Sony HT-A9 Home Theater System Review (1 Viewer)

[Martin Dew]

It was the covid maelstrom of 2021. While most of the world was still locking down, Sony Electronics was busting out with a history-making entertainment bid: the HT-A9 Home Theater System.
It was nearly a year ago that Home Theater Forum requested a review unit of the product. We duly got in line. Sure enough, it finally arrived a couple of weeks ago.
The HT-A9 made a splash, and with good cause. It consists of four powered speakers which you can put anywhere in your living room. The tech making that possible is Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping, which we will discuss later.
The Sony HT-A9 is a completely immersive audio solution for under $2,000. It could be a blessing for those who want to experience movie thrills without the clutter.

The Evolution of the Home Theater
To put the HT-A9 in context, consider the following history. In the old days, nearly everyone with a sound...

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[DaveF]

Good review of an interesting new product. I think that computational audio should be the future of home theater. Speakers with microphones that self-calibrate and auto-correct the room — instead of $7000 AVRs with complicated, fussy software that requires lots of user interaction and microphone placements and so on.

It’s neat to see a company (besides Apple) actually trying and and for more than mono or stereo but for actual surround sound!

 

[Colin]

Great review, @Martin Dew! I recently got the Sony STR-AZ5000ES and have played around a bit with the 360 spacial sound mapping. It's a really great feature. For example, studs were in the way for me to be able to put some speakers in the "right" spots, and I'm sure that scenario isn't unique to me.

And I'm sure this hybrid between soundbars and full wired surround sound makes sense for some people who want better movie immersion.

 

[JohnRice]

It's a good thing that there are options like this. I hope more become available. They just come with substantial limitations, but at the benefit of significantly fewer complications.

 

[Lord Dalek]

I just don't see who this is for. The consumer who wants 5.1 but not a bunch of wires is not likely willing to spend 1,500+ dollars to get it. And those who are in that price bracket would look at this and quickly see the lack of features and having to use your own tv as a center channel as a huge turn off.

 

[DaveF]

There are a lot of people with difficult living rooms: the modern open floor plan is great for living but lousy for home theater. There are also a lot of people who don’t value the aesthetics of visible speakers. And there are a lot of people who can afford $1500 to get some surround sound that targets their restrictions. I don’t see this specifically as huge seller, but I expect there’s a market. And if it does well enough, this computational audio surround system can go both up and down market.

 

[lsauer]

I read the first 900 comments on AVS forum in 2021 and then they disappeared from the market. I kept checking and it briefly reappeared at Best Buy at its top price. I bought it in April 2022 without either of the two Sony subs that were encouraged.

I think it sounds terrific. I paired them with the Sony A80J which is designed to function as the center channel. News presenters sound as good as do movies with wrap-around punch.

I never had the mysterious audio dropouts that plagued some owners and were the fear of many would be buyers.

The main downside is the lack of any frequency adjustments. I think Sony decided that all the fiddly bits would be done by the software.

Loren

 

[Colin]

There are a lot of people with difficult living rooms: the modern open floor plan is great for living but lousy for home theater. There are also a lot of people who don’t value the aesthetics of visible speakers. And there are a lot of people who can afford $1500 to get some surround sound that targets their restrictions. I don’t see this specifically as huge seller, but I expect there’s a market. And if it does well enough, this computational audio surround system can go both up and down market.

Considering Denon is sold out of their $1500 wireless surround sound option, there's clearly a market!

 

[JohnRice]

Considering Denon is sold out of their $1500 wireless surround sound option, there's clearly a market!

I think it is unrealistic to believe there is no market for a product like this. I have no doubt there is a market for it.

Also, the EverSolo DMP-A6 Streamer/DAC I managed to get my hands on, with great effort, is still almost impossible to get, several months after it was released. The $7,000 Marantz AV10 preamp/processor is difficult to get. There is a market for a lot of stuff.