Customer Reviews

Sony HTD-DW790 Component Home Theater System

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've always had cheap surround sound systems. Usually i'll get one as a gift for xmas or something, over the coarse of a year it'll break just in time for someone to get me another cheapie the following xmas. Well, I finally invested a healthy sum of money into a 61 inch DLP televesion, so I figured... what better to go with my new TV then another cheapie surround sound system! (but this time I would buy it). My previous system had a couple busted speakers, so it wasn't worth much. I had limited funds because I spent so much cash on the TV, so I ended up buying this.

I believe people are being too critical about this system. People seem to expect a flagship quality system when they buy a system that costs less then 1/2 as much as a decent receiver alone.

I saw this system at Best Buy for a mere $150.00. Perfect. They had a model on the floor so I gave it a listen, was impressed and decided to buy it. I was happy that it came with an actual receiver rather then a crappy DVD combo type of deal (experience shows me that these always go faulty).

Setup was a snap, much easier then i'm used to thanks to the handy mic that comes with the system that helps your receiver automatically calibrate your speaker settings. I was happy with what I heard at the store, but I was blown away when I heard this in my own home (no sound pollution, like at the store). For a $150.00 system this sounds great! The audio is mostly clean, bass is pulse-pounding, mids and highs are good. So how does it compare to the $6,000.00 high end system my buddy has? Well, obviously not even close.

Here's what you can expect with this system:
The sound is mostly clean. The mids and highs are good, but someone seeking perfection may be a bit disappointed. Don't expect eye-blinking highs and super-rich mids. The bass is surprisingly powerful, but at higher volumes you will get "bass belching". The bass does thump pretty well but this bass module is passive so you wont get those strong soul-shaking bass thumps that you hear in high end systems. Worth mentioning is the form-factor of this system, well the speakers anyways. The speakers are nice and small, making this system discrete. The speakers have a nice feel to them, they don't feel like super cheap speakers. The receiver isn't as attractive because it's quite large and lacks substance because the buttons are very tiny - there's a lot of empty space.

So there are some issues with this system, why did I give it 5 stars? Well, first off, these issues are to be expected. One reviewer said that sony cut corners, I say - duh! Of course if you're going to build a complete 5.1 surround system including a receiver and price it around $150.00 then you're going to cut corners. Anyways, it deserves 5 stars because this is the best cheapie 5.1 system i've ever owned. I went in expecting crud and ended up with something that actually sounds pretty darn good! My movies are very immersive and my music sounds pretty good. That's all I need right now.

This unit has everything I need. I have a pretty basic system in a one bedroom apartment, and it does a great job of filling the room with sound. The digital inputs in particular sound wonderful. It's not a high end system by any means but I think it's a good value for the money and works for small or medium sized rooms. My favorite feature is the sub, which seems bigger than it should be for a system of this size, and shakes my floor pretty well.

As other reviewers noted there are only 3 RCA inputs, but it also has coaxial and optical inputs (as well as the iPod jack in the front). I hooked the DVD player up with coaxial and my Xbox 360 through the optical, leaving only the TV and PS2 to be hooked up with RCAs.

Calibrating the speakers with the included microphone was really easy, but I still had to tinker with it. In particular the auto calibration does not recognize the sub, which I found to be too loud on it's default setting. Using a calibration program and doing it manually might produce better results.

The only real disappointment I have with it is that the (incredibly thin gauge) wires are fixed into the speakers. I have to run wire around the perimeter of my room, and then splice it with the wire fixed to the speaker.

I've read a lot of review here, wow! Some people are so critical. This is a great system, especially if you're a college student on a budget. Someone said that it had so few imputs, do your research before you buy buddy. My only real gripe was the fact that the speaker wire is connected to the speakers, and it wasn't long enough. I took care of this problem by buying a Rocketfish wireless reciever and plugged the rear speakers into it, problem solved and works great (if you do this, autocal your system direct before using the wireless unit). Another person had a gripe about playing music on the system. I have a Zune with the media dock plugged into the system, the sound is crystal clear, I'm amazed by the clairity of sound. Several people have had gripes about having to turn up the volume way high. For music 35-45 is perfect for most styles of music. For movies around 55 is a great setting. I live in dorm, people live above and around me, and I live in a smaller space, insanely loud volume settings aren't necessary. If your viewing spot is in a large room and you've got a lot of money to work with, this system probably isn't for you. However, if your a college student living in a smaller space on a lower budget, I highly recommend this system, it's perfect.

I read all the other reviews, but still bought the system.

