Sony HT-CT350 Virtual 5.1 Sound Bar
Product Description
Create the cinematic experience at home with the HT-CT350 3D sound bar. This compact 3.1-channel home theater system is designed to match the stunning look of your monolithic 40″ or 46″ BRAVIA HDTV while delivering impressive, room-filling audio without the need for rear speakers. In addition to the latest audio decoding technologies, this sound bar can be easily mounted directly to select BRAVIA TVs, hung on your wall, or placed separately on a shelf. Additional features include Audio Return Channel which eliminates the need for extra cables connected to your TV, and 3D pass-through that lets you enjoy 3D content including Blu-ray Disc movies, videogames and more.
Features:
- HDMI Repeater for simplified audio and video signal transfer
- 3D HDMI pass-through
- 400-watt 3.1-channel speaker bar emulates full 5.1-channel surround sound virtually
- BRAVIA Monolithic matching design for clean esthetics
- Bracket for direct mount to Sony Bravia TVs
Price At Amazon.com: Too low to display
Average User Rating: 4.0
No of Reviews: 7
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Sony HT-CT350 Virtual 5.1 Sound Bar
Tags: Sony HT-CT350,sony soundbar
B. K. Smith
7 Nov, 2010
I spent the last 6 weeks researching soundbars and finally settled on purchasing this product because of hopes it would be better than their previous HTCT500. The fact that this actually had LESS connectivity than the prior version was noted, but I didn’t think I needed the extra inputs.
(Note to Sony: Decreasing connectivity in the next iteration of a device is not the way to go…)
I do own the HTCT100 for a very small room and was pleased with that device at the price I purchased it – $199 – and it does project sound. Nothing approximating a “surround effect”, but it is loud and adds bass so it is good for that very limited desire.
I thought that this device would be an improvement on the predecessors HTCT100, HTCT150 and HTCT500. From what I can tell, the only thing Sony did was allow a 3-D signal to be processed through this primitive amplifier. That’s it. They just got this product out on the market in time for the 3-D cycle. Less connectivity, no on-screen GUI (which the HTCT500 had) should make a buyer skeptical. My disappointment should drive you away.
This system, after spending at least 4 hours tweaking the sound with different AV sources (xbox, TV…etc) doesn’t sound at all remarkably different than the HTCT100. The sound range is very flat and seems to reside in the middle frequency. It’s so flat and lacking any dynamic range that I am going to return this item and stick with the speakers on my Pioneer plasma for now. The sound from the Pioneer speakers actually “seems” better, and while there would be all these audiophiles who would make the case that my ears are more used to the sound from my TV, so thus it seems better than the new device at first…blah, blah, blah…whatever. It’s not my first day using my ears, and I know sound that is flat. Not much sophistication needed to identify that.
I never deluded myself thinking I would get any “surround effect”, but I did think the sound would at least fill the room. The lack of frequency range prevents that. This device really only sounds louder. I will admit that it did isolate and bring out a few more sounds that I could not hear using my plasma’s speakers, but there was such a loss in high notes that it actually didn’t seem worth it. I’d rather trade a little bass for mid-high and highs being lost.
For those that have never used any of the Sony HTCTs, if you like the concept, buy the cheapest one. There doesn’t really seem to be any effort into improving any of the sound processing or speaker array inside the soundbar. I was having deja vu when I was configuring this newest HTCT and found myself remembering reaching the limits of frequency range on the HTCT100 that even the most intensive tweaking should have brought out. Those limits were expected and acceptable given the price and early model of the HTCT100, but at this point $400 should buy you sound that surpasses the range of my Logitchech laptop speakers. Very disappointing, Sony.
Also, you need to know that the ability to adjust this sound is more or less limited to turning up the Center and Subwoofer channels up and down…and then treble up and down. Most BASIC car stereos now have more control than this.
As I said before, very disappointing. No range, no surround, less connectivity than previous models, very limited sound processing and adjustability.
Disappointed. Almost angry, actually.
