Asus is a common name in computer components. We have taken a look at more than our share of their products from the mundane to the extreme. One area that Asus has been taking more of an interest is the higher-end side of the HTPC market. Here is where things get interesting. Unlike gamers, or overclockers a person that wants to build a high-end HTPC is looking for the best combination of performance, cooling and power draw. If you can build it fast, cool and power efficient then they will want that. But building an HTPC is not only about what you drop inside the system. You also need some good hardware on the final end of the output side. Not to worry, Asus has you covered there too. They have their own line of HD capable monitors and even speaker sets to keep you happy. We are taking a look at t new one to hit the market. It is a speaker bar that is capable of providing 5.1 surround sound to your viewing area. Called the Cine5, this small and stylish speaker system runs for about $130 on the internet. We are going to take a look and see if it is worth it.
The Box and Goodies -Our first impression of the Cine5 packaging is favorable. It is a clean black box that gives you a hint of the Cine5, explains the basic features and finally gets in one bragging point “world’s most compact five channel speaker”
The back of the box contains a specification listing and some more information in several languages. There is not much more to talk about with the outside of the box. Asus has made it clean and clear.
Inside the box Asus has included everything you need in addition to giving you a few choices for how you set up the Cine5. Instead of nailing you down to one style of leg for the Cine5, Asus has thrown in a set of Peg style lags as well as round rubber feet. The peg style legs are metal and have a fair amount of weight to them. This extra weight can be a benefit by reducing the amount of vibration transmitted to the surface the Cine5 is sitting on. On the other side of the coin the softer rubber feet can also reduce vibration but are not as attractive and also (in my opinion) are not as effective,
