Customer Reviews

Koss KS4192 Progressive-Scan DVD Home Theater System

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've put this system through a decent battery of tests over the 30 days I've owned it. The only major feature I can't speak for is the SD card slot, since I don't own a digicam. (Another note: The subwoofer is supposedly passive, requiring 0.1 LFE out signal, but it operates a very large amount of the time, at least under my use, whether I'm playing a DVD, music, listening to radio, or cable)

DVD playback - VERY GOOD, with one issue. I second Treppish about the picture quality and mechanical reliability of the DVD player. The unit operates smoothly, the remote is just fine, picture quality is great with or without progressive scan, and the surround sound (prologic II) is excellent for a unit of this price. However, during my full-length test of "Matrix Reloaded," there were some noticeable sound gaps in the middle-bass range. The subwoofer covered low-bass extremely well (the rumbles are beautiful), and the satellites cover high-bass, midrange, and treble frequencies smoothly and without annoying distortion, but explosions and crushing blows were a bit deficient in the mid-bass arena. However, the JBL unit I owned previously had similar problems. And, this Koss unit, thanks to a particularly smart dual-woofer center speaker, can handle voice effectively in 6.1 mode (doesn't come out too low as in many other systems).

Radio feature - VERY GOOD. This DVD receiver also has a built in tuner for AM/FM reception. Comes with a wire loop antenna, so reception is good. No worries with this feature.

Music playback - GOOD/VERY GOOD. Out of poor, fair, above average, good, very good, and excellent, the Koss KS4192 fits in somewhere between good and very good. The mid-bass issue on DVD's is not as pronounced here, but still present during some rock music tracks. Tests of classical/instrumental/new age music were very good! Perhaps violin depth (which was good-very good) could be a tad higher, but I enjoyed the songs I listened to without regret. Full length test of Matrix Reloaded Scores CD showcased the strength of this system in combining high-class higher frequency reproduction with smooth midranges and low-bass. Also notable, this system produces very clean sound (very little hissing), perhaps the cleanest you'll find in this price range.

Style/Construction - VERY GOOD/EXCELLENT. The entire system is silver/gray themed. The receiver is sleek, shiny, handsome, and solidly constructed. Subwoofer matches the receiver in style and construction. The satellite units are well constructed and handsome as well, but their color is a gray a bit too subdued. This system would have been Excellent in this category otherwise.

Miscellaneous - When watching cable TV, you may or may not have a slight lag between the koss speakers and the TV speakers (the koss comes in about 0.1 second late). This just may be due to the crappy cable I get in the first place. So, you'll have to turn on one set of speakers and leave the other off. I can't call this a design issue, though, just on my experience.

The unit has 2 full sets of regular RCA a/v jacks for input, 1 set of RCA a/v out jacks, an additional component video jack set, and a jack for an active subwoofer.

Sound level and speaker distance can be adjusted for each speaker! Very nice. Many Prologic II modes to choose from during DVD playback. Digital EQ modes are only good, I use EX Bass most of the time :)

No manual bass or treble controls, sadly. But EX bass + the system's skillful handling of midrange and treble will cause you to forget your initial disappointment.

This system has a very low resistance level for a HT system of this price range! 4 ohms to the satellites and 3 ohms to the subwoofer... That's how this unit can attain 600W of power. Also, if you have some 4 ohms / 3 ohms speakers (preferably some sizeable woofers) waiting in the wings (from a previous system, or an easy purchase away), you could substitute two of them for the front L & R Koss speakers to alleviate the mid-bass issue in DVD playback and music playback.

Overall, this system is a 5 star system. It's not perfect, but the combination of value, performance, style/construction, functionality, and modularity (it can power 4 or 3 ohm speakers! You can keep the receiver and substitute other speakers as you wish) are unbeatable in this sub-$350 price range. Nice work, Koss.

I bought this system to use in a media room in the basement. I now have it working with a projector. I mainly watch movies and football in that room. The sound is great, and to hear a football game in surround sound and HD is amazing. The DVD's play great also. The radio comes in very good in the basement, consindering I live 25 miles from any radio station I listen too. Installation is a breeze. Perhaps the other reviewer just had a bad experience, I've had mine for a couple of months without a problem. All and all I'd say it is a great product for the money.

I've owned this device for about 4 years now. Most of these reviews up here are good enough to describe how it works, but if you're technically inclined, please read on.

Using the device as a receiver is definitely not recommended. In Dolby Pro Logic mode, delay can be anywhere from 40ms to 80ms. With Dolby Digital, the delay is worse (roughly 160ms to 180ms), so voices seems can be delayed. This is definitely noticeable when watching standard definition channels as they are not in Dolby Digital. Mouths move and then voices come. However, if you plan on using this with any video games, be warned. Be sure to calibrate your game (Rock Band and Rock Band 2 allow you to adjust the delay in video and audio separately).

Without the fact that is plays DVDs, I would have rated this a 2 star. But since it plays DVDs well, I had to up the rating. DVD playback is good, but it lacks the tech that comes with today's DVD players. Back in the day, this was a decent product. Now, it's time to move on.

I've learned you get what you pay for. For the price, I suppose you're getting a decent system.

The bass in this system is pretty much non-existent weather listening to the radio, watching tv or a dvd.

The customer service leaves some things to be desired like a solution to problems. I called three times for the same problem. I got three different solutions non of which worked. Their common response is to reboot the system and leave it unplugged for at least 5 minutes. If you ask any detailed questions they do not have an (educated) answer.

I returned this system and replaced it with a little higher end model. I'm much more happy with the new one.

I recently bought this item. It was easy to set up and worked great at first, but that didn't last long. Soon, I began experiencing little problems like when I would open the disc tray it would open then close as soon as it opened. Nothing too bad. The sound was great. However, less than a month after I got it, I was watching a DVD. A strange smell started coming from the player like something was burning. Suddenly it froze up. I couldn't get it to do anything. I couldn't even get the disc tray to open. I tried turning it on and off and unplugging it, but nothing worked. I finally had to remove the cover just to force it open to get my DVD back. Botton line: DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!

I bought one of these systems about six months ago and it has performed flawlessly. Set up was very easy but I did have to replace most of the speaker cables with longer ones. My living room is very large, in fact the speakers wound up being farther apart than the settings available. I'm happy to say that they still sound very good. For this money I didn't expect an audiophile system, but I was pleasantly suprised with just how good it sounds. If you want really loud, chest pounding rock this system doesn't quite make it, but it manages to make the the booms, thumps and whooshes of action movies a truly visceral experience.

The fan is a little annoying, but generallly it is not audible while there is signal to the speakers. The only time it has been a problem is during very quiet passages of classical music.

The different listening modes are both useful and necessary. They can make a HUGE difference in the listening experience. I do miss having EQ or even tone controls, but messing with the settings will yield good results.

I have a large screen (50") TV and the DVD quality is excellent. It is sensitive to smudged discs, but it plays clean ones better than any other DVD player I have had. In fact, it is the only DVD player I have that plays those "Asian collector" DVDs without any problems. I have played discs burned on computers and DVD writers in both the +R and the -R format as well as double sided DVDs all without a glitch.

I liked this system so much that I bought another one for my girlfriends apartment, and that's the real beauty of it. The price is reasonable enough that I could afford to do that. Now I can have great home theater in either place and I've scored some serious points with the girlfriend! It's been a little over a month and her system performs just as well as mine.