Customer Ratings & Reviews

The Sony Bravia Theater Bar 9 (HT-A9000) is the newest iteration of Sony’s line of premium soundbars, and it doesn’t disappoint. After using this soundbar for watching movies, listening to music and gaming, here’s my experience: Design and Form Factor The Theater Bar 9 is designed to be subtle and unobtrusive - it deliberately blends to the background when put next to a TV, and I think that’s how a soundbar should be. The corners are rounded, and most of the surfaces are clad with fabric - giving it a very pleasing feel. Everything is well put together and nothing stands out. Through the top and sides, the 13 speakers, facing different directions, can be made out. There’s no display per se - only a few lights that disappear when they serve their purpose, which makes the presence of this more than 4 feet further invisible. Several times, a few of the friends failed to notice the soundbar and were surprised thinking the TV audio was so good, and I had to correct them and point to the proper source. Connectivity On the HDMI side, the Theater Bar 9 has only 1 in and 1 out which is not the best. However, those HDMI ports are v 2.1, and the output supports eARC. They can pass through 4k@120 from my Xbox Series X with ease. However there are 3.5 mm, Optical or RCA ports to connect legacy audio devices which may be something to look at. However, on the wireless end, Bluetooth codec support for LDAC ensures high fidelity music play, with native support for Spotify Connect and Apple Airplay which is very convenient. The regular run of the mill Bluetooth audio codecs are also supported (SBC, AAC), but there’s no aptX support. All other additional speaker units (subwoofer or real speakers) can be connected wirelessly. With some Bravia TVs, the wired S-Center Out audio port allows using the TV speaker as an additional center speaker (and adds the VoiceZoom functionality) - however my TV didn’t support this. Sound Now the crux of the experience with the Theater Bar 9: the sound quality. And here Sony didn’t disappoint. I’m upgrading from a 3 year old Soundbar system which had a subwoofer, and after setting up, I could hear the sound clarity and crispness is much enhanced. Even without a subwoofer, the Theater Bar 9 sounded well rounded and didn’t fall flat on the bass. For good bass, I still suggest getting a subwoofer, but this is one of the few standalone soundbars where the lack of the subwoofer was not as obvious as I thought. Except for a few “in your face” action movies, I enjoyed my movie nights with my family and friends as before and didn’t think that oh this is missing bass. The 3D immersive sound system, dubbed “Soundfield”, is a mixed bag. In some movies with Dolby Atmos, I could definitely feel the 3D positional i.e. spatial audio in some movie scenes, but not always. I didn’t expect this to blow my mind, so in that sense I was not disappointed. Even though this boasts 13 speakers pointing at every direction (and doing sound optimization based on surroundings), it can’t beat external speakers “physically” located behind the listener or placed on the ceiling. The Soundfield option can be easily toggled on and off with a touch of a button (or a tap on the app). In terms of music, this is not a reference grade hifi speaker system, and from that perspective it’s totally enjoyable. Here turning off Soundfield was the safe bet. I have used the soundbar as a rather loud bluetooth speaker at my home and it worked wonders. Nothing was muffled, the volume was good, and I could definitely feel the richness and depth of the music. Any issues I had were easily solved by EQ. Setup, Control & App Typically setting up and control for a soundbar is rarely a thing of interest unless it refers to a horrible experience. The Theater Bar 9 definitely is not difficult to set up, and nor buggy. However I still was not very happy with the overall experience, due to the Bravia app implementation. The design and functionality of the app has no issues - it’s a standard app with not much fancy features - it helps setup and control the soundbar via the internet which is super convenient. But I could not understand a bit why this needs a Sony online account (or a Playstation account) to do this. I think the account feature should have been optional/opt-in rather than being forced. That alone can be a sore point for not getting this soundbar. Unfortunately some of the options are not changeable with the included remote, and the lack of a display actually acts as a limiting factor here so the app usage can’t be circumvented. I hope Sony listens to this for future iterations. So in essence, this is an almost perfect soundbar available today in the market, except for a few negative issues. I’m enjoying using it, and would’ve been my default recommendation except for the app issue.

