Home > Consumer Reviews > AudioSource System 230 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers (Black)

If you've been putting off starting your home theatre system because of the high price of buying so many speakers, wait no longer. These speakers will give higher-end and certainly higher-priced competitors a serious run for their money. You can tell these are quality speakers by the cabinets' design (for example they don't have flat backs) and weight (beefy magnets). And for the price these really can't be beat.

For watching DVDs in Dolby Digital and DTS, the sound is excellent. You can drive them with receivers from 50-150 watts and they sound good at nearly all volume levels, especially in smaller rooms--great for the dynamic range (sound level-wise) of DVD movies. The 2-way center channel will make dialogue as clear as if the actors were in your living room. The satellites have plenty of range for sound effects and movie music. The sub is punchy and clear so you feel it as well as hear it, but it's not so distinct you can easily localize it (which is good). For digital music I don't think the satellites' frequency response is quite wide enough, especially at the high end. The satellites and center speaker don't have tweeters, even though they appear to have a dome when you look at them, and you have to use the sub to make up for their lack of low range (below about 180Hz). However they're certainly not bad, and in stereo mode you can hardly tell the bass isn't coming from the front channels, if you have the sub well placed and at the right level and crossover.

AudioSource's web site has the product manual available online so you can read all about the spec's and features. They come with wall mounting brackets and also have sockets for a compatible stand. They provide fairly good lengths of speaker wire but it's not high quality and you'd do well to replace it with something lower gauge. The powered sub has both LFE (RCA) and speaker-level inputs, front channel outputs, and level control. All speakers have internal crossovers.

If you're unsure of what home theatre speaker set to buy, no matter how good or bad your home theatre receiver is, you should just buy this kit. You will NOT find anything better for the price! I planned on replacing this set with something nice like the Klipsch Quintet but I haven't bothered yet because I'm getting such good sound from the AudioSource setup! Also, if you have a 6.1 or 7.1 receiver you can purchase the AudioSource satellites individually. The set also comes in two colors in case you want to match your black or silver TV/stereo.