With its 2024 soundbar batting order , Sony has n’t just changed its naming conventionalism — it ’s also changed its approach .
Gone are the from the cumbrous model numbers game , replaced ( in this font ) with the Bravia Theater Bar 9 . And instead of creating expandable , feature - ample system that can complement any goggle box as it has done in the past times , Sony has chosen to acquire simplified and sleek speaker unit that do at their best when linked to a modern Sony Bravia television receiver . Perhaps we should n’t be surprised — the stigma Bravia is right in the name , after all . And Sony is n’t alone in this approaching . LG and Samsung also have tweaked their soundbars to be better companions within their brands .
If you ’ve never purchase a Sony soundbar before ( or any high - end soundbar for that matter ) , this change of attack may be almost irrelevant . In that case , I will only say one matter about the Bravia Theater Bar 9 : If it ’s purely for TV audio , go for it . I think you ’ll be vibrate with the public presentation . It has the power , lick , and clarity needed to wow you , whether you ’re catch a full Dolby Atmos blockbuster , or just binge watching episodes ofEmily in Paris . Plus , the accessibility of Sony wireless sub and surround speakers will give you way to develop .
But if you ’re an possessor of one of Sony ’s previous soundbar model like the HT - A5000 — or especially the HT - A7000 flagship that the Bar 9 replaces — and you ’re considering an upgrade , you ask to join me for a deeper dive .
Sony has stripped away far too many feature from the HT - A7000 for me to see the Bar 9 as an rise from that role model . If anything , it ’s a downgrade . And present that Sony is necessitate $ 1,400 for the Bar 9 ( $ 100 more than the HT - A7000 ) , you ’re paying more for less . A lot less .
Bravia Theater Bar 9 specs
Sleek and simple
If I were to discover Sony ’s approach to the Bravia Theater Bar 9 in one word , it would be “ simplify . ” Everything about it — from its design to its features — is a simplification of the HT - A7000 . Aesthetically , this is a good thing . The Bar 9 is completely free of adornments . There are no textured plastic panel , no field glass , and no metal . The entire speaker is efficaciously a single , cloth - wrap black bar . It calls no attention to itself at all .
It maintains the A7000 ’s 51 - column inch width ( important for channel breakup ) , but it ’s brusk and shallower than its predecessor , and much lighter ( 12 punt versus 19 pounds ) . Sony still let in wall - mounting ironware and a template , but it also include two small risers to help the speaker range the legs on some Sony TVs . With its shallow depth , it should appear bang-up when wall - mounted .
But that ’s where the benefit of simplicity end .
Less is … less
Normally , most soundbars have a few controls for adjusting the bulk and perchance alter the input without reach for the remote control . The Bar 9 has none , other than a solitary major power button obliterate on the speaker ’s correct side .
Sony also has ditched the large alphanumeric display that sat behind the radiator grille of the A7000 — a ready to hand read-out that read input , volume stratum , and confirmed formats likeDolby Atmos . In its post you get a petite LED that uses dissimilar colors to transmit input and Bluetooth couple .
The remote control also has been drastically simplified , which you should study as foreshadowing the lack of configurations and features I ’m getting to .
Around the back you ’ll find the ports . It ’s a ascetical choice : two HDMI ports and an analog output that only works with compatible Sony television for midway groove audio . run is the second HDMI input , the optical interface , the analogue stimulation , and the USB port for local euphony playback .
One HDMI port is for theARC / eARCTV connection , and the other is a consecrated input . Both areHDMI 2.1compliant and the input can fleet through 8K/60 or 4K/120 withDolby Vision , VRR , ALLM , and SBTM all preserved — key requirements for gamers even if most non - gamers wo n’t care that much .
Out of the loge , Sony covers the stimulus with a gummed label , presumptively to avoid folks by chance using it instead of the eARC port for their TV .
Perhaps you ’re say this and cerebrate “ dude , this all go amazing — I never liked all of that extra stuff to commence with ! ” Well , it generate good . Sony has chuck a lot of other features , too .
From on-screen to app-based
One of my best-loved role of the HT - A7000 ( and its smallerHT - A5000sibling ) was its on - screen frame-up display . As long as the soundbar was get in touch to a TV when you first turn it on , you could lean back and take maintenance of everything with the remote control . The Bar 9 has ditched this ability . In fact , unless you own a compatible Bravia video , you ’ll get no on - screen door command of any form .
or else , you need to apply Sony ’s Bravia Connect app . It ’s very easy to finish the apparatus , including the mandatory room calibration step that use Sony ’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping along with your phone ’s mike . But I ’m not demented about the app ’s other mandatory step : You need to sign in before you may begin .
I ’ve used a lot of Sony apps over the eld , but I ’m somewhat indisputable this is the first time I could n’t skip a sign of the zodiac - in . Mandatory report creation makes horse sense in some scenarios — specially when a paid subscription is involved or there ’s a pauperism to enter the same stage setting from multiple gimmick . There ’s nothing in the Bravia Connect app that suggests either of these things are a consideration with the Bar 9 .
