The Bottom Line
Pros
- Basic home theater sytem with good sound quality
- Easy setup and operation
- Color coded connection cables
- Innovative separation of amplifier and system display and control unit.
- Versatile Surround Sound listening options
Cons
- Subwoofer a little boomy
- No video inputs/outputs on Receiver - No Onscreen Display
- Only one set of Stereo analog audio inputs.
- Cheap Speaker Wire
- DVD Player not included
Description
- A fully functional 5.1 Channel AV Receiver with Dolby Digital, DTS, and Dolby Pro LogicII decoding.
- 25 watts-per-channel RMS output (4 ohm speaker load) x 5 with 1% THD (Total Harmonic Distortion).
- Amplifier System and input connections on Subwoofer unit; separate LED display and control unit.
- All speakers supplied: L/R Mains, Center, L/R surrounds, and a 30 watt RMS Powered Subwoofer.
- Room Audio Calibration via Auto MCACC (Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration System) with Microphone.
- 1 Set of Analog audio inputs for connection of VCR, DVD player, DVD recorder, and CD player.
- Digital audio inputs (1 coaxial, two optical) for DVD player, etc... with digital audio outputs.
- AM/FM stereo tuner with a total of 30 presets.
- Cables and speaker wire provided - all wires are color coded for easy connection.
- Wireless remote control, Illustrated User Manual
Guide Review - Pioneer HTS-260 Compact 5.1 Channel Home Theater System
The Pioneer HTS-260 is a 5.1 channel home theater-in-a-box system, with 5 compact satellite speakers, an AV receiver/subwoofer combination, and separate LED display unit.However, the AV receiver section lacks video connections, which would have made it a more flexible central control unit to use with HDTVs and progressive scan DVD players.
One innovation, the separate LED display, allows the heavier, and boxier, amplifier section to be combined in the subwoofer cabinet, allowing the LED display and control unit to be placed in a smaller space and away from the rest of the system.
The HTS-260 also has a variety of useful listening modes, including an expansion mode that widens the surround field and a sound retrieval mode that eliminates much of the compression artifacts present in MP3 and WMA encoded CDs.
As far as audio performance, the sound samples I used from DVD, Blu-ray, HD-DVD, and CD discs sounded good from such a small and low-powered system.
However, the highs were a little harsh, the subwoofer wasn't tight enough on the lowest frequencies, and subtle transient details got lost in some of the DVD samples; but the overall sound was good for a $349 home theater system in a 12x13 foot room.
Despite its modest rated power output and small satellite speakers, the HTS-260 is a good performer for a compact system. The Pioneer HTS-260 delivers more than you might expect.
Keeping in mind its entry-level status, I give the HTS-260 a rating of 4 out of 5 Stars.
