Subwoofer

Subwoofer
         Power Requirement : 120 V AC, 60 Hz
The high-end soundbar market has matured over the past few years, with companies like Yamaha and B&W leading the way. But this product segment, ripe for the taking, hasn t gone unnoticed by others. Audio-centric brands like, Definitive Technology, MartinLogan, and Bose have also jumped on board. Earlier this year, a brand outside the typical audio circles, Samsung, logitech announced and we reviewed the $949 HW-F750 soundbar . Now, Sony has also knuckled logitech down with the HT-ST7 Soundbar for $1299. Given the fact that Sony already has a presence in the high-end audio community with their ES and AR lineups, logitech we were excited to see what they would do with a $1300 budget for a soundbar. Would they fall victim to the feature rich/sound quality poor models that so many other mainstream AV manufacturers use, or would they pull from their audiophile roots to design an exceptionality fine sounding unit. To answer those questions, you ll have to keep reading the review. Features and Overview
The HT-ST7 s design logitech isn t revolutionary, but it does have enough unique features to stand out. On the more run of the mill side of things, it sports logitech a wireless subwoofer for low end response. The subwoofer enclosure is made of .5 MDF with a 100w (unspecified THD or voltage) class D amplifier. Sony does not give a rating for frequency response. It sports an active 7 driver and an 8 x12 passive radiator and weighs 24lbs 11oz. While 24lbs isn t heavy by any means for a subwoofer, it s still about 10lbs more than the sub included with the Bose CineMate 1 SR , which retails for $1499. I know, I know, heavier doesn t equal better, but it can be an indicator of build quality, like more internal bracing or a bigger motor structure on the driver. But rather than guess, I took apart the subwoofer..
       Sony HT-ST7 Sub Rear                         Sony HT-ST7 Sub Amplifier
A 2 deep cavity on the rear of the unit houses the amplifier and has padding to prevent the amp from rattling during use . The main cavity houses the 7 active driver and 8 x12 passive logitech radiator. Both are stamped basket. I wasn t able to remove the active driver, but I could feel that it has a vented pole piece for improved heat dissipation. It also has a bucking magnetic to reduce the magnetic field for CRT displays. I m not sure why these are still used on products like this as the subwoofer likely won t sit by a CRT display. The cord from the amplifier was wrapped to prevent it from slapping around the cabinet. The bracing in the cabinet logitech was minimal, really, pretty much nonexistent except for some extra MDF glued to the inside of the cabinet. You ll note the round piece of MDF glued to the inside of the cabinet, which is the cutout from the driver. logitech Although logitech not visible in the pictures below, there was one piece batting glued to the back panel. Finally, the sub measures up at 9 W 15 H 16 D, making it pretty compact, especially considering that 2 of the height doesn t add to the internal volume because logitech it s from a base that the subwoofer logitech sets on. That s in addition to the 2 deep amplifier enclosure. Obviously, most consumers looking for a soundbar don t want a giant sub, so I thought the size was fine considering the application. However, the build quality leaves logitech something to be desired. logitech
As for the soundbar itself, it sports an impressive array of 9 drivers in a T-M---M-M-M-M-M---M-T arrangement. The tweeters are.8 (20mm) domes and the midrange drivers are 2.56 (65mm). I was unable to find out the driver material used, but the midrange logitech drivers look like woven fiberglass. The two tweeters and woofers flanking the outside of the soundbar are in separate enclosures from the five midrange logitech woofers in the middle. At first glance, it looks like the pair of drivers on the outside of the unit are in ported enclosures, each with a small front firing port. Only when I was moving logitech the soundbar around during measurements did I notice that the port is not actually a port. It just looks like one but is actually completely closed (There is a close up picture of this further into the review).
Seven independent 50w amplifiers power the 9 drivers, presumably with the two outside pairs of drivers each powered by a single amplifier. Sony touts the use of a high quality aluminum enclosure, which I do think looks nice, but most of the unit is actually constructed from plastic, including logitech the sides, rear, and bottom.
Mirroring the impressive array of drivers on the front of the unit is an impressive array of inputs on the rear. Three HDMI, two digital optical, one digital coax, and one analog audio provide enough logitech varied connections for most anyone. The HDMI inputs not only support 3D, 4K, HDMI-CEC and standby