First of all, yes there are only 3 RCA (red/white coaxial) inputs in the back. BUT there is 1 digital coaxial input, and 1 digital optical input. I suggest using these. You'll have to invest in an optical cable, though, but those shouldn't be too hard to find (I got a 6' cable for $24.99). The sound will come out in SURROUND, not just 2.1.

Right now I have my XBOX 360 connected via the Digital Optical, my DVD connected via the Digital Coaxial (both of which come through in 5.1 surround sound), and my PS2 connected to the TV then out through the TV's RCA input.

Also, there is a 3.5mm jack in the FRONT of the system for mp3's or iPods. I can connect my XBOX 360, PS2, DVD, TV, and an MP3 and still have 2 inputs left.

There is no equalizer on the box itself, but it can be adjusted through the remote. Also, individual speaker levels can also be adjusted through the remote.

Right after I hooked everything up, I put in the "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" DVD... and I was completely blown away! I heard the stomping of the Oliphaunt's feet, the whizzing of arrows flying by, the clanging of the swords..!

Even after performing the "Auto Calibration" (which requires you to plug in a microphone, which is included, while the system tests the sound levels of each speaker), I had to adjust the two surround speaker levels (they were set too low), and I had to set the subwoofer level (it was making the whole room shake!), but after that I got just the sound I wanted.

So, professional system? Not quite. Good value for the money? ABSOLUTELY!

I bought this system as a starter system, and I have to say, WOW!!! I read all these bad reviews, but for me coming from not having one to now having this, I am amazed. I watched "300" with a buddy of mine and he went on and on about how good of a system this was. So, I would say as a starter system, cannot go wrong.

I had received a $100 gift certificate to Best Buy for christmas and I saw that system was on sale. ($183 - apparently its cheaper on Amazon) I have had surround sound systems before. Ranging from a cheap one for 200 bucks and a expensive Bose one for 1000+ bucks. (installed at my parents house) This one falls in the middle of the two systems in terms of quality. I raised the volume of the Center channel a bit to hear the dialogue a little better. I also turned the volume levels of the subwoofer down as to not disturb the neighbors. Turning on my Xbox 360 and my Nintendo Wii, I immediately noticed a huge change from my in-tv speakers. (I have a 50 inch LG plasma) I have no complaints about quality of the sound.

Having Dolby Pro Logic II settings is amazing. For those of you unfamiliar with this technology, it takes a stereo channel signal (from CDs, MP3s, most tv shows) and tries to create a 5.1 surround sound signal from it. It worked very well no matter what source I threw at it. When I was playing my crappy MP3s through this, it figured out what was the vocal track and the vocals came through only my center speaker. my back speakers were playing drums and my front speakers very playing guitar. Pretty impressive. Even TV shows worked well...placing the dialogue in the center speaker, and ambient noise in the surround sound speakers. (regardless if the show was broadcasting in surround sound or stereo) They have different pro logic presets depending on whether you are listening to music or watching a show/movie.

Now for the complaints. The speaker wire is attached to the speaker and cannot be removed. I have a fairly small living room and I hate seeing messy cables on my carpet so I was having them tucked into the edges of the carpet. As I feared, I did not have enough cable to reach my back wall. I will have to go to Radio Shack tonight and by more speaker cable and adaptors to connect it to the provided cable. (and probably will lose some quality) Sony should have allowed to detach the cable or at the very least, have more than enough length to fit different sized rooms.

Another huge design flaw was that all the speaker cubes had hook holes so you can mount them on the wall EXCEPT for the center channel. Is Sony assuming I have a tube tv or a rear projection that i can lay the center channel on top of? My plasma is too thin to have anything on top of it, so for the time being, I've placed the center speaker at the base of my plasma, laying on the shelf. Looks ugly. Will have to build my own shelf so I can place it above my tv and against the wall.

I was surprised that I could not turn on and off my TV with the receiver remote. I know this system is cheap, but I thought that feature was fairly standard. Apparently, it looks you can only control Sony products (TVs, DVD players) I'll have to buy a universal remote.

I bought this one for the family cabin as the 26" lcd in the living room just wasn't providing enough volume. It was bad enough when listening to a dialog heavy movie or t.v. show, but heaven forbid someone be talking at the same time, you couldn't hear anything. We actually were using subtitles to compensate.

Luckily, Amazon had this on sale for $140 a few weeks ago, so the price was perfect. I set it up and my mother wanted to try it without the subwoofer as she's not a big fan of the boom. But they sounded awful, like old radio speakers. The sub in this set is essential for even the most basic bass lines. But once the sub was connected, the system provided a nice full sound. It was a very dramatic improvement.

