Customer Reviews

Philips MX5600D 5-Disc DVD/CD Home Theater with 600 Watts Total Power

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've had the home theatre system for two months now and am so far extremely pleased with it. The individual pieces were a snap to set up as everything is color-coded. The most time-consuming part of the setup was adjusting the speaker levels properly for the space but this was not difficult at all due to a nicely designed onscreen interface. The remote is well designed and easy to use.

I live in an apartment with nice thick plaster walls and hardwood floors and this system is perfect for my living room. Housing the subwoofers in the front speakers is nice because I didn't have to find a place to hide an ugly subwoofer box. Additionally, the speaker footprints do not take up much space at all. The back speakers come with brackets to either be hung on the wall or stood upright which is nice.

I'm very pleased with the sound, both when watching movies or listening to music. Bass is powerful, the midrange is nice and clear and the highs are crisp. I'd like to see more equalization settings but, given the price range, I'm very happy with the ones included.

There are two things that I think could be improved about this system:

1. The DVD/CD loading times are slow. I realize that this is not a carousel type changer but I do think they could be a little faster.

2. The attachment of the front speaker tubes to the base needs to be more sturdy. I didn't have a problem peeling off the stickers that previous posters did but I do feel that the connection between the heavy metal base and PVC front tube speaker needs to be reinforced better. When I lifted one of the tubes out of box, the three shafts that connect the base to the tube snapped in half. This was easily repaired with a high grade plastic epoxy but I feel that a little engineering could easily resolve this problem.

I agree with many of the positive comments posted about this fantastic home theater system.

The first thing you'll notice is how sleek and stylish the entire system looks. The tall speak/subwoofer twin speaker combinations are great for large rooms. The wiring of the rear speakers is subtle and the center speaker sits nicely above or below the console.

The sound is extremely good - I am impressed and very satisfied. Whether you are playing a CD, a CD-R of MP3's or a DVD, the sounds is crisp, deep, "full" - I really can't explain how good it sounds and how I never expected that quality for the price. The sounds options are vast, from 3D surround sound, to 5.1 Dolby, to normal stereo, all serve a good purpose in tailoring the sound to your liking. You can add or subtract bass, or use one of the preset sounds - concert, rock, etc.

2 things I think that are negative:
1) The cd/dvd loading times. Previous views are correct - it does seem to take a little while for a cd to change and get going. This is part and parcel of having a 5-disc changer I guess, but it does seem a little slower than normal. (This, in my opinion, is not a barrier to purchase the product).

2) The display. It's kinda tiny. If you are sitting a far way back from the player, you can't see the disc or track # very clearly. I was disappointed there wasn't a text display of track names also. The upside to the display is that it's tastefully done, subtle lighting, and stylish (the display is circular).

I bought this item off Amazon.com, with free shipping, and it arrived in 5 days. So the overall ordering experience was exceptional.

Putting the product together was very simple, you just need a screwdriver to mount the speakers to the stands and the rest is plug and play. The auto radio tuning of the system was a nice feature.

The product itself is a GREAT sounding home theater system, excellent for people buying one for the first time. Avoid the cheaper models whose sound really is compromised - this nicely-priced system is worth far beyond it's purchase price with it's thundering base and terrific surround sound.

I purchased this from Amazon.com on a Thursday and it was here on the next Tuesday. I couldnt believe they got it to me this fast especially when they didnt charge for shipping. The system weights 70 lbs yet I didnt pay a dime for shipping. Awesome!!!

Now to the system itself: Everything is color coded which means it is very simple to setup. It took me longer to hide the wires around my room then it took for my brother to set it up. When it comes to the performance it give lots of bass and very grood sound. It is enough to give you a headache. The system comes with lots of different settings and features. I have no idea what these people are saying about stickers. Im not even sure where they are so you dont need to take them off. The only problem I noticied is that the reading and ejecting of the disks is a little slow. Its understandable but it could be quicker. The remote only works with Phillips TVs so the so that is another small disadvantage but I have DirecTv so I cant eliminate that remote anyways. It would be cool if they would make a remote for satellite, tv, vcr, and everything else. Overall this system is a great buy that really brings T.V. Shows and Movies to life. P.S. The blue light around the volume dial is really cool looking at night.

