Sony HT-CT550W?? - Page 2

Not really (IMO) @SiegeX: Here are the specs/manuals for each from sonystyle.ca:
The 550 decodes more video formats, but is 2.1 not 3.1 with similar watts out. I think the 550 unit is made to handle 3D TV better, but not everyone cares about that and also to compete with others with cordless bass. I went to buy the 350 today + cradle for iPhone using the Digital Media Port (which is gone now on 550). They were sold out of CT350s :~( and don't have CT550 available yet.
To conclude, (again IMO,) if they had both units available today, I would probably have purchased the CT350W and iPhone connector with OSD. I'm not sure but the wired sub close to the TV is a common location in Condo's or smaller rooms. Would like to hear them side by side but unlikely to have that opportunity. I think the win is the CT350 if the remote sub isn't important - the CT350 HAS good sound reviews now. Take a look at the specs, maybe print that one page on each and it may give you certainty. Good luck. 8b ...

CT350 specifications and CT550W specifications on sonystyle.ca

Here is another advantage of the 550 from what I can tell at the moment. My application will be for a bedroom in an armoire with a 40" samsung. When we are in bed watching the remote won't be line of sight to the sub which will be at a lower plane in front of the bed at our feet if you will. From what I have heard this placement might make use of the remote a bit challenging, not sure.

The 550 will no doubt put the IR receiver port just under the TV and sound bar on a shelf just below, BUT ABOVE BED LEVEL, and within line of sight from a remote being used (from bed).

So even if I can put the subwoofer on the floor next to the armoir (I probably could), I am leaning toward the 550 so I can get good remote performance.

You're better off getting the ct-350 and buying one of these http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmo...xp_grid_pt_0_1, you'll probably still end up ahead cost wise, you'll get a 3.1 system instead of a 2.1 and you can place the IR receiver pretty much anywhere to guarantee you get good line of sight.

Sony's UK website has it listed as 3.1.

The HT-CT550W is available for pre-orders at SonyStyle.com. Go to Home Theater Systems>Sound Bars. Expected ship date is 5/11/2011. The manual is available for viewing too.

This would really work out for my application as I have a Sony KDL-40NX711 in a cabinet that's a real tight fit. I'd like to put it in front of the TV in the cabinet opening, but it will block the IR receiver on the TV. Anyone have a suggestion for a work-around? My HP HTPC has a hookup for a IR "extender" that can basically move the IR receiver location. Is there a gizmo available that can move the TV IR receiver?

Here's a picture of the TV in the cabinet. I need to put a thermometer in the cabinet and monitor the temperature, as I haven't installed any venting in the cabinet yet.

eh.. I just notice the Logitech IR remote extender in the previous message. I'll have to take a closer look at it. Thanks for mentioning that.

First post on this forum
Please dont kill me , as I am sure this is a wrong thread for my question.

I have been going through this section alot from past few days as I was interested in the new Sony soundbar,
But after reading through other posts am really confused between this one and ysp
2200

per me
Advantages of Sony :
- I have Sony KDL -HX TV , so connectivity should be easy
- wireless subwoofer is really what i want
- FM included
- cost

Cons :
- 2.1 channel compared to 7.1

YSP 2200
Advantages :
- 7.1 channel
- reviews indicates its by far the best soundbar with HD connections
- subwoofer is really small

Cons :
- cost , compared to sony
- not so good for music(again after reading a few reviews)

Questions :
1. my living room has a odd layout and one wall is all glass(an inch thick) , will this cause problems ?(rough layout attached)
2. how good is the sub of ysp since its so small
3. would the wireless sub of sony interfere with the router signal ? I have this problem with my turtlebeach headsets

Some questions above would be noob questions, but any help would be appreciated !

P.S : the posts from Davyo and Drfreeman have been really helpful

captain...the ct550 will very likely "suck" compared to the ct350. Sony just wanted to follow the wireless trend...for sure !!!!

anyway the ysp has been probably the best bar out there (even if someone said the B&W blows it away...)
but do not say it is 7.1 vs the sony !!! ysp 2200 emulates 7.1...so does the sony ct150/350..and probably 550!!!

so the choice is simple:
if you want the best surround and quality get the 2200.
if you want to save money and get so so sound and go wireless..get the sony

Thanks for the reply !
So YSP it is, but will the layout of my living room with glass wall be any issue ?

What was sony thinking - downgrading from 3.1 to 2.1
Can't seem to find the perfect combination that I need, HDMI + wireless sub. I guess I'll wait till next year.

Just because Sony went from 3.1 to 2.1 does not mean a death sentence for this newer Sony CT.

Be it 2.1 or 3.1 its all about the processing and what goes on inside the Sony before anything even comes out of the speakers.

I compared a Vizio 2.1 soundbar to a Sony 3.1 CT last year and the Vizio 2.1 had a better overall sound and a better surround effect than the Sony 3.1.

All you folks that are complaining about Sony going to 2.1 without even hearing it first need to wait a see how this Sony really ends up sounding,, for all we know the 2.1 configuration might end up sounding much better than the current 3.1.

Cheers
Davyo

Sony is starting to ship these out on Tuesday (5/2), has anyone ordered yet?
Davyo - I'm sure you will test these, are you going to wait for them to show up at a local store?

Hey Philly,,,, not sure if Im guna check out the new Sony or not,,,, I been pretty happy with my current JVC BA1 and my Vizio VHT510,, I switch them around every so often to keep myself thinking I have something new

Also,,, Im saving all my pennie's so I can get a new 70" or 72" LCD panel,, my 65" Panasonic plasma is starting to shrink.

