Tested using Methodology v1.3
Updated Feb 24, 2026 02:33 PM
Tested using Methodology v1.3
Updated Jan 06, 2026 09:22 PM
Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 9 with Speakers + Bass Module
Sony BRAVIA Theater Quad
The Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 9 with Speakers + Bass Module is a better-performing system than the Sony BRAVIA Theater Quad. That said, the Bar 9's additional bass module accounts for much of the difference. If you already have a compatible subwoofer, then you might appreciate the more immersive sound produced by the Theater Quad. But if you consume lots of dialogue-heavy content, you may appreciate the Bar 9's dedicated center channel, which keeps speech sounding clear and detailed.
Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 9 with Speakers + Bass Module
Sony BRAVIA Theater Quad
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Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 9 with Speakers + Bass Module vs Sony BRAVIA Theater Quad: Main Discussion
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I can’t say that we’re looking to implement this right away, but it certainly is something we’d like to develop a methodology for in a future test bench :) Our initial impression when this kind of technology was getting rolled out was that it was badly-implemented and often led to flat sounding dialogue. That said, the tech has come a long way since then and there have been some bars we’ve tested where the TV speakers have been a nice complement to audio from the bar. Of course, a lot still depends on which TV you have but I think we’ll continue to leave subjective takes on this feature if time allows.
Very excited for your Bravia purchase though! Outside of its abilities as a TV, I know its speakers also scored pretty well in our testing. Please let us know how this exact combo works for you - if it’s particularly great for dialogue, we can see about a retest for this feature.
Thank you for your reply :). Are you planning on looking more into the frequency response with centre sync on (or when the TV handles the Voice channel with the AI Voice (and object) separation)? I think that would be interesting to do with all Soundbars that support similar features because in my mind this might improve the positioning of the centre and allow the bar to breathe more for certain frequencies (better response and better cutoff?). I’m still waiting for my Bravia 8 to be delivered and very curious. Thank you so much for your hard work. :)
Hey there! We haven’t actually tested out this bar with the soundfield height set to ‘high’ as we found the default sound yielded the best results across all the sound tests. That said, we generally won’t cherry pick different settings for different tests (unless there’s a very good reason do so), so it’s entirely possible that changing the setting to ‘high’ yields better results in certain situations. Our testing room also isn’t representative of everyone’s listening situation and, depending on the height of your ceilings etc., different settings could sound better.
That said, there’s a few folks both in the comments of the Theater Bar 9 review and on reddit that seem to prefer how the bar sounds with this setting, so if it sounds good to you, I’d say go for it!
Do you recommend to use the high soundfield setting with the bar 9, SW5, RS5? I think that sounds better right?