Cost.............A+
Shipping........A+
Features........A
Sound...........A
Bass.............A-
Look.............A-
Remote.........A-
Disc Reading...B-
Overall..........A

I just bought this system today and I am very pleased with it! It is ranked #10 on Consumer Reports' list of top boxed theater systems. Nothing against Amazon, but I found it, new, for less than $300.00! It is well worth the price!

I upgraded from a very inexpensive system. No comparison! It's like going from a Volkswagen to a Cadillac for a minimal price difference!

It is very easy to assemble, as all wiring is color coded. The speakers are very solid and the sound is great! The combination front speaker/subwoofers is truly a great design. No bulky sub to worry with.

The only problem I can see with it is that the remote is fairly complicated. I will be using the manual for quite some time! I had no stickers on my front speakers as someone previously stated. And the slow, clunky disc changer is no problem at all for me. My old DVD player was fairly slow, so I guess I'm accustomed to it.

The bottom line is that I simply can't believe that a sound like that can come from a $300.00 system!

This is definitely a good buy! I highly recommend it!

I purchased the philips mx5600d from Etronics(well, not without a bit of delayed shipping). After recieving the product, it was a bundle of joy as I open the box to a marvel of beauty.
I read a review, someone was complaining about the stickers on the subwoofer. Men hush up. That sticker is cool and I haven't and won't remove mine.
After about 1hr of setup, the home theatre was ready to be tested. I played the "bourne Identity" DVD on it and the sound was exceptional. At times, at the actions scenes, I jumped as the sound rocked from all corners of the room.
Also, using the FM tuner on it was great. The component can store numerous amount of preset stations. Now I wake up in the morning with the subtle sound of surround B101.1 FM(My fav station).
The picture quality is great, I have progressive scan on my TV, so I guess that coupled with the progressive scan capability of the Mx5600d brought about excellent picture quality.
The thing about the mx5600 is this- You can't stop looking at it. It is beautiful, the subwoofer is powerful and it rumbles the floor(maybe not any windows-My windows are sound proof haha.)
Overall, this is a good purchase and I'm glad I got this after an extensive research. I would recommend it to you, but just promise that you won't leave your girlfriend for it. You promise? Well, I left mine.

While doing a little of comparison shopping for about 2 weeks, I finally came across a competitive price: $399.99! Everywhere else sells their's for $499.99. I could not believe this price. I recently purchased a 55in Philips HD TV so I wanted a matching home theater system as well, but didn't want to spend no more than $500. After searching Amazon's website and reading a customer's review, they stated that it was a $100 less than the retail stores in addition to the great price, it included FREE SHIPPING! What more can a person ask for! I received it in only 4 days! Excellent Amazon!!!! The system is wonderful. It was very easy to put together and it sounds excellent. The look is very sleek and goes excellent with its television. Before I shop for anything else, I am definetely searching Amazon's website first!

I got this unit from J&R thru amazon.com (they had free shipping too!) for $399. By far, the best deal on the HTIB market for someone who doesn't want to spend a L-O-T of money for sound AND looks.
Basically, I was looking for something that wouldn't clutter up my living room with a component rack. I bought the Sony DAV-770 Dream System before this one and after hooking it up and listening to it, promptly took it back to the store. In all my years of experience with HTIBs, I had come to the conclusion that you can either get good looks or good sound from your HTIB, not both. I have another custom-component rack system which can shatter windows at high volumes, but we'll talk about that in another review.
This one has it all -- great price, sleek looks and above average sound quality for mid-sized living rooms. The DVD changer is a little clunky and noisy when it tries to load/change discs, but other than that, I haven't found another flaw with this unit. Excellent buy!

