A basic TV sound booster

While watching Netflix’s Drive to Survive, I experienced the excitement of F1 cars zooming around various circuits as the Bar 5 does well with general movement. The soundbar’s wide soundstage, excellent detail and booming bass provide some degree of immersion that doesn’t rely on audio projected overhead. That overall clarity and powerful bass are also great for listening to music, as the Bar 5 can handle a range of genres with ease.

From Kieran Behden & William Tyler’s acoustic/electronic 41 Longfield Street Late ‘80s to Thursday’s screamo masterpiece Full Collapse, the soundbar performs admirably. Although with heavier genres, I preferred to dial down the bass slightly. Tucker Rule’s kick drum on Full Collapse, for example, was a bit much for the standard tuning here.

After struggling with the setup on LG’s Sound Suite, I was thankful that configuring the Bar 5 was super easy. It’s very much a plug-and-play situation, and the Bravia Connect app guides you through the initial steps. It takes about five minutes to get up and running and I’d wager even the least tech-savvy person in your life can probably figure this out. You can also opt for Night mode (less bass), Sound Field (enhanced audio) and Voice mode (louder dialogue) in the Bravia Connect app.

All of this certainly makes the Bar 5 a solid option for someone who doesn’t need a lot of features, but stands to benefit from augmenting the sound from their TV alone.

The not so good: Constrained Dolby Atmos and limited features

While the Bar 5 supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive audio, Sony’s virtualization tech was a disappointment. There’s some side-to-side directional sound, but I noticed almost no simulated overhead noise. The Bar 5’s sonic clarity makes it a solid option for boosting living room audio, just don’t expect the enveloping effects that more robust (and more expensive) soundbars would offer.

There are several features you won’t find on the Theater Bar 5, starting with the lack of onboard controls. I’m well aware that those buttons on top of soundbars don’t get used much, but if you’re like me, you still reach for them occasionally. There were several times during my testing when I tried to blindly tap the non-existent volume controls on the Bar 5. Other than a power button on the right side, your options for controlling this soundbar are a remote and the Bravia Connect app.

You also won’t find a Wi-Fi connection on the Bar 5. This means that AirPlay and Google Cast aren’t available to easily beam audio from your devices to the soundbar. There is Bluetooth 5.3, so you do have an option for music and podcasts from your phone or laptop if you need it. However, pairing your devices to the soundbar via Bluetooth isn’t as quick as selecting the soundbar in your streaming app when AirPlay or Cast are on the spec sheet.

Lastly, Sony doesn’t offer any type of room calibration on Theater Bar 5. Sure, a smaller soundbar like this is better in smaller spaces, but it would still be nice to have the system dial in the audio for the aspects of the room. After all, not every living room is a perfect rectangle. I can understand why the company left this feature out of a $350 model, since the tool would require extra components like microphones. This is certainly one of the more noticeable trade-offs for saving some money.

Wrap-up

Sometimes the basics are all you need. Sony’s Bravia Theater Bar 5 provides an entry-level boost to TV audio that will be fine for people looking for just that. While there is support for immersive audio, the soundbar’s 3.1-channel setup isn’t the best for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X performance, and that’s really the biggest knock against the Bar 5. However, this model’s excellent audio quality, especially the powerful bass, will suffice for customers just looking to hear their TVs better.

If you want a compact soundbar that provides respectable Atmos performance, the second-gen Sonos Beam is your best bet. Sure, it’s more expensive at $499 and it doesn’t come with a subwoofer, but its additional drivers, tweeter and passive radiators offer more robust audio from the soundbar alone. You also get Trueplay room calibration and Wi-Fi connectivity there.

The Theater Bar 5 will certainly improve your living room audio compared to your TV speakers alone, but with a few more features and improved Atmos virtualization, Sony could’ve had a real winner.