Customer Ratings & Reviews

To be fair, the sound is not bad for a soundbar with no surround speakers. Compared to the Bose Soundtouch 300, the HT-ST5000 sounds better to my ears — crisper and truer. While you can change the level of the sub, as well as the front & top speakers of the soundbar, you cannot adjust treble or bass. The surround effects are not great whether simulated 3D or from an actual Dolby Atmos blu-ray; however, the real atmosphere was better. I’m coming from a full surround system, so I may just need to get used to less. Big Con: While watching HDMI 1 (Comcast), I turn off the tv. The TV & HT-ST5000 turn off as expected. When I turn the tv back on, the tv displays HDMI 1, the HT turns on, & I get the correct sound. HOWEVER, in a few seconds, the HT changes the input all by itself to TV. I have to manually change it back to HDMI 1 every time. The same thing happens with HDMI 2 & 3; it changes to TV after about 10 seconds. In addition, the onscreen display works only intermittently. For $1500, I expect more. Sony support is horrible. The manual is terrible. Their web support function does not work with Safari (it will not let you input the mandatory model # even from its own dropdown menu). Using Firefox, I was able to initiate a chat session, but after 15 minutes of not getting an agent I gave up. I’ll return the unit if I cannot figure out this glitch.

I've had two of these units and within a year they've both failed! The sound is awesome when it worked but who wants a sound bar especially one that cost $1500. If you do buy it I suggest you buy the extended warranty. Just know that they will have to send it out for repair and you will be without the unit for a couple of weeks.

As long as you put this in an enclosed room you'll experience the amazing effects. Soundbar produces a wonderful sound stage. Opening scene in John Wick is incredible (Xbox One X with Dolby Atmos enabled). I watched that scene probably ten times. Felt like it was raining in my living room.

Subwoofer loses connection constantly. Bass signal in and out to just straight static. I have read many reviews on bestbuy.com and amazon and many people have the same problem. Even tried the secure connection feature to minimize sub interruptions and it actually got worse. Seems Sony and other retailers know and do nothing. The store I returned it to had 2 other identical systems in the open box section and I’m guessing I know why. Funny how Sony can’t make a $1500 dollar sound bar system with a wireless sub that works from 18 inches away; but my $45 portable Bluetooth speaker from Sony works from across my apartment. The setup was a breeze and it’s a really great looking system. Pretty good sound from the bar, probably not $1500 worth of sound, but good. Loved that it worked with my Bravia 930d, but if the sub doesn’t work, what’s the point?! Also, there’s no option to hardwire the sub to the bar which seems really stupid, especially if they know their system has inferior connectivity. Also, not expandable for more speakers.

I bought and compared this to the Bose 700 soundbar w/ bass module. With this one the first thing I noticed was how cheap the remote felt, and its not universal meaning you can program your other devices to it so you just need one remote. Bose remote allows this and works really well from my experience. Hook up was a breeze. The soundbar is massive. Subwoofer too, it actually looked out of place for the 14' x 14' room I setup in. Once I setup everything where I wanted it, I plugged in, turned on TV and ran through the guided steps for setup. Easy. I played different movies, tv, and music for a few hours. The sound from the sound bar sounded muffled too me. Not clear and concise. Highs aren't there. There's plenty of bass, but for me too boomy and exaggerated. I liked the bass from Bose better as it was cleaner, tighter, balanced and the lower realms just sounded really good. I can't say that I know Bose for its bass, but with their new soundbar setup its great. Biggest concern with this Sony soundbar was how hot it got and how fast. None of the other soundbars I tried got hot at all, but this one gets fairly hot. Also the atmos didn't sound anything like it did in the store. Haha, I know it always sounds different in the store, but I was expecting more. I double checked that it had the latest software and also ran thru all the settings. Far as I could tell everything was setup for optimal performance and it just didn't do it for me. Of course this will be miles better than any TV speaker sound and probably most low budget soundbars, but for $1500 I'd rather go with something else.

