Product Reviews

ARC/eARC interface defective. Several hours of troubleshooting over several days with Sony technicians, narrowed the problem to the.HT-A9 controller. Sony wanted me to send it in to one of their authorized dealers for repair. Instead, I opted to exchange it with Amazon. The new system worked perfectly. Big pain.

Bought the HT A9 as a treat to myself. Ater doing a bit of homework the reviews seemed to good to be true as all reviews were positive. Set up took minutes and everything seamlessly connected. Movies and music have a whole new life and 360 audio is just brilliant. The sound bubble is also phenomenal.

I have been up grading through the years from stereo to 5.1 to 7.1 and now spatial sound this has got to be the best,4 speakers and little box of tricks that give original movie sound and all setup with ease. Sony has cornered the market and I am over the moon with the result. Highly recommended

enjoy high-quality sound when listening to music and watching movies in the home theater!

Sub woofer is an optional extra. Disappointing, given the c £1800 price tag.got a Samsung sub, but not Bluetooth compatible with the Sony unit.

I have hesitated over this purchase as I had hoped to see it instore for a demo but have struggled to find this anywhere even on display. However, after reading all the reviews & spec I decided to change my existing Sony sound system for this & the added sa-sw5 subwoofer. I am delighted with the product & sound generated. It was well worth adding the sa-sw5 & my music listening is so enhanced, the availability of tracks for playing on the 360 Spatial audio format is good, the control buttons are easy to identify & allow me to increase rear speaker & bass level which I have found great for our living space. The sound within the room is way beyond the clarity at lower level than I expected after my previous system. Will continue to explore various modes & options available from the system but so far after first 2 weeks I am really pleased with this system. The pairing to my Sony TV was so easy & I am not a technical expert so go ahead if you are thinking of buying this system. I agree that cable length for speakers could be improved, or Sony could offer them as an extra over option to buy at same time. The colour of the speakers is ok but again a small negative would be options on colour would have suited my exiting decor. Could Sony not offer a discount if we traded in our old equipment? Sorry if this is already an option I have never come across it with Sony but have used it for other electronic suppliers. The technical support from Sony prior to making the purchase was superb so well done, they are a credit to your company.

I am amazed by the sound quality of the system. Not only do they produce great sound, they also look neat and more subtle compared to a soundbar. However, I have many issues with the sound suddenly dropping out or the system not producing sound upon exiting stand-by. I have tried all the recommended rectifications issued by Sony and had the system replaced by a new set under warranty but the second one also has issues, perhaps a bit less compared to the first set, but this shouldn't be the case for such an expensive sound system. Nonetheless, I am still happy with the purchase, especially when paired with the SA-SW5 subwoofer (the bass it can produce is astounding!).

A Christmas treat for myself and what a treat. A couple blips setting up, but I'm no Bill Gates! Once set up WOW . And the guys from Sony Leeds most helpful and patient. See for yourself.

I've been waiting to get my hands on this for over a year. Massive stock shortages as well as the steep price have held me back. Every single review and video though rates this as just about the best you can buy. I'm not so sure. First real world problem is speaker range. You're supposed to be able to put the speakers anywhere but I had terrible trouble with the front dropping signals. I had to move it closer to the TV than I wanted. The control box doesn't like being in a cupboard either as that will make the speakers drop out regularly. The other problem is I'm just not convinced yet about the sound. It's devastatingly loud and clear with the sub and volume up (I only have the smaller SW3) but at normal volumes it sounds a little muffled and confused as to where the sound is placing itself. Some shows where the camera changes quickly and the direction of speech change confuse it, which sounds like speakers dropping out but they're not. I'm torn as I really don't want a soundbar in front of my TV, but this system is far from perfect and a lack of acknowledgement in reviews for it's downsides is bad, especially at the very high price point. I can't recommend it to anyone due to that price tag and the issues.

