Electronics Gadget Reviews

Sony HT IS100 BRAVIA Theater Micro System Set of Six Black

HT-IS100 is the perfect surround-sound add-on system to existing Blu-ray Disc or DVD players.For those consumers who already have a Blu-ray Disc player or a DVD player/recorder, the perfect upgrade solution is the HT-IS100, combining all the surround processing and amplification into a single hideaway subwoofer unit.Within the subwoofer is powerful s-master digital amplification and sophisticated surround-sound processing, able to handle all the surround-sound formats on DVD and also accept high-definition audio from Blu-ray Disc for an even more thrilling home cinema experience.The system can also accept video signals from all your existing sources, either via HDMI connections or component and composite video sockets, and then will up convert for a single HDMI cable connection to your BRAVIA TV.It has the same digital cinema auto calibration as the other ‘IS family’ systems, and also features the digital media port for fast and easy hook-up of portable devices. If you’re looking for a simple, great-sounding system to take you from just watching TV to truly experiencing it, look no further.

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars I’m not picky but…..
PROS:

Audio: I’m not picky, so in terms of the audio, it’s fine to be. I just wanted an upgrade from the tv speakers. This is loud enough!

Looks: I also didn’t want huge speakers. These tiny speakers are cool and unobtrusive. You find plenty of universal stands for the speakers.

CON:

Notice my con is not plural. I’m just going to summarize. I own a Samsung LN52A850. You might want to consider what brand tv you have before buying this. There is no on-screen menu for me. Nobody else has mentioned this in their review. Because if someone has a Bravia and the HT-IS100 and still don’t have on-screen menu, I would imagine that someone would have mention this “con” by now. So I’m assuming that those with Bravia TVs do have on-screen menu. Or, maybe people just don’t mind not having an on-screen menu. Why am I making such a big deal about this? Because the LCD display on the sub woofer faces the ceiling. Then engineers who made this should realize that if you make the display face the ceiling, then you better provide an on-screen menu. So I’m surprise I’m the first person to complain about this. Like I said, I have a Samsung, those with a Bravia may have onscreen menu. I don’t know, I can’t confirm that. I hope the next reviewer will confirm this. So for me, it sucks that I got to walk to my sub woofer every time to look at the display when I want to play around with the functions. Another con is that the accessories to make the rear speakers wireless is expensive, hard to find and quite frankly, confusing. You need to buy a transmitter, and you also have to buy a subunit. That’s right, it’s not totally wireless. You need to buy another subunit to place in the back of your room and the wires of the rear speakers will go into this subunit. Tricky marketing!!

Man, writing this review has made me more angry and determined to return this.

4 Stars Great for a Small Room/Apt/Studio
I live in a 1bd Apartment and my living room is fairly large (for an apt) The sound that this System produces is truly beautiful. I have my HD Digital Box, PS3, Xbox and Wii hooked up and they all sound great. I had a Pioneer Elite VSX-01TXH (paired with POLK speakers) and although that receiver is far superior in features and sound effects (as well as total watts) This little system worked out better for me because it’s far more simple and practical (and won’t get me kicked out of my building. For those looking for a good Surround System that won’t take a lot of space, Offers simple menus and won’t cost too much $$$$, this is it!

1 Star HT-IS100 micro system
Can only give one star right now because the systems center speaker and remote did not work. Called Sony and they had me send the center speaker and remote to Texas for repair. After a week they sent back still not repaired. Call Sony and they said to send the complete system back for repair. Looks like I will receive tomorrow (3/4/09). I have been waiting over a month now to hear this system. I will review later if it works this time. One thing I can say is the ease of setup, and no wires from front to back for the speakers using the SA1. Also, purchased two stands for the back speakers. They look great and enable you ease of hiding wires to each of the back speakers under the carpet.

It is now 3/7, received system back from Sony repaired and ready to go.

However, they forgot to enclose the remote, so I am waiting another 4 days for the most important part. I can say now that this system sounds great, of course mine is not tuned because of no remote. But, it really makes a difference in watching blue rays. It puts you right in the movie, what a great sound from such small speakers. I now rate this a 4 star system

3 Stars It would be a great system if wireless accessories could be bought…
Its a great system from looks and sound wise and I first purchased it without the wireless accessories to see if I need them. After a short time I decided to opt for the wireless amplifier for [...]. When it arrived in the mail I was first excited but then quickly realized that additionally an EZW T100 is neede for[...]. First of all I find this to expensive to have to add 200 dollars to a 700 dollar system to make it wireless, if 400 dollar systems are available that already have that function included. But the real dissapointment was that the EZW T100 is sold out for 2 months and I have invested 850 bucks in a system that is still wired and the required accessories are not available. That is not acceptable.

