DVD movies have become extremely common these days. The supreme picture quality they offer is what attracts people to it. But the picture quality contributes to only one half of the experience. The other half being the high quality 5.1 channel AC3 surround sound. To experience the second half, you obviously need a good 5.1 channel speaker system. Most of today's games too flaunt multi-channel audio. Thanks to these games and DVD movies, the sale of 5.1 channel speaker systems has really picked up in the last couple of years. And no big speaker company would want to ignore that segment.
Understandably, Philips, the consumer electronics giant has launched a new range of multimedia speaker systems here to cater to the surround sound enthusiasts with different budgets. Today, we will have a closer look at one of their value 5.1 channel speaker systems, the MMS 460.
For starters, the MMS 460 is easily one of the best looking 5.1 channel speaker systems that I have come across. The smooth black and silver finish looks classy. The satellites seem like a miniature nuclear devices. They look good, but there is no real protection for the drivers. This is not a big issue as long as you keep it away from children and some adults, who like to finger around with bare satellite cones. Each of the five satellites is fitted with a 3-inch driver and has a power rating of 10 Watts RMS. The front firing wooden subwoofer has a 5.5-inch driver and is capable of 30 Watts RMS. The overall system has a power rating of 80 Watts RMS with a peak of 160 Watts. The MMS 460 has a rated overall frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 KHz.
The subwoofer has all the input and output connectors along with a knob for adjusting the bass. The center channel has a power on/off switch and a master volume control. The controls for adjusting the treble and surround volume are absent. A remote controller has also been given a slip. The cables are sufficiently long to separate the front and rear channels. A power adapter is also supplied in the package.
As always we connected this system to our Audigy 2 Platinum sound card and tested it using our usual sound tracks, DVD clips and game demos. Most of the 5.1 channel systems are more suited for movies and games rather than music and this isn't too different. The performance in gaming was excellent. Playing UT 2004 and DOOM 3 on this was a treat. There was absolutely no problem with the sound positioning. The sound was crisp and the bass adequate. In movies, the overall experience was pretty good. The dialogues were clear and highs were good too. However, in action scenes, the subwoofer felt a little underpowered as compared to the satellites. There wasn't enough thump in the bass. Making the subwoofer a little more powerful would have boosted the overall performance.
We also tested the speakers with sound tracks from different genres of music. The performance was a mixed bag. The highs were excellent and higher mids were pretty decent. However, the reproduction of lower mids was poor. To be precise, the mids lacked depth. I would rate the low frequency reproduction just above average. The weakness of the subwoofer was exposed by certain bass heavy tracks. This system is not ideal for Trance and Metal fans. The rest wouldn't be too disappointed with it. But to be fair to the speakers, I would like to repeat that 5.1 channel systems are not ideal for music buffs. They are more suited for gamers and movie buffs. Also, the speakers were loud enough in music and games and just about enough in DVD movies for a mid-sized listening environment.
The Philips MMS 460 can be purchased for a street price of Rs. 5,750 with a one-year warranty. In spite of its deficiencies, it is one of the better 5.1 channel speaker systems in that price range and can compete well with the Creative Inspire 5200 and Altec Lansing 251. And if you care for looks, this one owns them all. All in all, it's a reasonable buy for the surround sound enthusiasts.
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