What is the point of a soundbar? To reduce the number of speakers, right?
Well, it looks as if no one told the Sony Bravia Trio. The system comes with a soundbar and two satellites, but they're not rear-channel speakers – but very much front-facing.
Essentially, the Trio has split its soundbar into three parts, resulting in a huge, immersive soundstage while still remaining cohesive.
It's one of the finest Dolby Atmos systems you can currently buy – and it's just had its first discount, dropping to £1799 at Smart Home Sounds with the code SONYTRIO10.
The Sony Bravia Theatre Trio consists of two stylish, cylindrical satellite speakers, as well as a rather narrow central soundbar.
We found the Bravia Trio is fairly unfussy with its placement, whether wall-mounted or not, though we would have liked a display.
There are also several notable features other than the three-piece design – Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology creates up to 24 'phantom' speakers around the room, which bolster the real ones to create a larger, more immersive soundstage.
Set-up and calibration are also top-notch, thanks to the excellent Bravia Connect app and built-in microphones, as well as a dedicated USB-C calibration microphone.
Connectivity is solid too, with an HDMI eARC connection for your TV, plus an HDMI input with support for 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM passthrough. Wireless support also includes Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay and Spotify Connect.
And the all-important sound quality? Sony has certainly succeeded in its aim of creating a larger and more spacious soundstage.
"Compared with even the best conventional soundbars, the Trio sounds huge," our Sony Bravia Trio review reads. "Effects stretch much further to the left and right, dialogue remains firmly anchored to the screen, and there's a greater sense of sound being projected out into the room rather than simply originating from beneath the TV."
The system sounds wider than a traditional soundbar but also taller, with an impressive Dolby Atmos performance that frequently extends overhead announcements and environmental effects above the listening position.
Yet all the while, the Bravia Trio is cohesive, never sounding like three physically separate speakers but instead a single, unified wall of sound.
If you're after a premium Dolby Atmos system and have the budget to stretch this far, the Sony Bravia Trio is one of the most compelling options on the market right now. Its innovative speaker setup takes the strengths of both the soundbar and system approach while avoiding most of their weaknesses, and it's available now for £1799 at Smart Home Sounds.
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