I bought this just before Christmas and Sony dispatched it to me very quickly and even registered it for me. It was the epitome of simplicity to set up and is the absolute apogee of Home Cinema Sound Systems, it does it all from one neat box. Sony have torn up the rule book, gone back to the drawing board and come up with this supreme offering. I always strive to afford myself the very best, when it comes to technology, I'm a big home entertainment aficionado too, when I read the reviews of this my interest was piqued by the universal and unique excellence that was agreed upon by all its reviewers. To start with Sony have removed the biggest weak link in any cinema sound system, speaker cables. The speakers contain two microphones in each, when they set up they exchange sound to ascertain their relative positions and 'Map' a soundstage, they really are not too fussy about where you put them either, we all know rooms are irregular shapes, Sony have clearly borne this in mind when crafting this, hearing this is believing it. Much of it's capabilities are not yet used mainstream so it is future proof. I tried not to buy this, it is expensive, I'm so glad I did, you will be too. Sony are making giant strides on all fronts at the moment, they are far ahead of the curve, the AT-H9 will be the gold standard home cinema system for the rest of the decade. The only downside from my viewpoint is that I'll have to wait until next Christmas to buy the matching Sony Bravia TV. Nothing on the market resembles this, it has singularity of form and function, if you can get it, treat yourself, you're a long time dead.

Good product to complement any home cinema but would recommend you pair with the sw5 sub. Good system but nots a flexible as the Sonos arc with a couple of plays 5s and the sun.

I just wish the included power cables were longer. Or at least give you the option of choosing longer power cables. I got the optional sub with these speakers. In my opinion the sub should not be an optional extra. The setup was easy and the sound setup was easy. Done a software update and there was no sound but a power cycle on everything cleared this up. I was a bit worried at first. I’d recently this unit over in place of a sound bar but I doubt that it would rival a full ATMOS system. I currently have a LG C2 stand mounted and it leaves no room for a sound bar. I plan to move house and a Sony OLED is on the cards so we will then see how good the system will be using the Sony TV as the centre. I hope that the do an update to allow the S-Centre to be wireless. And Apple HomeKit integration.

My first impression of these speakers was formed from a visual standpoint as soon as I opened the box. I could see when removing the polystyrene that all the speakers have the same annoying feature on the top grills. When viewed from above, the top grill has a slight change in paint covering which is presumably from when the grills are dipped or hung to be sprayed. This is quite eye catching and frustrating for a relatively high end speaker. The sound is very good and has sufficient settings to enable an over the top cinema experience or dial it down to be a more relaxed sound for less intense viewing. I would recommend but do think the reoccurring imperfection could be designed out with a little more thought.

WE BROUGHT OURS ABOUT 6 WEEK AGO AND SO FAR IT HAS BEEN GREAT.. NO DROP OUT AND NO PROBLEM AT THIS POINT WE COULDNT BE ANY HAPPIER. GLAD WE SPENT THE MONEY!

The sound is pretty incredible, especially when coupled with Dolby based sound. You have to get the technique to dealing with dropouts in sound, once you learn the system and it's quirks, then you can use the speaker optimizer in a couple of different eays to recalibrate the sound back to great, which only takes a few minutes. I moved my router away from the control module box so I have to recalibrate every so often. Also because I do move speakers around depending on where im sitting depending on if my girlfriend is woth me or not. So, depending on your space setup with other hardware and how patient you can be at learning how to positively work through the dropouts if they happen, this system sounds amazing.

Been waiting 8 months well worth the wait sound is amazing works great with the sony bravia tv

Bought the Sony HT A9 abt a month ago with the SW5 sub. Sound is pretty good. Ease of setting up is 5 stars. BUT sometimes the drop off is irritating, intermittent connection.. thus cant give more than 3 stars.

The HT-A9 and 90K Tv were installed in June 2022. Immediately there is a loud hissing sound from the TV speakers whenever it is plugged into the A9 processor via a single cable and center channel is turned on (this is seriously a flawed design using a cable on a wireless system). After several months, the problem was solved via a board improvement on the TV and a new TV was delivered. HT-A9 should have been designed with a wireless center speaker.

