Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + S review

As much as we would like it to be the case, not everyone can have a huge multi-speaker home cinema sound system.

Whether that’s because of the hefty price tag that comes with such a set-up, or the sheer amount of space it calls for, sometimes having a full-blown cinema system is simply not practical.

And that is where soundbars make so much sense. They can give you a clearer, more immersive sound compared to most TV speakers, with many models now also offering Dolby Atmos support for an even more enveloping experience.

Sony’s new Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + S soundbar package aims to tick all those boxes. It’s made up of a main soundbar and a wireless subwoofer, with the pair boasting a compact design and a comprehensive selection of surround sound formats. But can this package challenge the class leaders in the market?

Price

If you are buying the main soundbar on its own, it will set you back £699 / $870. There’s no Australian pricing released yet, but that translates to around AU$1320.

However, for reasons we will get to below, we’re testing the Bravia Theatre Bar 7 alongside the optional Bravia Theatre Sub 7.

When bundled together, this system has several names – Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + S, Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + Sub 7, HTA7100KIT or HT-AP710 – and costs £799 / $1100 (around AU$1510).

Bought separately, the sub is priced at £249 / $330 (around AU$470), so if you are going to get it (and we very much feel that you should), it’s worth going for the bundle from the off.

There is also an option to add in surrounds with the Sony Theatre Rear 8 speakers, costing £449 / $500 (around AU$850) on their own. In the UK, you can buy the Rear 8s in a bundle with the soundbar and subwoofer, and doing so takes their price down to £337.

The system is up against stiff competition, mainly as it is sandwiched between the Sonos Arc (£799 / $799 / AU$1399) and Sonos Arc Ultra (£999 / $999 / AU$1799). These are single soundbars with no subwoofer, but the Sony’s main bar is notably smaller than both Sonos models. That is worth bearing in mind when deciding what you can accommodate.

Build

The Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 7 has a functional overall feel, and is unobtrusive. The front of the bar is covered with a cloth grille that gives it a stylish look.

There’s no display, nor are there buttons on the bar, which makes it tricky to navigate the settings without the accompanying app (more on that in a moment).

There is also a remote control, which is quite dinky, with a lightweight design that puts functionality over style. From here, you can control the power, input, bass levels, volume and turn on Night mode.

The choice of finishes is limited to black, but this blends well into our test room. The soundbar measures 95cm wide and just 6cm high, so it fits neatly under our 55-inch TV screen.

The subwoofer is an impressively compact piece of kit with a versatile design. You can use it in two different positions, either with the grille facing the listener or the side of the room. We try it in both configurations, but there is not much of a difference in presentation. It ultimately depends on what arrangement works for you.

The subwoofer is slim as well, measuring 36 x 35 x 13cm (hwd), which is about the same size as your average briefcase, so it can easily be tucked next to your TV stand.

Features

The soundbar and subwoofer combination offers a 5.1.2-channel configuration. Under the hood of the main bar, you will find 9 drive units, split between side, centre, up-firing and bass channels.

As the up-firing drivers indicate, the Bravia Theatre Bar 7 supports 3D Audio, in both the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X formats.

Inside the subwoofer, there is a 13cm driver with a total power output of 100W.

At the back of the soundbar, you will find a cable cove that houses two HDMI sockets. One is the eARC port to connect the soundbar to your TV, while the other is a dedicated input. The Theatre Bar 7 supports full passthrough of 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM, which will be a big bonus to gamers with limited HDMI 2.1 sockets on their TV.

The Bravia Connect app lets you fine-tune the settings of the bar, with the ability to adjust bass levels and turn on the Sound Field and Voice Zoom feature. You can also pair the subwoofer (and the surrounds if you have them) from the app, where they recognise the product almost immediately, which makes for an easy set-up.

From here, you can also calibrate the soundbar to your space. This is done by playing a range of frequencies from the bar via the app on your phone, which will only take about 30 seconds, and the brand says it “will detect your position in the room and optimise sound to suit”. The subwoofer is not included in the calibration process, however, so it must be adjusted by ear.

We listened to the bar before and after calibration, and even in our acoustically treated test room, we noted a slight improvement. In a typical living room, the gains will likely be greater, so it’s worth the small amount of effort.

