Why You Can Trust CNET Panasonic SC-PT760 review: Panasonic SC-PT760
Panasonic SC-PT760
Panasonic's 2008 home-theater-in-a-box line has three contenders in the sub-$500 range, and we think the midline SC-PT760 will be the most popular model of the group. It comes with a smooth-running five-disc DVD changer, wireless surround speakers, an integrated, flip-down iPod dock, and upscales video over HDMI up to 1080p. The step-down model, the SC-PT660 ($300), is pretty much the same thing, just missing the wireless speakers and front speaker stands, and the step-up model SC-PT960 ($500) duplicates the SC-PT760's features, but adds tallboy tower speakers up front. The SC-PT760's sound quality on DVDs was clean, powerful, and dynamic (considering the bargain price tag). Stereo sound from CDs and the iPod was less impressive, and the unit offers skimpy connectivity for other sources--just one stereo and one surround audio line-in jack. But if you're looking for an affordable all-in-one home theater solution that offers surround sound, a CD/DVD changer, wireless rear speakers, and built-in iPod compatibility, the Panasonic SC-PT760 should be on your short list.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Design
True to its "home-theater-in-a-box" name, the Panasonic SC-PT760 crams quite a few components into the package: the head unit (which includes the 5-disc changer and amplifier), the rear speaker amplifier (to power and wirelessly transmit audio to the two rear speakers), and the surround speakers (five relatively small speakers and a subwoofer). The head unit's slimline receiver/five-disc DVD changer is less than 3 inches high, a wee bit under 17 inches wide, and 13 inches deep. The front panel has the five-disc tray loader on the left side; a concealed, flip-down iPod dock in the middle; and the readout display and volume control over to the right. Panasonic spreads the controls to access each of the five disc-loading trays, transport controls, input selector, and subwoofer boost button across the top-front ledge. We really liked the convenience of the flip-down iPod dock--much better than the "tethered" iPod docks found on most other such systems--and the head unit is certainly compact enough, considering all that it does. However, the big buttons and brash white labels give the thing a much more utilitarian look than similar products you'll find from the likes of Samsung Electronics, Philips, and Sony.
The no-frills look extends to the remote. It won't win any beauty contests, but it's more straightforward and intuitive than many models. We particularly liked the large buttons, though we kept accidentally hitting the input selector buttons when trying to raise or lower the volume.
The SC-PT760's setup menus and speaker calibration was easy enough to implement. Fresh out of the box and before we did any tweaking, the sound was actually pretty good, so you won't be missing much if you just concentrate on getting the SC-PT760's video to work with your TV's resolution and aspect ratio.
The remote lets you adjust the relative volume level of each speaker, and the subwoofer's volume level in three steps (and there's the sub boost control on the receiver). We would have liked to have bass and treble controls, but Panasonic instead included an EQ control with "Flat," "Heavy," "Clear," and "Soft" options. There was also something called "Whisper-mode Surround" that's supposed to enhance surround effects for late night listening, but we didn't notice much of a difference with it turned on. We did hear some small amount of noise from the rear-mounted cooling fan.
The front left and right speakers can be wall-mounted or attached to the included floor stands. The skinny tube stands come with square bases and are stable enough, but could easily be knocked over by small children or large pets. The speaker on its stand measures 44 inches tall.
The matching center speaker is 10.5 inches wide and the surround speakers are about 5.5 inches tall. All of the speakers are fitted with nonremovable black cloth grilles, and the speakers can be shelf-mounted or wall-mounted with their keyhole slots. The black plastic cabinets look fairly basic, nothing fancy, just plain and simple designs. The satellites all feature one 2.5-inch "woofer" and no tweeters, but at least the center speaker doubles up on the woofers.
The Kelton designed subwoofer has a side-mounted 6.5-inch woofer. The medium-density fiberboard subwoofer has a molded black plastic front baffle. It's just 7.1 inches tall by 14.25 inches wide by 12.5 inches deep and weighs 10.4 pounds. It's also a tad more stylish than the plain-Jane satellite speakers are.
The two "wireless" surround speakers have wires that get connected to the SC-PT760's separate wireless receiver/amplifier (a relatively compact 6.5 inches by 3.5 inches by 6.5 inches cube), which must be plugged into an AC power outlet. (The wireless signal comes from a module that's built into the rear of the main head unit.) The supplied wires for the surround speakers are only 9.5 feet long, which might not be long enough for some installations, but you can substitute hardware store speaker wire of any length. The subwoofer's 13 foot-long cable is permanently attached to the sub, and the wire's other end has a proprietary connector that plugs into the receiver/DVD changer. The front-left speaker and right speaker comes with 13-foot long wires; and the center speaker uses a 10-foot long wire; these wires also have proprietary connectors that plug into the receiver, but they use bare wire to connect to the spring clips built into the speakers. Therefore, if you need longer wires, you can easily splice longer lengths onto Panasonic's wires.
