India’s many movie watchers may be interested in Sony’s HT S40R soundbar, just recently brought into the country at a price of ₹28,990. It’s a 5.1 channel system and there’s one standout feature that it’s betting on: a reduction in the wires needed for this multi-component setup.
The soundbar setup is neat, streamlined and elegant. Sony intends this product for young families who spend a lot of time watching movies and music videos and want a better experience without spending exorbitant amounts. It’s an upgrade to the earlier gen HT S20R.
In this setup, the front centre, left and right channels right are inside the soundbar. A subwoofer connects to the soundbar with a cable. But the rear speakers connect wirelessly through a wireless amplifier.
This can be wall-mounted or placed on a table depending on your preference.
All connections are on the back and one can achieve an overall neater arrangement than is typical. There is Bluetooth connectivity in addition to HDMI and you can also use a flash drive with it. There’s no Wi-Fi.
The output you get is 600w with Dolby Audio. You get surround sound depending on the way you place the speakers for your particular room. You get several modes to choose from: auto, standard, cinema and musicadjust to the type of content.
A night mode can be used to create less of a disturbance to others, specially from the subwoofer. And a voice mode for when voice needs to be the most prominent.
Overall a quick and neat setup for home theatre on a budget.