Sound

We test the Sony soundbar with a range of movies and music, and in each case it delivers a punchy, cohesive sound that is immediately likeable.

Kicking off with Top Gun: Maverick on 4K Blu-ray in Dolby Atmos, we watch as Tom Cruise’s Maverick attempts to reach hypersonic speed in a jet. The soundbar stretches the height effects above the TV screen as the vehicle soars into the atmosphere with a good level of precision.

This continues with the width of the soundstage, as Cruise whizzes across the desert from the right side of the screen to the left on his trusty motorcycle. You can hear the bike move across the space in a way that matches the movement on the screen.

When we play this scene without any setting adjustments, we find the bass is slightly lacking in the rev of the motorbike’s guttural engine, so we crank it up from the default 0 to 2 via the app.

This gives the scene an injection of energy with the added bass, but the lower frequencies never stand out as overzealous. Instead, the bass is well-integrated with the main soundbar and performs with the same precision as the rest of the system.

We use the Bravia 8 II as our display during testing. It sounds excellent by TV standards, but as you would hope and expect, voices are much clearer, cleaner and more expressive from the soundbar. When Maverick delivers a speech to his new pilot cohort, the balance between dynamic subtlety and clarity is well navigated.

There is the option to turn on the Voice Zoom feature, which does succeed in bringing voices forward in the mix. But it reduces the sense of scale, so we opt to keep it off. This will still be a good option for those who generally struggle with dialogue intelligibility.

The Sony package also delivers a great sense of three-dimensionality, which gives movies an enveloping feel. When watching Sinners on 4K Blu-ray in Dolby Atmos, spirits from the past, present and future all gather for a large-scale musical performance, and the Bar 7 admirably delivers the swirling overhead effects as the camera dances around the space, while still placing each instrument and voice in the room with brilliant accuracy and organisation.

There is a Sound Field setting that can be selected, and we find in our test room that it produces a wider, more effective surround sound effect compared to when it is off. Vocals become slightly less precise and do not reach the same level of detail, but it’s a small compromise considering the increase in scale.

This sense of immersion is also helped by the well-handled dynamics. As young musician Sammie first picks up his guitar to entertain the crowd, he tentatively plucks the strings with a delicacy that is reflected in the quiet dynamics. Then the music slowly builds to a brilliant crescendo as his vocals soar and a toe-tapping bass track is added into the mix.

Should you consider buying the Theatre Bar 7 without the subwoofer? We don’t think so. We test out the soundbar on its own, and while it still delivers clear vocals and convincing height effects, the sound is thinner and lacking the sense of scale and authority that we get when the subwoofer is added. Given the relatively low price of adding it from the off, and the compact dimensions, which make it pretty easy to place in your room, we feel the subwoofer is a wise addition.

We also test out the soundbar combo with music, and it continues to be a balanced, organised performer. With Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz, the Sony package offers a tight yet energetic bass that is well integrated with the rest of the track. Vocals sound natural yet forward, as evidenced by Aurora’s Some Type Of Skin. You can hear the delicate warbles in the singer’s voice, and every word is delivered with clarity.

When compared with the slightly pricier Sonos Arc Ultra, it’s clear that the two soundbars are taking different approaches. The Sonos offers a richer overall sound with warmer vocals that have more character than the Sony. But the Bravia Theatre Bar 7 and subwoofer combo delivers a more precise sound that feels more agile in comparison.

The Arc Ultra may suit your set-up more as it’s just one unit, but it is considerably larger than its rival (7.5 x 118 x 11cm versus the Sony’s 6.4 x 95 x 13cm). That means the Bar 7 might be a better fit for smaller living spaces.

Both can deliver about the same level of height and scale effects, making the Sony a worthy competitor to the Award-winning Sonos bar.

Verdict

Overall, Sony has done an excellent job with this soundbar package, delivering punchy, engaging audio.

The system is up against two Sonos Award-winners that are both tough competition, and they have their advantages as single soundbars. But their bulk might mean they are not as easy to accommodate as you might expect, unless you are looking to wall mount.

Regardless of build, the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + S is a beautifully balanced soundbar package that is hard to fault, making it a top performer at this money. Watch your back, Sonos…

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Features 4
• Build 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Sonos Arc Ultra

Also consider the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9

Read our Sonos Arc review

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