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Luckily, it was well worth the money.These tiny speaker "bars" (I don't know what else you could really call them) are incredible. The S-Air unit plugs in to an electic outlet and connects wirelessly to the receiver, and the rear speakers plug into the S-Air unit rather than the receiver, so there is no worry about batteries. Once I gave up trying and figured it would be good enough, the rest of the installation was simple, and the speakers are working just fine.Also watch out for the tape on the front of the system that holds the drive door closed. I rent my home, so I'm hesitant to go with a full blown home theater component system tailed to my viewing room, so I stick with HTIBs. On mine it was quite easy to miss, until I pressed the open button on the remote and realized something was wrong.I still think 2,000 is a bit on the expensive side, but I certainly do not regret purchasing this system, as I'd rather have spent too much and be sastified than to have spent much less and be underwhelmed.Special note of appreciation to Sony for a pretty detailed manual and the extra explantions on the on-screen menus to help guide setup/configuration. I was unsure about having wireless speakers, but the included S-Air system works nicely. In a time when most companies give you very little printed info aside from a single, poorly documented fold out sheet, this was a treat.Pros:Great looking systemsmall, light speaker barsoutstanding soundeasy setup of system configurationeasily upgraded via a direction network connectionplenty of in/out options (2 optical audio in especially)S-Air unit functionalityupgradability to 7.1 systemCons:Wire connectors on speaker barpriceno floor stand extenders included in box
You just have to hear them to believe all that sound comes out of those funky, fragile looking wafer speakers. I'm not quite sure all of the wires are in correctly, or the locking mechanism isn't up to par, as you are supposed to be able to "gently tug" on the wires without them pulling out - but they all seemed to come out quite easily with minimal force. The wires terminate into nice sized gold plated points that get inserted into the bottom of the speakers, and they should lock into place, but the small size of the enclosure and the flimsiness of the speaker cable just above these connectors (where you tend to push from) make it a bit challenging to do correctly. The sub, though passive, pounds out the deep tones.The system comes with wall mounting brackets, and are small and light enough that I'll probalby mount them up this weekend. Sony has a pretty good idea on doing so, but it's just not up to snuff yet.
The blu-ray HITB market is relatively sparse at the moment, so I shelled out more than I expected on this system. The surround sound through the unit was flawless.The only drawback to these speakers is placing the wires into the speaker connectors. Given the small height and footprint of the stand-mounted speakers, I was able to place the front speakers on the same stand as the TV, and the rear speakers on small tables next to my couch. They are smaller than I expected from the photos and descriptions, but once set up and configured for the room (set up is a bit bothersome, but configuring once all the equipment is in place is quick and easy) I was blown away. It only comes with desktop stands - if you want to mount the speakers on the floors, you'll have to purchase a set of extenders to raise the speakers up to the appropriate level.
Also can be expanded to 7.1 via an optional S-AIR receiver and your own speakers. One issue is that if you are using the Component output, white flashes in your source will cause the Component output to drop out for about two seconds. Using the HDMI output does not seem to have this issue.
It's truly remarkable considering the tiny size of the speakers. I was surprised that you could really hear the difference in quality of the recordings. The only extra you might want is to have more S-air units. A CD takes as long to be recognized and available to play as does a Blu-ray disc. The sound itself is very good, sometimes excellent. Several hours of work later, everything was up and running perfectly. I'd recommend it for anyone with a Sony TV, especially if you don't want to string wires across the room (the rear speakers use a wireless transmitter). It also does an excellent job of upscaling DVDs, so you don't have to spend a fortune upgrading your movie collection.
Once in awhile I notice a bit of weakness in the mid-tones, but it handles low tones and high notes with ease. This system was beautifully packed and came with clear step by step instructions. The other problem is that you can't setup your system without turning on a monitor that it's hooked up to. The minimalistic controls look great, but are in some ways not as practical as having more buttons you can use--you have to scroll laboriously through menus to get the function you want. One is that it is equally slow to load and play any disc.
There are only 2 things I wish were different. Furthermore, it was a snap to upgrade the firmware, and I haven't had a DVD yet that it couldn't play, and play well. This 5.1 system can be converted to 7.1 with an extra S-air pair of speakers, and it can even handle a third S-air unit in another room. It does a good to excellent job of playing music and a superb job with movies. It also has a nice radio setup. However, at least it remembers whatever you were last using (like CD, radio, or TV) and starts there again.Overall, I'm very pleased with this sound system. The auto-calibration microphone was amazing - within a minute it the surround sound was balanced, and I was popping in CDs to check out the sound.
This is annoying, especially as you have to hit the play button twice to get the CD to actually play. The sound is amazing--every bit as good as a theatre. It has no problem reading music CDs I burned on my computer. You understand just what this setup was created to handle when you listen to a blu-ray disc.
Just plug-in the network cable, and select the "network update" on the menu, the system automatically check the and install the updates. So the speaker stands may need for placing under the front and rear surround speakers.Network update function is really good and easy. This system is small but has very powerful bass. But be aware the hight of the speakers is only 22".
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