Sony HT-DDW660 Home Theater System
See it at Amazon.com for $179.99Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First
(5 out of 5)A simple, entry-level, no fuss unit that sounds great!
I will just say a few words that have not already been said about the system:
- This unit does not come with a digital optical cable so if your player needs one make sure to buy one.
- The provided coax cable is only 3feet long. So if you need a longer one, plan to buy one.
- I bought the Sanus HTB2 floor stands for it and it works very well.
- The remote has buttons for selecting between Video-audio and DVD-audio. This was kind of confusing at first since the audio from my digital optical cable comes through by selecting Video-audio. But at the same time the diagram in the manual suggests that you can plug another source into the analog Video-audio input. Turns out, if you read further into the manual, the system detects for signals on the digital input and analog input and prioritizes digital over analog. So if a digital signal is present, it will select digital. If it is absent it will select analog automatically.
- I like the fact that the satellite speakers all look exactly the same. The unit as a whole is well styled compared to the equivalent Panasonic system (SC-HT05), which looks cheap and gaudy. I originally wanted to buy the Panasonic to match all my other Panasonic components but after reading about the problems other reviewers were having with it, and after seeing how fragile it looked in the store, I decided otherwise. At the local store I noticed one of the legs on the Panasonic's subwoofer had broken off.
- It would have been nice to have a second digital optical input. Unfortunately the only way to get a Sony system with 2 digital optical inputs is to buy the receiver separately and the speakers separately, which would give you a 7.1 sound system but would also require an investment at 3 times the cost of this unit.
I looked at other competing systems (the Panasonic SC-HT05 and the Yamaha YHT-150) that had this capability at a small price increase. But online reviews indicated that some of the Panasonic units had a random squeeking problem with the digital audio input. The Yamaha looked very promising since it also had video inputs which would mean that it would be convenient to switch both the video and audio signals on the same remote. However the Yamaha only supports RCA composite video inputs, NO S-Video and NO Component inputs. Also the reviewers said it was difficult to install.
So weighing all those factors I eventually decided on the Sony. A simple, entry-level, no fuss unit that sounded great! I tested it on the Empire Strikes Back and it was awesome to hear the Star Destroyers rumble and the Snow speeders zip by around me. I had never realized until now just how many tiny little nuances of audio there were in the film....
(4 out of 5)Great basic system for the price!
This is an excellent entry-level system -- and you can't beat the price for the performance. If you want a solid 5.1 surround sound system for less than $200, you won't find a better one than the Sony HT-DDW660. My friend with a Onkyo super-system was amazed at the clarity and depth I got out of this simple Sony -- he said it was every bit as good as his $1,000+ system, albeit with fewer bells and whistles.
I installed this with my Panasonic HD TV and Hughes DirectTV/TiVo HD receiver using an optical cable (which you must buy separately), and the Sony system automatically switches to the optimal sound configuration on the fly. Excellent for the rest of my family who don't want to fiddle with the remotes. The digital coax connection makes hooking up a DVD a breeze, too.
I recommend that you also buy the optional speaker stands (Sony WS-FV11) which will cost you another $200 for two pair -- odd that four speaker stands cost as much as the actual system -- but they are worth it.
My only (all minor) complaints are:
- the power is a bit low -- you really have to crank it up to get some strong volume. If you have a big room for your home theatre, get a bigger sound system than this.
- beware switching to FM radio before turning the sound down; for some reason, the volume level on the radio receiver is MUCH higher than for the TV/surround sound, so you get blasted if you just switch over withour readjusting the volume -- weird.
- wires into the subwoofer are permanent, unlike the connections for the other five speakers. Not a big deal, but you'll have to cut and splice if you want to use your own speaker cables.
- optical cable should have been included. They give you a digital coax, but why not the optical cord?
- pay special attention to the part numbers on the backs of the five speakers -- they determine the proper left/right/front/back placement -- I missed this when I first set up the system
- I'm having some trouble configuring my Hughes TiVo remote to control the HT-DDW660 -- the recommended TiVo codes don't work. Time to get a $200 universal remote, I guess...
