Customer Ratings & Reviews

In recent years, with the advent of object based codecs, the home viewing experience continues to improve at an accelerated rate. It is because of this that, for many audio enthusiasts, the home theatre is an important aspect of their entertainment lives. However, for others who desire an exceptional audio experience but do not have the allurement or ability to purchase multiple speakers, are unfortunately hindered. Thus, soundbars have become somewhat of a perfect solution for such a predicament, allowing you to save space and enjoy better sound than typical TV speakers. As such, I was extremely excited to compare the newly released Bravia 9 Theatre Bar and see how it performs as a main speaker. Upon receiving the Bravia 9, I was surprised that it seemed much larger than expected. At roughly 51.5 inches in length and about 5 inches in depth, I strongly recommend that you plan your measurements accordingly. In addition, the Bravia 9 was much heavier than expected; clocking in at 12 pounds, the bar is massive and definitely feels like a premium product. In the box, the soundbar comes with an HDMI cable and an analog cable for the S-Center feature. It also includes two wall mount brackets and two feet so you can raise the soundbar if your TV feet are in the way. As for setup, unfortunately the Bravia 9 requires the Bravia Connect application along with a Sony account. In addition, your device and soundbar will need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi router for you change any settings. Furthermore, the Bravia 9 only has two LED lights: one for source input and the other is the status indicator. Personally, I think it would have been beneficial if they would have included a small screen on top to display the modes and various inputs. As for setup, while I was not excited about being force to use the application, it did find the bar relatively fast. Once I created my account and attached my Wi-Fi to it, I was ready to go. Once I completed setup, I was ready to test the Bravia 9. Before I begin, I do want to caution you that what I observed here will differ from your experience as our audio perception differs. However, it should provide some idea of its performance. For my test setup, I used two Audioquest Cinnamon 48 Gbps rated cables, both of which are 5 ft in length. The Bravia 9 was connected to my Sony A90J OLED TV via its HDMI 2.1 eARC port; my Sony X800-M2 4K bluray player was connected to the TV's other HDMI 2.1 port . Furthermore, I made sure eARC was enabled on the TV (should be by default); digital output on the X800 was set to bit stream audio sources with secondary audio set to off. You will need double check your particular equipment and adjust accordingly. On the Bravia connect application, eARC should be enabled by default. Connectively, I tried to refrain from changing the sound settings in the application so I could preserve an out of box experience but I did turn DSEE ultimate and Audio DRC off. For the sound field option, I only tested the 360 spatial setting (default). Additionally, I left the bass at medium and the system volume was capped at 30. Lastly, I picked two movies: one with Dolby Atmos and the other with DTS:X; for music I only used my personal FLAC/WAV collection of which has been scanned via spectrogram and verified for proper lossless quality. For my first movie, I decided to watch The Mummy (1999) which features an engaging DTS:X mix that makes effective use of my main home theatre system. As such, I was curious to see how this translates to the Bravia 9 soundbar and for the most part the results are stellar. Upon firing up the movie, you should notice the DTS:X logo at the top of the application's home screen so that you'll know that it is seeing the correct metadata. With the sound field option off, I think the Bravia 9 sounds quite natural; voices are centered perfectly and are crisp and clear. Additionally, the opening battle sequence has some nice bass rumbles throughout. Another good example is at the 9:34 mark when the sword is thrown into the air. On my main setup, that section is isolated specifically on my Atmos speakers, so it was nice to hear that the Bravia 9 positioned up on the top left speaker and shifted it to the right. When you turn on the sound field option at this same section, the background music is pulled way up to the forefront and still manages to position all the sounds accordingly. In addition, the sword is drastically louder and much more aggressive in the mix. The sound field option was quite surprising to say the least. While I normally do not like to add any additional processing to the audio, I was quite shocked at the immediate difference at the 1:00:57-1:01:14 mark where the background brass instruments are brought up front and