Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
 CT-150, Great Soundbar "if" you know how to set it up "correctly" August 30, 2010
Davyo (Las Vegas)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
IMPORTANT information about soundbars and the CT-150:
For any negitive reviews, ignor them.
People that give the CT-150 and other soundbars negitive reviews simply dont know how to set them up or are using them in the wrong room shape.
If you have walls to the sides of you to reflect the sound coming from the CT-150 (or many other soundbars) you will get a room filling sound that in most case's can really come close to a surround sound.
As with any soundbar, they need to be mounted higher instead of lower, with a soundbar mounted lower the sound will get eaten up by carpet, and furniture and everything else that is at that level,,, a soundbar needs to be mounted at least at ear level or above to really work properly.
I have owned a ton of soundbars over the years (Yamaha YSP's, Vizio, JVC and Zvox just to name a few) my CT-150 sounds amazing (even better than my older CT-100 and CT-500).
"Some" settings for my CT-150,,,my BluRay player is set to bitstream for the Dolby Digital and DTS, center channel on my CT-150 kept at around +1 (if you set the center channel to high it over powers the surround effect),,, just doing those two things will greatly help in the overall sound.
Im getting a big room filling sound from my CT-150 because I have set it up corrctly and because I have walls on each side of the soundbar to reflect the sound around the room.
There are more settings that can be made to better the sound but I just wanted to list the two most important (center level kept lower and bitstream from your BD player).
Some people say "its not true surround" or "its not as good as a 5.1 system",, sorry but I take issue with those comments as I prefure the sound of a good soundbar over a 5.1 full surround system,,, with a soundbar you have sound all around you and your in a big sound bubble,, with a 5.1 system there is discrete sound coming from each speaker, to me that sounds less natural that a soundbar,,,, I would rather have a good soundbar than a 5.1 system any day of the week.
Anyhow,,,, the CT-150 is really a great sounding system,,, if you buy one, and it does not sound good,,, its your fault.
Cheers
Davyo
Great Choice August 16, 2010
Jeff
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have owned the sound bar for about a month now and love it. I watch movies on 25 and some time have to turn it down because it is too loud. It goes to 50 max. You hear dialogue crystal clear and a few times watching movies the surround bar has fooled me on surround effects. The sub woofer has the perfect amount of low end bass watching movies. I am very pleased with my purchase and would recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade their TV speakers.
Audio Dad likes his new toy! August 15, 2010
M. Esmond
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Background: I am an audio enthusiast with 3 small children. My previous audio system, run by 3 Carver stereo amps, is in boxes in the basement, as I did not want little hands breaking things or blowing up pieces. The old system had more spent in Monster Cable wiring then this system cost. Life changes and the wife did not want speakers and wires everywhere so I made a compromise.
Current Setup:
Sony Bravia TV (2006)
Sony HTCT150
Sony Digital Media Port TDM-iP10
Sony PS3 - Original 60gig
Nintendo Wii
Leap Frog - Zippity
At the time of this review I have owned the HTCT150 for just over 2 weeks and have been quite impressed with the results. The main reason I got the system is for movies and TV watching and being able to hear and control the sound. The output range is good and it does a nice job with lows and high end. I liked that the system could be passive as the PS3 is our main DVD player and entertainment source, i.e. Netflix streaming. I have the PS3 hooked up via HDMI. HDMI up to the TV and from the TV I have both optical out and RCA. The TV will not do ARC (audio return channels) though HDMI and the TV will not convert analog audio (Wii and Zippity) to optical. I let the TV handle the analog audio, RCA switching and have the RCA's go into SA-CD/CD, seems on the HTCT150 the TV RCAs will only work without optical in hooked up.
I have both an older 80gig iPod video and the iPhone 3G that I have hooked to the system using the Digital Media Port TDM-iP10. I use the video iPod for audio only and have full control over it using the remote for the HTCT150. I did a brief test with the iPhone by putting it in iPod mode, it worked as an audio source and had control of it with the remote. I did try to display pictures and it would not pass images or work as a video source. It seems the TDM-iP10 is audio only but you do get control with the HTCT150 remote.
One of the big reasons for my purchase was for nighttime watching and dynamic compression. The system has 2 layers of compression you can use to keep the sound even and not wake the kid. Woke the oldest already before turning on the compression. The system has NIGHT MODE, this is compression in the digital amp of the HTCT150 and limits all sources. Audio DRC (Dynamic Range Control) only works in Dolby Digital, but that covers the TV and PS3 and has 3 levels, None, Standard, Max. With turning both NIGHT MODE and Audio DRC on I can watch TV or movies and hear no volume difference between show and commercial or dialogue and explosions, this is important for us Mom's and Dad's.
Audiophile Time: I have played with the system with the LPCM and BluRay audio out and have been able to hear a difference. As they say " you are only as good as your source" . Dolby Digital bit rate out is around 960Kbs and Dolby True is around 7Mbs. By going into the Video Setup of the PS3 (go figure) and changing the audio output from bitstream to LPCM you can get the better sound. Bitstream outputs the encoding on the DVD/BluRay, LPCM has the PS3 do your decoding.
Overall impressions: The audio performance for a system under $300 is very impressive I feel. The surround effect is very weak, however if you have a good 5.1 or 7.1 mix as source there is a more open feel to the audio. I just have not felt like it has replaced a true 5.1 system. It completely has met the "Wife Acceptance" Factor that we all know is very important. I am very happy with this system and I am not afraid that little hands will destroy it and if they do, oh well it wasn't that expensive.
like night and day August 14, 2010
jim
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
We have a very large room with vaulted ceilings. The audio from the TV speakers was awful. Installed the 150 on our Sony Bravia and hid the subwoofer in a cabinet and it sounds great. I do wish the audio adjustments were viewable on the TV screen as I have to open the cabinet to see the readout to make adjustments. It made an amazing difference without having to install and place a bunch of speakers.
Very Satisfied August 13, 2010
M. Mackenzie
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I did a ton of research on soundbars, and I am very pleased with this one. I didn't want a bunch of wired speakers, and my home theatre room is on the small side so my needs were minimal. This thing sounds and functions really well, I especially recommend it if your system connects to Pandora.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
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