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Sony launched its latest flagship Dolby Atmos soundbar in July. The HT-A7000 is also the first of the company’s soundbars to support 360 Reality Audio. The device is premium in every way, connectivity options that include both 8K and 4K / 120fps passthrough up to a price of $ 1,300. If you don’t want to spend that much, but still want the same features, Sony today announced another home theater speaker. The HT-A5000 is a 5.1.2-channel soundbar that offers almost all of the same bells and whistles as the A7000, but for $ 400 less.
In addition to Dolby Atmos, the A5000 also supports DTS: X, and Sony’s vertical surround sound engine simulates audio above your head using two up-triggered drivers. S-Force Pro Front Surround creates a wider soundscape horizontally, using the company’s X-Balanced speakers and “digital sound field processing” technology to make things more immersive. When it comes to actual speakers, the A5000 has seven of these X-Balanced drivers: two up-trigger, three front-trigger, and two built-in subwoofers. The soundbar also contains a pair of beam tweeters located in the front corners of the device. If you have a compatible Bravia TV, Sony offers a center speaker mode that uses the TV speakers to amplify the center channel. The company says it can help with things like dialogue, and a secondary wired connection to the TV ensures that the sound and pictures are synchronized.
To properly calibrate the A5000 in your living room, Sony’s Sound Field Optimization feature uses built-in microphones to measure the position of the speakers relative to walls and ceiling. This tool can also assess the position of any satellite speaker or subwoofer to make sure the system is properly adjusted for the space.
Sony
For connectivity, a single eARC HDMI output allows 8K HDR, 4K / 120Hz, and Dolby Vision passthrough, making the A5000 a great option for gaming in addition to movies and TV. The soundbar also offers AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, Bluetooth and WiFi for wireless connections, in addition to Alexa and Google Assistant for voice control through a separate device. The A5000 is compatible with Hi-Res Audio content and uses Sony’s AI-powered DSEE Extreme technology to scale compressed files in real time, restoring some of the detail that would otherwise be lost. 360 Reality Audio is available here through Amazon Music HD, Deezer, Tidal, or nugs.net.
There are a few key differences between the A7000 and the A5000. First, the first is a 7.1.2 channel soundbar while the second is 5.1.2. Depending on your sound preferences, those two extra channels and two extra speakers can make a difference in immersive sound. Typically more channels and more speakers mean better audio quality and more detail, but some people can be just fine with a 5.1.2 setup. On the A7000, the tweeters are positioned to bounce sound off the side walls to help with overall immersion. Finally, the A5000 has only one HDMI 2.1 (eARC) input and the A7000 has two. From supported audio formats to various Sony home theater technologies, almost everything the A7000 has to offer is available on the A5000.
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