Right out of the box you have a 13 speaker dolby atmos surround system with built in subwoofer all in one soundbar. The sound clarity is phenomenal and the easy customization is top notch. This soundbar gives you unbeatable quality and power for the price. This is especially true if you can grab it on sale, or are willing to take advantage of BestBuy open box opportunities. I was able to get mine for $599 plus tax from the Houston area BestBuy outlet store. It was categorized as being "excellent" condition, but was brand new with no damage, no missing parts and no issues whatsoever. If you go for one of the open box options, make sure and price check in person at the store. The "excellent" condition one I was lucky enough to grab was listed at $899.99 on bestbuy.com, but when I got to the outlet store and started talking with them in person I was told that prices in store (at least that outlet) could often be lower than the online listing and lucky me the one they had was avaliable for $599.99+tax. It works incredibly well with my Sony TV (65" BRAVIA XR A80L OLED 4K(2023)) and presumably all other Sony Bravia family products. It is an excellent option for those looking for a mid/upper end sound system. What made it stand out as the best choice for me are the optional addon speakers and subwoofer. Great starter piece of surround sound equipment with easy options for expansion.

I have owned many sound bars over the years, ranging from low-end to high-end. This Bravia theater bar from Sony is among the most expensive I've used, but I found it to be well worth the price when it comes to performance. Over the past few days I've been using it to watch movies, stream TV shows, listen to music over Bluetooth, and have also done some gaming on my Xbox Series X. First, before you buy this, make certain that you have the space for it. It is a very large speaker. If you have a large wall-mounted television, you can mount this speaker below it with the included components. However, if you plan to place it on some form of TV stand or entertainment center, make sure it will fit before buying (it is over 4 feet long). If you choose to, this speaker system is expandable! You can add an optional sub-woofer and/or rear speakers, but I found that for my needs they were not needed as the sound was incredible as-is. I have been watching movies and shows (and playing games) that feature Dolby Atmos audio in order to get a feel for how well this speaker can perform. Most streaming services have Dolby Atmos content that was easy to find. The ability of this soundbar to make you feel like sound is coming from multiple directions was mind-boggling. And the quality of immersion was breathtaking. I think that the 13 mulit-directional speakers included in this soundbar have a lot to do with that. I truly feel like I've got multiple speakers in the room surrounding me, despite all the sound coming from just one large speaker in front of me. I loved that this soundbar has HDMI pass-through so that I could connect my Xbox directly to it, and then output from the soundbar to my television. Many soundbars these days do not have both the HDMI input and output. And if you are like me, and love to play music from your phone while doing chores around the house, this speaker was up to the task. If you have an Apple device you can connect using Apple Airplay, but I used Bluetooth to pair to my Android phone. Music sounded excellent, with strong bass and terrific mids. I also streamed a couple of live concerts and was blown away with how good everything sounded. While this soundbar is certainly not inexpensive, you absolutely get your money's worth. With the theater-like quality sound, I'm looking forward to a cinema experience in my living room for years to come.

I plugged in this sound bar without reading any directions. I unplugged the current sound bar and used the same HDMI cord that’s connected to my tv to connect it. There was nothing else I had to do. The sound the came from it immediately blew me away! Very crisp and clear. You can clearly understand every word that was being spoken. What a spectacular way to enjoy TV. This soundbar will replace my current soundbar. Even though the sound bar I currently have is great, this one is ten times better. It’s so good you don’t even need a subwoofer. If you had this soundbar and I came to your house and you told me there was no subwoofer, I would think that you are telling a lie. Maybe the bass isn’t as deep as it would be with a subwoofer but there’s really no need if you didn’t want to. BUT, I was able to connect my current Sony subwoofer and I had to make sure I wasn’t sitting in a Dolby theatre. No kidding, this sound bar makes you think you’re in the movies. Out of the box. Plug and play. If you're not too deeply into sound, like an audiophile, then you really don't need to change settings. Right out of the box it's ready to go. If you do want to change settings, then you will need to download the Sony Bravia app from the App Store. I had a few issues setting up an account due to me having a Playstation account registered under the same email address. I was eventually able to set up everything and voila, everything can be controlled from your smartphone. The app automatically took me through a series of sound test to make sure I was getting the best sound for the room. It allowed me to connect my subwoofer via bluetooth as well. Then it updated the soundbar's firmware one everything was ready. This is definitely a luxury soundbar and no one will be disappointed with this purchase. The only thing I would have liked is for it to have a screen on the sound bar. But I guess Sony got around that by allowing you to do everything through your smartphone.

