The Sony HT-S100F is a budget-friendly 2.0 soundbar setup from Sony's 2018 lineup. For a bar of this style and stature, it doesn't support height channels, but it offers an always-on surround sound mode called S-Force Front Surround to help improve its audio reproduction. That said, it's still fairly barebones overall.
Our Verdict
The Sony HT-S100F is mediocre for mixed usage. This bar has a slightly uneven sound profile since it struggles to reproduce the deep rumble and punch of bass, affecting its performance with bass-heavy music genres and movies. It's better suited for dialogue-oriented content since vocals and instruments sound clear. It's also loud enough to fill a large room and performs quite well at max volume. Its overall build quality is decent, too. However, this bar won't be great for an immersive movie listening experience as it lacks height channel and support for Atmos content.
- Voice mode available.
- Gets loud enough for most uses.
- Decently built.
- Lacks bass.
- Doesn't support DTS.
- Bad surround performance.
The Sony HT-S100F is decent for dialogue and TV shows. You can use this soundbar to listen to voice-oriented content like podcasts, audiobooks, or TV shows. The sound profile is a bit uneven, but this bar can still reproduce dialogue clearly. It can get pretty loud, and you can use the Dialogue Enhancement feature to get an even better listening experience and make dialogue in movies even clearer. Additionally, you can stream content from your phone wirelessly, thanks to its Bluetooth compatibility.
- Voice mode available.
- No room correction feature.
The Sony HT-S100F is passable for music. Although it has a fairly neutral sound profile, its bass is quite poor and doesn't accurately reproduce the low punch and thump of bass-heavy music. Its soundstage is also noticeably small and is even narrower than the bar itself, which is short to begin with. On the upside, it can get loud enough for most uses and performs well at max volume. It's easy to stream music via Bluetooth, but unfortunately, the bar doesn't have any sound customization features.
- Gets loud enough for most uses.
- Decently built.
- Lacks bass.
- No room correction feature.
The Sony HT-S100F is sub-par for movies. It's a 2.0 soundbar system and doesn't have height channels and Atmos support. This means it won't deliver a very immersive experience with movies. However, it has an always-on surround sound feature specific to Sony soundbars, which can help with the surround effects, but the sound quality isn't the best. Also, the HT-S100F can't really produce deep bass thump and punch, which will negatively affect its performance with movies. It also doesn't support DTS, which is disappointing. On the upside, you can hear the dialogue in movies very clearly thanks to the Voice mode.
- Gets loud enough for most uses.
- Decently built.
- Lacks bass.
- Doesn't support DTS.
- Bad surround performance.
- No room correction feature.
Changelog
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Updated Nov 13, 2024:
The Compared To Other Soundbars box has been updated to add context in 2024 and mention the TCL S45H, alongside the Audio Format Support - ARC box.
- Updated Jun 04, 2024: Updated text in Stereo Dynamics, Audio Latency: ARC, and Audio Latency: Optical boxes with new methodology from TBU 1.3. Some updates to the usages as well.
- Updated Jun 03, 2024: We've converted this review to Test Bench Update 1.3. If applicable, we've retested stereo sound based on the manufacturer's recommendations. Additionally, we've expanded our audio latency tests to the following boxes: Audio Latency: ARC, Audio Latency: HDMI In, and Audio Latency: Optical. You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Apr 09, 2024: We've updated this review's text to improve its clarity and accuracy.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Sony HT-S100F comes in one variant: 'Black,' and you can see our model's label here. If you come across another variant of this soundbar, please let us know in the forums.
Popular Soundbar Comparisons
If you're looking for a simple step up from your TV speakers, then the Sony HT-S100F may be up your alley. This simple 2.0 soundbar may not offer the most profound performance since it lacks most of the bells and whistles of a more premium product, but it can get loud enough to fill a large room, and it's decently built, considering its price. If you want a more complete setup with a dedicated subwoofer from Sony, check out the Sony HT-S350 or the more high-end 7.1.2 Sony HT-ST5000 setup for a more immersive experience. In subsequent years since the Sony HT-S100F was released, features like room correction, alongside Dolby Atmos and DTS support, have trickled down into other affordable 2.0 soundbars like the TCL S45H, which might serve as a reason to look at what else is there.
See our recommendations for the best soundbars, the best budget soundbars, and the best soundbars with a subwoofer.
The Bose TV Speaker is a bit better than the Sony HT-S100F. The Bose has a simple setup with better soundstage and surround performances. It can reproduce a slightly more extended low-bass, and its default sound profile is more neutral and balanced. However, it doesn't get quite as loud as the Sony.
The Sony HT-S100F is a better 2.0 soundbar than the Bose Solo 5. The Sony can get louder with fewer compression artifacts, which is handy if you have a large room, and it has some EQ presets so you can adjust its sound. It also has an ARC port, which supports Dolby Digital, a format common to streaming platforms and Blu-rays. That said, the Bose has a better build quality and a more balanced and neutral sound.
The TCL S45H is better than the Sony HT-S100F. Both budget all-in-one 2.0 soundbars lack a full-sounding bass, but the TCL offers greater audio format compatibility and lower latency, in addition to room correction. It's more consistent sounding across stereo, surround, and object-based formats than the Sony, which is limited to EQ presets and doesn't support DTS or Dolby Atmos.
The Sony HT-S400 offers an improved performance over the Sony HT-S100F. Thanks to its subwoofer, the HT-S400 can reproduce more low-bass, and overall, its sound profile is more balanced. Its surround performance is better, too, although the bar still downmixes 5.1 content into stereo. That said, the HT-S100F offers a better phantom center channel performance, and it may even be a better choice if you're very low on space since it doesn't have a subwoofer.
Test Results
