Sony HT-MT300 Sound Bar Reviews - Compact & Discreet Bluetooth / NFC Soundbar

Compact, versatile and powerful, the Sony HT-MT300 and HT-MT500 soundbars fully meet the modern needs of home audio entertainment. With us, testing the smallest and most convenient MT300.

The Sony HT-MT300 is the perfect sound bar for those looking to enhance their music and movie experience substantially. The soundbar system comes with a strong wireless subwoofer and the soundbar itself is extremely compact. Audiophiles and moviegoers should look elsewhere (like the soundbar Samsung HW-MS650) but for the average enthusiast, the Sony HT-MT300 is a solid choice. Read our Sony HT-MT300 Sound Bar reviews to know all the details with pros and cons.

• Also, read our reviews of the best 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray players 2018.

Characteristics

• A discreet design that blends easily into your living room. Simply connect the main unit to your TV via HDMI and position the ultrafine subwoofer next to your furniture or under your sofa
• Immersive sound: like a home theater with Sony S-Force Pro Front Surround technology and feel the bass like never before thanks to the sofa mode
• The sound bar acts as a wireless speaker: connect it instantly to your smartphone via Bluetooth / NFC to play music from your phone The sound bar Sony HT-MT300 is divided into two parts:

There's a compact soundbar that measures 50 x 5.4 x 10.3 cm (WxHxD) and a slim subwoofer that you can slide under your couch to experience every explosion or other effect requiring good bass. The subwoofer measures 9.3 x 38.3 x 36.8 cm (WxHxD), which should fit most sofas, but if it does not, you can place the subwoofer next to it. this one standing. The Sony HT-MT300 is available in black or white, which helps it to blend in indoors very easily. As the soundbar is so compact, it can fit anywhere, but unfortunately, you cannot fix it to the wall. The subwoofer boasts a matte black finish with a black piano trim. At the top of the soundbar, you'll find capacitive touch buttons to control the volume, select your input, switch to Bluetooth and turn it on. A series of LEDs tells you exactly which input is selected and whether the music or video EQs are active.

Installation

Commissioning is very simple, thanks to the optical connection. Simply find the optical port of your TV and connect the HT-MT300 sound bar to your TV via the included optical cable. Plug in the subwoofer and soundbar, turn on the sound bar and combine both with the touch of a button. Then all you have to do is tune your TV to use the sound bar instead of the built-in speakers. Although the optical connection is relatively easy to configure, Sony has chosen not to include an ARC HDMI connection that allows communication from audio equipment. This means that the HT-MT300 does not turn on or off and cannot be controlled by your TV's remote control. For most users, this will not be a problem since the supplied remote control is fantastic, unlike competitors who provide their soundbars with "cheap" remotes with soft buttons.

If you want to stream music from your phone or tablet to the Sony HT-MT300, you can use the Bluetooth connection. There is also the included NFC, so pairing with an Android phone is as easy as putting your phone on the soundbar and accepting it. On the other hand, there is no WiFi or Google Cast here, but you can get these features, as well as high-resolution audio support with the Sony HT-MT500.

• Discover our comparison of the best sound bars

Performance

The sound bar of the Sony HT-MT300 gives great sound, especially when you watch movies with action scenes and even at moderately low levels. The action scenes were more immersive thanks to the subwoofer's ability to give out low frequencies, and the system becomes very powerful and plays mostly without distortion. Speaking of which, the music also sounds good with the Sony HT-MT300 soundbar, although we wanted a wider and more immersive soundscape. The two woofers on the soundbar are very close to each other, so physics works against the soundbar when it comes to stereo separation. Is the bass a bit too light to please you? With easily adjustable bass levels via the remote control, it's easy to change the speaker balance to your specific tastes. There are also EQ enhancements for movies and music that you can edit with the remote. A handy feature if you know what you are doing. Unfortunately, it is impossible to ignore the rather narrow soundstage. We would have liked to get more stereo separation and virtual surround sound S-Force Pro is just a gadget. The Sony HT-MT300 is not the only soundbar 2.1 to claim to be surround sound, but at least other sound bars like the Sonos Playbar do a better job of imitating. In the end, the Sony HT-MT300 simply did not have the ability to simulate surround back channels, which makes the system sound like a good stereo setup, but probably not something you would install instead. a 5.1 system. Home cinema. There is nothing wrong with that, especially at that price, but do not expect to hear bullets whirling around your head or something like Dolby Atmos.

+ PROS

Compact form
Simple to install and use
It is perfectly balanced

- CONS

Virtual surround sound
No HDMI ARC

Conclusion

There are many things we like about the sound bar Sony HT-MT300. Thanks to its compact shape, it fits everywhere and it is wireless. Thus, this subwoofer allows you to place it under the sofa for additional bass effect. The sound bar sounds great with movies and music but disappoints somewhat with virtual surround sound. For the price, you get great sound and an entry-level sound bar that fits almost anywhere and is easy to use and set up. For most of us, the Sony HT-MT300 is a winning product, while remaining simple and focusing on what matters: sound and ease of use.
You can also check our opinion of the soundbar Philips Fidelio B5.