Samsung HT-E6500

Samsung HT-E6500 review

It may play nicely with 3D Blu-ray discs, and even convert 2D sources to 3D, but Samsung's HT-E6500 home cinema 'in a box' is just as much about music as it is movies. At its centre the HT-E6500 is a chunky Blu-ray player with ins and outs galore, with the rest of the package made up of a centre speaker, left and right satellite speakers, two rear speakers and a passive subwoofer. The latter requires hooking up to the main unit, as do all the speakers, but doesn't need plugging in to the mains. There are no speaker stands, so you'll need a bevy of bookshelves in your living room, but it's a diminutive and relatively low-impact 5.1 system (aside from the miles of cable, that is) that manages a 'that'll do plenty' 1000W output of codecs ranging from the Blu-ray-centric Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio to Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital, DTS 96/24 and DTS. Audio modes are many, with 3D Sound – offered in various strengths – more use than 'SFE' modes including such oddities as 'Jazz Club Seoul', 'Philharmonic Hall Bratislava' and 'Symphony Hall Boston'. The DSP modes, comprising Virtual 7.1, Power Bass and MP3 Enhancer are more useful.