Philips HTL5120 Or Sony HT-XT1?

AfxTwn

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Dec 8, 2008
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Hi everyone,

I currently have an Onkyo HTX-22HDX receiver with the additional 5.1 speakers connected to my 37 inch Panasonic TV but I'm looking to downgrade if you will to a soundbar or soundbase because I don't really make much use of the 5.1 surround setup and more importantly, I just can't get the sound right on the Onkyo.

At the moment I have my Virgin Media Tivo, DVD player and WD TV Live all connected to the Onkyo by HDMI and then HDMI out to the TV (my TV is an older plasma without HDMI-ARC or optical/coaxial outputs). The problem is that it's very hard to hear speech when watching movies on say Netflix or Sky Movies, particularly with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. All the other sounds of the film are far louder and clearer than the talking parts and try as I might, I just can't get the right mix.

Anyway, I've decided to get a soundbar or soundbase to stick my TV on top of (my TV weighs 24.5kg with it's pedestal so should just about be ok on top of a soundbase) and I've narrowed it down to these two options.

The Philips has got good reviews but is ridiculously long (over a metre) and I'm not sure how well it would sit on top of my Panasonic TV's pedestal which is kind of wedge-shaped (about 45x15cm protrudes in front of the TV). The Sony seems like it is big enough to accomodate my TV but there are very few reviews out there for it.

I'm not too bothered about bass as I live in a ground floor flat and so wouldn't want to annoy the neighbours anyway, I'm more interested in a clear sound where the speech in movies isn't quiet and I don't have to keep turning it up for talking and down again for explosions.

Thanks for any advice.
 

AfxTwn

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Dec 8, 2008
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Thanks for the reply but I plumped for the Philips as I saw it for sale on ebay for just under £200 (sans remote but I have ordered a new one from Dutchwest.co.uk).
 

byakuya83

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I have the Sony, it's excellent. The sub is adjustable, various sound modes, it levels the volume of adverts, has a night mode and various speech settings to improve clarity. Really is excellent and would have suited your needs perfectly.

I note the Sony website doesn't mention a lot of the features and modes hidden within the menu system of this unit.
 

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