center and is much more noticeable. When you disable the option in the same section, the music completely shifts further back into the mix and drops significantly in volume. For most, I think most will be quite pleased with the results; even dialogue seemed to improve a bit with the sound field setting. Overall, I was quite surprised at how well the sound field enhanced the audio and was able to provide a much more encompassing sound experience. For my second movie, I decide to use Lucy (2013) which has a robust Atmos track that is certainly demo material; throughout there are some fairly good use of low bass tones. As noted before with DTS: X, you should see a Dolby audio source logo indicating it sees the correct codec, though surprisingly this time around the codec logo changes to an Atmos logo when the sound field is toggled on. I do believe it is still picking up the lossless signal as the X800 overlay still showed TrueHD as its output. Beginning with the sound field off, the discussion that begins at 15:48 really stood out to me as the dialog was perfectly positioned on the top and center speakers. Additionally, you can make out nice echoes on the far left and right top speakers. Another section that caught my attention is the start of Mozart's Requiem at 38:18, where the violins and choir come together. When you enable the sound field setting here, the sound instantly becomes much louder and more encompassing. Violins are pulled much closer to the front and hit some nice frequencies. Another highlight worth noting is the car scrape at 1:01:51; it becomes exponentially louder with the sound field setting on. The same thing occurs again at 1:02:01 when you see the car flip into the air. Lastly, during all of the CGI effects around 1:20:00-120:37, the Bravia 9 performs exceptionally well here: lows and highs are all clear and separate from each other and is quite the experience. Overall, Bravia 9 performs exactly as expected. Shifting to my music test, the Bravia 9 handled every genre that I tested. Bass response was better than expected; some tracks, however, did slightly distort when the bass was set to max, but that was easily remedied by dialing back the setting to medium. As for classical and jazz, the Bravia 9 really stretched its legs: high frequencies were quite detailed including vocals. Overall, the sound stage was quite exceptional. Rock and metal genres, despite some bad compression in the mastering, also played fairly well. One thing I did notice was that using the sound field option here did not sound as good as it did during the movies. It dialed everything back and seemed to overly process and restrict the sound. In addition, all of my files played perfectly, though I do want to mention that on Hi-Res LPCM 2 channel sources at 96KHz and 192 KHz, the output to the soundbar was limited to 48 KHz; this, I assume, is a limitation of the eARC as oppose to bandwidth (or it could possibly be a Sony limitation). While disappointing, this should not affect most people unless you have a fairly large hi resolution collection that exceeds these sample rates. Interestingly, when I tested one of my Bluray Audio discs, both 192 KHz/5.1 and 96 KHz/7.1 DTS MA-HD tracks played with the correct sample rate and channel count as noted within the Bravia application. Connectively, Hi-Res over Bluetooth via LDAC codec also played as intended. The Bravia 9 automatically selected the codec in the application, though I went ahead and manually changed the output setting to quality preferred on my Sony Xperia 5 III. Overall, I think the Bravia 9 performs exceptionally well. If you are coming from basic TV speakers, this will certainly be a revelation. In conclusion, the Bravia 9 soundbar performs exactly as it was intended to do. It provides an exceptional audio experience for those who do not have the space or desire to build a complete home theatre system. In addition, it supports all of the current audio technologies such as Dolby Atmos and DTS: X and supports 4K and 8K signals. I was also quite happy with the 360 sound mapping effect; it certainly enhanced what was already an excellent listening experience. While it is somewhat disappointing that an application is forced on you (as well as an account login) to change its settings, it does seemingly work as intended and felt rather responsive. I was also surprised that LPCM was capped to 48 KHz, though again this should not be much of an issue as the Bravia 9 will more than likely be used primarily for movies. Nonetheless, it was worth a mention given the Bravia 9 price point and its position as an enthusiast oriented product. Overall, if the budget allows, the Bravia 9 soundbar is an excellent choice and I have no doubt most will be satisfied. Thus, the Bravia 9 soundbar comes highly recommended.

