Home > Consumer Reviews > Philips HTS3500S - Multichannel Super Audio CD and Home Cinema System - 400W and MP3 playback - Silver

For the price, this machine is great, you'll want to go through your DVD collection all over again as it really brings films to life.

My only problem was that the machine wasn't multi-region. I've since found the code to make it capable.

Press the open/close button so that the drawer is open.
Then press 9, 9, 9, 9, 0.
That's it, it should display 'Region: 0' onscreen.

This is a great home cinema system in the sub £200 price range, which gets you 500w of power, DTS, Dolby Digital and Pro Logic2 decoders. It looks fantastic, and sounds awesome. The speaker design is the nicest I have ever seen, and the sub is discreetly sized, yet pumps out a huge amount of bass. This unit is very impressive as it handles pretty much any disk you throw at it, CD, SACD, DVD, DVD+/-, VCD, MP3 CD and DivX disks.

The settings allow you to control the volume of each individual speaker, and sub volume.Pro Logic is amazing, it really does make regular music have a real surround sound feel. Although this is impressive, music quality is not so crisp, I would not use this as my main source for music audio. Playing DVDs will have you believing you are in the cinema, and without any of the drawbacks of actually being there, e.g. paying extortionate popcorn prices, having a 7 foot tall guy in front or having talking kids behind you.

The most impressive feature with this is that not only can you use Xbox, PS2 etc with the unit but also regular TV. This works well with standard TV signals, but when I use Freeview the rear speakers have a slight distortion(this could be just me though). Using consoles with this is a piece of cake, you don't need any extra cables or connections. The Xbox sounds awesome, where as the PS2 is unfortunately less impressive.

Overall I think this is very good value for money, and if like me you want something that will be awesome for movies, and easily connect to consoles for the best game experience, I would defiantly recommend this.

Excellent piece of kit for under £200 but seems a tad overpriced on the website. Would have expected Amazon to drop their price to match all of the other online sellers who have them from £147 to £170. However, saying that, very good specs for the price.

I've been an admirer of Philips products for many years. I own a Philips TV, VCR and DVD.

I recently gave up the complications of my audio set-up with the DVD player and bought this Home Theatre System. I thought it was a steal, costing the same as my (old) DVD cost 3 years ago.

First thing, the set up is very easy. Colour coded inputs enabled me to set up the system in 15-20 minutes, including tearing the plastic of speakers etc.

Secondly, the ease of use is super, although I may have had an advantage being familiar to Philips products.

I noticed, to my surprise, immediately the added picture quality of the DVD. The image is much sharper than on my old DVD. I admit not knowing why but my TV is newer and was expensive so the old DVD player may not have fulfilled the TV's potential.

Sound wise the set is stunning. I expected some hollow tin sound in the room, as I have heard on other Home Theatre Systems, but this one is much more natural. Watching movies music is comparable to the effects in good theatres. Listening to SACD and/or DVD is in some instances spectacular, the 3d effect similar as to wearing headphones, only better. What surprised me even more was the sound on regular CDs. Not only is it good, surround effects are created whilst keeping the natural feel of the sound.

For those using multi-region DVDs, see another review on this product which explains the set-up perfectly.

This review may look as a blatant commercial but really, this is a fantastic set. It is not dirt cheap but I doubt that such good value can easily be found in other systems. I highly recommend the Philips HTS3500S, both due to picture and sound quality plus the ease of use.