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Entered CNET Catalog: 09/02/2004
SKU: 0036725616103
Manufacturer: Samsung
Manufacturer description
Slim, vertical and stylish - no other home theater system combines style and technology as seamlessly as the Samsung HT-DS1000. Its timeless design and cutting-edge technology, such as the sDSM and HDMI, completes your home theater like no other system.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 05/06/2005
Editor's note: We have changed the rating in this review to reflect recent changes in our rating scale. Click here to find out more.
The Samsung HT-DS1000 system comes packed in a large, 128-pound box, so unless you're built like Arnold Schwarzenegger, you might want to enlist the help of a few strong friends to move and unpack the system.
When the 2.7-inch-thick receiver-DVD-audio/video player is mounted on its pedestal, it stands 47 inches tall. If you'd rather not give up floor space to the pedestal, you can horizontally mount the receiver on the included table stand or wall-mount the unit. When you use the table stand, the receiver's blue display automatically adjusts itself to a horizontal orientation. Disc loading is a little out of the ordinary: press the Open button and the black-plastic cover retreats behind the receiver's aluminum skin, exposing the player's drive mechanism. You can then place your CD or DVD on the hub. Press Play and the cover glides back into place as the disc begins to play.
The 54.6-inch-tall front and rear aluminum-clad speakers stand on weighted metal bases while the matching 16.2-inch-wide center speaker rests on thick, rubber feet. As for the subwoofer, its uncommonly thin profile is countered by its extra depth: it's just 9.8 inches wide but 18.1 inches high and 20 inches deep.
The remote hides less-accessed buttons under a slip-down cover; in day-to-day use, you'll have to deal with only a few keys.
The Samsung HT-DS1000's four tower speakers each house five 2.25-inch midrange drivers and a 0.8-inch tweeter, while the center speaker duplicates the towers' driver arrangement in a much smaller package. As for the subwoofer, it sports an 8-inch woofer and a set of conveniently located volume and crossover controls, features rarely seen on HTIB subs.
The hunky sub contains all of the system's amplifiers: five 100-watt channels for the speakers plus a 150-watt amp for the sub itself. Surround processing is limited to Dolby Digital, Pro Logic II, and DTS. The DS1000 can also play DVD-Audio discs but not SACDs.
The Auto Sound Calibration Setup feature balances the speaker volume levels and sets the delays by measuring the distances between each speaker and the listener. To perform the autocalibration, you must plug in the supplied microphone and press a few buttons. It's easy enough to use.
The HDMI output is the DS1000's standout connectivity feature: it provides an all-digital video connection to HDMI, and, with an affordable adapter, to DVI-equipped HD monitors. The HDMI output enables DVD video to be upscaled to HD-friendly resolutions of 720p and 1080i.
HDMI notwithstanding, however, this HTIB's connectivity offerings are downright skimpy: remaining connectivity features are limited to a single stereo input, two optical digital inputs, and component- and composite-video outputs. On the plus side, Samsung's Anynet connection allows the DS1000 to be controlled from compatible Samsung TVs. Also, the lip-synch delay can be used to resynchronize the DS1000's audio with digital video displays that lag behind audio signals. As far as we know, Samsung is the first brand to offer this feature in a HTIB.
If you're sold on the DS1000's look but you'd prefer a built-in five-disc changer, consider upgrading to the similarly styled HT-DS1500, which retails for a few hundred dollars more.
The Moulin Rouge DVD's full-tilt musical extravaganzas have humbled many a HTIB around these parts, but the Samsung HT-DS1000 held it together. Nicole Kidman, backed by massive big-band arrangements, belts out pop tunes with gusto, but we felt the subwoofer's bass was a tad boomy and sounded disconnected from the towers. So yes, the DS1000 falls prey to the classic HTIB mid-bass hole that occurs with lean-sounding satellites: the subwoofer's plentiful deep bass highlights the towers' lack of mid-bass, so the overall sound is thin and bright.
The Fight Club DVD's bare-fisted dynamic range assaults fared well enough over most of the movie's action-packed scenes, but the fantasized midair jet plane collision once again exposed the limitations of this HTIB's ultimate home-theater prowess. To make up for some of the mid-bass shortfall, we boosted the subwoofer level, which helped the balance somewhat, but thickened the sound of male voices to the point that they sounded boomy. That said, Fight Club's exceptional surround mix was well served by the DS1000--low-level detail and ambience came through quite well. While the system can play pretty darn loud, it sounds best when turned down to more moderate levels.
