Sony’s New Home Theater Systems Combine Outstanding Sound With High Style

Sony is strengthening its home theater lineup with two stylish systems.

Sony HT-SS360

Designed to complement high-definition televisions and Blu-ray Disc™ players, the HT-SS360 component system and HT-CT500 sound bar combine powerful, high-quality sound with simple connectivity.

The 5.1 channel HT-SS360 system features a component A/V receiver with three HDMI^TM inputs (one out) and 1,000 watts (RMS) of power. Through these HDMI connections, the model supports full HD1080/24p and 60p video, as well as LCPM audio. Additionally, the system’s center console has a sleek black gloss exterior, which matches Sony’s new BDP-S360 and BDP-S560 Blu-ray Disc players.

This system also has a Digital Media Port, allowing for easy connection to portable music players like iPod® and iPhone®. Further, Sony’s new DMPort Booster technology enhances the sound quality of all audio and video passing through this connection by adding previously removed information to compressed music files. To help simplify set up and use, the system utilizes Digital Cinema Auto Calibration and BRAVIA® Sync™.

The HT-SS360 component home theater system will be available in May for about $350.

Sony’s other new system, the HT-CT500 model, packs a powerful home theater into two pieces — a sound bar and subwoofer — connected only by a single wire. The 3.1 channel theater system features 400 watts (RMS) of total power and a fully functional A/V receiver built into the subwoofer. It has ample connections for all home theater needs with three full HD 1080p HDMI inputs (one out), two component inputs and several audio inputs.

This system also showcases a slim speaker design that matches Sony’s new BRAVIA W5100 and XBR9 television series. (A bracket is provided for attachment to the TV.) The model supports full 1080/60p and 24p video as well as both Deep Color™ and x.v.Color™. For multi-room listening, the unique home theater is S-AIR ready, with the ability to transmit wireless audio up to 164 feet. A Digital Media Port (DMP) allows external audio sources to be easily connected to the system.

Additionally, the system has an icon-based menu that can be blended over 1080p sources (connected via HDMI), allowing for simple navigation through all connected devices. The sound bar system also uses Faroudjas’ DCDi Cinema® chip to up-scale all video to near high-definition quality and up-convert analog audio/video signals to HDMI.

The HT-CT500 Sound Bar theater system will be available this June for about $500.