Sony BDV-IS1000 user reviews

2.0 stars

"Golfball-sized speakers deliver thin, tinny sound." on November 4, 2008 by FiskeMiles

Pros: System setup is quick and easy. System menus well-designed and intelligent.

Cons: Golfball sized speakers deliver disappointing sound. Sony HTIB systems costing $250 deliver much better sound. The speakers are not well-integrated with the subwoofer. The surround speaker wireless feature won't work if receiver is in a cabinet!

Summary: The overall sound is so disappointing I'm returning this system to the store. Not recommended!

Updated on Nov 6, 2008

I went back to the store to listen to the display model (which I hadn't bothered to do initially because I've always been pleased with Sony equipment) and it sounded great. So I went home and monkeyed around with speaker settings and connections for a couple hours, finally realizing one of the subwoofer connections was loose. (These were actually made at the factory.) Tightening it down solved the problem completely, I'm happy to say.

The sub-woofer actually has two sets of connections. I presume this is because the center, left, and right speakers work in combination with the subwoofer. Higher frequency sound is highly directional but mid and low frequencies aren't. That's why tiny speakers can deliver such a full sound -- they're only providing the upper end. Incidentally, that is why the subwoofer crossover is set at a relatively high 800 hz.

If I could change my rating for this product now (a problem with CNet's user interface!) I would give it 4.5 stars.

4.0 stars

"Great product and exactly what I expected from Sony" on December 30, 2008 by hamese

Pros: Blu-ray, Smallest Speakers around, wireless rear speakers, 2 HDMI inputs, easy setup and calibration.

Cons: Because of the small speakers the system doesn't have the most watts. The wireless is great but the speakers are still wired to an S-Air device. I have not been able to get my universal remotes to work with it yet because the system is so new.

Summary: I was looking into the Bose 321 system because I cannot wire rear speakers in my room.; however, I didn't want another DVD player that was included with the Bose setup. I started to look at soundbars with an addition of blu-ray, but I figured there had to be home theater systems coming out with blu-ray included. I found this Sony system and was excited about what I saw. I had seen these tiny speakers in a Sony store before a knew the wife would love their size because they wouldn't stick out in the living room. The rear speakers worked great from the beginning. They were easy to setup and I just keep the speakers next to each other in the back until we watch a good movie, then I can stretch them out to where they need to be. The sub handles all the mid/bass tones and together the system sounds great and it was easy to tweak and calibrate. Altogether it probably took me 30 minutes to unbox and setup before I was watching a blu-ray movie. The HDMI inputs are great too because my sat receiver and DVD recorder are able to plug right into the system and work. The remote uses new codes so I am going to have to wait for the universal companies to get them before I try to consolidate down to one remote.

1.5 stars

"Great Setup. S-Air rear speakers don't work" on November 12, 2008 by indest

Pros: Great Setup. Great Feature Set. Looks good.

Cons: Rear speakers - after trying with 2 systems (exchanged original) and spending two hours on phone with Sony, the S-Air feature to work. The system won't pair with the rear wireless amplifier. Anyone with ideas, email me at indest@alum.mit.edu.

Summary: Great Concept. Doesn't work.

3.5 stars

"I finally got it to work" on August 21, 2010 by jachamp

Pros: We got this from an office raffle and wow...those tiny speakers can hide just about anywhere and they fill a room with clear sound. If you funnel everything through the receiver, then you will only have one fewer remote to mess with.

Cons: The S-Air wireless speaker/headphone system is a good idea however setup is a pain. I had to fully reseat the transcievers, reset the settings back to the factory defaults, reconfigure everything plugged into it and then it worked.

Summary: For free I cannot complain. I think I would not have paid as much as they are asking for this beast but instead I would have rather forked out the difference on a blueray disc player and bought a new Onkyo receiver. This thing impresses with its sound and its picture quality from my DVD's. I would I could state something good about Blueray discs but the truth is that I just don't have any but will try to rent at least one or two from Netflix. Those tiny little speakers, think sugar cube x 10 in size, do a wonderful job of providing clear sound and once the S-Air device was able to be configured, the HTIB solution does a wonderful job of keeping the surround speakers juiced with clear sound as well. Would I buy this? Yes...but I would be hesitant to pay more than $500 for it.