Customer Reviews

Sony HT-SF2300 Blu-ray Disc Matching Component Home Theater System (Black)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I waited,and researched,and waited some more before I finally decided to purchase this system...........and boy I should have gotten it earlier!We purchased a new HD TV and needed speakers that would look nice but still have great sound,these fit both needs.The HDMI inputs are easy to hook up BD and SAT.There's also a really cool setting that automatically adjusts your audio setting to what the signal was recorded in.Definite thumbs up!

The HT-SF2300 comes with 4 tallboy speakers and a tiny center speaker plus a reasonably well sized subwoofer. The sound is overall well balanced and powerful (but not very loud), but slightly lacking in the deep end from 20Hz to the 60Hz area. The five full range drivers produces crisp and clear sound even without equalization, therefore you can pretty much put the system together and use it without making too many adjustments.

Having said that, the DCAC circuit (Digital Cinema Auto Calibration, which typically measures the levels and distance of the speakers from the listening position) for the HT-SF2300 is slightly better than the one you will find on typical entry level Sony DAV systems. The DCAC for the SF2300 measures the frequency response of each speakers and applies the necessary sound equalization to each channel to give you a more balanced sound from each channel. Given the fact that the front and surround drivers are only 65mm in diameter and the center driver is only 30mm x 60mm, you will appreciate that the system does more than just pump out raw uncalibrated audio signals through the bundled speakers. You will also be able to install speakers from other manufactures to get better sound if the bundled speakers sound too tiny for your taste. The primary 5 channels accept speakers of impedence all the way down to 3 Ohms, while the subwoofer channel goes as low as 1.5 Ohms. However, the speaker end of the subwoofer cable is soldered to the speaker, so if you intend to use a different sub, prepare to say goodbye to the bundled subwoofer for good or go to a Sony center and order a subwoofer cable from one of those earlier, cheaper DAV systems (DAV-DZ100, 150 or 770). The best way to determine which subwoofer cable is unattached to the sub itself is to go through those PDF manuals from the Sony on-line support site. All Sony compact receivers / DAV systems from 2007-2010 use identical connectors.

The HT-SF2300 comes with 3 HDMI inputs, 1 HMDI output, three digital inputs (two optical and one coaxial) and a few pair of stereo analog inputs. Note that it has absolutely no component video input, s-video input or composite video input. Therefore, it is obvious that this system has been designed to be used specifically with HDMI capable components since it only performs HDMI switching and does not handle analog video switching.

The receiver receives and decodes Dolby Digital, DTS and 5.1 LPCM audio through its 3 HDMI inputs and the optical and coaxial inputs (The optical and coaxial does not support 5.1 LPCM), but does not support Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital True HD, DTS-Master Audio etc. Therefore, it is up to your BD players to decode those HD audio and output them as LPCM signals for this receiver. Most Sony BD players perform on-board decoding, so the lack of a HD audio decoder on the HT-SF2300 should not be a problem for you unless you are using a BD player from other manufacturers.

The HT-SF2300 is one of those AV system that leaves people with older Hi-Fi components asking for more, so do check out the device (especially the connectivity options) at your local electronics store before buying.

This theater system has great sound, was easy to hook up with our new Sony XBR 52" tv and our new sony blu-ray player. I would recommend it in all aspects, with one exception. I really wish it was wireless... at least wireless for a couple of the speakers that really should be placed across the room. It was a pretty high price to pay for a system that still requires wires. I would have given it a 5 star instead of a 4 if it would have been wireless for a couple of the speakers.

i would not call this the holy grail of sournd sound but sounds great with blu ray movies and my ps3. just when i think its just right everyone eles in other rooms of the house say its too loud. so i cant watch anything at night with out almost turning the volume all the way down. i was watching santa claus 3 and my dad had to look outside think there was a train. not too hard to set up. over all great

The Sony HT-SF2300 is my first HTS, and overall I am happy with the product. It is great for an entry-level system, and I like that it has 3 hdmi imputs and 1 output, so all my hdmi components can be linked to it without much hassle. It did take me a while to figure out how to set up the system so I could hear higher fidelity sound (HD quality), and once I got that sorted I was happy. For folks on a budget who want a good system without spending too much (350-500), and who don't want to hassle with buying seperate components, this works fine. Audiophiles will likely disagree, but most of us don't care that much about it. I would still recommend that you shop around and see if there are AVRs and speakers that meet your needs, because you can get higher quality speakers and AVRs for cheaper than what this system costs.

I also bought this particular model because I needed stands for my speakers, and this one comes with 4 tallboys, which was ideal. My setup is kinda funky, and I couldn't easily attach speakers to walls. After checking out the cost of separate stands, they would have been about $150-200 for two pairs which wasn't in my budget.

One negative about this AVR system is that it doesn't have many audio/video inputs/outputs other than the hdmi, so if you have older components without hdmi, this avr won't work well for your needs.

This Sony surround sound system really is exactly what I wanted. Granted... I've only used it for a couple days. No problems what so ever. And I really like the look and feel of the taller speakers than of Sony's other models. The auto-calibration gave me almost the exact sound and levels I was looking for too. (I had to turn the sub down since I'm in an apartment!) I've played Lord of the Rings, Cloverfield, Transformers, Wall-e, and some others and the sound is one of the best I've ever heard. I also play xbox 360 quite a bit and the surround sound while in matchmaking in halo3 is fine and crisp.

As of right now, no problems at all. :)

Sony customer service and repair are the worst I've encountered. They refused to fix my home theater system receiver that never worked properly yet was under warranty. If you're cool with buying electronics from an unresponsive, difficult and dishonest company - then Sony is the way to go.