Sony HT-G700 Soundbar Review

Sony HT-G700 Overview

With the Birth of Flat-screen TVs, the long followed trend of Built-In TV speakers ended. The reason is the thin form factor of modern LEDs doesn’t allow the high depth speakers/subwoofer to be installed within. For this reason, the demand for external sound systems arose.

Sony HT-G700: 3.1CH Dolby Atmos/DTS:X Soundbar with Bluetooth Technology, Black

• 3.1ch Dolby Atmos DTS: X and Vertical Surround Engine.Bluetooth version : Version 5.0, 360 Reality Audio : No, Subwoofer(Reference) : 100W.
• Immersive AE (Audio Enhancer) upscale audio closes to 7.1.2 each sound
• Wireless subwoofer delivers powerful bass sound
• Sound modes to customize listening to movies and music
• Multiple easy connections so you can enjoy all your media

$598.00

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And in today’s marketplace, there is a huge demand for soundbars and sound bases. Many manufacturers both new and old emerged and introduced their unique product lines with unique features such as various connectivity options, surround sound features supporting the home theater, and even smart home features that integrate with all other devices which can be controlled via smartphone.

Among the top-notch Brands, Sony has always been a market leader in unique and premium products. Sony has produced different product lines each targeting different sectors with high-end technology and heavy price tag and somewhat mid-range products.

With every passing day, the market is becoming more and more competitive and user demands and awareness is increasing. This in turn puts a huge pressure on the manufacturers to introduce different products regularly keeping in mind both their competitors and customers.

Last week, Sonos announced the launch of its high brand next-generation soundbars called Arc that became the most raved on news over the internet.

This week’s spotlight was taken up by another competitor in the gadget world as Sony enhances its soundbar lineup by introducing the Soundbar called Sony HT-G700 Dolby Atmos soundbar which is a mid-priced speaker in their products range and features close to 7.1.2 channel surround sound.

This product is majorly targeting the home theatres as it has built-in features similar to a movie theatre that will create the same experience as in a cinema. Another distinguishable feature is the placement of the dedicated Centre speaker that will make the dialogues more audible and clearer.

Let’s discuss this device in detail and find out what it has in for us:

Release Date & Price

The product is available for sale from May 2020 and will be available with major retailers around the world. It is priced at approximately $600 which is a budgeted product for Dolby atmos speakers and especially in Sony’s dynamic range of music speakers. Check other soundbars under 1000 bucks.

Design & Features

The Sony HT–G700 soundbar is a sleek design bar that is capable of placing beneath any TV or any other part of the room where the user wishes to place it.

Settings

There are various sound modes available in the soundbar that the user can select according to his/her wish with the premium settings by just clicking on a button; a night mode that will enable you to hear voices at low volume in case you don’t want to disturb the rest of the house.

A theatre mode when you want to create a home cinema experience, music mode when you are in the mode for listening to music, and lastly a voice mode for listening to the news, etc.

Dolby Atmos DTS: X and Vertical Surround Engine Technology

The speaker measures almost 40 inches in length and has about 400 watts of power. This soundbar’s dimensions are 38.58 x 2.52 x 4.25″ (W x H x D) and are a 3.1 inch Dolby Atmos DTS: X soundbar and embeds Vertical Surround Engine technology which is a surround system that spread our voices in the position of the height along with the width.

When this technology is paired with Sony’s signal processing, the immersive acoustic experience will be created when these three speakers will work together. Read our review of other small soundbars.

Soundbar for Voice Clarity

Furthermore, this also incorporates a Centre speaker that will be useful for clearer dialogue without reducing other audio whether it is a whispered line in a movie or a quick-firing dialogue in a movie which gives it an edge to create the same ambiance as in a movie.

This soundbar has been improvised for the purpose to deliver surround sound to the wider home theatre area. This will guarantee a perfect sound setting for Netflix, TV Programs, or praying music through Spotify.  

Improved Signal Processing Power & S-Force PRO

As stated by Sony, the Sony HT-G700 soundbar has an improved signal processing power as compared to the previous 2019 2.1-channel HT-XF9000 that was used to deliver the surround sound to a wider area as well.

Along with this improvement, Sony Corporation states that this soundbar has been made to widen the surround sound effect that is done by introducing the Centre speaker system is dedicated solely to deliver clearer dialogues and enhance signal processing speed.

In addition to this, this newly introduced soundbar includes finely tuned S-Force PRO that will be used to uplift sounds to larger TVs that are over 55 inches in size.

7.1.2 Surround Sound System by Selecting the Immersive (AE) Audio Enhancer button

If you wish to get the same surround sound treatment when watching a TV show and movie then this soundbar provides you with the facility of audio upscaling regular stereos audio to up to 7.1.2 surround sound system by selecting the Immersive (AE) Audio Enhancer button.