Ordered a Yamaha system. I don’t know how that will go, but from what I see there are much less mixed reviews with those products. Yamaha seems to have found the right balance of price/function/quality for the demographic that knows the limits of what a soundbar can produce. We’ll see.
***7/10/2010
I got a new Yamaha YSP-3050 through [...] (cheapest price I have seen) for $529 and it blows the Sony away. Of course, it’s more expensive, but if you can drop the extra $200 you will have bought something that you can probably use for years and so far exceeds the sound of the HTCT350. I don’t know how long Dell will be selling the Yamaha unit at that price…hopefully a while. The Yamaha is amazing and within one hour of tweaking initial set-up I had no second thoughts about purchasing the Yamaha – it sounded that much better.
User Rating: 2 / 5
Jose Chavarri
7 Nov, 2010
It works very well and sounds great. Of course, it is not a replacement of a full 7.1 system, but it saves a lot a space and cables.
User Rating: 5 / 5
L. Riley
7 Nov, 2010
A little pricey, but adds a lot to the audio enjoyment of TV & movies. The sound is not nearly as bright on FM, nor is the FM bass extension particularly satisfying. The unit’s display is nearly impossible to see unless the room is dark. It also has a “dim” setting, but the display is so faint I can’t imagine it would ever be useful. The directional and spacial effect is only noticeable when sitting in the “sweet spot” directly in front of the soundbar. Having HDMI connections is a big plus.
Bottom line: Don’t expect much surround effect, but the soundbar provides quite a bit of audio wallop for movies and TV without speaker wires running every whichway.
User Rating: 4 / 5
Sean
8 Nov, 2010
I bought this to provide sound for a 46″ LCD HDTV, TivoHD and BlueRay player. My requirements were:
* Cost $400.00 or less.
* Fill the room with deep bass.
* Offer decent virtual surround sound.
* Provide A/V source switching.
* Have at least 2 HDMI inputs, 1 set of component inputs and 1 HDMI output
* Allow me to adjust sound levels (bass, treble, etc…) and enable/disable surround sound mode.
* The speaker bar and subwoofer must be wired (I’ve tried wireless subwoofers and found them inadequate.)
The HTCT350 met all of my requirements and has been quite impressive. After having used this product for over 2 months now, I can say I am very pleased with it.
Pros:
* Excellent sound and virtual surround sound.
* The subwoofer may be small, but fills a 15×15 room with great-sounding bass.
* Very easy to put together and connect.
* Small size of speaker bar and subwoofer fits my entertainment cabinet well.
Cons:
* Menu system is not intuitive. Invest a little time reading the short manual which explains it well.
User Rating: 5 / 5
James G. Woods
8 Nov, 2010
Let’s get the facts out of the way:
1) It’s a sound bar. It will NOT replace a 5.1 or 7.1 system.
2) Overall sound is really good, but not great. See #1. It does sound better than the default TV speakers on most flat screen TV’s.
3) It’s a Sony, and as such the remote ONLY works with Sony stuff. (I would have given another star had it worked with everything else).
Once you get past the 3 things listed above, it’s a good product. It works as claimed (though I do not notice a “surround sound” I didn’t expect it to). For what I wanted (a bit more bass and some louder volume on the TV) it works great. My wife wouldn’t allow me to tear up the walls placing speakers here, there, everywhere, so this is a good compromise.
Are there better sound bars? Probably. However, there are benefits to this sound bar. The HDMI inputs for me, was the icing on the cake. The system sounds good, decent bass, and works as advertised. If you are buying this expecting a kick ass system for $300 then you will be disappointed. For the price point, it’s a good system.
I highly recommend people check sound bars out at a big box store and see what you think. If you buy a sound bar knowing that you are getting a speaker system that has compromise written all over it, you might be surprised.
If you think this is going to replace or duplicate a $1400 Bose system, look elsewhere.
Overall, I think Sony made a great product for the market it is geared for. I would recommend it.
User Rating: 4 / 5