perhaps it was just a fluke, and this is normally a very good quality product. i was excited about this system when i ordered it because the sound quality on my tv is not so great. it took a few weeks for me to get it out and set up, but now i am thinking about returning it. as far as audio quality goes, i'm not an expert, but the subwoofer seems to sound ok to me, so i gave it three stars. as for the 5 smaller surround sound speakers, i haven't a clue because i cannot use them. the number of inputs and outputs required to set the whole system up is unreal (directions say to run it through your dvd player), and i don't have that many on my brand new dvd player, let alone available. i finally gave up on the surround speakers (which, by the way, are not wireless, in case you got that impression) and just hooked up the subwoofer (to my tv). that was a bit of guess work, as the directions are very minimal and not very explanatory, and they did not have any instructions for only hooking up the subwoofer. my biggest issue with this system, however, was the quality of the workmanship. it is either not well made at all, or it was damaged before it was ever shipped (packaging was in perfect condition). i am very unhappy with it overall, but it may be too late to return it at this point.