Philips Acoustic Fusion 610 review

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Verdict:

Review Date: 16 Sep 2003

Price when reviewed: (£180)

Reviewed By: Sasha Muller

Our Rating 3 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

If you like watching movies and playing games, a good surround sound set-up will bring the whole experience to life.

Like all 5.1 surround speaker sets, the 610s contains five satellite speakers and a subwoofer which deals with the bass frequencies. But it's in the satellites that the 610s really stand out from the crowd. Because they use a special flat-panel technology called NXT, they're only a couple of centimetres deep! Rather than using a magnet to vibrate a bulky speaker cone, NXT speakers work by moving a flat membrane. Cheap NXT sets we've seen, such as Ellula's inflatable C2 set, have sounded grim. We wondered if the Philips could justify their hefty price tag.

Happily, the 610s sound great, even with music from a plain old CD. Bass is deep without being boomy, and the satellites do a great job of placing instruments precisely between the speakers. Where conventional speakers require you to sit directly between them and a little distance away if you want to experience their full stereo effect, NXT speakers allow you more freedom to move around while still receiving a 'proper' stereo sound. They even include a remote control.

Movies sound great, too. It takes a sterling speaker set to deal with Saving Private Ryan's dynamic soundtrack, and the Philips do such a good job that I had to check there weren't bullets embedded in the wall behind me.

However, the midrange lacks oomph, leaving snare drums and gunshots sounding a little weak. And when compared to our Top 50 speakers, VideoLogic's ZXR550 set, the Philips look distinctly pricey. The 610s may be good, but they aren't worth nearly a hundred quid - all of which left me feeling, like the Philips, a little bit flat.

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