I would have to agree with some other views that I do feel like I have to turn up the volume almost to the max to get the surround sound effect which should not be the case. I did setup the speaker distance of course but the movies never felt like it had that punch speaking about the soundbar only. The subwoofer of course shakes the whole house. I feel that the Sony ht-z9f with rears outperforms this unit.

This was my first of three sound bar purchase and trials. The 7.1.2, Atmos and availability drew me to this package deal first. I purchased this as well as the two surrounds. I used the HDMI connections with my television and AppleTV. Set up: It was pretty easy to set up, instructions are clear. Pairing the wireless speakers: Initial pairing was easy. Keeping it paired with the sub and surround speakers was challenging. It constantly loss connection in the few weeks I tested it. Compatibility: I had no issues using this set up with my AppleTV and Samsung TV. Speaker Sound Control: You are able to control each speaker via the remote that comes with it. The ease of understanding the remote functions are moderate. Surround Speaker Quality: What sound? The speakers are barely audible even on max level and right near my ear. They are hardly worth the money spent on them. The Soundbar and Sub Sound Quality: This set is lacking in more ways than I have time to list. The sound is flat, sharp and at times hollow. I felt that my televisions speakers out preformed the sound bar itself. The sub barely puts out base even with adjustment. Dolby Atmos Performance: I didn’t hear the Atmos. The 5.1 Sound bar and sub (the surrounds are currently out of stock) I ultimately went with that doesn’t yet offer Atmos out performed this Sony 7.1.2 bar with Atmos as well as standard listening modes. In summary if sound quality, performance and connectivity are important to you the. save a little more money and go with one of the other two higher end Soundbars that are on the market. The Sony is riddled with connection issues and poor sound quality.

I purchased this product because the sales person at BB raved about the sound quality. Having purchased a new 75 inch Samsung TV, I wanted something that would complement the system. No doubt the sound bar improved the sound but not much difference between this product and similar products that costs $250. No need to spend $1500 for a slight improvement in sound. Not impressed.

I bought a Sony 65” Z9D and this very expensive HT-ST 5000 sound bar. It’s a great sound bar but it obviously has multiple issues. The first one I had the sound kept cutting out and 1 time the screen went blank and a message said there was nothing connected to hdmi 1 and there was so you have to power down and back on to get picture back so I returned that unit and decided to try another one thinking I just had a defective unit. So I bring the second one home get it all hooked up and the sound issues seem to be non existent but now I have a new issue my Xfinity dvr is connected to hdmi 1 of the tv since it doesn’t out put in 4K I have a unpaid- x700 blueray player connected to hdmi 1 of the soundbar and a roku ultra in hdmi 2 of soundbar and the new issue is when you toggle between inputs it doesn’t want to switch for example I’m watching regular tv on hdmi 1 and want to watch a blue ray so I go from tv input on soundbar to hdmi 1 the soundbar display switches to hdmi 1 but the tv picture from cable box doesn’t change. This is very annoying for a soundbar of this caliber. Obviously I have no choice but to return this one as well however next time I think I’ll be getting the Samsung N850/ZA

the atmos on this bar is so frigging dope !! The sub really rattled my living room. !

Auto low latency and variable bit rate isn't recognised for Xbox. You can connect it directly to the TV and use an optical cable to the HT-ST5000. But then you lose ATMOS without the HDMI connection.

This soundbar is very nice looking and the subwoofer looks very elegant. Both the soundbar and subwoofer is heavy; definitely built with quality. The sound itself is good but not great. I really don’t hear the Atmos effect. Very nice and sharp highs and the bass is good too. You will likely need to adjust the settings to get better mids. Also, the clear audio and voice setting helps make the dialogue louder because on the default settings, the voices are very low. Overall, the sound quality is good, but in my opinion, it’s expensive. You could probably get similar sound quality from a way cheaper soundbar. If you went from the tv speakers to this sound-bar, then you will love it. But if you came from a decent surround sound system, then you may be as impressed. Not sure maybe I need to play around with the settings to make the Atmos effect work. But so far, the Atmos is disappointing. I would give this a 3.5 rating.