No sound is coming out of the sound bar. Technician never came back to fix after one week of multiple promises.

Might as well not even have a sound bar. Does nothing to enhance sound.

My item never arrived. The delivery driver illegally signed for me. And Best Buy is still charging me. Best Buy is refusing to refund me, because the delivery driver illegally signed for me.

Sound quality is good, but compatibility is challenging. Not user friendly.

very bad sound. honestly says i got just trash for 849 dollers.i have lg tv and tv had much better quality sound. just returning.

Item was returned. It wasn’t compatible with my Samsung TV.

I will just start right off by saying that it is in fact a great soundbar. For those who require amazing sound and don't already own an amazing multi-channel soundbar (more that they typical 5 or 7 channels like back in the day), then this might be a good buy for you. But!!! There is absolutely no need in spending a lot on a soundbar if you are not going to get an accompanying subwoofer. Soundbars, including this one, can produce great sound... great surround sound... but you're not getting bass. So the truth is, you do not need to spend this much if you do not intend on at lease getting a subwoofer as well. With all that said, this soundbar is the typical weight of a soundbar... heavy, but carry-able. It's width is 51 inches, so be prepared for that length. It can be set down (like on your entertainment stand/center) or it can be wall mounted. It comes with what you need to do either. You're probably thinking, 'what do I need to set it down?' Well, one cool thing is that it comes with these feet that you can put on it (under it) and that is helpful if your tv is sitting on the same stand. If your tv is sitting on a stand (as opposed to wall mounted), it comes with its own feet because that's what allows it to stand. Well there are feet you can put under this soundbar if you intend on putting it directly under a standing tv. It allows the bar to sit over top of the tv's feet. Moving on... the setup. The setup is annoying. The fact that I had to go downloading yet another app to set this thing up is a huge inconvenience. I don't want your app. All you had to do was allow set up with either the remote or on top of the bar. But nope. The only thing that shows up on the front of the bar is a lighted dot when you turn it on. And then a blinking dot when you push a button on the remote, such as volume, bass level. The app gives you more features, but let me decide if I care enough about them to download the app. The app takes you through a setup that utilizes bar placement and placement of where you would sit. I would say the setup was not long. There are other settings on the app. Getting to the quality of sound. Honestly, it sounds great. The surround sound really surrounds you and you can hear crisp sound as though you have surround and rear speakers. I believe this bar is 13 channels. You also have the option of 3 bass levels. I put it on max. But, don't buy this for the bass because it is just not happening. The thing is this bar is great to grab good sound from your tv and other devices connected to your tv. I would easily recommend it if you are in the market for great crisp amazingly surround sound. But, again, for the price, it is not worth it for just a bar. If you don't care about a subwoofer, then I would not recommend this bar because there is no point. Another weird thing is that when you first turn up the volume, you may think that the volume buttons are not working. But if you keep holding it down to increase the volume, it will eventually start to get louder. It's almost like you have to go up 10 numbers just to feel like you increased by 1 number on a different unit. That is not a deal breaker, but I don't like it. Ahhhh... immersive! That is the word I was looking for. The soundbar produces crisp sound, surround sound, and fully immersive sound. You may not notice how amazing it can sound if you only watch regular things. But if you watch something with Dolby Atmos, you will truly see. If you have a previous great Sony model soundbar, you may not need this. If you are not intending on getting a full package (subwoofer at minimum, and if you can get rear speakers), then I would not recommend this. Also, if you do not watch 4k video or dolby atmos video or things of that nature, then you really don't need this expensive soundbar. Otherwise, if different than what I put in this exact paragraph, then get it. Peace.

Not happy with this unit, constant loss of sound, also do not fee the effect I felt at the store.

This is the worst sound I ever heard. Should not crackle nooses at a volume of 10! I need to return if I have time.