Sony home theater products never fail to impress me. This soundbar is a replacement for a Yamaha that was a few years old and I thought was pretty good, and it was, but it does not even compare to this. First off, let me start from the beginning. I even appreciate the boxing and packaging. All arrived in a compact box, no wasted space, and the materials appear to be recycled and recyclable. No packing plastics or styrofoam. I guess I nerd on enviro friendly stuff, sorry. Anyway, unboxing and set up was a breeze. Download the Sony Bravia Connect app and it walks you through set up and location and sound field optimization to assure proper positioning in your space and for your particular needs and usage. Nice! I am still playing around with the different sound settings depending on what I am watching or listening to. Through the app, or the remote, you can adjust the sound profile to the output. There are several pre sets and also customizable adjustments for more bass, treble, background and night modes. In the room I have this set up in, I watch a lot of sporting events, as well as listen to music, from streaming and albums and playlists, to watching live shows and concert recordings. This system, using the 360 Reality Audio setting, provides an amazing clarity of sound and surround experience. It is like a personal concert audio experience. This is my favorite use of this sound system so far. If you are into music and especially high quality audio, this is a great system in a small package. It is just the one sound bar, but clearly packs all the technology and speakers inside. Much easier and user friendly than the older center speaker and satellite speaker systems. I definitely recommend this system!

This comes with 11 speakers and is a good product that might need a separate sub-woofer to really elevate your audio experience. Some important pros: Exceptional audio quality with Dolby Atmos and DTS support. The clarity is awesome and the mid-tones are crisp. Atmos effect can be felt easily. Sleek design that blends well with modern home decor. Easy setup and user-friendly interface. Versatile connectivity options including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The Bravia Connect app works seamlessly and you will need it to make it work. The spatial sound mapping is true and enhances the experience. The room mapping feature is good. The Voice enhancement feature is crisp and helps if you are watching sports and other specific events. You can toggle through these features using the remote. Cons: A little too pricey. The built-in sub-woofer is good but for a better experience a stand-alone sub-woofer is recommended. The bass is adequate but could have a bigger footprint depending on the needs of the specific consumer. In my testing the sound dropped a few times across a couple of televisions. It happened once every hour and I had to pause the program and unpause it again to make it work. Quite simple but this should be remedied with a software update. Overall, this is a solid buy. The high fidelity sound along with the sleek design makes this a wonderful product for any home. I have to say that if you have never ventured beyond Bose and Sonos, you will be pleasantly surprised by the quality Sony has been offering over the years in their sleek sound bars. I have tried a few of them over the years and apart from the price factor, these have all been top notch. My HT-7000 is still one of my favorites. This one, the Theater Bar 8, is a nice replacement.

Overall: Wow! The sound is amazing. I can actually hear what the actors are saying. And the volume is at normal range. Setup: Easy. I rarely read directions and when I opened the box there was a power cable and a HDMI cable. How hard can it be? It turns out, you do need to the read the directions. It’s the large paper the same color as the packaging, right on top when you open the box. The directions are pictures only. It clearly shows to plug the HDMI cable into the TV HDMI ARC connection, not the HDMI connection. App: Sony Bravia Connect. Installs without issues. Will run through a sound check and set the soundbar up appropriately for your room and where you normally sit in the room. The settings option will allow customization. Size: The soundbar is 52” long and 4.5” wide. Additional: The soundbar is a bit longer than the table my TV sits on. I put the soundbar behind the TV so it would be a better aesthetic. The sound is still incredibly clear. There’s an English TV show I watch and I can clearly hear every word they say. I didn’t have this experience with the previous sound bar I had connected to the TV.

