The pitch behind the Bravia Theater Trio (HT-A8) is honest about one thing: a single bar, however long, runs out of width once the screen goes past about 85 inches. Sony's answer is a slim centre plus two separate wireless left and right speakers you can push as far apart as the room lets you. The centre is only 589 x 64 x 165mm, so it fits under a TV on a stand without blocking the IR window, which is more than most flagship bars manage.
The review is very positive on sound, and I believe it, because the physical layout is basically what we have been telling people to do for years: get the fronts out of the TV's footprint. The clever bit is 360 Spatial Sound Mapping, which uses a mic dongle on your phone to measure the room and then builds up to 24 virtual channels on top of the real ones. Without the optional Rear 9 speakers it is still front-only, though, and the reviewer flags a narrow sweet spot, which is what you would expect from phantom surround.
Where I get stuck is the back panel. One HDMI in with 4K/120 passthrough and Dolby Vision (no HDR10+), the eARC connection, and a USB port that is only there for firmware. No second HDMI, no optical. At the 1,999 price the review quotes, that is thin. Anyone with a Blu-ray player and a console is going through the TV anyway, so the passthrough is mostly decoration.
For a big-screen living room where proper separates are a non-starter, this is the most sensible shape Sony has sold. For a room where you can fit a small AVR, it is a lot of money to avoid owning a receiver.
The review is very positive on sound, and I believe it, because the physical layout is basically what we have been telling people to do for years: get the fronts out of the TV's footprint. The clever bit is 360 Spatial Sound Mapping, which uses a mic dongle on your phone to measure the room and then builds up to 24 virtual channels on top of the real ones. Without the optional Rear 9 speakers it is still front-only, though, and the reviewer flags a narrow sweet spot, which is what you would expect from phantom surround.
Where I get stuck is the back panel. One HDMI in with 4K/120 passthrough and Dolby Vision (no HDR10+), the eARC connection, and a USB port that is only there for firmware. No second HDMI, no optical. At the 1,999 price the review quotes, that is thin. Anyone with a Blu-ray player and a console is going through the TV anyway, so the passthrough is mostly decoration.
For a big-screen living room where proper separates are a non-starter, this is the most sensible shape Sony has sold. For a room where you can fit a small AVR, it is a lot of money to avoid owning a receiver.
