Customer Ratings & Reviews

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.

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

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.

I decided to place this soundbar in my bedroom which is smaller at 120 sf. Set up was simple and I immediately connected through HDMI Arc with my TV. The first movie I watched after set up was Dune since it was suggested for experiencing Dolby Atmos sound and the feeling of immersion and being surrounded by a different world. Although the elements of movie theater quality sound are there, they aren't completely captivating as full surround sound would be. This soundbar can be paired with a subwoofer and rear speakers so although there is 360 spatial sound mapping technology, I never felt as though I was completely immersed. Despite that, I still enjoyed the quality of sound with stunning clarity in every scene. The quality was just as impressive while enjoying some music. As the music filled the room, I can hear every intricate detail of the drums, the vocals, the string instruments, and the flowing rhythm which created an enjoyable listening experience. Overall, I like the soundbar for my smaller bedroom but I would not move to my living room without the combination of the subwoofer and rear speakers.

Good sound for shows, movies, games, and music. I didn't think a sound bar would be loud enough but I was wrong.

This is the best soundbar that I have every owned. Very easy to install. I would highly recommend this pr

Eleven speakers in a single bar that fire in every direction that you could want! The sound is incredible and, if your room is small and reflective enough, you won't need surrounds. The Sony Bravia Theater Bar 8 is the best speakerbar I've ever owned, the older Bravia used to be my favorite. The sound literally surrounds you and emulates surround sound. In a smaller room the sound seems like it's coming from everywhere and you'd swear that you have rear speakers already installed. But that trickery gets a bit weaker in a larger room. It still gives a sense of rear speakers, but just not as well. I bought a set of rear speakers and a sub fill those slight holes in the sound. The bass, while not booming, isn't lacking without a sub. The sound is full, voices clear, and the volume gets pretty loud to fill the house. But I like the deep sub bass so I had to get the subwoofer. I have the SW5 from my old set, but settled with an SW3 and paired it to the old bar and put the Theater Bar 8 in the main TV spot. Everything paired without issue. The only thing I do wish is that there were more HDMI ports. The TV I have only has 3 ports and 1 ARC port. So that leaves only 3 inputs for the 5 devices I have hooked up - 2 consoles, 1 PC, 2 streaming devices (until Rifftrax adds an Android TV app I need 2 streamers). It's not a big deal after getting an HDMI switch, but it would be nice to not need it. With the quality sound it puts out and the ease of setup, Sony has another with the Bravia Theater Bar 8.

Incredible Experience This is definitely a super advanced sound bar with all the latest features that provide high resolution audio with Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and IMAX. The First thing I noticed especially when playing music to the bar, Sounded like I was hearing the artist's intended sound. I was hearing more instruments in the mix. The 11 Speakers for forward, sides and upward especially with 360 spatial sound mapping creating a cinema style sound The Bravia app The app does a great job of sound mapping. Setting up the app and syncing devices was very seamless. The sound field optimization feature calibrated flawlessly with my room. It was very quick. There are so many choices for settings in the app. Sound field, voice mode, night mode. Bass level. Volume control. Wireless speaker set up. 360 reality audio. lets just say theres alot to tweak from the app and more than I just mentioned. You can also switch between TV-HDMI-BLUETOOTH for your audio input signals. Other Great Features This bar supports 4K HDR, 8K HDR, Dolby Vision, HDMI 2.1 Gaming for a great gaming experience with friends. Connectivity So far I connected my phone, bluetooth turntable for streaming audio. I also have a set of headphones connected. Summary So far this has been a great experience. I have always relied on Sony for my video/audio needs. Quality of their products. My sony component collection continues to grow.

Awesome sound very easy to hook up, having trouble pairing sub

Looking forward to sound quality that allows for that home theatre experience.

So let's jump right into what I liked about this soundbar – if you pair it with a Sony TV it seems to work pretty well via wireless and HDMI. I had no problem hooking up via HDMI all the TVs (LG, Sony, and Samsung). The app is absolutely needed for use – more on that to follow – and is a game changer in the use of the soundbar. The aesthetics and look are very nice just as I would expect from a Sony product. The surround-sound capabilities are very good – given the optimal room design. Now, what I didn’t like – there is no display on the unit, just a few LEDs that I could never really figure out what they meant – this is a real negative if you don’t have a Sony TV. The sound – out of the box particularly the low end leaves a lot to be desired. If you are going to purchase this the addon sub is an absolute necessity. That said at this price point there are others on the market that include a sub. As far as setup – the app is a necessity - The first thing you need to do is use the sound mapping function it takes about 5 min or so to complete but makes a significant change in the sound platform – move it from horrible to actual not bad, cleans up a lot of the sound issues however does tune the sound profile to a location in the room and if you move around the room it does not sound as good (still better than out of the box) Overall this is a decent soundbar, maybe even good if you own a Sony Bravia TV, however for the price there are better options out there

Wow - I love this sound bar! It's so good I am adding the rears speakers to my system!

Very good sound is so clean we love it my son he using too much