The Features You'll Find in the HTCT 500

Having a home theater to boast about usually entails buying upwards of 6 massive speakers at an incredible cost. The idea is that the more you spend, the bigger the speakers, the better the sound. However, thanks to the invention of the Sony HTCT 500 sound bar, this isn't exactly true. In fact, it's specifically designed to break those "stereo types" completely.

This compact, strip of a speaker is able to deliver the kind of surround sound you expect from massive speakers. To do this, it works kind of in the same way that the wave radio does. That is to say that it generates waves of sound that use the acoustics of the desired room to produce continuous, all-around sound. While this does imply needing a specific room or placement to get the full affect, the technology is designed to work in most any room.

The idea of being compact also reduces the number of speakers you need, and not just the size of them. Most home theater set ups are 6 or more speakers, but this particular set up is only 4 (a 3.1 system). The heart of the whole thing, of course, is the sound bar, but it also comes with two others. The other two are to help provide the illusion of sound that is coming from everywhere, like explosions that happen in certain areas of the room. The final piece is the subwoofer, which comes with most set ups and is designed to produce more powerful bass.

The down side, if this bothers you, is presence. Many people are proud of their entertainment centers because of how physically demanding it is, be it by power or space consumption. Something this compact takes away from the awesome view of the system itself. Not looking impressive means most people assume it isn't.

The price is around the same for the quality too. A typical surround sound setup of 5 other speakers will cost you around the same as having just the sound bar with it's 3 others. While you get the same quality, making it seem worth the $500, you compromise the overall look. As previously stated, this may pose as a problem.

Alternatively, the compactness eliminates the problem of space. Fewer speakers means fewer cords, not to mention that the speakers that are provided are smaller too. You can say goodbye to that spaghetti-like nightmare that tends to show up behind most TVs. And you won't have that snake-effect of the wires all over the room, trying to reach the TV from the speaker's location.

A steep price with a small package tends to create doubt among consumers. It is hard to believe that something this compact can produce the quality you expect. Being a Sony product, however, helps to appease that feeling. They do, after all, have a reputation for continued sound quality, especially with TVs.

In the end, the Sony HTCT 500 is just a repeat of what's already out there. You can already get great surround sound, albeit not as condensed, and the price is nothing to boast about either. The only real benefit is how compact it is. There's no doubt that it's inventive and an ingenious discovery. Whether or not it is necessary is an entirely different matter.