Our Verdict
Okay for mixed usage. The Sony S200F has a fairly neutral, but slightly muddy sound profile that is better suited for dialogue-oriented content. It lacks bass even though it has an integrated subwoofer and has trouble reproducing the deep rumble and punch of bass and has a very narrow soundstage. On the upside, it can get pretty loud and most people should be satisfied with it. It also performs quite well at max volume and its overall build quality is decent. However, this bar won’t be great for an immersive movie listening experience, as it lacks height channel and support for Atmos content.
- Great for dialogue content.
- Performs well at max volume.
- Doesn't get very loud.
- Doesn’t support DTS.
- Always-on surround sound feature.
Good for dialogue. You can use this soundbar to listen to voice-oriented content like podcasts, audiobooks, or TV shows. The sound profile is slightly muddy, but the overall reproduction of voices is accurate. It can also get pretty loud and you can also use the Dialogue Enhancement feature to get an even better listening experience and make dialogue in movies even clearer. Additionally, you’ll be able to stream content from your phone wirelessly thanks to its Bluetooth compatibility.
Mediocre for music. Although the Sony HT-S200F has a fairly neutral sound profile, its bass is quite poor and doesn’t reproduce accurately the low punch and thump of bass-heavy music even though it has an integrated subwoofer. 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 use cases and it performs well at max volume without compression. It's easy to stream music via a Bluetooth connection, and the bar offers four EQ presets including a dedicated 'Music' mode.
Sub-par for movies. The S200F doesn’t support height channels and Atmos, which means it won’t deliver a very immersive experience. However, just like the S100F and most Sony soundbars, the S200F has an always-on surround sound feature. On the other hand, even with an integrated subwoofer, this soundbar 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, especially if you watch a lot of Blu-ray movies. On the upside, you’ll be able to hear the dialogue in movies very clearly thanks to the Voice mode.
Changelog
- Updated Dec 04, 2023: Added market comparison with the Yamaha ATS-1090 in the Voice Assistants Support box.
- Updated Aug 11, 2022: Compared 'Sound Enhancement Features' to Roku Streambar Pro.
- Updated Mar 01, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Jul 22, 2020: We've updated the bass adjustment feature.
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Popular Soundbar Comparisons
The Sony HT-S200F sets itself apart with the built-in subwoofer which can be found under the soundbar. Although it technically has a sub channel, this soundbar's bass performance isn't on par with setups with a dedicated and wireless subwoofer. See our recommendations for the best soundbars, the best budget soundbars, and the best soundbars with a subwoofer.
The Sony HT-S200F is slightly better than the Sony HT-S100F model, especially thanks to its built-in subwoofer channel, which helps a bit with the bass. These are practically the same bar and perform very similarly otherwise. The HT-S200F will be an overall better choice thanks to the extra bass, especially for the marginal price difference.
The Sony HT-S200F is a bit better overall than the Yamaha Yamaha YAS-108/ATS-1080. The Yamaha has two built-in subwoofers, which gives it a very dark sound profile, while the HT-S200F is a bit better-balanced and neutral. The Sony is also smaller and easier to fit in your setup, on top of being a bit better-built, although still cheaply made. On the other hand, the Yamaha ATS-1080 has a Full HDMI In port, which the Sony lacks, and it also supports DTS.
The Hisense HS218 is a better 2.1 soundbar than the Sony HT-S200F. The Hisense is better-built, and unlike the Sony, it comes with a dedicated subwoofer. While it doesn't reproduce a more extended low-bass than some more premium models we've tested, it does have a more extended bass than the Sony. Also, it has better soundstage and surround performances.
The Sonos Arc is better than the Sony HT-S200F. The Sonos is a better-built 5.0.2 setup that supports Dolby Atmos content. It has better soundstage, center, and surround performances and built-in voice assistant capabilities. It even has a room correction feature, unlike the Sony. That said, the Sony comes with EQ presets, which some users may prefer for sound customization.
Test Results
The HT-S200F's bar is black and fairly compact. The front side has a large metal grill, while the rest is made of good quality plastic. The subwoofer is integrated into the bar and there are two ports, one on each side. The subwoofer speaker is on the underside and there's nothing to cover it as you can see here.
The subwoofer is embedded into the bar. If you want a 2.1 soundbar with a dedicated subwoofer that has a more extended bass, check out the Vizio V Series V21-H8.
The bar is fairly compact and will easily fit between the legs of most 55" TVs. It isn't very tall and it's unlikely to block any part of the bottom of your screen unless the TV stand is very short, or the TV sits flush on the table.
The back of the bar is fairly plain, with one opening for the input ports.
The Sony HT-S200F's build quality is decent. The entire build resembles the Bose Solo 5. The subwoofer is embedded in the bar and the entire construction feels robust. The subwoofer speaker on the underside isn't covered and there's nothing to protect it from damage.
