Customer Ratings & Reviews

disappointed in this sound bar as it seems to lack depth & sounds kind of tinny. I missed the 2 week return window so now I am stuck with it!

Poor sound misleading as the store had a subwoofer for us to listen to. We returned and now have a JBL and love it. Your geeks are great Levi is the best!!!

I received wrong and broken items please don’t purchase any item from best buy

For the price and more it lasted 30 minutes. This is the second system not working with my brand new tv

Crazy small system not a good sound in a large space.

The Sony HT-A5000 Soundbar is quite the machine. I will give a disclosure; I have only used this soundbar with the optional Sony rear speakers and subwoofer. I imagine this soundbar on its own would still sound great. However, with the add on equipment it sounds mind bogglingly incredible. When you consider how simple this system is to setup, how minimalist it is and how well it blends into your room, this is hard to compete with. I am coming from a $700 soundbar with rear speakers and subwoofer as well so it’s a reasonable question to ask: “what does the extra $1200 or so get me?”. Well, to my surprise its basically incomparable. This system is on a whole other level. The sound stage it produces it just unbelievable, you won’t believe it comes from such a small form. The Dolby Atmos feature can be hit or miss depending on your room. My living room is a rectangle with a nice flat ceiling, about 10ft tall. The Atmos feature for me has been a game changer. It seems to depend heavily on the title you are watching too. The good news is most new action/thriller/exciting movie supports it. Also, most streaming services are supporting it as well. It’s kind of like the early days of HD or even 4K. The adopting has been slow, but if you are jumping in now, there’s plenty of titles for you to enjoy. The other good news is that Dolby Atmos is not necessary to enjoy the quality of this system. Even if you are watching a good old fashion movie, its phenomenal. If you are thinking about getting this soundbar, strongly consider adding the rear speakers and the subwoofer. If you already have the soundbar and are reading this review trying to decide whether you should add the rear speakers or sub, then just do it. The system as a whole will transform your experience.

I replace an old Polk Audio 2.1 sound bar with the Sony A5000. The Polk was connected using the optical out. There was a noticeable lag with the TV sound on at the same time as the Polk soundbar. I wanted a soundbar that would work along with the Sony Bravia XR55A80L. The A5000 works perfectly with the TV now. It comes on when the TV comes on and works in sync with the TV's built in speakers. It sounds great. I did watch some videos on how to tailor the sound to my taste. I suggest doing that as there are some settings not readily apparent. When I first started using it right out of the box I had to turn it up to about 30 for the volume. After the tweaking I usually have it set at around 20 now. The bass is good for a soundbar alone but not as good as the Polk soundbar which I had 2 Polk subwoofers connected to. I will eventually get a subwoofer to go with the A5000. The presence in the room while watching TV is better than just the TV alone. That is saying something because the sound of the A80L TV is very good. I'm expecting delivery of Sony SA-RS5 rear speakers tomorrow. I'm looking forward to adding them to the A5000.

Eh it’s okay I have to write a full 50 characters though

The sound asleep squeak It’s not what I expected from Sony

The sound level will decrease or increase on it's own. Can be irritating.

My Sony TV sounded much better without this sound bar!

The HT-A5000 Sounder was a MASSIVE upgrade that continuously has blown me away (all pun intended). After learning that I had the opportunity to review this soundbar, I immediately went to best buy to purchase a brand new Sony Bravia XR X90J TV which I used to review. Since this isn't a review for the TV I will just say this....the TV is amazing and I think you should go and buy it. The unboxing experience/setup experience. Unboxing the soundbar was extremely easy and seamless to unbox. Everything was well packaged and organized. It took me roughly 5 minutes to unbox and plug/setup the soundbar. The thing that impressed me the most was actually how quickly the soundbar paired to my Sony Bravia TV. It immediately recognized it and started the pairing process and spatial audio process. I plugged in my rear speakers and subwoofer and the Bravia software immediately recognized each product and included these in set up. This was incredible to me and worked exceptionally well. The other thing that I really love about the pairing; The soundbar will switch from TV output to soundbar output immediately upon turn on and its extremely easy to switch back to the TV. The software is intelligent enough to tell you at the bottom of the screen that it is doing so...I love that. The Sound: The sound that this product offers is amazing. It can get exceptionally loud and will not sound tiny. When watching a Dolby Atmos movie the sound quality is impressive. It is a massive upgrade for anyones viewing experience. I love how well the rear speakers and subwoofer pair with the soundbar and the experience is multiplied. I do have one minor complaint with the soundbar (and it may be because I haven't figured out how to do it yet). The soundbar will not indicate when Atmos is being utilized. Overall: I would rate the soundbar a 9.5/10. It really is amazing and I think it is a must buy for anyone who wants to enhance their TV viewing experience.

