Expecting great sound from a home theater in a box (HTIB) is almost always an exercise in frustration.
Even the top-of-the-line HTIBs, such as Sony's ES BDV-IT1000ES ($2,000 MSRP) don't hold a candle to an equivalently priced separates-based system. It's not even close.
Sound, schmound. Given that HTIBs are sold as lifestyle products, it's more important for them to look good than sound good. Product designers are compelled to make speakers that look slick hugging the wall next to a flat-screen display. That's why we're so jazzed by Onkyo's HT-S9100THX HTIB ($1,099 MSRP). Sleek, it ain't, but it sure sounds like a separates-grade home theater system.
(Credit:
Onkyo)
The HT-S9100THX's largish shipping box hints at the reasons why. It weighs a hefty 144 pounds. Inside, you'll find seven bookshelf two-way speakers, a full-size subwoofer, and a 7x 130-watt-per-channel receiver with 1080p-capable HDMI v.1.3 connectivity, and complete decoding for the latest lossless, high-resolution Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio surround formats. You get four--count 'em, four--HDMI inputs, same as Onkyo's TX-SR706 receiver ($899 MSRP).
The HT-S9100THX's receiver also features Audyssey's 2EQ automatic calibration to tailor the sound of the speakers and the 290-watt, 12-inch powered subwoofer, and compensate for your room's acoustic anomalies. The front three speakers feature a 1-inch soft-dome tweeter matched with dual 5-inch woofers; the four surround speakers use the same tweeter and a slightly smaller woofer. The 17.5 by 14.9 by 16.8 inch subwoofer weighs 34 pounds. Compared to the 6-inch plastic poser subs that come with so many HTIBs it's the 800-pound gorilla. You'll feel the difference.
... Read moreStandalone Blu-ray players may still be expensive, but you know Blu-ray can't be too far from being a "commodity" feature when it starts getting bundled in with home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) systems. While we've already seen HTIBs with Blu-ray from Panasonic and Samsung, these are the first systems from Sony, and also the first that we've seen with Blu-ray players that are upgradeable to Blu-ray Profile 2.0. Here's the summary of the information Sony has released so far:
Sony BDV-IS1000
Key features of the Sony BDV-IS1000:
- 5.1-speaker system, with five tiny speakers
- Currently Profile 1.1, will be Profile 2.0 with a firmware update (coming this fall)
- Onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
- Compatible with Sony's S-AIR technology
- Two HDMI inputs
- XMB graphical user interface
- Available in October, with a list price of $1,000
Sony BDV-IT1000ES
Key features of the Sony BDV-IT1000ES:
- 5.1-speaker system, with slim tallboy speakers
- Available in October, with a list price of $2,000
We're impressed that Sony is including full-featured Blu-ray players with these systems. Both systems have onboard decoding for both high resolution soundtracks formats--Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio--and are upgradeable to Blu-ray Profile 2.0 with a firmware update coming later this fall. Two HDMI inputs are also a big step-up over the other HTIB systems from Panasonic and Samsung, as both of those lacked HDMI connectivity and had few options for connecting external gear. And with a Blu-ray player already packed in, two HDMI inputs will be enough to handle most home theater setups.
But even with the generous feature sets, the high prices of these systems will make them a hard sell with consumers. For $2,000, we think most home theater enthusiasts would be better off with an Onkyo TX-SR606 ($400), a PS3 ($400) and the Mirage Nanosat Home Theater System ($600)--a setup that's $600 cheaper than the BDV-IT1000ES. The BDV-IS1000 is somewhat more attractive at $1,000, but we have serious doubts that the speakers will have "no problem delivering the full power of traditional home theater products" like Sony claims. Still, these systems do offer unique styling and the ease of an "all-in-one system", and we're happy to see that they have a decent feature set to go along with their slick looks.
On Sale Now: $699.95
View the latest prices for Sony BDV-IS1000
On Sale Now: $1,999.00 - $1,999.99
View the latest prices for Sony BDV-IT1000ES
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