Customer Ratings & Reviews

Bought this to match my Sony tv, got home hooked it up & No bass at all..i don't care what setting i placed it on still no bass. Keep your money, this was a WASTE of my hard earned money. Now the subwoofer won't even turn on!

Great design. It's low enough where it doesn't block the reception from my remote as the speaker sits in front of my TV. It is, however, a faulty product in that it causes a delay in sound. Because of this, it is simply not worth buying. Why hasn't Sony addressed this IDK. The speaker causes a lag in audio so there are audio-sync issues. Lips move then the sound comes out. You're playing a racing game and you can't rely on engine rev sounds anymore. On a shooter you die before you hear the bullet. And i'm using it on a Sony Bravia.

I was really let down by this once I got it home. Not sure what the audio source was in the store but they must have had the highs boosted, based on how muffled things are at home. My tiny $99 BT speaker (also Sony) does much better.

The subwoofer did not last 3 months. When it did work it was very low in base we could not tell it was on. Also a Christmas gift to the family which made it even worse.

Very sub-par sub-woofer, hardly any low-end. Absolutely no discernible difference in low end when using the remote to adjust bass levels. Watched several movies with known low-end audio (explosions, music, etc.). Very disappointing.

This will be the last Sony product I buy. The sound-bar worked fine for the first year and a half, notice that’s a little past the warranty period. Then the subwoofer just wont turn on. Apparently this is a common issue with this sound-bar. From my read of the issue, there seams to be an integrated circuit that needs to be replaced. My guess is Sony saved a few cents and got a significantly lower quality part. Now the consumer pays the bill. Sony used to mean quality...not any more. I have not done the research on a replacement, but It won’t be a Sony.

Clear sound, light weight, ok bass, and very easy to setup. Found out it cost less from competitors than what Bestbuy was selling, did a price match, content with purchase now. The included bluetooth functionality makes it easy to listen to music from your phone, tablet or any device that supports Bluetooth. I love the fact that the subwoofer is wireless as it makes it convenient to move around since it isn't tethered to the TV. There's a Night mode feature that helps reduce disturbance to other occupants of the house while still providing clear, audible sound. Would rate 5 stars if bass was a little richer.

I got the Sony HT-CT290 to replace an LG LAP 340 sound plate from 2013. I originally purchased the sound plate supplement the awful sound from a 32” Samsung TV that resides in my bedroom. At the time, the LG was less expensive than the competing sound bars. So, I decided to give it a try. As it turns out, LG’s sound plate is a poorly executed product. There is no way to control the dymanic range for night viewing, no way to focus on the voice, and there was no way to manage the base output. My wife, the primary user, tolerated the sound plate because it fit the space. After several years, my wife finally had enough of the LG’s sonic challenges. The Sony HT-CT290 is inexpensive, compact, and performs better than the LG. The bar is only an inch taller and the same length as the sound plate. The sub is small and was easy to place in the room. Setup from box to bureau to playing TV was about five minutes. There is a single HDMI connection that goes to my TV and two power cables. Hiding the wires and making everything look pretty took a bit longer. The sound quality is much better than anything I heard from the LG sound plate. The voices are clearer, the dynamic range is much better controlled for my listening environment, and the audio simply felt free. For example, the LG forced me to ride the volume control on the remote. I turned up the volume to hear dialogue and then I turned down the volume for dramatic music, explosions, and commercials. The Sony is definitely an upgrade. The experience was not totally worry free though. My number one biggest gripe is the documentation. The quick start guide will tell you everything you need to setup the unit. However, this system does use Secure Link Blue Tooth functionality to setup a secure connection with the Sub. You don’t have to use this features, but it will cut down on interference between the sound bar and the sub if you have a lot of wireless devices in the home. The quick start guide makes a very brief reference to this and directs you to the user’s guide. Sony does not have a Secure Link section to the guide. You will find the instructions in the troubleshooting section of the guide. Second, the sub is not powerful. The marketing material would have you believe this sub will rock the room. It is true that you can hear the difference between sub on and sub off. But it will not rock your room. If you are a base-aholic then you will need to spend a little more for a system with a larger, more powerful sub. A quieter sub, in my case works. The majority of bedroom TV watching occurs while other family members are sleeping. The Sony does support portable music players like smart phones, tablets, and windows Blue Tooth enabled devices. I was wirelessly playing music to the sound bar from my tablets within a minute. The sound bar does have a number of sonic modes. The best mode for music is, surprisingly, Music. There are other sound modes to choose from. However, the other sound modes focus on TV and movie material. For example, the surround mode added too much treble to the music to make it enjoyable. Since I have a full hi-fi system at my disposal, I doubt I will spend much time casting music to the sound bar. I may benefit from this feature if I am watching YouTube or Netflix videos in the bedroom. Overall, the Sony HT-CT290 beat my wife’s expectations and gave her something better than she had before. I’m happy because the sound bar is inexpensive enough not to break the bank. And the rest of the family enjoys not hearing any pounding base late at night while they are trying to sleep. If you have a similar use case, then I would highly recommend giving the HT-CT290 a try.

Sound quality wasn’t as good as our older LG. We thought this would be an upgrade but nope! And of course, the sub just dies after a year. That wasn’t cool.

After several connects and reconnects properly it is still not working. I am working with a Sony tech on esupport and doing all required but the soundbar will not work. Disgusted with this but the tv speakers are weak.

I thought by buying a sony tv and a sony sound bar I would have no problems with the set up. Not the case. After multiple tries and I just returned the sound bar for a refund. Which I am still waiting for.

Broke in 1 year and 1 day I was told by a Best Buy employee to buy Sony cause of the warranty so much for that I WOULD HAVE PUT 0 for rating but could not

Subwoofer stopped powering on about 6 months after I bought it. I wasn’t able to return it. It was great when it worked.

Ordered it on line, sent it with a cracked subwoofer, very disappointing especially when i bought a 70 in tv for living room, sales was horrifying, everything was done wrong, chgs, delivery too

Owned this product for a little over a year and like so many others my subwoofer just stopped powering on. I'm very disappointed. Great job Sony

I bought a cheaper 60" LED TV because I wanted the size without the bells and whistles. Unfortunately, the reviews I had read about it regarding sound quality were completely true: tinny, small speakers that couldn't keep up with movies or shows where the range of sound went from dialog to score: we could barely hear the dialog and in the next scene, the sound would explode into score. I wanted a sound upgrade, but didn't want another complicated surround system, so I went with this package. Obviously, from my statement, it's not surround, but the investment was completely worth it. The sound is so much better. Levels are much more even. The subwoofer adds depth without shaking the house. I love the ease of setup. The subwoofer is connected to the bar wirelessly and does so without any effort once the unit is turned on. NOTE: I haven't tried ALL of the features yet, like the music mode or Bluetooth music connection. However, I already have separate Bluetooth speakers that I purchased specifically for music, I think my review should stand for those who are looking for a unit to be used primarily as TV audio augmentation.

Item was returned the next day after hooking it up to our 75 in. Sony tv. I was disappointed in the performance it just made the sound louder not clearer. Need to research a better system.

This soundbar quit pairing with the subwoofer after 5 months of the purchase and lost all the sound, the soundbar is only working optimally if soundbar works properly.

The subwoofer has stopped working . No sound is coming from that . Not a very nice experience. The set up process is not explained and there is no way to fix that . Not a value for money product.

Not worth the money. Wish I would have read the reviews before I purchased it . Speakers are tiny bass is not loud at all even turned all the way up . Could have put the money towards a Better one