Customer Reviews

RCA Rt2770 5.1-Channel, 1000-Watt Receiver Home Theater System

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Length:: 1:59 Mins

RCA Rt2770 5.1-Channel, 1000-Watt Receiver Home Theater System WithOUT DVD Player We really are enjoying this product. We only gave it a 4/5 because we've only had it a short while, and are not yet able to testify to its durability and endurance over time. The cables are all color coded making installation a breeze! It really is simple to hook up, and simple to use. Just remember to turn the subwoofer on, or it won't work. ;).....Also, there is a notice printed on yellow paper and taped right to the top of this unit stating that it NEEDS 4" of breathing space on three sides and 2" on the back. IT MEANS what it says. The fan motor WILL BURN OUT if you do not give it its necessary space!!!

I bought one of these 3 months ago at the local WalMart. For the price, it was OK. I hooked it up with my Direct TV dish setup. The sound was a little weak on some movies. It has several variations of the surround sound from sounding like a stadium to being in a Church along with 3 Dolby settings.
I thought that being made by RCA it would last. The only problem I had was it died with less than 3 months of use. I had 5 days left of the 90 day limit for returns when it died and I had to return it to WalMart. If this thing had lasted longer I would have given it at least a 4 star rating.
Also this model that is listed does NOT come with a 5-Disc DVD/CD player. Just the receiver/amplifier to hook your DVD or VCR up to.

I just bought the RT2870 from Wal-Mart which for all intensive purposes looks just like the RT2770. I hooked it up last night and have since used it to play movies and CD's. The sound is very good, but not excellent (what else can you expect for this price?). I can't imagine anyone needing to turn it up all the way to get decent sound. If I turned mine all the way up, I think my windows would blow!! People have also complained about the speaker wires. Two of the speakers (one left, one right) have VERY long wires, I can't imagine it not being enough, unless you just have a huge living room (mine is 12x18, and I have tons of slack in the wire). The other two are not as long. I never could get the sound from just my TV to come through, and I hooked it up just like it said. So unfortunately I guess that means that my sons' PS2 isn't going to play through this, and that would have been cool. Also, as far as the tuner goes, I could only pick up 2 stations, and neither of them are of interest to me. So, the only good I'm getting out of it thus far is for DVDs and CDs. This is my first ever home theater so it's good enough for me I guess! Thank goodness for the color-coded wires, it made setting up a breeze (and I was quite nervous about it, as I am not mechanically inclined and usually *hate* putting things together). As far as recommendations go, if you are a serious entertainment junkie and like all of your stuff tricked out, spend double this price and get something that will probably suit you more. Our entertainment needs are pretty basic (and so is our budget) so this suits us fine. Just be warned, the receiver box is HUGE and you have to give it lots of space (4" on each side and 2" on the top) to keep it from overheating (and burning completely out!)...and they aren't lying, the thing runs HOT. Walmart.com has a Pioneer surround sound system for around $250, and if I were to recommend something a little higher priced and better quality, it would probably be that. You usually can't go wrong with Pioneer, but RCA tends to be hit-and-miss. Good luck with whatever you decide to purchase!

I have read several reviews on this where people complained that it wasn't loud enough. When I first turned it on and played Cars on Blu Ray through an optical connection I felt the same way. But then I read the instructions and noticed a "Level" button on the remote. This button lets you adjust the output level of each speaker and the subwoofer from -10 to +10. I adjusted all speakers to +5 and the sub to +10. Now I listen with the main volume at 37 and it's plenty loud enough and the bass is solid and clear. While watching Monsters vs. Aliens the scene where the big robot is walking around San Francisco actually rattled my windows and shook the pictures on my walls. Great system for the price.

You will not be able to find a better system for the price it has its cons (mainly weak imputs) but on the up side the sysem really kicks when playing call of duty 4 or if you hook ur ipod up to it. i also have my macbook hooked up to it and it sounds great. it also dosent have a dvd player as they say but thats not a big deal for me. over all it is a solid buy you will not be able to get anything better for the price!!!

Pros: Easy color-coded setup, easy to use, headphone jack, multiple speaker setup options, decent sound quality, surprisingly good subwoofer with its own on/off switch.
Cons: Weak inputs (maxxed out at 50, digital coax sound volume from our DVD player in a medium sized room was very good and definitely loud enough but left no reserve), hardwired speakers.
We settled on a 3.1 setup where Surround Sound outputs are routed to the front left/right speakers and didn't use rear speakers at all (We don't really want/need full 5.1, however, to get the speaker separation we wanted in the front we used the rear speakers with their longer wires). This works well for our needs and had there been more volume reserve and speakers that weren't hardwired then I would have given this unit 4.5/5 stars.

