Jul 042013
Sony HTCT550W 3D Sound Bar Home Theater System with Wireless Subwoofer
- 2.1 ch 400W6 simulated surround sound system for 40″ and above HDTV
- Wireless active subwoofer for flexible placement
- Three HDMI inputs: single-cable AV connections
- HDMI Repeater with 3D pass-through
- Dolby TrueHD and dts HD enhanced audio codecs
Powerful sound and an easy-to-place wireless subwoofer distinguish the Sony HT-CT550 sound bar. Three HDMI inputs offer flexibility and future-proof with 3D pass-through. Easy operating features include BRAVIA Sync unified control3 and BRAVIA Widget4 on-screen interface with compatible Sony televisions. HDMI standby pass-through and Audio Return Channel1 are also included.what’s in the box: Sony HT-CT550W0 40 Inch 3D Sound Bar System, Remote Control: (RM-AAU113), Receiver (STR-CT550WT), FM Wire
List Price: $ 399.99
Price: $ 399.99
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Great Sony 3D Soundbar,
As usual another great Sony Sound Bar; Excellent value for the price; Loaded with technology to handle all the latest multichannel audio technologies Dolby, DD+, DDTrue HD, DTS etc. and 3D pass-through.
After reading the mixed reviews I was a bit nervous about installing this sound bar. However, now that I have it connected and configured correctly with my new 3D TV, I couldn’t be happier. I found I can crank-up the volume on the sound bar and experience deep sub-woofer bass to very respectable levels aka, really loud and punchy with the ability to hear all the intended sound-track goodies.
Pros:
Really big sound with deep sub-woofer punch not bad at “simulating” surround-sound affects)
Quick & easy setup. As already mentioned below it truly takes longer to unpack it than to connect to your TV and blu-ray player
Attractive slim sound-bar design with a wireless sub-woofer (note: SW needs to be placed near an AC outlet–other than that you can move the S/W around the room as you like)
Handles all the latest multichannel audio technologies that come with your blu-ray disks to include all the different Dolby Digital and DTS audio signals
Three HDMI ports and one HDMI out; so you can easliy pass all your equipment through the Receiver, includes and optical port as well
Cons:
Because it’s so easy to setup–I think some may fail to read the manual resulting in a less then optimal configuration and sound effect
I went to two local retail stores to hear this system before I ordered it from Amazon. It sounded horribly weak with no bass in both store demos UNTIL at the last store I asked if we could adjust the AMP menu settings.
If you use something other than high-speed HDMI cables I don’t think you can experience all this system has to offer
(I agree with below reviewer comment) Separate Receiver may cause issues for wall mounted TVs
Here’s what I found worked for me:
Use newer standard HDMI high-speed cables only–that means newer 1.3 or any 1.4 1.4 includes ARC support HDMI cables not expensive HDMI cables just the new high-speed cables).
–this is where the right settings make all the difference between a lousy sound-bar experience and what you expected when you bought this sound-bar.
Turn off the Linear pulse-code modulation (LPCM) on the Audio Out on your Blu-ray player or game system. Instead select “Bitstream” for Audio Out on the devices you connect to your Sound Bar.
Your satellite, cable, or over-the-air box/signal may not broadcast Dolby Digital or DTS sound tracks some of the time depending upon the program (don’t blame this on the sound bar). During these broadcasts you may experience lower quality sound. Use a blu-ray player and blu-ray disk to test this systems sound capabilities)
Take time to understand the AMP menu on the receiver. Read the manual
And finally, Turn Off your TV speakers when you want to use this system. If you leave your TV speakers on and use the sound bar at the same time then you might hear that horrible “thin” hollow sound I heard some complain about
Try these Amp Menu Settings on the receiver decrease the SW or Bass if these settings sound too low/deep for you):
Level: CNT +4, SW +6
Tone: Bass +5 or 6, Treble +3
Audio: Dual Mono: Main/Sub
Other Receiver settings:
DRC: Off
Sound Field: Movie
Note: For really BIG sound–try increasing the master volume +15 on the Receiver (independently) before you sync the TV volume with the Receiver Volume.