In the box: • Bar speaker • Remote control • 2 AAA Batteries • TV center speaker mode cable • HDMI cable (4K, 8K transmission supported) • AC power cord • Feet • Wall mounting brackets with screws & template Setup: Connected soundbar to HDMI (ARC) port on LG C8PUA 4K UHD TV Setup requires the BRAVIA Connect app and an account with the Sony Home Entertainment & Sound Service. Users should be aware of data and privacy issues related to the associated service agreements. Initial setup efforts (several over 1.5h) stalled after network setup step with a “server unavailable” error. Setup completed as expected the following day. Sound field optimization was guided with the app. It is advised that you remove any case from your phone prior to optimization to prevent any interference with the microphone. Some steps require you to turn the phone so that the microphone is pointed up. The screen prompts conveniently invert so that you can read subsequent instructions. Soundbar Design: There are only two small lights on the front of the unit to indicate its status. The myriad of different color and blinking combinations are impossible to decipher without three pages of information in the Help Guide. The HDMI and power ports are recessed to allow for flush wall mounting. App Design: Aside from the server issue noted above, the app’s setup dialog was straightforward. The app only allows storage of one seating location at a time. Given the limitations of the indicator lights, the app is the only convenient way to determine the status of the soundbar. Operation: While there is a remote, the indicator lights are so cryptic as to make render it useless. The app is needed for almost all operations. Before installing the soundbar, I was able to control my cable box with the LG TV remote. This functionality is retained with another LG TV and Sony soundbar. It is NOT retained with the BRAVIA Theater Bar 8. I now have to use a separate remote to turn on the cable box and change channels. Audio Quality: Once optimized, the simulated surround sound is quite good. The bass is adequate when equalized to its highest level but a subwoofer would be nice addition. The voice enhancement does a very good job of clarifying dialog. Overall: Once optimized, the surround simulation is good. The disabling of my TV remote functionality for cable box power and channel selection is a real inconvenience. Dialog enhancement works very well.

The Bravia Theater Bar 8 has truly impressed me after 24 hours of testing. Straight out of the box, it includes a power plug, HDMI cable, mounting brackets, pegs, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The sound quality is exceptional for a standalone soundbar. One standout feature is its HDMI 2.1 compatibility, which allows it to output 4K at 120Hz (perfect for gamers). It also supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, great for both gaming and movie experiences. I connected the Bravia Bar 8 to my LG CX 65-inch TV’s eARC port and my XBox Series X to the soundbar’s HDMI IN port. Watching Bad Boys for Life on 4K Blu-ray was an awesome experience, despite the lack of a subwoofer and rear speakers. The bass is robust yet tempered and the soundstage was is pretty encompassing after calibrating with the Bravia Connect app. The 3D spatial sound mapping worked wonders when watching Stranger Things. I needed to see how it took advantage of Netflix's newly implemented spatial audio feature. Sidebar: Nothing beats the feeling of seeing all those green checks on the Xbox Audio & Visual setting details. Thanks the Bravia Bar 8 for the HDMI 2.1 connection! However, there are some negatives. There is only 1 HDMI-IN connection. While it is not a necessity if your TV has eARC on multiple inputs, 3 is usually what I'd like to see. Also, the cloth mesh material on the speakers tends to collect dust and lacks the easy to clean convenience of a metal grill. However, most frustratingly, the soundbar lacks a comprehensive LED indicator. While there is a small dot LED indicator for Atmos and DTS:X, I need more seeing visibility directly from the bar itself instead of having to reach for my phone. After using my phone all day, I prefer to leave it on the charger when I get home, and during testing, my phone was down to 10% battery. Sony, please address this in next year’s model. The remote is compact but functional, with controls for input, sound field, voice, bass, mute, and night mode. If you have a smart TV from 2016 or newer, you can use its remote for basic soundbar controls via HDMI/ARC technology. Overall, the Bravia Theater Bar 8 delivers warm, room-filling mids and impressive sound dynamics. If you happen to have Bad Boys for Life (IMAX Enhanced) be sure to play the final scene where the Helicopter crashes into the derelict mansion. The glass shattering in that scene is particularly vivid, thanks to the top-firing and wide-angle channels. Priced at $1000, it might appeal more to home theater enthusiasts, but I believe the average TV watcher will be overly very satisfied with its performance (sans sub and rear speakers). I tested it from about 8 1/2 feet away with the volume at 40. At 37 years old, my hearing is decent, so take that into consideration. In conclusion, the Bravia Theater Bar 8 is an excellent choice for anyone seeking high-quality sound without the need for additional subwoofers or rear speakers right away. 4.75/5

The Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 8 is an all-in-one soundbar which has some unique engineering and design qualities which produce an immersive entertainment experience. Able to decode the advanced Dolby Atmos and DTS-X digital output of modern content sources this unit is able to provide an impressive sound field without the need for surround speakers or an external subwoofer (more about that later). The sound bar contains eleven speakers including four front firing woofers, three front tweeters with a dedicated center channel. To provide the surround components there are two side firing speakers and two up-firing speakers (both with are used to mimic a dedicated Dolby Atmos or DTS-X experience usually provided by numerous speakers. The results are fairly impressive for a sound bar, although the bass is not exactly punchy, it does provide good lower end. Given that the built in amplifier provides 495 RMS watts, it is not underpowered or lightweight. The BRAVIA Theater Bar 8 is also compatible with specific dedicated wireless Sony subwoofers as well dedicated wireless surround speakers. For my use case, I have two distinct areas where we watch television, one room which is essentially our home theater, with dedicated surrounds, a subwoofer and ceiling firing Dolby Atmos speakers all attached to a dedicated AV Receiver. However, in my living room where the acoustics are not tuned and frankly is not meant to be a home theater I have the venerable Sony HT-CT660 sound bar (which was a monster of a soundbar, when soundbars became a thing). This Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 8 is an evolutionary solution for everyday television watching or music playback (given that this soundbar is Apple Airplay 2, Bluetooth and Spotify Connect compatible). Setup isn’t overly difficult and by downloading the BRAVIA Connect mobile app the setup process will actually use the microphone on your mobile device to calibrate the unit for optimal configuration based on your typical listening position. Originally, I was not overly impressed by the unit, until I determined that my LG OLED TV was passing PCM digital stream and not set to Auto. Once I set my TV to Auto and the soundbar was able to determine the digital audio stream my TV was feeding it, the performance of the soundbar became really impressive, decoding a Dolby Atmos stream. In addition, the soundbar has a few settings which really are useful, including a late night mode which reduces the dynamic range (also good for apartment dwellers), a woofer setting (three different levels), a Sound field and dialog enhancer feature. Some of these which can be accessed by the provided remote control. However, the Bravia app is best to adjust these settings and I found provided the remote control mostly unnecessary (except to provide to my wife for more basic control of the soundbar). Since this unit is ARC compatible, your TV remote can also be used for basic soundbar control. If you happen to have a Sony Bravia TV you can also use (via the provided cable) the internal TV speakers as a dedicated center channel/dialog speakers. In addition, the Sony Bravia lines of televisions will recognize and display some of the functions on the TV screen. One of the overlooked aspects of a soundbar is its ability to passthrough video streams to other devices via HDMI. This unit is compatible with 8K/60Hz and 4K/120Hz video passthrough with support for Dolby Vision, HLG, and HDR10. The soundbar can also be controlled using Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa device. Overall, this is a very good soundbar and provides a rich audio experience in an integrated all-in-one unit. Pros: - Good immersive surround experience, Dolby Atmos and DTS-X compatible - Decent bass, you can get away without a dedicated subwoofer - Easy setup process via the BRAVIA Connect mobile app - Passthrough capabilities - Expandability within the Sony Home theater ecosystem Cons: - Wish the optional subwoofer was included - No indicator lights other than power on the soundbar. - Only one HDMI eArc and HDMI in port.

For the price and it being a stand alone system that can not be connected to home Theater A/V Unit like My Denon 7.1.2 system and can only add 4 more surround speakers due to it being stand alone. I was very disapointed and was misinformed by the sales man who told me i couls connect it to my A/V unit, & said i could add up to 7 more RS5 to get a total of 7 more speakers was disappointing. I will be returning this in the next few days. As by itself with the SW5 sub, it is ok. But for me to have perfect surround sound in my huge master suite i need to be able to add up to 7 more speakers & now i know i can only add 4 more. So hugely disappointed. Been trying to find out if i buy the Bravia 9 Bar, if i could add 7 more speakers or at minimum 5 pairs of the RS5 speakers. Hopefully i can find the answers somewhere, but not even Sony themselves can provide that answer. I had bought the Sony XR95L TV, and added the bar and sub due to connectivity issues, but if i can't connect the Bar to my Denon A/V unit it means both 4K HDMI ports on my TV are used. The only downfall to the XR95L is only 2 out of 4 HDMI are 4K and only 1 is EARC. So if you plan to buy the best OLED TV as I did, this is something you must consider when buying the Sony Bar, sub, and rear speakers.