5 Stars HT-IS100
I’ve been back and forth about home theater systems for the last month or so and I finally came across this bad boy at frys for 549 promo sale and got it after hearing it at best buy and all I can say is WOW if your considering this system dont be afraid to pull the trigger on it. The system feels my room full of sound just like the movies. I’m glad I did a little research and went for this with all the connectivity it offers you cant go wrong. Amazing hooked up to my kdl52-wl140 is not enough for this system.

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OCZ 2GB PC2 5400 667MHz DDR2 Value SoDIMM Module OCZ2MV6672G

OCZ DDR2 SO-DIMMs are built to provide optimal levels of compatibility using the highest quality components available. Each module comes backed with industry leading technical support and the OCZ Lifetime Warranty, ensuring complete product satisfaction for unparalleled peace of mind. Specification: 667MHz DDR2, CL 5-5-5-15, 2GB Module, Unbuffered, 1.8 Volts, 200 Pin Dimm

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Quick ‘n Easy
I’ve never upgraded any physical components in a computer before, so I’ll admit to being nervous about breaking something, but I have to say it was really very quick and easy.

I have an Asus 1000H and the other reviewers are correct – you just unscrew the back, unclip the old module, slide it out, slide the new one in and gently push it down until it clicks into place.

Just to be safe, I went into the BIOS and I noticed the RAM was showing as 1.99GB.

I did all this during a commercial break while watching TV last night!

The computer isn’t SUPER fast, do don’t expect any huge increase in speed, but there is definitely a noticeable improvement – specifically, programs load and close quicker and virus scans were also a lot faster (always a plus in my book). I haven’t tried any kind of multimedia rendering yet but I anticipate that being quicker too.

Definitely well worth the money

5 Stars 2GB SoDIMM compatible with ASUS Eee PC-901
I purchased an ASUS Eee PC-901 that came with 1GB standard memory, upgrade-able to 2GB. I’m a big fan of Crucial, and ordered a memory module from them. The Eee would not boot with that memory installed. Kudos to Crucial, they took it back. I ordered the memory module from Amazon, and it worked just like one expects. Kudos to whoever at Amazon associated this particular module with the PC-901 listing — e.g., customers who bought . . . also bought.

5 Stars OCZ 2GB PC2-5400 667MHz DDR2 Value SoDIMM Module
I bought this memory module to upgrade my Asus Eee PC 900 HA memory from 1gb to 2gb.

Reasonably priced and works well.

I’d recommend this upgrade to anyone wanting more memory in a Asus Eee PC 900 HA

5 Stars Good upgrade!
I bought my wife an Asus 1000HE. I didn’t go for the ram upgrade on that computer. I liked hers so much that I also bought one for myself. But I went for the 2gig upgrade. It does make it faster! It’s easy to tell since they are exactly the same model.

The installation is easy. I’m going to upgrade hers now too. It’s cheap now so go for it!

5 Stars Great product, great price
I’m using this 2 Gb memory in my EeePC 1000H right now and it works perfectly. I installed it easily and Windows recognized it immediately. Nothing to complain so far.

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Motorola S9 HD Headset with D650 iPod Adapter and Carrying Case Gloss Black

The wireless music experience has been enhanced with an upgraded version of the award-winning MOTOROKR S9, the Motorola S9-HD. Freedom to exercise, move around and commute without wires to tangle or hold you back, is now enhanced with high-definition audio and ear buds that reduce background noise and improve comfort. The S9-HD is the benchmark of wireless music powered by Bluetooth wireless technology.The unique behind-the-head design creates a secure and stable fit – even in active conditions – plus easy to use controls for track selection, volume, play/pause and send/end that allow you to manage music and calls from the headphones.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars 1) Great sound and 2) nice mobility solution for iPod
I had used Motorola S9 before and can definitely say S9-HD is a real improvement for music listening, despite the fact that when using it as a headset (for phone/computer) it plays sounds on both sides while S9 uses left side only — conversation got better too.

The D650 adapter, on the other hand, is huge in size and consumes a lot of the device battery, though it really solves some iPod models limitation of not being bluetooth enabled from factory design.

