Gadgetory

hey I'm Matthew miskovic from cnet and today we're going to take a look at the Sony HT CT 260 this is a budget sound bar with a distinctive design and selling for about three hundred dollars now the sony has a long tube-like shape like most sound bars but it's angular hexagonal shape gives it a unique look the sound bar itself stands four inches tall which should fit nicely in front of most TVs without blocking the remote sensor like some sound bars do if it does block the remote sensor on your TV the HTC T 260 has a neat remote control pass-through feature where it repeats any remote signals received from the front out of the back of the sound bar it's a cool work around especially since most sound bars don't deal with the issue at all the system also includes a wireless subwoofer that you can place nearly anywhere in the room as long as you can plug it into an outlet the included remote is a nice size although it's a little more cluttered with buttons than I'd like but otherwise the button layout is good and overall it's much better than the standard thin remotes that come with many sound bars around back you'll find just three inputs optical coaxial and mini jack that's not much but that's because Sony intends you to connect all your devices to your TV first then connect your TV's optical output to the sound bar it's a simpler setup overall as long as your TV has enough hdmi inputs for all your gear the HTC T 260 also has built-in bluetooth which is a must-have feature these days Bluetooth lets you wirelessly stream audio from nearly every smartphone or tablet and it works with any app you have on your phone so you can load up Pandora on your phone and streaming straight to the sound bar as for sound quality the sony is really pretty impressive for a budget sound bar for one it sounds better than our favorite sound bar from last year the higher SBE v40 slim with the wider soundstage in more detail the little subwoofer is also surprisingly powerful with deeper bass extension than other systems in the price class it's not the best sounding system I've heard this year as it was slightly outclassed and head to head comparisons with the Vizio s 4251 w and the sharp HTS be 60 but it's still a excellent overall so altogether the sony HTC t2 60s real strength is that it delivers excellent sound quality and a flexible design that should work in just about any living room other sound bars may sound a little better or have more features but the sony is a very balanced system without any major flaws making it one of our go to budget sound bar pics I'm Matthew miskovic and this is the sony HTC t 260