First, I should say that the BRAVIA Theater 8 sound bar delivers superb sound, and with its ELEVEN (!) speakers, and with its Sound Field Optimization, does an admirable job simulating surround sound, based on an analysis it does during the initial setup. Once again, another product that requires an app download. I know it’s free and simplifies some things, but most of the time, I end up having to create another account, verify, etc. It features full HDMI, which includes the ability to turn on and off a (downstream) TV. This seems like a nice feature, but doesn’t take into account strict component audio-video systems where all sound is produced by a receiver/amplifier. HDMI is “smart,” and makes incredible home theater possible, but it can also insulates you from more discrete components, such as high-end speakers and the like. It can become more problematic when you have several “smart” devices (like a surround sound receiver/amplifier and a smart speaker system, like the BRAVIA Theater 8). Do they compete for control? Who wins? Can one act in a “slave mode” (relinquishing control) so that something else can control the system? Can a device control everything else, or are there components that just don’t play well together? I say all this because I am “old school” and I question the implementation of HDMI in speakers. Perhaps speakers should simply be component-level devices driven by a surround sound receiver/amplifier. Overall, the BRAVIA Theater Bar 8 is a nice addition to an audio-video system with stereo speakers, and a fantastic choice if you only have a TV. I’d have given 3.5 stars, if that were possible. It’s not, so I focused on its superior sound quality and gave it four stars.

In full disclosure, I am a firm believer in Sony technology and my TV was already a Bravia model. The Sony Bravia Theater Bar 8 is a natural combination for my living room set. I tested the model for a few days (5 in total) and to be safe with my feedback, I tried all kinds of shows: movies, sports, talk shows, and news. After all those tests, I can affirm that this is the best soundbar that I own (I have 3 right now at home). I love that Sony always includes all the components needed for the use of the product since day one and this is not an exception. The box includes the ARC/HDI cable, the remote (with batteries), and the power cord, all as expected. In this case, it also includes the wall mount brackets and the instructions for a definitive installation on your walls. In case you decide that the bar could be used with other inputs, note that Bluetooth is an option as one audio jack. The initial setup is summarized in four basic steps that are quite intuitive: connect to your TV, sound, and power cords and the Bravia Connect app does the rest. I found it strange that the quick start instructions are not in a separate paper but on one of the cardboards covering the bar you could miss them once you unbox the bar. Note that after installation, the app recognizes the bar, and the setup is launched. After connecting to your home wireless, you will be able to download the last firmware version (that was quick) and optimize the sound delivery, which includes a measurement of the space and your position in that space. This bar has eleven speakers so, the coverage of the entire space is absolutely guaranteed but its capacity to deliver a surrounding sound is out of this world. The bar does not include a separate subwoofer but if you decide to go for it, the bar will connect to them also with Bluetooth. I note that because I own a Bravia TV, my usage of the app or the bar remote is very limited for basic functioning, all goes directly from the TV remote and the TV sound setup. However, I strongly recommend spending some time in the app settings, when you see the different options play extensively with the ‘Sound Settings” when you change your content. The specs are clear the bar, supports all the sound formats in the market: Dolby, DTS, and IMAX but one of the options that worked the best for me is activating the automatic volume adjustment to minimize volume changes when there are changes in the input signals. More obvious options are the adjustment of the 3 Bass levels (min, mid, or max) to obtain a quality sound. This is still a great option even without annexed subwoofers. The final, test was the bar power, it’s clear that this is a monster and complements any TV. It’s so powerful that it’s impossible to stay in a room (mid-size) with more power than 50%. Great quality and great aesthetics complement the package. One single complaint that I hope is not a problem, I wish that Sony would increase the warranty period. For such an investment, more than a year could be nicer. This is a great option and a great addition to your living room.

The Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 8, having 11 speakers and supporting both Dolby Atmos and DTS: X is a solid option if you're in the market for home theater sound but don't have the space for an entire set of individual speakers. As with any home audio, what matters most is the overall quality of the sound it produces, No one wants to sit down to watch a Hollywood blockbuster or listen to their favorite albums and be greeted with something sub par and disappointing. Luckily, the Bar 8 handily delivers, especially where Atmos is concerned. In addition to watching films that make use of Dolby Atmos, many of the albums I listen to via my streaming music subscription do also. I was eager to test this out and boy am I impressed. All of the effects present on Harry Styles' "Harry's House" album that I experienced while listening via a friend's multi-thousand dollar discrete speaker system were present and accounted for. I heard it all, loud and clear, and without the clutter of speakers all over the place and hefty expense. Kudos to Sony for figuring out how to pull this off! There is one drawback though. I feel that the bass is a bit lacking for something the size of this device. It's not bad by any means, but I was hoping for a bit more punch. Sure, you can pair this with a wireless sub and have bass to your heart's content, but I have heard the bass from other soundbars with no added sub that came through better. To be fair, their overall sound can't touch the Bravia 8 though. All in all, this is a solid recommend for me. I think anyone, especially in a smaller space, would be 100% satisfied with this product.

