[The News Bot]

Sony has announced a May launch for a clutter-busting new AV concept: a home theatre surround sound system built into a TV stand! The BRAVIA Theatre RHT-G800’s attractive lines and glass top-plate hide a complete surround sound speaker system, with everything pre-installed and connected for you, so there’s...

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[MattZani]

Man, thats a nice stand! and if the audio quality's good, could be worth around £500, seeing as it has an amp built in aswell!

[markbigears]

when have you heard a "pseudo" sound system sound any good?

[kourosh]

Originally Posted by MattZani

Man, thats a nice stand! and if the audio quality's good, could be worth around £500, seeing as it has an amp built in aswell!

and the rest..........your prob looking at £799

[sbowler]

HMMMM Tastier than a kebab after 6 pints of stella.

[DannyBoy73]

Originally Posted by sbowler

HMMMM Tastier than a kebab after 6 pints of stella.

Steady....

Just checked the Sony site.

Stand is priced at £999!!!!

You can get the yamaha YSP900 with stand for that price.

I know what I'd rather have!

[dso]

Originally Posted by trickywoo

Just checked the Sony site.

Stand is priced at £999!!!!

You can get the yamaha YSP900 with stand for that price.

I know what I'd rather have!

Hopefully other retailers will have more competitive pricing - I'd defo be interested

Surprised there are no optional outputs for wired rear speakers

[nogimmix]

Price is between £550-£600, very interested in getting one now.

[midknight]

Originally Posted by nogimmix

Price is between £550-£600, very interested in getting one now.

Just had mine delivered - looks lovely - really nice quality and the glass top looks lovely. Will let you know what the sound is like once I have given it a good test.

[_Irv_]

Originally Posted by midknight

Just had mine delivered - looks lovely - really nice quality and the glass top looks lovely. Will let you know what the sound is like once I have given it a good test.

Hi Mate,

Whats your verdict, i'm thinking of getting one?

[midknight]

I'll let you know after this weekend when I have watched the Pirates Blu Rays! - It does look very nice though!

[buckfast67uk]

I woud apprecitae some advice. I was looking to buy a nice stand + a Yamaha YSP900 + a new plasma TV.

I really need some basics.

If i get a surround sound system i.e. the Yamaha or this Sony stand does that make sound quality on my desired Plasma less of an issue as i would probably mute the sound on that and just use the surround sound?

I was looking at two brands of TVs, Panasonic and Samsung. Specifically the Panasonic TH-42PX70 & TH-42PX700 and the Samsung PS-42Q97HDX.

I'm mystified as to the difference in price between the 2 Panasonics though as the specifications look near identical

[midknight]

ok I have now watched a few films using the stand and on the whole its pretty good - not amazing but not terrible either.

The good points are the sound is rich with lovely bass and clear dialogue - it all seems well balanced.

The downside is the surround is ok but nowhere near as good as the real thing - you do get an immersive sound field but it never feels quite as surrounding as having speakers behind you - but, for me anyway, the payoff of not having cables and speakers all around my living room makes up for that.

The one thing I do like is that the dialogue never gets drowned out by the effects and the bass never overpowers - it all seems so well balanced straight out of the box.

I like it.

[NISJ]

Where did you end up buying the RHT-G800 stand from and what did you pay?

I've currently seen it sold for £560 inc VAT & delivery, this seems a pretty good buy.

I know the AV stand comes with it's own remote, do you know if it'll work and replace the SKY+ remote?

I'm looking forward to my new TV and PS3 arriving next week and and the RHT-G800 looks like it'll just top off my system. I love the fact that you won't have wires everywhere, it looks great and sounds good. I just have to slow down on the av spending after this!

[midknight]

Originally Posted by NISJ

Where did you end up buying the RHT-G800 stand from and what did you pay?

I've currently seen it sold for £560 inc VAT & delivery, this seems a pretty good buy.

I know the AV stand comes with it's own remote, do you know if it'll work and replace the SKY+ remote?

I'm looking forward to my new TV and PS3 arriving next week and and the RHT-G800 looks like it'll just top off my system. I love the fact that you won't have wires everywhere, it looks great and sounds good. I just have to slow down on the av spending after this!

I bought mine from Stoneaudio - not too sure about the remote as I have a Harmony 885.

[sifijg]

what TV are you using on it? is it designed for a 46" or would a 40W look too small?

[midknight]

I am using a 46 but no I do not think a 40 would look too small on it at all

[Benjam]

Originally Posted by midknight

ok I have now watched a few films using the stand and on the whole its pretty good - not amazing but not terrible either.

The good points are the sound is rich with lovely bass and clear dialogue - it all seems well balanced.

The downside is the surround is ok but nowhere near as good as the real thing - you do get an immersive sound field but it never feels quite as surrounding as having speakers behind you - but, for me anyway, the payoff of not having cables and speakers all around my living room makes up for that.

The one thing I do like is that the dialogue never gets drowned out by the effects and the bass never overpowers - it all seems so well balanced straight out of the box.

I like it.

Thank you for your first impressions. I am interested in buying the RHT-G800.
My question, does it have wheels like Yamaha's ysp stand. It makes it alot easier to move around when needed. No one here in France has it on display yet.

[midknight]

Hi,

No it doesn't have wheels but it is very easy to move around (on carpet anyway). It slides no problem

[Benjam]

Originally Posted by midknight

I am using a 46 but no I do not think a 40 would look too small on it at all

Hi again,
I have a 50 inch Pioneer. I know the screen is larger than the stand, but will the stand support it? I've seen comments which seem to say that the RHT-G800 is designed for 40 and 46 inch screens. Thank you for your comments.