The speaker is awesome, but I spent 3 infuriating hours going in circles trying to log in and/or recover my Sony account. You can't use the speaker without going through the app setup, and the app requires you to merge all existing Sony account IDs (PSN network, etc) but wouldn't let me recover my accounts. You can tell that a lot of thought/effort went into packaging the speaker and the setup experience (after login), but all of that effort gets overshadowed by what should be a painless login experience. I ended up creating an alias account- and after being forced to set 101 passwords, was finally able to get past the login page. The Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 9 is a game-changer for home audio, especially when paired with Apple devices. As an avid user of AirPlay, I love the seamless integration and immersive sound experience this soundbar delivers. ## Effortless AirPlay Connectivity Setting up the Theater Bar 9 with AirPlay was a breeze. I could stream music, movies, and podcasts directly from my iPhone, iPad, or Mac, without any hiccups or lags. The sound quality is stunning, with crystal-clear highs and deep, punchy bass that fills the room ## Cinematic Dolby Atmos Experience Where the Theater Bar 9 truly shines is its Dolby Atmos and DTS:X capabilities. The 13 speakers, including dedicated up-firing drivers, create an immersive, three-dimensional soundscape that transports you right into the heart of the action. Whether watching the latest blockbuster or binging your favorite TV series, the Theater Bar 9 delivers a cinematic audio experience in a thin package. ## Impressive Sound Mapping Sony's 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology is a game-changer. It simulates multiple "phantom speakers" around you, making it feel like the sound is coming from every direction, even without physical rear speakers. This feature, combined with the Dolby Atmos support, creates an incredibly immersive and enveloping audio experience that will leave you in awe. ## Versatile Streaming Options While AirPlay is my primary streaming method, the Theater Bar 9 also supports Spotify Connect and Bluetooth, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of devices and music services. The streaming/connection options really start to make up for the onboarding experience. Whole home audio is a dream with this addition. ## Sleek Design Aesthetically, the Theater Bar 9 is a stunner. Its sleek, minimalist design blends seamlessly with any home theater setup, and the included wall-mounting hardware makes installation a breeze. Plus, if you have a Sony BRAVIA TV, the soundbar integrates perfectly, with settings accessible directly from the TV's menu. In conclusion, the Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 9 is a must-have for anyone seeking a truly immersive audio experience, especially if you're an Apple user who values the convenience of AirPlay. With its exceptional sound quality, Dolby Atmos support, and innovative sound mapping technology, this soundbar elevates your home entertainment to new heights.

wasn't easy to set up since the hdmi cord that came with it would do the arc stuff

The Sony Bravia Theater Bar 9 is an excellent new entry into the world of premium sound systems by one of the world's premier manufacturers. The setup and sound quality were very good, with a few new things to get used to for owners of previous Sony soundbars. Getting it out of the box, I immediately noticed that it seemed a little more trim than previous systems from Sony. It measures 51.25" wide, 2.5" tall, 4.5" deep, and weighs just over 12 pounds. In the box, there is the soundbar, the power cord, the remote, batteries for the remote, a HDMI cable, a wall mount bracket, a wall mount template, and some paperwork. There have been some changes to the design from past years. Gone is the front display; instead the soundbar is encased in acoustic fabric except for the back. I was able to quickly get the soundbar where I wanted it, hooked up to my TV, and powered on. The back of the soundbar has HDMI IN, HDMI Out (eARC), and a S-Center out. I went with a basic setup and connected a HDMI cord from the HDMI OUT to my TV. It seems like in the past, there were more HDMI options in previous models but this setup will work for most use cases. One critical action I took was to download the Bravia Connect App onto my phone. While there is a basic remote, many of the features and most of the commands can be done via the App. While I am not a big fan of having a soundbar that needs an app to optimize its capabilities, it is quite a nice app and easy to use. One of the features is Sound Field Optimization which takes the characteristics of the room that the unit is in to optimize the sound quality for the conditions. It took some time to get right using the app, but I was able to complete it after a couple tries. The soundbar has 13 speaker units that are facing in many directions under the acoustic fabric, and they do a tremendous job in producing amazing sound. Here are some of the formats that are supported: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and IMAX Enhanced. It also supports 4K HDR, 8K HDR, Dolby Vision, and HDMI 2.1 gaming features like 4K120, VRR, and ALLM. I was able to verify many of the gaming features with my PS5, and I could tell that they made a difference. One of the new things to get used to is that nothing shows the volume level for the sound bar since the front display panel is no longer there. It can be seen on the Bravia Connect App, but otherwise there is now just a small light on the soundbar that doesn't tell the user much. When it comes to the audio itself, the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 9 makes everything sound really good. I cranked it up to watch some orchestra music on YouTube and the level of detail I could hear made me smile. With my PS$, game sound was crisp and clear. With movies from Netflix, dialogue was clear and action scenes sounded like I was there in the scene. I have a soundbar in another room that utilizes a subwoofer and I have to say that I think it handles bass a little better but at the cost of clarity. The Theater Bar 9 may not produce the biggest booms I've ever heard from a sound system, but the fidelity is just so good even with the volume cranked up to a high level. I would recommend the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 9 for any TV watcher, movie watcher, or game player. Make sure you download the app or you won't be able to take advantage of the immense capabilities of this system. It looks good, feels a little smaller and lighter, but still produces a tremendous sound at high quality levels that will please anyone looking to enhance their listening pleasure.

