Panasonic SC-HT80 5-DVD Home Theater System

So you can imagine how surprised we were to open Panasonic's SC-HT80 "complete home theater" and discover that everything we needed was there. All the wires, all the speakers, a subwoofer, a surround processor--even a five-disc DVD/CD player. (Panasonic does assume you have a TV and a room to put it all in.)

Heightening both our surprise and our pleasure, the system is also easy to assemble. Even neglecting the instruction manual, we had the whole shebang up and running within 10 minutes. Wires are clearly marked, as are all connections. Assembly just doesn't get easier. (And kudos to Panasonic for including a high-quality S-Video connection on the SC- HT80's processor/receiver.)

The identical front (left/right) and rear speakers are small--so small that we wondered if they would be up to their job, but they proved impressive performers. It's possible to overload them, but with good placement and sensible listening levels you can get impressively large sound without compromising quality.

We were also happy to see that the center channel is a larger speaker than the others. Despite the fact that many manufacturers still treat the center channel as an afterthought, it's still the case that the center channel provides up to 80 percent of a film's soundtrack and about 100 percent of the dialogue, which, for obvious reasons, is critical.

The SC-HT80's subwoofer pumps a lot of bass from an 8-inch driver, though we'd call it a woofer rather than a true subwoofer, given its 41 Hz roll- off (that's low, but still a good octave above the region of deepest bass). Still, it gives reasonable body to the sound from the other speakers. The subwoofer is controllable from the remote, and this helps tune it to both the room and its position. We like the subwoofer best when placed near the listening position, and we don't recommend the maximum bass-boost setting, which makes everything sound tubby.

We also appreciated the SC-HT80's flexibility. It has audio and video inputs for a VCR as well as a tape deck, and its built-in AM/FM tuner works well. The unit did what it was supposed to do and we found it easy to use. It's hard to complain about a product that does all that for less than $700. We give the Panasonic SC-HT80 two big thumbs up. --L.V. Phillips

Pros:

• Extraordinarily easy to use
• Center channel speaker is robust and clear
• Subwoofer is remote controllable for fine room adjustment

Four satellite speakers, a center speaker, and a subwoofer with on/off switch and volume control are included. Three audio inputs let you easily connect a TV, VCR, and auxiliary sources. The SC-HT80 comes with built-in Dolby Digital decoders and advanced home theater receivers.