Sony HT-S2000 review

Now at this point of the review we often struggle to make the individual components sync up and talk to each other, but Sony has taken care of that. The Sony Home Connect App simplifies things and automatically detects the speakers and units. The whole process takes merely two minutes and you're up and running without any complications and more importantly frustrations. The app offers handy settings for bass control as well.

With the soundbar set to the Dolby Atmos setting in the app we put on Love Death+Robots Jibaro. The Sony doesn’t waste time in making its presence felt. The heft and weight is apparent and so are the higher frequencies that are judged very well! The clinging and rattling of the jewelry and the deathly scream from the siren of myth really captivate you into the scene. Sony has kitted the bar out with a Vertical Surround Engine and S-Force Pro Front Surround. It’s supposed to give you a sense of height channels but it widens the field and as a result some of the definition is lost. Expecting 'proper' sound to appear magically thanks to software trickery from a place where there is no speaker seems to still be a pipe dream, but we commend the efforts. We like our sound defined and hence we stick with the basics. 

What we really loved was the nuances in the muffled sound from the soldier’s perspective. The rear channels do a great job of swirling the sound around you without sounding out of place or timbre. There’s no upward firing drivers here, so placement of the surrounds at an angle may make a bit of a difference.

The beauty of the Sony HT-S200 is the freedom to step-up and invest according to the space you have. If you have a really tiny space to fill, adding the rear speakers might not be ideal. But if you have a bigger space (200sqft) it makes sense to invest in the entire shebang! The rear channels also have an impact on the nuances of the mid range as dialogues are more pronounced and don’t get enveloped in the lower frequencies! But the good part is that you don’t need to buy the package as a whole so it is up to you to build on it!