I bought the speakers and subwoofer a bit over a month now. I'm extremely satisfied with my purchase. The SW5 subwoofer is a must have with this speakers. I wish for an option to add one more subwoofer to the system

I have been waiting for this product for close to a year. I finally got it and absolutely love it! I have a dedicated tv room (den) and the HT-A9 with SASW5 subwoofer sounds banging. I've been re-watching GOT on HBO Max which is now in Dolby Atmos...fantastic! Book of Boba Fett, A Quiet Place II...all sound amazing, totally immersive - the phantom speakers are pretty impressive. The Apple Music catalog of Dolby Atmos keeps growing and I find myself only wanting to listen to Dolby Atmos recordings now. My room is only 14x14' with 9' ceilings so that may make a difference. I do think a firmware update to control speakers will benefit most people though. I bought a pair of Mounting Dream speaker stands on Amazon for $80 and they are perfect for these speakers (you'll need a couple of M5 30mm screws). I also had to purchase longer power cords for these two rear speakers on stands (12') because the included speaker power cords are less than 4'.

Hope Sony comes up with a Additional Centre channel Speaker, just like the additional the additional subwoofer. That will make it the best buy for Sony.

When optimised in its calibration, the audio, I would say, is better than the audio generated in cinema. Don't believe me? Try it. It is a beast that is a feast for your ears! Without the wireless subwoofer, its bass is okay. However, if coupled with the expensive subwoofer, it roars! No, it thunders! No, it surrounds you! The 2 main reasons why I am getting this set of speakers is, firstly, the audio super quality with great volume and, secondly, simplicity in wiring. The audio loudness is the one that gives you the power of audio that makes it so much better than the cinema. The wireless concept for the speaker is actually a good thing but it is still not well done yet, which I will elaborate on the next paragraph. Imagine if I have to run the audio cable across the living room, my wife will kill me for that. But you will need a power socket for each of the 4 speakers. I guess that is much an easier problem to solve than routing the audio wires to the TV. The only problem I face is the need to recalibrate very often as audio keeps dropping. It is super irritating. This is BIGGEST issue I have. I believe if the system can calibrate intelligently each time it is being switched on, that will solve the issue. But once done, I need not say anymore how good it can be.

The hta9 surround sound system is truly the best. I have others in the past that were a pain the neck to set up, with wires running across the living room. This wireless systems sets itself up at the push of a button. I have had this system for about a month now and am still amazed at the sound. The sound quality is amazing. The separation is amazing.

This was very easy to connect. The sound is excellent with no lag when someone is speaking. I added the optional sub woofer which upped the quality of the bass by a lot.

Waited patiently for them to be in stock soooo, glad I did can't wait to listen every day to my new sound system, Love it!

I bought this, with the optional 300W subwoofer and was very impressed with the sound coverage. Odd-shaped room and was able to hear sounds from where you would expect to hear the sounds. The only downside for me was the tinniness of the sound, even with the subwoofer, which I thought would help (which it did, but not enough for me to keep the system). I returned it after one week of listening, as my old system still sounded better to me, but without the coverage of the HT-A9.

Amazing. Extremely happy with purchase. No drop outs.

The speakers sound great when watching movies and does mostly as advertised. However, there seems to be frequent sound cuts everyday. Doing the RF optimization multiple time does not help much as the issue just crops up again after some time. Moving my wireless router further from the control box did not help much as well. Also, the rear speakers aren’t as loud as the front speakers even at max rear volume. These issues should be fixed because it’s starting to get annoying and this product should not be working this way for the price. As every home is now filled with wireless devices, I expected this product to be able to accommodate the interferences and work properly regardless, but guess not..

Most of the time my TV cannot detect the HTA9 or not sound at all. Have to restart my TV to get it work again everything. Also HTA9 sound cut off from time to time. Poor execution else is a very nice sound system. Surprise that not working well with Sony A80J TV.

I am extremely happy with the HT-A9. The sound stage is wonderful; and before you ask, yes you need to purchase the sub, there's no way around it. If you can get the HT-A9 home you will enjoy it.

It’s been a week I have the hta9 with sw5 sub. They both sound incredibly good. No connection issue at all. Using a80j as center channel and I can hear any dialogue clearly. Sound coming from all directions fills my living room.

I chose the HT-A9 after extensive testing of Sonos Arc, Bose 900, Samsung Q950A, and Sony HT7000 systems in the same room with the same input sources. The simplicity of design, integration with Sony TVs, homogeneous immersive sound with excellent Atmos performance were the top reasons for the choice. The lack of a sound bar helps the listeners focus on the audio content and not on the specific source of sound channel. The phantom center channel eliminated the need to connect the audio cable back to the TV separately. Few expert reviewers do not turn on all sound optimization features which makes them miss out on things like Immersive audio enhancement which is the key difference this system has vs others. I am not an expert or paid reviewer but a life long Sony fan. Bought multiple Sony TVs so far and Sony has not given a reason to switch. Highly recommended if you want to experience the next level of immersive audio and 360 reality sound.

