Durabrand Home Cinema Surround Sound Review

“About 18 months ago I changed from an old but advanced...”

Written on: 16/08/2005 by BAHMJP (4 reviews written)

Good Points
Inexpensive with excellent performance

Bad Points
Virtually none. The flashing amber light in stand-by mode is a bit irritating

General Comments
About 18 months ago I changed from an old but advanced top-of-the-range Philips television to a Loewe Aconda model.

While the Loewe outshone the Philips in nearly all departments one feature of the Philips which I missed was the rear speaker option and for some time I have been seeking a simple amplifier to power additional speakers from the Loewe audio output terminals.

I found it in, of all places, a large branch of Tesco at a cost of £35. It is called the Durabrand Home Cinema Surround Sound System and comprises a medium sized sub-woofer and five 4" cubed satellite speakers. Output is 27.5W from the sub-woofer and 9.5W from each of the other speakers, more than enough for the average living room.

The sub-woofer assembly contains all the electronics and responds to the remote control. Connection was particularly easy with colour coded cables. There are three inputs so I conected the TV and a DVD player, leaving one input free for other use when required.

The performance is quite stunning. In fact my feeling is that anything this inexpensive has no right to sound this good. The bass and centre speakers can be adjusted independently but the basic set-up is excellent and the is a handy button on the remote control to restore this situation at any time.

This item has my full recommendation.