Sony HT-CT550W 3D Sound Bar Review

Sony's 3D HT-CT550W Sound Bar system offers 3D surround sound in a compact size with a simple set-up, a wireless subwoofer and more for $399. Kevin Pereira joins Matt Mira to find out how many Seals of Approval this system deserves on Gadget Pr0n.

What You Need To Know

• The Sony CT-550W system features three pieces with a simple design.
• The whole device also weighs 5 lbs, so it will mount easily to the wall.
• If you're going to be getting this with a Sony Bravia TV, we recommend mounting it since it won't fit under the stand.
• The sound bar comes a wireless subwoofer and the AV receiver.
• With the inclusion of the AV receiver, the CT-550 gives you plenty of bang for the average home room with 400 watts of peak power.
• On the back are three HDMI inputs and one output.
• There are also digital audio inputs as well.
• There's no component, which is a little disappointing.
• At normal use, this puts out 134W x2 on the sound bar speakers.
• The sound bar touts 3D surround sound, which uses the S-Force surround technology, which Sony claims comes from the speaker itself, so it's not bouncing signals off the wall.
• It worked but we weren't too blown away at first.
• The danger with a system like this is that it is so easy to set up.
• With that, people may just use this as a plug and play system instead of actually going through the settings and calibrating to your room.
• The calibration options were simple, as well.
• The receiver has a bunch of preset modes like "game," "movie" and "sports."
• What is actually nice is the ability to assign a mode to an input so it will always be on the expected mode.
• Once it's all calibrated and ready to use, the sound is really good overall.
• Without calibration, the subwoofer is really low.
• Once adjusted, the bass is great and the highs are excellent.
• However, the mids were a little washed out in a lot of settings.
• We still think this is a great sound system and is a way better alternative to using the built-in TV speakers.

Price

• $399

Rating

• 4 Seals of Approval out of 5. (How do we rate gadgets?)
• We like the simplicity and look of the system.
• The wireless subwoofer is great.
• It does work well as a 2.1 system.
• The 3D surround sound feels more like a gimmick until you calibrate it correctly.
• The high price is what's holding this back from a higher rating.

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