Home Theater Systems Reviews

The Unity's main component, the DVR-5070, has 39.3 watts per channel into 8 ohms at 1 percent THD (see the measurements box) and was the only system in the Face Off that has a single-disc DVD/CD tray. The electronics package most notably includes Dolby Pro Logic II. While it doesn't have as many plugs as the JBL, the DVR-5070 has more than the Sony (then again, I've seen standard DVD players with more plugs than the Sony). There are three stereo audio inputs and one stereo audio output. Although there are four digital audio inputs, these are split between two inputs. With a little extra button-pushing, you can use all four with different sources (e.g., one button push for SAT/CABLE, then another to choose between optical and coax and the sources thereon). There's also an optical digital output. The two video inputs are either composite or Y/C. The two video outputs (on the receiver end of things) are also either composite or Y/C. The DVD-player end has composite, Y/C, and Y/Pb/Pr connections. The sub connection is proprietary, and the speaker connections are similar to those on the Sony—that is to say, plastic connections, color-coded for the home theater illiterate. On the front are a stereo audio, a composite, and a Y/C connection, as well as an optical input.

Both the ProPack600 and the DAV-C900 pass PLUGE, while the Unity does not. The ProPack600 and the DAV-C900 also downconvert anamorphic video to 4:3 with minimal artifacts. The Unity had a little less success with this, but it wasn't too bad. Now, on to the tests.

Gray Matter
After about 15 minutes of debate as to what the first demo song should be, somehow someone put in a Lyle Lovett CD. There's nothing wrong with Mr. Lovett; he just wouldn't be my first choice. The song was called "Church" and contained, more or less, the type of music that you'd expect a song with that title to contain—mostly vocals but with a bluesy band in the background. Even though this was a lighter song than the others we'd play, the JBL's performance with it received comments that would echo through the rest of the test. Most everyone agreed that, while the treble was clear, it was a little tinny. Chris pointed out that there was a major gap between the sats and the sub, which made the baritone voices lose all impact. While the sats passed as adequate, words like "sloppy" and "boomy" littered the comment sheets regarding the sub.

With the second song, I performed a slight trick. I played the CD track off the Sacred Feast SACD and put the receiver in Logic7 mode. I bet a few of you can see where I was going with this: On the Sony, I played it in the true multichannel SACD mode, and, on the Unity, I played the CD track with Pro Logic II. The Logic7 mode did its usual excellent job at spreading the choir music to all five speakers, but the speakers didn't live up to the task. Adrienne commented that, because of the lack of punch, the song lacked any emotional impact. Claire disagreed and thought that the JBL did far better with this music than it did on the Lovett track.

The third selection was almost unfair. David Bowie's 1997 album Earthling features some truly excellent techno, and track five, "Dead Man Walking," is one of the best on the album. The JBL had trouble with the bass on a blues track, so, naturally, this song caused the system to fall apart. Claire (the only other judge who likes this album) said that this system did much better on the sparse music but couldn't handle the Bowie. Adrienne said, "Bowie's voice is weak and has no texture." I'm not sure if she was making a comment on the system or the album.

Our first movie pick was The Haunting—a fitting choice considering the spookiness of our listening room. Here, the JBL performed far better. The effects were more spread-out, and the subwoofer only had to re-create the thumping and pounding of chapter 19's evil spirits. At the start of this scene, Lili Taylor's character throws a jewelry box through glass, shattering it. Chris said that this effect didn't sound overly harsh, which is rare in an HTIB. Our other pick was the opening dance number from Moulin Rouge, which is chock-full of sound. This source elicited the same responses that the music did. The higher-frequency effects sounded fine, but the low frequencies got mired in the sub's mud. As the music got more intense, the JBL had a harder time dealing with the scene.

Everyone liked the fact that the JBL components were separates. Claire thought the separates might take up too much space but liked the speakers' size. Adrienne thought that, although it was a good idea to have separate pieces, the components were a little big.

As I said earlier, by the time you read this, there will be a new Cinema ProPack on the market. The price drop of $200 is certainly welcome, but the new sub is powered by the receiver, which could be good or bad. The small speakers certainly don't need the receiver's 100 watts. Most of the other changes are cosmetic. We would highly suggest that JBL add a test tone for the sub in this new model.

Silver Surfer
The Sony speakers come with stands that you can mount them to. While the stands are ported, they don't seem to do anything for the sound, so we nixed them for the majority of the tests and put the satellites on the speaker Susans with the rest of the group.