.5 inch woofers.

All these connect to the DVD receiver, which is designed in lockstep with the rest, bearing a glossy black façade. The tray is on the left end, while volume knob and navigation buttons are positioned on the right. It’s a neat looking unit, with no loud or flashy curves anywhere.

Specs

• Compression formats: MPEG1, MPEG2, DivX 3.11, DivX 4.x, DivX 5.x, DivX 6.0, DivX Ultra, WMV
• Playback Media: DVD-Video, DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, Video CD/SVCD, CD-R/CD-RW
• D/A converter: 12 bit, 108 MHz
• Picture enhancement: High Def (720p, 1080i, 1080p), Progressive scan
• Output power (RMS): Front/Surround 4x170W, Centre/Subwoofer 2x260W
• D/A converter: 24 bit, 192 kHz
• Frequency response: 40-20000 Hz
• Signal to noise ratio: >60 dB
• Formats Supported: DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby Prologic II, Stereo
• Front / Side connections: Hi-Speed USB, MP3 Line-in, Microphone input 3.5mm jack
• Rear Connections: HDMI output, Component Video output, Composite video (CVBS) output, AUX in, FM
• Antenna, Easy-Fit speaker connectors, Digital coaxial in, Digital optical in

Performance
Once the speakers were setup, we started with a movie straight away, watching I am Legend on DVD, the audio being connected via optical cable. The growls and thuds in this film require serious control on the sub’s part. After this we played some audio discs to test how the system handled music.

We were very impressed with the bass of the system, it was low and wholesome, with better than average timing. Not once did the lows distort or ‘fart’. An issue that comes up, is the fact that they (the lows) tend to overpower the highs and mids a bit. The sound is supported well by bass, and has just a bit of crunch in the low mids. Thus music listening is not impressive for the purists and audiophiles. But for movies, this is not necessarily a bad thing as the action gets thumpier.

The overall sound was very loud. To get a sound that can fill a 400 sq meter room from such small speakers is quite commendable. The volume level can go high no doubt, but should not be raised too high because your ears might experience fatigue. The low end comes out well through the sub, thus movie sound effects are rendered without complaint.

Conclusion
At Rs. 19,990, the system is quite reasonable, but falls in a market segment where there are lots of other options, some of them even lower priced. The sound quality becomes the deciding factor, and Philips have very rarely disappointed in that regard. The bass here is deep and solid, with just a slight trace of overpowering the rest of the frequencies. The output is loud, and for the price, rest assured, you are getting good value for money.