Static and popping noises after sounder turned off.

. You're reading this because you're considering the Sony HTA5000 soundbar for your widescreen tv home theater system and maybe you're wondering if the soundbar alone is enough. Spoiler: Not for me. Or maybe you are wondering if the total package (soundbar, subwoofer, rears) is worth it. YES! This review focuses on the Sony HTA5000 soundbar but the total Sony ecosystem needs to be discussed as well. In the past Sony bundled their systems together, but apparently folks were not convinced they wanted all of it and the soundbar was unbundled. So for reference I am comparing the Sony ecosystem ($999 HTA5000 soundbar, $349 SARS3S rears, and SASW3 subwoofer $399) to my current discontinued Sonos system, in particular the (sonos soundbar, originally $899, and two play 3's for sides, $598 total, and Sonos Sub gen 2 $749). But on evaluating the Sony System I systematically added components, the soundbar alone, then added the subwoofer, then finally the rears. So I feel I can give both a review of the soundbar and the total system. UPSIDE: I don't know what electronic wizardry Sony has managed, but the HTA5000 absolutely nails vocals, that is to say I have listened to a lot of center speakers, and none come close in isolating and making the human voice so clear. Great for dialog, movies or TV or even songs. In today's of sometimes overwhelming soundtracks I find sometimes you lose the actual dialog to the music or sound effects. Not with the HTA5000. Truly magic. The second magic trick Sony manages with this soundbar, has nothing to do with the soundbar itself, but the system. Again, I have enjoyed a number of home theater systems, NONE, but NONE, have been easier to set up in terms of connecting center channel, subwoofer, and rears. You turn them on. And they wirelessly connect. Magic. Don't forget to do a sound optimization in the set up menu. I found that key for my room. DOWNSIDE?: This is a television sound system, home theater if you add the appropriate pieces. The most impressive demonstration of it's capabilities was in the audio set up. You really heard the dolby atmos bouncing around the room. I tried a lot of dolby atmos movies and never was blown away by them with the soundbar alone. It has the potential for a great soundstage, but for most content it seemed to act as a center channel more than a 5.1.2 system as advertised. And by itself, the HTA5000 sounded a tad tinny to me with anything but vocals. But add the subwoofer? And BOOM (pun intended) you really had something that made movies come alive. Also, it's not the smoothest for music only. That's where the Sonos beats it. And, I don't know about you but I am over different physical remotes for things (The Sony system has a remote). Much prefer the app based Sonos system for control. BUT, and it's a big but.. if all you want is a television sound system, the only time you will need the physical remote is changing settings, which might only be on set up depending on how much you like to fine tune things or to turn it on to use with your portable devices. Otherwise with eARC HDMI, your system remote does a good job of turning it on and controlling your sound. The Sony system has Chromecast, Alexa, and Apple Airplay 2 built in, but unlike the Sonos system, the Sony system always activates the TV to work. Not a plus in my book. Sometimes I just want to play music and not have my big OLED tv screen on. But your mileage may vary. Bottom line: I find it difficult to recommend the HTA5000 soundbar alone when it can be so much more with the addition of the SASW3 subwoofer. And at that point you have a home theater system, might as well add the rears. That combination earns 5 stars easy. If you want a home theater system that integrates easily via eARC and wirelessly, the Sony ecosystem is a solid choice. But the soundbar alone for cost reasons? Then you might start looking at options that may be better for music, or lesser center channels that do include good rears. The caveat is, if dialog is king for you, buy the HTA5000 knowing you are getting the best for clear vocals. It really is that good for vocals.

