Sony KDL-40W5100 LCD HDTV Review - Audio & Menus

Audio & Menus Summary
Editorial Note: This is a review of the Sony KDL-40W5100. Test results are for this model, but should indicate the general performance of other models in the W5100 series, which include the KDL-46W5100 (46"), the KDL-52W5100 (52"), and the KDL-65W5100 (65"). Read here for more details on series differences.
• Poor audio quality. • Menu looks nice, but is somewhat unintuitive at times. • The manual isn't the best we've seen.
	Connectivity	Page 10 of 18	Formats & Media

Audio Quality (3.5)

The Sony KDL-40W5100's speakers aren't very good. We thought they sounded tinny, muffled, and flat. The sound didn't have a lot of presence. There are two features you can use to improve things slightly: Sound Enhancer and Surround Sound mode. The former helps reduce the muted, muffled sound, while the latter improves presence slightly. We'd recommend buying external speakers for this TV.

Menu Interface (6.0)

If you like your Playstation 3, you'll love the The KDL-46W5100's menu system. Pressing the menu button will bring up a horizontal row of options that expand vertically. The menu is attractive, but its layout might be somewhat confusing to some. The menu also has a few annoying quirks.

The main menu items are listed horizontally and expand vertically.

The main thing that annoyed us about the menu is that it doesn't loop around. Typically you can skip from the first to the last item in a menu list. Sony doesn't believe in this, however, which makes navigation a pain. The menu also seems to lag slightly.

Submenus have a more familiar layout.

While neither issue is deal-breaking for the average user, they are annoying little quirks. Overall, we still liked the menu system.

Manual (6.0)

The KDL-46W5100's manual is mildly helpful, but doesn't contain many navigation aids. There's a table of contents at the stard, tabs on the edges of each page, and a very sparse index. We thought the font and pictures were a bit on the small side, but should be readable for the average person. Diagrams are a bit more confusing than they need to be, with arrows radiating somewhat haphazardly.

Sony offers several online manuals, which can be viewed here.

Other Models in the W5100 Series
This is a review of the Sony KDL-40W5100. The other sizes of HDTVs in this series should be similar in terms of performance and usability. For details about any differences, click on the image to jump to the Series Comparison page.
KDL-46W5100 46 inches	KDL-52W5100 52 inches	KDL-65W5100 65 inches