In our sound quality testing, we were curious to see if the 2.1 system could conjure a facsimile of surround sound. We popped in our Sin City DVD and the film's neo-noir-jazz score emerged full-blown, not at all cramped between the two speakers. Mickey Rourke's gravel-toned voice-over had plenty of heft, and every blood-splattering punch and gun blast packed a significant wallop. The subwoofer was able to make its presence felt, easily powerful enough to fill a moderately sized room with its bass.
Switching between the HT-X710's stereo and V-Sound (Virtual Surround) settings via the remote didn't make for much of a difference. The V-Sound mode enlarged the sound field somewhat, but we found the normal stereo setting to be just as pleasingly spacious as well.
As for music, John Mellencamp's album, Life, Death, Love and Freedom rocked pretty hard, though the bass felt a little overblown. Nevertheless, Mellencamp's vocal and guitars came across vivid and clear. Throughout our testing, we found the X710T was just as enjoyable with music as it was for movies.
Conclusion
Overall, the HT-X710T is another solid effort from Samsung in the home-theatre-in-a-box department. While it doesn't offer surround sound -- or even a solid surround-sound emulation -- we were impressed with the sonic experience it was able to produce. If you're looking for a good 2.1 home theatre system and don't mind the offbeat styling and the dearth of video inputs, the Samsung HT-X710T is a worthwhile choice.
Edited by Marian Smith
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