Home > Consumer Reviews > RCA RT2500 Dolby Digital Home Theater System

Yep it's a decent set for the money, but since the DTS decoding is flawed, I wouldn't bother if you enjoy DTS. How is it flawed, you may ask? Let me tell you. Play a movie with strong bass in it in Dolby 5.1, and then switch to DTS. Where did the bass go?

You want an example? Try Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition. The part where Sauron gets killed at the start and there's this bass-heavy 'tidal-wave' across the soldiers. Lots of lovely bass in 5.1, and nothing in DTS. Useless. Same story with ALL DTS movies.

You can do better..

the only thing I have a problem with is making it play in pcm cause my dvd does not have digital input on the back of it so I have to use a coaxial cable please help if any one can

For the price.... I bought mine at Sam's Club, this system has it all. So easy to hook up, and many many imputs for whatever you need to hook up. I dare not to increase the volume too much for fear of being put out on the street. It's audio is clear, crisp and bold. I highly recommend this system. Its sound is amazing. 5 stars. I'd give it 6 if I could. Buy this product, and you'll be up and running in no time. This truly is a theatre in a box.

I shopped all around looking for a home theater system with the sound, options, and inputs that I needed. Some of the high-priced systems did not have enough S-video inputs. I was suprised to find that the RCA RT2500 had everything I needed at an affordable price. I got my system at Radio Shack where they had it marked down from $399 to $149.00. At that price, I just couldn't pass it up. I could not be more happy with the purchase. If you need a system and can FIND this one, buy it. I had to search and search to find someone with one in stock.
I have an S-video VCR, S-Video DVD, S-video SAT, all hooked up, and still have an extra set of S-video inputs on the front open.
The dolby digital is great with the optical inputs.
We are re-watching all of our movies and re-enjoying them with the new sound. It is alot of fun. My only real complaint is that the folks at RCA help line are absolutely clueless. I really laughed at them when I hung up the phone. They must get zero training. With just a little reading & learning about Home Theater hookup, you will know much more than anyone I spoke to at RCA.
But the unit itself, RT2500 is awesome, so someone at RCA knows what they are doing. The RCA remote will not work my Dish Network Receiver (model 4000), but I was able to get my Dish Network remote to operate the RCA receiver, by programming the TV mode of the remote with the code of the RCA receiver.
Great system, great price. I don't know why some members of home theater forums give negative comments about RCA and the RT-2500. I think that they are just jealous because they spent much more money, and still are using composite video, because the receiver they purchased didn't have enough inputs. I'm very critical of products, and I think this one is top notch! I love it.

After the many positive reviews here, I decided to purchase this system...thanks everyone for the input (especially the "electronics fan from Austin Texas"). This system is amazingly simple to hook up...the most complicated matter was that the receiver was deep enough that I had to operate on my entertainment center. Check your dimensions!

The audio quality is absolutely phenomenal...the 700 watts and the RCA smarts of this system really makes a big difference in the audio quality. When I first set this system up, I had basic RCA style (red, yellow, and white) cables from the dvd player to the receiver...I thought it sounded great already. But then I decided to take advantage of the additional digital optical input the receiver has so I swapped the audio RCA cables with one fiber optic digital optical cable...holy cow! The sound quality is now even better...plus, the surround effect is now perfect. The surround sound goes to each of the 5 speakers EXACTLY as it was meant.

There are some comments in the reviews about boosting the bass by adding another subwoofer...I am sure that is a good idea but for me, I haven't had any problems with the bass.

If you want a great sound system for less than three hundred bucks (I got it from dynadirect), I highly recommend this system...and definitely add the digital optical cable if your dvd player has this type of optional output.