Home > Consumer Reviews > Philips HTS3544 Home Theater System with iPod Connectivity (Silver)

Ok so I just got this system on Friday June 12th. This thing is GREAT!!! I set it up in only about 20 minutes. The sound is just super especially when you play the radio or movies. When you use it for the TV it's not as loud but its still pretty damn loud. Maybe it's because I'm using the cheap RCA cables.. I'm gonna order the digital audio cable ASAP because I've heard its a higher quality. Also this thing comes with a USB drive so you can get a USB flash drive and actually save movies and music from your computer and play it on the Home Theater! One thing I'll let you know now that even the Philips customer service couldnt help me out with is when you buy a USB Flash drive it might say "Device not Supported". Now I called Philips customer service and they tell me it only supports a 4 gig USB drive which is BS. I have a 16 gig USB flash drive and it works.. The reason it wasnt working is because the USB drive comes with software installed on it already and the Home Theater cant read that file it only reads movie files and music files.. I spoke with 2 different Philip Customer Service agents and they both didn't know anything and told me 2 different things that were totally wrong.. Remember if you buy a USB Flash Drive and it says Device Not Supported then plug it into your computer and delete and software that it came already installed with and it should work. I highly recommend this sytem though. Its super loud and everything works great!!! GREAT BUY

I was originally looking for a system for 200-300$ but after reading the reviews on this one i changed my mind; not to mention it sells for 200-300$ everywhere else. It's just as good as it's hyped up to be: for it's low price, you really cannot do any better. The sound is amazing with nice booming bass and precision sound. Sounds better than my bose around ear headphones (which were twenty dollars more than this system.) I'm a pretty hardcore music listener but was always limited by my crummy ipod playe; with the ipod dock your music is clear as a whistle and the remote is very easy to use.

The only cons:
no equalizer, but the default settings are fine
no individual speaker controls
if you want to hear the sound from your tv, you have to buy your own cords for it

For 130$ (not to mention free shipping) it's easy to get over its few flaws.

I read the reviews of previous purchasers, and they were all positive. This system has worked just as advertised. Good sound, good features, low price. I especially like the front USB port for a flash drive.

The one and only pro to this system is the sound. It is phenomenonal for the cost of the system. This sucker packs a lot of bass, almost too much bass at times. I primarily use mine for playing CDs over DVDs so this review is more in regards to CD use. It does read and play data discs which is cool.

The cons are numerous but minor. So much so that I can live with them in comparison to my last craptacular RCA RTD258 system (see my review for that one). Here are few of the more noticeable cons for me:

*Proprietary speaker connections. The wires are not the kind that you slip into a slot and are easily spliceable. These end in a clunky color coded plastic knob that you connect into the back of the system. I hate to think what am I going to do when one of these suckers breaks... Also, there's a limited amount of wire so you have to make do with what they give you. The rear speakers have a substantial amount of wire over the front speakers. I also discovered even though the speaker connectors are color coded and the speakers labeled, they're interchangeable without sacrificing sound.

*Slow response and disc load time, but not half as slow as the RCA I replaced this with. It's still a bit frustrating but not so much that I can't live with it.

*No volume control for each independent speaker. I give the RCA credit in this regard. I was able to individually adjust the volume for each speaker: left, right, front, back, center, and bass. Not an option with this unit. EDIT: there actually is volume control for each speaker but it's not intuitive or a part of normal volume control. It's not included in the quick start set up guide. You have to go to the on screen menu, scroll to a systems set up tab, scroll down to speaker volume and then adjust the speaker volume.

*No bass, treble, balance, or equalizer controls that I am aware of. All you get are presets(i.e. lounge, jazz, rock) which I absolutely hate. They never sound right or appropriate for the music it purports it should be used for. I primarily listen to electronic music and I'm very particular about what sounds I want highlighted. To add insult to injury, it doesn't even offer an electronic preset.

*No 1.5 speed with sound. This was an awesome feature I've only seen on my JVC DVD player that I've had for years (and it still works like new). Maybe it's not offered anymore. You could watch a movie at the 1.5 speed setting and still hear what is being said, which brings me to my last con.

*Only one AUX jack. Most systems I have seen offer at least two so I can connect my JVC DVD player, my record player, and/or my headphone jack to play music from my computer or Sansa mpe3 player. It does come with an iPod dock but what use is that to me if I don't have an iPod? EDIT: there is a mp3 input jack in front of the system that makes up for the one AUX jack but you need a male/male connector thingy to use it.

Overall, a vast improvement over the RCA RTD258 I replaced. The sound is great and for under 200 clams I got what I paid for and I'm pretty satisfied with it.

In the future (probably when those plastic connector thingys break) I will invest more money and purchase a higher end system that includes all of the above missing features. But for now, I'm pretty satisfied.

OK, I've had mine for well over a year now. I had it in my apartment and now in my house. I LOVE the sound. I am pretty particular about sound and I really like this set up. Great bass and clear highs. I love the iPod dock and have no problems controlling volume or music selection with the remote. The only things I don't care for are the CD/DVD door is cheap and flimsy but has had no problems. When selecting between functions, it takes a few seconds to change, it's just annoying. There is no separate bass and treble controls, yet it still sounds really good. I would definitely reccommend purchasing this. Its a great system that is great on the budget. Worth every penny and still performs well enough that i would write a review after more than a year. This is my first review ever, and I'm cranking my iPod up right now!