Product Description

H/CINEMA 400W 2.1CH HDMI B/TOOTH

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52937 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Samsung
• Model: HT-X710T/XEU
• Released on: 2008-05-01

Customer Reviews

Surround sound from only 2.1 speakers?
Samsung HT-X710T- 2.1 ch - 400 Watt Bluetooth - Home Cinema System- With 1080p Upscaling HDMI and USB - Black

Thats what Samsung claim, the effect of surround sound from a 2.1 setup. I'm not sure i'd agree, for me it just seems a bit echo-y! However this system still has a lot going for it as you can turn off the "virtual surround" option and just have fantastic sound which fills the room, but maybe doesn't give you complete surround sound (it also doesn't have your house trailing with cables everywhere).

I got this system to compliment my Series 5 40" 1080p HD Samsung TV. And compliment it does, however the one thing missing from the Home cinema box is a Digital optical audio cable, so you'll need to spend £8 on one of these so that you can use your home cinema to get better sound instead of using the little TV speakers.

Firstly the 2.1 setup is actually 2 speaker stacks each with 5 varied sized speakers, and a very large Sub woofer unit (I find its best to hide it behind the TV unit itself). You could argue its 10.1 setup, only all the speakers are in front of you.

Some of the features include being able to use the same remote on your Samsung TV, thus cutting down on the clutter of having to brandish multiple remotes.

1080p upscaling for your regular DVD's, although you need to use the HDMI cable for this, and some button pressing on the remote to setup the system for 1080p (all explained in the manual) or it'll just run at regular 480p for your old DVD's.

An FM radio, yeah i'm not sure why they still include these either/

Two Aux ports, a USB connection an AV connection, HDMI and digital optical, and bluetooth connectivity, so pretty much all the basics covered.

What i don't like is it not future upgradable to 5.1 setup, the ports are there, just blocked off, would have been nice to have given the option of later upgrade. Or better still Bluetooth connectivity to remote surround speakers.

The littleboy speaker stacks look perfect sitting next to a typical dark glass and aluminium LCD TV unit, and are small enough that they could sit next to the TV if you have a large enough TV unit. Or like me you could place them on the floor where they look substantial enough to not look lost and out of place. There is just the right amount of weight in the units, not so heavy that they are a pain or danger to your feet if you knock one over, and not so light that you would knock them over every time you touch them.

I've used my 2.1 setup as a complete replacement for my ageing JVC sound system. The total output of 400watts is the same, but considering how much smaller the speakers are on the 2.1 setup I was impressed to hear the sound quality is probably even better now. Although I did find tweaking the Bass on the Subwoofer's setup down to -2db made the sound more acceptable to my ear. Still a good boom but not overpowering.

The Bluetooth setup is a gimmick i'm sure all owners will actually use, its so handy connecting wirelessly to the Samsung with my phone to play a new tune i've just downloaded rather than burning a CD or plugging my ipod in.

Ipod connectivity appears to be absent on the UK version of the 2.1 setup, apparently only people in the USA own Ipods? Anyway this makes it pretty frustrating as you can connect via the USB but because the 2.1 system can't display anything other than the basic file structure you probably won't be able to find your tracks, and besides it seems to skip when they play? However you can use the AUX1 port on the side and connect this way, and then use the control on your Ipod to pick your tunes. I'm sure a Zune would probably work better with the 2.1 system.

Fortunately all isn't ruined, you could copy your music onto a typical memory stick or portable harddrive and plug this in via the USB and use the remote for the 2.1 to navigate to your chosen tracks.

Another nice feature is the inclusion of DIVX playing ability, and you even get a free licence code in the system so you can download the full licenced version to your PC. So if your into downloading video of any kind you can burn to DVD and play on your home cinema.

So would i recommend this system? Yes i would, its compact, sounds great, its got all the features you'll need (unless you want full surround), it doesn't make your sitting room look a cluttered mess, and you don't have cables trailing all around the sitting room to feed 2 speakers behind you.

Samsung HT-X710T
The Samsung HT-X710T Cinema System was purchased to match our new Samsung series 7 LCD TV, its perfect great sound,the bass can be ajusted to suit everyones taste, plus a FM tuner, bluetooth is great to play sounds from say a mobile, the DVD up scales the picture quality as good as a blueray player!. The Finish of the cinema System is superb Rose Wood Tint.

Triumph of Style Over Substance
This 2.1 system certainly looks the part and has a lot of good features, but the lack of control over the sound lets it down completely. I have to sit with the remote control handy whenever watching films and dive for the volume buttons to avoid waking the kids or annoying the neighbours. It's so frustrating not being able to control the level of the bass. If you live on your own or don't like your neighbours then go for it.

The sound is quite full on and is, I suppose, excellent if you are literally trying to replicate cinema volume. The virtual surround concept doesn't really work but its great stereo. I went for 2.1 as I wanted to use it to play music which it does well but if you are anywhere near the subwoofer the bass is over-powering.

Connectivity is good.