I was able to find the PT8051 system for just over $300 and it’s the best money ever spent on home theater gear. This series offers the wireless rear surround bar and without it, it’s fine; but with it, it’s real surround sound especially when connected with optical cable through my Panasonic BD80 with DTS Master Audio. The high notes are crisp, the mid range is perfect, the low frequencies really need help though which is why I decided to hook up a Polk PSW111 to the sub-out port, that did it. Whether your watching the news or big action bluray movies, the sound is as incredible as the picture. Not sure I would have purchsed for the $999 on Altec Lansing site, but for $300, it was a bargain. It’s a bit deep and wider than many 2.1 surround systems, but compared to true 5.1 surround bars like the Yamaha ysp-4000, it’s not bad.

If you can have one for the price I paid I believe it’s a worthy replacement to stock flat panel speakers, and an acceptable alternative to true surround sound. I actually bought this at an online outlet site for a little over one bill $. I had not read any reviews online and this speaker system is pretty much non-existent for sale online so I was a little nervous after I had bought this. There are a few quirks that would put off most people from buying, such as a lack of HDMI, and the standard definition on screen setup required to see any changes of audio settings. The sound bar is very large, almost as wide as my 50 inch plasma, so that might be something to consider as well. The remote is a little confusing and attempts to integrate itself as a universal remote but fails as such. I believe the only thing Altec Lansing got right with this rather large sound bar is the cool modern design and the theatre-like sound. I think a lot of people would be interested to know that for movies and regular tv watching it actually outperforms my 5.1 surround HTIB that I paid nearly three times as much. I find myself struggling to hear dialogue with my surround sound, so this is the shining point of the PT7031; it has a perfect balance for dialogue and music so you don’t have to constantly turn the volume up and down. It does also have an option for an external subwoofer, and I have not attempted to utilize this because it already has pretty good low end reproduction. This is by no means a replacement for any high end 5.1 surround systems, but it is a good compromise for the type of people who do not want to bother with messy wiring. So bottom line, if you want good sound and don’t mind switching back and forth with an on screen audio setup this might be for you, but I would not spend more than what I paid for this.