Kenwood HTB-544 v HTB-504
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Kevin | Has anyone heard anything about the new Kenwood HTB-544? It's supposed to be a direct replacement for the HTB-504. |
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Anonymous | From what I saw on the specs from www.vanns.com, the only change is a new cool remote. All the vitals look to be the same. |
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Anonymous | also you get the VR-509 receiver in place of the VR-507 receiver for the same price! The VR-509 is $100 more than the VR-507. |
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Anonymous | Yes,the only difference are the remote and receiver which is the VR-509.Also the remote is R/F& I/F. |
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david | I just ordered the Kenwood HTB-544 from crutchfield for $499.99, it should be here on saturday. Hopefully it will be a good purchase. From what i've heard others say, I think i'll be happy. |
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| The 544 is exactly the same as the 504, except the 504 has the vr507 receiver, and the 544 has the vr509 receiver. You can find it at www.mjshow.com for $399. It's listed as the 504, with a receiver upgrade to the vr509. I called them and it really is the 544, they just have it listed still as the 504 because the only difference is the receiver. This is the cheapest place I have found it. It's about $50 for shipping. I'm going to check it out in person at Circuit City (the 504), and then I'll probably buy it (the 544). |
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Anonymous | Eric, are you considering buying at mjshow instead of Circuit City? Do you know anything about the site's reliability? |
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Anonymous | A Circuit City salesperson said that the Kenwood unit on its own was discontinued, and that he expected a new unit in the spring. Has anybody heard of an upgrade to the HTB-544 that is forthcoming or any other upcoming home theatre boxes worth waiting for? |
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Eric | A person I talked to at mjshow told me that the 544 isn't really a stand alone model, but just an "upgrade" to the 504. He said it was kind of a fill-in until they come out with a new model, but didn't know what the next model might be or when it may come out. As for reliability, I know nothing about mjshow, except that it had been recommended by someone in another post. They accept refunds if you do not open the package. If you open it, and then return it, there is a 20% restocking fee. However, if the item does not work "out of the box" within 7 days, they will send a replacement. Circuit City does not offer the 544 yet, and for $100 less, I would definitely get it from mjshow. There was another site that sells it for $399, but they are sold out of it right now, and I can't remember the url at the moment. |
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| There is another receiver I was looking at, mostly because it was very cheap. That is the Philips MX966. It has received very good reviews from every site I have visited so far. Cnet reviewed it (http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/0-6342376-1304-7831994.html) and gave it a pretty good rating. The downside is that it does not have a dts decoder, but my DVD player has that built in, so that would be okay for me. It also has a 100W subwoofer, which is almost unheard of for the price. It is available at finiter.net (http://www.finiter.net/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=MX96637) for $299 , or at a Costco (costco.com) retail store. However, I think the Kenwood may be worth the extra $100 or so. |
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Dan | I was considering purchasing the HTB-544 from MJShow. However, according to the Kenwood web site MJShow is not listed as an authorized dealer and Kenwood states that their manufacturer's warranty would not apply. MJShow claims it sells new sealed boxed units and the warranty is in the box. MJShow's price is right, but would you sacifice the warranty buying from them? |
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Eric | That is an excellent point. Onecall.com sells the 544 for $450, but it's out of stock right now. For $50, maybe it's worth the warranty. Thanks for bringing that up. |
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Eric | I talked to Kenwood, and they said that since mjshow is not an authorized retailer, the warranty would not apply. An mjshow rep said that it would apply since they are purchased from an authorized dealer and are factory sealed, but he is mistaken. So it's just a matter of how much the warranty is worth to you. The receiver is covered for two years, the speakers for one. |
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Sam | Kenwood HTB-606 (or is 600) is coming out in March. So prices for the 504 will drop. Sears has discontinued the model and selling its floor samples for 450. Reason why I know  is because I want to purchase it but its costing 515 (at circuit city inclds Tax) and 482 (close out) includes tax at Sears. Plus DVD... it'll be close to 600 So now I'm debating over the Sony HT-1300D and the Kenwood 504 ... DVD looks very tempting with Sony ($499 at costco). If someone had a good argument for either one let it out. I wanna pay as close 500 as I can. Thanks Sam |
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Anonymous | MJShow.com... is down? It asked me to enter a usernamer/password |
