- Sony introduces Bravia Theater Bar 7 soundbar, with 9 speakers, 5.0.2 channels, for $869 / £699
- Also the Bravia Theater Bar 5 3.1 channel with wireless subwoofer for $349 / £399
- Also featured are two wireless subwoofers and wireless rear Atmos speakers.
Sony has launched two new sound bars along with new subwoofers and complementary rear speakers.
The Bravia Theater 7 is a nine-speaker, 5.0.2-channel all-in-one sound bar with dedicated upward- and side-firing drivers and automatic room calibration. It’s very much in line to compete with the Sonos Arc Ultra, but it has a lot of key features that the Sonos lacks.
It supports Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, IMAX Enhanced; the last two are not compatible with Sonos. It also has HDMI pass-through with 4K/120Hz and Dolby Vision support, and again the Sonos Arc Ultra lacks HDMI pass-through.
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There’s also Bluetooth 6.0 with LDAC, Wi-Fi 6 and the Bar 7 has Spotify Connect and Apple AirPlay 2.
You can also expand the new Sony with the new smaller Bravia Theater Sub 8 subwoofer, the larger dual-driver Theater Sub 9, and the Bravia Theater Rear 9 speakers, which have large, upward-facing 80mm speakers for more immersive spatial sound.
Sony Bravia Theater Bar 5
The second sound bar, Bravia Theater Bar 5, is a 3.1-channel model with an included wireless subwoofer. It also supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, and also comes with Sony’s virtual surround sound technologies: Virtual Surround Engine for virtual spatial audio and S-Force Pro, which emulates side speakers for a wider sound field.
The new sound bars are designed to work with Bravia TVs and the Bravia Connect app, which lets you control your home theater settings from your phone.
Both new sound bars come with a hefty price tag. The Bravia Theater Bar 5 costs $349.99 / £399 and the Bravia Theater Bar 7 costs $869 / £699. Pricing and availability in Australia is yet to be confirmed – the products are listed on Sony’s Australian website, but prices have not been published at the time of writing.
The Bravia Theater Sub 9 is officially priced at $899 / £899; the Theater Sub 8 is $499 / £649 and the Theater Rear 9 speakers are $749 / £699. All of the new products are available for pre-order now, and we have a review of the Theater Bar 7 coming, so watch this space.
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