Sony HT-S40R 5.1ch Soundbar System

Purchased Sony HT-S40R after a lot of research and i have also checked the reviews here on Amazon. Initially i was a bit worried about the few negative reviews that i had seen on this platform, but as the majority of the reviews were positive, went ahead and ordered the Item from Appario Retail limited, Kolkata. I got this item for Rs 25000/- from Appario Retail, where as on the Sony India site the same item was Rs 35000/- so i saved Rs 10000/- straight away by not ordering from Sony. This is one of the big electronic item that i ordered on Amazon, otherwise i usually prefer to buy it from the original Manufacturer.
Pros:
1) Excellent sound for 12 ft X 10 ft living room – connected to a 43 Inch Sony TV (KD43X80K). This TV has HDMI ARC port, so connecting the S40R sound system was very simple with the HDMI cable provided.
2) The Sound system volume can be controlled by the TV remote itself. I have tried out various music, movie YouTube clips – the system gives enough sound from anywhere at 45 volume to 65 to 70 – did not go above this level as then it was too loud for my living room.
3) Some users have complained about Bass being not good or the sound not being 600W – i disagree with this – as mentioned for a Living room of 12 x 10 ft size the Bass especially lower bass was very good.
4) The various modes like – auto, cinema, music, voice & night mode are effective – it depends on the type of the clip or movie or music you are playing, on some high quality clips i could clearly notice the difference between various modes.
5) You can adjust only sub woofer volume by the dedicated buttons given for this on the remote.
6) You can also adjust the Rear speakers distance from the listener.
7) Important – place the rear speakers at slightly above the head height behind the seating position, you can clearly hear sounds from these rear speakers even at 45 volume level – be it normal YouTube music or cricket commentary – ideal distance of the listener from the rear speakers according to me is 3 to 5 feet.
Do not place these rear speakers along with the TV, sub woofer or sound bar – place them behind you.
8) You can also clearly hear the left – right sound separation through these speakers – try out A.R. Rahman music – i tried the the following track among many others – BGM track from Tamil movie “Thiruda Thiruda”, also tired out “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen – it has enough highs and lows, so that you can check out your speakers.
9) I received the Item in original SONY packaging, with a small amazon cardboard covering on one side of the L shaped original packing – the item arrived in excellent condition from Kolkata to A.P.
10) Installation is very easy and took about 10 mins – no need for any Sony technician for installation or demo – incase you have any doubt on the various options & settings – checkout YouTube clips.
11) However, i did call for the Sony tech one day after receiving and installing the item by myself – so that the product is in Sony database for warranty purposes. Sony tech also came with in 7 hours after i sent the e-mail to Sony customer care – this is just to check all O.K and to make sure the product is in Sony database for Warranty purposes.
12) All in all – for most people with normal sized living rooms – this is an excellent product to experience virtual surround sound specially if your TV supports ARC mode, and DTS and Dolby Atmos, as mine does – even though this sound system is not Dolby Atmos, still as the source input is of good quality, your output is also excellent.
13) Going by the reviews – few people had some issues with either connecting the Blue tooth or with the Rear speakers – i did not have any such issues, the rear speakers connected immediately and also the BT connected very quickly.
14) Prior to this i had connected my TV to a Bose Ipod Dock (15 year old and a good outdoor portable speaker) – which used to give much better sound the than the TV alone, once my Ipod dock stopped working recently, i checked out the Bose TV sound bar (cost Rs 30000/-) and rejected it as while it was better than TV speakers itself – there was no bass, no surround etc;.
15) So, within my budget i went for Sony HT S40R which worked out excellent for my living room and budget – honestly most of us do not really need anything much costlier than this for the few hours that we use our TV.
16) Lastly – if you pick up a single party type speaker to connect to your TV, instead of a sound bar as this is supposed to give more bass and sound – remember – party type speakers especially those that are suitable for outdoors – throw sound in all directions – this can end up irritating those that are not watching the TV and are doing the household work nearby or next room – so with Sony HT-S40R – you have sound bar – which has three speakers in it, with the two side speakers angled slightly towards the center, keep the subwoofer pointed in the same direction as your seating position and place the rear speakers behind your seat – this channels the maximum sound to you seating position, with less sound bleeding to the surroundings – do not misunderstand – you will still hear sound to the sides but it wont be as loud and irritating as before with only the TV speakers or a single party type speaker.

I’ve been having a frustrating issue with my sound system since I bought it. It randomly turns on the TV and mutes/unmutes itself, even when I disconnect the remote and ensure there are no other remotes nearby. Despite resetting it and trying every possible connection with my Samsung smart TV, the problem persists. It seems to function normally for about 2-3 hours before it starts acting up again.

update: I changed my Fios cable box’s settings to control volume from TV instead of device. Might be the fix I needed after months of suffering through waking up every morning with the TV on

Por el precio es de verdad un gran aparato.
Le falta volumen, tal vez, pero es más que suficiente para superar, TVs, Alexas, Bocinsa de computadora, etc.
Me gusta que el 99% de las ocasiones no se distoriona el audio.

This has nice sound. It was easy to hook up. The night feature is great! Good value for the money

Bass and rear speakers fully adjustable. Sounds perfect with movies and also Bluetooth for phone. Really loud top volume and the sub is seriously powerful. Crisp mid and high end also, incredibly happy with my purchase I don’t normally do reviews but felt the need to tell you, it’s worth every penny and any negative reviews are wrong. Sometimes I have to turn down the bass to be kind to the neighbors. Completely enhanced my viewing and listening experience, go buy it.

On paper, the Sony HT-S40R looks like a successor to the Sony HT-RT3. Its biggest advantage is the setup for the surround speakers. They connect to a wireless amplifier that connects to the subwoofer wirelessly, eliminating the need to connect the surround speakers physically to the subwoofer as we’ve seen on the Sony HT-S20R. While the setup isn’t truly wireless, it is very convenient. The overall sound output from the soundbar is very good considering the price point. It can produce punchy sounds for movies, is good for gaming and music lovers as well. Its build may feel a little plasticky, but it does not look cheap at all. It is convenient and easy to set up and comes with a 6ft HDMI cable in the box for ARC connectivity. While the front channel separation may be a bit weak, the overall surround sound effects are good. If you have a Sony HT-RT3, you don’t need to upgrade to this one. However, if you are looking for a good 5.1 soundbar under 30K to bring the theatre home, then you can definitely consider the Sony HT-S40R.

Bottom line. Better than any other system. Go for it without thinking.

I wanted more than just a soundbar, so I purchased the Sony Home Theater Soundbar System and the result is excellent surround sound! I have a Sony smart TV, so there was no configuration problems. I have a fairly small living room, so I’m not sure if it would be as effective in a large area, but in my setup, it’s very nice. It’s fairly easy to set up, too.