Sony - BRAVIA Theater Bar 9 with 13 speakers, Dolby Atmos/DTS: X - Black

Prior to purchasing the Theater Bar 9, I owned the HT-A7000 along side the SA-SW5, SA-RS5's, and the 65" A95K (using the Center Sync feature). I sold the HT-A7000 to a friend and replaced it with the Bar 9. The Bar 9 is an improvement to the previous Sony flagship soundbar. It's less forward and in your face than the HT-A7000, but it made the entire listening experience more balanced. The SA-RS5 surround speakers are now more present than before. After viewing the car chase scene in the The Batman, a couple friends immediately said, "The rear speakers are actually noticeable now and they sound clean." I played that scene because that's what I noticed most after replacing HT-A7000 with the Bar 9. The SA-RS5 surrounds gained more presence. I've always set them to MAX volume, but once including the Bar 9, the impact they make to the movie experience is immediately noticeable. I'm not sure what Sony did, but the SA-RS5's are worth getting with the Bar 9 vs previously I almost regretted purchasing them. There are some cons about the Bar 9. Firstly, I wish the app had to option to manually adjust the volume of the speakers. The vocals are clear, but they can come across a tad bit veiled at times even when using Center Sync. This isn't always the case, but at times I find myself raising the volume, just to hear the vocals a bit better. I also personally prefer to not use Voice Mode. Secondly, there can be more separation in the mix. What I mean by this is the bar can sound caged by the limitations of being a soundbar. This is something that most soundbars have to overcome, because well, they're soundbars. Mind you, this can 100% be due to the current setup of my living room. It's not ideal for the soundbar and it's a similar complaint I had with the HT-A7000 so it's not entirely on the Bar 9. Thirdly, there does seem to be less bass when comparing the individual bars. It's not completely an issue because the SA-SW5 provides more than enough impact and body to the listening experience. I will say this. Sony needs to update their subwoofer lineup to remain competitive with Sonos, Samsung, and others. When discounted, the SA-SW5 is a good deal, but not at MSRP, All in all, I've had a great experience with the Bar 9 for the two weeks. With a better room configuration and setup for movie watching, I know the sound and immersion this system can provide will only improve. I hope I didn't miss any crucial points, but this is my experience thus far.

Amazing Sound and 360 Spitual got realy good deal from bestbuy had sony HT-A9 and replaced with this , enjoying

Honestly a very sub par speaker system. Bought this thinking it was going to blow my mind, but really disappointed for the price of a premium speaker. There are many others out there like Sonos or Samsung that seem to do better. The speaker itself sounds 'fine', but lacks customizations and ability to tweak the sound. The app is supposed to do all this for youz but it really doesn't adjust much. More of a placebo effect. It lacks any ability except for 3 sound options, and low med high base. Theres very little 3D sound effects with just the bar itself, base is reasonable but again, only have low med high options to adjust. Gets loud.. but for 1400 I can get many others for loud. There also seems to be a very long latency, with the bar out of sync with the TV words a lot of the time, requiring adjustments. Limited ports, only two HDMI (one for ARC to the TV and the other for an additional input), but oddly even this input HDMI has a long delay. Looks wise - very nice and sleek MAJOR downside, there's no RF repeater. I paired this with my Sony TV (all Sony's have the remote receiver on the bottom) and it completely blocks my TV remote from working, with no solution other than buy a separate top box set for your tv. Sounds like a stupid design flaw from Sony products to build TVs with a RF receiver On the bottom, and build a ln incompatible sound bar that blocks the bottom of a TV. Id expect more for 1400. Since I have a slightly older Sony TV, there's really zero brand loyalty or compatibility benefits. No built in Chromecast compatibility, only Bluetooth connectivity. Requires you to download the phone app, the control is more or less useless and you can't tell what setting you've enabled or disabled (see pic). Only indicator on soundbar is some LED lights that blink. Overall I would highly not recommend. Buy another better product for cheaper.