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Anonymous | 60 bucks for shipping?! dang! MJSHOW thats expensive + its not authorized dealer! |
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Eric | Where did you hear about the 606? If you know where I could get more info, it would be great to know about what's coming up. Although if the 504/44 drops more, it would probably be worth it. My shipping cost at mjshow was only $50. But still, tax at a local store would be about half that. I'll probably check out Sears first, though. |
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Anonymous | Sears is out of HTB504, so it cant be ordered, and they cant give further information. |
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Eric | Well, I purchased the 504 at Sears today. They had only the floor model left, so I got 10% off, plus they were having a 10% off sale. So it only cost me $400 + tax. I haven't finished setting it up completely yet, but it already sounds fantastic. |
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Anonymous | check out thecameraclub.com for the 544 |
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Anonymous | I am waiting to get my 544 from One-Call. They are currently out of stock, but told me they should receive some in a week or two. I purchased it last month when they had it on sale for $449, but it was damaged during shipping. I am now waiting for a replacement since they sold out right after I bought it. I called Crutchfield yesterday and they had about 50 in stock. They are asking $499+shipping(call for a shipping quote). I strongly recommend going to kenwoodusa.com to find a Kenwood authorized dealer(Kenwood voids their manufacturer's warranty if it is purchased from an unauthorized dealer). I'll post more info once I receive it and get a chance to really test it out. |
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| Based on the recommendation here, I ordered the 544 through MJShow. I opted for standard ground delivery, ordered it Feb 28th and it came in March 5th. And it works great. I'd definitely recommend using MJShow. |
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| I did a lot of research and was all set to buy the HTB-504. However, by the time I was ready, it was out of stock almost everywhere. Turned out to be fortunate, since the 544 came out soon after, with a better receiver and remote for the same price! I just ordered it from Vann's, who now has the 544 in stock. It's $499, but they're having a 10% off sale for the next week, so final cost is $450. This is actually a real bargain, since it includes free shipping! Also, Vann's is an authorized Kenwood dealer, so there should be no warranty issues. I called a couple times with questions and to check availability and the customer service people knew their stuff and were very friendly. Much better than a couple other on-line retailers I tried. |
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Dan | Ditto James E. I just ordered a HTB-544 from Vanns, $450 total cost delivered! They have a limited number still in stock. |
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| Double Ditto I just ordered from Vanns and they're only a few states away so I can expect it by mid next week. Good deal considering the best deal i had so far was 430 and that didn't pan out |
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Randy | I was all set on htb-504 after doing a lot of research and comparison but found out about the 544 from this message board. I have not seen 544 in any retailer stores in my area. My question if anyone can help me is, how come Kenwood still lists only 504 at their website and not 544? Also, if this system is coming out with a different receiver, is it still going to be able produce the same quality of sound that 504 was known for? |
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Dan | The HTB-504 and 544 should have the same sound quality. The 544 upgrades the 504 by replacing the VR507 receiver with the VR509. The 509 lists for $100 more than the 507. The primary difference is the 509 has a different controller. I'm guessing the upgrade is a temporary measure by Kenwood until they come out with a new system later this spring. I opted for the 544 at this point instead of waiting for the new model. The old bird in hand theory. But who knows, you may be better off waiting. |
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Rahul Srivastava | James E, thanks for the info about Vanns. I also just now ordered the 544. The guy at Vanns confirmed that the 544 is just a temporary model, till the new one comes our around April. But I'm content getting the upgrade to VR509 for $450!! (if it ain't broken, don't fix it) |
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Aaron Welsh | As far as crutchfield's info is concerned, the 544 also has componant switching, wich the 504 didnt have. I have already ordered the 544 from them it should be in this week. |
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Anonymous | anyone has any suggestion for speaker stands? |
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Pete | I just bought some 31" pedistal type speaker stands since the speakers are kind of oversized as far as home theater goes. What ever anyone does do not deal with electronicsforless.com!!!!! I purchased what they said was the HTB-544 online and when I got it, it was the HTB-504 instead. They told me they were out and just sent the 504 instead. Plus once I sent it back...it took them a week once they received it back to refund my money (and that was with major pressuring!!!) I had to threaten them with the BBB and that worked great I tried thecameraclub.com this time. Hope I have better luck. Anyone heard anything about them? |
