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AStone Maestro 510 Speaker Review
Michael Dickens

The Maestro 510 (5.1 Surrond Sound) speaker set appears to be relatively unreviewed on the net, and probably under purchased as a result. This review aims to give users thinking about getting these speakers, or a similiar set, an idea of what they will be like.
The manufacturer's product page can be found here

I picked this product up for $119 from a store in Nunawading, Victoria.

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Starting to write this review was the hardest part. I'll give you a basic summary of the set, and what each item contains.

Pictures

Summary

The Maestro 510 package comes with an amplifier, 5 identical speakers refered to as satellite speakers and a subwoofer.

The amplifier is the only component which requires an external power source, with a power cord simply hardwired into the back of the unit, and a standard 2-pronged plug at the other end. Unfortunately, the lead is only around 1 metre, which is one thing about this set that was quite noticeable - short cords. This only inspired me to clean my room though so I had somewhere to place the speakers and a nice place for the amplifier - so I could reach it with the remote.
My two rear speakers had to the longest lengths of speaker wire, probably around 2 or 3 metres, and the subwoofer had the shortest, which is pesky considering it's also hard wired into the base unit. However, all in all, the lengths are actually fairly good, atleast for me.

On the amplifier, there is a 3 cm x 3 cm volume control nob, an "Off/On" switch (depresses and rises), a LED display and finally a small button to change the Input mode.
The LED display shows which input mode is currently in use (2.0 or 5.1), the volume of the unit, the input mode (again, except in a clearer presentation) and the output mode (5.1 ch or 2.1 ch).
You are allowed to select your input because there are 2 methods of input, 2 channel "auxiliary" and 5.1 channel "DVD".

The set comes with a remote control, as advertised.

On the remote control, more features are exposed.

In the top left corner, there is a standby button. This obviously shuts the amplifier down, eliminating sound. A small red LED light lights up to alert users the unit is in standby.

In the opposing corner, the green mute button is a cool feature that I wished my last stereo had - quicker than bringing it in and out of standby.

The input selection button does the same as that on the unit (swith between DVD + AUX, and 5.1 and 2 respectively).

The mode button allows you to switch between 2 channel and 5 channel output modes. Oddly enough, when in 2 channel my front right and rear right speakers are the only two active. It is quite possible I have the left and right rears wired backwards though ;). 5.1 obviously sounds better.

The next two rows of buttons, containing 3 each, allows you to change the properties of the different speakers individually. Each setting ranges between -5 and +5
   - Surround
       Change 'power' sent to the 4 independant satellite speakers.
   - Center
       Change 'power' sent to the single front central speaker.
   - Subwoofer
       Change 'power' sent to subwoofer

Finally, we have the Volume and Balance control buttons, allowing you to control the overall volume and the balance between left and right speakers (note: you cannot completely eliminate one side).

That's one remote I don't want to lose ;).
The master volume ranges between 0 and 80. All speakers are still audible with the volume at 0 (that is not a typo). Once the volume gets to 60, things are starting to sound pretty awesome. Even when I was at the full volume of 80 the speakers did not distort.

Review
The remote is a very important part of the setup. It makes the amplifier alot more simple looking, which is probably good.
The subwoofer is slightly weak, as pointed out in a review from 'Mystikal-illusioNz' in a Whirlpool Thread, however still quite good once you have the volume at something respectable. It would probably also work better in a non-carpeted room or fit more snuggly into a corner. Unfortunately, I can't try either.
The subwoofer and speakers come with changeable face plates, allowing them to be entirely silver instead of a combination of silver and black.
The sound quality from this set borders on superb for 2 channel music (output as 5.1) - I have not tested with 5.1 ch input as my music is only Stereo anyway. The accoustics are great and the speakers handle all tones I've put through them well. I have not managed to make them distort yet, and they all seem very melodic playing most everything!

For only $120, you can't go wrong with these speakers. They look great too.