Recently Tone looked at Pioneer’s HTZ363DVD home theatre system, a rather good package and a bargain at $599.

Here’s another offering from the family, the XV-CX500, with fewer features and a higher $899 price tag. So could this be an occasion when less is more, more or less?

But first, some detail. The XV-CX500 is meant to fill the need many homes have for a home theatre system that will perform well while treading lightly on the bank balance.

Although some of its little speaker cubes appear similar to those of the HTZ363, the receiver unit and the subwoofer are very much its own. The ‘box’ is a long and narrow unit of unusual design reminding me of a giant cassette tape recorder of older days. Its plastic case has an attractive brushed metal look that will fit well in many living rooms. In fact Pioneer sees the unusual shape of the receiver as a sales plus, appealing to those who want something other than the normal run-of-the-mill wide and shallow boxes.

The twin-drive sub, which shares the styling and finish of the receiver, can be positioned on its side or vertically. The six small cube speakers are glossy black, perhaps to be as unobtrusive as possible. Six? Pioneer provides two rather than the usual one centre speaker. The company reckons it makes placement easier, for example putting one speaker on each side of the panel, rather than trying to make space for one biggie.

Many buyers of systems such as this will want to get to the result without spending ages setting it up and tweaking the speaker positions for best effect. One of the great features of the cheaper HTZ363 was that the setup was done for you automatically via a supplied microphone that ‘learned’ the positions of the speakers and adjusted itself accordingly.

You don’t get that with the XV-CX500 but don’t worry, setup is quick and easy. The instruction manual may look cheap and pulpy but the directions and diagrams are easily followed.

Working the system is simple, too, but those with large fingers may not appreciate the remote, whose many small buttons are closely grouped.

While the 500 lacks such things as the auto setup and HDMI cable port of its cheaper relative, it more than compensates in sound quality. The subwoofer has a crispness and decisiveness lacking in the cheaper unit and the small speakers benefit from a better processing of the sound sent to them.

As with the HTZ363, this is not an HD product, but neither will that put off a majority of buyers. We tested the system with several DVDs including Spider-man 2.1 and its sound spun the right sort of web for us. It also offers a better quality CD audio experience than the 363, and if it moves you to sing along, there’s also a karaoke function.

The receiver also has a USB port for digital audio players or USB memory, so owners can even use it to display their photos on-screen.

What’s in a name?

The CX500 designation struck a familiar chord but it took hours of in-depth research – well, okay, 10 minutes on Google – to suss out why. Turns out that CX500 is a popular designation for all manner of products.

Who’d have believed that there would also be these from: Sennheiser, its CX500 earphones; Honda, the CX500 motorbike; EIMAC, a CX500 glass transmitting tube; JVC, an all-in-one CX500 portable colour tv/cassstte/radio; Epson, a Stylus CX500 home inkjet photo printer; and Clarion, a CX500 networked storage system.

There were more but you get the idea!

Specifications

Amp: 100W x 7 (satellite x 6, subwoofer)

Discs: DVD, Video CD, Super VCD, audio CD

Frequency response: 20Hz – 44kHz

Signal/noise ratio: 88dB

Wow and flutter: 0.001% or less

Front, surround and centre speakers: 770mm cone-type driver, 80Hz – 20kHz

Subwoofer: 140cm cone-type x 2, 32Hz – 6kHz

Receiver dimensions: 210 x 112 x 336mm (W/H/D)

Pros

Compact size

Good sound quality

Easy to set up

Cons

Lacks some features of its cheaper relative

Verdict

A commendable performer at its price point

PHIL HANSON

What do you think?