Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6 assessment: Nice sound, better frustration

In contrast to two of its , Sony waited till April to unveil its newest soundbars somewhat than debut them at CES in January. And even then, the within the firm’s 2025 lineup stay untouched. As an alternative, the : a 3.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos soundbar that comes with a wi-fi subwoofer and a modest set of options. Nonetheless, the caveats listed below are actual headscratchers, particularly on a soundbar launching this 12 months.

What’s good in regards to the Bravia Theater Bar 6?

General sound high quality has by no means been a difficulty on the Sony soundbars I’ve examined, and the Theater Bar 6 continues with that pattern. You possibly can count on crisp, heat sound with glorious readability and stable directional audio. Even over Bluetooth, this speaker-sub combo is nice for music, doing justice to the refined particulars of Miles Davis’ Mies ‘54: The Status Recordings. Traditional jazz is a good way to evaluate a speaker’s deserves, and on the Bar 6, this just lately remastered album is dynamic and alluring all through all 20 tracks.

The soundbar additionally delivered nice audio in films and TV. I used to be sucked into battle scenes throughout the second season of Andor, despite the fact that the restrictions of the Theater Bar 6’s 3.1.2-channel configuration shortly turned obvious. Its five-driver association does effectively, thanks to 3 front-firing models and two angled up-firing audio system. These latter two parts actually assist with filling the overhead house throughout the motion in exhibits like Andor, compensating for the restricted variety of drivers (and their positioning) as a lot as doable. And all of that makes the Theater Bar 6 a stable choice for smaller areas, particularly in case you have decrease ceilings and received’t be sitting removed from the TV.

The Theater Bar 6 received’t win any design awards, however that’s okay. There are many individuals, myself included, who don’t actually need their soundbar to face out on the TV stand or mantle. The main target needs to be the show, not the speaker. This mannequin is kind of plain, however it additionally has a comparatively low profile, so even when your TV has a brief stand, the Theater Bar 6 received’t block the image.

What’s not so nice in regards to the Bravia Theater Bar 6?

The primary strike in opposition to the Bravia Theater Bar 6 is the shortage of Wi-Fi connectivity. If you’d like a wi-fi connection to the soundbar, Bluetooth is your solely choice. What’s extra, no Wi-Fi means no AirPlay, Chromecast or Spotify Join — all of which needs to be normal on a $650 mannequin in 2025. Sony did make it simple to change from the HDMI enter over to Bluetooth within the Bravia Join app, and that change occurs shortly after you’ve paired your cellphone with the soundbar as soon as.

Talking of the app, it doesn’t truly enable you to set up firmware updates to the Theater Bar 6. As an alternative, it prompts you to switch the recordsdata from a pc to a thumb drive to get them to the soundbar. Sure, actually. Sony says the shortage of Wi-Fi is why this workaround is required. Irrespective of the rationale, having to dig a thumb drive out of your junk drawer to put in updates is an enormous inconvenience, and it shouldn’t actually be a factor within the mid 2020s.

Within the sound division, the one actual knock in opposition to the Theater Bar 6 is extra in regards to the constraints of three.1.2-channel audio. Even with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X content material, this technique shall be restricted in its skills to ship immersive sound. Certain, Sony’s S-Fore Professional and Vertical Encompass Engine do effectively to virtualize a extra strong front room setup, however that tech solely goes to date.

You would possibly assume a pair of rear audio system would bolster the sound, and Sony does provide the Bravia Theater System 6 ($770) as a 5.1-channel all-in-one bundle. Nonetheless, it doesn’t embrace the Theater Bar 6 and its subwoofer. As an alternative, that bundle comes with a special soundbar that doesn’t have up-firing drivers, which suggests it’d lack overhead sound and dampen the impression of immersive content material. Sadly, if you wish to add rear audio system to the Theater Bar 6, you’re out of luck. None of Sony’s presently accessible choices are suitable with this soundbar.

Lastly, and this isn’t a enormous difficulty for most individuals, however the Theater Bar 6’s included subwoofer is large. Larger than a lot of the competitors? No, however it’s massive nonetheless. I’ll admit I’ve been spoiled by that I just lately reviewed, due to its subwoofer’s compact design. But when audio system on this class begin trending smaller, the one which accompanies the Bar 6 will certainly find yourself being one of many chunkier fashions.

Wrap-up

From a pure sound high quality standpoint, the Theater Bar 6 excels at each its music and TV duties. Certain, it’s restricted by its 3.1.2-channel configuration, however there’s a particular use case for that sort of setup — particularly if you happen to’re quick on front room house. The audio is crisp and clear, and it’s additionally heat and alluring, which makes this soundbar well-suited for all types of content material.

Regardless of my heaping on all of that reward, the Bar 6 merely has too many drawbacks that I can’t overlook. The shortage of Wi-Fi on a $650 soundbar is absurd, principally as a result of it strips customers of the comfort of AirPlay, Chromecast and different wi-fi connection choices. I can also’t recover from the necessity to use a thumb drive for updates when OTA downloads for brand new firmware have been the norm on soundbars for years.

For these causes, the Samsung QS700F is the higher choice on this value vary because it combines nice sound with an orientation function that robotically recofigures the output path based mostly on placement. Sony and Samsung are in a decent race with reference to audio efficiency with the Theater Bar 6 and the QS700F, however solely a kind of 2025 soundbars will prevent from some complications.