In contrast to two of its , Sony waited till April to unveil its newest soundbars fairly than debut them at CES in January. Or even then, the within the corporate’s 2025 lineup stay untouched. As a substitute, the : a three.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos soundbar that incorporates a wi-fi subwoofer and a modest set of options. On the other hand, the caveats listed here are actual headscratchers, particularly on a soundbar launching this yr.
Sony
Sony’s midrange soundbar gives spectacular audio that pushes the bounds of its 3.1.2-channel configuration. On the other hand, the loss of Wi-Fi leaves primary options off the spec sheet.
- Blank, low-profile design
- Complete sound with nice readability
- Devoted middle speaker for enhanced discussion
- Doesn’t improve AirPlay, Chromecast or Spotify Attach
- Subwoofer is a bit of hefty
- Updates require putting a thumb power
What’s just right concerning the Bravia Theater Bar 6?
General sound high quality hasn’t ever been a subject matter at the Sony soundbars I’ve examined, and the Theater Bar 6 continues with that development. You’ll be expecting crisp, heat sound with superb readability and forged directional audio. Even over Bluetooth, this speaker-sub combo is superb for song, doing justice to the delicate main points of Miles Davis’ Mies ‘54: The Status Recordings. Vintage jazz is a good way to pass judgement on a speaker’s deserves, and at the Bar 6, this just lately remastered album is dynamic and welcoming all through all 20 tracks.
The soundbar additionally delivered nice audio in motion pictures and TV. I used to be sucked into struggle scenes all through the second one season of Andor, even supposing the constraints of the Theater Bar 6’s 3.1.2-channel configuration briefly changed into obvious. Its five-driver association does nicely, thank you to a few front-firing gadgets and two angled up-firing audio system. The ones latter two parts truly lend a hand with filling the overhead house all through the motion in presentations like Andor, compensating for the restricted collection of drivers (and their positioning) up to imaginable. And all of that makes the Theater Bar 6 a forged choice for smaller areas, particularly in case you have decrease ceilings and gained’t be sitting a ways from the TV.
The Theater Bar 6 gained’t win any design awards, however that’s k. There are many other folks, myself integrated, who don’t truly need their soundbar to face out at the TV stand or mantle. The point of interest will have to be the show, now not the speaker. This type is rather undeniable, however it additionally has a quite low profile, so although your TV has a brief stand, the Theater Bar 6 gained’t block the image.
What’s now not so nice concerning the Bravia Theater Bar 6?
The subwoofer that incorporates the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6 is huge.
(Billy Steele for Engadget)
The primary strike towards the Bravia Theater Bar 6 is the loss of Wi-Fi connectivity. If you need a wi-fi connection to the soundbar, Bluetooth is the best choice. What’s extra, no Wi-Fi method no AirPlay, Chromecast or Spotify Attach — all of which will have to be usual on a $650 type in 2025. Sony did make it simple to modify from the HDMI enter over to Bluetooth within the Bravia Attach app, and that fluctuate occurs briefly after you’ve paired your telephone with the soundbar as soon as.
Talking of the app, it doesn’t if truth be told permit you to set up firmware updates to the Theater Bar 6. As a substitute, it activates you to switch the recordsdata from a pc to a thumb power to get them to the soundbar. Sure, truly. Sony says the loss of Wi-Fi is why this workaround is needed. Regardless of the rationale, having to dig a thumb power from your junk drawer to put in updates is a large inconvenience, and it shouldn’t truly be a factor within the mid 2020s.
Within the sound division, the one actual knock towards the Theater Bar 6 is extra concerning the constraints of three.1.2-channel audio. Even with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X content material, the program will likely be restricted in its talents to ship immersive sound. Positive, Sony’s S-Fore Professional and Vertical Encompass Engine do nicely to virtualize a extra tough lounge setup, however that tech best is going thus far.
You could suppose a couple of rear audio system would bolster the sound, and Sony does be offering the Bravia Theater Gadget 6 ($770) as a 5.1-channel all-in-one package deal. On the other hand, it doesn’t come with the Theater Bar 6 and its subwoofer. As a substitute, that package comes with a distinct soundbar that doesn’t have up-firing drivers, which means that it could lack overhead sound and hose down the affect of immersive content material. Sadly, if you wish to upload rear audio system to the Theater Bar 6, you’re out of success. None of Sony’s lately to be had choices fit with this soundbar.
Finally, and this isn’t a massive factor for the general public, however the Theater Bar 6’s integrated subwoofer is huge. Larger than many of the festival? No, however it’s huge nevertheless. I’ll admit I’ve been spoiled by means of that I latterly reviewed, because of its subwoofer’s compact design. But when audio system on this class get started trending smaller, the one who accompanies the Bar 6 will surely finally end up being one of the crucial chunkier fashions.
Wrap-up
The up-firing audio system lend a hand with Dolby Atmos.
(Billy Steele for Engadget)
From a natural sound high quality point of view, the Theater Bar 6 excels at each its song and TV tasks. Positive, it’s restricted by means of its 3.1.2-channel configuration, however there’s a certain use case for that form of setup — particularly in the event you’re brief on lounge house. The audio is crisp and transparent, and it’s additionally heat and welcoming, which makes this soundbar well-suited for a wide variety of content material.
Regardless of my heaping on all of that reward, the Bar 6 merely has too many drawbacks that I will be able to’t fail to remember. The loss of Wi-Fi on a $650 soundbar is absurd, most commonly as it strips customers of the ease of AirPlay, Chromecast and different wi-fi connection choices. I can even’t recover from the wish to use a thumb power for updates when OTA downloads for brand new firmware were the norm on soundbars for years.
For the ones causes, the Samsung QS700F is the easier choice on this worth vary because it combines nice sound with an orientation characteristic that routinely recofigures the output course in accordance with placement. Sony and Samsung are in a good race with reference to audio efficiency with the Theater Bar 6 and the QS700F, however best a type of 2025 soundbars will prevent from some complications.
