The Sony HT-Z9F is a good 3.1 soundbar setup that does a great job with dialogue thanks to its dedicated center speaker. It features a wireless subwoofer that helps give it some extra thump during action movies or bass-heavy music. While this soundbar is Atmos-enabled, unfortunately, it lacks upwards firing or satellite speakers and uses Sony's S Force and Vertical Sound technology to simulate an Atmos surround sound experience. On the upside, it has two Full HDMI inputs that support all audio formats, and the soundbar also has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Chromecast built-in to listen to music wirelessly.
Note: Some of our readers have reported that the subwoofer cuts out repeatedly when listening to this soundbar, possibly because of issues with the wireless connection. We haven't experienced this problem during our testing. However, this may be because our testing space doesn't have many issues with interference, since there aren't a lot of other Wi-Fi networks in the area.
Our Verdict
The Sony HT-Z9F is a decent mixed usage soundbar. This 3.1 setup clearly reproduces dialogue, thanks to its dedicated center channel, meaning you have no problem hearing speech over the background music and sound effects. Thanks to its dedicated wireless subwoofer, it has a decent bass response, making it an okay choice for movies. Unfortunately, while this soundbar supports Atmos, its lack of satellites or upward-firing speakers means the soundstage isn't very open, and all objects sound as if they're coming from in front of you.
- Premium, durable look and feel.
- Lots of connectivity and audio format options.
- Great dialogue-handling.
- Mediocre job at handling Atmos content due to lack of speakers.
- No treble or bass adjustment options; EQ presets only.
The Sony HT-Z9F is very good for dialogue-focused TV shows and podcasts. Thanks to its dedicated center channel, dialogue sounds clear and accurate, and you should have no trouble making out what is said over background music or sound effects. This soundbar also features a dialogue enhancement setting to bring speech out even more.
The Sony HT-Z9F is decent for music. While it supports wireless playback, including Chromecast audio, the sound reproduction is only decent, and it lacks low-bass, meaning fans of EDM or dubstep may be disappointed. This soundbar also lacks any room correction or bass or treble adjustments, so you can only customize the sound via presets. That said, voices and lead instruments are still clear and present in the mix.
The Sony HT-Z9F is fair for movies. Thanks to its dedicated wireless subwoofer, it has decent bass response, though unfortunately, its LFE is a little high, but this shouldn't be too noticeable for movies. The 3.1 configuration means that dialogue comes out very clear and detailed, and there are even dialogue enhancement settings as well. Unfortunately, while this soundbar is Atmos compatible, the lack of necessary speakers means all objects sound like they're coming from straight in front of you, instead of from behind and above.
Changelog
- Updated Jun 28, 2023: Added a market comparison with the Sony HT-S2000 to the Style - Subwoofer box.
- 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 Oct 18, 2022: Added market comparison with the Sony HT-A3000 to the 'Style - Subwoofer' box.
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Popular Soundbar Comparisons
The Sony HT-Z9F is a good mixed-usage soundbar that does a great job with dialogue thanks to its dedicated center channel speaker. While this 3.1 setup supports Dolby Atmos, it, unfortunately, doesn't provide nearly as immersive of a listening experience due to its lack of satellite or upwards-firing speakers.
See our recommendations for the best soundbars, the best Dolby Atmos soundbars, and the best soundbars with a subwoofer.
The Sony HT-Z9F and the Sony HT-S2000 are both 3.1 soundbars with support for many different audio formats. The HT-Z9F is the better of the two, though, largely because it comes with a dedicated subwoofer for improved bass reproduction. It supports more wireless playback options, too, and since it comes with an HDMI input, you can use it for video passthrough, unlike the HT-S2000.
The Bose Smart Soundbar 900 with Speakers + Bass Module is better than the Sony HT-Z9F. The Bose is a better built 5.1.2 setup with discrete satellites. It has better soundstage, surround, and Atmos performances. It can reproduce a more extended low-bass, and its neutral sound profile out-of-the-box may be preferable for some users. That said, it doesn't have a Full HDMI In port like the 3.1 Sony.
