During its presentation at CES 2018, the Sony HT-ZF9 soundbar made an impression thanks to two characteristics: its compatibility with the two main 3D sound formats (Dolby Atmos and DTS:X) and its ambition to reproduce the voices of height of these formats without dedicated loudspeakers, not even in reflection on the ceiling!
Convincing Dolby Atmos/DTS:X with a compact soundbar: impossible, do you think? Let Sony convince you otherwise. Its HT-ZF9 soundbar offers a surround amazing virtual which, yes, includes many height effects that are certainly discreet, but present and indisputably beneficial for sound immersion. Its rendering certainly lacks musicality, but on the other hand it benefits from a hair-raising dynamics, which makes it a product of choice for lovers of great auditory spectacle.
Strong points
- Dolby Atmos AND DTS:X compatible!
- Big dynamics and power reserve.
- Remarkably contained distortion.
- Responsive subwoofer.
- Excellent quality virtual surround.
- Verticality of 3D audio formats discreet, but present and immersive.
- Two HDMI inputs, Dolby Atmos compatible output on ARC channel.
- TV interface.
- Small footprint.
Weak points
- Sharp sound, not very musical.
- “Sweetspot” for the narrow virtual surround (need to be seated facing the bar).
- No UPnP/DLNA compatibility.
NB: The reported price drop is calculated by comparing the lowest price of the day with the average of the lowest prices charged by all merchants for the product last month, with security rules to exclude prices from shops whose the VAT policy is not clear (known as “grey” shops, typically in the case of imports from China).
Alternatively
Yamaha signs a new success with this YSP-2700 soundbar. The manufacturer sublimates its YSP-2500 by further improving the sound reproduction and adding more features thanks to Wi-Fi and multi-room. The sound projection, still stunning, offers us an unparalleled immersive experience in the category of soundbars with a subwoofer. Too bad the Bluetooth integration was a bit sloppy.