Great sounding premium soundbar
If you are after a premium sound bar to increase the experience of watching TV, but also double-up as a stereo system for music listening, then the Sony HT-NT3 is a good choice. I would not classify myself as an audiophile, but I do appreciate high quality music and better sound than what comes out of standard TV. Besides, sound is half the equation in getting that cinema-like experience when watching movies. I initially purchased a mid-range Samsung HW-J551, but after playing music on it, it sounded a touch tinny and wouldn’t be satisfied playing music through it. I took it back, did some research and purchased the Sony instead. What a difference! Movies produced more realistic and thundering sound (although this can be toned down), and music played with a quality of a reasonable stereo system.
It won’t give you true surround sound, but if you don’t want to bother with setting up speakers in the wall and all the cabling that goes with it, a sound bar is a tidy solution.
The sound is very good for music (better than mid-range sound bars), and will satisfy the vast majority of listeners. It has a large frequency range, and although the base, midrange and treble are generally clear and nicely balanced, it seems to me lacking a little in upper base/lower midrange, resulting in the base being a little too separated. Sound stage is a bit narrow, but it is a sound bar after all. There are a number of pre-set modes (Movie, Music, Voice etc.), and lots of setup options to play with, although it would have been nice to have a graphic equaliser in order to optimise sound at different frequencies.
So in summarising, the Sony has excellent sound for a sound bar, and is not too far from a quality hi-fi/surround sound system.
Likes:
1. Ability to use app to pick songs, control volume, subwoofer level etc.
2. Clear and thunderous base
3. Nice clean styling
Dislikes:
1. No graphic equaliser
2. Takes a while (30 secs or so) to fire up from energy saving mode (much less in standard mode)
3. Too much base in movie mode, but subwoofer volume is adjustable independently