As I said, all of these are minor complaints -- in general, I'm extremely pleased with the sound quality. I keep having to remind myself that I spent less than $200 for this great system. Highly recommended.
(1 out of 5)you get what you pay for!
This is a perfect illustration of that old saw.
A friend of mine just bought a movie projector and, running low on cash, decided to buy this pathetic little thing instead of a REAL home theater sound system.
Well, what can I say...his projector is awesome, blows away plasma TVs that cost 5 times as much and has 5 times the picture size...but this cheesy little Sony totally drags it all down.
I don't know what the other reviewers here have been smoking, or how much they are paid by Sony, but this system is just horrendous. The little receiver has very few connections so if you have multiple sources (let's say, a DVD player, a CD player, a VCR, an X-box, and a cable box) count on pulling out and plugging in different wires all the time.
When listening to movies or TV, the sound is somewhat OK about 70% of the time like when listening to the evening news. But when you get to climactic scenes in movies or TV shows with sudden bursts of sound the lousy bargain basement speakers sound like they're about to fall apart---lots of distortion, buzzing, and resonance especially the wimpy subwoofer which has about two notes: fwoom and gggrind. The center channel hopelessly garbles dialogue, and the surround channels are wimpy at best...the speaker cables are those cheap tiny 24 gauge lamp cord cables that you cannot disconnect to upgrade, you're just stuck with them.
And may the Good Lord help you if you ever even THINK of listening to music on this system...ugh, even my compact stack system sounds better than this!
If you have to buy a home-theater-in-a-box I'd suggest the Onkyo 770 which is around four hundred dollars online, amazing what the extra lousy two hundred dollars can get you.
Better yet, go to vanns dot com and buy yourself a Pioneer 514 receiver for about a hundred fifty bucks, a cheap pair of Polk R15s for a hundred bucks from crutchfield dot com, and a Dayton subwoofer from partsexpress dot com for a hundred twenty five bucks...and I guarantee you that simple four hundred dollar 2.1 system would blow this cheesy Sony joke clear out of the water and probably the Onkyo too.
On the other hand if you want a truly decent home theater system you should set your overall budget at around fifteen hundred dollars. And please, don't even think about Bose that's even worse than this Sony but at ten times the markup.
(4 out of 5)Good Performance - Can't beat the price
5-stars for value, 4 for overall performance. I was skeptical of the price and small speakers, but results are better than expected. No other competition in this price range. Great for apartments or smallish rooms, smooth sound without harshness, good surround effects, nice menu options and adjustments. AM/FM tuner surprisingly sensitive, with so-so performance. Best for movie/tv audio, just adequate for music. Not exactly a full-bodied sound from small speakers (weak in the lower midrange), but good bass, excellent clarity, spaciousness, and dynamic punch for this price -- I hear detail in movies I didn't know were there. Cons: skimpy cables (I replaced front speaker wires with Radio Shack 18-gauge solid-core hookup wire, a good cheap wire for speakers, improved the midrange). Subwoofer level should be lowered, bottoms out if driven too hard. Midrange mildly ragged but clear. The manual needs work, but is usable (read before setting up!!). Menu panel disappears a little too quickly. DVD digital requires a coax cable, the one supplied is too short (I used a $12 Acoustic Research coax, works fine). Speakers sound better on stands. Overall, beats many $400 setups, even Sony's own. Great buy!
(3 out of 5)Needs an active woofer.
I like this system for the money, but the passive woofer is as described "passive". I added a Sony active subwoofer and now this system kicks. The active sub cost me as much as the whole home theater system, but it was worth it. I use the system to watch tv, movies, and listen to music. The receiver and speakers are "good" for the price. I debated on returning the system because the bass I wanted was not consistant. But adding the active sub enabled me to get the sound I wanted and my total cost was less than $400.00.