Sony HTSF470 Blu-ray Disc Matching Surround Sound Home Theater System (Black)

Product Details

Sony HTSF470 Blu-ray Disc Matching Surround Sound Home Theater System (Black) From Sony List Price: $549.99 Price: $346.96 http://astore.amazon.com/homeudioandtheater-20 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Ships from and sold by Beach Audio 9 new or used available from $395.00 Average customer review:

Product Description

Complete your entertainment experience with 5.1 channels of high-quality surround sound and support for wireless rear speakers4 with the Sony HT-SF470 3D Matching Blu-ray Disc Surround Sound System.2 Features 3D compatibility so you can enjoy incredible 3D sports, games and movies like never before.2 Connect multiple HD or 3D devices using a single HDMI cable per device (sold separately) and turn this sound bar system into your entertainment "hub".1 Elegant floor standing speakers and beautifully sleek monolithic design make it a great compliment to the Sony BRAVIA 3D HDTVs

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4582 in Consumer Electronics
• Color: Black
• Brand: Sony
• Model: HTSF470
• Dimensions: 2.60" h x 17.00" w x 12.60" l, 7.50 pounds

Features

• HDMI Repeater for simplified audio and video signal transfer
• 3D pass-through
• 1000 watt 5.1 channel surround sound (157W x 5 + 167W)
• Wireless S-AIR Rear Speakers & Wireless multi-room capability
• BRAVIA Monolithic matching design for clean esthetics

---

Customer Reviews

Very good value. . .a few flaws
Great sound.

Great 5.1 functionality.

Great value.

I have mine teamed with a 46" Samsung C6300 LED LCD and a Sony Playstation 3. I love the fact that I'm down to one HDMI input feeding my new TV for all input sources. . .they all go through the Sony HT-SF470.

Complaints: When I bought the product, I assumed that the rear speakers would work wirelessly without an additional purpose. Note, that to use the S-AIR functionality with this product, one needs to buy a transmitter to plug into the HT-SF470 receiver and a receiver for your powered speakers that get served. I also agree with the previous reviewer about how the system lacks a graphical menu. Finally, and perhaps most needlessly frustrating, I hate that Sony doesn't leave you enough wire for their rear speakers. There's nothing worse that to give up on an optimal setup because you don't have enough wire. Also, Sony uses speaker wire with proprietary connectors(more costly and hard to find upgrades).

Still a good value for the price. . .beware that they attempt to suck you in to future purchases by giving you a nearly complete system.

Amazing Quality, Minor Annoyances
Overall I am very happy with my purchase of this system. The sound is amazing and the system is relatively easy to use once you've set it up. My review may sound negative overall, but I'm just pointing out some items you should be aware of. Overall I recommend this system.

Physical Assembly: Sony is known for quality electronics, not necessarily easy assembly. For this system, wiring the speakers through the poles and base can be a little confusing and the instructions for this are pretty horrible. Not a huge deal, however - just get through it.

Electronic Assembly: Wiring up and calibrating the unit is pretty foolproof - Speaker cables are color-coded and the auto calibration is very simple - The manual's warning makes it sound like the calibration will cause your neighbor's china to fall off the shelf but this is not the case and it's only 30 seconds of non-continuous sound.

Syncing Devices: I currently have a "slim" (Bravia Sync-enabled) PS3 and a Sony W-Series (KDL-40W4100) attached to the receiver. The Bravia sync works pretty well but some functions are strange. The receiver's remote has lots of BD/DVD controls but you have to press a "TV" button at the same time to use them with a PS3 (it looks like the signal passes from the TV to the PS3 via the receiver), and some don't work at all. Non-syncable devices I have attached are a Roku Player (via HDMI) and an Apple Airport Express router (via TOSlink). I have not tried out any S-Air accessories but plan to in the near future.

General functionality: I don't know what cave Sony is living in, but some things are simply stupid. To start, all the device names are hardcoded (SAT/Cable, BD, DVD, SACD/CD, etc). Come on now, we're in the age of random accessories - we should be able to name the ports ourselves. For example, to play my computer's iTunes via Airport and TOSlink I need to select one of the two sources that have TOSlink, so I end up selecting "SACD/CD". Yet if I were to purchase an SACD player I'm in trouble again since newest ones use HDMI, which this receiver won't take under the "SACD/CD" port name, so I'd have to use "DVD" or "BD"... very confusing indeed. The menu structure is pretty archaic - I don't understand why they couldn't add a visual media bar setup via HDMI and your TV.

The AM/FM tuner works great quality-wise with the included dollar-store antennas. Functionality-wise the tuner is a bit cumbersome to set up. There's no auto-program so you will be spending some time saving stations. If you have hours to kill you can manually name the stations arcade-style (up, up, right, up, up, up, up, right). I don't know Sony doesn't have RDS functionality in there to take care of the naming - it has been around for at least 15 years.

Once you get over assembly and display labeling, however, this is a pretty solid player. One cool feature this system is the "Night Mode" which allows you to watch explosive movies at night without your upstairs neighbor hanging a noise violation on you.

And finally, this system looks awesome.
Geat Value, Great Sound, Great Functionality
ATTENTION: IF YOU WANT TO USE THE REAR SURROUND SPEAKERS WIRELESSLY, YOU NEED TO ALSO PURCHASE THESE TWO COMPONENTS! I'LL LIST THEM AT THE TOP TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR ALL OF YOU!

1. Sony WAHT-SA20 (rear amplifier/receiver for wireless rear speakers) ~ $135 from Amazon.
2. Sony EZWT100 (S-Air Transmitter, plugs into the rear of your new receiver) - $20 from Ebay. Buy it from ebay, you'll pay ~ $120 on Amazon!

Review:

I've had the system for about a week and so far I'm impressed. It's everything I set out to purchase... an AFFORDABLE, home theater-in-a-box. If I were looking for super high-end audiophile-type components, of course I wouldn't be looking for any theater in a box setup. And some day I will be searching for high-end separate components to build a good theater, but for now I just wanted a no-fuss.. out of the box system that sounded great and had multiple HDMI ports.

First off, if you are currently listening to movies through your television set... just about ANY home stereo theater system will be a major improvement... I don't care how good you say your TV speakers are, it's just a fact.

For me it came down to either this system, a similar Onkyo system, or the Sony 370. I'm glad I went with this system. I've watched a few movies on it both from DVD, Blu Ray, and HD Movies On-Demand from Comcast (hooked up via HDMI from my cable box). They all sound terrific. Strong bass, good wireless surround sound, great volume of dialogue through the center channel.

Some people don't like the proprietary Sony plugs for the speaker cables, but I actually like them in this system for a few reasons. First, they clip in, so you know they are secure, second, they are color coded.. no chance of getting the channels crossed. If you really needed more cable (they provide you with PLENTY), you can buy more and buy the connectors and do some splicing. You won't need to though especially if you go wireless.

I found setting up the rear speakers for wireless S-AIR operation was very easy. You just plug in the speakers to the rear amplifier (sold seperately, I listed it at the top of the review), plug that into a wall outlet. Then plug in the square transmitter (sold separately, listed at the top of this review), into the back of the receiver (screw it secure with screws provided), turn it all on and you're up and running.

So I recommend this system. But be realistic, don't expect $2,000 sound for $400... that doesn't happen. It's just solid theater sound for a good price.