I bought one of these on Saturday night at Best Buy in Marlborough, MA. I ordered it online and picked it up in the store around 9:00 p.m. The box looked a little less than perfect, but I didn't think much of it - it was sealed all around with some sort of Best Buy security tape. When I opened it up the next morning, something was clearly not right. The styrofoam was a bit beat up, some of it was missing, and the only things in the box were the sound bar (and cover) and the subwoofer - no remote, no cable, no quick start guide, nothing else . I called up Best Buy that morning and the rep on the phone claimed that there wasn't supposed to be anything in the box and I was supposed to "use my phone" as the remote. They clearly sold me an open box item as new and tried to hide it. I returned it yesterday morning for a full refund and will look to buy one elsewhere.

The sound is excellent and voices are clear. However, I cannot give it a 5 unless they add the capability to add rear speakers. More money in their pockets. It is a no brainer. Please Sony, add this with a firmware update.

I have had this soundbar for a couple months now. bought it at best buy with the latest sony 950 65" uhd tv. i am a tech savvy person, and was able to set it up very easily. i ran all my video through the sound bar and the hdmi arc cable would run it back to the tv. after about a month of use the sound would go out completely. after a couple times resetting the whole system i got it to work, but it start going out within a week. i now run all my video through my tv so when the soundbar does go out i can just turn the soundbar off and have sound through my tv. this happens about 2-3 days after i reset it. i only use it when i want to watch a new movie. for 1500$ it is the most disappointing purchase i have ever made.

This sound bar is amazing and is perfect for added depth in smaller rooms. The sound when it is working is just what I wanted. But after 7-8 months of use my left speakers started to go. For the price I am very disappointed in the quality. It should of lasted me years without any issues. I wish I would of gone with a more reliably brand like BOSE, but for now I hope the repairs last. Would of been 5 stars if I didn't have speaker issues.

Absolute waste of money. Sound is ok - but NO wireless capability to other speakers! Suppose to provide “surround sound” by bouncing sound off ceiling and walls- what a joke! For this much money, a simple wireless or Bluetooth ability would have made it worth this big price. Keep looking. This one is awful.

This sound at and sun is absolutely great! The soundbar has really nice clarity and the bass from the sun is amazing! Great for TV, movies and definitely music.

I bought this and set it up the same day. I watched one movie and it sounded good I was sooooo happy. I then thought I'd try out the bluetooth capability and connect my phone to play some music. That's when I started to notice a distinct buzzing/popping sound coming from the speakers or subwoofer not sure. It didn't sound right at all. But I figured, this is a Sony product, there is no way its defective. I mean it costs $1,400. There is no way something like this would be defective. So I put on another movie to test it out and see if I got the same distorted sound without my phone connected. Just playing a movie. Sure enough I did. So like everyone else I went to Google and did some research. Come to find out ALLOT of people have had the same experience and had to either jump through rings of fire to get theirs repaired or simply take a loss because theirs were out of warranty. To save myself the headache I just returned it and got my money back. I can't believe a Sony product, one that costs $1,400 has this known issue that many have complained about and Sony has stayed quiet not even considering a recall. I think its just shameful and a scam. I AM SO LUCKY I didn't have mine for a year like others and wasn't able to return it thus wasting $1,400. Oh and by the way, Sony customer service is a joke! All they did was refer me to this page on their dysfunctional website that troubleshooted a soundbar that first of all wasn't even the same model as the one I purchased and second didn't even help me one bit. That trouble shooting page was so generic too. Some of the helpful tips included "Make sure the unit is plugged in" **face palm** NEVER EVER will I buy a Sony product again. I AM SO DISAPPOINTED. Oh and by the way, the people from Sony responding to these reviews saying things like "We're sorry you had a bad experience" you people are ridiculous. Is that what you say to people that have lost $1,400 because their soundbar was defective and you guys refused to repair it since it was out of warranty? These generic responses to reviews make me laugh so much. Its like they think people will say "Oh no worries" Hahahahahahaha.

I jast gat a today good jab sony I never seen never fells like that what a amazing sound 3d dolby atoms sound I canot belive it good jab sony