With amazing picture quality and a good number of future-proof features, Sony Bravia TVs are among the best on the market. And buying any model from the Bravia range is a smart step towards setting up a completely immersive and fulfilling home entertainment system.
While your Bravia TV would deliver perfectly in the video aspect, you won’t get much from it in terms of audio quality — no thanks to the flat panel design that has made the inclusion of robust speakers impossible.
So, to get a complete home entertainment experience from your Sony Bravia TV, you’d need to invest in a top-quality soundbar that pairs perfectly with your TV. Sadly, not all soundbars on the market are good matches for a Sony Bravia TV. And making the right choice can be a huge challenge.
Best Soundbars for Sony Bravia TVs: Our Top 5 Picks
In this post, we’d be reviewing a few of the best soundbars for Sony Bravia TVs. Our selection was carefully made after several hours of scouring the market and comparing several options based on their compatibility with Bravia TVs, brand trust, features, performance, buyer reviews, and other factors that matter.
And in the end, we came up with these top contenders.
1. Sony HT-Z9F
The Sony HT-Z9F is a 3.1-channel soundbar with a separate subwoofer that delivers powerful virtual surround sound in the smallest profile possible. Although the soundbar has just three drivers, Sony claims it can still produce a 7.1.2 surround sound, thanks to the company’s best-in-class talents in audio processing.
Design
Design-wise, the Sony HT-Z9F is simple and well-built. Being premium sound equipment, it is obvious Sony asked its industrial engineers to pay attention to aesthetics as its design has a sense of elegance. The sleek-looking main unit measures about a meter long, a little less than the typical width of a 49-inch TV.
The body of the bar features some touch controls along the top and a magnetic grille that you can remove or leave on, depending on your preference. The subwoofer is made of wood and is covered with a low-sheen black laminate on all but the front, which is covered with a black mesh fabric.
Located on the recessed area of the bar is a range of all the inputs you’d expect from a bar of its stature, including an HDMI out with ARC and two HDMI input (capable of 4K HDCP and Dolby Vision). There are also optical digital audio and 3.5mm analog inputs as well as an Ethernet port to hardwire into your network. There’s also Bluetooth connectivity to enable you to stream music from mobile devices.
Features
The HT-Z9F comes several Wi-Fi functionalities like the Spotify Connect and Chromecast, meaning you should be able to enjoy your favorite streaming stations, and that it can be a part of your home theatre setup. The bar also supports Dolby Atmos, Dolby True HD, and DTS:X, enabling it to create an expanded and immersive soundstage.
Like most soundbars, the bar offers a range of preset modes, which are suitable for movies, gaming, music, news, and sports. It also comes with voice enhancement support, which can be especially helpful for movie playback as it makes it possible to gain greater clarity in dialogues. Another interesting feature is the Vertical Surround Engine, which helps to give a greater dimensionality to non-Atmos tracks.
Performance
The HT-Z9F is the soundbar to get if you want immersive audio without the clutter and complexity of a true surround setup. The Vertical Surround Engine is impressive as it enlarges the soundstage giving height and width to sounds.
Also, the bar can get quite loud, especially when you crank the volume up, but it surprisingly manages to maintain tonal balance. When used for the TV, it delivers clear sounds so you will never have to miss another word of dialogue, all thanks to the two levels of voice enhancement. In all, the soundbar performed incredibly well with no sound distortion or noise.
Pros
- Premium, durable look and feel
- Lots of connectivity and audio format options
- Clear dialogue
- Impressive up-mixing
- Feature-packed
Cons
- Can get up during complex scenes
- Operationally complex
2. Samsung HW-Q70R
The HW-Q70R is one of the latest releases from Samsung and it boasts the refined Acoustic Beam technology of the company to deliver true immersion. Its attractions include the input from Harman Kardon subsidiary, eight custom drivers and a dedicated wireless subwoofer.
Design
It’s hard to tell where the HW-Q70R takes its design cues from but many agree that it shares a similar look with the HW-N650. The main bar is 43 inches wide and 59mm, making it ideal for slipping in front of your TV without blocking the screen.