At the back of the soundbar is the HDMI-Arc port which will be used to connect the soundbar to the TV and send the audio from the TV back to the soundbar.

Connectivity

The Sony HT-G700 soundbar with audio has a Toslink input which is an optical digital input and two HDMI ports; one port is a simple input while the other is an HDMI Arc or an audio return channel interface.

It is eARC enabled which stands for ‘Enhanced’ version of ARC that will allow lossless audio formats of Dolby Atmos similar to the DTS-HD Master Audio and the Dolby TrueHD. Furthermore, this soundbar also supports the 4K HDR pass-through in addition to the Dolby Vision and HLG in case you want to connect the video source directly to the HDMI port of the soundbar.

The speaker offers an HDMI-In and HDMI-Out port and has a TV IN optical port as well along with Bluetooth wireless connectivity speaker.

The speaker doesn’t offer the option of WI-FI connectivity which is big No for such a device meaning you have to only stream via Bluetooth for connectivity purposes and means that you cannot use Google voice assistant, functionality in multi-room audio, Chrome cast/ Airplay 2 streaming.

Powerful bass through Subwoofer

This 400w soundbar comes with a powerful wireless subwoofer that is used to deliver powerful bass and a deeper sound along with an interior cabinet which creates an even deeper and richer bass sound and complements the bar performance.

Specifications

Sonos Arc V/S Sony’s HT-G700

When comparing Sony’s HT-G700 soundbar to the Sonos soundbar Arc announced last week, it has a startling difference in features although by the looks of these two one can be deceived. For starters, these two soundbars are had just a hundred dollar difference but carry huge differences in the features.

Sonos soundbar offers the flexibility of not just connecting to the WI-FI but also embed the Google voice assistant and the Alexa feature for playing audio. Furthermore, the S2 app gives it the flexibility of Room Grouping which is an amazing feature when you want to listen to the audio in another room. Read our review of Sony Z9F.

However for HT-G700 soundbar featuring only Bluetooth technology for wireless connectivity, and no Wi-Fi is simply the biggest drawback for the system that makes it Specific for a simple TV Surround sound system.

Not only that but with missing Wi-Fi the Product is only be dedicated to a single room and cannot connect to other supporting devices that kill the futuristic concept totally and cannot become a part of the complete home theater experience with subwoofers place at different locations at home etc.

Although Sony has been among the top-notch home theater product manufacturer, this time the trend seems to be against it, as Sonos has launched a much higher-end product with too much to offer at a lower cost.

Arc being 100 dollars higher in cost can not only support a TV sound system but a home theatre and Smart Home Device with Alexa and Google Assistant and are also expandable due to its compatibility with other devices on Wi-Fi.

The night modes setting, however, is a plus point in this as viewers can choose their desired setting through a button and enjoy what they want to see or hear to a greater extent. Sonos Arc Soundbar is compatible with the iOS operating system and can support all of the apple products which gives the viewers great flexibility to use the soundbar.

The Centre speaker in Sony’s soundbar creates a clearer and an audible dialogue whereas the Sonos soundbar Arc bounces off the sound on the ceiling and creates a 3D effect through its array of speakers.

Launch of Sony’s HT-20R

Alongside the launch of Sony’s HT-G700 soundbar, it has also launched HT-20R which is a subwoofer and rear speaker set designed to complement the soundbar.

You just need to plug it in and wire the soundbar along with the rear speakers through the color-coded connections and position your rear speakers and wired sub-woofers and a 5.1 channels surround sound system is ready to be used.

It is capable of being connected simply via an analog port, USB/optical, or an HDMI Arc; it offers the same sound modes for enjoying enhanced music and movies with the soundbar. Plugin a USB or connect via Bluetooth to enjoy the cinematic experience of the sound and enjoy the music of your choice according to your needs through remote control or the button on the bar.

It is a 400watt subwoofer and is almost 192 x 387 x 342 mm (W x H x D). The HT-G700 and HT-20R soundbars and subwoofers are the complementary music speakers along with the rear speakers that will create the home theatre experience in your TV lounge or rooms according to your wish. Also, check Sony S200F 2.1ch Soundbar.

With the self-quarantine prolonging, it seems as if all the music gadget manufactures are optimizing this opportunity to the fullest and launching the soundbars and the related products since they know it well that people are confined in their homes and would seek to enjoy their nighttime with movies.

And what better can they be with the creation of cinematic experience so that they do not miss a lot during this critical time?

Sony’s soundbar line-up with the introduction of HT-G700 is a direct competition to the Sonos Soundbar Arc with both priced around the same budget, only time will tell how customers will react to the distinct technologies embedded in these two bars.

While Sony is a go-to brand for many people when coming to gadgets, this soundbar is a bit challenging to comment on at the moment given the competition it will face.