Since there are other reviews on here telling you what this thing can do, I'll do a comparison on this Sony soundbar against the Samsung HW-K950 Atmos soundbar, which is similarly priced. This Sony soundbar has 3 hdmi capable of hdcp 2.2, and 1 ARC Hdmi. The Samsung only has 2 HDMI inputs and 1 ARC Hdmi. Bluetooth is for either receiving (from phones/tablets) or transmitting (headphones, in case you want to listen to the tv at night). This unit works just like a receiver (similar to my strdn1080 atmos receiver), and displays its menu system onto your tv, which makes setup ultra easy. The unit itself connects to your wifi for worry free updates, and will notify you of any updates available. The samsung k950 requires you to BUY a micro USB to USB A type cable and use a flashdrive to update its software (I could never get the update to run btw, so the updating procedure on the samsung is really really bad/frustrating.) What I've connected to my soundbars: pc to soundbar, tv to soundbar, and a sony 4k player through soundbar. On the sony, the PC recognizes the soundbar and allows me to select ATMOS under the speaker selection. On the Samsung, my only choice was STEREO (disapointing). The TV sounds great to the soundbar, whereas the samsung one felt too much like a stereo system simulating a surround sound. when I hooked up the 4k BD player, it was also much easier to setup/use. Sound automatically gets output to atmos, while the samsung failed at detecting the atmos signal, even when the sound output was selected as a non decoded bitstream. The only advantage the samsung soundbar has, is that it physically has rear speakers. But they're kinda useless, if it doesn't work with your sound system/setup. To me, I had to have Atmos coming out of my pc, and 4k player. Only the Sony was able to do that. The Samsung failed in all of those areas. At the time of this review, both soundbars were priced at $1500. Kudos to Sony for their work. They have something that works well. Pictures show pc speaker config, and what you'll see on your screen, when you go into the soundbar menu

I purchased the Sony HT-ST5000 with hopes for a very clear clean sound system and a nice base response. Once I installed it, updated the firmware, connected audioquest cinnamon cables properly and configured the sound setup for our living room, I was not overwhelmed. I found the subwoofer to rumble instead of having more of a punch to the base. The voice was a bit metallic / tinny. Everybody's room is different. I have a great room with 15 foot ceilings with carpet. I connected it to my LG c7p OLED as well as the DirecTV c61k 4K box. Sony makes an excellent product however, bar was a bit short and bulky to accommodate the cosmetics in front of the LG TV - not looking to make the Soundbar the focal point of the home theater. After 2 days of tweaking, my wife and I could not bring ourselves to keep the Soundbar. I previously had a ysp-4000 and a Definitive Technology SuperCube - I was used to a bit more punch in the base and more clear voice with a bit of base to the voice. We did not want to move to the ysp 5600 as we decided to replace the Yamaha YSP with a more minimalistic approach to our home theater. While attending the 2018 CES again this year and saw the LG sk10y and talk to the LG reps quite extensively. I listened to it and was actually waiting on that soundbar. Come to my surprise when I returned the Sony the LG was there and I immediately purchased it. In comparison the bass response is more of a punch and deeper Voice through the soundbar. Running the Dolby Atmos videos through my LG tv the Soundbar was noticeably better. Nothing wrong with the Sony Sound Bar, this is my subjective point of view. Side note: a week later, we now own the LG Spk8 rear speakers and the system sounds even better.

Brought HT-ST5000 in 12/2020 and is connected to, 65X900F (brought 12/2019) and Apple TV 4K (brought 12/2020). Initially had 4K connection issues, Sony online chat helped me resolve issues, Apple TV 4K to HT-ST5000 to TV on HDMI enhanced and HDMI ARC (enhanced).  Rest of the connection is easy and uses 4K HDMI cables. Real plus is the settings for adjusting the height and distance, since I have a 2 floor high ceiling and the added benefit of increasing/decreasing the db adjustments. The sound from the sound-bar is excellent, clear and provides good bass. As many pointed out it would be really nice if it can be paired to 2 Hi-Res Atmos compatible rear surround speakers to get the full theater effects. Since this is my first premium Hi-Res sound system apart from couple of high quality noise cancelling headphones, this system stands out for the same music/cinema sounds, it definitively envelopes oneself with sounds even with high ceilings and is now compelling me to try/compare WH-1000XM3/XM4 or HIFIMan 360 degree immersive sound. Also it would be great if the display reads out Atmos/DTS content passed through Apple 4K TV. TV remote can be used to control all devices and works seamlessly. MOST IMPORTANTLY it is a must now that SONY should provide a few demo's with this Soundbar and also for TV's so that most of us can confirm the experience that we get at stores at home as well. Demo's available online are not always highest quality. Overall, so far it has been living up to expectation, a little pricier and will come back again to update long term performance, hence 4 out of 5.

As I write, I am jamming to the Boss playing from my phone and projecting through my Sony - 7.1.2-Channel Hi-Res Soundbar by way of bluetooth connection. I had read lots of reviews about this soundbar and most were not that positive. So I was a little reluctant to purchase this Sony soundbar, especially given how expensive the price. However, I had a surround sound system in my previous home and had mixed Sony components with non-Sony components. The configuration of the components and multiple remotes was torturous and never really worked well together. My one year old Sony HD Smart TV has the Bravia synchronization feature and I was hoping that by using a Sony soundbar that I could avoid such component interoperability issues. Then Bestbuy had a short sale on the Sony Soundbar in August so I jumped on the opportunity. I had the soundbar professionally installed and connected to my Sony TV and sure enough the Sony Bravia interoperability feature actually worked as advertised. All the Sony components, TV, Soundbar, Blue Ray Player actually synchronized and the one TV remote controls almost all features of the soundbar. The installer did not have to make any configuration settings. Just plugged in the HDMI cable from the soundbar into the HDMI 2 (ARC) input and the soundbar worked perfectly. Having had a true surround sound system previously, one gets spoiled with decompressed audio. And, the sound in the Sony - 7.1.2-Channel Hi-Res Soundbar is about as close to a surround system that you are going to get without incurring all the additional expense of purchasing, installing, and maintaining a surround AV system. I cannot tell any real difference. And, the sound is booming from this soundbar. I highly recommend taking the plunge and going all in with all Sony components. Sony seems to have finally heard the frustration of consumers with the interoperability issues of home AV components and made the install and usability of a home AV system easy. Thank you Sony!

So here's the thing, the build quality is A1! Everything from the actual soundbar itself to the subwoofer feels and looks like a premium product you would pay top dollar for. But we aren't here for looks are we? How does it sound? I'd rate the actual sound a 9/10. I have experiences intermittent popping but that goes away for long stretching when changing the frequency within the settings. I've seen other people complain but this issue can be addressed once again in the settings. I bought this soundbar with my A9G OLED and I am in home theatre heaven. Sure it costed $1500 (plus tax) but you only live once and it is a perfect complimentary piece to my $3700 (plus tax) 4k Sony.