Sony's Micro Home theatre system has satellite speakers so small, that they can be hidden away completely out of sight. It also comes with large central sub-woofer unit, which also acts as the central connection module. The main unit is really slick looking. It has a slot loading DVD player and touch sensitive keys on the top with a large display on the front. Although it's a small unit, there's lots of connectivity options at the back, including HDMI.





It took under 10 minutes to setup the speakers and system because everything is color¬coded. They satellite speakers are almost half the size of Bose's Jewel Cube speakers and this simply adds to the style. The only problem with the speakers was the connecting wires which are heavier than the speaker itself, and when these wires are left hanging, their weight pulls the speakers down.

We tested the system out with the new LG Black Pearl TV and played several DVD movies and music CDs. Sadly, the read time of the player was considerably high, around 15 seconds to read a DVD. However, video quality is excellent using both component and HDMI out with up-scaling to 1 080i. The player supports DivX files too, but only from a CD/DVD. It does not have a USB port. The small size of the satellite speakers did take a toll on the sound-volume was quite low.

The max volume level was 80 and we had to keep it above 40 points to hear anything at all. Even at max level sound was nothing great-the Samsung HT X30 home theatre syster (reviewed in LD September 07) was much louder and was cheaper too. With music, I kept feeling that bass was lacking. It just doesn't have the satisfyin thump of large speakers. Since the entin system is so small, it's ideal for places where space is at a premium, like a study, den or children's room. It definitely is stylish, but do looks, , really small form factor and style mattel more to you than room-filling sound? Then this is the system for you.