Sony HT-5500D Review

Overall Rating

Great sounding, affordable system by a trusted name.

No shuffling of the tracks when playing mp3s.

When I was shopping for a home audio system a few months ago, I came across this Sony HT-5500D DVD home cinema system. In all honesty, I was looking for a Sony unit to match the Sony Wega television. I looked at a few different models and was impressed with the HT-5500d's numbers. Then I saw the price and was impressed even more. I can tell you numbers all day long and it will mean nothing to you but here is a quick list of the features taken from Sony's website:

-Silver Color Components
-100 Watt X 5 Receiver
-5-Disc DVD Player with Component Video Outputs
-Dolby Digital, dts, and Dolby Pro-Logic II Decoding
-Slim Center Speaker, 4 Satellite Speakers, w/100 Watt Subwoofer
-Digital Cinema Sound
-Coaxial and Optical Digital Input
-Tuner w/ 20 FM + 10 AM Station Presets
-Universal A/V Remote Commander Remote Control

Now that you've seen that, it's time for the good stuff. Here, I'll review each individual component.

STR-K840P Stereo Receiver
I love it. This unit puts out a good, clean signal to the speakers. I haven't noticed any distortion of the signal. The 100 watts X 5 is more than enough power to fill the living room in my apartment. The LCD screen on this unit is also pretty cool. You can set it to auto-dim so that when you are watching a movie or anything like that, there isn't a bright light shining at you. Also, you can customize the display to name the station or component you are playing. This feature really won't make a difference in buying the unit, its just kind of a cool side note. Also, the remote that comes with the receiver is relatively easy to use, and also controls the DVD changer and my Sony Wega TV.

DVP-NC615 CD/DVD Changer
This CD/DVD changer has proven to be a nice addition to my apartment. Not only does it provide a very clear picture when viewing DVD's it also will read burned CDs. It is MP3 compatible and I've also tested it and it reads burned DVD's as well. he only drawback I have on this unit is in the MP3 category. When you burn a CD full of MP3s it cannot shuffle through the CD randomly. You will have to make a conscious effort to sort your MP3 files before you burn the CD. The unit will read folders and will play the tracks in order in the folders. This means you can either shuffle the files before you burn or put the files into folders and shuffle that way. I know it is a pain but I've gotten used to it. That is the only complaint I have about this system after about 3 months of owning it.

Speakers
The speakers sound great. The 100 watt powered sub is also a nice addition. The other Sony system I was looking at only had a 50 watt powered sub and I felt that wasn't enough. The 100 watt subwoofer adds enough bass to fill the room without having to be at full volume. I usually leave the volume control on the sub about half. Then, if I throw a party or I want to impress someone, I'll turn it up. It sounds great. One drawback on the speakers, the system did not come with wall mounts for the rear speakers. I looked into speaker mounts and they were about $70 for Sony silver ones that matched the speakers. However, after a little searching online, I found a set for about $30.

Overall
I am very please with this system, especially for what I paid. Minus the mp3 problem I described above, this system has been flawless. As for durability, I have tested it as well. During a party one night, a beer was knocked off the table and splashed all over the receiver and DVD changer. They both went into protect mode which I was pleased with. I turned off both units for about 20-30 minutes to let them dry and when I turned them back on, they both worked to perfection. All in all, I'd recommend this system to anyone looking for a complete system for under $600, especially if they own a Sony Wega TV. This system matches it perfectly.