Cheers
Davyo

Even though i was more inclined towards ysp 2200, yesterday my colleague reminded me that we get discounts from Sony and many other electronic brands sadly yamaha was not one of them.
So booked the HT CT 550w got $75 off
might get it by end of next week.

Will update once i get it .
My old philips sound bar is lying dead since a few months now.

Well....picked it up at Sony Style (Pentagon City, DC/VA) Friday, got it all hooked up to my 40" Sharp LCD, Apple TV, Sharp BD and Tivo HD. The subwoofer is larger than the one that comes with the 150 and 350 and that allowed me to place it in the back corner of a bedroom diagonal from the armoire holding everything else.

The Good:
-Good Looks low profile
-3 HDMI inputs and 1 output-no cable clutter. Since my TV a 5 series sharp LCD does not have AVR, the manual says to hook up an optical (I did it but don't know why)
-Very full featured remote, although since my other equipment is Sharp or Tivo or Apple TV, I still have to toggle up to 3 remotes unless I get a universal remote like a logitech.

The Bad:
-I really don't know if it is better than the 350..will await forum answers to that.
-15% restocking fee if I return
-Good Sound but not sure I'd call it great, but I have little to compare it to
-still 4 big smackers

I did compare the Vizio...the model with a soundbar only and felt that had a bigger overall sound particularly on the low to midrange levels where the sony probably excels in higher frequency response...overall, the sony just does not have the bigger sound I was expecting or thought I heard from the 350 in the store (as if you can tell anything from that). The reason I did not go with the vizio 510's or the model coming out is that the Vizio was too tall and bloced the TV IR port...yes I know the workaround but did not like the look of it in front of the TV at all. Soundwise I'm guessing the 510's are hard to beat.

The only other model which would work in my situation are the Yamaha 2200's but another almost $300 with the restocking fee I'd have to pay Sony....I doubt they are that much better.

wowfactor...your are probably the 1st human to get this thing!
but it seems to me you ARE not convinced by the quality....
the way i see it just get the best sounding device, and be happy for 2/3 years.
I know that might be complicated because of the setup, but hey we only live once

Got the soundbar yesterday and below are my findings,
PS: I am comparing this one with my old philips soundbar

Packaging :
Pretty solid.

Setup :
Simple

Everything after that is is bad.
As wowfactor said , it only excels at higher freq range anything mid and below is almost same as my TV(Sony HX8)
The subwoofer is a joke compared to the philips one , it comes to life only at really high freg , i have tried keeping it at every corner of my living room

When i used to play COD black ops on my philips soundbar the boom effects were so loud and clear and even my neighbour used to complain, the subwoofer just shook everything :P
With sony it sounds really lame

I tried various settings with bass treble and other audio settings but no luck.

Overall , very disappointed and returning it back.

i spend almost 3 hours tweaking the amp and now it looks like i might delete the above post

As many have already said on this forum soundbar needs a lot of settings adjustment to match to ur room type and ur senses.
For me it took 3 hours to do that and now finally am getting results.

Am gonna leave the above post as is for some time so as to show the other newbies like me that how important the initial settings tweak are and atleast HTCT 550w is not a plug and play device as i had expected.

Appreciate the review and follow-up. I thought about replacing the HT-CT500 with this one in my main TV-watching room. The biggest draw was the wireless sub, as I could place it in a more convenient (and hidden) area than the wired one with the CT500, which I'm perfectly happy with from a sound quality standpoint. I think I'll stay with what I have.

can someone please post their settings? Just got this and looking to set it up...but seems like I'm going to have to tweak with it quite a bit...if someone could put up what they have that would give people a good starting and comparison point! thanks!

Might buy this to mount above xbr55hx929. But not sure how it would sound and look.

So I also received this last week, and I just can't get sound out of it that sounds right - it sounds tinny and thin to me... If someone has this and figured out settings they like I would really appreciate it, because I don't want to lose the shipping costs to send this back.

Just purchased myself. Can someone please post the settings they used?

according to Fedex tracking mine will be waiting for me when I get home. Its going to be a busy night, I have to wall mount my 60NX720 that came yesterday then mount the speaker and then, let the tweaking begin...

Let us know how turns out. Are you going to use the arc hdmi cables, or fiber optic?
I order one yesterday, got it 70 below msrp. Will be mounted above xbr55hx929.

can i ask where you got it? i have been looking at this as well. i do have the ct 350 that i bought on clearance about last week but that does not output/ decode dolby hd and dts hd while this one does so i might return that and get this instead if i can get a good price on the 550.

I wonder if the 550 will have a kind of break in period like the 150 and 350 seemed to have. Lots of guys said it sucked out of the box but after a few days got much louder and sounded better. Can anyone with the 550 already set up comment on that?

I just saw three listings at the little "e". I'm suprised how low one of them is and they have 10 available with free shipping. I'm real tempted, only because I want keep everything "Sony" and I don't want all of the connections going through a subwoofer. I have a graphic equalizer from way back when I can add to it if necessary.

BTW.. Leave off the "w" when searching, otherwise you'll miss the best one.

great find! definitely planning to order one of these soon.

I like that they seperated the receiver from the subwoofer. The one thing holding me back from the 350 was having to always aim the remote at the sub instead of having a box stacked with all my others. No more!