Taking that feedback positively and getting to work, three years later, Sony has decided to up the ante with the Bravia Theatre Quad, the successor to the A9 with a fresh form factor. This essentially is the MkII version and it retains the same formula of four wireless speakers that connect to a control box along with an optional wireless subwoofer. Now though, Sony has flattened the satellite speakers to make them exponentially more decor-friendly. Their squarish design, light fabric mesh and a mere 2.1in depth make them perfect for wall-mounting, even passing off as wall decor. For our test though, we used the bundled table stands which too, are elegantly designed to give the speakers a floating silhouette. Better cable management for the power cable should’ve been thought of though.
The satellite speakers themselves are a completely new, ground-up design with a 3-way front-firing speaker system and a top-firing full-range driver to handle the simulated surround duties. Specially designed woofers with shallow mounting depth and high excursion ensure that even without the subwoofer, you can use it as a full-range system, but we would strongly recommend against it. The SW-5 that Sony sent us along with the Bravia Theatre Quad is the larger of the two models and it’s 7in woofer is more than capable to rock even a 350sq.ft room without breaking a sweat. Without the subwoofer, it’s only like driving a sports car on bicycle tyres.
Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping has been around for awhile and its implementation on the A9 is what really gave it the edge over other similar systems. On the Bravia Theatre Quad, there have been some enhancements. Most notable is the Bravia Connect app that is a step-by-step guide on getting the system set up and running along with room calibration specific to the acoustics and design of your space. Brilliantly designed and executed, even by non-geek standards, the app handholds you through the entire process and though Sony may claim it takes “seconds”, you’ll need to set aside 20 minutes from start to finish.
As before, an Apple TV-sized box manages all the physical connections to and from the source and TV, which includes an HDMI in/out, S-Centre and Ethernet. It’s fairly basic and in fact, a bit too basic. The front panel display is just a single line scrolling display that shows visual representation of the remote actions you make but its too tiny to read across the room. Also, no OSD support means you have rely more on the app for visual confirmation of actions if you have the control box out of view, in a cabinet or behind the TV itself.
Voice Zoom 3 is an evolution of a much loved feature and now uses AI to detect voices in a mix and bring them to the fore, mitigating the need to increase the volume just to decipher that scene where Sylvester Stallone whispers into the man’s ear after pulling his heart out with his bare hands. A special bonus for owners of newer Sony BRAVIA TVs is the S-sync feature that uses a single cable connection with the TV to use the TV speakers as a centre speaker, augmenting the phantom creation of a phantom image. This really helps in anchoring voices and dialogue to the screen and shouldn’t be ignored if you have a Sony TV with this port. Sony has deliberately kept the remote controller small and simple because once you have the system set-up, there isn’t much to be played around with. The app does let you control the level of the rear speakers’ output on the fly while the physical remote has hot keys for bass level, voice, sound field and night mode. The only real gripe here is the lack of backlighting on the remote control, forcing you to reach for the phone and the app until muscle memory kicks in.