Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic SC-HT900 Home Theater System with 5-Disc DVD Changer

Do not buy this system. Last night I heard extremely loud popping sounds coming out of the speakers while watching TV. I actually thought the speakers were going to explode.

Great system. Nice sound. Beautiful design. Plays all formats you need. Great for playing CDRs recorded on my computer(mp3, vcd, etc). For $419 it definetely gives you much more than can be expected for this price. This system is all you need for a family room. Thank you Panasonic.

I really searched around and cannot believe this system sells for under $500, much less $400. It took me less than two hours to completely set up the system and it was step-by-step easy! The tower system is attractive and I did not need to buy extra `stands' or `wall mounts'. The central speaker is small but delivers s high-powered sound. The subwoofer is powerful as well and has four levels of intensity - I like heavy bass, but set mine at level 3. The actual DVD/CD receiver is very slim and easy to maneuver. I had some trouble setting up my TV with the unit's somewhat complicated remote, but finally figured it out after several runs. You are able to adjust the sound to nine positions, depending on where you re sitting. You don't have to be front and center.

The system looks very sleek in my home and the sound is just incredible. The rear speakers play the `echo' or `audience' sound without heavy vocals on the `live' recordings. It is true 5.1 digital sound. My only regret is that it does not play SACD's. Listening to my old CD's all over again is like the first time I ever listened to them. The 5.1 surround brings out sounds I never heard before and makes clear distinction between acoustic and electric guitars, multiple keyboards and backing vocalists. A great CD to test on this system is Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon", but any classical recording sounds like you are in the theater! This is the real deal and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Those are the three words that best describe the kind of system I was looking for. Quality means that the product has the picture and sound clarity to rival $1000+ systems. The center speaker does most of the work by spitting out crisp dialogue that captures your attention. The four "tallboy" speaker's work perfectly with the center speaker to fill in the background noise to surround you with whatever you're watching. I prefer a more powerful subwoofer than the one you get, but that's just because I'm a "basshead". Don't get me wrong, the mid bass is clean and tight, and the lows are impressive but only when you're watching DVD's. The bass is unnoticeble when you're watching regular tv. Panasonic could improve on this system by adding volume control on the subwoofer unit so that customizing bass level is not a problem. This system's design fits perfectly with silver plasma's because of it's sleek look but it would still look great next to any silver tv because of it's built-in speaker stands, which by-the-way would cost you at least $... if you bought them seperately. I paid a little over $... for this system and I feel like I'm in my own little theater when I watch movies now. I was thinking about a more expensive system with a more powerful subwoofer but I don't see how they can improve on anything else. I would end up paying almost double if I added the optional speaker stands.

Panasonic SC-HT900.

My Rating: FRUSTRATING

I bought this unit new in the box from Circuit City for $479 in July 2003.

The Good: Sleek design for a small cabinet volume. Speakers are unobtrusive, they don't hog my living room. Holds 5 DVDs with Progressive Scan capability.

The Bad:
1. If a DVD is playing, then when any other input is selected (such as TV to check sports scores, or FM), the DVD player stops and returns to the main menu! That's right, it has no knowledge of where it was in the movie if you either mistakenly or intentionally change the input.

2. From the remote, it can be put into a mode where no sound comes out when playing a DVD even though the video portion appears on the TV. Selecting FM or turning the unit off then on will force it to output sound, but again, you've lost your place in the movie. When in this silent mode, other buttons on the remote do not, by themselves, force audio output. Perhaps a sequence of button pushes will wake the amplifier up, but I don't have the patience to try sequences.

3. The confusing remote has some buttons whose sole purpose is to control other components (if Panasonic provided codes for your particular units). The AV System button can turn your TV on but it doesn't select the TV input on the SC-HT900. TV/Video can change the video input on your TV, but it doesn't select the TV input on the SC-HT900. Several button functions are shifted. You have to HOLD DOWN the shift button while pressing another button. This is a three handed operation. One hand to hold the remote, one hand for pressing the shift button, and one hand for pressing the desired function. Good luck! The buttons on the remote are discrete, whereas those on the receiver are toggles. The receiver has Disk Skip, on the remote you must press Disk then a number between 1 and 5. The receiver has a Source Select button that toggles between the 7 inputs, the remote has 5 unshifted buttons and 1 shifted button for the same purpose.

4. The amplifier is too weak and fails at normal loudness levels. The volume function is calibrated in dB from -68 to 0. At any level above -22 on my unit, the amplifier will eventually fail while watching a movie or listening to a CD. At -20, this typically takes about 45 minutes before a loud POP is heard through all speakers followed by a severe decrease in volume. After a few seconds, the volume returns to normal. Several minutes later, another POP is heard, and the sequence repeats with the interval becoming shorter between POPs. I assume my unit is defective in this regard, but I haven't wanted to extract the unit from its cabinet to take it in for service. I play movies and CDs at settings -22 and below.

5. The optical digital input on my unit doesn't work. No sound is output, although the front panel light is lit, indicating that the optical input is selected. This input's sampling frequency for Dolby Digital is supposed to automatically switch between 32, 44.1, and 48 KHz rates. I've tried connecting a few optical output devices with two new cables. My SC-HT900 does not output any sound when the optical input is selected. Two other surround systems in my home work fine when connected to the same components with the same cables.

Since it is still under warranty, I'm taking it to a service center to get item 5 corrected if possible. Since it takes more than a half hour for the problem in item 4 to happen, I don't have much hope of getting it fixed. Since the DVD player and receiver are in the same thin unit, and the amplifier is in the subwoofer enclosure, I have to take both units to the shop. If they are not repairable, I'll have to get a new receiver and a new subwoofer. The subwoofer does not appear that it can be driven by an RCA jack or otherwise from a standard surround sound receiver. I wish I had considered the interrelationship and marriage of the DVD/Receiver and the Subwoofer/Amplifier when I bought it.