I paired the BRAVIA Theater Bar 8 with the SA-SW3 subwoofer, and I'm glad I did because I would have been very unhappy with the Theater Bar itself. I'm not sure if it's the acoustics of our house or the fact that we still have a 10 year old smart TV, but the sound while watching movies is underwhelming. I do think that our 15 year old blu ray player could be blamed for that as well. I couldn't get the movie to play loud enough even at the highest level. So while that is not the sound bars fault, I do blame the lack of documentation. That's the real reason I'm only giving it 4 stars. It was absolutely awful trying to get it setup using our old TV, and I almost took it back because I couldn't get it working because we don't have an eARC HDMI port. I'm replacing an 8 year old Sony Soundbar which I used the optical sound cable, and this soundbar doesn't have that. The app you have to use to setup this soundbar allowed me to connect regardless of not having the eARC port, but it didn't help with figuring out HOW to do it. We eventually just plugged the ROKU or Blu Ray player directly into the soundbar, but now that leaves us with having to change it each time - I still need to research some sort of adapter. The experience has just been awful. I didn't know it would require all these workarounds or I would have just kept the old soundbar and bought a shelf (trying to downsize an entertainment center). Online help has been difficult as well and either refers you to the app or to "press the home button on the remote" which the Theater Bar 8 doesn't have. I'd recommend the soundbar, but would maybe only do so if you have a newer TV with the eARC port.

I was looking for an upgrade to my current Sony theater bar so I decided on this Bravia Bar 8 with 11 speakers. I figured it would add some missing surround sound and maybe a little extra bass. Out of the box, this is mainly plug-n-play which is simple, though maybe not as good as it seems. I have a high end subwoofer from another brand I wanted to connect, but there are no connection for that, only wireless. Setting up the speaker requires an app download and uses your smartphone's microphone to get your seating position. It then sends tones to each speaker group and uses the phone's mic to map the room for spatial surround. It seems you need the phone every time you want to change the sound field settings. My old sound bar had a small digital display telling me what setting I was on. Sounds like I have a lot of cons about this sound bar, but it really adds a cinematic experience to everyday television shows. The neural DTS-X is quite immersive and the up-firing speakers improve the overall effect. When connected to a Blu-ray player, the sound is amazing! You almost don't need a subwoofer. When it's receiving a Dolby Atmos signal, horror films are bone chilling, action films are spellbinding; it's just that much better. Once you play with the settings and get the sound and features just the way you want them, this sound bar rewards you with a great experience.

In the box is the speaker, power cord, remote with AAA batteries, 3.5 mm headphone cord, HDMI cord, wall mounts with a wall mount template, instructional manual with QR code (for the help manual) and addition warranty information. First Impression - A lot of speakers packed into a decent sized sound bar. The Sony Bravia Connect App - First off, I am not a big fan of downloading apps but this one is definitely necessary for setup. Not only does it complete a software update but it also walks you through the room setup. During the setup, it will also ask if you have additional rear or sub woofer speakers that you would like to add as well. Something that was new to me was setting up the room location with the app, which I was able to use my phone to tell the soundbar where I sit in the room and where the middle of the room was also. I also like being able to have the remote on the app as well. So many times, we are searching for remotes in my household and this one is small, so I am pretty sure it will get lost quickly in my household; it is a little thicker than my Apple TV remote, so we maybe able to keep up with it a little better. Sound - So far, the sound is really sharp and the Dolby Atmos sounds really good. I also blue-toothed my music app and the music sounds great. (I listened to Classical-piano and violin and it was AMAZING, R&B, Reggae, Alternative, Country, Hip Hop) I watched a few movies that were in Dolby Atmos and they of course sounded excellent but there were a few that I wish I had my subwoofer but the bass still sounded good. There is a voice button on the app and it’s definitely great when I want to watch my regular network shows. I find myself adjusting the bass from mid to max when I am watching different movies or listening to different music. Beware, the bass is sufficient if you don’t want to shake house with a subwoofer. But if you like to shake the house then you can definitely add it. (In the app, there is a night mode and you can connect your Spotify account.) Overall, I am really happy with this sound bar and in my opinion, it sounds great by itself. The room that I am currently using it in is perfect. I would definitely recommend this product to friends and family.