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Jon | Your best bet is buying it from an authorized Kenwood dealer such as Vanns, One-Call, or Cruthfield. You might pay a little more but at least you have a Kenwood manufacturer's warranty in case there is a problem later on. Check out the SUPPORT page on Kenwood's website. You'll be glad you did. |
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Anonymous | hi Pete,where did you buy the speaker stands from? like bestbuy? any other places where I could get a good deal?thanks |
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hman | component switching is only 10mhz on the vr 509. no good for progressive scan dvd players. need 33 or higher I think. That stinks... what's the point? |
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Matt | Ladies and Gents, For those of you who have already purchased and set up the system, details!! How does it sound? Any specific feedback you can provide on the product? I'm looking into a few models at the moment and I'm trying to get a feel for things. |
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Matt | Also, does it appear that you can wall-mount the surround speakers? |
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Joshua | While trying to find a place that actually has the HTB-504 in stock, I read that it is being replaced by the 544. Is this true? I thought that another model was due to come out this spring. |
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Matt | Joshua, if you read the posts above, you'd see that the 544 did replace the 504. And yes, from what the others on this board are saying, yet another new model is due out this spring/summer. |
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| Thank you for pointing that out. I just purchased the 504 from Circuit City. They had one left because someone didn't make payment for it. I will be setting it up later tonight! I will be back if I need any help. Thanks. |
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| Does anyone know of a reputible online store that is selling the 504 or 544? Vanns.com lists them, but they are out of stock of both of them. The rep I talked also said they would not carry either of those models again. Also, any thoughts on when the new model will be out and what different features it will have? |
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James E | I got my system on Tuesday, but haven't had time to fully set it up yet. Did take it out of the box and test the speakers and receiver. Sounded great, but I'll post more once I finish hooking it up this weekend. (Matt - There are mounting brackets on the surround speakers.) A couple places still have the 504 and 544 in stock. Etronics and CameraClub both claim the 544 is available, for around $440 plus shipping. BTW, Let's Go Digital is selling a Kenwood HTB553. Anybody heard of this model? |
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| Can someone please help me? I need to know where to plug the RCA jacks in on the 504 so that I can get my prologic II to work with regular cable programs. Thanks. |
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Anonymous | I think Kenwood has officially discontinued the htb-544. Two dealers I've spoken with have told me they are "sold out" and won't be receiving future orders for it. I spoke with a Kenwood Tech Rep a month ago who hinted around that there was a strong possibility it would happen. Maybe the 544 was a way for Kenwood to sell their overstock. Has anyone heard anything else about this?! I wish Kenwood would post something on their website. Oh, well.... |
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gidget | Was interested in the 504 myself so I found this site through Yahoo search. I just came back from Circuit City and aLLLLmost bought their floor-model of the 504. They said it was $499 reg, plus $50 off cuz it's a floor display ($449 + tax). The receiver was the 507 and not the upgraded 509. The speakers are wall mountable, but it's kinda cheesy as it's just "picture frame" type hangers. you know the ones.. they look like teeth where the nail can be best places to center/balance it. The reason I didn't get this floor display is because the screens on some of the speakers had dirty crud and oil and food and probably kid's snot all over them. Another had scuffs on top. I think $50 for all that isn't quite worth it. I'll just wait for the newer models to come out and get something untainted as it were. |
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Jon | The Kenwood HTB-544 has officially been discontinued. I've had one on backorder from an authorized dealer since last month. The rep I bought it from called me today to break the news. It seems that the 544 model was a way for Kenwood to deal with an understock of vr507 receivers for the HTB-504. To solve the problem, and to reduce inventory for spring, they upgraded the 504 by replacing the vr-507 receiver with a vr509 and giving it a new model number 544. There is some good news. The HTB-505 should be available around the first week of April. The specs are a little different. I was told that the receiver will be a vr606, it will come with a 120 watt powered sub, and the remote is something brand new. I was told the speakers are different, too. I'm having the spec sheet faxed to me and I'll post more info when i get it. |
