Panasonic SC-HT80 5-DVD Home Theater System

by Panasonic

Product Details

Product Manual [2.07mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 50 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004T1Y4
• Item model number: SC-HT80
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #355,926 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1999

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Perhaps we're merely growing more cynical as time goes by, but we tend to look askance at manufacturers claiming to sell "complete" anythings these days. Look really closely at the fine print and you'll find that "complete" means "all but..." (fill in the blank).

So you can imagine how surprised we were to open Panasonic's SC-HT80 "complete home theater" and discover that everything we needed was there. All the wires, all the speakers, a subwoofer, a surround processor--even a five-disc DVD/CD player. (Panasonic does assume you have a TV and a room to put it all in.)

Heightening both our surprise and our pleasure, the system is also easy to assemble. Even neglecting the instruction manual, we had the whole shebang up and running within 10 minutes. Wires are clearly marked, as are all connections. Assembly just doesn't get easier. (And kudos to Panasonic for including a high-quality S-Video connection on the SC- HT80's processor/receiver.)

The identical front (left/right) and rear speakers are small--so small that we wondered if they would be up to their job, but they proved impressive performers. It's possible to overload them, but with good placement and sensible listening levels you can get impressively large sound without compromising quality.

We were also happy to see that the center channel is a larger speaker than the others. Despite the fact that many manufacturers still treat the center channel as an afterthought, it's still the case that the center channel provides up to 80 percent of a film's soundtrack and about 100 percent of the dialogue, which, for obvious reasons, is critical.

The SC-HT80's subwoofer pumps a lot of bass from an 8-inch driver, though we'd call it a woofer rather than a true subwoofer, given its 41 Hz roll- off (that's low, but still a good octave above the region of deepest bass). Still, it gives reasonable body to the sound from the other speakers. The subwoofer is controllable from the remote, and this helps tune it to both the room and its position. We like the subwoofer best when placed near the listening position, and we don't recommend the maximum bass-boost setting, which makes everything sound tubby.

We also appreciated the SC-HT80's flexibility. It has audio and video inputs for a VCR as well as a tape deck, and its built-in AM/FM tuner works well. The unit did what it was supposed to do and we found it easy to use. It's hard to complain about a product that does all that for less than $700. We give the Panasonic SC-HT80 two big thumbs up. --L.V. Phillips

Pros:

• Extraordinarily easy to use
• Center channel speaker is robust and clear
• Subwoofer is remote controllable for fine room adjustment

Amazon.com Product Description

The Panasonic SC-HT80 DynaMovie DVD home theater audio system offers total output power of 240 watts in home theater mode with six-channel amplifier configuration. It comes with a built-in five-DVD/CD changer that includes a built-in Dolby Digital decoder. Its multichannel digital signal processor has functions for advanced audio-video effects such as virtual rear surround, multirear surround, center focus, supersurround, and simulated stereo. Six presets offer sound field control with options including heavy, live, clear, soft, hall, and disco ranges.

Four satellite speakers, a center speaker, and a subwoofer with on/off switch and volume control are included. Three audio inputs let you easily connect a TV, VCR, and auxiliary sources. The SC-HT80 comes with built-in Dolby Digital decoders and advanced home theater receivers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Bose" quality for a realistic price, October 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Panasonic SC-HT80 5-DVD Home Theater System (Electronics)

Ok its not as good as the bose system, but for the fraction of the price it's good. I really can't tell the difference between mine system and my brothers bose which cost 1500 dollars more without a dvd player. If you have super sensitive ears and your loaded get the "bose system" if you looking for a dvd/audio theater system that sounds great, plays cds, dvds and really looks good too, get the panasonic

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What's not to like? Only 1 thing:, January 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Panasonic SC-HT80 5-DVD Home Theater System (Electronics)

I do love this system for all the reasons others stated, but what nobody mentioned that prevents me giving it 5 stars is that the speaker wires are hard-wired into the back of the speakers!! How much money could this nonsense have possibly saved? Believe me, pulling wire through a false ceiling (or anywhere else) is a whole bunch easier without a speaker stuck to one end. And what if you already have wiring in place? Well, seems like a minor point that didn't bother anyone else, but I wish I'd had this foreknowledge...

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Words: Simply FANTASTIC, December 7, 2000

By 

Chad Wilson (Broken Hill AUSTRALIA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic SC-HT80 5-DVD Home Theater System (Electronics)

After waiting for 2 months, my system was delivered late September, and since then Movies and Music havn't been the same. I personally think it has a Veryclosesound to the Bose system that the other reviewer mentioned. It is far superorto Sony's DAVS300 Home Theater, i mean a 120 watt Sub to a 30 Watt, thats no comparision. The only thing that dissapoints me is that the 6 Channel Amp dosn't support DTS, all though the 5.1 Dolby Digital does still sound fantastic through the compact sattelite speakers, i've had my system at full volume and there wasn't one little bit of distortion. Another bad thing also is that the CD player dosn't read CDR's which is a slight dissapointment, the Sound Field Control (SFC) which features Heavy,Disco,Live,Hall etc. Each of them don't sound different at all, whether thats a problem with my system or not? The Sub-Woofer when set to SW 4 is very powerful with enough Bass to blow down your Front Door! The 5-Disc Changer is a great idea but a little slow in changing discs (11 Seconds from Disc1 to Disc 5) When playing back Music Cd's the System automaticaly responds, producing such a high quality which matchs my Brother's Denon and Polk Audio $5000 System. Even watching a Video (HI-Fi) sounds great filling the room with the Dolby Pro-Logic. So do yourself a favour buy this Fab Home Theater, even though you might have to wait a little while I'd give it 10 stars if i could