Customer Reviews
Great Quality, Low on extras 
2004-11-27
Great sound quality for such small speakers, excellent picture quality, player also plays DVDs quietly.
Five disc DVD player a plus. There are however a few annoyances:
1. Display on the unit could be a little bit bigger.
2. No extra inputs, outputs beyond the minimum.
3. It would be nice if the remote had a backlight.
Despite a few annoyances, you get a lot for your money.
Has some annoying glitches 
2004-10-05
I am happy with the overall performance, when it's working. But little things that I experienced make me wonder had I known this, I would have chosen other brand.
What I experienced is as follows:
SOMETIMES, especially if you play non-DVD discs (my case, music CDs), the unit does not recogonize the discs already inside. So you have a stereo which won't run, only showing NO DISC. Even with, say, two DVDs in it, the LCD in the panels might indicate inaccurate status.
I called the help line. They suggested to unplug the stereo to "reset." Then the only option is to call the factory or service center. I told them it's only two days old, I could just return the whole thing to Amazon, asking whether they can swap out the DVD only (rather than the whole box with speakers and everything), and they never provided me with any answer. They just want you to go to warranty center.
Great price! + Great system! 2004-08-14
I am a long-time A/V expert. I recently bought a second home and wanted a smaller theater experience for vacations. I reviewed (heavily) all the systems out there. This one came closest to my requirements for the $$$.
The FIRST thing that attracted me to the system was the power, second MPEG4 capability. Very few systems on the market (Philips only) have this feature.
The sound is awesome for a Class D amp and setup is a simple process. It has Smart Surround setup that lets you clap your hands to create the perfect surround environment. I really didn't want the wired surround speakers but found that managing the thicker power cords for wireless speakers would be aesthetically unpleasing.
Now for the bad part... My only problem with the unit is, it doesn't play DivX which my $50 Philips player does. With one DVD-R/RW I can put four or five full length films on a disc an play it on my Philips player from Walmart. However, based on the price/performance of the JVC I think I'll hang on to it and connect my Philips DVP642 and have the best of everything. This unit has enough power to easily fill my 20'x40' vaulted den.
I bought the unit at Sears for $399, Philips has their MX5600D at Sams Club for $367 but it doesn't have the same power or capabilities.
I plan to get a Philips MX6000i for my primary home when it comes out. Check it out if your looking to spend a little more money and want ALL the features in a single unit.
JVC (and Amazon) made me happy 
2004-07-21
I won't list all of the item's features -- you can get that elsewhere. I bought the JVC TH-M505 sight unseen (and unheard) because the previous JVC home theatre model received rave reviews, and it advertised 1000 watts, and because of the price. JVC didn't let me down. Everything was easy to hook up and it sounds great! The powered subwoofer is an ACTIVE powered subwoofer. There's bass and sonic rumble galore! Unlike the sorry Samsung unit that I tried out, you aren't forced into sticking with the manufacturer's own proprietary speaker wire. (You can use the wire supplied with the unit or supply your own if you want to upgrade to something thicker.) Bottom line: I'm a very satisfied customer. No other "Home Theater in a Box" near its price range can outperform the JVC TH-M505.
Thanks Amazon for the great price (and no sales tax) and fast shipping!
GREAT BUY!!! 2007-11-26
I purchased this system from Sears about four years ago and it still sounds like I just bought it yesterday. the surround sound is awsome. I have never had any problems with this product and I highly recommend it!
Blew the subwoofer 
2006-09-22
I've had this particular system for a couple of years now and when recently playing "The Blueprint" - the subwoofer blew a circuit. Granted I was playing it fairly loud and had the sub set on a high level, but hell isn't that what a 'banging' system is for?
And since the connection between the receiver and sub is an S-Video connection, I can't just readily replace the sub. So here I am stuck with trying to find the same sub for who knows how much or starting from scratch.
Total bummer. This system is apparently manufactured for Sinatra and Glen Campbell listeners. Rock 'n Roll, rap, punk listeners need seek a solution elsewhere.
Great Value for the Price 2006-07-18
For the price you pay (I purchased mine at a clearance outlet for a mere $240) you can't beat this. I have a small/medium size room 18' x 16' and this little system fills it up really nice. The sound is clear and crisp, even at very high volumes. The sub does really well also. Set-up is a breeze utilizing the smart set-up option, and there are separate volume controls for the left, right, center, and sub to fine tune it to you liking. The Dolby and DTS options are great, although I am partial to the DTS sound. Movies and music both sound just great. I have had this for 6 months now and have had no problems at all. I did switch to a high grade speaker cable because the wire supplied is your typical small wire that comes with this type of product. I also bought the smaller Omni mounts for the rears ($25 for two at circuit city).
Others have complained about lack of options but seriously, if you do your homework then you know what you're getting. Friends and family have purchased other brand systems that are similar to this one (Sony, Panasonic, Phillips, RCA, even the similar Pioneer), and paid even 100-250 dollars more, but this one easily outperforms them.
I really expected alot less from this but I was, and still am, very impressed and satisfied. Again, for the price, it just can't be beat. If you're on a budget and really want to get the bang for your buck look no further.
hooking up to your DVR 2006-01-05
We bought this system and we loved it. The only problem was that we couldn't get sound from our DVR (time warner) to our surround. Since the JVC has an optical connection and the Time Warner Cable box has a RCA connection. My suggestion would be to buy a converter, the coaxil in to optical out, and the sound is awesome. You can find the converter on Amazon as well. Shipping was very quick. It took us a while to figure this out and it was becoming very frustrating. So, I wanted to share this information in case anyone else is in the same situation.
Nice System 2005-11-03
I bought this system about a year and a half ago and I love it. Great sound quality, powerful speakers, nice playback of DVD, CD, and MP3 discs. Only gripes would be the lack of DIVX playback.
Great value for the price.
