From the theater to the living room Sony HT-X9000F home audio-visual system experience

In recent years, the size of TVs has become larger and more intelligent, and it is no longer difficult for users to own a large-sized smart TV. As people’s requirements for home entertainment increase, it is imperative to upgrade the supporting facilities based on TV screens. As an important part of the living room entertainment audio and video experience, the improvement of sound effects has been taken into consideration by more and more friends. Domestic users are not very accepting of home theater. Those who have a need for sound effects prefer the Soundbar system that is simple and easy to use and does not take up space so much.

As a long-established provider of audio-visual equipment, Sony will naturally not abandon the field of Soundbar. It is Sony’s specialty to create products that can quickly cooperate with its own TV and effectively improve the sound quality. HT-X9000F is such a product.

Small figure and low-key design

The HT-X9000F soundbar inherits the thin and light design of Sony’s whispering wall series products. The height is about 58mm and the length is about 930mm. The left and right ends are not right-angled, mainly for adapting to some models of Sony TV brackets.But even if it is not matched with Sony TV, its low-key and non-existent shape is put together with other brand TVs.

Trying our best to integrate the Soundbar with the TV is Sony’s main goal, so the height of this Soundbar is also very well controlled, just to make it tuck under the TV and try not to occupy the visual space on the TV cabinet. It should be noted that this product can also be wall-mounted.

There are touch buttons directly above the black speaker, which are buttons for power switch, signal source, and sound adjustment. Through the indicator light corresponding to the switch, we can see the running status of the device in real time. The experience of Bluetooth connection is very convenient, and it can act as a streaming media speaker after simple pairing with a mobile phone.

The HT-X9000F subwoofer is quite satisfactory and has a standard rectangular parallelepiped design. Since it is connected to the sound bar wirelessly, it can be inserted in a corner and the layout is more free.

For the remote control, the button logos are all in English. The function of the button is roughly to switch the input source, select the six sound effects modes of Cinema, Sports, Music, News, Games and ClearAudio+, and turn on the vertical surround engine and volume adjustment.

HT-X9000F has two HDMI ports, one in and one out. The HDMI OUT needs to be connected to the TV, and the other HDMI IN can be used to connect to other devices. In other words, using the HT-X9000F will not occupy the HDMI interface of the TV (one for one). Only one HDMI input makes this Soundbar cannot be used as an HDMI Hub. If you have more than 4 HDMI (PS4, XBOX, NS, Blu-ray player, Apple TV) like me and need to connect to the TV, then the HT-X9000F is not For you, it is serious to find a multi-input Soundbar.

However, the HT-X9000F has only one HDMI input 4K HDR pass-through, which means that the signal directly sent to Dolby Vision or HDR10 by connecting a Blu-ray player (or other devices such as PS4) can pass through the HT-X9000F to the TV output. It’s pretty good. According to the author’s test, the Pioneer LX500 signal passed the HT-X9000F to the TV, and Dolby Vision was successfully lit.

Virtual multi-channel is a good thing for living rooms where home theater cannot be set up

There is a racetrack full-frequency unit on the left and right sides of the HT-X9000F strip speaker. Although the size is small, the mid- and low-frequency units are full of volume. Since there is no special high-frequency unit, the effect is not as good as expected when playing part of the music, but there is no problem in watching TV and movies.

Most Soundbars in this price range do not have a center speaker, and the HT-X9000F is the same, so the vocal dialogue in the movie is often a little small. Fortunately, this product also has Sony’s own vocal enhancement mode, and the problem of insufficient dialogue volume can be properly solved after the high two gears are turned on. Soundbar has been used a lot, and Sony’s dialogue enhancement is definitely not one of the strongest.

As for the sound effects, the HT-X9000F can support Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, as well as next-generation audio tracks. With the support of Sony’s exclusive S-Force Pro and vertical surround engine technology, the stereo effect of the HT-X9000F is quite good. All the sounds from the front can clearly distinguish the sense of direction from the left, middle and right, and there is also a certain distinction in the vertical direction. Only the front two-unit HT-X9000F can simulate the surround effect, and it can barely detect one or two layers of physical left and right surround skills (7.1.2 don’t take it seriously). The vertical surround makes people feel very pleasantly surprised. Although there is no feeling of sound roaring from overhead, it is indeed possible to feel that the sound is clearly distinguished in the vertical direction.

Among the 2.1-channel Soundbar, the surround effect created by the HT-X9000F is quite good. This is not to say that the surround effect of the HT-X9000F can match the home theater with more channels. You must know that even the entry-level system, as long as there is a physical surround channel or sky channel, the effect is not comparable to the algorithm.

The low-frequency part HT-X9000F is certainly capable, and the 160mm unit subwoofer is certainly not a Display. The living room of about 15 square meters in the author’s home is completely enough. In war-themed movies such as “The Battle of Midway”, the low frequency is even slightly lowered, and the explosion sound is a bit loud. In the case of high sound pressure, it is normal to feel the slight vibration of the seat. Although it is not as good as the high-power subwoofer of the movie theater, it is not bad to restore such a low-frequency effect in a general home environment.

By the way, a large part of the shocking sound effects of watching a movie in a movie theater comes from the low frequency. Even if you can’t hear the ultra-low frequency, you can feel it. Well, as a TV companion in a home environment, the Soundbar without a gun is a hooligan.

Watching “The Battle of Midway” with the HT-X9000F, the sound effects of the planes in the air and the explosion of ships in the film are full of presence. At the same time, the human voice is still clear and detailed. In the motorcycle chase part of “Gemini Killer”, the roaring positioning of the motorcycle engine is constantly changing. In the shooting scenes that constantly appear in the film, the positioning of the gunfire is also very precise. It can be said that the HT-X9000F has excellent sound positioning performance. The sound at high volume will not be distorted, and the sound pressure in a small apartment can basically achieve the effect of a theater. Of course, the premise is that you are sure that no neighbors will come to your door.

Good choice for home theater

The overall performance of the HT-X9000F is balanced, and while ensuring the sound effect, it is also well-tuned for the virtual surround effect, which can provide far better than TV sound effects. Fewer HDMI inputs and the inability to connect the rear surround speakers are side effects of its product positioning. But if you need a good home theater, the HT-X9000F will be a good choice.