Another annoyance : The app babble to the soundbar via Bluetooth LE . That ’s a necessary tone before a soundbar is connected to your connection . But once you ’ve got Wi - Fi enable , using Bluetooth is inert . You notice it most when switching from another app back to Bravia Connect — it always needs a moment to ground that BT connection and collect any changes that have happened to the country of the verbaliser since it was last used .
Most of the metre a mediocre app for a soundbar is n’t a pot - breaker . Remotes provide a more unmediated and tactile interface . However , Sony has made it an essential ingredient by stripping the Bar 9 ’s remote command of all but the barest essentials . It ’s been reduced to a glorify volume control . you’re able to bend consecrated strait modes ( nighttime , voice , and sound field ) on and off , mute , adjust bass , and swap input . Bafflingly , that remark button is only for switching between the two HDMI ports . If you want to use Bluetooth , you have to use the app . This is where a dedicated button on the bar itself would really come in handy .
Goodbye Wi-Fi choices
Since we ’re on the topic of Bluetooth and Wi - Fi , let ’s cover some related to area . On the vivid side , the Bar 9 is one of the few soundbars that let Android drug user streamhi - res audioover Bluetooth using theLDACcodec . commonly , the advice for iPhone user ( who ca n’t use LDAC ) is to useApple ’s AirPlay 2 , which the Bar 9 reinforcement . However , I ’ve recently learned most iPhone apps can only rain buckets lossy AAC sound recording over AirPlay 2 , which means that from a sound quality standpoint , it ’s typically no sound than using Bluetooth .
This scenario was also true on the HT - A7000 , but that soundbar had several great streaming alternatives : Alexa Cast , Google Cast , and Tidal Connect . All of these communications protocol let iPhone and Android drug user stream losslessly , in up to 24 - bit/96kHz settlement . Only Spotify Connect is still available on the Bar 9 .
This is n’t the first soundbar I ’ve make out across where cyclosis options are n’t as robust as I ’d like . Klipsch ’s splendid Flexus 200 , for representative , does n’t do Wi - Fi at all . In those circumstances , the easy fixture is to relate anetwork music streamerlike the $ 100Wiim Mini , which not only has a peachy app for make out music , it also works with Google Cast , UPnP , Tidal Connect , AirPlay , and Bluetooth . But without any compatible digital or analog stimulant , the Bar 9 wo n’t ferment with anystreamersthat I know of .
Another enigma I ’m endeavor to wrap my head around : The Bravia Theater Bar 9 cultivate with Sony ’s version ofDolby Atmos Music , make love as Sony 360 Reality Audio ( 360RA).Tidal , one of the only streaming service that historically endure it , has now abandoned it , so maybe the absence of Tidal Connect is n’t such a with child deal as far as Sony is touch . Amazon Music , however , continues to maintain a 360RA catalogue . And yet , the only way to send 360RA from the Amazon Music app is via Chromecast . Oh hold off , the Bar 9 does n’t do Chromecast . Whoops .
Here ’s one I by all odds did n’t see coming given that Sony make some of thebest tuner headphonesyou can buy : You ca n’t link up wireless phone to the Bar 9 . Once again , the A7000 had it . But now it ’s gone . Perhaps Sony take on you ’ll do that through your Sony Bravia TV . ( You do have one of those , right-hand ? )
Sony’s now the same
When I asked Sony about its decision to empty so many of the features that I felt made the A7000 so marvellous , its response could be summed up as “ this is all standard for the soundbar grocery today . ” ( Those are my words , not Sony ’s . ) It ’s truthful : very few products have on - screen controls . Very few still offer alphanumeric displays — Bose , Sonos , and Vizio do forthwith to mind . remote control have become very simple affair in favour of app - ground controls .
All I can say to this is just because everyone else is doing it does n’t mean you should too . I ’m disappointed that a party like Sony , which once create soundbars that stomach apart , is now seemingly focused on making ones that put up so small differentiation .
At this stop I ’m hale to think of the Bravia Theater Bar 9 as a kind of Swiss Army Knife that has had all of its extra tools removed , will just the chief cutting blade .
gratefully , that blade ( if you ’ll forgive the now awkward metaphor ) remains very good at what it does : delivering first-class sound calibre .
Strong cinema sound
For all of its miss feature , the Bar 9 is still a recoil - ass soundbar . With 13 drivers , it ’s very powerful — I lost my nervus at about 65 % on its mass circumstance — and despite not having a consecrate built - in subwoofer like its herald , there ’s excellent low - frequency reply . tug the bass setting to its maximum grade and the Bar 9 delivers a rightfully cheering home theater of operations experience . It ’s compatible with Sony ’s family of wireless environs speakers and subwoofer ( I ’ll discuss these in a minute ) but it does n’t require them .
