Product Description

Sony HT-7000DH Component Home Theater System

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #201 in Home Theater
• Color: Black
• Brand: Sony
• Model: HT-7000DH
• Dimensions: 90.00 pounds

Features

• 5 Disc DVD/CD Player with 5.1 Channel Home Theater System
• 900 Watts Power (140W x 5 + 200W Subwoofer at 1KHz, <10% THD)
• DVD Player with HDMI Output and AV Receiver with HDMI Pass-through (2 IN, 1 OUT)
• XM Connect & Play Ready (AV receiver)
• DTS, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Pro Logic II decoding (AV Receiver)

Amazon.com Product Description
The Sony HT-7000DH Component home-theater system offers everything you need to set up a great sounding home theater at an affordable price. The system includes a 5 DVD/CD changer, a 900-watt (RMS) A/V receiver and a 5.1 channel speaker system. And with XM satellite radio capability, the HT-7000DH will stream an endless variety of entertainment into your home.

The DVD changer and receiver each come equipped with an HDMI interface, which offers the highest quality digital connection that you can get through a single cable. The HDMI switching feature on the receiver also allows you to connect multiple sources with HDMI interfaces. With HDMI connectivity, you can pass uncompressed audio and video directly to your television, which means that you'll maximize the video resolution to best fit your HDMI compatible TV.

The receiver features Digital Cinema Sound Technology, Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic II decoding for optimum sound quality. You'll experience a full 900 watts of power from the receiver (140 watts for each of the five speakers plus 200 watts for the subwoofer). Six analog audio inputs, two analog audio outputs, three rear component video inputs, two component video outputs, four composite video inputs and three composite video outputs mean that connectivity with additional components will never be an issue. The receiver also includes two HDMI inputs -- one for the included DVD player, and one for another HD-capable device, such as a cable/satellite box or game box -- and one output.

When it's time to calibrate the system to your room, Sony couldn't have made it easier. The HT-7000DH features Digital Cinema Auto Calibration, which lets you simply place the included microphone in your listening position while Sony's Digital Signal Processing takes over. Speaker placement, distance, and delays are all adjusted automatically to ensure a worry free listening experience. It couldn't be any easier than this.

The 5-disc, carousel-style DVD player offers CD, CD-R, CD-RW and MP3 audio playback, as well as DVD/DVD-RW and JPEG video compatibility. The player also features both Precision Cinema Progressive Technology and Progressive Scan ability. With XM Connect-and-Play, the HT-7000DH is ready to start streaming hundreds of XM satellite radio programs directly to your home. All you need is the optional Connect-and-Play antenna and an XM Radio subscription (both sold separately), and the world of digital radio will be at your fingertips.

What's in the Box
A/V receiver, 5-disc DVD player, remote control, two AA batteries, two front speakers, center speaker, two surround speakers, subwoofer, FM wire antenna, AM loop antenna, coaxial digital cord, six speaker connector (3 long/3 short).

Customer Reviews

Should make a lot of people happy, but will make a few people unhappy
The Sony HT-7000DH HDMI Capable Component Home Theater System could have been the perfect low priced HDMI capable receiver. I got this unit for review in July 2006 from Circuit City. First, the positives, the receiver and DVD unit accompanied with this package look very polished and fit well into a hifi component based system. The setup is pretty straightforward and there are enough configuration options to keep an audio geek satisifed for at least a little while. The auto speaker placement calibration feature is great and works as advertised. The powered subwoofer produces deep punchy bass.

The negatives are that the speakers don't look all that nice and Sony could have done a better styling job on these babies. The programmable remote does not control my Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD cable box. Finally, a major setup issue that I experienced was with the HDMI switching capability... apparently this device does not intercept the HDMI audio and works simply as a passthrough mechanism sending the HDMI audio/video to the TV directly... if you want digital audio you MUST run optical and/or coax digital cables from each HDMI connected component (TV and DVD) back to the receiver. I'm not sure if this is a limitation of HDMI technology in general but it would seem that if the HDMI audio signal is already going into the receiver why bother having to feed it in again via another input route... perhaps its Sonys way of selling more cables. Also, even though this unit supports assignable component video inputs they don't appear to work when an HDMI input is attached with the same "name", ie, DVD-in or Video2-in... more experimenting will confirm this. So far, what this means is that I can not have an XBox connected via component while I have a cable/sat box and a DVD connected via HDMI. Finally, the lack of an on screen menu seems absurd... since the receiver is connected to the television why can't the receiver output information to the TV about the currently selected mode... for example, AM/FM/XM radio channel, volume, audio effect mode, etc.

All in all, 3 out of 5 stars... the ability to use a component video device (Xbox) while HDMI was connected would've made this a 4 out of 5, and the addition of an on screen menu and HDMI audio intercept would've made this a 5 out of 5.

Performs as advertised; good bargain.
My search for an entry-level receiver with good connectivity options and decent speakers led me, luckily, to the Sony HT-7000DH, at a going-out-of-business sale for $350. Overall, it is a very good system for the price range that does exactly what it claims to do.

[ As others have said, the HDMI is a passthrough, so be aware that you have to run seperate audio if you run video via HDMI. But that's still better than other systems in the price range, which mostly do not have any HDMI connectivity. ]

- The powered 10" subwoofer is better quality than I expected. It's not going to handle the lowest frequencies, but nothing cheaper than a Klipsch Sub-12 really does, and that sub costs the majority of this entire system.

- The two-way satellite speakers are adequate but certainly not great; they are what you'd expect for the price, perhaps a little better.

- The auto-setup feature with included mic works very well.

- The five-disc DVD changer is a very nice inclusion in this setup, and it's very handy for audio CD's/DVD's.

- There is a very faint clicking noise in the speakers when there is no volume, but I never would have noticed had I not been looking for one because of other reviews on here. I can't even hear it at regular listening distance in a completely quiet room.

- The lack of an on-screen menu (this is the big one), middling surround speaker quality, crowded remote controls, scattered optical ins (don't match up well with pre-labeled input organization), and the outdated speakerbox styling kept this from getting five stars. I'd give it 4.5 if there was an option, though. Most of those complaints come with the territory for this price.

Overall, you get a receiver that has good connectivity, should age well with having at least the HDMI passthrough and XM port, doesn't have proprietary speaker hookups like many other HTIB's, has a quality subwoofer, and comes with a quality DVD changer for an entry-level price. There's not much to complain about unless you simply want a better receiver (such as one with true HDMI) or three-way surround speakers, in which cases you'll need to pay (a lot) more. I strongly recommend this system if this is your price range.

HDMI Passthrough Is A Major Drawback
I bought this unit mainly because of the HDMI inputs and output. I thought for this price of $500, this is a great deal. I should have known. I get it home, and apparently the two HDMI inputs are passthrough, meaning they will only carry the audio connection through the receiver to the TV. Now, why in the heck would you not want the receiver in an AV home theater system to intercept the sound on an HDMI connection and play it though all those speakers insted of your two TV cabinets speakers? I can't imagine.

So, this means to get the sound off your HDMI components (most likely a satelitte box or the nice 5 disc DVD player that comes with this set) you have to buy digital audio cables (either a coax or optical) to run parallel to the HDMI connection. I thought HDMI was supposed to ditch audio cables, but apparently Sony likes them enough to require their use in this model.

Also, my unit has clicking noise. It is very soft, but when there is no other sound coming through the speakers, you hear it. I may take this back I'm so disgusted with it. It is still a pretty nice set, but I thought I was getting a little more than I got.