Sony HT-SL5

There are a view surround systems like this in some second hand shops, if you haven't got the money to splash out, but if you find this model buy it, you will never need to goto the cinemas again.

Easy instructions to follow, plenty of cable, (so you can put your speakers anywhere) and with the sub woofer having its own power input and amp you will never want to leave your sofa.

And if you find one and you are as lucky as i am to find one cheap, buy some more dvds.

I was watching We Were Soldiers and i thought i was there. WOW what a system...

It was a bit of a nightmare getting any decent reviews or comparisons for entry-level home cinema systems.

Most quality magazines/sites were only interested in systems over the £400 mark - well out of my budget!

Most audiophile reviews turned their nose up at budget stuff and/or were unfair;

one respected magazine compared the Sony HT-P1000 (a HT-SL5 + a DVD player package) with other packages that started at nearly £200 more going up to over £1200.

Strangely it didn't compare very well!

So I had to do a lot of detective work by using more expensive equipment reviews to get a general feel & forum sites especially www.avforums.com.

I eventually took the plunge and choose the Sony HT-SL5 for several reasons.

Firstly it has two optical inputs which I needed as I have optical out on my Sony satellite decoder and my Xbox has the advanced scart (adding opt. out.)

Secondly it has Dolby Prologic II which I was hearing very good things about after my search on the web.

Finally the price was in my budget (just!)

I also pushed out the boat and bought two pairs of Alphason SS-20 stands to hold the speakers.

After the initial 2-3 hours of sorting out cables and connecting everything properly I finally got round to setting up the system. The manual was good and explained how to set most things how they should be (speaker distance for delay etc.)

I must say at this point that I was upgrading from a integrated Prologic system on a TV so a separate home cinema system should sound a lot better.

So the moment of truth - Monsters Inc in the XBox and away...

I must say that after the THX 'show off' at the beginning of the DVD I was sold but when my sofa vibrated during the 'chase' scene at the close of Monsters Inc I was convinced every penny was well spent!

I can't give flowing prose about mid-range, dynamics or sound-fields just an opinion.

This system has improved everything about my TV/film/gaming experience.

5.1 DVD's are like being at the cinema without the muscle cramp or annoying kids.

Dolby Prologic II improves TV broadcasts & videos.

Halo on the Xbox in 5.1 is what the Xbox was made for!

I'm sure if I spent a few hundred pounds more the sound would better but I didn't have any more money - a great sound for a good price!