5 Stars works great
spend a lot of time sitting in airports, these are great. works well with my smart phone for playing music and watching tv, and the adapter worked my ipod without any difficulties or even reading the instructions

2 Stars Not for the Iphone
I might be more mad at the iphone and their so called innovative ideas, or lack of that is. This product would have been cool had it worked for the iphone, but it doesn’t. Well, only the phone option works, but you have to stick that attachment which makes the already large size iphone, even bigger and it’s not quite secure considering I have my iphone in a hard skin to protect it. So, it sits in the battery slot crooked and falls off with little movement. Listening to music didn’t work on the iphone. Well, everytime I hang up on a call the music starts playing but not through the Motorola, but from the iphone speakr itself.. on its own! As far as the Motorola itself, it would’ve been cool to listen to music had it worked on the iphone. For calls, you really have to be in a quiet area, car, your own house.. but in the gym, i had to yell and the people I was talking to were annoyed by the loud noise. If you’re gonna use it for music and it does work without the bulky attachment I had to use for the iphone, then the product is sweet, if you’re like me where you’re stuck using it for calls only and with alot of noise to deal with and no steaming music, then it’s no good.

5 Stars Perfection
I’m pretty picky, so perfection to me is something reserved for rare occasions. These headphones are simply awesome. They connect easily, control my HTC Fuze with no problem, they sound fantastic (just as good as high-end wired headphones), they are very comfortable (I hardly notice that they’re there).

These headphones also have remote control capabilities. So, no matter where my phone is, I can advance, pause, or repeat a song right from the headset. They also pause the music when I receive a call or when I have a meeting reminder (the Fuze actually speaks the meeting reminder audibly through the headphones which is pretty cool).

I also had no problems pairing the IPod adapter to the headphones. No problems there, except I don’t understand why they didn’t build the remote features in to the adapter (you can only play music and adjust volume on the headset – not advance or pause music). I know other devices control the IPod through that same interface, so it should be no problem to do it here…. I still give the package five stars and would give the headphones six out of five because I like them so much.

5 Stars Works Great with iPhone 3G, Better Still with Sony Adapter
I have had mine for over three months now and it works perfectly with my 3G iPhone, not only for listening to the music transferred to my iPhone, but also for listening to Pandora or SimplifyMedia streaming over the internet via the cellular or wifi network. My main uses are for cycling (naturally only on a closed course with a professional driver–kids don’t try this at home), and for strength training or treadmilling at a gym. I followed the advice of other Amazon reviews regarding buying the Sony transmitter instead of using the accompanying D650, and regarding the pairing sequence.

Apparently some earlier versions of either the headset or the D650 or both were not working with the iPhone, but be assured that the current models work just fine, although the range and reliability of the Sony transmitter is substantially superior to the Motorola adapter and well worth the additional expense.

The S9-HD works satisfactorily as a Bluetooth headset for the telephone functions, but the location of the microphone makes it not as good for this purpose as many others on the market. If I am originating an important call, I will use something else, but when the telephone use is secondary and listening to music is my main objective, the S9-HD/Sony Adapter combination is perfect. (At the gym I use an armband to hold the iPhone/S9 and strap it around my water bottle; I can stray more than 30 feet without losing signal.)

Please be careful distinguishing the S9-HD from the less expensive earlier models of the S9 since the quality of the HD version is meaningfully superior to the older model I used to use.

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Sennheiser RS120 926 MHz Wireless RF Headphones with Charging Cradle

SENNHEISER RS120 — Now you can enjoy complete freedom of movement when listening to music or using your computer! This open, supra-aural wireless RF ( Radio Frequency ) headphone system delivers transparent, balanced sound with outstanding bass response. Transmitter can be wall mounted Very lightweight headphones, extremely comfortable to wear Frequency response – 22Hz – 19500Hz Rechargeable NiMH batteries included (size – AAA) 2 year warranty

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Sennheiser Wireless Headphones
I needed something for my elderly mother who is has somewhat diminished hearing…she was to visit us and in the past it was necessary to turn up the TV to levels beyond what is comfortable for people with normal hearing…I purchased Sennheiser because I have one of their professional mics and figured Sennheiser audio quality would be OK…it worked great for my mom…I have used them and two complaints are (1) in a digital world why is it necessary to have an analog tuning knob…once it was tuned in I taped over it to prevent accidentally moving it…and (2) while the sound quality is acceptable (NOT audiophile quality), I do find that the distance rating is probably on the generous side…it works great within 30′ or so, but once you get beyond that and you are walking around be prepared for some occasional drop-outs. Also, two great side benefits…great for the wife that doesn’t want to hear your football game…also great for guys that don’t want to hear the wife complaining about the football game!! I would purchase again.

