The Sony HT-S350 is a simple 2.1 setup released in 2019. It comes with Sony's S-Force Pro Front Surround technology, which is advertised to replicate an immersive surround sound experience without the need for dedicated rear speakers. While this feature sounds decent with surround content like movies, unfortunately, it isn't ideal for stereo content like music and TV shows. You can't turn this feature off, either. Its sound profile can reproduce voices pretty clearly, but the audio is also dark and muddy. There aren't a lot of sound customization features available like bass and treble adjustments, either.
Our Verdict
The Sony HTS350 is acceptable for mixed usage. Out-of-the-box, it has a dark and muddy sound profile that lacks the deep thump and rumble in the bass range. Vocals and lead instruments are pretty clear, but they can also sound a bit dark. It has to downmix surround content into stereo, which doesn't sound very immersive. Also, there's no support for Dolby Atmos content, and you can't turn off its S-Force Pro Front Surround mode.
- Gets pretty loud.
- Subwoofer level adjustment.
- No Atmos support.
- Can't turn off its surround sound mode.
The Sony HT-S350 is decent for dialogue-centric content like TV shows. Its balanced mid-range reproduces voices pretty clearly, although they can also sound a bit dark. There's a TV EQ preset that doubles as a dialogue enhancement mode, too. However, there's no discrete center channel, so voices aren't anchored to a pinpoint location in the soundstage.
- Dialogue enhancement feature.
- Auto-volume mode.
- Can't turn off its surround sound mode.
- Mediocre center channel performance.
The Sony HT-S350 is fair for music. Its sound profile has a balanced mid-range that can reproduce vocals and lead instruments clearly, but it's also quite dark and muddy due to the lack of bass and treble. You can customize its sound with its subwoofer level adjustment, but there aren't a lot of other customization features like bass and treble adjustments. While it gets loud, there's also a bit of compression at max volume. Also, its S-Force Pro Front Surround mode isn't ideal for stereo content, like most music.
- Gets pretty loud.
- Subwoofer level adjustment.
- Can't turn off its surround sound mode.
- Compression at max volume.
The Sony HT-S350 is sub-par for movies. This setup struggles to reproduce low-bass, so you don't feel the deep thump and rumble in action-packed movies. It supports surround content, but it has to downmix it into stereo to play it, which doesn't sound as immersive. There's no support for Dolby Atmos content, either. Its S-Force Pro Front Surround mode sounds decent with movies, but you can't turn it off.
- Gets pretty loud.
- No Atmos support.
- Can't turn off its surround sound mode.
Changelog
- Updated Apr 06, 2023: Added cable lengths to In The Box.
- Updated Apr 05, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 1.1. With this update, we've added a Mounting test and added information aboutSubwoofer Output, Spotify Connect, and Microphone Mute.
- Updated Dec 14, 2021: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
- Updated Feb 24, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Sony HT-S350 comes in one color variant: 'Black'. You can see the label for the subwoofer of the model we tested here. Some retailers sell a version of this soundbar known as the Sony HT-SD35, which appears to be the same bar but with a different name.
If you come across another version of this soundbar, let us know in the discussions.
Popular Soundbar Comparisons
The Sony HT-S350 is a very simple 2.1 setup. Unfortunately, you can't turn off the S-Force Pro Front Surround mode, which isn't ideal for listening to stereo content like music and TV shows. Its dark and muddy sound profile isn't suitable for some listeners, and there aren't a lot of customization features available. It's still decent for TV shows, but you can find more versatile options at this price point.
See our recommendations for the best soundbars under $200, the best soundbars under $300, and the best budget soundbars.
The Sony HT-S400 and the Sony HT-S350 are both 2.1 bars with similar features. The S400 is a bit better overall since it reproduces a more extended low-bass to help you feel more rumble in the mix. Its sound is also more neutral and balanced, especially in the treble range, so it sounds less dark than the S350.
The Samsung HW-T450 is a better soundbar for mixed usage than the Sony HT-S350. The Samsung reproduces a more extended low-bass, so you feel more thump and rumble in your audio. It also has a more neutral sound profile out-of-the-box, which some listeners may prefer. That said, the Sony is better built and comes with an HDMI ARC port.
The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is better than the Sony HT-S350. The Sonos is a standalone 5.0 setup with a small, compact design. Unlike the Sony, it supports Dolby Atmos and DTS content. It has better soundstage, center, and surround performances, and a room correction feature. The Sony does get louder, though.
The Samsung HW-A650 is better than the Sony HT-S350. The Samsung is better-built, with more sound enhancement features like a graphic EQ as well as bass and treble adjustments. It has better center and surround performances, too. Also, some listeners may prefer its more neutral sound profile out-of-the-box.
Test Results
The Sony HTS350 is a pretty plain bar. It has a metal grille that covers the front face and most of the sides, while the top has a faux-leather texture which feels nice. The rest is made of solid plastic.
The subwoofer has a port in the front. There's a metal grille protecting the speaker above it. The sides and the top are made mainly of wood, while the port is made of plastic.
