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JVC TH-A85 DVD home cinema system 500

Silver chic

JVCs latest all-in-one is a veritable supermodel. David Smith finds out if theres more to it than meets the eye
JVC is continuing to mine its rich seam of quality designs with the latest all-in-one system to roll off its production line. The TH-A85 is a vision in silver, with the main unit featuring an unusual curved surface and the satellite speakers standing over a metre tall. Appearances arent everything, but in todays market it makes a lot of sense to get the looks right first, because thats what many people choose their products on. I have had the pleasure of testing two other JVC all-in-ones (the TH-A35 and -75) and this system has quite a pedigree to live up to. metal to vibrate in use. That will bear watching. The centre speaker is a more conventional affair and sports the same pair of 55W drivers, aligned horizontally. The subwoofer packs all the amplification for the system, which means it is big and heavy, with a 200mm bass driver. Frequency response is quoted as low as 25Hz for the sub and 90Hz for the satellites and centre. Power output is 80W per channel, with 120W delivered to the sub itself. The remote control remains easy to use thanks to a sliding panel which hides many of the functions.

OPERATION

Colour-coded speaker cables aid in connecting up the system and both these, and the system connector cable (used to route signals from the main unit to the sub), are generously long. The audio system needs some setting up before use. Options available include choosing your speaker size. Note that despite the impressive dimensions of the satellite towers, these are still classed as small because what were really interested in here is the bottom end of the frequency range. Output level can be individually adjusted for each speaker and you can also tweak bass and treble. Conveniently, these options are available on the remote and not only through the onscreen menu. Crossover frequency can be adjusted for the subwoofer, which dictates at what frequency the subwoofer stops delivering sound effects. Set this too low and there will be a gap between the subs top and the satellites bottom. Regular decoding includes Dolby Digital, Pro-Logic II and DTS, and there is a smattering of DSP sound modes as well as all-channel stereo for enhancing mono and stereo sources. DVD set-up options (accessed using the choice button on the
Keeps things simple by hiding controls behind a sliding panel

DESCRIPTION

Visually, this all-in-one scores a knockout. The tall satellite speakers catch the eye first, but the main unit is quick to attract attention as well. The only complaint about the design of the sats is that you have to construct them yourself, right down to connecting the speaker wires to the springclip connections in the bases. It must also be noted that the bulk of the columns are merely there for looks hollow metal tubes with a couple of strands of speaker cable running through them. The actual speakers (comprising a pair of 55mm drivers) occupy only the top quarter or so of the towers and this might make for a lot of empty

A fine system that will delight many with its fine performance
Because the sub holds the amplification, the main unit is lightweight and compact. The fact that it is also gorgeous is more to do with the designers at JVC. The centrally sited disc-loading tray is at the apex of a shallow-curved body and is flanked by tiny silver control buttons. It is a joy to behold. Around the back things are more utilitarian, but there can be no complaints about the connections on offer. These stretch to an RGB Scart, S-video and composite video outs, optical digital audio output and stereo analogue outs. There is an AM/FM RDS tuner onboard, hence the antennae sockets.
The sub houses the amplifier
A cable carries sound from the main unit to the sub/amp
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Specification

FEATURES Main unit: DVD/DVD-R/CD/CD-R/ CD-RW/MP3/VCD/SVCD/JPEG playback; five x 80W power output to satellites; 120W active subwoofer; Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro-Logic II, DTS decoding; DSP modes; Video Fine Processing; AM/FM RDS tuner; zoom; trick-play functions; onscreen menu; parental lock; remote control Satellites: two x 55mm drivers; magnetically shielded; 90Hz-20kHz frequency range Subwoofer: 200mm driver; magnetically shielded; 25Hz-200Hz frequency range SOCKETS Main unit rear: RGB Scart; S-video output; composite video output; optical digital audio input; stereo analogue audio input; AM/FM antennae sockets; system cord connector Main unit front: headphone minijack Subwoofer: springclip speaker terminals; system cord connector DIMENSIONS Main unit: 398(w) x 70(h) x 265(d)mm Satellites: 250(w) x 1,103(h) x 250(d)mm Centre: 258(w) x 75(h) x 81(d)mm Subwoofer: 235(w) x 355(h) x 492(d)mm WEIGHT Main unit: 2.7kg Satellites: 3.77kg Centre: 0.95kg Subwoofer: 13kg CONTACT JVC 5002, www.jvc.co.uk
remote) follow the standard path of choosing the screen ratio of your monitor, selecting your preferred language options, whether or not you want the screensaver to be active and so forth. There is also a VFP (Video Fine Processor) function for adjusting picture quality. Playback options include a 64x zoom, slow-motion and frame-advance playback, highspeed picture searching, random playback, A-B repeat playback and programmed playback. MP3 music files and JPEG images can be enjoyed, but you have to set the unit for playback of one or the other.

PERFORMANCE

When we finally stopped simply staring at this system and tested it out, it scored highly. DVD images are bold and clear and pack a
powerful punch. Vibrant material like Shrek jumps out from the screen, while more restrained stuff, like Band of Brothers, reveals a level of subtlety in the delivery of muted colours. There are almost no digital artifacts on show to spoil the image, with only tricky material like the birdcage scene in Jurassic Park III catching the processing out. The sound system also does a good job, but does not quite live up to its brothers in the range. At modest volume levels there is a sense of cohesion and impact to movie soundtracks and, perhaps more impressively, to music tracks. The subwoofer is restrained and effective, but is always on cue to deliver the thumping bass when needed. The satellites struggle at higher volumes, however, (anything above
40 on a volume scale that goes up to 70!). A distracting rattle begins to emerge as the sound is cranked up, proof that those towers are a hindrance when it comes to performance at higher volumes.

What we think

WHATS GOOD Looks, performance WHATS BAD Lack of serious volume PICTURE. SOUND. FEATURES. EASE OF USE VALUE.77777.77777.77777.77777.77777

CONCLUSION

This is a fine system that will delight many with its controlled performance. The DVD section is approaching Best Buy status and the overall design is a major plus point. Things arent quite so clear-cut on the audio side, good though it is. Those looking for a real rock-em, sock-em action-movie provider may want to get a serious audition to make sure theres enough volume on offer

Verdict 77777

A thoroughly decent system that looks a million dollars
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