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This is a great value product and a roomful of surround sound that a single soundbar below Rs 50,000 just can't deliver, says Veer Arjun Singh.
Sony likes a good mess.
It wants you to abandon the idea that 5.1-channel surround sound can be delivered without getting tangled in wires (unless you spend a fortune on it).
Its most competitively priced soundbar yet, the HT-S20R for Rs 14,990 is an ensemble of pieces and wires.
It can emulate a home theatre experience on a modest budget -- if you manage to find the space and set it up right.
Here's how.
The package
The soundbar is about 30 inches wide, two inches high and is not heavy at 2 kg.
It has three front-firing speakers that make your TV louder.
The second piece is a hefty, 7 kg subwoofer that is capable of producing rumbling bass with a single 160 mm or six-inch driver (the visible round area on the speaker that makes the sound).
It's not a big driver, but the lack of size is compensated by power.
Along with the two six-inch high, half kg each rear speakers, the HT-S20R can generate a maximum output of 400W.
All would have been well if the package was not missing an HDMI cable to connect the unit to the TV.
Now that's stingy.
The setup
First, pick your favourite listening spot in the room and create the drama around it.
The placement of pieces can make all the difference.
If your TV is mounted on a wall in the front, the soundbar is best mounted under it.
If the TV is on a table, the soundbar placed in front of it will not block the remote control access to the TV.
The soundbar connects to the TV with an HDMI ARC, but also optical and analog cables.
It connects to the subwoofer via RCA -- the famous red-green-white cables -- which act as the main power unit.
The subwoofer will need some strategic thinking.
Bass is essentially large sound waves that can go from blending in with the music to overpowering it, depending on the quality of the subwoofer and the room acoustics.
The unit will create unnerving vibrations if you place it on a glass or metal surface.
Find a corner for it on either side of the TV and place it on the floor.
This will give the sound more volume.
The two little speakers with wires from the subwoofer must go behind you on both sides.
These aren't standalone units but added to the mix to create a surround sound experience.
So you'll need them at a height roughly above your ears.
The result
Those mumbling actors on TV will be more intelligible if you keep the subwoofer bass low at level 3 or 4.
It goes up till 12, and a sleek remote, which need not be pointed at the unit, or anywhere really, will help you control it.
In John Wick: Chapter 3 -- Parabellum, the sound followed the flying bullets and I could actually hear the recoil.
The car chases had a nice surround sound feel to it.
But frequencies are not very balanced.
You'll sometimes have to crank up the volume and reduce the bass to get the right mix.
The set-up is also Bluetooth-enabled and has USB and AUX inputs, too.
In Kanye West, Jay Z and Nicky Minaj's 2010 single Monster, the bass drum was uplifted, but it overpowered the snare.
The mids, where the powerful lyrics lie, though, were clean.
Foo Fighters's The Pretender was more balanced.
At its loudest, it had the neighbours complaining.
The Who's I Don't Wanna Get Wise did not sound great in the bass-heavy set-up.
Verdict 4/5
Sony's HT-S20R delivers a surround sound, theatre-like experience that is good enough for a large living room and even better for a 14 feet x 16 feet bedroom.
It's a bass-heavy set-up and the subwoofer does most of the heavy lifting with the mids often overpowered.
But the distortion at high frequencies is surprisingly kept in check.
The maximum output of 400W that the unit generates is much higher than its competitors from Boat, Philips and JBL in the price range.
This is a great value product and a roomful of surround sound that a single soundbar below Rs 50,000 just can't deliver.
To get great sound for Rs 14,990, make your peace with clipping the wires.
