Samsung HT-AS600 and HT-P50 HTIB Review - HT-AS600 - First Look
Samsung HT-AS600
Price: N/A
The Samsung HT AS600 could be considered part of Samsung's budget line of HTIB. It consists of a small amplifier/decoder unit and 5 satellite speakers plus 1 subwoofer. Unlike some of Samsung's other combined products, this unit does not have an optical drive built in, so you will need an external dvd player to hook this unit up. Lets take a look at some of its features.
- Total System Power: 750W
- Subwoofer System: Passive
- Subwoofer Type: 6 ½ “ Bass Reflex
- Decodes: Dolby Digital, DTS, Pro Logic
- Digital Inputs: 1 Optical/1 Coaxial
- Tuner: AM/FM
- THD @ Rated Power: 10%
- Dimensions: 21.02�/19.72�/22.20�
The total rated power on these units can be somewhat misleading. When measuring audio power you can measure by peak power, RMS, and even those measurements can differ by what kind and level of input signal you are using. Be very careful when choosing an amplifier by wattage alone because each manufacturer seems to use a different method. Of course they are going to put down the largest number because it will look better and sell more product. Suffice to say that this unit is adequate for only a small living room. Anything larger than that and you will run into volume problems when watching movies. The 10% THD is rather scary as well. A mediocre amp shouldn't go above 1% THD and high end components rate under .1%.
Inputs:
The inputs on the back of this unit are well labeled and laid out if not a bit sparse. You have an optical/coaxial audio input for your dvd player, as well as a stereo set for a cd player and another for your vcr/satellite. There are also several coaxial video inputs and one output. This would be for those people that want to use the unit to switch video sources. However coaxial video is generally pretty low quality and so I would recommend you hook your video sources directly to the back of your TV. There are a set of subwoofer outputs in case you wish to upgrade your subwoofer to something a little more robust, and up in the corner we find the standard plugs for the AM and FM antennas.
On the back of the unit you will also find the speaker outputs. Pretty standard stuff here with spring clamps to attach the speaker wires to. Everything is well labeled and should pose no problems for even a novice installer. Right next to the speaker block we find a FAN. Yes most low end amplifiers will have fans in them to keep the components inside cool. I was relieved to find that the fan is temperature controlled and as fairly quiet under moderate usage. However I would still prefer that amplifiers used higher quality cooler components rather than having to use a fan to compensate.
Speakers:
Moving on to the meat and potatoes of any HTIB system lets take a look at the speakers. These are quite small with the satellites measuring in at only 3.58�/5.31�/3.88�. The center speaker is only slightly larger at 7.87�/4.21�/3.94� and the subwoofer measures in at 7.09�/16.10�/14.96�. The speakers seemed solid enough when I was setting them up however the inside build quality will have to remain unknown as I was unable to find a way to get inside.
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Subwoofer
Accessories:
In typical Nicao reverse methodology we will now get to the accessories. Samsung was nice enough to include most of the cables needed to get setup. In the package you will find a video cable, an AM antenna, an FM antenna, and a nice thick manual. Wires for all speakers are included although it is a very small gage, and there is also a remote control. I found the manual was well laid out in typical Samsung fashion, and the remote control was easy and intuitive as well.
Setup and installation:
I was pleased to find that setup went relatively painlessly. Despite the lack of an onscreen menu, speaker levels were easy to adjust and hooking up the dvd player was a breeze. Connecting the speakers was simple enough considering that the wire was even color coded. Placement of speakers is important and it always pains me to see people's speakers hiding behind flower pots. I have a fairly square testing room that is not heavily populated by useless knicknacks and so speaker setup was a breeze. Your mileage may vary.
