Last year, we reviewed Pioneer’s flagship HTZ535DVD wireless home theater system, well-rated for both its versatility and musicality. Interesting, this has been replaced by the latest HTZ656DVD which has apparently lost the former’s wireless and digital audio input capabilities. These are replaced by high-definition capability and HDMI connectivity aimed squarely at making the sound system a perfect complement of HDTVs.The HTZ656DVD is a traditional home-theater-in-a-box system comprising a DVD receiver unit combined with a set of wired 5.1 surround sound speakers. The former is a streamlined deck draped in silver-cum-black piano finish measuring a petite 420 x 60 x 330mm size. Its front panel has a minimalist appeal, thanks to a flushed DVD tray and well-integrated LCD display which is invisible when powered down.

You will also get four identical tall boy speakers, each outfitted with a single 26mm tweeter and twin 77mm woofers. Standing at a towering 1,096.5mm tall, these height-optimized black piano beauties offer provisions for both floor and wall-mounting. These options also apply to the 270mm-wide center speaker which houses a single 77mm woofer. Wrapping up the six-piece speaker ensemble is a floorstanding subwoofer powered by a 160mm floor-firing driver. The new bundled remote in the package is nothing close to the sleek concoction of its predecessor. In its place is a plastiky stick littered with buttons of all shapes and sizes. There is even a shift key to activate dual-function controls meant for setup and configuration. The saving grace here is the ergonomic form factor and tactile buttons which minimize user fatigue and wrist strains for prolonged usage.