Customer Reviews

Sony SA-VS350H 5.1/7.1-Channel Home Theater Speaker System (Black)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Late last year my wife and I decided to downsize our living space from a 5 bedroom house to a 3 bedroom, upstairs apartment. When I moved in Nov of 09, I gave my son a 5.1 surround sound speaker set which was simply way to big for my new place. My den now is only 11x11'. A large speaker would be impossible in such a small space. After looking and listening to many sub sat speaker options in a variety of configurations, from sound bars to cubes to orb type speakers, I came upon this Sony system at the Sony Style Store in NYC while on a business trip. While I gave up my speakers, I kept my Sony STR-5400ES surround sound reciever and my Sony BDP-S1000ES Blu-Ray Player. For my CD collection, I have a NAD C565BEE Player. All this is coupled to a 52" Sony XBR9 LCD TV. So I was ready to add a room friendly surround speaker package to my system. This Sony package fit the bill perfectly. The speakers are tall and very narrow, with an extremely small footprint. The powered sub is narrow and sits next to the TV stand between the front speakers perfectly. When I installed the speakers and EQ'ed the system, the sound produced was detailed and sweet. The sub's controls allowed me to fine tune the bass to my small space. No boom, but plenty of bottom when needed. After several months of listening to all kinds of music, watching Blu-Rays and playing video games, I can say that this system, for the money is very tough to beat. On Classical music, the orchestra's sound is rich and full, with a great amount of detail in the music. Piano and violin sound very good. Bass instruments deliver the goods without boom or smear. The sound is never thin or shrill like many other systems in this price range. Jazz, rock and blues also sound superb. The surround sound draws you in. When I played the Roy Orbison Black and White Night Concert Bluray, I was in the club with the audience. The music was completely enveloping, the vocals were perfect and the band was red hot and in my room. The center channel provides clear and life like dialogue. In my small space, I am able to dial in the perfect blend of bass without boom. While on my hunt for a small room system, I looked at systems that cost up to $3000.00, and I can honestly say that this Sony system delivered the sonic goods without the high price tag. At the suggested retail list price, this system would be a good buy, but at the Amazon price, with no tax and free shipping, this thing is a smoking bargain. I would recommend this speaker system to anyone who wants a clean, warm and detailed sound on music and movies, and also enjoys the beautiful design of this system. One final note, the speakers and sub are made with very high quality materials, and sound as good as they look.

not for your stereo? u have to pick what kinda speakers u want. u cant get loudspeakers and say they sound bad for surround sound movies. u shouldn't have bought these and said they sound bad for loud music. they aren't made for loud music, as loudspeakers aren't made for home theatre. u can't buy a hummer and complain about the gas milage. just like u wouldn't complain about a prius being underpowered. check what the things u buy are DESIGNED FOR. i suggest studio speakers with a 10-12" sub, 5.25-6.5" midrange and either a tweeter or a horn (if u want really loud). also don't come back and say they aren't loud enough if ur running a weak receiver/amp and don't come back and complain that they suck for surround sound. the power coming from the source trumps the importance of speakers. bad speakers will sound pretty good from a powerful, clean amp. ive never heard good speakers sound like they are supposed to when running off a cheap amp. RMS is the true power, not always what they advertise on the side of the box. amps (receivers) and speakers vary on their OHMS. example: if the rating for the amp is for a 2 OHM speaker, and u r running a 6 OHM speaker, it may be totally different, or may not work at all in some cases. its always best to research before spending 400+ dollars, especially if it has the potential to displease u enough to write about it on threads.

I was a bit reluctant when I went ahead and bought this system - mainly due to lack of professional reviews online. Only a handful user reviews can be found. But the fact that Amazon price was almost half of the suggested retail helped (by the way - the price seems to fluctuate a lot on these speakers on Amazon - check B&H, as they sometimes offer these same speakers cheaper, or in sets with receivers).

I am not an audiophile. If I was I'm sure I would be spending much more than 480 bucks on a set of speakers. I do like listening to music though, and am in the process of setting up a small home theater in my living room.

First of all - once you do some research, you'll realize that 7.1 system is a bit of an overkill, especially given the lack of 7.1 source material. A Google search of Blu-Ray movies with 7.1 sound, will quickly reveal that over the few years only a handful of movies have it implemented, and 95% of those are crappy releases you've never heard about. In fact, when I first looked at the list (which can be found here: [...]), I quickly realized there's only one movie I'd actually watch from it (3:10 to Yuma).

So why even bother with 7.1? Playstation 3 is my answer. Most first party game developers for PS3 provide 7.1 sound for their games. If you seek getting closer to total immersion when playing your PS3 - then 7.1 is definitely the way to go. I'll talk more about this later.

The speakers themselves came nicely packed (I posted a few pics). They also feel like they are going to last. You won't find any cheap plastic here - it's either silky speaker cloth, or black metal. I wouldn't expect anything less from Sony. I have to admit - a big reason why I purchased this set was aesthetic value - it just looks good. The two tall rear speakers look almost like a work of art, and won't look out of place in the middle of the room. They're also heavy - it's unlikely you'll knock one over due to an accidental bump. Again - easy 5 stars when looks are concerned.

What about sound? As I've already mentioned - I am not an audiophile. The first reviewer seems to know more about the way the system sounds/should sound. The speakers sound great to my ears. I tested them with a few Blu-Rays that I own (Avatar, 300, Gladiator), but as I've already mentioned none of the movies actualy contained native 7.1 sound. That's when I decided to test the system with some true 7.1 sources, and poped in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves into the drive. And boy, did it sound good. I loaded the Tibetan Village level, went to the area with villagers, stood in the middle, and closed my eyes. I then started to slowly rotate my character around with my eyes still closed. I could easily tell which way am I facing just by the sound, and the way it was changing. As I mentioned - that extra level of immersion is exactly why I went with 7.1.

Another reason why I went with Sony speakers, is because all my other devices are Sony as well. I wanted the speakers to `play nice' with Sony 7.1 A/V Receiver (Sony STR-DH800 7.1-Channel Audio Video Receiver (Black)), which in turn had to `behave' when hooked up to Sony PS3. Makes things go much easier if you ever have to contact customer support, because they can't just try to blame another company. I also never had any bad experience when dealing with Sony (Japanese sure know how to make a quality product), so call it brand loyalty.

I love these home theater speakers! They sound wonderful with my Sony DA4400ES Receiver!
The price is RIGHT and the result is GREAT!
Thanks!

I'll be short with this review because the other reviews seem to be pretty detailed and articulate already; it'd be redundant. We just bought this surround set for our master bedroom to replace our old Polk set, and it blew away our expectations. It is connected to both a theater system and music audio system, and the sound quality is excellent - very clear, crisp, with a perfect amount of bass. For the current market retail of $500, it's a no-brainer. Go to a Sony store (or any store that carries the system) and listen for yourself. ;)

Recently bought a 52 wide screen, but the sound was sub-par. Found this Sony speaker system on Amazon at a great price and was even happier when they arrived. Easy set up and great looking and the sound is terrific.

Well, I love music, but know little about sound systems. I presumed that Sony's highest end speaker system would be perfect for loud music. It is NOT! For TV, fine, and pretty good actually.