In fact , if you live in a condominium , or your TV elbow room is on the little side , youreallydon’t need them .
clearness has always been a Sony effectiveness , and the Bar 9 is no exclusion . Center communication channel delivery of duologue is exact and well divide from setting sound . You ’ll get a slight improvement in dialog intelligibility when you turn on voice modality , but this also has the effect of removing some of the ambient sounds in complex scenes , so I mostly left it off . There were still moments I wish well for Sony ’s remarkableVoice Zoom 3(House of the Dragon , I ’m looking at you ) . But that AI - base sweetening requires a compatible Sony TV . ( Are you sensing a trend here ? )
It ’s also a solid speaker for medicine listen . I ’m still bummed about its lack of streaming options , but Bar 9 had no job cede punchy , energetic sound via Bluetooth and AirPlay . The best results , not astonishingly , were achieved via HDMI : Using anApple TV 4Kto streamApple Music , Tidal , and Amazon was a lot of fun , as well as being a slightly uncheerful reminder of how serious this speaker could be if Sony had n’t cut so many streaming options .
So yes , overall , the Bravia Theater Bar 9 sound nifty . However , if you do n’t love its out - of - box auditory sensation key signature , there ’s little you may do . There are no EQ options . This is n’t new — Sony had already trench these on the A7000 — but now there ’s even less you could do .
The movie theatre and music presets have vanished , and you ca n’t exert control condition over TV channel degree . The app offers the ability to adjust the “ height ” of its Sound Field effect ( dispirited , default , or higher ) but this is n’t the same as being capable to independently increase the level of the height channels . Instead , it sounds like Sony is boosting several parametric quantity at the same time , include some of the higher frequency .
On some system you may attain a workaround by manually changing the distance between your listening place and the speakers . Not so with the Bar 9 — these mensuration are perform mechanically during standardization and ca n’t be adjusted .
There are only two options for exerting control over the sound . A three - level freshwater bass adjustment ( min , mid , max ) and the ability to work Sony ’s Sound Field on and off .
Which land us to Sony ’s next off-the-wall choice . Normally when a levelheaded system receive a Dolby Atmos signal , it automatically processes it as Dolby Atmos . Because convey a attached TV or culture medium musician to send Atmos is n’t always straightforward , there ’s usually a ocular indicator to confirm Atmos is being processed . But you do n’t have todoanything on the sound system itself .
The Bar 9 is different . You must have Sound Field mode on to get Dolby Atmos . This project me for a loop until I figured it out . I started melt down through all of my common Dolby Atmos test clip , and yet the Bravia Connect app keep report that it was receive “ Dolby Audio 7.1 ” and thus no pinnacle channels and no Atmos objective - found wakeless effects . When I turned Sound Field on , dead , Dolby Atmos was being processed .
In equity , Sound Field mode surrender the Atmos goods . Among those mental test clips , my favorites are the Aston Martin chase shot fromNo Time To Die , the introduction toMad Max : Fury Road , and the bombardment sequence fromUnbroken . The Bar 9 effortlessly ricocheted hummer all around me , provided howl engines in all of their glory and fall in an eerie quality to bodiless whisper voices .
Dolby Atmos Music proved equally immersive , though this is where the Bar 9 ’s deficiency of EQ starts to get in the way . Sony ’s tuning strongly favors boosted high . For movies and TV shows , this makes sentience , especially for dialogue . For music , it can be too much , produce a sharpness that attain you want to turn down the loudness instead of cranking it up .
gratefully , two - channel music sounds right smart better . Just make certain you disable Sound Field mode , otherwise you ’ll get Sony ’s interlingual rendition of spatialized stereo . You may like it , but I thought it sound wildly over - processed .
Sony was kind enough to provide itsSA - RS5 wireless surround speakersandSA - SW5 wireless subwooferso I could get the full experience . These are the same Speaker that Sony introduced with the HT - A7000 , and I ’m happy to describe that the consequence is the same : mind - gasconade sound .
It also gives you some much - needed restraint : add the hero permit you set bass voice strength from 1 - 10 ( instead of the three levels on the Bar 9 itself ) , and add together the surrounds gives you a similar level of control for those loudspeaker system . You still ca n’t adjust single channel , but it ’s good than nothing .
It ’s a package that easily contend with aSonos Arc / Era 300 surrounds / Sub comboor aSamsung HW - Q990D. Just keep in idea that when you supply these two accessories , the bundle price can climb as in high spirits as $ 2,700 .
So where do I stand on the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 9 ? As I mentioned in the presentation , I ’m conflicted . If this were Sony ’s first premium soundbar , I ’d be impressed . From a wakeless point of view , it really delivers , which is why those who are looking for a quick and easy telecasting add - on should seriously debate it .
However , this is n’t Sony ’s first premium soundbar , and I ca n’t overlook the many way in which the Bar 9 is a shadow of its predecessor , the A7000 , even if today ’s landscape of soundbar options typically take out many of the A7000 ’s features . I do n’t conceive that as consumers , we should ever get less when we spend the same ( or more ) money .
As I see it , if you correspond with my take on the Bar 9 , there are two way of life you may go . Spend $ 500 less and get Sonos Arc or the Bose Ultra Soundbar . You ’ll get likewise potent sound and expansion option , for a smaller investing . Or , spend $ 100 more on theSennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus . It ’s a true Ab receiver replacement with tons of inputs , superb Dolby Atmos go , and and hatful of wireless streaming options .
