Well the kit arrived on Friday and was put together (un-wisely after some Friday evening beers) ready for the main set-up on the Saturday morning.
I know that you wanted a review and I will try my best to give it the most objective review I can.
Firstly in terms of Wattage and being able to pump up the volume you certainly wont have any problems with distortion and the system can certainly crank it up!! Whilst the sub-woofer provides a serious amount of bass, it is possible a little too much when you are listening to music or the radio. I am not mega about my bass generally (what with a seperates hi fi system|) and even with some of the sound mode changes the woofer is still quite bassy even with it tuned down - something you can do under the settings menu. If you are wanting the system for music then I suggest it may not give the crisp quality you are after but that is not what I am after so not such an issue.
For moves the sound and image is top notch. Have seen Top Gun and Lord of the Rings and both pushed the performance and the system delivered. With my Philips Pixel Plus I can honestly say that the system is as good as I have seen so obviously very pleased. Drunken watching of Top Gun will never be the same again - I thought i was up there in the skies with them...!!
Some other nice features that I wasnt aware of. There is a dimmer option so you can lose the blue halo around the volumn control and deaden the light on the display. A nice feature.
It has all the pro-logic, 3D surround etc and when watching normal TV, even low volume the quality is very good.
Some other minor negative points. The fast search function is a little fustrating, have to press and hold the button a number of times to get a quicker search thru a movie. The front speakers are quite large - not a problem for me, but will depend on your room size.
I would really recommend the system, bearing in mind the price. The picture quality is great and the only down side is that it is too bassy which is to most peoples taste. It is adjustable and is a good looking system. I think with some careful locating of the sub you could adjust this to provide all you need.
I havent been in a store a heard a whole heap of surround sound units but if this was on show and turned up it would not fail to impress.
Anyway - this is my piece. If anyone needs any further feedback then I would be happy to help.