Sony HTCT100 Sound Bar with Sub-Woofer - Black Review
Sony HTCT100 Sound Bar with Sub-Woofer – Black Review from Peter B Degroot. Good sound for the money with some limitations, Summary: Good value for the price and a big improvement over TV speakers, but surround effect is weak and there are some limitations in connectivity, subwoofer placement, remote control and audio settings.
I wanted something that would provide improved TV and DVD sound as well as streamed iTunes music without investing a lot of money. This system fills those requirements very well. The sound has a satisfying richness and depth, although the “surround” effect is weak. More like being surrounded on 3 sides, which is pretty much the norm for systems without real rear speakers. To their credit, Sony did not try to mask this limitation by adding reverb effects at ridiculous levels like some systems I’ve heard.
I’m happy with my choice, but if you are contemplating buying this system you should be aware of some of its limitations:
Connectivity-
There are 4 A/V inputs. Three can be connected via either HDMI (video & audio) or digital optical cable (audio). The SAT input also has a Coax jack. The TV audio can be connected via either RCA jacks or digital optical cable. The ports are labeled TV, BD, DVD and SAT, but any of them can be used for anything. Which is a good thing, because I need RCA jacks for the iTunes music input from my Airport Express so I use the TV input for this and the SAT input for the TV.
An additional limitation for audio is that the HDMI audio passed to the TV is inactive if the connected DVD or other device is set to output Dolby 5.1 or DTS audio. Unless you forego Dolby sound you don’t have the option of just using the TV speakers for playing DVDs. You also have to turn on and set the Sony system to get DVD sound. This is not a problem for me, but is for less technophyllic members of the household.
Subwoofer placement-
If you are going to place the subwoofer next to a TV stand, it can only go on the right (facing the TV) because of the placement of the speaker on the side of the subwoofer.
The amplifier is built in to the Subwoofer cabinet, so it must have a clear line of sight to the remote control, and you have to be able to see the display on the front of the unit to tell which mode you are in. No hiding the subwoofer.
Remote control-
The remote control is not a “universal” remote and cannot control any other components other than newer model Sony TVs and DVDs with the “Bravia” system.
Audio Settings-
There is no equalizer or even the ability to directly set the bass/treble balance. Indirectly this is affected by the choice of “sound field”. The choices are Standard, Movie, Music, Sports, Game and P-Audio, all of which have different mixes of surround effect/stereo separation, bass/treble balance and reverb. You can also adjust the relative loudness of the center speaker and the subwoofer. However, these adjustments affect all sound fields, and getting it right for, say, Music may result in way too much subwoofer for Movie.
The overall sound volume is adequate for my 11′ x 20′ TV room, but the maximum output may not be sufficient for large rooms.
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