[midknight]

Originally Posted by Benjam

Hi again,
I have a 50 inch Pioneer. I know the screen is larger than the stand, but will the stand support it? I've seen comments which seem to say that the RHT-G800 is designed for 40 and 46 inch screens. Thank you for your comments.

Well oficially it is only supposed to be for upto 46' screens - but the stand is certainly strong enough to carry a 50 but the actually size of the top of the stand is not that big and there is a digital display in the top so I suppose it would depend on how big your pedestal is for your TV. But, in principle, I would say it could accomadte a 50 screen

Originally Posted by midknight

Well oficially it is only supposed to be for upto 46' screens - but the stand is certainly strong enough to carry a 50 but the actually size of the top of the stand is not that big and there is a digital display in the top so I suppose it would depend on how big your pedestal is for your TV. But, in principle, I would say it could accomadte a 50 screen

Hi! I am willing to purchase the RHT stand too, congrats for the great product you purchased!
your last post confirms what I thought,i.e. that a 50-52" screen would fit, provided it does not weight more than 65kgs and the base is not wider than 1,10 metres.
Can you clarify where the stand top display is located?
Can you also please confirm that there is no way to connect two separate back speakers for a real surround effect?
Finally can you confirm the following: I guess one could connect two audio-video sources to the stand (like for example a PS3 and a sky decoder) through the two HDMI inputs and then "send" the two signals (audio and video) with full HD quality to a full hd screen through the HDMI "out" port of the stand, maintaining the 1080p signal quality.
Thanks in advance for your kind replies and regards!
Thanks in advance for

[midknight]

Originally Posted by stefano7171

Hi! I am willing to purchase the RHT stand too, congrats for the great product you purchased!
your last post confirms what I thought,i.e. that a 50-52" screen would fit, provided it does not weight more than 65kgs and the base is not wider than 1,10 metres.
Can you clarify where the stand top display is located?
Can you also please confirm that there is no way to connect two separate back speakers for a real surround effect?
Finally can you confirm the following: I guess one could connect two audio-video sources to the stand (like for example a PS3 and a sky decoder) through the two HDMI inputs and then "send" the two signals (audio and video) with full HD quality to a full hd screen through the HDMI "out" port of the stand, maintaining the 1080p signal quality.
Thanks in advance for your kind replies and regards!
Thanks in advance for

There is no connection for back speakers I am afraid.

Yes it has 2 HDMI 1080p compatable inputs and one HDMI output. I have my PS3 coneected this way and the stand pass throughs 1080p to my TV no problem and accepts uncompressed audio from the PS3 when playing Blu Rays.

Originally Posted by midknight

There is no connection for back speakers I am afraid.

Yes it has 2 HDMI 1080p compatable inputs and one HDMI output. I have my PS3 coneected this way and the stand pass throughs 1080p to my TV no problem and accepts uncompressed audio from the PS3 when playing Blu Rays.

Thanks very much!
Now my doubt is: should I go for a real surround effect or choose the RHT and therefore save me all the hassle of cables, speakers, ampli, dedicated furniture and the like?
Did you have a decent "sound entertainment" when watching the "pirates" movie or it really feel just as a normal stereo with the sound coming from just one direction? I know you have already answered this question.... but ultimately, do you think the rear speakers of a proper home entertainment system would do a great difference?
Last question: again, do you reckon a larger (52") Tv base would hide the RHT display?
Thanks again in advance!

[sifijg]

this thread is super-useful

is there any chance you could post some pics of your setup? I'm curious to see the display and how it all looks in general

[midknight]

Originally Posted by sifijg

this thread is super-useful

is there any chance you could post some pics of your setup? I'm curious to see the display and how it all looks in general

I will try when I get time - the stand does look lovely though

[scroggy]

Hi Midknight and thanks for your excellent thread.

I'm thinking of changing my Toshiba CRT for the new Sony D3000, either 40 or 46. I currently have a surround system with rear speakers wall mounted and I use a Yamaha processor for the Dolby Digital etc.

I have a centre speaker under the TV and use my Monitor Audio Studio monitors for the front effects. I also have a small REL subwoofer which I always forget to turn on!

Now this may sound stupid but the rigmarole of turning everything on to create the surround is a bit of a nuisance and I am wondering whether the RHT-G800 stand would actually make me use surround more often!

My room is 23ft x 13ft.

Your comments would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[midknight]

Well if you are running your sat or dvd player through the stand via HDMI then you have to have it 'on' to see the pictures on the tv - there fore you will have all the surround and sub on.

As I have said before it is NOT better than a proper surround set up but it is a pretty good comprimise - I wanted it so I did not have wires going around my living room plus I always felt I never had the sound balance etc set up just right - with this it is alot more simple and the sound is excllent - the subs are really good as everything has a lovely richness to it and explosions etc have a nice punch. The surround fx do work and sometimes it really does sound superb but I do feel more subtle surround fx may get a little lost.

I am happy I went with it because it looks fantastic and is alot tidier than my previous stand, there are loads less cables and speakers so it has uncluttered my living room and now my 11 month old son is not constantly trying to pull on the surround cabling!!

If you find that the positives outweigh the negatives for you particular situation then I think it is a great bit of kit but just do not expect a full 7.1 surround experience you would get with the real thing.

And as for the size of your room - according to Sony it works in any size or shape of room.

[JayW]

I have just purchased a G800 from John Lewis with a 40W2000 TV - I got a good deal, the G800 was "free" with the TV, but I understand that the offer was first available last Monday at 9am but removed at 10.20am (an error had been made but they honoured it)

Delivery is tomorrow- Any tips or advice? I will also link it with the new 870 DVD recorder.