I have never been technically proficient. No joke, it took me 10 minutes to find the power switch on my laptop, but I got this unit out of the box and set up in about 45 minutes and I am very happy! You will notice how technically inproficient I am as you read this, but it is in plain language for my fellow techno flunkies.

The box is really heavy, so look for free shipping and make sure you are there when it comes. Plus the box is bulky so if you are a chick you might need help getting it up stairs, as I did.

This system is not like similar priced sets in that the speakers are substantial in size and weight. The rear speakers can be mounted on stands or attached to the wall with the accompanying brackets. This unit does not come with "plug in" speakers but those little wire things you have to put in the clamps. Don't worry- Philips thought of me when they did this and color-coded the whole thing so if you know left from right and can match purple and purple, you too can hook up this system. I simply followed the wires until they were all hooked up, connected the tv and turned it on. I put in a DVD and followed the instructions in the booklet to set up the player.

After the player was all set up I tried out a DVD. I agree the load time is kinda slow, but that is just fine. The sound that came out of the machine was amazing! The bass on the twin subwoofers was ground shaking and I did not even have it up near the volume potential.

The only thing that kinda bugged me is that the unit was so big it would not sit in the component area on my unit so it sits on top, but thanks to the stylish design, it does not bother me. This is a substantial unit. The unit is heavy and so are the speakers. I did not have stickers on my towers that other people have complained about.

The only thing that threw me for a loop was choosing the type of tv input I have. This system was meant for much nicer tv's than my 2 year old 27" RCA. I chose the wrong one and the DVDs only played in black and white. It took me 10 minutes to figure out that I must have chosen wrong, so I went back through the set up and changed it.

Bottom line is, I may be technically deficient, but I know what sounds good, especially in music. Even as a woman who hates to try to plug in the toaster I got this system set up all by myself in a reasonable time with little frustration (ok so I got right and left confused and had to change somethings, but give me a break). I was going to replace my CD player component because I hate "integrated" systems, (and I mainly wanted this as a DVD player) but after hearing my CD's on this system I have decided not to replace the CD player.

As you can tell I highly recommend this player. Although I did not buy from Amazon, but through a local wholesale warehouse, the price is good (search around on the internet and you will see). I payed about the same with tax, but I had to garner help to get it to the car and up the stairs. But this item with confidence, even if you are not a technophite.

This is my forth system in as a many months. All were more expensive than this one. I do agree that the DVD set-up could use a better design & less noise but the play is good. The audio oututs are the best out any I have tried. That includes 2 different Sony & a magnavox. For the price this is a great buy overall. Great range but could use a little more seperate eq. controls.

We just purchased this for our home, and have had several bad experiences already. I am not basing my comments on sound quality because I believe how good a system sounds depends a lot on where and how you set it up, and what you are trying to do with it. I will say that, while I'm not an audiophile, the sound quality we experience is fine and meets our expectations.

The problems we've encountered have been around poor design. First, they placed stickers on the front speakers. These stickers are the celophane kind, and are EXTREMELY difficult to remove. Expend to spend a 20-30 minutes trying to clean stickers off your new speakers and receiver.

The second big problem is that the rear speakers are almost impossible to mount on speaker stands. They are tall, narrow, and heavy. Which makes them very unstable as "free standing" or sitting on a mini-shelf type of stand. The mounting screw hole is inset in between two of the lower speaker cones, making it impossible to firmly mount properly in most speaker stands, since the attaching point cannot be screwed in to flush with the speaker. Further, this mounting point is below the center of gravity - making the speakers very top heavy, so they have a tendency to roll over since they cannot be securely fashioned.

Finally, if you set the TV's input as the DVD home theater, and set the receiver to use TV audio as input, you get a very nasty buzz from the speakers. I'm not sure if this is typical or if it is a problem with our paticular setup, but it's irritating.