It's also worth noting that the wireless system needs to be enabled--there's no way to connect the rear speakers to the front head unit. Therefore, if the wireless doesn't interest you--in other words, you don't mind the long speaker cables running from the front to the back of the room--save yourself $100 and go for the aforementioned SC-PT660.
Features
The SC-PT760 built-in five-disc changer can play DVD movies, audio CDs, video CDs, and most home-burned varieties thereof, including DVD-RAM discs. It can also play back MP3 music and display JPEG images from DVD-R/RWs, DVD-RAMs, and CD-Rs. As we'd expect at this bargain price point, Blu-ray playback is absent, as is compatibility with increasingly obscure DVD-Audio and SACD discs. In addition to the iPod dock, the SC-PT760 also includes the requisite AM/FM radio.
The HDMI output delivers the requisite upscaling to 720p, 1080i, or 1080p resolutions, which may be useful, depending on how well your HDTV handles video processing. Older TVs can be connected via component (480i or 480p) or composite; there's no S-Video out. Note that the HDMI output is "Viera Link" compatible--that means it can talk to similarly equipped Panasonic TVs, allowing them to automatically (for instance) power up and toggle to the correct input when the PT760 is turned on.
Video inputs are completely absent, and there are only two audio inputs: one pair of stereo RCA jacks and an optical digital input for surround sources. That means any other video sources--a game console, Apple TV, or a cable/satellite box, for instance--will need to be plugged directly into the TV. Likewise, just one analog and one digital audio input are excessively stingy--there should be two or three of each.
The SC-PT760's digital amplifier carries two power ratings: the optimistic "1,000-watt" specification--and the much more realistic Federal Trade Commission rating of 428 watts. Surround processing covers the usual Dolby and DTS modes, including Dolby Pro Logic II, which can create a faux surround effect from any two-channel stereo source.
The flip-down iPod dock is superconvenient, but you need to support the dock with one hand when inserting or removing an iPod with the other hand. While compatibility is limited to later model iPods (fourth generation or later, including current iPod Touch, Nano, and Classic models), the SC-PT760 does offer full ability to browse the iPod's menu on your TV screen. Using the remote, it's dead simple to navigate to favorite artists, playlists, or songs. By comparison, most home-audio products limit remote iPod control to volume and track up/down control, and instead force you to navigate the iPod manually via the click wheel. Panasonic's use of the onscreen interface is a big step up for those of us who prefer not to leave the sofa. However, here's the rub: iPod-based videos will only play back via the composite output, not HDMI or component.
Performance
The DVD changer mechanism was one smooth operator, so loading and unloading discs was a reasonably quick and quiet operation. We started our evaluations with a remake of a classic western, 3:10 to Yuma. The new one pumped up the explosions, and the SC-PT760 obliged and pummeled our eardrums. The stagecoach robbery was action packed, and the onscreen firepower from the Gatling packed a wallop. Dialog remained clear with the volume cranked fairly loud. Surround effects, such as the sound of gunshots ricocheting off the distant mountains, were subtle, but highly effective. The subwoofer's plentiful low frequency support was in large part responsible for the SC-PT760's home theater gravitas.
The wireless surround speakers worked so well we never thought about them; there were no noises, pops, or interruptions we've experienced from some wireless systems.
CD sound was less impressive, mostly because we were much more aware of the satellites' limitations. The Cuban jazz on the Buena Vista Social Club sounded passable, but we could tell that all the bass was coming from the subwoofer, way over on the left side of the room.
Rock music was irritatingly harsh. Dire Straits, Bruce Springsteen, and the Rolling Stones sounded strained played at even moderately loud volume. We pumped up the subwoofer, which helped matters because it sounded punchy and moderately well defined. Music from the iPod Nano sounded no better than CD.
In sum
As with most budget home-theaters-in-a-box, the SC-PT760 will do its best work with DVDs, and sound less accomplished with music. But it's still going to sound perfectly fine to most listeners--especially those who don't want to invest upwards of a grand or two in their audio system. That, paired with its generally impressive feature set, makes the SC-PT760 a good choice for those on a budget who need an all-in-one home theater system--so long as they don't need a lot of extra inputs.