The Sony Bravia Trio is one of the most unique products we have tested this year.
Unlike traditional soundbars, which combine the front speakers into one convenient unit, the Bravia Trio splits the soundbar into three separate parts: a centre, a front left and a front right.
And it’s all the better for it. The five-star Dolby Atmos system delivers scale that traditional soundbars can only dream of, filling the room the way only physically separate speakers can.
And if you want even more immersion, the Bravia Trio can now be picked up with Sony’s Rear 9 surrounds and Sub 8 for £1999 at Richer Sounds. That’s a saving of £800 and a lot of home cinema kit for the money!
The system centres the five-star Sony Bravia Theatre Trio, which, even on its own, delivers a wonderfully spacious soundstage.
It is bolstered by Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology, which creates up to 24 ‘phantom’ speakers around the room to create a bigger scale.
The result is sound that spreads far beyond the physical locations of the speakers, and fills our large listening room with impressive width and scale. We do notice a slight buzz with super-deep bass, however.
When you add Sony’s rear speakers and subwoofer, though, things are taken to another level.
“Testing with the Rear 9 surrounds and Sub 8 dramatically increases immersion, creating a seamless bubble of sound that extends around the entire listening position,” reads our Sony Bravia Theatre Trio review. “Atmos effects become even more precisely placed, and the busy cityscape of Blade Runner 2049 becomes extraordinarily convincing.
“Just as importantly, the minor shortcomings of the standalone system largely disappear. The slight buzz from the centre speaker vanishes once deep bass duties are handed over to the subwoofer.”
Set-up is a breeze thanks to the excellent Bravia Connect app, built-in microphones and dedicated USB-C calibration microphone, while the speakers are fairly unfussy about placement.
Connectivity is all-encompassing too, with an HDMI eARC connection for your TV, plus an HDMI input with support for 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM passthrough. Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay and Spotify Connect make up the wireless support.
We did find a very slight amount of distortion from the Sub 8 during the deepest bass moments. If you have the budget, we recommend considering the Award-winning Sony Bravia Theatre Trio + Rear 9 and Sub 9.
Other than this slight niggle, however, this is a truly excellent system. And with £800 off at Richer Sounds, it’s not bad value either, especially considering the Bravia Theatre Trio is £1499 on its own. Recommended.
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Also consider our LG Sound Suite System review
Read our Sony Bravia Theatre Quad review
Best surround sound systems: home cinema speakers and soundbars put to the test
