Not everybody wants a $1,000 soundbar. It’s simple to argue the sonic superiority of these flagship fashions from Samsung, Sonos and Sony, however for some individuals a easy enhance to their TV audio system can present a world of distinction. As a part of its 2026 soundbar lineup, Sony debuted the Bravia Theater Bar 5: a $350 entry-level mannequin that covers the fundamentals and comes with a wi-fi subwoofer within the field. The true query right here is what number of options are you keen to stay with out.
Sony
Sony’s newest compact soundbar can enhance TV quantity, however it has constrained directional audio and presents restricted options.
- Compact design
- Crisp, clear sound with boomy bass
- Constrained Atmos efficiency
- Restricted options
The nice: Sound high quality, bass efficiency and setup
The Theater Bar 5 is probably the most compact soundbar amongst Sony’s new fashions, measuring simply 35.5 inches extensive. For comparability, that’s nonetheless about 10 inches wider than the second-gen Sonos Beam, however practically 16 inches smaller than Sony’s flagship Theater Bar 9. This stature makes the Bar 5 well-suited for smaller areas with smaller TVs. In truth, Sony says the soundbar will match between the legs of Bravia TVs with multi-position stands. Plus, the Bar 5 is simply over 2.5 inches tall, barely shorter than the Beam, so it received’t block the underside fringe of most TVs.
Regardless of its small measurement, the Bar 5 cranks out some wonderful sound. There’s loads of crisp, clear audio from the three.1-channel configuration, and the included subwoofer gives an ample quantity of booming bass. The Bar 5 helps Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, however it doesn’t have up-firing drivers. As an alternative, the soundbar depends on Sony’s Vertical Encompass Engine and S-Drive Professional Entrance Encompass tech to virtualize a lot of the directional and overhead audio. Extra on that in a bit.
Whereas watching Netflix’s Drive to Survive, I skilled the thrill of F1 automobiles zooming round varied circuits because the Bar 5 does nicely with basic motion. The soundbar’s extensive soundstage, wonderful element and booming bass present some extent of immersion that doesn’t depend on audio projected overhead. That total readability and highly effective bass are additionally nice for listening to music, because the Bar 5 can deal with a spread of genres with ease.
The Bravia Theater Bar 5 has a primary, compact design (Billy Steele for Engadget)
From Kieran Behden & William Tyler’s acoustic/digital 41 Longfield Road Late ‘80s to Thursday’s screamo masterpiece Full Collapse, the soundbar performs admirably. Though with heavier genres, I most well-liked to dial down the bass barely. Tucker Rule’s kick drum on Full Collapse, for instance, was a bit a lot for the usual tuning right here.
After fighting the setup on LG’s Sound Suite, I used to be grateful that configuring the Bar 5 was tremendous simple. It’s very a lot a plug-and-play state of affairs, and the Bravia Join app guides you thru the preliminary steps. It takes about 5 minutes to rise up and working and I’d wager even the least tech-savvy individual in your life can in all probability determine this out. You may as well go for Evening mode (much less bass), Sound Discipline (enhanced audio) and Voice mode (louder dialogue) within the Bravia Join app.
All of this definitely makes the Bar 5 a strong choice for somebody who doesn’t want plenty of options, however stands to learn from augmenting the sound from their TV alone.
The not so good: Constrained Dolby Atmos and restricted options
Whereas the Bar 5 helps Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive audio, Sony’s virtualization tech was a disappointment. There’s some side-to-side directional sound, however I observed nearly no simulated overhead noise. The Bar 5’s sonic readability makes it a strong choice for enhancing lounge audio, simply don’t anticipate the enveloping results that extra strong (and dearer) soundbars would provide.
There are a number of options you received’t discover on the Theater Bar 5, beginning with the dearth of onboard controls. I’m nicely conscious that these buttons on prime of soundbars don’t get used a lot, however in case you’re like me, you continue to attain for them often. There have been a number of occasions throughout my testing once I tried to blindly faucet the non-existent quantity controls on the Bar 5. Apart from an influence button on the best aspect, your choices for controlling this soundbar are a distant and the Bravia Join app.
The facility button on the best aspect (Billy Steele for Engadget)
You additionally received’t discover a Wi-Fi connection on the Bar 5. Which means that AirPlay and Google Solid aren’t accessible to simply beam audio out of your gadgets to the soundbar. There may be Bluetooth 5.3, so that you do have an choice for music and podcasts out of your telephone or laptop computer in case you want it. Nevertheless, pairing your gadgets to the soundbar through Bluetooth isn’t as fast as choosing the soundbar in your streaming app when AirPlay or Solid are on the spec sheet.
Lastly, Sony doesn’t provide any sort of room calibration on Theater Bar 5. Positive, a smaller soundbar like that is higher in smaller areas, however it will nonetheless be good to have the system dial within the audio for the features of the room. In spite of everything, not each lounge is an ideal rectangle. I can perceive why the corporate left this characteristic out of a $350 mannequin, because the instrument would require further parts like microphones. That is definitely one of many extra noticeable trade-offs for saving some cash.
Wrap-up
Typically the fundamentals are all you want. Sony’s Bravia Theater Bar 5 gives an entry-level enhance to TV audio that shall be effective for individuals in search of simply that. Whereas there may be assist for immersive audio, the soundbar’s 3.1-channel setup isn’t the very best for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X efficiency, and that’s actually the largest knock in opposition to the Bar 5. Nevertheless, this mannequin’s wonderful audio high quality, particularly the highly effective bass, will suffice for purchasers simply trying to hear their TVs higher.
The Bravia Theater Bar 5’s included subwoofer (Billy Steele for Engadget)
If you’d like a compact soundbar that gives respectable Atmos efficiency, the second-gen Sonos Beam is your finest guess. Positive, it’s dearer at $499 and it doesn’t include a subwoofer, however its extra drivers, tweeter and passive radiators provide extra strong audio from the soundbar alone. You additionally get Trueplay room calibration and Wi-Fi connectivity there.
The Theater Bar 5 will definitely enhance your lounge audio in comparison with your TV audio system alone, however with a number of extra options and improved Atmos virtualization, Sony may’ve had an actual winner.