A three-letter display sits on the right side of the bar, with metal grilles at the top and front while the buttons for controls are positioned at the top and they are for power, input selection and volume.
On the back of the soundbar, you will find a pair of cavities where the various ports sit, and the connectivity options include optical digital audio input, an HDMI input and an HDMI output with ARC that is compatible with HHDR, 4K. HDCP 2.2 and other dynamic range formats. There’s also a USB port for firmware update and a connector for the AC power adaptor.
For wireless connections, you get both 5GHz and 2.4 GHz WI-Fi support as well as Bluetooth connectivity. The remote that ships with the package is the same that has been used by Samsung over the years.
Features
Should you lose the remote, you can still interact with the soundbar via the SmartThings App which makes setup easier. It also supports Alexa, allowing for hands-free control, and offers access to Spotify Connect for wireless streaming.
The HW-Q70R also supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X and uses the Acoustic Beam technology that widens the soundstage. It also comes preset with a range of modes so you can customize your audio experience. In that regard, you get four standard modes namely Standard, Surround, Game Pro and Adaptive Sound.
Performance
The HW-Q70R delivers a fantastic audio performance, thanks to the tuning and optimization by Harman Kardon. The immersive audio and wide soundstage lends itself to movies and music playback, putting you in the action and providing clear, impactful sounds without a fuss.
The Acoustic Beam technology ensures there’s additional width and height, but the performance will largely depend on your environment. In the right environment, (ceilings that are not too high or vaulted), this bar will make you feel like plaster is falling around you while maintaining the bass levels flawlessly. Overall, if you want a soundbar that will deliver the goods, the HW-Q70R is qualified for the job.
Pros
- Big, immersive soundstage
- Great with movies and games
- Solid build
- Simple to set up
- Well-integrated subwoofer
Cons
- Limited connections
- Only one HDMI input
- Doesn’t play surround content
- Pricey
3. Sony ST5000
A no-comprise soundbar and subwoofer duo, the Sony ST5000 is a high-end product that justifies it is price tag by packing more punch than many competitors are capable of. It is a great way to get Dolby Atmos and High-Res Audio into your home.
Design
The Sony ST5000 rocks a stylish design and has a premium build quality, there’s no debate about that. Its mounted, gold-rimmed tweeters and coaxial driver with midrange cones help elevate it from all other rectangular soundbars out there. The soundbar has a fabric grille but you can take it off to enhance its aesthetic appeal.
At 80mm, it is just low-profile enough not to impinge on our view of the TV when placed underneath it. Notable features on the front of the bar are Sony’s logo, the touch-sensitive buttons, and a display that provides basic information such as input source, volume and whether the soundbar is receiving a Dolby Atmos signal.
On the back of the soundbar, you will find four HDMIs, one ARC-enabled – all of which support HDCP 2.2 for 4K sources. In addition to the HDMI, there’s the option of an optical digital audio connection, stereo via mini-jack, USB port and Ethernet. As expected, the soundbar is equipped with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities for wireless connectivity.
Features
The Sony ST5000 supports audio streaming protocols such as Chromecast and Spotify Connect, meaning you use popular apps like Pandora, Google Music, YouTube, Spotify, and Tidal. Even more, the bar is equipped with hi-res audio technology with DSD file support. Needless to say, the Sony ST5000 also supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.
For audio customizations, you get four preset modes including Music, Game Studio (both of which disable Dolby Atmos for a more detailed soundstage), Movie and Standard Modes. Although the package comes with a remote, you can also control the bar with the Sony Music Center app as well as voice control using Google Assistant.
Performance
The Sony ST5000 produces a large soundstage with impressive height and depth, and it can get very loud due to its 800W power output. While the soundbar does its best to live up to its pitch, it won’t fill your room with surround sound as the immersion depends on your room’s dimensions and even your listening position.
It is hard to deny that the soundbar delivers enveloping sounds most of the time, but you won’t feel bad about it as the hi-res audio will give you the subtlest nuances of studio-quality sound. In all, you may not find a perfect soundbar in the Sony ST5000 but you can be sure of getting an audio performance that’s rich and exciting.
