Panasonic SC HT56 or Sony HTSS360 any good?

[PrinceAllen]

I wanna buy a cheap home theater in a box without a blu-ray player. My 2 choices now are the Sony HTSS360 and the Panasonic SC-HT56.

I am leaning towards the Panny because my TV and Blu-ray are also Pannys. However I can't really find much info or reviews about it. Is it any good or should I just save up for a better system?


Also, I am open to suggestions of similar systems. I would like a 7.1 if possible.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by PrinceAllen

I wanna buy a cheap home theater in a box without a blu-ray player. My 2 choices now are the Sony HTSS360 and the Panasonic SC-HT56.

I am leaning towards the Panny because my TV and Blu-ray are also Pannys. However I can't really find much info or reviews about it. Is it any good or should I just save up for a better system?


Also, I am open to suggestions of similar systems. I would like a 7.1 if possible.

It would actually be a lot better in the long run to get a system built on seperate speakers and a receiver because you can always upgrade pieces whenever you want without having to do it all at once. A nice way to perhaps get what you want now and still be able to upgrade later as your tastes change would be to try this or this or this, and for me in that order. There you would have a system for surround sound NOW, but be able to upgrade each component as you choose.

The other option would be to get a Receiver and just the front 2 (look to the lower right at the bundle package for $499, 2 fronts and a sub, good deal) or 3 (Fronts and Center) speakers now and add a Sub then surrounds later.

[danielsan4610]

I have the Sony. It's my first HTiB and it's pretty decent. The front and rears are nice and crisp and subwoofer is loud and is powerful enough to shake the room. The center channel feels a bit on the cheap side and probably the weak point of the set.

The receiver itself is slim and pretty barebones. You don't get many options other than speaker levels and distance settings. Also of note is since it's Sony, they use their proprietary speaker cables. They connect via negative and positive like normal to the speakers but the other end is a plug that only fits the receiver. You would have to do some splicing if you wanted better cables.

For $330 it's not a bad deal. If you just want to add a 5.1 system without spending a lot of money, this will do the job. 7/10

[RandomHero918]

anyone one know if the sony HTSS360 comes with speaker mounts?

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by RandomHero918

anyone one know if the sony HTSS360 comes with speaker mounts?

No. I have its predecessor, the HT-SS2300; AFAIK the 360 has the exact same speakers.