Anybody heard Philips new tubed micro system?

I am shopping for an all-in-one system for my father who recently moved to an apartment. He is looking for a simple system that will play DVDs and CDs. He needs a very clear presentation of vocals and speech to overcome his weak hearing (most built in TV speakers are muddled).

For context, his former music playing system consisted of Macintosh and Sony ES electronics and well maintained Advent speakers. Given the state of his hearing, he does not want to drop $3500 to $6000 on an Arcam, TA or Naim system, nor does he want 6-7 cheesy plastic speakers with wires running all over his new apartment from the likes of Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, etc.

Which brings me to the Philips MCD908/37 - DVD Micro Theater DivX

http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/en/us/consumer/cc/_productid_MCD908_37_US_CONSUMER/DVD-Micro-Theater+MCD908-37

On the face of it, this system is crazy off the chart:

-75 watt RMS per channel digital amp (x2 for stereo)
-built in vacuum tube preamplifier (with a little window to watch the tubes glow)
-AM/FM tuner
-Dolby digital decoding
-DivX, DVD+RW, DVD-Video, Picture CD, Video CD/SVCD, audio CD, CD+R, CD+RW, MP3
-High Def (720p, 1080i), Video upsampling, Video upscaling
-12bit, 108MHz D/A Converter
-3 way, Ribbon tweeter, Dome mid range, 5" woofer, Gold-plated speaker connectors (relatively big, heavy boxes)
-speakers boxes and sides of electronic cabinet are highly polished real wood - looks expensive
-subwoofer out
-leather and aluminum remote control
-decent speaker wires included
-suggested retail price $599 USD

...and it doesn't sound half bad. Huh?

I have listened to this unit play a couple of CDs in highly compromised circumstances on crowded shelves at two different retailers and it sounds good, but not as good as it looks (looks like Musical Fidelity and Dali combo, except for blue glowing lights that ring both sides of unit briefly when any function buttons are hit). I have not had a chance to observe the video performance as of yet. An aside: most sales people at big box stores where this is likely to be sold have no idea how to market something like this.

Question 1. Does anybody have any experience with this unit? livability, reliability, sound quality in real world setting, video performance, upscaling?

Question 2. How can Philips produce this unit for this price? Are they going for Sony's throat?

Any feedback much appreciated.