Sony ES BDV-IT1000ES 5.1 Channel Home Theater System
Review by Eyewire "Eyewire" : Small but Powerful

This system is small but has very powerful bass. But be aware the hight of the speakers is only 22". So the speaker stands may need for placing under the front and rear surround speakers.

Network update function is really good and easy. Just plug-in the network cable, and select the "network update" on the menu, the system automatically check the and install the updates.

Sony ES BDV-IT1000ES 5.1 Channel Home Theater System
Review by SirGromit : Works well, sounds good

One issue is that if you are using the Component output, white flashes in your source will cause the Component output to drop out for about two seconds. Using the HDMI output does not seem to have this issue. Also can be expanded to 7.1 via an optional S-AIR receiver and your own speakers.

Sony ES BDV-IT1000ES 5.1 Channel Home Theater System
Review by Gery Teague : Amazing System

So, I throw a lot of movie parties at my house, along with other social gatherings. I needed something that I could use for great sound in both situations, AND would look great. This system does NOT disappoint. It sounds amazing and if possible, looks even better.

People are ALWAYS amazed at the sound and are always commenting on the looks.

I couldn't be happier.

I did note that I had some of the same synching issue as mentioned above, but as soon as I shielded my existing HDMI cable it has worked flawlessly.

Considering this system costs more that 2x from Sony as compared to the price on here. KILLER deal.

Sony ES BDV-IT1000ES 5.1 Channel Home Theater System
Review by N. Crow : Wireless problems solved.

I had the same problem with the wireless rear speakers on my system that others are describing; not pairing or working at all. After hours of troubleshooting and fruitless phone calls to Sony I found the problem. The HDMI output jack on the main unit is right next to wireless transceiver. A poorly shielded HDMI cable will cause wireless interference; especially with the output resolution set to 1080i/p. You can test this by unplugging all HDMI cables and connecting it to your TV with the composite video cable that came with the unit. I purchased one of Sony's pricey triple-shielded DLCHD30G HDMI cables and haven't had any problems since. Sony is truly clueless that this is the real cause of the problem and had wanted me to send the entire system back to them for repair. The EZW-EC10 pairing wire may be helping some but I think HDMI cable interference is the root problem. Except for this issue I have really been enjoying this system.

Sony ES BDV-IT1000ES 5.1 Channel Home Theater System
Review by H. Dinh : Wireless problems fix for good.

I had issues with the wireless rear speakers when it would drop off intermittently. This was very frustrating. Part of the fix is to have a good shielded HDMI cable but the real fix is to improve the wireless connection. This can be easily done by wrapping the transmitter and receiver modules with wires to act as an antenna coil. About 5 loops are all you need on each module. Love the system because of the slick thin bar speakers and the sound quality.

Sony ES BDV-IT1000ES 5.1 Channel Home Theater System
Review by G. Chung "Nondon" : Wonderful stereo

Easy to install. At first, the remote back wireless box for rear speakers wouldn't work. Tech support said to turn off all wireless devices in the house so I unplugged the cordless phone, reset the box, and turned the phone back on. Now it works great so long as I don't turn off the remote box after finish watching the movies. Leave it on. You can place the speakers any distance from your ears and program the distance of each one into the receiver. Then you can adjust the volume of each of 6 speakers individually. Old DVD's play much sharper on this system. Picture is sharper and fills the screen perfectly. Yes, Blu-ray DVD's do look better, but I don't like waiting so long for it to load, and I don't like startting from the beginning of the movie again after I turn off the system for the evening. After hearing and seeing the results, I know I bought the right system. $2000 is money well spent. Buy it. You'll love it.

Sony ES BDV-IT1000ES 5.1 Channel Home Theater System
Review by Pamela R. Heath "www.pamelaheath.com, author ... : Stylish system with surprisingly good sound

This system was beautifully packed and came with clear step by step instructions. Several hours of work later, everything was up and running perfectly. The auto-calibration microphone was amazing - within a minute it the surround sound was balanced, and I was popping in CDs to check out the sound. I was surprised that you could really hear the difference in quality of the recordings. The sound itself is very good, sometimes excellent. It has no problem reading music CDs I burned on my computer. Once in awhile I notice a bit of weakness in the mid-tones, but it handles low tones and high notes with ease. It's truly remarkable considering the tiny size of the speakers. It also has a nice radio setup.

