Sony HT-S400 Black 2.1 Channels 330 W

I was initially skeptical when I first tried out this soundbar. I have always been a receiver/speaker/speaker wire type of audio user. A soundbar, for me, was a downgrade from what I have always used for TV, movies and music. However, I don’t have a lot of space where I live to have a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup in my living room. I decided to try out the Sony HT-S400 for my daily need living room audio needs.I had low expectations that this would be a viable replacement for my traditional audio setup. So, I played quite a few music tracks across a variety of genres, from Miles Davis to Seal to Tupac, orchestral movie soundtracks and the like. I’ve watched quite a few movies and a bit of television to round out my testing. I was surprised that the audio quality met ... MoreI was initially skeptical when I first tried out this soundbar. I have always been a receiver/speaker/speaker wire type of audio user. A soundbar, for me, was a downgrade from what I have always used for TV, movies and music. However, I don’t have a lot of space where I live to have a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup in my living room. I decided to try out the Sony HT-S400 for my daily need living room audio needs.I had low expectations that this would be a viable replacement for my traditional audio setup. So, I played quite a few music tracks across a variety of genres, from Miles Davis to Seal to Tupac, orchestral movie soundtracks and the like. I’ve watched quite a few movies and a bit of television to round out my testing. I was surprised that the audio quality met my standards and had the clarity of sound and clean bass that I was expecting to hear from this soundbar and subwoofer. I’ve tried other unnamed soundbars and was disappointed as they sounded like “speakers in a plastic box”. The Sony HT-S400 does not sound like this at all. The sound is clean and the transition between the lower frequencies of the subwoofer to the higher ranges with the soundbar is quite smooth.Does this replace a complete surround setup? Not necessarily, but if you are looking for a great stereo sound experience with clean bass, while saving a lot of room, then the HST-400 is for you. My speakers and receiver now sit in my closet, while I enjoy the compact and clean look and sound of this product. I couldn’t be happier with it. I would suggest that if you are looking for compact and simple to use audio setup, then please consider trying out this soundbar. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, nor will your wallet.Bonus, I have a fairly recent model Sony 4k TV (55X90J) and this works wirelessly with zero audio lag (even with BT) and offers some direct device controls through the TV when connected via HDMI using ARC. Give it a try!

I wanted a simple soundbar for a gaming/rec room setup that sounded good without putting a big hole in my wallet, and the Sony HT-S400 fit the bill nicely.The bar itself is fairly small and light, and can easily be hung on the wall with toggle bolts or similar. The subwoofer, on the other hand is relatively large, though thanks to its wireless design can be put pretty much anywhere in the room that fits your aesthetic.Sound-wise, the the system isn't "Atmos", but that shouldn't be regarded a negative since it neither claims to be nor is it priced like one. It's a 2.1 setup with the option to toggle between a normal and an expanded soundfield that can help it sound bigger than it is, but there's no doubt it's a 2.1 system with a big heart. Far from a negative, ... MoreI wanted a simple soundbar for a gaming/rec room setup that sounded good without putting a big hole in my wallet, and the Sony HT-S400 fit the bill nicely.The bar itself is fairly small and light, and can easily be hung on the wall with toggle bolts or similar. The subwoofer, on the other hand is relatively large, though thanks to its wireless design can be put pretty much anywhere in the room that fits your aesthetic.Sound-wise, the the system isn't "Atmos", but that shouldn't be regarded a negative since it neither claims to be nor is it priced like one. It's a 2.1 setup with the option to toggle between a normal and an expanded soundfield that can help it sound bigger than it is, but there's no doubt it's a 2.1 system with a big heart. Far from a negative, this is exactly what I needed and wanted for this room - the 2 channel aspect of the bar works well and sounds well, though whether you prefer the normal or expanded field will entirely depend on your tastes and your environment. I found I liked it better set to the normal field for music, and expanded field for TV and movies, and it's as simple as a button press to literally toggle between the two at any time.There's also a "voice" mode toggle that's supposed to help voices rise above other sounds, and technically it seems to do just that, but from an audio aesthetic perspective I never liked the ultimate effect it had on the overall soundscape, but that of course is going to be very subjective and will depend on your content. It might be OK for a news program or other talking-heads show, but for movies and music it never sounded "pleasant" even if it otherwise did exactly what it clams to do Thankfully this too is a simple toggle so it's no problem to quickly switch when you want it or don't want it.The Subwoofer I'm a little more mixed on. Compared to the soundbar the sub is physically hefty, and though it sounds fine and adds definite substance to the overall soundscape, but it never quite met my expectation -- I kept wanting to turn the bass up, to find it it was already at max. To be fair, your room and placement can have a surprisingly big impact on how the very same subwoofer sounds so you should take advantage of the freedom with which the wireless sub can be moved. In my case I just never found a placement that resulted in the performance I would expect from a sub of this size. For my intended use case of gaming/rec secondary setup it's fine, but I wouldn't recommend this as a primary soundbar unless you're just really constrained for space and budget. For an apartment this would be plenty, for an individual home where your audio is less likely to impact others it's slightly underwhelming. In terms of raw volume it can get plenty loud for either case, it's just the bass that I found a little wanting.Connectivity is OK -- Optical, ARC (over HDMI), and Bluetooth -- there is no 3.5mm input which isn't entirely surprising but worth mentioning. Of these ARC is technically your best option with optical being an entirely sufficient fallback option for a 2.1 system like this.There is a simple display behind the grill that clearly shows your volume, bass, active input, voice mode, and soundfield as you cycle through those options on the remote.

Wish I would have kept the box and everything so I could return it. First off, the instructions seem straightforward, but they didn’t help when I had to reset the whole thing out the box. After it connected, the first couple days were great. Then I encountered synching problems where the sound wasn’t accurate with what was on our Flat Screen. Then the subwoofer started disconnecting. We don’t have other wifi devices around it. The most annoying thing is that, at least twice a day, when we go to lower or turn up the value, it will suddenly get EXTREMELY loud for 5 seconds. And it doesn’t stop no matter how much we try and turn it down, before it finally lowers the volume. At this point, if we put it back at the volume level it was at before trying to turn up or down, ... MoreWish I would have kept the box and everything so I could return it. First off, the instructions seem straightforward, but they didn’t help when I had to reset the whole thing out the box. After it connected, the first couple days were great. Then I encountered synching problems where the sound wasn’t accurate with what was on our Flat Screen. Then the subwoofer started disconnecting. We don’t have other wifi devices around it. The most annoying thing is that, at least twice a day, when we go to lower or turn up the value, it will suddenly get EXTREMELY loud for 5 seconds. And it doesn’t stop no matter how much we try and turn it down, before it finally lowers the volume. At this point, if we put it back at the volume level it was at before trying to turn up or down, it suddenly sly sounds quieter even though it’s at the exact same volume it was at before. Don’t bother wasting your money. I did this out of convenience because we have a high end latest model Sony flat screen that easily connected. But, now I regret it.