Sony HTSS360 5.1 channel Home Theater System (Black)

This surround system has plenty of inputs and is easy to setup but the sound quality is about what you would expect for the price, which is a decent but not so great sounding system. Overall I would recommend something with better speakers and with an active sub. Overall I would not recommended this system to anyone who cares about great sound quality, but if your on a tight budget and want a surround system in a box than this is one of the best lower end systems you can get.

Works good, has HDMI inputs, really easy to set up and sound quality is good. Only reason I give it a mark down on set up and ease of use is the wire for the rear speakers is really short. I bought more speaker wire and just added it to the factory harness. It works but it's really short to be a rear speaker. Other than that it's a great system and I really enjoy watching movies or playing my PS3 and having surround sound.

Although I have purchased this item to a friend as a wedding registry request. The feedback from the actual user is been great and amazed by the sound quality from this particular model. My experience with MODIA has been wonderful with satisfactory. If I were to purchase a unit for myself in future, I would definitely check with them first before trying elsewhere. Overall, wonderful customer service and follow-up staff work.

Purchased this set up as a mid-range solution to accompany 55" Bravia LCD. It fit my needs perfectly and the sound is excellent.

I have had this product for eight months now and I have to say that I am still happy that I bought this product.

Pros:

-These speakers can get pretty loud. When I have my laptop plugged into the system via HDMI, I am usually playing movies with the volume at half the max volume and everyone can hear everything clearly. Otherwise, the sound can get somewhat distorted (see sub woofer cons)

-The sound quality is very good for a system at this price. Most of the audio, from music or movies, sounds pretty good. There are a few cases though where some of the higher frequency sounds can get buried by the low frequency sounds. An adjustment in the woofer level usually solves this problem.

-The number of inputs on this system is awesome for the price. Usually I see systems at this price that have two, maybe three input options. The three HDMI inputs, two digital optical audio and digital coaxial inputs, and the analog inputs ensure that you will not have to buy an external switch. Of course, with most HDMI capable systems, there is HDMI output so video can be output to the TV.


Cons:

-The sub woofer can be tricky to balance with the rest of the system. Like I said before, the lower frequencies can drown out the mid and high frequencies in some cases. This is usually remedied by adjusting the level of the sub. However, you are usually sacrificing some of the volume of the low-mids when this is done. My suspicion is that if the sub was powered, this would not be an issue. But overall, the balance is fine in most cases.

-I keep reading that some find that the menu system on the player is difficult to navigate. I do agree that in this day and age, menu systems to adjust treble, bass, and speaker levels should not need the guidance of a manual. However, if it does cut down on the cost of the system, I am okay with this small sacrifice. Besides, once you learn how to adjust the levels, controlling the system is pretty straight forward.

Other thoughts:

-I do not use this system with a stand alone blu-ray player or audio player, I use my laptop with a blu-ray disc drive and HDMI output. Because of this, surround sound setup for my computer is a breeze. However, if you are lacking HDMI, S/PDIF or digital coaxial cable is the only other way to get surround sound with this system if you are using a PC. Remember, this is a home-theater-in-a-box, not surround sound PC speakers.

-I have been tempted to buy a powered sub for the reasons listed above and reasons that are listed in other reviews. However, I am unsure how I would select the correct one so that I do not damage the receiver. For most people, I suspect, they will not care too much about the sub levels. I am just being picky.