Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony HT-DDW670 Home Theater in a Box System

I decided on the Sony HT-DDW670 after a week's worth of thorough researching, and could not be happier. I picked up a digital optical audio cable to interface the system with my dvd player, and the difference in quality is very noticable . The complaints in reviews I have read about the ambiguity of the user manual are justified, but I breezed through setup in about 20 or 30 minutes (the only confusion the user manual caused for me was due to my wife reading through it while I was setting up and getting confused herself, asking me to clarify). The remote control is concise well layed-out, allowing you to call up every possible function while sitting comfortably on your couch. Being able to adjust the tone and volume levels of each seperate speaker is awesome and was a nice change of pace over my previous surround sound system: a Samsung which only allowed you to adjust tone for every speaker at once, and even then this could only be done through the remote (the remote sensor had malfunctioned, so I was stuck with whatever it was set on before it broke).

I can't think of a single downside about this system, but I would like to clarify something: THE SUBWOOFER IS PASSIVE. This doesn't bother me in the least as I live in an apartment and don't care to have explosions rattle my brain as well as my neighbors' picture frames, but I have seen alot of confusion on this matter in several reviews. A powered subwoofer requires a power source seperate from the receiver, but the only source of energy flow attached to the sub is speaker wire. The difference between this model and the 660 is the size of the sub speaker (8 inches), not a powered one. Even so, the sound is remarkable and manages to envelope you in whichever movie you are watching.

All in all, this is an excellent buy, even if it were priced $100 higher. But since it's below $200, you can't go wrong!

If you want a home theatre that is easy to set up, plays quality sound and adds to your movie viewing experience at home, then this is the system for you. The surround sound is exceptional, the speaker quality is excellent and the subwoofer booms the bass sounds.

After setting up the system and connecting my Sony DVD player, I loaded "Top Gun" into the DVD and sat back for a movie experience---I was not disapponted, in fact I loved every minute of the film.

You can spend a lot more, but why should you? You will need a separate DVD player to connect to this system...the fact that one is not included as a part of the system is a good thing because if it breaks, you don't have to trash the whole system.

Sony has made the home theatre experience very affordable with this excellent system.

Okay. I admit it. I have been a Sony fan for a long time. So when I started to look for a new home theater system, I wanted to get a Sony. I already had a DVD player so a receiver with a digital input, and speaker system is all I needed. I looked at the HT-DDW660 but the reviews and the specs for the Panasonic SCHT05 were better and the price was pretty much the same. I was pretty much resigned to go with the Panasonic when I happened to see an ad for the Sony HT-DDW670 in the weekend paper. Wow, 600 watts and an improved subwoffer. In a leap of faith (there were no reviews out on yet because it was a new model) I picked one up at my local store, unpacked it, set it up (never reading the instructions) and it works great. I have to admit that I was a little concerned when I first turned it on, slowly turned up the volume to 5 on the display and no sound. I did not start to hear something until the volume was bumped up to 7. Turns out, full volume occurs at about 65 on the display.

I can tell you that the subwoffer does it's job. Playing some rock music, my windows were rattling at a volume level of 50 with no buzzing coming from the speakers. I know that some of the readers will have a problem with my rating of 5 for a $200 system, but I think you would need to spend twice as much to get better sound (and only then if the extra $200 went into bigger speakers). Overall, everything works great. It would be nice if Sony would put the same kind of clip connections on the back of the subwoofer as the other 5 speakers rather than the light gage wire included. I would recommend it.

Overall, this system was a great deal. For the bargin-basement price, you get a good deal of power, reasonably clear sound, and a decent feature set.

I noticed that you have to really pump up the volume to hear your movies. I regularly have mine set past 50. But, is it loud enough? The verdict is yes. At max volume it hurts.

The sound quality is as good as you can expect for this price. It can't compare to my 100% digital straight-to-the-ear headphones, but I've heard the cheap-o systems and they can't match this Sony 670.

The feature set is satisfactory. It has more than the cheap-o systems. It covers everthing I really need. However, I wish it gave me more control over each individual speaker. I was also hoping that it had an equalizer. Instead all it provides is a single tone control. But, look at how much it costs, I really can't argue with that.

Overall, I am happy with this purchase and I get compliments on it when I have guests over. Just make sure you take the time to understand the manual. If you don't set it up properly, you may as well just use the built-in speakers on your TV.

Let me just start out by saying that this system is a fantastic value for the money. If you're on a budget, want to get good quality surround sound, and have an average size room this product is for you. Most of the reviews I've seen here on Amazon are pretty spot on so I won't bother repeating them. I get the impression though that this system is largely targeted at people who are new to home theater, like me. Here are some things I picked up along the way that I wish I would have known when I first set up the system.

Just to be clear, I actually purchased two of these units, one for my living room and one for my family room. They are set up slightly differently.

1.) The speaker wire they provide you probably won't be nearly enough. I initially made the mistake of purchasing a really thick gauge of wire, which made setup cumbersome. In my experience 22 gauge speaker wire is perfect for the system.

2.) The best sound you are going to get will come through the digital inputs into the unit. Check the back of your DVD Player / Cable Box / Game Console / Whatever and look for either a digital optical output or a coaxial digital output. Make sure you use those (even if the cords are $40).

3.) This one took me 6 months to figure out... Just because your device is hooked up to the receiver with one of the digital connections, it may not be actually using it. On my DVD player I connected the Red / White RCA cables along with the coaxial cable. The system never sounded right. One day I fiddled with the DVD player options and surprise! The option for digital output was turned off. I turned it on and everything started sounding awesome.

4.) The digital optical input only works when you set the receiver on SA-CD. I don't know why... There are many devices other than SA-CD players that use digital optical out. You still get true Dolby Digital Surround Sound though so it doesn't really matter. This is just one of things that Sony did that makes no sense to me.

5.) If you do get a digital optical cord, know that there are clear plastic caps on each of the ends that need removed. Don't spend an hour trying to jam the cord into you system like I did...

6.) The "Universal" remote that comes with the system is only "Universal" with other Sony products. That's ok, you'll be buying a Harmony remote eventually anyway, you just don't know it yet ;-)

You're going to REALLY enjoy this system. In closing, I really would suggest reading the instruction manual on this one. I know that sounds like a lame piece of advice but if you're new to this stuff it really is invaluable. If you're on a shoestring budget you won't be disappointed with this home theater in a box!