CDs seemed to reveal more of the DS1000's limitations than DVDs. Acoustic music sounded hollow and harsh, and rock music was strained and muddy. Also, quieter passages were obscured by the unit's noisy cooling fan.
In the final analysis, we rank the DS1000's audio performance behind that of Panasonic's lower-priced tower-equipped HTIBs (such as the SC-HT930), but the Samsung's dazzling visual elegance may be enough to sway less aurally critical buyers.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 User Rating: 
6/10
Great looks, decent sound, horrible DVD unit.
Pros: HDMI output, optical inputs, Movie sound was good / great, with the provided microphone the unit will "tune" itself, multiple configurations with the tall stand or sideways
Cons: Unit has been sent in twice to replace the DVD head. Stops playing movies after the 17th chapter, would like to have more volumne produced, sub is a little weak in the "thump" department
I have had to send the unit to the factory twice now to replace the DVD head. The factory said both times that the gear system that controls the laser eye was out of placement and not "reading" the DVD correctly. A bit frustrating when each occurance left me without my HT for 3 weeks!
I also have a 46" Samsung DLP with the HDMI hook up. I bought this unit purposely to use the HDMI, and I must say WOW. At the time of purchase it was one of only a few units that supported HDMI. As well I have another device that outputs Digital audio via the Optical Link and that audio quality is as good as the DVD audio.
Overall, a 6 is perhaps on the kind side, because of my problems, next time I think I'll stick with a Sony.
User Rating: 
7/10
more than you think....
Pros: looks, looks, looks
Cons: quite a few (read below)
- the looks are awesome and everything has a good quality feel to it. Video quality is very good.
- For "international" people it is important to know that it can be hacked to be region free and that the player itself can handle 110V/60Hz as well as 230V/50Hz. Unfortunately the subwoofer is limited to 110V, so you'll need a converter for that when you want to take it abroad. Plays both NTSC and PAL just fine.
- Interesting enough there is also a European version of this system and in Europe Samsung advertises it of being able to play DivX, too. No word about that in USA. So I just tried it - and bingo - the US-version does play DivX, too. No clue why this feature is not documented. I tried different versions and they all played just fine.
- MP3 and JPEG playback works flawlessly
- nice auto-calibration function
- two additional optical inputs
About the bad things:
- sound quality is only mediocre. I can confirm cnet's opinion that it misses mid-bass. Sound is a bit thin. And yes, this is especially true for Audio-CDs, for movies the sound is ok.
Other annoyances:
- the player has a little fan which is QUITE noisy. Samsung really screwed up here. I'm still looking for something to do against that fan.
- The menues (or is it the remote) seem to be quite slow. Nothing serious but a little bit annoying.
- if your TV is old and does not support progressive scan (480p or higher) you can only connect it via composite (Yellow). To use the component (Pr,Pb,Y) your TV has to be able of 480p or more. I understand this restriction for the HDMI interface but why for the component?
- no S-Video connections at all
- there is no button on the remote to toggle the DVD-language. If you want to set/change it you have to do that *before* you start the movie
- if you press "menu" during DVD-playback you come to the DVD-menu but can not exit from there back to the place where you've been in the movie (at least I haven't found out how)
Summary:
can I recommend it? Yes, but let me drive a screwdriver into this stupid fan first...
User Rating: 6/10
Solid, Stylish System
Pros: Great look, easy set-up, HDMI connection, solid sound.
Cons: Only 1 disc, sound somewhat artificial when playing music.
User Rating: 
9/10
U gotta have it....Best for movies....
Pros: Best for surround sound movies......i love it
Cons: Less sound functions, thats about it ....
User Rating: 7/10
My jaw droped...I had to have it!!
Pros: very nice looking,fully functional HT set up. Sound is very good for the size of the speakers.
Cons: for the price you can get better sound, but would have to sacrafice looks
User Rating: 7/10
Great look and match for DLP screen
Pros: A sleek looking unit with all the main high end features including a HDMI dvd player. Comes with room sound setting microphone that makes set up a breeze. The powered down firing sub gives better than average base that push your movies to the next level.
Cons: Menus and sound modes are limited. Display doesnt give much info during playback, your not sure if the movie is in DTS or digital at all. The sound doesnt compare to my bose acusta 14 and sony 6.1 tuner but is more attractive and clean.