I am delighted with this product. Sony has always been good and at the forefront, and this set is revolutionary in the field of home theatre.

Got delivery after 3 months of full payment. Sounded great, till it did. One of the speakers died in a week. Service centre not responding due to local holidays. Apparently there is a long wait for replacement due to supply problems internationally, but I need to test this. Very disappointed by the poor quality control as my set is not the only one with this issue, if you read the forums. I’m scared to even try and buy the additional subwoofer if the quality issues are going to persist across the line. Luckily there are no supplies for the next couple of months, giving me an opportunity to see how Sony responds to this issue.

It does what is says! Once it goes through its set up the sound quality is fantastic! Especially when paired with the TV. Everything connects and it accepts all forms of sound forms. Looks clean and sharp!

The HT-A9 is a fantastic system. I’ve had it a few months now and am more sad overall. A few improvements could be made however that would make it a truly must own product. 1, The height channels could have more oomph we have a relatively low ceiling and some of the effects come off as muddled, we’ve tried the immersive sound, dts x and dolby virtualizer- all sound quite similar although the dts x is the clearest and has the best surround sound effects and volume overall. 2, There should be an option to add 2 more speakers to the set up retroactively making 6 Ht-A9s and a tv center channel this would create a soundstage that could be even more fine tuned. 3, I own a Sony KD85 85inch 4K tv from July 2020 which new by any standards and yet I cannot use it as the center channel, this is particularly frustrating as it means I’ve just spent thousands of pounds on a set and yet cannot use it with the latest Sony theatre system. I’m sure this could be updated to be used as a centre channel via a firmware update to then connect to the speakers wirelessly via blutooth.  These minor improvements would make a huge difference overall. I do plan on getting a new set but am waiting for the QD OLED in a 97 inch of which you announced you currently only produce at a maximum size of 65 inch.

No matter where I move the module it continues to cut out. It is in our basement and our wifi device is on main floor. For the amount this costs it is disappointing. I also purchased the larger sub woofer to go with it. The sound is not at all as all those you tube reviews said. They all must be getting compensated.

The sound from this system is amazing, and I am super happy with that part of it. However they really need to fix the wireless connection capabilities of this unit as I get drop outs all the time. I tried the optimization feature on every bootup, but that actually made it worse. I originally had my Apple TV right next to it and that was really bad (dropped out just about every time I used it), so I moved them apart and now they are about 3 feet apart horizontally. But I still get drop outs. I am now using it in 'Connection' mode as opposed to 'Sound Quality' for the speaker connections and while it drops out less, I still have had a few. Almost tempted to return it and get something different....

Although the system sounds amazing when it works... it cuts in and out every few minutes (or seconds) throughout the play time... both movies and music. Definitely a malfunctioning "brain/box" and now we will see how promptly the warranty works. So sad! The set up wasn't bad but the simple daily on and off of the system and TV is a bit complex. Not sure why everthing is not saved so you don't have to tell it what to do every time.

I am very happy with the increased voice quality with this speaker system. The pseudo center channel gives a very good impression that the TV is producing the conversations. It was very easy to set up and adjust to room.

Praise but worth every penny .sound quality is amazing with no distinction.

Overhyped. Too expensive. Why buy four speaks for 1924 with tax. Yet not have a subwoofer. Trust me at that it’s overpriced. And the super hyped “up to 7 phantom speakers” would have you listening hard to hear it. Tried it in a large ‍‍Space, wasn’t blown away, it sounded good, but it that impressive. Then I tried it in a smaller room, still wasn’t. I’m keeping it, only because of the easy set up, and the aesthetic. Aside from that, the atmos effect doesn’t meet the hype. Not at all meet the hype.