The Sonos Arc is a better soundbar than the Sony HT-Z9F. The Sonos is a 5.0.2 setup that offers better soundstage, surround, and Atmos performances. It comes with a room correction feature, and its out-of-the-box sound profile is more neutral. You can also upgrade it to the Sonos Arc with Sub + One SL Speakers for better performance. However, the 3.1 Sony has EQ presets and a Full HDMI In port that supports 4k passthrough.
The LG SN11RG is better than the Sony HT-Z9F. The LG is a 7.1.4 setup with discrete satellites. It has better soundstage, surround, and Atmos performances, and it can reproduce a more extended low-bass. Also, there are more sound enhancement features available, including room correction.
Test Results
The Sony HT-Z9F is a sleek looking bar that has a premium look and feel to it. It has a metal grille that holds in place with magnets and can be easily removed. The rest of the bar is made mostly of good quality plastic with a glossy black finish.
The sub is mainly made of wood, with the port in the front being glossy black. Unfortunately, the front of the sub is covered with mesh fabric as opposed to metal, meaning it may get dirty or ripped. If you prefer a standalone 3.1 Atmos bar, consider the Sony HT-A3000 or the Sony HT-S2000.
The Sony HT-Z9F is pretty wide and likely won't fit between the legs of most 55" or smaller TVs, unless they have very wide stands. While it's a bit taller than some other soundbars, like the Sony HT-CT800, it still shouldn't block the bottom of your TV unless it sits directly on the table, like the Sony A9G.
The subwoofer of the Sony HT-Z9F is pretty average-sized and is about the size of an average desktop PC. It's not too big and should be able to fit beside your TV stand or couch without any difficulties.
This soundbar setup doesn't have any satellites.
The Sony HT-Z9F soundbar is a well-made soundbar system that feels a bit more premium than the Sony HT-X9000F or Vizio SB36312-G6. The bar has a metal grille that can be easily removed as it's held in place by magnets. The rest of the bar is made of good quality plastic. Unfortunately, while half of the rear of the soundbar has a premium gritty plastic feel to it, the other half is glossy black and is prone to fingerprints. The subwoofer is mostly made of wood and feels sturdy, though the fabric cover may get easily ripped or dirty.
The Sony HT-Z9F's stereo frequency response is quite decent. Unfortunately, its low-frequency extension is fairly high, which means it may struggle to reproduce the very deep rumble of bass in some movies or bass-heavy music genres like dubstep, but should still be more than fine for most people. The treble also starts to dip in the mid-treble range, and is quite recessed in high-treble, making some higher frequencies and vocals less audible. However, overall the sound profile of this bar is quite well-balanced and sounds accurate and clean.
The Sony HTZ9F's stereo soundstage is decent and feels as wide as the bar but the bar doesn’t do anything to make it sound wider. Objects don’t seem to come from an accurate pinpoint location like some other bars, such as the Samsung HW-Q90R.
The Sony HTZ9F can get quite loud and should be suitable for large rooms or crowed environments, like a party. Also, at max volume, it performs quite well and you shouldn't hear any thumping or compression artifacts.
At a normal listening volume of 80dB, the THD performance of the Sony HTZ9F is very good. This results in clean and pure audio reproduction. Unfortunately, it doesn't perform nearly as well under heavier loads, and when pushing this bar to its max volume there's a jump in THD, though this may still be difficult to hear with real-life content, especially since few people will likely use this bar at max volume.
The Sony HTZ9F is a 3.1 setup with excellent center channel performance. This soundbar has a dedicated center speaker, which results in a clearer and more accurate audio reproduction of the dialogue in movies and TV shows.
Since the Sony HTZ9F doesn't have dedicated surround satellites, it has to downmix surround sound into stereo to play it. While it does a decent job at making it appear as if sound is coming from around and behind you, unfortunately, this isn't as immersive as soundbar setups that have dedicated satellites. Also, for some reason, when reproducing surround sound content through its 3 channel bar, this soundbar seems to clip audio at around 10kHz.
