Sony HTSF2000

Sony's HTSF2000 is a 5.1 home theatre system, including five speakers, a subwoofer, and a receiver. With a great volume output and powerful bass, this unit handles action movies excellently, although it also delivers enough balance in the other ranges and customisability to make it suitable for most movies or music thrown at it. Its attractive design and wide range of input and output ports on the receiver make it a great option for those looking for a dedicated and high quality home theatre system.

Audio on the HTSF2000 is of high quality, with a balanced range and clear, well defined sound. The bass is powerful without being overwhelming, and complements a strong mid-range very well, producing thrilling and intense audio during action scenes. Treble is well represented, and remains full and clear up through the very highest ranges. Overall, the entire range blends together quite well, making the HTSF2000 suited to a wide range of material.

The volume capacity of the HTSF2000 is incredible, and we found a comfortable listening level at around 50 per cent, while beyond 75 per cent was almost painfully loud. We didn't go beyond that, but in that range we failed to notice any overt distortion or lack of fidelity. This is certainly a powerful unit, and should easily be capable of projecting music or other audio throughout a medium-sized house.

The included AV receiver, while by no means as advanced as higher-end standalone units, still includes a good range of options. Individual speaker and subwoofer volumes can be tweaked, and a broad range of sound fields and settings is included. The remote is well laid out, and controlling the unit is quite intuitive.

Design is another high point of the HTSF2000, with four of the five speakers on height adjustable stands. The centre speaker is horizontally placed below or above the display, and the black and aluminium surround speakers create a pleasing aesthetic that should suit any living room. The receiver itself is well proportioned, and about the size of a standard DVD player. The back panel is replete with a full range of connection options, including three HDMI inputs and one output, as well as optical, coaxial, and analogue audio.

Overall, the HTSF2000 is a very impressive speaker package. It's definitely a step above entry-level home theatres, and should please those looking for a powerful and well rounded audio system. It does come at a relatively high price, but for those in the market for a good quality pre-packaged home theatre setup, it's definitely worth considering.