You understand just what this setup was created to handle when you listen to a blu-ray disc. The sound is amazing--every bit as good as a theatre. It also does an excellent job of upscaling DVDs, so you don't have to spend a fortune upgrading your movie collection.

There are only 2 things I wish were different. One is that it is equally slow to load and play any disc. A CD takes as long to be recognized and available to play as does a Blu-ray disc. This is annoying, especially as you have to hit the play button twice to get the CD to actually play. The other problem is that you can't setup your system without turning on a monitor that it's hooked up to. The minimalistic controls look great, but are in some ways not as practical as having more buttons you can use--you have to scroll laboriously through menus to get the function you want. However, at least it remembers whatever you were last using (like CD, radio, or TV) and starts there again.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this sound system. It does a good to excellent job of playing music and a superb job with movies. Furthermore, it was a snap to upgrade the firmware, and I haven't had a DVD yet that it couldn't play, and play well. I'd recommend it for anyone with a Sony TV, especially if you don't want to string wires across the room (the rear speakers use a wireless transmitter).

The only extra you might want is to have more S-air units. This 5.1 system can be converted to 7.1 with an extra S-air pair of speakers, and it can even handle a third S-air unit in another room.

Sony ES BDV-IT1000ES 5.1 Channel Home Theater System
Review by Peter Marone III : Incredible sound from such small speakers

I rent my home, so I'm hesitant to go with a full blown home theater component system tailored to my viewing room, so I stick with HTIBs. The blu-ray HITB market is relatively sparse at the moment, so I shelled out more than I expected on this system. Luckily, it was well worth the money.

These tiny speaker "bars" (I don't know what else you could really call them) are incredible. They are smaller than I expected from the photos and descriptions, but once set up and configured for the room (set up is a bit bothersome, but configuring once all the equipment is in place is quick and easy) I was blown away. You just have to hear them to believe all that sound comes out of those funky, fragile looking wafer speakers. The sub, though passive, pounds out the deep tones.

The system comes with wall mounting brackets, and are small and light enough that I'll probalby mount them up this weekend. It only comes with desktop stands - if you want to mount the speakers on the floors, you'll have to purchase a set of extenders to raise the speakers up to the appropriate level. Given the small height and footprint of the stand-mounted speakers, I was able to place the front speakers on the same stand as the TV, and the rear speakers on small tables next to my couch.

I was unsure about having wireless speakers, but the included S-Air system works nicely. The S-Air unit plugs in to an electic outlet and connects wirelessly to the receiver, and the rear speakers plug into the S-Air unit rather than the receiver, so there is no worry about batteries. The surround sound through the unit was flawless.

The only drawback to these speakers is placing the wires into the speaker connectors. Sony has a pretty good idea on doing so, but it's just not up to snuff yet. The wires terminate into nice sized gold plated points that get inserted into the bottom of the speakers, and they should lock into place, but the small size of the enclosure and the flimsiness of the speaker cable just above these connectors (where you tend to push from) make it a bit challenging to do correctly. I'm not quite sure all of the wires are in correctly, or the locking mechanism isn't up to par, as you are supposed to be able to "gently tug" on the wires without them pulling out - but they all seemed to come out quite easily with minimal force. Once I gave up trying and figured it would be good enough, the rest of the installation was simple, and the speakers are working just fine.

Also watch out for the tape on the front of the system that holds the drive door closed. On mine it was quite easy to miss, until I pressed the open button on the remote and realized something was wrong.

I still think 2,000 is a bit on the expensive side, but I certainly do not regret purchasing this system, as I'd rather have spent too much and be sastified than to have spent much less and be underwhelmed.

Special note of appreciation to Sony for a pretty detailed manual and the extra explantions on the on-screen menus to help guide setup/configuration. In a time when most companies give you very little printed info aside from a single, poorly documented fold out sheet, this was a treat.

Pros:
Great looking system
small, light speaker bars
outstanding sound
easy setup of system configuration
easily upgraded via a direction network connection
plenty of in/out options (2 optical audio in especially)
S-Air unit functionality
upgradability to 7.1 system

Cons:
Wire connectors on speaker bar
price
no floor stand extenders included in box