I've never been a fan of ALL-IN-ONE units. I prefer separate components than can be easily & economically replaced if they fail without replacing a whole system. Many budget home theater systems today have DVD players built-in to the receiver/amp, but if the DVD player fails, the whole unit is basically useless since many of these systems have limited input/output jacks.
Not the case with this RCA. It is a full-fledged receiver/5.1 channel amp only. It looks & sounds much more expensive than it actually is. That's not to say it sounds as good as my $1,000 Yamaha receiver, but for the price of a decent boombox, it absolutely can't be beat. It's extremely versatile with multiple audio input options. I bought one about 3 years ago for my daughter & her husband. They've used it constantly for movie surround-sound and i-Pod listening. It hasn't let them down. I've been so impressed with it, that I've wanted one as a second system for the last 3 years, until I finally bought one last week. If you're an audiophile or want volume rivaling a jet engine at take-off, look elsewhere; but expect to spend much more. However, if you're an average person: this thing gets plenty loud, has good bass, sounds pretty good & looks cool enough. Plus, you can use it with any DVD/blu-ray player you desire.

I have had my RCA system for quite some time and have had very little problems with it. The sound is great minus the bass which, in some areas is much lower than expected. The hard plastic material used to make the 5 speakers takes its toll on certain volumes and/or ranges of pitch. What I mean is, when listening to certain volumes or types of sounds such as explosions, the speakers, mainly the center, start to vibrate and rattle. I have tried to tape cushion around the speaker but the vibration comes from within. Also, the Dolby Digital setting isn't always compatible to the recorded sound from certain films. When watching a movie set on Dolby Digital Movie setting, you will often find yourself reaching for the remote to adjust volume between scenes. Hearing simple conversations requires a louder volume setting but when those action packed or quick scare horror moments come in, you quickly question if you woke the baby or upset the neighbors.
Don't get me wrong, I love this system, but I am a movie buff and I hate having to listen closely at the plot building up just to scatter to lower the sound before the big boom. I preferrably set my sound needs to, either church, or studio. They both project sound out of every speaker instead of just the center, aleviating that annoying vibration. Yes, I know thats not real surround sound but some movies just don't have enough projected through the 4 other speakers to intentionally suffer not hearing whats coming out of the front. All in all, if your alone, have no kids, no neighbors, or have a friend or significant other that is just as deaf as you, crank it up and enjoy. Otherwise, opt for a more balanced system or keep the remote handy.

I had an older system that I had been using with my HDTV, but I took it to work. Therefore, I needed to replace it. I had been looking around for a while as all I needed was a basic home theater system. This unit fills that job nicely although I doubt that it has the advertised 1000 Watts. The sound is nice, clean and works beautifully with my DVD player. It did take me a while to figure out that the DVD setting is set to coaxial by defualt, so I was not getting clear sound while I had it connected through the analog jacks. I connected the DVD player through the coaxial jack and the sound cleared up. It is possible to change the method of connection with the remote.

I could not get the sound from my TV to go through the RCA unit. The tuner works well because I used a paper clip at the backend and connected the supplied wired to the end of the paper clip (I am being serious). Otherwise some stations will not come in clearly. I'm sure other workarounds can be used.

I found that setting the Subwoofer level at Strong gives the best bass which can be done on the Subwoofer button on the remote. The Level button on the remote will also allow you to increase the volume if it seems to be lacking at the original setting.

I had read the reviews on here so I knew what to expect and I can say that I am satisfied with the unit for the price.

Edit:

6/22/10 After the first month of owning the RCA system I replaced all the speakers with Sony shelf speakers and a Sony subwoofer and it has made all the difference. It now goes as loud as I need and the sound is crisp and clear. In other words the RCA receiver works quite well, but the RCA speakers need to be replaced with better ones.

It seemed nice while it lasted, which was about 4 months. This unit runs very hot and I even had fans on it. One day it just had too much and quit on me.

Pros: Lots of inputs, looks nice, decent sound.

Cons: Subwoofer came with a vibration, probably bad seal. I bought mine recertified, so this may also be why. Not very loud, had to turn up to 45/50 to get decent volume.

Other Comments: This was my first Surround Sound System with a Receiver. I have upgraded to a Pioneer VSX-D812 which blows the RCA way out of the water. If you're looking for something cheap to put in a small room and not use alot of power or much noise the RCA is fine. If you're looking for a decent Surround Sound System, look elsewhere.