Sound quality is questionable, along with total tech.

The Sony Bravia Theater Bar 9 is a home theater sound bar that takes surround sound to the next level just using a soundbar. Traditionally if you wanted a great surround sound experience you needed multiple speakers place around the room in order to experience cinematic quality sound. Sony has done a great job with the placement of the 13 speakers and in combination with their 360 spatial sound mapping technology are able to deliver theater quality sound that can be optimized to whatever room you have set you soundbar up in. In regards to the setup the soundbar itself can be mounted to the wall under your tv or it can be placed on your console. This sound bar is quite long so it may look strange if you mount it on a wall with a TV that is less than 65 inches. Unfortunately the initial setup must be completed via the Bravia connect app which requires you to register for a Sony account. Once registered you pair the sound bar via the app and are able to customize your listening experience. The sound bar can be optimized for your room via the room optimization feature so that your can have the best possible cinematic experience. The soundbar is compatible with DTS:X, IMAX enhance and Dolby Atmos. It worked flawlessly in conjunction with my Apple TV 4K. The only issue I had when first using the soundbar was attributed to my HDMI cable so make sure you are using a good high quality HDMI cable. One thing that I wish was that SONY placed some sort of display or an embedded dot matrix display similar to my old Samsung soundbar so you can see the current mode of the soundbar without relying on the app. Sony does include a remote centrol and wall mount bracket is the box along with the wall mount template. I decided to place my soundbar on the console since it looked nicer in my setup. I also love that I can stream music from my phone via airplay 2, Spotify connect or a simple bluetooth connection. Hand down this soundbar delivered a truly cinematic experience in my family room. I think I will purchase the SA-SW3 or SW5 wireless subwoofer since I am a sucker for bass. You can also pair SA-RS3R or RS5 rear speakers wirelessly if you are looking for a more traditional setup. Overall if you are in the market for a sound bar that will deliver exceptional sound then you can put your trust in the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 9.