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|Love this Sony, for its Sound, HDMI inputs & price,
After a lot of research on Speaker system in general and about this product, I decided to give it a try. So far I am very happy with the purchase. I live in an apartment with living room size of around 20×20. So adding a high end true surround sound system (as many experts would suggest) was not in my plan. So I decided to get a soundbar system (which many experts frown upon), for the compact, portable and decent sound which was sufficient enough for my Apt. I am already a Sony TV/BD player owner and so the first choice was this product. It is very easy to setup. And the biggest draw for me this product (other than being Sony product to match with my TV/BD) was it has 3 HDMI inputs. In its class, I believe this is one of the products that gives 3 HDMI input which is good enough to hook up my Cable, BD & Media player. All the Cable, BD or PS# etc. HD output goes into the receiver and there is one output to TV HDMI in. So you don’t need to change TV input, only the receiver input changes. Also there is a optical cable provided to connect the TV audio output back to receiver in case you use another component connected directly to TV instead of the receiver. Also once the reciever is turned on, the TV audio is automatically muted and the vice-versa, which is a very convinient feature, say if you like to just have TV speakers and not the big sound from this system when it is real quite. The wireless subwoofer setup is very easy, didn’t have to configure anything. It was plug & play. Only issue is the wireless subwoofer needs power, so even its wireless, you still need to put it close to a power source. Another advantage I saw using this is if you are Sony TV/BD owner, you could use Sony Bravia to configure it as unified remote. This is very convenient and have instructions in manual to configure it. But I am a Logitech Harmony One remote user and haven’t tinkered with Bravia. Logitech configuration was very easy with this product being listed on their system. The subwoofer I thought didn’t have that big an effect at first, but when I increased the treble & bass, it seemed to be alright. Again this is not a true surround system, but still the sound ofcourse will be much better than TV speakers for sure. It also depends on one’s room configuration since I read (on AVS forum) that you need furniture or other objects for the sound to reflect upon to get some sense of surround sound. There are multiple sound modes available – Movie, Music, Std, News, Sports etc. which enhances the sound output accordingly which I truly like. Have seen an instance where the picture/sound had mismatch, but you have an option to do an Audio Sync in the system. Once you turn is on, haven’t seen it after that. The best experience I had has been watching BD movies. Truly enhances the sound quality and able to see the full vibrancy in this mode compared to others. Overall I am very happy with the product and would recommend. Of course the decision to get a audio-system depends on so many factors from the budget, size of room, existing system etc and once you jump into audio expert forums like AVS, they can bring in more clarity with their advise.
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|Big sound for a moderate price,
I purchased this Sony HT-CT550W Sound Bar to go with my 55″ Sony Bravia KDL-55NX810 3D TV, and I’m glad I did. For those of you with a newer Sony TV, I would recommend this Sound Bar not only for it’s big and full sound, but for it’s compatibility with Sony TV’s as well.
My Sony TV has the speakers in the back, so the sound reflects off the wall and is hardly an ideal location for optimal sound. Since I have a smaller family room, only 14′ or so with an opening to the kitchen on one side, a wired setup was not going to work well. This Sound Bar allows me to mount the speaker on the wall or under the TV and to place the subwoofer anywhere in the room. This really cleaned the look of my family room up and really stepped up the sound. I wasn’t expecting much since it’s not a 5.1 system, but it almost feels like one with the way the speaker is engineered. Sound seems to envelop you when you are sitting on the couch, and the subwoofer is loud and punchy. I’ve listened to several stations on Slacker radio through my TV and the bass is great. I’m not sure why the other review said the subwoofer was muffled sounding, but it is quite loud and punchy for me. My biggest worry on this was if the subwoofer would be clear and punchy, and it really is. The speaker looks like it actually has 6 speakers inside, so the crossover can separate the mids from the highs. Everything is routed through the main box, which also has FM capability. The nicest thing is the Bravia Sync, which lets me use my TV remote to control sound, power, and other aspects of the speaker. So far I’m very pleased with this Sound Bar, and Amazon had by far the lowest price. Don’t be intimated by other reviews, I’ve listed to the Polk Audio, Boston Acoustics, an Samsung, and so far this is the best I’ve heard.
Pros:
Clear audio from center speaker
Loud with little distortion
Attractive speaker
Wireless Sub
Bravia Sync
FM radio
Cons:
Subwoofer could be a little more tight, but very good already – not a real concern
Manuals list impedance at 3 ohms…really? QC your website Sony
Overall: Highly Recommend
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