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| The CameraClub still says it has the HTB-544 in stock, but that's apparently not true. I ordered one online last Sunday. Not hearing anything by Tuesday, I called customer service and was told my item would be shipped the next day. The next day I was told the warehouse had to go to another source for the unit, but that it would be shipped the next day. The next day the rep told me the unit had been shipped and he would obtain the tracking number for me... and then put me on hold for 65 minutes. I called him on another telephone while still holding. He said he was having trouble with his telephone system and put me on hold again. About 15 minutes later he came back to say the warehouse found that the unit I ordered (the only one they had) was damaged and could not be shipped. I cancelled the order. I advise ya'all to be wary of this merchant. But if anyone finds an available 544, I sure would like to order one! |
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Jon | Call Kenwood and ask them how to contact a regional sales rep for your area. That's probably your best chance of finding one at this point. Good luck. I've already given up. I bought a 544 last month that was damaged during shipping. I was put on backorder for the exchange and then was told it had been discontinued. I was then given the option to wait for the HTB-505. Now a Kenwood rep I spoke to on the phone can't absolutely confirm it's release in the United States. WHAT A HEADACHE!! I've done more research and have decided to spend the money on a Denon AVR-1802 receiver, instead. I had an authorized dealer give me a demo (and a good price) and was extremely impressed. That baby sounded SWEET! All-in-all I think I've made a better choice. Now I have to decide on speakers. Any recommendations? |
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dan | ok... try this. Seems like everyone is going to start a new thing. Yamaha is replacing its yht-18 possibly a yht-300. Saw it on a web sight last week, then it dissapeared. Kenwood doing the same thing with the 504. Denon is getting better reviews than the 504 with their dht 682xp because it has better speakers (only a 55 watt sub). So I see (hopefully)a htb war on the horizon. Maybe we'll all get a good product? |
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| I bought the 544 and am extremely happy with it. My friend who works in the A/V buisness says that for a smaller space it sounds every bit as good as much more expensive equipment. The 100 watt powered sub absolutely rocks! In my opinion it kills the Bose systems. What a deal. Kinda put off now that I am seeing that a newer one is coming out. Oh well I will keep my 544 for a while. |
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| If anybody is interested, I finally found a HTB-544 at B&B Appliance Co. in Cleveland. They have several stores, so I'm not certain each store has the unit. Their Pearl Road store had two left as of 3-25 and I purchased one of them for $499. I haven't been able to complete the install as yet, but it sounds great...although the remote is very complex. |
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Steve | so can we expect the htb-505 to come out in april??? |
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johnny bobo | wait.....so is the htb-544 going out of date and the htb-505 coming in its place???? |
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Anonymous | I was told by the representative from one-call that the new HTB-505 will show in stores the last week of April for sure. |
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Anonymous | I ordered the htb 544 from mjshow.com late Jan when they had the price at $379 got to me in 5 days. The price was change a couple of days latter to $399. Lucky me I did alot of research in the htib market before I purchased it and the features of this reciever dorf any other in this price range. From the rf remote, which I hooked up repeaters to send ir siganal to my dss reciever, dvd, vcr so I can control all from different room through this reciever to the component video switching. Very cool! I'm very happy with this system even with all this talk about htb 505. The only upgrade I'd probably make in the future is a complete speaker overall, but the VR 509 is a gem in my book for the price. 2 or 3 years before I upgrade it. Kenwood has got its work cut out if they plan on toping this reciever without a serious price hike.ie: 6.1 sound will do it. |
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Anonymous | Got this from emailing Kenwood (took a week for a response!): Thank you for writing to us at Kenwood USA Corporation. The HTB-504 and HTB-544 are getting discontinued in order for the release of the 2002 product line. The HTB-504 will be replaced by the HTB-505 which has a Suggested Retail Price (SRP)of $500.00. The next system up would be the HTB-705DV with a SRP of $600.00 and comes with a DVD player. |
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daren | does anyone know when the htb-505 will come out???? and does anyone know what the difference between the 505 and 544 is???? thanks! |
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Anonymous | Look in the "HTB544 vs. HTB???" discussion |
