Sony HT IS100 Other Audio Video - review, compare prices, buy online

Quick to setup and sounds awesome, would definately recommend this to anyone who wants to take thier HD experience a little further.

Reviewed by: Amazon Reviewer Rating:

Date Reviewed: 05Jul2009

Bought this Sony system as an upgrade to my older Sony surround system & I have to say its fantastic. For the price its well worth it! The Surround speakers are about the size of golf balls and blend into my livingroom really well. All in all I love it. Bought a Sony BlueRay player as well. Superb...!

Reviewed by: Amazon Reviewer Rating:

Date Reviewed: 09Jun2009

I recently purchased the Sony HT-IST100 and I must say, I was very impressed with the quality of the sound from this unit.
The size of the speakers is as described, the size of golf balls.
The ease of setting up this system makes it a must for non-tech types.
BUT, BE WARNED, the woofer control unit is very large and heavy (14kg). If you want this system because you are limited for space, the small speakers aew fantastic. The control center? Forget it. it is large. I looked long and hard to find information on the base unit, but there was now on any site visited.
I must say however, the quality is up to SONYs usual standard. And the multiple inputs are great.
GO FOR IT!

Reviewed by: Amazon Reviewer Rating:

Date Reviewed: 05Apr2009

II purchased this system as my new home cinema setup to replace the Logitech z5500 system (This had some bad features including moment of speakers etc). So far the system has been tested with just the PS3 and I have to say the sound is crisp and clear and with a little help from the avforums you can get True HD sound out of the system.

The speakers were ideal for my setup i didnt want anything to intrusive on the wall or a sub like the Z5500.

I did think the sound might be affect as the speakers are so small but the mid range is fine if you place the sub in correct location as stated by the manual , if any thing like most films I used have to turn the volume up to hear them speak then my ears would bleed with the music....The small speaker are great to solve this.

Setup is fairly easy but might need some slight adjustment again avforum can help with this.

You can also purchase a so called wireless kit....dont be fooled all this does is moves the speaker cables to another box in the room so its not wireless really.

Also another slight issues is the display almost points upto the ceiling so you will have to remember the number time you need to hit a button to change to movie mode, Sports etc.

The sub I would say is around the size of a large PC case and has a good kick of base...note mine is on a wooden floor with plenty of cables to hide in the wall and around my skirtings.(added bonus is both ends are removal so you could add extra cable if needed)

Another slight pain is all the cables are located at the bottom of the sub so you have to keep lifting it to place cables in..Suppose this will only be done couple of time once the system is setup 100%.

Overall if you have heard the z5500 you will be impressed with the sounds (THX) but the Sony i think beats this hands down and with out loss of the cinema experience.

Reviewed by: Amazon Reviewer Rating:

Date Reviewed: 26Feb2009

I bought this unit as my first home cinema system, main reason was the excellent reviews and the small unobtrusive speakers. Unfortunately, I am having problems getting it to output 5.1 surround sound! Still waiting to hear from Sony...

Reviewed by: Amazon Reviewer Rating:

Date Reviewed: 13Feb2009

High quality kit with reasonable sound from the tiny speakers.
Main sub-woofer/control box is very big.
Major problem is the display which is on the top of the box!!! This means that if you place the unit behind your television you cannot even get up and look at the display panel.
Why oh why does Sony not have this linked to an on screen display??
High price, high quality but poor design, most unlike Sony.
Dont buy it if you like to sit and control everything from your remote!

Reviewed by: Amazon Reviewer Rating:

Date Reviewed: 29Jan2009

The Good:Very small satellite speakers(all 5 fit in my hand),that can be so easily concealed.Can be connected to a lot of different units by HDMI(3 in and 1 out),RGB plus Coax and Optical.Plenty of sound output including floor shaking bass and crisp treble.Has AM/FMtuner. The Bad:Currently a bit expensive especially as the wireless unit for rear speakers is a very expensive optional extra,no HDMI leads supplied,sound not so good on classical music as it is on films.Massive subwoofer box seems out of place with the tiny stylish satellite speakers.The somewhat pixellated display faces upwards so you cannot see it when seated,making it not very user friendly.
More Info:When sold with a Blu Ray player it is known as HTP-BD3IS,so then it becomes basically a Blu Ray update of the DAV-IS50(see my review),but with full compatiblity/connectivity.The huge subwoofer box contains an upwards facing lower mid-range speaker,the AM/FM tuner,the downwards facing bass reflex subwoofer and the upwards facing display.
The main weakness in the sound is due to the midrange being split between the mid-range upwards facing speaker(ie.mono) in the subwoofer box and the tiny satellite speakers(ie.stereo).These satellite speakers are described by Sony as full range,but is reality act as tweeters with an extended lower frequency range.This arrangement works well on action movies,eg Terminator 3 is mind blowing,but not so well on classical music,eg Mahlers 8th(Tennstedt),where the sound lacks an accurate stable stereo image and a lot of midrange detail is missing or muddy as is the bass sometimes.My 37 year old Cambridge Audio system put it to shame! However I can live with the compromises in the design as it is the only 5.1 cinema system with such tiny satellite speakers and I just do not have room for anything larger.If you are in the same situation you should buy it.If you have more room then perhaps also look elsewhere for something with much bigger speakers eg HT-SF1300 or HT-SF2000.

Reviewed by: Amazon Reviewer Rating:

Date Reviewed: 27Jan2009

I am more than pleased with the IS100. It has a high specification for a good price. It looks and crucially sounds great. With a decent TV and a Blu-Ray player it makes an awesome audio/visual experience and also brings gaming to life. The quality and range of sounds delivered from such a small set of speakers is incredible.

I highly recommend this item.

Reviewed by: Amazon Reviewer Rating:

Date Reviewed: 20Dec2008

Background: I am first time home cinema buyer. I have never been keen on too many speakers/big boxes in my living room. Mainly because I own a hi-fi music system that takes up a lot of space. My living room is 12x15 foot.

Review: I have had the Sony HT-IS100 for about a month. It was the perfect size/price solution. I considered Sony DAVIS10 amongst a few others. The IS100 has 3 HDMI inputs, one HDMI TV output, upscales to 1080p, minus the DVD player. Compare this to DAVIS10 which upscales to 1080i, has a single HDMI connection and does not have x.v. Colour and 24p True Cinema technology. I did not need the DVD player. Similar sized speakers, better specifications makes this little gem future proof.

I have compared this to Sony RHT G900 on its own and a Yamaha YSP-900 with a subwoofer attached. The HT-IS100 sounds as good if not better than the Yamaha, has better sound separation and is almost invisible. Compared to Sony RHT G900 the performance from HT IS100 is awesome. Overall bass and treble reproduction is great, mid tones are ok. I would not use this as a dedicated music system though it does a decent job with stereo sound. I am very happy with the purchase. If your living room is of a similar size dont hesitate.

If you are a first time home cinema buyer set aside an hour or two to plan wall mounting and connecting the system. The system comes with an optical cable, a remote (can be use to control Sony TV and DVD) and plenty of speaker cables. You will need an extra HDMI cable if you want to make use of the high definition TV out.

Reviewed by: Amazon Reviewer Rating:

Date Reviewed: 16Sep2008