Philips HTS5560/12 Full 3D HD Blu Ray 5.1 Home Cinema System - 1000W

This comes in an enormous box with tremendous amounts of cardboard packaging and from the weight, you realise that this is a serious product.

The weight is mostly down to the Subwoofer, but the player unit is also quite heavy and has a very solid metal frame. It is a neat,compact unit however and contains the surround sound processor,amplifier and a host of connections, as well as surprisingly, an FM tuner.

It takes quite a while to get all the components out of their extensive packaging and get it all set up. So you have the 6 speaker units and a remote, as well as the main unit. There is a quick start guide which was a bit mystifying and left some questions unanswered for me; but there is an extensive paper guide which I needed to consult before I could get it all set up to my satisfaction.

You do end up with a lot of untidy leads and although you are given the option of wireless rear speakers - this does mean buying a large and pricy, separate unit just for this purpose. Similarly, if you want an iPod dock, you have to buy a special unit from Philips. This does keep the cost down, I suppose, but surely it would have been better to leave out the FM radio and offer this kind of thing as standard? You do get an HDMI lead included, which was a help.

Of course these are details and the main thing is how does it sound and work? Initially, I tried it with a couple of Blu ray discs : The Universe Complete Season One [Blu-ray] [2007] and Moon [Blu-ray] [2009] to see how it worked. Picture quality was excellent as you would expect - this is a high end Blu Ray player, with full 3D capability. Sound was the real revelation though - on the Universe, it really sounded like a rocket taking off!

In fact the subwoofer was so loud, I had to turn it down to its lowest setting, before finding a level that was not going to have neighbours thrown out of their seats! So you have 1,000 watts and you can believe it - the bass is huge and explosive effects or low hums from machines, really sound as if you are there!

The surround effects are excellent as well. In Moon, I liked how crystal-clear classical music went from surrounding you, as if the sound of the orchestra was actually in your head, to coming out of the actual speakers in front of Sam when he was pruning plants. The audio suggested what was internal to his thinking and what was actually happening, in a way you don't get with a normal system.

The clarity of sound is of a higher level than I have heard before from systems like this and I am looking forward to using it for discs of Opera and Orchestral concerts. Usually, I stick to CDs and my normal Hi-Fi system - but this promises to be a better experience in terms of real 3D sound. Again there is a slight disappointment in this respect, as the documentation indicates this doesn't allow for SACD. So I tried an SACD Mahler: Symphony No. 6 and while it was played, the quality wasn't the same as Blu Ray. More research maybe, but it looks like it was just playing it as a CD?

The player does boast an impressive range of formats that it will accept, but certainly the latest Blu Ray discs sound and look most impressive. Although the other thing is that this unit can upgrade the sound on all your devices. For example, I tried connecting it to my Sky HD box and there is a digital coaxial connection, to allow dolby sound from the TV through the speaker setup.It also allows USB connection and network connection. So there is a lot to play with here!And this also means you should be able to get software updates in future.

In summary there are a few disappointments and omissions, but it looks good (nice, consistent design)and the sound is really the impressive feature for me - very loud and highly-detailed throughout the audio spectrum. If you like bass, then you can't go wrong here.

Good points:
- Reasonably easy to set up (could be better, but no worse than average)
- Superb Blu Ray picture and audio - can't fault it
- Looks great
- 3D capable (not tested)

Bad points:
- Speakers larger than average for Home Cinema setup - could appear oversized for some setups
- Mentions wireless speakers on the box but be aware that an additional purchase is required to have wireless speakers

All in all, this is a top notch Home Cinema system, which for anyone other than the enthusiast, will be more than adequate.

Set UP: On opening the package there was a fairly easy set of instructions with diagrams for a quick set up. The speakers have coloured coded plugs into the back of the unit which made placing very easy.

Connecting it with HDMI to my LG TV and switching on all took no more than 15 minutes. The sound emanating from the multi angled speakers was warm and rich and the picture quality on blu ray was superb. I played the film Eclipse and also the third act of Tristan and Isolde from Glyndebourne. The film with its special effects was crystal clear with rich colours on screen. The opera had a really warm acoustic where the singers voices sounded ideal. The unit packs a lot of power but at ordinary listening level it was very comfortable to the ear. The ipod / iphone dock ( not supplied with the unit but purchased separately )worked very well with an easily accessible on screen interface which was great to use. Only the remote control was a bit awkward. Shaped like an upturned avocado, the buttons were small, which I consider to be a disadvantage, but it works well enough. Unfortunately I am unable to test the 3D at the moment as my television does not support that, however, if it is at the same standard of the rest of the unit it should work very well indeed.One small caveat. The instruction booklet does not seem to mention dvd upscaling, though this is printed on the box. I tried it with a dvd of the Camomile Lawn which emerged in really first rate clear colours. All in all an excellent piece of kit which I can unreservedly recommend.