Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony SA-VE445H 5.1-Channel Surround Speaker System

I use this speaker system on my PC connected to a Yamaha RP-U200 CAVIT External Audio Receiver. The speakers are small and the sound quality is good for DVD playback, games, etc. on a PC. (These are not active speakers, you will need a receiver to power them). The system came with all of the necessary cable to hook it up, and floor stands are available seperately from Sony for the speakers. The subwoofer is fairly large and heavy, and has enough power. Paid $244 from Hype Audio, NY http://www.hypeaudio.com/.

The first thing about this Sony 5.1 SACD speaker system that I find appealing is the build of the 5 identical micro satellite speakers. The pair of micro 57mm woofers are encased tightly into the compact cabinet, with barely enough space left for the bass vents and the SACD tweeter. The cabinet is solidly built with a thick metallic gloss, but I suspect the paint will wear off if it is not handled carefully. The micro satellites tend to sound a little mid-bass heavy, with the 150-300 Hz range eclipsing the mid-high (1-5kHz) range. The tweeters shine when your sound source spikes with high frequencies. The satellites sound good with general music sources, but dialogs tend to sound a little muffled with analogue television broadcasts unless your surround receiver is equipped with built in parametric equalizers. The subwoofer extends the frequency response down to around 30Hz, but tends to crack and muffles dialogs when set to high levels. Sounds best when mixed with the satellites at lower levels, as the micros are already pumping out ample mid bass information. Should be used in a room with solid walls, ceiling and floor. Not recommended for rooms with a wooden ceiling. Also, since the unit does not have a frequency cut-off dial, it is important that your AV receiver comes with one so you can better fine tune the bass output. The build of the unit is somewhat fair when compared to the higher end models, but nevertheless looks good next to all your silver paint coated AV appliances. The woofer comes with a switchable power saving mode, so it is best to turn it off when you want to listen to music at low levels. The power saving function will turn the woofer to standby in around 15 minutes if the input signal is low.

Puchase Price: USD 235, at Sony Style, KLCC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.