Zenith DA3520

More on this product: review; user reviews; specifications; shop

Print
E-mail
Share

CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
Detailed editors' rating

Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 4 reviews
See all user reviews

Product summary

The good: Nicely balanced sound; compact receiver/DVD player.

The bad The bad: Won't play all that loud; feels inexpensive.

The bottom line: This little Zenith won't tempt audiophiles, but it sure delivers a high level of performance for the money.

Specifications: Product type: Home theater system; Components: Speaker system, DVD player / AV receiver; DVD type: DVD player; See full specs

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Steve Guttenberg
Reviewed on: 12/11/2001

Zenith's DA3520 home theater in a box (HTIB) won't win any industrial design awards or belt out rock-concert volume levels, but it exudes a confidence that's rare in budget products. This nifty $399 kit has a bona fide 5.1-speaker package and A/V receiver/DVD player; no obvious corners were cut.Zenith's DA3520 home theater in a box (HTIB) won't win any industrial design awards or belt out rock-concert volume levels, but it exudes a confidence that's rare in budget products. This nifty $399 kit has a bona fide 5.1-speaker package and A/V receiver/DVD player; no obvious corners were cut.

Simple pleasures
The setup chores are unusually straightforward: without even cracking open the manual, we had the DA3520 up and playing DVDs in less than 20 minutes. Zenith isn't stingy with the features, either; the system has DTS and Dolby Digital surround sound and plays DVDs, CDs, CD-R/RWs, and MP3 files. The 6X 30-watt A/V receiver/DVD player is smaller than most, and the full-sized remote's ergonomics are excellent.

Connectivity choices cover just the basics. You get two A/V inputs and one A/V output set--no digital audio ins or outs. Video output connections to your TV are limited to one composite and one S-Video. That's all she wrote.

The five-inch-tall plastic satellite speakers are generic-looking, but the matching fiberboard subwoofer definitely rises above the beer-budget HTIB ranks. That subwoofer runs off the receiver's power amp, but since the receiver is also outfitted with a line-level subwoofer output jack, upgrading to a powered sub later on is a possibility. That sort of flexibility is refreshing in a $399 HTIB.

Like most HTIBs, this Zenith system is optimized for home-theater duty, and we slightly preferred the kit's sound with DVDs over that of CDs. However, Tony Bennett's swinging new disc, Bennett Sings the Blues, sounded really nice. Thanks to the DA3520's smooth sub/satellite balance, acoustic basses on our jazz CDs had real weight and presence. MP3 CDs play just fine as well, but we far prefer the sound of store-bought CDs. Continue reading

User reviews

Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 4 reviews
My rating: 0 stars Write review

Showing 3 of 4 user reviewsSee all 4 user reviews
4.0 stars

"Pure Digital Chain - Sweet Sound!"

on January 6, 2004

read more
1.0 stars

"Low end"

on November 7, 2003

read more
5.0 stars

"It's so good for price!"

on March 26, 2002

read more
See all 4 user reviews Write review

Submit your review

Zenith DA3520

1. Rate this product:: (Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.): 0 of 5000 characters; Submit