{"id":13406,"date":"2026-05-01T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/01\/adventures-in-av-sonys-latest-dolby-atmos-soundbar-system-makes-it-clear-what-many-competitors-lack\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T19:21:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T02:21:38","slug":"adventures-in-av-sonys-latest-dolby-atmos-soundbar-system-makes-it-clear-what-many-competitors-lack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/01\/adventures-in-av-sonys-latest-dolby-atmos-soundbar-system-makes-it-clear-what-many-competitors-lack\/","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in AV: Sony&#8217;s latest Dolby Atmos soundbar system makes it clear what many competitors lack."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-63a8bbd8-6ef7-423e-a949-30290922f0e8\">So far this year, we&#8217;ve had a number of soundbars pass through our test room. From the cheap and cheerful Majority Bowfell Halo Atmos system to the beefy LG Sound Suite package, and everything in between.<\/p>\n<p>The latest competitor to enter our doors is the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 + S, a Dolby Atmos sound bar and subwoofer. You can also get the soundbar itself, for \u00a3699 \/ $870, but if you add the Bravia Theater Sub 7 to the mix, the price rises to \u00a3799 \/ $1100.<\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-63a8bbd8-6ef7-423e-a949-30290922f0e8-2\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">The program offers a 5.1.2 channel configuration. Under the hood of the main bar, you will find 9 drive units, divided between side, middle, up-firing and bass channels. As the shooters show, the Bravia Theater Bar 7 supports 3D Audio, in both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X formats. Inside the subwoofer is a 13cm driver with an output power of 100W.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-continues-below block py-2 text-sm\">The article continues below <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"inline-block w-2.5 h-2.5 ml-2\" fill=\"currentColor\" preserveaspectratio=\"xMidYMid meet\" viewbox=\"0 0 1000 1000\"><path d=\"M1000 100L500 900 0 100h1000z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><\/p>\n<p>            You might like it<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">When we put the soundbar package through its paces in our dedicated test room, we were blown away by its punchy, balanced sound, which is a huge improvement over most TV speakers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Voices are clearer, cleaner and more audible in the sound bar. Watching<em> Top shot: Maverick<\/em>as Tom Cruise&#8217;s main character gives a speech to his new pilot group, the balance between dynamic subtlety and clarity is well-directed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Later in the film as Maverick tries to reach hypersonic speeds in flight, the Sony bar delivers height effects above the TV screen as the car flies through space with an excellent degree of accuracy, by sound bar standards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">In addition, the fast bass gives action scenes more punch, but never dominates the other frequencies.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-zCbhWxBg8SmaG4zQxqihik\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-zCbhWxBg8SmaG4zQxqihik slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">The latest hi-fi, home cinema and tech news, reviews, shopping advice and deals, delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-febba454-eeed-4b7f-9439-64065aa1bb83\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:1920px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/i4u936A5zErRxVrHsKNRbn-1200-80.jpg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/i4u936A5zErRxVrHsKNRbn-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/i4u936A5zErRxVrHsKNRbn-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/i4u936A5zErRxVrHsKNRbn-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/i4u936A5zErRxVrHsKNRbn-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/i4u936A5zErRxVrHsKNRbn-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/><\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: What is Hi-Fi?)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-3e7fb770-d1b2-4b18-8e7b-fc378b180067\">However, when we remove the Bravia Theater Sub 7 from the mix, it&#8217;s a different story.<\/p>\n<p>As we say in our review: &#8220;Although it still offers clear voices and convincing high-end results, the sound is reduced and lacks the sense of scale and authority that we get when the subwoofer is added.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>To put it simply, the soundbar itself no longer sounds worth the price. The subwoofer and soundbar feel like they&#8217;re tuned to work together, which is why we called the whole system a &#8220;match made in heaven&#8221; in our review.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><\/p>\n<p>            What you can read next<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>We have to admit that we did not expect this big difference considering the size and cost of the subwoofer.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s not forget that subwoofers, especially on the affordable side of the market, are difficult to repair and can often be the weakest link in a system.<\/p>\n<p>This means that most soundbars without subwoofers that enter our test room are often lacking in bass, so Sony offering a bundle at a reasonable price that directly addresses this problem is a promising step.<\/p>\n<p>And this really got me thinking: should more manufacturers add cheap, compact subwoofers to take their soundbar system performance to the next level? On this evidence, I really think so.<\/p>\n<p><strong>MORE: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Here&#8217;s our full review of the <\/strong><strong>Sony Bravia Theater 7 + S Bar<\/strong><strong\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Check it out<\/strong><strong>    Sony&#8217;s best soundbars<\/strong><strong\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>And these <\/strong><strong>The best soundbars for Dolby Atmos <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So far this year, we&#8217;ve had a number of soundbars pass through our test room. From the cheap and cheerful Majority Bowfell Halo Atmos system to the beefy LG Sound Suite package, and everything in between. The latest competitor to enter our doors is the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 + S, a Dolby Atmos [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13407,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13406","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-audio-sound"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13406"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13408,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13406\/revisions\/13408"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}