Acoustic Solutions DS 535 Review

I bought this system in Argos a good few years ago now. I believe I paid £89.99. I was on the search for a 5.1 surround system with an optical audio input. This was cheapest with said connection, anything else was between £150 and upwards of £200.



But I got a whole lot more than I bargained for. A LOT more. On top of Optical Audio, it has Standard Stereo Phono Left and Right (Aux) and Coaxial Audio inputs.



Then, you have Dolby Digital and DTS sound modes which auto detect through the Optical and Coaxial inputs. Plus the addition of Dolby PRO Logic, this sorts out audio from a stereo source and tries to place the sounds where they should be across the speakers. It does a good job of this too, things go over your head, you hear sounds behind you where you'd expect to.



On top of that, you have various Listen Modes, Live, Chorus, Hall and Theatre which are probably best used listening to music, I don't personally use these.



The time I've had the system I've mostly used it on the Xbox 360. It gives you a gaming edge because it's difficult for other players online to sneak up behind you... You will hear them coming.



Recently though, I bought a Blu-Ray player and I connect it to the Acoustic Solutions DS 535 via the Coaxial. Sound is just amazing.



Although I have nothing to compare this system to and there is no doubt more expensive, better sounding systems available. I'm more than happy with my purchase. My only recent problem after approximately 3 and a half years of owning it, is when in Dolby Digital mode, I'm getting an unpredictable nasty crackle noise. It comes and goes, can go a whole day with no problems and all of a sudden it has to be switched to different mode because it becomes unbearable.



But for a system I've owned for over 3 years and priced as it was I can not complain.



Only other downside I can think of, as someone else has stated; The tiny remote. I've lost it a few times now causing moments of panic! LOOK AFTER IT!