4 Stars Good headphones for watching TV on Treadmill
I got these to listen to the TV while on the treadmill. Setup was very easy. As some others have noted, I do get some hiss, but I was able to adjust them to minimize it. For me I’m on the treadmill so it’s kind of loud anyway, so it doesn’t bother me at all.

4 Stars Great Sound and Feel
For the price these headphones are awesome. The only downfall I can see is the hiss from the auto gain and there is no noise filtering. They wouldn’t be a great set of headphones for a plane (need noise filtering) but if you are looking for headphones to watch a movie in surround w/o waking the rest of the house it doesn’t get much better!

1 Star Junk, don’t buy them
These headphones are incredibly cheap, poorly constructed, and worthless. I just threw them across the room. They won’t stay on your head. They are finicky about staying on. The sound quality is terrible, full of barely audible hiss and rumble. I can’t believe anyone can give these a good review, they are crap! They come with two RCA plugs for some reason, when I put the RCA’s into the headphone jack of my computer, they fit so loosley that I had to fiddle with them to get sound

1 Star Be Wary of Rebate
The product works fine however in the offer was a set of free CX 300s. Be very careful you send the correct bar code. I apparently sent the wrong one, threw away the box and am now out of luck on the freebie. The company that handles this for Sennheiser has no contact capability for customers.

Buy/More Info

Sennheiser RS120 926 MHz Wireless RF Headphones with Charging Cradle

SENNHEISER RS120 — Now you can enjoy complete freedom of movement when listening to music or using your computer! This open, supra-aural wireless RF ( Radio Frequency ) headphone system delivers transparent, balanced sound with outstanding bass response. Transmitter can be wall mounted Very lightweight headphones, extremely comfortable to wear Frequency response – 22Hz – 19500Hz Rechargeable NiMH batteries included (size – AAA) 2 year warranty

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Sennheiser Wireless Headphones
I needed something for my elderly mother who is has somewhat diminished hearing…she was to visit us and in the past it was necessary to turn up the TV to levels beyond what is comfortable for people with normal hearing…I purchased Sennheiser because I have one of their professional mics and figured Sennheiser audio quality would be OK…it worked great for my mom…I have used them and two complaints are (1) in a digital world why is it necessary to have an analog tuning knob…once it was tuned in I taped over it to prevent accidentally moving it…and (2) while the sound quality is acceptable (NOT audiophile quality), I do find that the distance rating is probably on the generous side…it works great within 30′ or so, but once you get beyond that and you are walking around be prepared for some occasional drop-outs. Also, two great side benefits…great for the wife that doesn’t want to hear your football game…also great for guys that don’t want to hear the wife complaining about the football game!! I would purchase again.

4 Stars Good headphones for watching TV on Treadmill
I got these to listen to the TV while on the treadmill. Setup was very easy. As some others have noted, I do get some hiss, but I was able to adjust them to minimize it. For me I’m on the treadmill so it’s kind of loud anyway, so it doesn’t bother me at all.

4 Stars Great Sound and Feel
For the price these headphones are awesome. The only downfall I can see is the hiss from the auto gain and there is no noise filtering. They wouldn’t be a great set of headphones for a plane (need noise filtering) but if you are looking for headphones to watch a movie in surround w/o waking the rest of the house it doesn’t get much better!

1 Star Junk, don’t buy them
These headphones are incredibly cheap, poorly constructed, and worthless. I just threw them across the room. They won’t stay on your head. They are finicky about staying on. The sound quality is terrible, full of barely audible hiss and rumble. I can’t believe anyone can give these a good review, they are crap! They come with two RCA plugs for some reason, when I put the RCA’s into the headphone jack of my computer, they fit so loosley that I had to fiddle with them to get sound

1 Star Be Wary of Rebate
The product works fine however in the offer was a set of free CX 300s. Be very careful you send the correct bar code. I apparently sent the wrong one, threw away the box and am now out of luck on the freebie. The company that handles this for Sennheiser has no contact capability for customers.

Buy/More Info