Pros
- Excellent integration
- Weighty bass
- Premium build quality
- Hi-Res Audio file compatibility
Cons
- Expensive
- Dolby Atmos lacks surround depth
4. Polk Audio Signa S2
With the speakers of TVs getting worse by the day, the demand for soundbars is on a steady rise. The Signa S2 is a budget entry-level soundbar that offers better TV sounds and features at an incredibly low price.
Design
The Signa S2 is about 2.2 inches tall, 35.4 inches wide and is compact enough to easily fit beneath most TVs without blocking the TV’s IR port. It, however, keeps a low-profile and will probably go unnoticed in your media room.
The main unit is mostly made out of plastic and there’s a mesh-like fabric covering the front, with the name of the brand crested at the extreme end of the bar. The little 2.1 channels soundbar comes with a wireless subwoofer, which is fragile and not really eye-catchy.
The back of the bar is very straightforward, sporting the inputs that were on its predecessor but with the addition of the HDMI connection. So you can expect to find ports for optical, HDMI ARC and a jack for auxiliary output The package ships with a remote that’s not universal, so you won’t be able to control other devices with it.
Features
The Signa S2 comes with a power-saving feature that makes it go into standby mode after a few minutes of inactivity, although there’s no specific timer. For the best audio experience, the bar sports the Polk Adjust Technology, which detects the content that’s being played and automatically adjusts the sound output to guarantee the best quality. It also provides three preset modes namely: Music, Movie and Night modes.
Performance
The selling point of the Signa S2 is that it will make TV voices sound clearer and easier to understand, and it delivers impressively well on that promise. It delivers an incredible, room-filling home theatre experience such that you can feel the deep bass impact immerse your room.
Also, the Signa 2 has one of the best frequency ranges of bass you can find in its price category. The sound quality is a fine example of great value for money as it surprisingly delivers rich and bass tones despite its size.
Pros
- Good front soundstage
- Solid bass performance
- Very easy to setup
- Great price
Cons
- No surround depth
- No Wi-Fi
- Audio adjustments are limited
- Average remote
- Limited features
5. Vizio SB3821-C6
Vizio might be a relatively unpopular brand like the big players in the audio market but the brand’s products have continued to sell fast due to the great value for money they offer. If you want an affordable soundbar that delivers punchy sounds, the Vizio SB3821-C6 makes for a worthy consideration.
Design
One of the first things that will cross your mind as you open the package is that the SB3821-C6 is solidly constructed even though the design is simple and clean. The main unit features a black grille and black panels that run around it, with a logo of the brand at the end of the body. To make it more appealing, Vizio adds a brushed aluminum texture to the side panels, and the subwoofer also.
Moving on to the department of connectivity, you will find inputs for USB, 3.5mm stereo RCA, subwoofer output, digital optical and coaxial inputs. The bar also comes with Bluetooth capability to enable you wirelessly stream music from any connected device.
Features
This audio gear is loud. It can knock out crisp, clear sound up to 100dB of pure power with less than 1% harmonic distortion, which will likely get your neighbors knocking on your door in no time. It also comes equipped with Dolby Digital to enhance the quality of soundtracks and audio definitions.
Then there’s the DTS TruSurround technology that enables the bar to produce sounds as though it is coming from all around you. With DTS TruVoiume, you only need to set the volume once and it will deliver a comfortable listening level throughout.
Performance
Courtesy its two 2.75 inches driver pack and a 5-inches wireless subwoofer, the SB3821-C6 delivers an incredible performance. It is able to project the mid and high frequencies very well, but the bass output is average, due to the relatively small size of the subwoofer.
Nonetheless, the Dolby Digital features make it possible for the bar to deliver clear dialogues even though the bar can produce room-shaking sounds. Overall, the sound quality might not wow you but it does perform well based on its price point.
Pros
- Rich, bass system
- Versatile
- Small and compact build
- Good sound for the money
Cons
- Not the best quality control
- Wireless subwoofer connection range is too short
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