That's right. You haven't heard the speakers, and neither have I. Peter Aczel has, and since I respect his ears, if perhaps not his tendency to hyperbolize, I thought it was worth a mention.
More importantly, I think it's a bit silly to dismiss a product simply based on its price. The analogy isn't perfect, but my $2,000 Mac notebook weighing 5 pounds runs rings around computers costing millions of dollars in the 1960s the size of a room and weighing thousands of pounds. Were I able to go back in time with this little computer and make that claim to someone in the business he'd probably laugh at me, and only look like a fool when I turned it on and showed him what I do every day in Photoshop.
There is very little correlation between sound quality and price when it comes to audio gear.
OK, first of all, you're right. I haven't heard these actually speakers. But that's why I did mention that they may be very good for the price. If I were looking for a $200 setup then I would not dismiss them. However, it looks like the OP is looking to step it up a little bit. It is foolish to think that a $200 system can compete with a real system. Meaning a dedicated amp, processor, speakers, etc. You say that it is silly to dismiss a product based on price. It is true that there are some products out there that are over priced. But what you will find in the audio industry is that good products sell themselves, not some cleaver review telling you that this product performs like others costing 5 times the price, etc...etc. It's just not possible. High quality drivers alone that are used in high quality speakers will cost a whole lot more then $200 and that's just the drivers.
Another thing to point out is your comparison of your computer to computer's in the 1960's. That's got to be one of the most ridiculous comparisons I've heard. First of all, we aren't living in the 1960's. Secondly, you need to understand that the computer industry works drastically differently then the audio industry. Computer technology can literally change over night. Speaker technology really hasn't changed all that much. Yes, there are newer designs as such, but you can still find good quality speakers from 20-30 yrs ago that still sound excellent. You just have to look for them. Uh, you can't say that about computers. By the way, I can build a PC that will run circles over your Mac for less money, but let me stop there b/c that's going way off topic.
Let me close by saying this, that $200 setup may be fine for some, and may be a great performer for the money, but high quality components used to make good quality speakers cost more then that to produce. That is just a fact, especially when you consider your $200 setup comes with 5 speakers, a sub, an amp, decoder, and remote control. A high performing setup like that can't be manufactured at that price. The materials alone would cost more then that. Again, the review was hinting that this system was going to compete on the high end and that is highly unlikely. If purchasing such a system you need to set reasonable expectations for it.
