- 2.1 Channel; 300W (85W x 2 + 130W) Sound bar
- Wireless Subwoofer: place it anywhere in your room
- S-Force pro front surround sound
- Wirelessly stream music from bluetooth enabled devices
- Perfect fit for a 40 inch or larger HDTV
There are many brands with some similarities you typically get a long speaker to go under the TV itself, either on its own stand or mounted on the wall. There is also a separate sub-woofer for deep noise response.
This Sony HTCT260 was an upgrade to my existing Sony HTCT100. Despite similar names, they are quite different. To start, the Sony HTCT100 was a total of 250W of sound three 50W speakers in the bar and a 100W subwoofer. The Sony HTCT260 is 300W two 85W front speakers and a 130W subwoofer. Whether the front is two or three speakers is immaterial they are all inside a single bar.
The Sony HTCT100 had a subwoofer that plugged into the wall, and the audio from the source plugged into the subwoofer. Then the Sound Bar plugged into the subwoofer with a proprietary cable. That meant the subwoofer had to be near the sound bar. However, it also meant that the subwoofer was a receiver in itself, with HDMI pass thru, analog input, and optical input. HDMI pass-thru means you can plug your Blu-Ray player into the subwoofer, and then plug the subwoofer into the TV. It had multiple HDMI inputs so the Sony HTCT100 could switch between sources.
The Sony HTCT260 does away with the HDMI select capability in fact, it doesn't have HDMI input at all, and the inputs are on the sound bar, not the sub-woofer. The sub-woofer is a remote wireless device, so it can be placed anywhere, a major bonus. It is shorter than the HTCT100 subwoofer, despite being more watts, is easier to conceal. The only inputs are on the bar itself, consisting of Analog, Coaxial, and Optical. Why did they make this change? Consider my use of the HTCT100. When I bought a TV that had networking capability, it meant that half the time I was using my TV, it was for content from the TV itself. Since my TV had lots of HDMI inputs, it meant every device could also plug into the TV. I eventually stopped using the HDMI passthrough and just plugged the optical out from my TV into the HTCT100.
Since I assume most people have similar televisions now, the removal of the HDMI inputs and the wireless subwoofer of the HTCT260 makes sense.
In terms of style, the sound bar is sharp looking, a little longer and wider than the HTCT100, and with a built-in display, it looks really good in my TV setup. There are touch sensitive input select and volume buttons on the front, so you can adjust it even if you lose the remote control.
Most important, how does it sound? In a word, amazing. I was dubious that the extra 50W would mean anything, but I found the sound far more immersive and expansive than with the HTCT100. Previously on the HTCT100, I had actually hit the MAX and still thought the sound was too quiet for some sources, but now I can crank up the volume and actually get it too loud. The bass is full and can be felt, but is not overpowering. Simple "sound field" buttons on the remote allow you to adjust the effect for movies, games, or music. With the subwoofer placed in the back of the room, I can achieve most of the surround sound effect without having to run wires and place tons of speakers.
Finally, pairing the speaker with my iPhone via Bluetooth couldn't be simpler. I hit "Pairing" on the remote, and about 30 seconds later I was blasting Tchaikovsky through the speakers from the iPhone.
Highly recommended I'm sure you could get better sound with a more expensive system, but bang for the buck, I am totally happy with this sound bar and highly recommend you get one to go with your new television set.
Buy Sony HTCT260 Sound Bar Home Theater System Now
Before I say anything about this system I will have to declare that I am a big Bose fan, I have two home theater systems, wave system, computer speakers, bluetooth..all from Bose.I received the HT260 free from the purchase of a sony Bravia. I thought it was one of those cheaply made systems so I left it sitting in my garage for weeks waiting to figure out how to dispose of it. I mounted my new TV on the wall but had a hard time mounting my Bose on the wall without all those wires showing so I decided to try the HT260 and Boooyyyy was I wrong.
I packed up my Bose immediately and I do not miss it a bit. Sound quality is awesome and this is from someone who has listened to a Bose for the past 10 years. I was so impressed by the amount of base from the wireless subwoofer. I love the fact that I am able to place it anywhere without any wires in the way. What did it for me was the bluetooth connectivity to any device. I played music from my iphone while walking around with the phone in my pocket. My Bose couldn't do that. This system is great and I wish I had mounted in as soon as I received it. If you are contemplating buying this system, don't hesitate, it is awesome!
Read Best Reviews of Sony HTCT260 Sound Bar Home Theater System Here
I've been meaning to upgrade from the TV speakers on my Panasonic plasma for a while. The internal speakers were fine for my needs--plenty loud and all. But I just wanted something with a little more bass and more "richness".I saw the CT260 for 200 $ at a black Friday sale and figured this was the time to upgrade. The setup was a breeze and the sound is an improvement from before. I would recommend this for anybody looking to upgrade from stock speakers at a reasonable price.
Pros
* Bluetooth connectivity. Easily paired with my phone and can play music, internet radio, etc. Love this feature!
* Wireless sub. Great to have the flexibility to place this someplace hidden or near a free power outlet.