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| Once again. The Kenwood HTB-504 and HTB-544 have officially been discontinued. I've had one on backorder from an authorized dealer since last month. The rep I bought it from called me today to break the news. It seems that the 544 model was a way for Kenwood to deal with an understock of vr507 receivers for the HTB-504. To solve the problem, and to reduce inventory for spring, they upgraded the 504 by replacing the vr-507 receiver with a vr509 and giving it a new model number 544. There is some good news. The HTB-505 (SRP)of $500.00 should be available around the end of May or the first week of April. The specs are a little different. I was told that the receiver will be a vr606, it will come with a 120 watt powered sub, and the remote is something brand new. I was told the speakers are different, too. From Kenwood: A Note About Authorized Kenwood Dealers Kenwood audio products are sold throughout the U.S. by Kenwood Authorized Dealers. We train Kenwood Authorized Dealers to demonstrate and provide after-sale support for our products. We provide a manufacturer's warranty only on Kenwood products sold by Kenwood Authorized Dealers. To ensure that you are dealing with a Kenwood Authorized Dealer, please check our Dealer Locator or call 1-800-KENWOOD (536-9663). |
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Kittipong | Is there any update on HTB-505? |
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Michael OG | I ordered the HTB 544 from CameraClub on 15th April. I called today (18th) to determine shipping status. Customer Service rep. advised I was been shipped the HTB 505 & should receive within 10 days. Does anyone know whether the 505 has been released, or am I being feed incorrect information to keep me from cancelling my order? |
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| I ordered a HTB 544 from savingslot.com about three weeks ago. They kept on feeding me crap about a shipment arriving any day until I finally cancelled my order. I'm not sure if the HTB 505 has been officially released yet. I just got an email from Vanns.com today saying it will be coming out later this month. CameraClub doesn't have the greatest reputation, but since you probably won't find the HTB 544 anywhere else, I would put off cancelling your order until you see someone else advertise the HTB 505. |
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stephen | know the htb544 and the htb504 are in short supply. i just recreated the htb544 by purchasing the speakers ( same across both systems ) and vr509 ( receiver that comes with the htb544 ) by going to a kenwood outlet store ( mine is in n. plainfield, nj ) 4/14. you can find a list of outlet stores at the http://www.kenwoodusa.com/support/outlet_stores.jsp. despite what the verbage says there you can get phone quotes. thanks for all of the posts ( got a great price on all items including kenwood dv-505, speaker stands, wiring, etc..... |
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Jason | From what I understand, the HTB-505 should be released mid to late May and be a direct replacement of the HTB-504 system. It will have the black ash finish, same specs (like the 100w subwoofer), and same basic price. It was supposed to be out this month but things got backed up at Kenwood and will be released a month late, according to the Kenwood tech people. You should be able to find it in the standard retail outlets, so you shouldn't have to worry. Hope this helps out. |
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sick-of-searching | On the Kenwood website, the 505 is listed as a DVD/receiver combo with 40 watts per channel. Not such an upgrade. I think I am going to go with an HTB-404 I saw for $329. The sub is only 50 watts, but everything else is the same. |
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Anonymous | Thats the DVT-505, we're talking about the HTB-505. Big difference between the two. $329 is a damn good price for the 504, although it should come with 100W sub. |
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Michael OG | CameraClub took my order for the HTB-544 & charged my credit card. Turns out they don't have any, & when pushed are not sure when they would be able to ship the HTB 505. I cancelled the order & am now waiting for the credit card to be reimbursed. |
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Anonymous | I ordered the HTB-544 from onecall.com on friday for $330 it was an open box, but told me the full kenwood warranty would apply, should be expecting it on wed. This was a great price! |
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Curtis Smith | Wow, sorry to hear that some of you are getting screwed by Cameraclub.com like that. My advice when looking for a reputable online dealer with the lowest prices is to check out their ratings at http://www.epinions.com . For free,(not so much as a pop-up ad) they'll give you a list of 10 or so merchants that carry the item you seek, their ratings, and can send you email alerts if a new merchant is found offering the product at a lower price that you set. Pretty good deal. Product reviews there, too. Read the horror stories from dozens of unhappy would-be cameraclub customers & you'll stay away for sure. So how about this Kenwood subwoofer? From what I've read, it's pretty placement-sensitive. Once I load it into a corner, am I going to be able to rattle some windows or what? I read Kenwood's HTB-504 quick-connect guide online. They say that you should turn off the subwoofer's crossover since the receiver already has one. Does that leave any dead-spots? Am I better off twiddling with the sub's crossover myself? One last question to you nice people: I understand that the 504's surround speakers have wall brackets, and generally ought to be mounted high up to the sides & facing the listening position. What about the front speakers? Do these have hanging brackets too? If so, am I going to lose a lot by mounting them up high to the sides of my screen? Or should I go with some ear-level stands for the front L & R channels? OK- that was more like 4 questions, so thanks in advance for any answers I get. |
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