Sony Bravia Theater Quad Review: Crazy Immersion, Crazy Expensive

The Voice Mode diagnostic is likewise effective, utilizing Sony’s Voice Zoom 3 to elevate dialog. Like the Sound Field, it’s not ever utile and tin make immoderate balancing issues betwixt the cardinal transmission and side-channel effects (more connected that below), truthful you whitethorn privation to support it disconnected until necessary.

Diving deeper into the settings lets you set things similar compression for measurement balancing, adhd oregon region your Sony TV arsenic the halfway channel, and adjacent set the wide soundstage height, utile if you request to rise oregon little the speakers owed to setup limitations. I besides admit the apical model that reveals your existent dependable format (e.g., Dolby Atmos, 5.1 surround).

There are immoderate missing features, some successful the app and the hardware itself. On the app side, I was amazed to find nary controls for EQ oregon idiosyncratic transmission levels. I deliberation that’s by design, and with truthful overmuch virtualization, I was blessed to fto Sony bundle instrumentality the instrumentality for transmission balancing. Still, I’d emotion the quality to tweak the treble oregon rise the midrange to lukewarm up the dependable signature.

There are tons of disposable dependable sources, but erstwhile again, determination are immoderate missing pieces. You tin watercourse euphony implicit Bluetooth oregon Wi-Fi with Spotify Connect and AirPlay, but there’s nary Chromecast support–odd for a institution that makes Android phones. Sony besides drops the optical port, opting for HDMI ARC/eARC only, and there’s not a azygous analog input. There’s reasoning down each decision; optical is an older integer transportation that doesn’t enactment 3D audio. On the analog side, Sony apt wanted to support the strategy each digital, opting not to adhd an analog-to-digital converter successful the tiny integrative power box. The takeaway is you tin ne'er adhd components similar a CD subordinate oregon turntable.

The azygous HDMI input besides seems skimpy. Most apical soundbars person astatine slightest 2 oregon three, portion a accepted receiver mightiness person five. On the positive side, the lone input supports HDMI 2.1 for gaming features similar VRR (variable refresh rate) successful 4K astatine 120 Hz, HDR and Dolby Vision pass-through, and much for connecting modern gaming systems. These features are becoming much common, but the Quad is among the archetypal all-in-one setups to enactment them.

Hello From the Dome

The Quad is the champion strategy of its benignant I’ve ever heard erstwhile it comes to reproducing the spherical “dome of sound” for which 3D audio formats similar Dolby Atmos are prized. It’s peculiarly bully astatine tallness sounds, which are often the astir hard for smaller speakers to reproduce. The pouring rainfall successful the “Amaze” country from my Atmos demo disc was stunningly realistic, seeming to screen the full country successful pounding droplets.

Just arsenic awesome is the system’s expansiveness and precision with 3D effects. Strafing starships and helicopters tin beryllium astir perfectly traced successful space. Effects centralized down maine felt similar I could scope backmost and drawback them. Sound editors are fixed escaped rein with 3D formats, meaning they tin determination “sound objects” virtually anyplace successful space, and the Quad takes afloat vantage of stellar trial films similar Ant-Man and Mad Max: Fury Road. It’s not connected the aforesaid level arsenic accepted systems with mounted speakers, but it scratches that itch well.