Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony HT-IS100 - 5.1 ch - Home Cinema Upgrade kit - Black

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 don't 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.

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.

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 Mahler's 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.

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.
Don't buy it if you like to sit and control everything from your remote!

This is a well built item that sounds good. However the the on screen display on the sub woofer is on the top pointing at the ceiling. If the sub woofer is behind the TV you have to get up and look behind the TV to confirm the changes you want to make.
Why oh why did Sony not think to add an on screen TV display? Its the only thing that lets it down.