Philips AmbiSound Home Theater Sound Bar with Integrated 1080p-Upscaling DVD/MP3 Player

Amazon Customer Reviews

(4 out of 5)

Good looking home theater system

Best part about this system is the simplicity in term of look and set up. Black finish matches with my black Phillips LCD TV. It comes with a main unit and a loud speaker. So not many things to hook up. It is pretty simple to set up if you plan to just have it sitting on the top of the cabinet. I decided to hang it on the wall, right below my flat LCD TV. It looks just gorgeous.

You can play CD, DVD, and AM/FM radio. It has MP3 line-in, iPOD connector and a beautiful black docking unit, USB connector to play MP3 and photos. Sound quality is pretty good. I mainly use it when I watch TV/DVD or listen to my iPOD. Nothing serious.

I didn't give the five star because it didn't have the high def or blueray. I wish it comes with the HD radio and multi-disk. iPod dock works well. However, dock is a separate unit so it has to be hooked up to the main unit. As a result, it ruins the clean look. IPod docking unit's plug is located on the side so it is difficult to hide wires and connectors. They should have integrated the iPOD docking unit to the main unit or the loud speaker box to maintain the clean look.

All in all, I think price is good and unit works well. If you want the clean look, this is the system.

Update Aug 5, 07: System works great. I am glad I bought it. By the way, don't buy the wall mount kit because it already comes with it. Don't understand, why Amazon wants you to purchase a separate kit????

(3 out of 5)

Deep Sound, but where's the surround?

Always a tricky one when reviewing something which sounds great, but doesnt really do what it says on the tin.

I read a few reviews on the Phillips sound bar and decide to go for it rather than the Yahama, due to its inclusion of an upscaling DVD player being built in.

My house just doesnt lend itself well to placing 5 speakers, particularly rears, so I thought what the heck I'll try this.

The audio quality is excellent, deep bass (not quite sharp enough with movies on normal settings but that can be fixed by tweaking the audion settings and cranking the treble)and a huge array of different pre set movie and audio settings to suit your ear.

But as far as virtual Surround Sound capability goes...there isnt any as far as I can tell. I've tried various DVD's with scenes I know bring in the rear speakers on full systems and there is no distinguishable surround effect.

Disappointing really, although I have to say I still love the overall sound when its cranked up, it really booms out.

So if you want a boost to your TV sound and have a beautiful looking sound bar with built in DVD (and it does look awesome), you cant go far wrong. But if you are thinking you can change the laws of physics and have surround sound without rear speakers, think again, cause this just doesnt work!

(4 out of 5)

Neat, simple design, great sound

Here is my take on the Philips Sound Bar after owning it for a week:

Size and look of the unit is amazing. I did not wall mount to unit, but rather opted for having it sit underneath my TV on the TV stand. The piano black fininsh on the DVD Door and iPod dock complement the piano black finish on my TV. Definately a very stylish and eye catching device.

I have the following hooked up to the Sound Bar:
1. Digital HD Cable Box via digital COAX cable
2. iPod Dock via supplied dock
3. Playstation 3 sound via RCA component cables

Initially i was not that impressed with the bass of the system while playing DVD's, i since found moving the subwoofer further away from the TV, around 2 meters to the side, sorted that issue out.

The upscaling DVD was good. I have a Samsung HD 1080p 52" LCD, and it looked great. The color was sharp, with blacks being black (not gray) and did not notice any blurring on fast action scenes.

The sound from the iPod dock is great, and i really like the fact that you can control the iPod from the unit's remote.

Sound from the PS3 is okay. I wished that there was an optical cable input for the PS3, but this is a minor gripe.

4/5 *'s -> Recommendation is to buy.

(5 out of 5)

30 Minutes from the Box to a Home Theater System

And much of that 30 minutes was spent clearing out the old system.

I purchased this to replace our old home theater system. Our previous model, with its multiple speakers and tangle of wires, was a "true" 5.1 surround sound. I have never been crazy about stringing up speaker wire, and the setup of our living room meant that it was bound to look unsightly. I wanted this sound system to do 2 things: look nice and produce good sound, and it has delivered on both very well.

The look is sleek. The CD tray sits behind the front panel, which slides aside when opening (that got an "oohhh" from the kids). The connecting wires were minimal. The system draws its power from the sub-woofer, requiring a single outlet. The weight of the main bar is probably less than 20 pounds, with the majority of the weight of the whole system in the sub-woofer, which rests of the floor "at least 3 feet" from the bar. The bar rests easily on top of an entertainment center, but should not pose much problem to mount on a wall below a wall-mounted flat panel TV. It accommodates HDTV and non-HDTV, can synch with the TV cable sound, has an MP3 jack, and has AM/FM radio receivers.

As for the sound, I'd rate it quite good for the money. The set-up includes a brief series of questions regarding the room layout relative to the sound bar. I assume this calibrates it for a "sweet spot" where the sound most closely recreates a surround effect. I'm not an audiophile, but I'd call it a "surround lite". It gives the sound an impression of depth that is pleasing, and the bass is deep enough to make the THX test pattern enjoyable (my personal test of "good enough"). If you are an audio purist, this is probably not the system for you, but it was a real crowd-pleaser at our house for family movie night.

So, for an easy, eye pleasing setup and very good sound in an affordable package, I strongly recommend the Phillips AmbiSound system.

(4 out of 5)

Philips AmbiSound

I recently purchased this puppy a few weeks ago, and have been waiting to write a review. Normally I wouldn't write this, but seeing as there is only one review available, I felt it necessary for other people seeking a customer POV.

To start off, the box it came in was bigger than me haha. I was really surprised when it arrived and soon was setting it up with my LCD. Setup was fairly simple, and I imagine anyone with a little tech knowledge wont have any problems with this system. There are only a few cords, and the system comes with a wall mount! I decided to go with it because it will be used in a smaller room and I knew a full 5.1 would be a hassle with all the wires running all over the place.

CONS:
1.)I am quite pleased overall with the sound quality of the system but the DVD player it comes with, although it upconverts was not really what I was expecting. I've been using an X-Box 360 for a while and I thought it would be nice to cut out the middle man. This it seems, will not happen, as the 360's picture is noticeably superior. I was told that I just needed to set it up properly.. but days later after fidgeting with the different settings and ONLY using the HDMI cable and HDMI settings, it still was not as good as the 360's, which was a bit sharper and just seemed more High-Def.
2.)The other thing I noticed was a crackle, whenever the system couldn't hit the high notes or there was too much treble for its own good. It is noticeable if you're listening for it but it didn't really bother me all that much and this only happened at a high volumn setting that was probably a bit too loud even for a good action movie.

PROS:
1.)I LOVE the subwoofer that this system comes with. It is just terrific, and really, really compliments the system phenominally. It is quite large and weighs a bit but it has a very deep, thick, solid sound to it.
2.)As I mentioned before, the set up was very simple and the system itself is very easy to use.
3.)The system sounds very good, and looks amazing!

IN CONCLUSION:
If you're looking for a great system that doesn't take up a whole lot of space, looks cool, and will impress the friends, look no further. But if you really want amazing sound quality, definately go with the full 5.1 because although this 'imitates' the 5.1 it is noticeably different. The upconvert is nice but not the best dvd player. For those wondering why there is no HD player or BlueRay player, the reason is because it would probably double its price or at least add a good extra chunk on to it.

Overall, definately a great QUALITY product. Everything is solid, and I am really enjoying it!