The set up was easy. Included is a microphone that will work in conjunction with an auto calibration to equalize the speakers according to distance and room acoustics. I tested the sound before and after and the auto calibration made a noticably positive difference. The auto tests only took a few minutes and it was done. Great for people who don't want to fiddle with settings.

The speakers are nice and small, some of the smallest I've seen, which makes them easy to hide if you don't like looking at them. All five fit nicely on a single shelf as I placed them in a front set up configuration.

The receiver comes with enough hook-ups to handle any basic to intermediate set up. A digital coaxial, a digital optical and 3-4 stereo analogs are plenty for what we needed. I just used the 2 digitals for a dvd player and the cable box. But it's always good to have extras if you want to hook up your ipod or something. Switching between the dvd or cable box is easy, thanks to an easy button press on the remote or a small dial next to the volume dial. One turn and done. There's also a few sound options for movies and music that are nice to have to take full advantage of your audio source.

I tested out Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and both sounded pretty impressive. They project sound very well as I was able to hear them clearly from the farthest wall away, about 30-35 ft. They seemed to almost open up and create a bigger sound from a further distance. I'm used to a much more advanced system at home but these sounded really good.

The only drawback I saw was that I had to turn it most of the way up to get the sound and clarity I wanted. Luckily, I didn't have to go all the way up but I was almost there. Say, set at 50 out of a possible 60 decibels. But that just tells me that it's meant for a bedroom or small room rather than a larger living room.

At $140, I found this to be a very good system for a basic set up. I'd recommend it to those just getting into home theater who don't require anything very loud or complex. Not to be used for a huge living room though as it's a little underpowered. But it'll do nicely for a smaller area by providing a good, solid sound. In those conditions, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

If you are looking for a decent home theatre system without having to get a degree in audio engineering, this is the system to get. It's fine if you are looking for decent surround sound and are not exceptionally fussy. The sound is clean with good base from the sub woofer. You can't beat the price. Audiophiles will probably stick their noses up in the air but they will spend ten times the amount for a home theatre system that won't be 10 times better.

I have a large and powerful component sound system that I use with my 120-inch home projector system. However, I needed something small and convenient for use with my 50-inch plasma TV. The reasons that the Sony HT-DDW790 meets my need perfectly are listed below:

1. LOW PRICE: I paid less than $100.00 for it at a Best Buy closeout special.

2. EASE OF USE: The HT-DDW790 is a breeze to set up and use. Not much to it.

3. SOUND QUALITY: I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to sound quality. My main system boasts speakers costing well over $15,000.00. When it comes to sound, I know what I'm talking about. The HT-DDW790 has above average sound quality when compared to systems in a comparable price ranges. I listened to it in the store sitting side-by-side with other home theaters (Panasonic, Onkyo, Philips, and Yamaha) costing upwards of $400.00, and the HT-DDW790 sounded every bit as good as any of them and better than some costing over $350.00.

4. LIMITED EXPANSION: Yes, the Sony HT-DDW790 is limited in inputs, outputs, and doesn't have any HDMI ports at all but that's part of its beauty - making it simple to set up and simple to operate. If you're looking for a system to use as a video switchbox that routes video from all your components to your TV, then this is not the system for you. However, if you simply want good sound, simple set up, and easy operation, (and can route your video directly to your TV or are using a separate video switcher), then this is a dream system (especially when you factor in a price that's about the same as a standard DVD player.

I pulled my Sony HT-DDW790 out of the box and had it set up and running in under 20 minutes. I'm more than satisfied with my purchase.

Incidentally, you can also connect the Sony HT-DDW790 via its digital coax or fiber optic inputs to your computer and use it as a blazing computer gaming sound system should you ever decide to upgrade your home theater sound system. In fact, connect your computer or gaming system to your TV and let the Sony HT-DDW790 handle the sound for some truly great gaming.

I was looking for a cheap surround sound system for HD movies and Xbox and PS3 gaming. I picked this system up from Best Buy for $139. It was one of the few theater in a box systems that had no disc drive. I don't need a disc drive, I have plenty of those. Even though it is not capable of TrueHD and DTS Master it's plenty for my apartment. I can shake the walls. I normally play my volume 36-42 for Dolby Digital and DTS and volume at 45-50 for Dolby ProLogic II 5.1. It is important you have your input devices configured properly to get optimum sound and you also need to use the movie and music sound packages. In addition to the games and movies I also hook up my mp3 player and my laptop through the tv and they all sound marvelous. My only complaint is a lack of a coaxial port to give me another digital hook up. I don't expect to get HDMI at this price but I do expect to get optical and coaxial, not just optical. As it stands I have to switch out my Xbox and PS3 opticals. It takes about 10 seconds. 5.1 analog audio would be a nice addition also.