Purchased the HT-A9 a couple of weeks ago and it was very easy to setup. The sound is amazing on 5.1 and Atmos programs. I have really enjoyed streaming 360/Atmos music via Amazon Music. One problem that continues to plague this product is the occasional “skips” of sound. I have followed all of the recommendations from the Sony Support App and have been able to reduce the number of “skips”, but the issue still exists. Hopefully a software update fix is forthcoming as I have seen this issue documented from other users.

Wireless connection issues. Audio continuously drops out. Purchased on line for $1800. Sony can do better..

The HT-A9 (w/SA-SW5) is the best home-theater I've ever owned. Great work Sony!

One speaker was having problems connecting to the head unit and the LED light never came on when it worked, the head unit never link to my wifi router and I had to return it for a new set. The new set have worked flawlessly for the last 2 hours we will see how long it last, hopefully for few years, I gave it 2 stars because the hassle to get the first one to work and the hassle to get a second set was painful, hopefully SONY puts mor attention on these problems.

Set was delivered on 30th September and set up on 1 October. Set up was super-easy and as described. However, if you are planning to use speaker stands, most of the available speaker stands cannot fit this speaker properly as the bolt hole at the back is about 20.5cm from foot base. Sony, please produce an official speaker stand for this speaker..

I have had the HT-A9 for about two weeks now. Setup was real easy. The sound is better than expected. Not using the TV as center channel and the dialog is still spot on. Surround effects are realistic. I am real happy with the setup. They are wife approved also because they look nice and clean. I do have a full Home Theater in a different room with a 120” screen that sounds better, but for my family room within a 65” Bravia where I used to have a soundbar this is night and day better.

*BUYER BEWARE 2 SYSTEMS BOTH FAILED. so I bought this system THE 1ST TIME from Electric Express via Amazon. I received serial #2000593 right out of the box the the rear right speaker would not stay connected longer then 10 seconds. I trouble shot every possible scenario and no luck so I returned it. I thought to myself, maybe this is just a 1st run issue, knock off, B stock ect. So then I ordered the system DIRECT FROM SONY which is the one I have now, 1st time I ran the sound optimization it worked and the system was up in running. The next day I changed the position of the speakers slightly and re ran the sound optimization and now it FAILS ever single time at 55%. I'm every single possible scenario it fails at 55% rendering the system basically useless because the whole point of this system is the sound field optimization. This is absolutely ridiculous and this system is SNAKE OIL at the highest level. My back ground is sound engineering and I have many years experience with audio manufacturers and this is just unacceptable. There is no way Sony has any kind of legit quality control going on here, anyone who buys this system is going to have some problems if not immediately they will come for sure within weeks or months. This all boils down to what are parents told us, if something sounds to good to be true, it probably is! If someone from Sony would like to contact me to talk about this I'm all ears*

I purchased this 3 weeks ago. Setup was easy and I liked the room EQ feature. However I continually hear audio drop outs. Not what I expected for $1800. The sound quality was ok, but expected much better at this price point. You definitely need to purchase the subwoofer for better bass response. I've heard ATMOS systems before with Upfiring speakers and found the effect hard to hear on the Sony system. Not sure what 360 is or does so I can't comment. In the end I wish I would have purchased a different wireless solution. I've heard the Klipsch wireless systems which worked flawlessly and sounded great! I was told by the Best Buy sales person it used the WiSA standard.

I bought this last month and finally relied the product today. I paired it with my Sony BRAVIA XR A80J, and connected the Center channel Sync cable. Movies sound incredible, and the surround is amazing! I don't have the sub-woofer, because I am in a condo and don't want my neighbors banging on the ceiling or floor during action scenes, but if I was in a house I would definitely add the sub, for the full-on theatre experience. One thing I want to add is the 360 Reality Audio sounds amazing, and Sony gives you a code for a free 30 day trial - DON'T PICK AMAZON MUSIC!!. There are literally only 39 songs available, and while they sound really good, they are all perfect for the spa or a massage. C'mon! If you decide to check it out, and I think you should! Research each option to see who has the biggest catalog. I basically threw my free coupon away by picking Amazon, so I have to decide whether or not I want to pay for a month on the other services. I will find out who has the most content first! Back to the system. Pairing this with my BRAVIA XR A80J makes the integration seamless. Only one remote is needed (makes the spouse happy), and it is aesthetically pleasing in the room.