A basic TV sound booster

Not everybody wants a $1,000 soundbar. It’s straightforward to argue the sonic superiority of these flagship fashions from Samsung, Sonos and Sony, however for some folks 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 actual 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, but it surely has constrained directional audio and gives restricted options.

Professionals

• Compact design
• Crisp, clear sound with boomy bass

Cons

• Constrained Atmos efficiency
• Restricted options

The nice: Sound high quality, bass efficiency and setup

The Theater Bar 5 is essentially 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 almost 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 dimension, the Bar 5 cranks out some glorious 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, but it surely doesn’t have up-firing drivers. As a substitute, 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 vehicles zooming round numerous circuits because the Bar 5 does nicely with normal motion. The soundbar’s extensive soundstage, glorious element and booming bass present a point of immersion that doesn’t depend on audio projected overhead. That general 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.

From Kieran Behden & William Tyler’s acoustic/digital 41 Longfield Avenue 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 scuffling with the setup on LG’s Sound Suite, I used to be grateful that configuring the Bar 5 was tremendous straightforward. 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 operating and I’d wager even the least tech-savvy particular person in your life can most likely determine this out. You may as well go for Night time 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 stable possibility for somebody who doesn’t want a number of options, however stands to profit 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 seen virtually no simulated overhead noise. The Bar 5’s sonic readability makes it a stable possibility for enhancing front room audio, simply don’t count on the enveloping results that extra strong (and dearer) soundbars would supply.

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 high of soundbars don’t get used a lot, however if you happen to’re like me, you continue to attain for them often. There have been a number of instances throughout my testing once I tried to blindly faucet the non-existent quantity controls on the Bar 5. Aside from an influence button on the appropriate facet, your choices for controlling this soundbar are a distant and the Bravia Join app.

You additionally received’t discover a Wi-Fi connection on the Bar 5. Which means AirPlay and Google Forged 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 possibility for music and podcasts out of your telephone or laptop computer if you happen to want it. Nevertheless, pairing your gadgets to the soundbar by way of Bluetooth isn’t as fast as choosing the soundbar in your streaming app when AirPlay or Forged are on the spec sheet.

Lastly, Sony doesn’t supply any kind of room calibration on Theater Bar 5. Certain, 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 front room is an ideal rectangle. I can perceive why the corporate left this characteristic out of a $350 mannequin, because the instrument would require further elements like microphones. That is definitely one of many extra noticeable trade-offs for saving some cash.

Wrap-up

Generally the fundamentals are all you want. Sony’s Bravia Theater Bar 5 gives an entry-level enhance to TV audio that will likely be effective for folks in search of simply that. Whereas there may be help for immersive audio, the soundbar’s 3.1-channel setup isn’t the most effective for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X efficiency, and that’s actually the largest knock in opposition to the Bar 5. Nevertheless, this mannequin’s glorious audio high quality, particularly the highly effective bass, will suffice for patrons simply trying to hear their TVs higher.

If you would like a compact soundbar that gives respectable Atmos efficiency, the second-gen Sonos Beam is your finest wager. Certain, it’s dearer at $499 and it doesn’t include a subwoofer, however its extra drivers, tweeter and passive radiators supply 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 front room audio in comparison with your TV audio system alone, however with just a few extra options and improved Atmos virtualization, Sony might’ve had an actual winner.