The Sony HT-SD35 is a little wide and might not fit between the legs of many 55 inch TVs. On the upside, it's not too tall, and you shouldn't have issues placing it in front of the TV, as it won't cover the bottom part of the screen unless your TV sits flush on the table.
The subwoofer has the size of an average desktop PC. It pairs wirelessly to the bar, and you shouldn't have issues placing it anywhere in the room as long as you can plug it in.
The Sony HT-S350 has a good build quality. The bar is mostly made of plastic, and there's a metal grille around the sides that helps protect the drivers inside. There's also a faux leather material on the top of the bar, which feels nice. The sub is mostly made of wood and plastic, and there's a metal grille on the front.
The Sony HT-S350's stereo frequency response is okay. Its sound profile is dark and muddy due to the lack of low-bass and the underemphasized treble. Its mid-range is still quite balanced, so vocals and lead instruments are reproduced fairly clearly. However, this setup uses Sony's S-Force Pro Front Surround sound to create a more immersive sound, and you can't turn this feature off. While movies sound pretty decent on the bar, this feature isn't really ideal for stereo content like music.
If you prefer a more neutral sound profile, we recommend using the Sony HT-SD35 with its default settings. Out-of-the-box, its subwoofer level is set to eight.
The Sony HTS350 has a decent soundstage. Its soundstage is perceived to be a tad bit larger than the bar, but this is probably due to the always-on surround mode called S-Force Pro Front Surround. The focus of the soundstage is great and objects are easy to pinpoint, but the always-on surround makes those objects a bit stretched in the soundstage.
The Sony HTS350 has a good stereo dynamics performance. It can get loud, making it suitable for listening in large rooms and crowded environments. However, when pushed to its maximum volume, there are some pumping and compression artifacts in the bass range. This is mostly noticeable with bass-heavy music.
At a normal listening volume, the THD performance of this soundbar is good, resulting in a clean and pure audio reproduction. However, when using the bar at the maximum volume, there's a big jump in THD. This shouldn’t be too audible for most, and you probably won’t notice it with real-life content.
The Sony S350 is a 2.1 soundbar setup, 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 will sound more diffused and less clear compared to a discrete center. When sending a 5.1 surround sound signal, it will downmix it to stereo, although it might sound a bit wider due to the always-on surround mode. Overall, voices still sound fairly clear and accurate, and the bar gets loud enough for most people.
The Sony HTS350 has poor performance with surround channels. The 2.1 configuration of the soundbar 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 home theater speakers. The overall sound profile is fairly dark as this soundbar lacks detail in the treble range. This soundbar, like many other Sonys, has an always-on surround sound mode that causes a strange frequency response measurement, visible in our plot.
The Sony HTS350 has a disappointing selection of sound enhancement features. You can customize its sound using its subwoofer level adjustment, and it also comes with some EQ presets, including 'Cinema', 'Music', 'Standard', 'Game', 'News' and 'Sports'. Unfortunately, there aren't any bass or treble adjustments. It also lacks room correction, so it may sound different depending on the room you're listening in.
The Sony HT-S350 has a very basic selection of physical inputs. It can connect to your TV through HDMI ARC and to one external device by Optical Audio in, but that's all. There is no Full HDMI In so it can't act as a hub between different devices. Also, you can't play back music stored on a USB.
You can decode surround sound over ARC with this bar, thanks to its Dolby Digital support, but it will be downmixed to 2.1. Unfortunately, the bar can't decode DTS or any higher-end format like Dolby Atmos, and this means that more advanced object-based surround sound formats won't be played back. On the upside, Dolby Digital content is very common on streaming platforms like Netflix and on most Blu-ray discs.
The Sony HT-SD35's audio format support via optical connection is mediocre. The Dolby Digital surround sound format is supported, which is good as it's widely available in the content of streaming platforms or Blu-ray discs. The unsupported DTS format isn't widely available on its own, as it's the fallback for the higher quality DTS-HD MA found on many Blu-ray discs. If you're looking for a 2.1 setup that supports DTS via optical, check out the Samsung HW-T450.
The Sony HT-S350 soundbar has a passable latency performance. It has fairly high latency, so your visuals appear on the screen a bit before you hear the corresponding audio. This delay is most noticeable with lip-synching. That said, some apps and TVs compensate for latency differently, so your real-world experience can vary.
The Sony HT-S350 soundbar supports Bluetooth connectivity, letting you wirelessly stream audio from your mobile devices to the bar. However, it doesn't support other formats like Wi-Fi or Apple AirPlay, which may disappoint some users.
Since there isn't a Full HDMI In port, the Sony HT-S350 can't relay the video signal of any external device to your TV.
The interface or the Sony HT-S350 is very basic and consists of only three lights that flash when you change the settings.
On the top side of the bar, there are a few touch-sensitive buttons that control the basic functions. You can power the bar, select TV mode, change the volume, or pair with a Bluetooth device.
