SONY HT-X9000F soundbar+subwoofer

Vertical surround and Atmoscompatibility from a small soundbar with only two drivers. Say wha?

Vertical Surround and Atmos compatibility from a small soundbar with only two drivers plus sub.

The claims for Sony’s HT-X9000F soundbar+subwoofer combination are significant — “Vertical Surround”, and Dolby Atmos and DTS:X compatibility for these object-based height-enhanced soundtracks that can send sound elements wherever the processor thinks is most effective with the speakers available. Yet it’s so small! The bar has only two drivers in it! Can it be another miracle soundbar?

Equipment

Mechanics first. As the model number indicates, Sony’s little soundbar is clearly designed with the TV range in mind — the bar is just a little shorter than the width of the 55-inch X90F’s splayed legs, with its sides angled back to nestle within its thighs, as it were (as pictured above).

The socketry lies within a single cut-out section to the rear: it has 4K HDMI, though only one input and one ARC-equipped output, then there’s an optical digital audio input, an analogue minijack audio input, and a USB slot all fitted in the small space, and there is also Bluetooth streaming.

Further, the bar’s HDMI cables and the power cable are designed to exit at points perfectly situated to pass through the TV stand’s legs and, if desired, take advantage of the cable management channels that are usefully included there. We’d also like to give Sony a special star for adding a large white outline around the HDMI sockets, so making it clear which way round the HDMI plugs go in. (The general rule for inserting HDMI cables is that it’s always the other way to whichever way you try.)

So the bar is a medium 93cm wide, but very low, less than 6cm high (so it sits well below the bottom of the Sony screen) and pretty shallow too, around 85mm to the 84cm-wide back. The top is matte and mildly reflective, with five touch buttons and five lights to show status, though these face upward, so they may not be visible from a couch-sitting position.

You’re unlikely to need the touch buttons much, as the X9000F comes with a comprehensive half-size remote, and if you have the Sony TV you can use Bravia Sync to unite them under a single TV remote control, for volume at least. From the front the bar looks stylish and complements the TV, with a silver base and a solid logo-free grille. It was hard to pick the driver count through the grille, but we confirmed it to be just a pair of 40mm × 100mm oval cones positioned left and right on the bar. The power ratings state “power output

(rated)” to be 2 × 60W at 4 ohms, 1kHz, 1% THD, but

also “power output (reference) Front L/Front R speaker

blocks” of 100W per channel at 4 ohms, 1kHz. Make of this what you will.

The subwoofer makes little attempt to match the bar stylistically, its speaker grille having bigger holes and a darker tone, its port shiny plastic and its body MDF with a vinyl wrap, simply painted black at the rear rather than trimmed. But it will be notably easy to situate, with a vertical design and front-firing 160mm driver and port, so it might even be situated inside or under cabinetry.

Performance

The smaller components mean a smaller box to drag home, and an easier unpack; we just positioned the bar between the legs of the visiting Sony TV, placed the sub