My neighbors most likely hate me by now with how many soundbars I have owned over the years, and how they progressively gotten more advanced, more powerful with their wattage, more codecs, more features and more oomph! I have tried soundbars from many different brands and was excited to try out the Bravia Theater Bar 9. I own a 65" LG C2 TV for anyone who is wondering how the compatibility is with LG TVs. Let's go over this soundbar and it's highs and it's lows. INITIAL SETUP: Setup was fairly easy and straight forward. However, like most tech now and days, it requires you to sign into an app on your phone, create an account with the vendor, and go through their configuration process. I had no problems adding the soundbar via the app and everything seemed to connect without a hitch. I also wall mounted my sound bar, and the provided template was very useful in getting it level and in the perfect position below my TV. PROS: - When it works properly, the sound field with 360 spatial audio mapping is pretty neat and really immerses you in the content you are watching. But sadly this PRO is very limited, see more in the cons list... - Incredible soundstage. With 13 speakers including two side tweeters, this thing really can pump out some truly immersive sound. Paired it with a SW-3 subwoofer and the results are incredible paired together. - The app is NOT buggy! This is actually a pretty big deal considering most soundbar apps I have used in the past are trash, they never connect to your device, have constant pairing issues, but not this one. This is the one app that has consistently connected no matter what. - Atmos/DTX content plays without a hitch and sounds incredible. CONS: - Sound field.... while it is a PRO, it honestly is probably more of a con due to how bad it can be sometimes. The only time sound field works well is when you are playing Dolby Atmos or DTX content. If you are playing stereo content, or even 5.1 content with dolby surround, the sound field set to the 360 spatial mapping sounds like trash. It is so incredibly harsh on the high ends, voices sound like they are in tin cans, the mapping gets all weird, it's pretty terrible. It's so bad, that sometimes when I am watching YoutubeTV via my Roku, I have to just turn the soundbar off because I can't hear any dialogue and everything is muddy. But if I launch say netflix and play a dolby atmos movie, man does it sound incredible!! Not only does sound field work half the time, but I find it incredibly annoying that you have to constantly open the app to switch between "360 spatial mapping" and "dolby virtual surround sound" for the sound field type in advanced settings. Everytime I switch between live TV and a movie, I have to launch the app, and then find that setting, change it, wait a few seconds for it to calibrate and then it's good. Sony needs to re-evaluate sound field and optimize it because it only works well on very little content. - No ability to customize EQ. This is such a L for Sony. It really perplexes me that I can't even adjust the level of Highs or Lows or Mids or the center.... the only thing you can do is adjust the bass level. And if you don't have a subwoofer, its either LOW MEDIUM OR HIGH, like really?? If you do have a sub, you get to set a level from 1-10. I hope in a future update they add the ability to EQ certain frequencies because it needs it. - Confusing settings in the app with no explanation of what they do. - Auto volume leveling seems to be required to be enabled if you use the 360 spatial mapping otherwise you won't be able to hear anything - No useful LED information on the soundbar, you get one dot that says its on, but no volume level gauge, nothing! - Bad depth of bass without a subwoofer. You basically need a sub with this bar to get any real use out of it. This is unlike other brands where the built in sub tweeters in the bar themselves are much more powerful, the ones in the Sony are very muddy and weak, I believe it starts at 50hz which is quite high for bass frequencies. All in all, this soundbar has some potential to be the AMBEO killer but it isn't there yet. The very weak center channel, lack of EQ, bad sound field setting, high price point, and marriage to an app are the reasons I have to give this 3 stars.

We have a den that the kids use with a 65” Vizio TV mounted on the wall. The sound from the TV speakers is barely adequate, so I use a high-end 2-channel stereo system that is primarily used for a turntable and streaming music. The sound is good, but being just stereo audio, it lacks the cinema sound I was wanting. I found this BRAVIA soundbar and decided to give it a try. The first thing I noticed about this soundbar was its weight. It’s not too heavy to worry about hanging it on the wall with its included brackets, but it’s definitely no lightweight. It’s about what I expected with it having 13 speakers. The soundbar itself is very sleek and minimalist, which I like. For now, I have it sitting on a table. It has built-in rubber feet for sitting flat. but it also comes with additional legs that will elevate it about half an inch, which can be helpful in case it needs to sit above the feet of the TV’s stand. The included instructions are all but useless. They are so full of various language translations that it’s nearly impossible to read them, and there is twice as much information about the warranty and safety warnings than actual usage instructions. About the only thing you’ll learn from reading the instruction sheet is how to wall-mount the soundbar. You will need to use the QR code to visit Sony’s website in order to get full instructions on attaching the feet, connecting inputs, Bluetooth pairing, controls, indicators, etc. You are required to download The BRAVIA Connect app and register an account before using the soundbar. The app offers no more functionality than the included remote, and it has no guides for connecting or installing the soundbar. I see no reason why it is a requirement for using the soundbar other than giving Sony additional, personal information. Requiring an app like this is a huge hinderance and one of the reasons for my low rating of this speaker. The soundbar only supports HDMI and Bluetooth inputs. There are no optical or analog input options. It does have two HDMI ports, one that is input-only to use for passthrough connections and the another for output/ARC. The passthrough input port is covered so that you are encouraged to use output/ARC port. I did not try using the input-only HDMI port, but the ARC port works just fine, as does Bluetooth. I will note that when I first connected the soundbar to my TV, I was unimpressed with the sound. It definitely did not give me any “surround sound” imagery. Then I realized that my TV was set to output stereo only because that is all my existing 2-channel receiver would accept. Once I changed the TV to bitstream output, the soundbar then recognized the Dolby encoding and produced good surround sound. The ARC connection supports synchronized power and volume via the TV’s remote. Now, for the reason I chose this soundbar – the sound! It’s definitely worlds better than the TV”s built-in speakers, and also much more exciting than my 2-channel stereo’s. The soundbar does a fair job of emulating surround sound. My room is large and has no back wall because it’s a balcony open to the foyer below. I did run the Sound Field Optimization, but it made no real difference that I could tell. My guess is that without nearby walls, the soundbar can’t take advantage of sound reflections to help emulate rear and side speakers. Still, there is definitely a wide sound field being produced that does help immerse you in the movie. This soundbar does a much better job reproducing midrange and highs than lows and bass. There is a surprising amount of bass produced from tis small speakers, but it is quickly overwhelmed and drowned out when the highs and mids takeover. There is two models of optional wireless subwoofers available, as well as two models of wireless rear speakers, which I am sure would make a much better home theater experience. The problem I have with that is cost, and that’s another reason for my 3-star rating. The price of this soundbar has it competing with much higher-end equipment, but it does not perform at that level. Don’t get me wrong, this soundbar is good, but there are so many comparable options at a third of its price. And if you did choose to add the additional wireless subwoofer and rear speakers, you’d have spent enough money to buy a home theater receiver along with wired speakers. I was really expecting more from this soundbar given its price, but it’s not as high-end as it would seem. I really can’t recommend since there are so many other options out there that are as good or even better for less money.

