potential, many con-
sumers have expressed
an interest in wireless
surround speakers to
simplify setup, while
others—spoilsports,
really—insist that they
lack either the room
or the desire for dedi-
cated surrounds. As a
result, we saw and
heard more products
than ever at this year’s
Consumer Electronics
Show that put all of
the gear up front
while creating an
illusion of surround,
some more success-
fully than others. So expect to see
more reviews in this burgeoning cat-
egory from me and the gang. Even
your run-of-the-mill home-theater-
in-a-box requires a dollop of basic
HT know-how to configure: run-
ning wires, connecting speaker
E N T R Y L E V E L
from the
test bench
You’ll be hearing things that aren’t there, like surround channels.
The wheels of compliance
grind slowly, but they do grind.
With the ongoing mad rush to
embrace DVD’s audio and video
cables, and, of course, allocating
space for five loudspeakers and the
subwoofer. Don’t get me wrong:
I’ve never viewed these steps as a
chore, but, for some, it’s just too
much, and it’s perpetuating the
schism betwixt DVD wannabes and
DVD gurus.
Are We in Hollywood Yet?
Sherwood’s answer to this quandary
is their new Hollywood at Home
line of home theater solutions. The
middle child of three proposed
models, the VR-670 consists of two
satellite loudspeakers, a sub, and an
especially pretty DVD receiver.
Rather than creating yet another
proprietary phantom-surround algo-
rithm, they have entrusted their pro-
cessing to the good folks at Dolby,
whose Virtual Speaker technology
enables twin sats to transmogrify the
two-channel signal to sound like
many. (In a welcome display of
agnosticism, Dolby Virtual Speaker
BY CHRIS CHIARELLA
Cordero Studios
Sherwood Hollywood at Home
VR-670 Home-Theater-in-a-Box
Hollywood at Home VR-670 Home-Theater-in-a-Box, $400
>
Sherwood America, (800) 962-3203
www.sherwoodusa.com
>
Dealer Locator Code SHR
General information
>
DVD receiver encased
entirely in plastic
>
The wooden sub-
woofer housing has a
pedestal base and large
rubber feet
>
Strikes a fair balance
of features between
Sherwood’s higher- and
lower-priced models
>
Comes with lots of
processing modes and
handy features
>
Dolby Virtual Speaker
does a lot to compensate
for the lack of surround
and center speakers
>
No video or digital
audio inputs
>
Both stereo and
enhanced listening
modes were spacious
and enjoyable
>
Video reproduction
could look better
>
Controls are well
laid-out
>
Clear readouts on
the DVD receiver
>
Setup was quick
and easy
Build Quality
Value
Features
Performance
Ergonomics
84
84
OVERALL RATING
An easy, attractive approach
for the aesthetics-conscious
movie/music aficionado who
wants something more than
stereo from his rig, but one
who’s not losing any sleep fret-
ting over true high-end audio or
video quality.
SHERWOOD HOLLYWOOD AT HOME VR-670 HOME-THEATER-IN-A-BOX
86
84
82
83
87
ELECTRONICALLY REPRINTED FROM JULY 2005