Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 9 review

Compared to the outgoing A7000 soundbar, Sony has added dedicated side-firing drivers for increased immersion in addition to the up-firing units. Even the main LCR speaker complement gets a two-way configuration with quad racetrack-shaped mid-woofers throupled to three tweeters aimed directly at the listener. Lastly,  a couple of internally mounted beam tweeters assist in sound field optimisation and creating the aura of a much larger listening space than the actual room size. That makes for a total count of 13 active drivers, besides the dual passive radiators. While the Bar 9 could create a reasonable amount of envelopment on its own, without the optional subwoofer and rear speakers, it’s almost as effective as Daenerys without her Dragons.

Everything is tied in with the all-new BRAVIA Connect app as it acts as a hub for all modern-day Sony AV products and while it is comprehensive in its functionality, connecting to the soundbar takes a moment. Not too long, but long enough for us to miss a proper display on the soundbar itself and a full-function remote. Locating your phone every time you want to turn down the rear speaker levels or check which Sound Field setting is currently active is tedious and gets annoying very quickly. There isn’t even an on-screen display, the soundbar just gets a couple of LEDs that blink at you when you press a button. Do you see how the app is imperative to use the Bar 9, right from the initial set-up to everyday use?

The remote does have all important controls like bass level, sound field, night, voice, input, mute and of course, volume control. If only it had hot keys for rear speaker levels too since, depending on the different content we switched between, it’s the rear speakers that needed boost or cut more than the subwoofer. The app digs deeper with height control for the sound field, a Dolby or DTS virtualiser for 2-channel content and acoustic centre sync. One area though where the Bar 9 takes a step back from the A7000 is HDMI I/O. There’s a single input and a single eARC-enabled output. The A7000 did have two inputs which made it a snap to connect an Apple TV and PS5. AirPlay2, Spotify Connect and Bluetooth 5.2 handle all the wireless streaming you want to shoot at it. 

Our review system came with the RS5 surround speakers which are battery powered and can last up to 10 hours on a single charge, depending on various parameters. Since you don’t have to depend on a power outlet close to their location, it frees up a lot of placement options. Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping even allows you to place them asymmetrically and compensates for the height, distance and angle inconsistencies via the built-in optimiser. It’s a simple press of a button on top of each surround speaker. Couldn’t be easier. 

Handling bass duties is the same old, but still very capable SW5 powered subwoofer with 300W on tap. It connects wirelessly to the Bar 9 but does require to be plugged in at all times. Placing it anywhere on the same side of the room as the Bar 9 delivers the most seamless results and finer adjustments can be made on the fly always.

Set-up took its time, thanks to some minor connectivity issues between the subwoofer and the main unit and the calibration process needing a couple of re-runs to achieve accurate measurements. After 20 minutes though, we were ready to say goodbye to scrawny TV sound. We settled on Sony’s own Purestream service on our Sony OLED and selected Bad Boys 2 which is part of the IMAX Enhanced catalogue. Featuring an uncompressed DTS-HD audio bitstream, the Bar 9 now supports this format natively and the increase in dynamic range over the A7000 was instantly audible. 

There is a much wider expanse to the front soundstage and a higher degree of involvement, with the subwoofer and rear speakers blending in seamlessly to create the intended bubble of sound. Depending on the material though, we noticed that we had to play around with the rear speaker level controls quite often, preventing them from overpowering the overall presentation and not call attention to themselves. Similarly for the bass as well. Dial it in just right and the Bar 9 lets you forget that all this sound is coming from a slim soundbar and two portable speakers. It really does create a huge sound field around the primary listening space that is great for making the tension in an action scene palpable. It likes to play loud and it does so without distortion. The SW5 remains a very capable subwoofer for franchises such as Jurassic Park and Mission:Impossible, plumbing the depths of a dino stomp or a superbike chase through London, but it doesn’t have the speed and definition of a standalone active subwoofer from a specialist brand.

Vocals are a bit of a concern if you don’t have a Sony TV that boosts the dialogues with the acoustic centre sync by using the TV’s speakers as the centre channel. It is a better implementation than the last generation, with a more evenly matched tonal balance when the sound moves across from L-to-R but it’s not perfect still. Compared to the rest of the elements, the vocals seem to get buried and using the voice boost only seems to emphasise the midrange sharply. This is exacerbated due to the fluctuation in the rear channel activity with 360 SSM engaged, having you play around with the levels of the bass and surround speakers constantly, depending on where you’re seated. Of course, with multiple humans enjoying the experience, you’ll just have to forewarn the person sitting closest to either of the surround speakers. This is especially true for music mixed natively in Spatial Audio formats, ironically.

Surprisingly, the Bar 9 did a wonderful job at upmixing 2-channel music into 360 SSM. Return by Joel Culpepper has delicate triangles that were deftly assigned to the rear speakers while the vocals and music were anchored to the front and if you’ve calibrated the system correctly, it sounds like an immersive Dolby Atmos track, even when it’s not! It’s not for the purist, but see it from an entertainment lens and you’re bound to enjoy the results. Don’t go looking for accuracy in timbre or a deep soundstage with sharp focus, this isn’t like a pair of audiophile-grade loudspeakers. But the agenda here is to tear down the walls and boundaries of your bedroom or living room and create the illusion of being in an arena and it succeeds at doing that.

With the optional but essential accompaniments, the subwoofer and the surround speakers, the Bar 9 is close to Rs. 3 lacs and for that money, you could consider quite a few options from brands such as Devialet, Sonos, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, Klipsch, Bowers & Wilkins, JBL and many more. Sony is playing with the big boys of the audio world here and they certainly have an edge when it comes to tech and some unique features. But does it rule this roost? Not really. While it does unlock a lot of potential and compatibility with a Sony TV, on its own, it lacks the absolute definition in the mids and speed in the lows. There are processing inconsistencies, but those can be fixed via an OTA update. If you aspire to live in a bigger house but can’t afford the real estate, the Bar 9 does a fantastic job of transporting you to a place almost as large as a movie hall.