Sony Bravia KDL-46W4100 LDC HDTV Review - Audio

We were quite pleased with the sound quality produced by the Sony Bravia KDL-46W4100's speakers. Although still not as good as even an entry-level surround sound system, it came closer than any other TV we've reviewed to date.

Sound Quality (5.0)
The Sony Bravia KDL-46W4100's speakers provide very good sound quality for built-in speakers. There is good depth but you can still hear a decent amount of detail in the sound. This is significantly better than the audio we saw from televisions like the Sharp LC-46D64U or the Vizio VO47L. We were quite pleased with the sound quality, most people will be able to use just the TV speakers and be pleased by the sound quality.

Surround Sound (5.0)
The Sony Bravia KDL-46W4100 has a simulated surround sound mode that can turned on in the Audio section. We did not detect a discernible difference between the audio quality with this surround sound system turned on versus off. With or without simulated surround turned on the quality of audio produced by the Sony Bravia KDL-46W4100 was closer to the entry-level surround sound system that we use as a reference. The surround sound system still provided better detail, and of course the reality of surround sound, but the difference was nowhere near as marked as we've seen on other television sets.

Loudness (8.9)
We measured the loudness of the Sony Bravia KDL-46W4100's built-in speakers at 89.0 decibels. This makes it one of the louder TVs we've reviewed to date, although variation between televisions is generally minor with most falling between 80-90 decibels. The Sony Bravia KDL-46W4100's speakers are plenty loud enough that you will probably go deaf if you listen to it at maximum volume from within twenty feet. That should be loud enough for anyone.