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

Not like two of its , Sony waited till April to unveil its newest soundbars moderately 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 here are actual headscratchers, particularly on a soundbar launching this yr.

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

General sound high quality has by no means been a problem on the Sony soundbars I’ve examined, and the Theater Bar 6 continues with that pattern. You may count on crisp, heat sound with glorious readability and strong 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 an effective way to guage a speaker’s deserves, and on the Bar 6, this not too long ago 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 in the course of the second season of Andor, though the restrictions of the Theater Bar 6’s 3.1.2-channel configuration shortly grew to become obvious. Its five-driver association does properly, thanks to a few front-firing models and two angled up-firing audio system. These latter two parts actually assist with filling the overhead area in the course of the motion in reveals like Andor, compensating for the restricted variety of drivers (and their positioning) as a lot as attainable. And all of that makes the Theater Bar 6 a strong choice for smaller areas, particularly when you’ve got decrease ceilings and gained’t be sitting removed from the TV.

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

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

The primary strike towards the Bravia Theater Bar 6 is the dearth of Wi-Fi connectivity. In order for you 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 must be customary on a $650 mannequin in 2025. Sony did make it straightforward to change from the HDMI enter over to Bluetooth within the Bravia Join app, and that change occurs shortly after you’ve paired your telephone 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 information from a pc to a thumb drive to get them to the soundbar. Sure, actually. Sony says the dearth 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 a giant inconvenience, and it shouldn’t actually be a factor within the mid 2020s.

Within the sound division, the one actual knock towards 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 method will likely be restricted in its skills to ship immersive sound. Positive, Sony’s S-Fore Professional and Vertical Encompass Engine do properly to virtualize a extra sturdy front room setup, however that tech solely goes to this point.

You would possibly assume a pair of rear audio system would bolster the sound, and Sony does supply the Bravia Theater System 6 ($770) as a 5.1-channel all-in-one package deal. Nonetheless, it doesn’t embody the Theater Bar 6 and its subwoofer. As an alternative, that bundle comes with a unique 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 at the moment obtainable choices are appropriate with this soundbar.

Lastly, and this isn’t a big difficulty for most individuals, however the Theater Bar 6’s included subwoofer is massive. Larger than many of the competitors? No, but it surely’s giant nonetheless. I’ll admit I’ve been spoiled by that I not too long ago reviewed, because of 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. Positive, it’s restricted by its 3.1.2-channel configuration, however there’s a particular use case for that kind of setup — particularly for those who’re brief on front room area. The audio is crisp and clear, and it’s additionally heat and alluring, which makes this soundbar well-suited for every kind 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 dearth 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 spanking 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 characteristic 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.