- Manuals
- Optical cable
- Remote & batteries
- Cushion pad for wall-mounting
- Power cable
- Power brick
The Sony HT-S200F has a passable frequency response. However, the low-frequency extension is fairly high, meaning that it lacks bass and will have trouble reproducing the deep thump and rumble of movies and music. Also, it has a noticeably very low high-frequency extension. Therefore, the bar has a dark and muddy sound since it lacks bass and treble. On the upside, it does perform a bit better in the bass range than the HT-S100F thanks to the integrated subwoofer inside the bar. For a similar bar with a more neutral default sound, see the Bose Solo Soundbar Series II.
When listening to the Sony HT-S200F, the stereo soundstage is mediocre. The bar is small and the bar doesn’t do any tricks to widen the soundstage. On the upside, the soundstage is focused, which is good as objects seem to come from an accurate pin-point location rather than a general area.
The Sony S200F can get decently loud. It might not enough for a crowded party, but should be alright for regular everyday use. It also performs well at max volume without compressing very much, especially compared to other 2.1 soundbars like the AmazonBasics 2.1 Channel Bluetooth.
The THD performance of this soundbar is great at a normal volume around 80dB and will create a clean and pure sound. However, when pushed to its max volume, there’s a small jump in THD across the range, but this shouldn’t be audible to most, especially with real-life content.
The Sony HT-S200F is a 2.1 soundbar system, which means it doesn’t have a dedicated center speaker. It uses the left and right speakers to create a sound in the center, which sounds more diffused and less clear compared to a discrete center, but the performance is still good overall. However, when sending a 5.1 surround sound signal to the bar, it's downmixed. It also doesn’t have a good bass performance, but this won’t matter as much since there isn't much bass on center channels to begin with. Voices still sound fairly clear and accurate, and the bar gets loud enough for most people.
The Sony HT-S200F has poor performance with surround channels. The soundbar's 2.1 configuration won't result in the most accurate and clear representation of surround objects in the soundstage. Everything is downmixed to stereo and doesn’t feel as real as a discrete surround experience offered by tower speakers. The overall sound profile is fairly bright as this soundbar lacks a lot of bass. This soundbar, like many other Sonys, has an always-on surround sound mode that causes a strange frequency response measurement, visible in our plot.
This soundbar system doesn’t have height channels and doesn’t support Atmos. However, although most other 2.1 setups don't support Atmos either, if you're looking for one that can, the Sony HT-X9000F and the Sony HT-X8500 both downmix Atmos content into stereo to play it.
The Sony S200F doesn't have a lot of sound enhancement features. There are some EQ presets such as 'Standard', 'Auto Sound', 'Music', and 'Cinema' available to help you find the best sound for your audio, and you can tweak the bass level too, which is nice. However, compared to other budget-friendly bars like the Roku Streambar Pro, you can't adjust its treble.
This soundbar has the same limited physical connections as Sony's other model; the HT-S100F. You won't be able to use this bar as a hub between your PC or game consoles and your TV. Furthermore, unless your older devices have a Bluetooth connection, you can't use their Audio Out jack to connect to the bar due to the lack of an Analog Audio In. However, these inputs still offer more choice than the 2.1 channel TaoTronics TT-SK026.
Over its ARC connection, the Sony HT-S200F supports surround sound via the Dolby Digital sound format. This is very common on most streaming platforms like Netflix, or on most Blu-ray discs. Unfortunately, you won't be able to decode DTS or any of the higher-end formats like Dolby Atmos, which can offer you object-based surround sound experience.
The Sony HT-S200F has no Full HDMI In port which would allow it to connect to external devices that support the reproduction of advanced sound formats like Dolby Atmos or DTS:X.
The Sony HT S200F can reproduce surround sound in the Dolby Digital format over its Optical Audio In. However, it'll be downscaled to the 2.1 capabilities of this bar. The (not supported) DTS format isn't common on its own; it's the fallback for the higher quality DTS-HD MA available on many Blu-ray discs.
You can connect the bar to any device that supports Bluetooth, like a smartphone or a tablet, and enjoy any content from your device through the soundbar's 2.1 speakers.
As this soundbar lacks a Full HDMI port, it can’t serve as a hub between your devices and your TV.
The interface is identical to the Sony HT-S100F. It consists of a set of lights that identify which input is in use. However, you have to get close to read the labels above the lights denoting the source is selected or learn the source order by heart.
The touch-sensitive controls found at the top are pretty straightforward. You can control the power, the input source, and the volume level, and they help you connect to your Bluetooth devices.
This is the same remote found on the Sony HT-S100F. It has the most common controls and some preset modes to match with the playback content. The 'PLAY MODE' is a play/shuffle/repeat once/etc button when the USB port is used.
When connected via Bluetooth to a mobile device and you ask Google Assistant a question, the answer will come from the bar. You can check out the Yamaha ATS-1090 if you prefer a bar with built-in voice assistant support.