I've been waiting to see what Sony would be cooking up this year coming from the A7000 and I'm pleased to say there's a number of improvements that makes this one of the best soundbars I've every owned but there's also a number of what I consider backsteps that may not be for everybody. Getting into the design, the Theater Bar 9 comes in a much smaller and slender package than the A7000 did. It's entirely wrapped in an acoustic fabric thats vogue nowadays besides the very back of the bar that gives way to a slim metal bezel. For those that were annoyed by the A7000's reflective glass top this will likely be much more palatable. Unfortunately this is where we come to the first of the downsides. Since the entire front half of the bar is wrapped in fabric, that unfortunately means the loss of the front display that has been a staple of sony soundbars for the past few years. In its place, we get an LED dot that has been maligned in the past. Don't expect this LED dot to be useful for providing any sort of info about the source or any other issue, but thats why we have the new Bravia Connect app to save the day. The Bravia Connect app is the new way for both seeing info about your source and also for adjusting settings. Unfortunately, that also leads to the next cut back, no on screen display. Sony has joined the league of products that are fully managed through an app. For some people this is preferred while for other this is a major inconvenience. I personally miss the well designed OSD especially since you could fully control it with your tv remote if you had a bravia tv. Fortunately for Sony, the app is much better than the previous Music Center app. Its well designed with quick, practical placement of settings and source info. Besides some initial connection issues with the app while setting up, I havent had any issues with using it. Moving onto the inputs and supported casting protocols, we get to the last of the negatives of this soundbar. The first of which is that we've moved from 2 HDMI inputs to 1. Especially when Bravia tvs only have 2 HDMI 2.1 ports, reducing the inputs on the flagship bar down to 1 is not ok. In addition, somehow the removal of the 1 HDMi port has made connecting cables harder since the angled gap is much narrower than the A7000. Onto the second cutback, chromecast audio casting has been removed. I cant really forsee any real reason for its removal unless its tied to the removal from the on-screen display since im unsure if products need to actually be able to show visual info for support. With those negatives out of the way lets get to the positives. The audio on this bar is absolutely fantastic. The addition of the sidefiring speakers and the tweeters to fill out the LCR channels lets the bar really sing and fill out the soundstage. For anyone like me, that felt that there was a bit of detail missing from the A7000 in the smaller things like dropped shell casings or wind whistling through the air, the new speakers more than do justice to these more gentle sounds. Onto more positives, I can say that the buzzing that had afflicted previous models when using the acoustic center audio feature is no more. Now you just have a nice, clean sound. Speaking of which, voices have also gotten a clarity boost presumably due to the addition of a tweeter. I've no longer had to baby the volume to balance between intelligibility of dialogue vs loudness of the rest of the soundcape. Trying the voice zoom feature, im somewhat torn. While its supposed to use machine learning now to improve the voice isolation and it does do a much better version than the previous version, it comes at the cost of sounder much more artificially boosted than before. It sounds more like the frequencies voices tend to sit has been raised while the lower end has been lowered rather than any advanced processing to lift voices out of the mix. It definitely works but I do hope that they can somehow work on a version thats more natural and doesnt sound quite as out of place. In conclusion, from a straight audio perspective I think Sony's knocked it out of the park. It's one of if not the best soundbar I've listened to recently and I think it really showcases Sony's current "Cinema is coming home" ethos, I just wish it hadn't come at the cost of the other functionality that Sony has been pretty known for providing.

