Asda Home Cinema

shown73

Alright, so the purists will be rolling on the floor laughing, but I've just bought a Durabrand Home Cinema kit from Asda for £34.97. It may not be state of the art, but if you just want a big improvment on normal TV sound, and some very nice effects with DVD's, you could do worse. Even the adverts sound terrific.
It has an active sub-woofer, with 3 inputs, for TV, DVD player, and games console, and all the wiring you need, remote control, and 5 tichy speakers. I bought it as an interim, while I settled on a proper amp and speaker set-up, but I'm really quite impressed, and don't forget, if you really don't like it, you can always take it back, Asda don't give a toss...
Just watched "Captain and Commander," cannon balls flying around the lounge, what a difference!

TheChillPill

Wow, thats a damn good price!

A little over a year ago I was given a Pacific Home Cinema system, which had come from Asda. It's still going strong now and the sound quality is fantastic (in my opinion). I appreciate it most when connected to my Freeview box (works well with Sky too, but I no longer have that).

Until you have one, you never fully appreciate what a difference these can make - it really does improve the quality of viewing.

Stone_3

just a quick question, how did you connect the speakers to the tv so they play just off the tv

dc

You do not connect to your tv unless it has Dolby decoded outlets, they are just a set of speakers with an amplifier for each channel. tho this does seem to have an input for tv bass
These are mainly for dvd players with a decoded 6 channel output and have been at this price in Asda since September. I have been waiting for them to be reduced further, but it seems the price is here to stay.

dc

shown73

I don't have audio out on my tv, so I've connected the dvd to the first output, and the sky box to the second. Turn the tv sound right down, and Bob's your uncle. I'm going to try the video audio out into the third input channel, see how that works.
Anyway, so far, so good. As I said, if you just want a basic sound upgrade, and aren't worried about all the bells and whistles, you can't go far wrong. It does the same job as far more expensive systems, although I'm sure not as well, but who can argue with the price? All the bits come with it, so you just hand over your wedge, spend a few minutes plugging it all in, and bingo. It's all colour coded too, so just about idiot proof.

splodger_2

Looked on the box in Asda, but couldn't find any specs or real information.

Could you post a piccie of the back panel, or list the specs please?

Thanks. :xmassign:

Adamant_3

The system is a Durabrand HT-391.

This is just a rebadged Regent HT-391 that they sell at Wal-Mart in the USA.

The above link will give you all the information about it. It seems to have a non-Dolby ProLogic II Decoder built in so a standard stereo feed to it will produce the surround effect.

It certainly works for me. Remember that films with Dolby Digital are all backwards compatible so, whilst it won't be as good as true dolby digital, you'll still get surround

silverfoxdude

We have just got one of these too. Havent had chance to really use it yet as we only installed it last night, but it sounds good already. Would maybe like some stands I think for the speakers though?

simes

Superdrug have a similar amplified speaker pack to this for £24.99

ebuyer have an even better system for £29.99 .. Theirs can hook up to a 5:1 output ( from your PC or DVD player) for true 5:1 surround sound. This is much better than the simulated surround if you are playing a DVD.
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=97822

The best option is a home cinema DVD player though.. Make sure you get one with the amplifier in the DVD player ( not the subwoofer). The giveaway is the subwoofer having no controls on it. These almost always have an aux input on the player , so you can connect your TV to that and get Dolby pro-logic 2 surround sound from anything shown on your TV. If you play a DVD you will get the true 5:1 dolby digital or DTS sound track. These are as cheap as £49 ( e.g. ebuyer have a schneider model at £49.99)

teenage_Drama

the asda ones? are they small speakers or the tall ones

djl

shown73 wrote:

Alright, so the purists will be rolling on the floor laughing, but I've just bought a Durabrand Home Cinema kit from Asda for £34.97. It may not be state of the art, but if you just want a big improvment on normal TV sound, and some very nice effects with DVD's, you could do worse. Even the adverts sound terrific.
It has an active sub-woofer, with 3 inputs, for TV, DVD player, and games console, and all the wiring you need, remote control, and 5 tichy speakers. I bought it as an interim, while I settled on a proper amp and speaker set-up, but I'm really quite impressed, and don't forget, if you really don't like it, you can always take it back, Asda don't give a toss...
Just watched "Captain and Commander," cannon balls flying around the lounge, what a difference!

i got one the other day, it makes a hell of a difference my tv sounds crap without it, thanks for tip.