Great sound. A major upgrade from my previous soundbar. The only knock I have on it is the bass. Adding a sub is a must

Each new generation of sound bar attempts the impossible: trick your ears into thinking you own more physical speakers than you do. Each year the technology gets closer to achieving this. Sony’s attempt at this trick with the Bravia Theater Bar 8 (Bar 8 from here on out) packs 11 speakers into the sound bar: 7 forward facing, 2 side facing, and 2 upward firing to create what Sony describes as 360 Spatial Sound Mapping, but without the optional subwoofer the audio feels lifeless and flat, yet still capable of being loud. Sony makes it a breeze to unbox and setup this 10-pound 3.5 feet long soundbar offering clear visual setup guides that like all things digital today recommends physically connecting and powering on the device then installing an app on your smartphone to complete the setup. I think Sony needs to re-think how wide they make the HDMI port section of the soundbar. I use thick in-wall HDMI cables and they were barely able to fit into the tiny space available to plug them into the soundbar. The phone app pairing process was fast and stress free. Because I’m using a projector that does not support eARC the first thing I had to do to get any sound from the sound bar was to disable the Bar 8 eARC functionality using the app. I was pleased there were no zero-day firmware updates required and after tapping my way through all the menu items in the app it was time to bask in some audio glory. I should mention another useful item that ships with the Bar 8 is a set of risers that are designed to be used when your TV sits on a TV stand that has legs that protrude out making it impossible to position the sound bar flat in front of the TV. The risers offer just enough height to overcome this problem. I do not own a Sony Bravia TV and I do not have the Sony SA-SW3 or SA-SW5 subwoofer that pair with this soundbar so I can not experience the acoustic center sync feature or the Bravia Voice Zoom 3. I do not own the Sony recommended SA-RS5 rear speakers which means I DTS-X audio support is excluded as is the IMAX Enhanced support as both these modes require a sub and the rear speakers with the IMAX Enhanced feature still in development and coming in a future firmware update. I do own a PlayStation 5 (PS5) so I figured that would give me the best optimized audio experience. After a few hours of playing Spiderman 2, Fortnite, and Kena: Bridge of Spirit I was disappointed at how flat the audio felt which sent me down the technical troubleshooting rabbit hole of “what am I doing wrong here?” In the Bravia App there’s a number of tweaks that can be made to the audio experience. It quickly became clear to me that the 360 spatial sound mapping expects the end user to own a sub and the two rear speakers for an optimal audio experience. Without these three additional components, the 360 spatial sound mapping feels flat. Under Sound Settings > Sound Field Setting I found that turning off the 360 Spatial Sound mapping and setting the sound bar to use Dolby Speaker Virtualizer offered the next best audio experience. Moving off of the PS5, I began experimenting with audio coming from my primary viewing source: the Nvidia Shield TV Pro. With the YouTube app, the Disney+ app, and the Plex app being my 3 primary methods of “watching TV” I spent a few hours rolling through a mix of PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Atmos and even some older stereo content. I could not shake the audio sensation of hearing a hollowness from the content making me question if I had something configured incorrectly. The sound bar only includes a couple of LED lights that respond when using the remote to press the volume buttons or to acknowledge buttons pressed on the remote, but if you keep the Bravia connect app open, the HDMI connection bar at the top of the app displays the audio formats being used to play the content. This is useful when you need to validate that Plex is not transcoding your audio. As a last ditch troubleshooting effort I began cranking up the volume and discovered that when the sound bar reached a volume number between 44 - 49, about double the level that I consider to be a comfortable volume, a few more acoustic details of the content began to express themselves. For example in the Dolby Atmos Amaze demo the rain began to feel more authentic and in the Dolby Leaf demo the leaf seemed to travel a bit further above the room than before. As a sanity check I grabbed a different sound bar and repeated the same tests with and without the other sound bar’s subwoofer and came to the same conclusion: without a dedicated sub, the Bar 8 does not produce the audio experience you are expecting, but I’m willing to bet that if you do pair this soundbar with the Bravia sub you would not be disappointed.

Absolutely wonderful, paired with S5 rear speakers and subwoofer. Stayed up until 2:00am listening to our favorite music. No regrets!