Panasonic SCHT05 Home Theater System
See it at Amazon.com for $249.99Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First
(5 out of 5)Great Bang for the Buck
We settled on this system because:
- We already owned a 5-disc progressive scan DVD player
- The size of the room and seating position eliminated 6.1 systems as a possibility
- Two optical inputs
- Two-way front and rear speakers
This system sounds great with both the Pro Logic II applied to PCM stereo content (like the Band of Brothers reruns on the History Channel) as well as quality 5.1 content. We watched The Last Samurai with this system last night and were very impressed. If having your dogs constantly jumping up thinking someone/thing is outside is a measure of system quality, then this one is a beauty. The rear surrounds got them started every time. As for power, I haven't had any need to crank it past 50% volume yet.
The only other consideration you may want to make is that the power supply and amp are within the subwoofer, and the control and power cord from the sub to the receiver is only ~6ft, which does limit sub placement.
One tip if you decide to purchase this system: go out and get yourself a roll of 16-gauge wire. They supply ~105 ft of pre-cut wire (5 sections) with this system, but it is a bit thin. You'll need connectors if you want to go 14 gauge or thicker based on the speaker connection size.
If you've got a smallish room and already own a DVD player, consider this system.
(5 out of 5)Best HTIB in its Price Range
I bought this system a week ago, and I love it. The sound is excellent, and thanks to its 3 digital inputs (not 2 total inputs as another review claimed), I have my DVD, Satellite receiver, and PS2 all connected digitally. The receiver also has a number of analog inputs. The receiver also comes with video jacks, but I don't recommend using them, since they are only RCA jacks. I use S-Video and Component connections for my video, which are much higher quality.
When you're watching TV, the receiver will automatically switch between Dolby Digital when it is offered and Dolby Pro Logic 2. For DVDs, the receiver will also decode DTS.
All of the speakers attach to the sub, which is quite sizable. The other speakers are small, and pack a lot of power for their size. The receiver is more compact than any other I have seen, and is actually smaller than my DVD player. A lot of receivers are bloated with a lot of empty space inside, thankfully Panasonic didn't follow that trend.
As noted in another review, definitely DO NOT use Panasonic's speaker cable. It is really thin, and will kill the quality of the audio. Buy some speaker cable and also tips, which make life a lot easier.
My only (minor) complaint is the remote, which needs a better layout. At the bottom of the remote, there are 4 rows of 5 identical-size buttons.
For $200, this is a great system. Most systems at this price point don't have as many digital inputs, and the speakers are great. I highly recommend this system.
(5 out of 5)This Home Theater Won't Disappoint
We've been wanting to get a home theater audio system for some time so when our anniversary came around, we decided it was the perfect time to purchase one.
I went online and did extensive research on different home theater options. We opted for an HTIB due to its cost and ease of installation/use. Since we already own both a dvd/vcr combo unit as well as a dvd recorder, we didn't want to purchase an HTIB with an included DVD player and in essesce, pay for another DVD. We narrowed it down to the Sony HT-DDW760 and the Panasonic SCHT-05. They are both good choices for an HTIB without an included DVD player. While the Sony HT-DDW760 has more inputs that its little brother HT-DDW660, it still only has two digital inputs which had us leaning towards the Panasonic. We went down to our local electronics store to listen to them. Unfortunately, they only had the Panasonic hooked up but it was enough to convince us. We purchased an SCHT-05 that evening.
The setup was relatively simple. All of the speaker wire goes into the subwoofer and out into the satellites. Panasonic sets up many of their home theater systems this way with the sub containing the amp for the whole system. Then, there is a single proprietary cable that connects the slim silver receiver to the sub. Several people recommend that you spend money to upgrade the speaker wire. We had some 14ga stranded speaker wire that we wanted to use. However, the connection slots for the speaker wire proved to small to use the 14ga. Be aware of this if you want to use heavier wire than what was supplied. We ended up using the wire provided with the system.
The three digital inputs were a huge draw for us to get this system and we haven't been disappointed. There are two optical and one digital coaxial. We had purchased cables on eBay and it made hooking up our a/v components a breeze. There are also generous RCA stereo inputs as well, if your components don't have digital audio outs. We used the three digital inputs for our digital cable, dvd recorder, and dvd part of our dvd/vcr combo unit. We then hooked up the vcr via the stereo RCAs.
There are four levels of subwoofer output. It's very simple to change. While I know there are more powerful subs out there, the one included in this system rumbles, shakes and vibrates the house capably. Also the speaker setup mode makes it easy to ensure that the speakers are balanced for your room.
We have an open concept floorplan which means that our living room area is quite large. The Panasonic SCHT-05 can amply fill the space with sound. The Dolby Digital and DTS decoding are excellent. We still are shocked at times to hear all the sound effects when we watch a DVD. It freaked out our poor dog to hear sound coming from so many directions. The system adds immeasurably to the movie watching experience.
You can fine tune the sound settings if needed but we didn't find it necessary. The Dolby ProLogic II works great. Since so many programs on cable/satellite are in stereo, the PLII converts two channel sound into surround. It makes the system much more usable.
In short, you can't go wrong with this system. While it doesn't have component video switching or similar high end features, it does an excellent job of what it's designed to do. The low cost and easy setup makes it a perfect addition to any home that already owns a DVD player. We couldn't be more please with our purchase.
(2 out of 5)Not enough audio inputs
The problem with this system is it only had 2 audio inputs. I could hook up my DVD and VCR, but not my new HDTV or any other components, such as a CD player or iPod. There are several other Home Theaters of similar quality and price that have 5 or more audio inputs.
(4 out of 5)The best in its price range!
This little system is the best for Dolby Digital and DTS in its price range! If you've got a small-to-medium sized room, you won't be disappointed.
Inputs:
- 1 Coax Digital Audio input (for your DVD player)
- 2 Optical Digital Audio inputs (for your CD player, PlayStation2, etc.)
- 4 Audio inputs (for TV, VCR, Tape, etc.)
Of course, there's more than just the inputs. The system really does sound good and everything, from the center channel to the surrounds to the subwoofer, works very well together.
If you like to tweak, the system has a test-mode so that you can adjust the level of the speakers to make some louder or quieter. The subwoofer can even be adjusted on-the-fly during TV/CD/DVD playback with the remote -- good for when there's too much or not enough of that big bass sound!
Along the same lines, you can enable a sort of night viewing mode that's actually called "Dynamic Range Compression." This feature will take the really quiet sounds and make them louder and take the really loud sounds and make them quieter. Unfortunately, you can't enable this feature from the remote, so you'll have to press a series of buttons on the unit itself. (This is my biggest complaint and the reason I'm giving 4 instead of 5 stars.)
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this system as much as I do!