Sony HT-MT300: A little thing with a big bang
21.9.2017
Translation: machine translated
A home cinema system is great. But as an audiophile, I don't just go for anything. That's why I dared to test it: is the Sony HT-MT300 any good?
I am a self-confessed fan of home cinema. I have a 5.0 home cinema system at home with Klipsch speakers and a Pioneer receiver. It all started in my student days when I (honestly) bought my first home cinema set from digitec. After that, I kept adding and replacing individual components. And although I'm very sceptical about soundbars and soundplates, I tried to overcome my fears with this test and put the products through their paces.
As soon as I unpack the HT-MT300, I notice that it comes in a rather small, handy package that can be carried around easily thanks to a handle. The bar is quickly set up and wired. I realise that the product doesn't have an HDMI input. I think: "Well, the entry-level model doesn't necessarily need this and the optical cable for the built-in optical input is even included".
As the HT-MT300 does not have an integrated screen, it is difficult to recognise which sound mode is currently active (shortly after setting, only the LED of the current input lights up). The night mode for compressed, quieter playback with consistent intelligibility of voices is an extra that you can look for in most entry-level soundbars. Especially if you have children, this setting can be a saviour for cinema evenings.
The subwoofer can be tilted and easily slid under the sofa. Sony has built in a special sofa mode for this purpose. As a diaphragm is also installed on the side, the subwoofer switches to this in sofa mode and sounds your sofa from below. With Clear Audio+, the device decides which of the existing sound settings is used depending on which scene of a content is currently being played.
The design is deliberately slim, with minimal LEDs and a leather-like surface. The soundbar, whether in the black or cream-coloured version, blends well and minimalistically into any living room design.
That's all well and good, but in the end only one thing counts: the sound. That's why I chose films to give the HT-MT300 a hard time. Does the HT-MT300 do these films justice?
Before the Disney logo can even be seen at the beginning of "Tron: Legacy", the soundtrack produced by Daft Punk starts with a sub-bass. I can already hear it here: Sony's subwoofer has the low frequencies under control. The volume of the sub can be adjusted throughout the mix using the remote control. As Legacy has already been labelled a subwoofer killer in various tests, this is also urgently needed here. If the sub bass can be heard in your neighbours' living room on the ground floor and you live on the fourth floor, then you are watching the film on a decent home cinema system. The logo is followed by a dialogue between Jeff Bridges and his son. The HT-MT300 brings out the voices beautifully and clean mids and highs promote speech intelligibility.
The soundtrack fills the entire room nicely and the details of the scene, such as the clacking of shoes on the floor, stand out well. Only with the quieter voices during the song in comparison does the soundbar have a bit of trouble picking out the quiet dialogue passages in the middle of the sound carpet cleanly. The voice mode provides a remedy here.
I tried out the subwoofer's sofa mode here, as this is the perfect scene for something like this. In sofa mode, I noticed that only the people in the immediate vicinity of the subwoofer hear and feel most of the bass. So if you're having a cinema night with friends, place the thing in the room as normal. If you're now thinking "Yes, but I can also put the sub under the sofa and switch off the sofa mode", you're right. You can do that, but if you like your neighbours in the flat below you or at least want them to like you, don't do it.
During typical action scenes like Michael Bay's Transformers, I realise how much power is hidden in this little soundbar. Sam and his comrades-in-arms are fighting Shockwave on the 30th floor of a weird skyscraper. Bullets are flying and lots of things are exploding in the surrounding area. When they realise that they don't stand a chance against him, they jump out of the window and slide down the glassy side. I sometimes have the feeling of being right in the middle of this battle.
But only partly. The reason for this is that it becomes clear that in a classic 5.1 home cinema, the sound image is much wider simply due to the arrangement. The subwoofer is again very powerful, with some passages lacking a little brilliance in the highs of the sound spectrum. I also get the impression that Clear Audio struggles to maintain the balance between dialogue and action environment, especially in scenes with rapidly changing sound passages.
Conclusion
Pro:
- Very good price-performance ratio
- Slim design/subwoofer can be conveniently placed under the sofa
- as a complete package light and handy as devices are small and slim
- NFC for music playback
- Night mode
Contra:
- No display
- No HDMI connection
Fabio Endrich
CM-ExternalWorker
fabio.endrich@digitecgalaxus.chAs a drummer, enthusiastic visitor of Drum 'n Bass parties, hobby producer of electronic music and record lover I am interested in all imaginable aspects of the audio universe. As a compensation I also enjoy the absolute silence under water while diving or taking pictures in the nature.
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