Some house theater soundbars go to city on options and efficiency, aiming to test as many audio containers as attainable. These methods are likely to have correspondingly excessive costs and may get a bit of complicated to function. Sony’s Bravia Theater Bar 6 ($699.99) runs within the different course. It is nonetheless a full-fledged Dolby Atmos and DTS:X system with a powerful 3.1.2 channels, but it surely maintains a laser deal with simplicity, ditching flexibility and connection choices in favor of a set-it-and-forget-it answer.
It’s an method that works, so long as you’re content material to stay throughout the Bravia Theater Bar 6’s considerably restrictive limitations.
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Minimalism to the intense
Design-wise, the Theater Bar 6 takes minimalism to the intense. The principle bar, at 37.5 x 2.6 x 4.3 inches, is made totally from matte black plastic. It’s as unobtrusive as a full-size soundbar will get, and once you dim the lights, all of it however disappears. There aren’t any controls in any respect, save for a tiny energy button hidden on the suitable aspect. Homeowners of Sony Bravia 5, 7, 8, 9, 8, A95L, or Bravia 8 II TVs get the additional benefit of on-screen controls; for everybody else, you’ll want to make use of the Bravia Join cell app to entry the speaker’s settings. A tiny LED on the entrance tells you if the Theater Bar 6 is turned on, and which enter is in use.
Talking of inputs, you get simply three: HDMI ARC/eARC, optical, and Bluetooth. Realistically, it’s solely two, because the ARC/eARC and optical inputs are each devoted to your TV. You should utilize one or the opposite, however not each. Sony offers an HDMI cable within the field, which is sensible: solely HDMI ARC/eARC connections help Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. In case your TV doesn’t do HDMI ARC, you’ll have to supply your individual optical cable.
Credit score: Simon Cohen
Which means from a music listening viewpoint, it’s going to be Bluetooth streaming out of your cellphone, or maybe devoted music apps in your TV or TV-connected streaming machine. There’s no WiFi and no obtainable digital or analog inputs.
Mashable Gentle Velocity
Sony additionally contains little rubber ft that may carry the Theater Bar 6 excessive sufficient to clear the built-in ft on a lot of Sony’s TVs (after they’re within the center place), and there’s a wall-mount template that can assist you discover the suitable anchor factors for a set of screws (no extra {hardware} wanted).
The subwoofer is a blessing and a curse
The included wi-fi subwoofer is an enormous, boxy affair — normal situation for many home-theater-in-a-box methods — however identical to the primary bar, it ought to fade into the background if you will discover a discreet spot to position it. Simply understand that this explicit Bravia soundbar can’t be expanded with wi-fi encompass audio system. For those who want that flexibility, the Theater Bar 8 and 9 are higher selections.
If you get the sound settings dialed in, the Bravia Theater Bar 6 does an excellent job of bringing films and TV reveals to life. It offers a far bigger soundstage than any built-in TV audio system, and because of each a devoted heart channel driver and a very good obtainable voice mode, you gained’t miss a phrase of dialogue.
Nonetheless, some managed expectations are so as. Even once you hit it with Dolby Atmos content material, as I did with a number of clips from No Time To Die, Unbroken, and Dune, the system isn’t going to wow you with its 3D immersion. Its primary profit is its energy (it will possibly get impressively loud) and its power (even at decrease volumes, the sound signature conveys plenty of element and emotion). Overhead and encompass results, however, are hinted at reasonably than delivered instantly.
Credit score: Simon Cohen
One essential tip: In case your TV solely helps HDMI ARC (versus eARC), all the time hold Sony’s Sound Discipline mode turned on when watching Atmos or DTS:X content material, in any other case the Theater Bar 6 treats it as 7.1 Dolby Audio encompass sound — a much less rewarding expertise.
The subwoofer is each a blessing — it’s the important thing to getting deep, cinematic punch in your films — and a curse: if you happen to’re not cautious with the settings, it will possibly overwhelm the mid-frequencies with a boring smear of low-end bass. That is very true when listening to music. I needed to cut back the bass considerably from my most popular movie-watching degree to realize a balanced EQ for music.
It’s simple to advocate the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6, notably if you will discover it on sale. However there are additionally loads of nice alternate options. Considered one of my favorites is the Klipsch Flexus Core 200. It prices lower than the Theater Bar 6, and whereas it doesn’t include a subwoofer, it punches out spectacular bass by itself. Plus, it’s expandable with Klipsch Flexus wi-fi subwoofers and surrounds, or you need to use a wired sub if you happen to occur to personal one.