TV: Sony XBR-75X850D Wireless Rear Speaker: RS3S Soundbar: Sony HTA5000 Wireless Subwoofer: SW3 Apple TV 4K 2021 Let me start by explaining my previous set up. I have a 4 or 5 years old Sony Bravia 4K TV that’s connected to Yamaha 5.1 channel system. This model allowed me to place the rear speakers in the front, and supposedly created the 5.1 surround system. It was not. So when I start setting up this soundbar, I really have no baseline standard. But let me start by saying that setting up this soundbar is very easy. Maybe the fact that I also have a Sony TV helps. Originally, I connected the soundbar to TV HDMI ARC and connected Apple TV 4K 2021 model directly to my TV. This is a not an ideal set up because I learned that I needed an eARC HDMI connection to take advantage of Apple TV Dolby Atmos/Dolby Vision feature, which unfortunately, my old TV doesn’t have. Reading the manual again, I figured out that it is possible to connect my Apple TV directly to the soundbar to take the full advantage of the speaker. Unfortunately, the soundbar only has one more extra HDMI, which left me with no choice except to connect my 4K player directly to the TV – again, not ideal. I really wish this soundbar has more than one extra HDMI so I can connect more devices directly into it. So let’s dive in to the sound itself. The soundbar is equipped with up firing speakers and beam tweeters, together with built-in subwoofer. Trying out the dolby vision and the 360 reality audio (made specifically by Sony) for the first time directly from the speaker, I could hear the sound being projected all around me. It was a very impressive, big sound from a soundbar measuring at 47 ¾ x 2 ¾ and 5 5/8 inch. However, adding Sony SW3 subwoofer and 2 Sony wireless RS3S rear speakers create an even bigger, all-encompassing surround sound that you don’t usually get from a soundbar. Playing Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom scene where the dinosaurs were running away from the volcano eruption was quite an immersive experience. I also enjoyed the sound of racing cars coming from my left and right during the racing scene in Ford v Ferrari. And to be honest, even when playing out the scene from Interstellar from the 4K player connected directly to the TV, I could feel my heart racing and still jumped at several “scary” scenes involving explosion and space travels. This is a “small” speaker that is ready to compete with “big” speakers. Listening and watching these movies put me right at the center of the action itself. And that’s probably the best way to describe it. It’s like you are in this enclosed space where the sound is coming at you from all directions. It’s pretty impressed. I also got the chance to try out Amazon 360 reality audio. While impressive in sound, I am more impressed with the HD sound from the likes of Taylor Swift and The Weeknd album (which is supposed to be playing in Dolby Atmos- not 360 reality audio). Playing Marjorie from Evermore album, I could feel my hair standing up because it felt like I was “inside” the song. All the instruments and her voice were all around me. It was quite impressive. Unfortunately, this sound is only available if you have Amazon HD, Deezer, Nugs.Net and Tidal. No Apple Music, although you can still use Airplay with this speaker. You also have Bluetooth and WIFi options to connect multiple devices to this soundbar. You can connect to Google or Alexa devices to this speaker to control your home devices. The speaker is also able to connect to Apple devices using Airplay2. While airplay connection is necessary for people who have Apple products, playing music from Amazon HD (if you have that subscription) is the way to go to fully experience the HD or 360 sounds. While the soundbar itself maybe enough to experience a full immersive sound, consider at least getting subwoofer and possible the rear speaker. Because of the room where we place our TV, which is not enclosed in 4 walls, adding the additional subwoofer and rear speakers really elevate the sound even more. But if budget is one of the factors, the soundbar by itself will give you an impressive sound for your home entertainment. 4 Stars for the limited direct HDMI connections to the subwoofer.

Not great sound, but good. I don't mean this negatively either. SETUP: Plug in your HDMI cable, then plug in the power cord, then plug in your television. Turn on your tv and follow the onscreen prompts. Set up appears on the tv screen which makes things easier. When all is done, you will want to make sure the little LCD on the soundbar says "TV." The little LCD is in the front so you can easily see it. I say the sound is only good because it is. I simply don't go for soundbars by themselves. Back in the day, LCD tvs had terrible sound, so a soundbar alone made sense. But now, TV sound is fine and I don't see much difference between the soundbar and tv sound. It's noticeable, but not worth writing home about. That's why it's good and not great. It's good, because it still does what it's supposed to do. My previous soundbar produces better soundbar sound, but that's okay because that is only for the soundbar. Also, the soundbar's Bluetooth pairs easily. That's a plus. I paired my ipod to it. One thing that is annoying about this soundbar, but not worth losing a star, is that volume up and down has such a slow and laggy response. Sheesh! Also, I have to turn the volume way up halfway just to hear sound at a normal level, BUT that might also have to do with my tv (also a Sony). You can buy the matching rear speakers and subwoofer, each separately for great sound, which is what I suggest! I recommend the soundbar, but ONLY with the rears and sub as well. I do NOT recommend it on its own.

Great sound and easy to connect with your TV! Love that it’s easy to switch to tv speakers if you’d like to

The soundbar felt solid and produced robust sound but the audio didn’t sink with my Sony tv. We tried several fixes and it never resolved.

TV sound is definitely enhanced with the use of this soundbar. I like that I can also play music from other devices on it as well. The soundbar does a decent job of mimicking surround sound without having to mount speakers around the room.

Excellent soundbar purchase 2 1/2 years ago and extremely happy purchase.