The Sony HTZ9F can playback Dolby Atmos content, which is commonly found on most streaming platforms. It's an object-based format that simulates "height" in your sound, making it seem like audio is immersing you from all angles. However, since this is a 3.1 bar, it has to downmix Atmos into stereo to play it. You have to turn Sony's "Vertical Surround Engine" on to get the soundbar to reproduce Atmos content, and this technology aims to simulate an Atmos experience. While this works decently well, the sound isn't nearly as immersive as a soundbar with upwards firing speakers, like the Samsung HW-Q80R or the Samsung HW-Q70T.
The Sony HTZ9F has mediocre sound enhancement features. It lacks Room Correction, so it may sound differently depending on your room. It also lacks both bass and treble adjustments and only provides various EQ presets. This soundbar uses Sony's Vertical Surround Engine technology to help it try and achieve an Atmos-surround effect with only a 3.1 setup. It also uses Sony's S-Force Front Surround to give you the illusion of rear satellites from the front bar, which can't be turned off. Unfortunately, these don't seem to work as well as having dedicated satellites and upwards firing speakers, and don't create a very immersive experience. If you want a soundbar that comes with a graphic EQ to help you customize its sound, consider the Samsung HW-Q700A instead.
The Sony HTZ9F has a wide array of inputs, including two Full HDMI in so you can use your soundbar as a hub, and get the highest quality signals. It also has a 3.5mm Aux port, which is getting less common, making it easy to plug in a phone to share music.
Update 03/20/2020: To reflect this soundbar's eARC capabilities, formats that are only supported by eARC are now set to "yes". The text has been updated.
The Sony HTZ9F can play all standard surround formats over HDMI ARC. Unlike the JBL Bar 5.1 Surround, this bar also has eARC, and supports object-based surround signals and lossless formats, which is great if your TV has eARC.
The two Full HDMI In ports allow you to use the soundbar like an HDMI hub. This way you can plug two external devices (like a Blu-Ray player or gaming console) into your soundbar and it will carry both audio and video signals to your TV. Both HDMI ports support all common audio formats, including Atmos for both Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD.
Dolby Digital and DTS content are usually found on Blu-ray discs and streaming platforms like Netflix. This bar can offer surround sound using either of these formats through its Optical port.
Update 03/23/2021: There was a mistake in our methodology where we measured the latency using every second frame (eg. 120fps). We now re-evaluated the footage using every frame at 240fps for more accurate results.
The Sony HTZ9F can play music wirelessly via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi will give you better range, higher quality audio, and uninterrupted music playback even if you receive a phone call. Unlike the Sony HT-G700, it also has Chromecast built-in, so you can control the soundbar with a Google Assistant smart speaker, and set up multi-room audio with other Chromecast-enabled speakers.
Update 12/17/2021: The Sony HT-Z9F also supports Dolby Vision Passthrough.
When you use this bar as a hub between your PC or game console and your TV, it can pass through chroma 4:4:4 up to 60Hz. If you send such a signal, the text will look crisp.
The Sony Z9F soundbar has a screen behind the front grille that displays all inputs and settings. It's a rather large screen compared to many other soundbars, like the Sony HT-CT800.
The buttons on the soundbar are the same as other Sony soundbars, but with a music service button that can be programmed to open your preferred music streaming service, like Spotify.
The remote for this soundbar is fairly large but has a lot of buttons to let you easily change settings. Unfortunately, it can't be used as a universal remote to control your TV. The bar's also compatible with the Sony Music Center app.
Update 12/17/2021: While the Sony HT-Z9F doesn't have built-in voice assistant support, we've updated the review to include information about support through third-party voice assistant devices. The manufacturer says that you can connect a Google Home or Amazon Alexa device to the bar for voice assistant support. You just need to set it up in the Google Home or Amazon Alexa app first.