Sony has also stuffed this soundbar with practically every way to stream music you could possibly want. That’s something the Arc or lower-priced soundbars can’t do. If your TV cruelly only has a single HDMI 2.1 / eARC port, Sony’s new soundbar gives you an extra one. You can plug both Sony and Microsoft’s consoles into the HT-A7000 and enjoy their full visual fidelity - with one unfortunate exception that I’ll explain later. There are still very few soundbars on the market that are so well optimized for next-gen consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S. The HT-A7000, which starts shipping in September, embraces gamers with two HDMI 2.1 passthrough inputs capable of 8K, 4K at 120Hz, and Dolby Vision HDR. So when designing its latest flagship 7.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos soundbar, the HT-A7000, Sony knew it couldn’t settle and had to throw in the entire kitchen sink to justify the steep investment.Īnd that’s exactly what the company tried to do.

There will always be people that balk at the notion of spending so much money and not putting it toward a traditional surround sound system - and that’s especially true (and a fair argument) when you reach this price level. You can spend a fraction of that on a perfectly competent Vizio soundbar, and even premium options like the Sonos Arc cost hundreds less.

A $1,300 soundbar doesn’t have much room for compromises.

Run 8 train simulator surround sound