This home-theatre kit from Sony is first-rate in all key respects. The sound quality is excellent from the large sub-woofer and five tiny satellite speakers. The control box is neat and has the added bonus that it can be used upright or on its side .. the display can be turned through 90%. The build quality is as good as one would expect of Sony with all the speakers having a really solid feel and enough weight to avoid any annoying buzzing. The finish is silver which will match most modern TV/DVD set ups.
I must admit I was a little unclear on the difference between a home theatre and home cinema kit when I began to look into this area. A home cinema will have an integrated DVD player as well as the sound amplifier and speakers .. a home theatre is just the sound system. I already had a perfectly good DVD player so decided to put my full budget towards the sound end of things. I am not sorry I did as this Home Theatre kit really packs a punch. In order to fully appreciate the system your DVD player must have an optical output .. the Sony can actually take input from 2 optical devices. Surround sound is fully configurable according to the position of your speakers and the sub-woofer and, although this took some working out, allows you to get the most from the system. For normal TV and video viewing I find that the Dolby Pro Logic II gives a pretty reasonable effect with the focus of sound from the centre but an extra dimension from the satellite speakers. There are a number of preset modes which allow some quite radical changes to the sound although these are fairly weird and wonderful. The only possible downside of the Sony HT - K25 is that the sub-woofer is very cuboid (I would guess at around 12" in all dimensions) this makes it difficult to tuck away and I have mine behind the TV stand. This may be because the woofer unit actually houses the amp which certainly allows the control unit to be very small. The supplied remote has functions for Sony TV, DVD and VCRs as well as the home theatre which makes it a little over-complicated - the same could be said for the manual which is comprehensive but quite technical. Overall, if you're looking for a really top quality sound system to add to your existing TV/DVD this one from Sony looks and sounds the business.
(This system does not have a radio tuner included)
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