I thought this small soundbar would not be as powerful as it would be. I was very wrong. For me to explain this for people to understand I hooked it up and used it as is. The theater bar 9 sounds really good, but if you use the app to calibrate the soundbar it becomes a different machine. It was very easy to use. Took no longer than 15 minutes to do. only because I had issues with my wifi router. After the setup I noticed the sound was wayyyy better and it sounded like I was in a bubble. This sound bar has 13 speakers. Some are on top and on the sides they create this bubble effect. The speakers ok top bounce the sound to the ceiling and the side ones to the walls . Then if you're watching a movie or tv show that is dolby atmos you get a more detailed sound . I played my music from Spotify on here and it was just amazing you and use the Spotify app and just select the Sony sound bar as the source to play on. The sound bar was also great for gaming. Especially with the ps5. Now I plugged the ps5 to the soundbar so it can recognize it. I have my headphones but when I'm not in the mood for them I crank the soundbar up. Again it feels like you are in the bubble or like you are actually there .this sound bar is worth it

So if there was a way to go 4.5 stars, that is what I would give it. There is just enough little things, that I can't do 5 starts. But let's get into it. First up, in my setup, this Theater Bar is replacing a previous JVC Soundbar, with Subwoofer. It was time to upgrade, because this is the room with the big 87" TV, and we are watching more and more there, then our theater space (which has the Dolby Atmos already)... so was super excited to put this one in. So to use this the best you need a TV with ARC output on the HDMI, which I already had and knew about... so was ready to rock and role there. So here is the first issue. Setup took WAY WAY too long, for what should have just been a swap of the old bar, with the new one. Why did it take long? Well you have to use an App, to configure and set it up. and to do that you need to setup an account. Sony's account setup was a major drag/pain. Too many prompts, too many questions. I am very adapt to seting up accounts, and mobile apps (I create them for a living), but this one was WAY WAY too clunky, and was really frustrating me. Then after setting up the app, the app then has to connect to the bar, and basically register the BAR. Then the BAR, starts to run a communication test with the TV.. . and that was failing. I ended up having to disconnect the HDMI from both he BAR and the TV, and even then unplug and reboot my TV. then it would FINALLY pass that TV test. This was almost 30 minutes from start to finish. Yes, it is a one time thing, but super annoying and frustrating. After getting that, then there is a series of setup and sound tests (about another 5ish minutes). So from unboxing to ready to watch TV. Once going... Very enjoyable to hear the Dolby Atmos. Did several sample videos, then got into some of my favorite content (like current Disney+ shows), and so much fun to hear the immersive sound. Clear, quality, and just fun to be immersed. The BAR will turn on and off with the TV, so you don't have to fumble with the remote or the app to turn the bar on and off, so that works great. The next nit pick: With my previous bar, volume up on the TV remote, and it would increment the audio on the bar 5% approx. With this bar, it is approx 1% each click, and takes a LONG time to increase or decrease any amount of significants. This is frustrating when shows change volume, not enough to be a deal breaker and could be how it communicates with my LG TV, but just frustrating enough. Lastly, I thought that this 13 speaker bar, would have SOME Base in the bar itself ( I knew it didnt' come with a separate one, and that is what I was hoping for), but the Base quality in the bar itself, is very low. So I will have to eventually add one of the wireless sub-woofers. to get the full sound that I want. So overal, very good quality... some nitpicks, not perfect. But absolutely love the Dolby Atmos and the improved overall sound over my previous JVC... and certainly better then the built in speaker in the TV.