Sony - 2.1-Channel Soundbar with Built-In Wireless Subwoofer - Black

This device produces the highest quality of sound I need to stay at peace.

Added the Sony hts-200f soundbar to the 32" tv. Awhole lot better...can hear it now.

Works good with my TV and takes only a little space

It is forward firing instead of my Sony Bravia XR 55 X90J's downward firing speakers, so it is better sound. Yet, it needs to push the volume up much more than the TV speakers. Geek Squad set it so that the sound automatically goes through the Sony HT-S200F sound bar that is a good compact size for my 55" TV. The price was much more reasonable. SONY TV and Sony Sound Bar are in a living room kitchen approx 19' x 13'.

GREAT VALUE – GOOD SOUND – GOOD FEATURES REVIEW: Sony - 2.1-Channel Soundbar – Black Model:HTS200F Best Buy Tech Insider Network SUMMARY: Sound quality is VERY VERY subjective. Everyone hears a little differently and has different taste in highs lows etc. I highly suggest you try them out for yourself. For me, personally, I like crisp highs and heavy base. This speaker is zeroed in on the mid-range with decent enough base. I would recommend this for an affordable all around speaker that is clearly better than anything you will find built into a TV or monitor. UNBOXING: (see picture) INITIAL IMPRESSIONS: Well packaged and extras like a good size remote, and included thin digital audio cable is very nice. The first thing I noticed was that there are no analog inputs, so you must get your audio source from HDMI, Digital Audio (fiber), or a USB sound source. This is probably not a showstopper for most people. It is an attractive enough basic looking rectangular soundbar. PERFORMANCE / EASE OF USE: INITIAL SETUP: My first test of any speaker is to see how it performs with an analog signal from my turntable. So, I started out listening to a few albums. The first challenge was that I had to find an Analog to Bluetooth adapter so that I could pair with the speaker and listen to music. (fortunately, I had one laying around otherwise expect to spend $30 or so). The next small challenge was finding a decent hiding place for the power brick, which I was not expecting. Other sound bars I own have the power supply built into them. A longer AC cord would have been useful. (fortunately, I had others laying around I could use otherwise expect to spend $10-$20 or so). To pair with Bluetooth, I had to find the faint logo on the soundbar and press and hold it until it went into pairing mode. It would have been nice to have better labeled buttons (more visible) or a Bluetooth button on the remote. (maybe there is a better way in the instructions, but who reads them anyway) PERFORMANCE / USAGE: Again, I will try to quantify my subjective feelings of the sound quality for a variety of uses. Audio Only Performance (1-10 best) = 6 Overall TV Sound Quality = 7 Brightness and Voices = 6 Deep Bass = 7 Casual Computer Speaker = 7 Personal Audiophile preference = 6 Remote = 9 (nice, big, won’t get lost, easy to use) Value for Price = 8 SUMMARY: I found the sound overall good and “wide” but not bright. I have smaller desktop speakers that cost about 2x-3x more and this comes pretty close to the quality of them at a fraction of the price. My primary use will be to improve the sound of the TV in my recreation room beyond what the built in speakers provide. I would recommend this for bigger sound on a budget for either a computer speaker or TV soundbar.

Sounds clear and bass is nice. Almost feels like I’m at move theater. Great price for the quality of sound bar, definitely worth double what I paid.

This is a good basic soundbar for a secondary space, such as a bedroom or home office. I am comparing it to the soundbar setup on our main TV in the family room, which is not really a fair comparison - the setup on that TV is a Sonos Beam with subwoofer and two Sonos One surrounds. Obviously however, that setup cost a whole lot more than this Sony soundbar - A single Sonos One costs more than this Sony soundbar! However, in a bedroom or home office I'm not looking for the same level of bass volume or surround capability and I certainly don't want to spend that much. For this situation, this Sony seems to excel. For many people, this soundbar would function perfectly well for their main TV as long as their expectations are realistic. The sound quality from this Sony is quite nice for the size. It's not as good as the Sonos, but again is much less expensive. It's a great improvement over the built-in speakers of almost any TV. Bass is as good as you can expect from 2.5" speakers but can't compare to a true subwoofer. Stereo separation is not exceptional, but I've yet to hear a soundbar that provided really good separation. Again, the Sonos Beam is better but also 2.5X the price. The 43" LG TV I connected this Sony to actually has very respectable built-in speakers, but the Sony is still an improvement. I've tried the different sound modes (Standard, Cinema, Voice, Night) but to be honest could not discern that much of a difference between them. All the functions are controlled from a small, slim remote which I thought was nice - not too small, but not oversized (I've uploaded a photo of the remote; it always bugs me when the online product info doesn't show the remote). However deciphering which of the mode selections you've made requires looking at the top of the soundbar and watching for a sequence of blinking lights - not the most user friendly. It would have been nice to have discrete LED's on the top to indicate which mode you are in. The build quality of the soundbar is solid, it feels well-made with not cheap rattles. The materials and assembly seem very good. For connections, you have two options (typical of soundbars), and HDMI ARC port and an optical port. I tried both and they worked fine, but of course HDMI ARC is more convenient because you can control the volume using your TV or cable remote. If your TV is recent enough to have an HDMI ARC connection, it will also have an option in the sound menu to disable the built-in speakers and route sound to the external. Setup went smoothly and easily for me. Make sure you are connecting to the correct HDMI port for ARC though! On all of my TV's this has been HDMI-2, but I'm not sure if that's a defacto standard or just coincidence. Be aware - there is no HDMI pass-though port. This means that using this soundbar will monopolize that one HDMI ARC port, you won't be able to use it for anything else. So if your TV has a cable box and a separate device like a Roku, Firestick, Blu-Ray or game console, you will need a minimum of 3 HDMI ports on your TV! Most TV's have at least this many, but I have seen some lower-end TV's that only have two HDMI ports. In that scenario, you will have to connect using the optical cable (assuming you have that connector) and use the soundbar's remote to control volume, which is less convenient but will sound just as good. In summary, if you are looking for deep, rich bass and the potential for true surround sound, this is not the soundbar for you. However if you are looking for a less expensive way to dramatically improve the sound on your TV from a quality manufacturer, this is a winner and a good value. If I did not have the optional subwoofer and surrounds on my Sonos Beam, I'm not sure the difference between the two soundbars themselves would be that dramatic to the average user this is targeted for. Some more expensive soundbars (like the Sonos Beam but also models from Sony, LG and Samsung) give you the option of adding surrounds or subwoofers later. However, they are in a different price category and don't really compete directly with this entry-level Sony.

In the hot rod and custom car world we have a saying... change one thing you end up changing 10... It started with having to upgrade to a flat screen TV... which had terrible sound so we had to look for sound bars... but not just any because with the new TV came a new TV console....which limited our space as to where we wanted the sound bar... on top of the fact that it need to be connected viz HDMI because of issues with UVerse....Long story short, this physically and technically met our needs and guided our purchase...Installation was incredibly easy and the sound is top notch!! Big benefit is that being connected via HDMI we can control the volume with the TV remote, AKA one less remote to have to keep track of. Set up and installation was a breeze!