* Optical input. I thought I wanted something with HDMI inputs but realized that all my AV devices go through the TV anyway. Directly connecting the audio from the TV is a much easier and logical setup. There're other models with comparable features and HDMI inputs (for more money)--but do you really need it? Plus, TOSLINK cables are cheaper and less bulky than HDMI cables.
* Nighttime feature. Seems like this lowers the volume and disables the sub so you don't disturb the neighbors or others in the house. I returned a soundbar previously because the bass was getting so annoying the only way to get rid of the thumping was to unplug the sub. This feature takes care of that with a press of a button.
* Front display and control on sound bar. Nice to be able to see the mode/input/volume and access things like on/off, volume and input from the unit and not have to do everything from the remote.
* Custom settings. You can adjust the bass and treble and choose from presets for movie, music, "standard", etc.
* Accessories. Comes with optical cable and batteries so everything you need to get going is in the box.
* Good sound. It may even be great but I'm not an audiophile. The volume can go up beyond what I normally need and there're no distortions or artifacts that I can hear. The bass is nice and strong.
Cons
* Standby. Unit doesn't come out of standby automatically when I turn on the TV. (There may be a feature to disable standby but I haven't looked for it yet)
* Hexagon design. It's a unique look but I'm not totally sold on it.
* Another remote to deal with. The remote can't control my TIVO and my TIVO remote can't control it, so stuck with two remotes for now.
* Menu. The display only may be enough to find the setting you want, but you probably need to reference the manual when navigating the menu system. This is probably a weakness of all soundbars
In all, the features are great and the sound is good. The weaknesses are small and don't really detract from the overall value. I'm happy with the purchase--even more so with the discount.
Want Sony HTCT260 Sound Bar Home Theater System Discount?
After an hour on a Saturday after thanksgiving sale, and staring at the $199 price tag, I was skeptical. Here's what I discovered in the 1st of 30 minutes after finally deciding to make the purchase. Best I found in it's price range and that's because:Pros:
Flaw-less link up with my iPhone via the bluetooth.
Can be used INDEPENDENT of the TV.. a definite plus to conserving power.
The remote takes control over the source device, in this case iPhone, so I was able to use either to control volume, pause, etc.
Easy setup with the TV. The provided optical cable helps a lot.
Sound with TV is great and clear
The bluetooth receivers are hidden within the sub and sound bar.
Wall mountable or comes with feel to put in on your TV stand which wont't interfere with the remote.
Wireless sub!!
Fills my 1BR apartment (carpeted floors) with sound nicely
Great w/ my XBOX playing Battlefield 3!
You have the optical cable into your TV and use a separate stereo cable to run your MP3 player directly into the system (another plus if you just want to sound dock)
Cons:
Still haven't tweaked the equalizer for music.. MOST soundbars in this price range don't do great on the music side, but that's only because the L/R/CTR channels are together and not independent of each other through separate speakers. (minor setback)
Having some issues linking it in with my Samsung TV due to no HDMI inputs (a very minor setback for now)
A little on the larger side, but can be easily made to look smaller once you wall mount. Might look awkward if you have one of those mega-slim sets.
Verdict: Get this system if your a person like me! I'm very excited with the versatility of this system and can't wait to tailor this more to my needs!
Why is that important, at least to this reviewer? Because the HDMI specification mandated that as of 2011 there be no component HDTV video outputs on any device that uses HDMI. Why is component video important in a discussion of digital audio? Because manufacturers have, for most basic Blu-Ray/DVD players, also eliminated the digital audio outputs that were once included to pass digital audio to TVs and audio devices that used component video. In other words, all new DVD/Blu-Ray players have only HDMI outputs for HD video, and frequently have only HDMI outputs for both audio and video output. Some higher priced players may add optical or coaxial digital audio outputs, but not all of them do this.
So, no HDMI inputs on the sound bar, no way to get 5.1 digital sound from newer systems into the sound bar, even if you're using HDMI to feed video directly to your TV. Some users might argue that there is an optical digital audio input on the sound bar, and you can just plug that into the back of your TV, assuming that it has an optical digital audio output, and pick up the audio that way. Yes, and no. The HDMI standard mandates that any device receiving audio via HDMI for copy protected or digital rights managed content also disable any audio outputs that device may have, specifically to block audio pass through.
Some TVs will not care about the distinction, and will flatly refuse to pass through HDMI supplied audio at all. Some sets will output HDMI supplied audio sound but only in downmixed stereo. The optical output from a Blu-Ray player, if it has one, can be connected directly to the sound bar, but then you will not be able to feed digital audio from your cable or sat box.
The Sony sound bar systems are generally very nice. I like Sony sound bar systems. I wanted this one to be a good choice for me. I am always interested in what Sony if doing with sound bars. Hope you get that: I am in no way against Sony sound bars. Some of the models above this one have HDMI inputs, and also multiple inputs for multi device input switching, for the same price or just a bit more. I can give only give it three stars for its solid features, minus its limited out of the box inputs for playing 5.1 sound from Blu-Ray players and other HDMI-centric sources.
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