Tag Archives: Virtually

Sony HT-G700 review: practically irresistible

"The Sony HT-G700 remains competitive thanks to its compact design and virtual surround sound."

• Easy setup

• Compact design

• Excellent sound for music

• Effective virtual Dolby Atmos

• No wi-fi connectivity

• Not quite as impressive as real surround sound

Sony has contracted its new soundbar to do the impossible: create the immersive experience of a home theater without the many speakers that normally work together to deliver that kind of sound. To increase the challenge, Sony tried to do so at a reasonably affordable price.

With the HT-G700, the company almost made it. While the 3.1-channel soundbar has its physical limitations, it has impressive under-the-hood technology that not only allows Sony to restore surround sound and even Dolby Atmos, but also helps make this bar sound great small budget delivers package.

Out of the box

There is usually a lot to unpack with these soundbar systems, but not with the HT-G700. The entire system simply consists of the soundbar and a wireless subwoofer. No rear speakers need to be unpacked and no speaker cables need to be untangled. Apart from the included accessories such as a remote control, an HDMI cable, a quick setup guide and a user guide, there's not much else.

Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

For the minimalist who prefers good sound and less elbow grease, which is required to set up a traditionally solid audio setup, the uncomplicated setup is definitely a good thing. As simple as connecting this system to someone who literally sets up sound bars for a living, connecting the HT-G700 is so easy for less experienced people.

Both the soundbar and the sub require power, and the soundbar must be connected to your display via HDMI or an optical audio cable. That's so. The subwoofer will automatically connect to your bar, and Sony will give instructions on how to manually pair the two if it doesn't. The HT-G700 has no Wi-Fi connectivity, so there is no need to download an app or configure updates. At a time when everything is becoming smarter and more connected, including sound bars, the HT-G700 is a modern representation of the plug-and-play systems of yesteryear.

design

It is the unofficial official stance at Digital Trends that the ideal soundbar blends aesthetically into your existing entertainment ensemble instead of taking on the role of the spotlight stealer. In this case, the HT-G700 passes this test with flying colors.

Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

Both the bar and subwoofer have a sharp black coating that helps them disappear when the lights go out for the movie night. Apart from the front panel of the soundbar, which comes to life when you adjust the volume or when you call up a setting, this system takes a well into the background of a dark room.

The soundbar itself hardly differs from comparable alternatives. At 38.58 inches long, it's slightly longer than Vizio's $ 500 Dolby Atmos bar, and roughly the same height at just over 2 inches. However, the sturdy housing of the subwoofer with front connection protrudes and weighs 16 pounds in contrast to the more compact 10-pound woofer from Vizio.

There are three drivers in the bar that represent the left, middle and right channel. There are no loud speakers, and as mentioned, there are no wireless rear speakers to speak of. From a physical point of view, it can only technically produce true 3.1 sound, but thanks to a fascinating technology, this bar can at least imitate a much more extensive experience.

Dolby Atmos-ish

You cannot scroll through the HT-G700 product page without repeatedly mentioning "7.1.2-channel surround sound". As already mentioned, in reality you will not get 7.1.2 without two rear loudspeaker pairs and either height channels or high-powered drivers that bounce the sound off the ceiling towards your ears.

Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

The reason why Sony can make these claims is because of two technologies under the umbrella of "Immersive Audio Enhancement". Sony's Vertical Surround Engine processes the sound to virtually add height to a sound field, according to the Sony manual, while a technology called "S-Force Pro Front Surround" does the job of creating the illusion of surround speakers.

While the HT-G700 can accept a variety of audio formats – from Dolby Digital to Dolby Atmos to DTS: X – it can only produce these formats virtually using its processing technology. The bar automatically processes Dolby Atmos or DTS: X content to achieve this effect, but Sony doesn't stop there. According to Sony, the HT-G700 can even scale up stereo audio to its virtual 7.1.2 sound by pressing the Immersive AE button on the bar's remote control.

It's a little underhanded by Sony, as the average person may not dive as deep to affect the sound capabilities of this bar. However, I'm going to give Sony a pass because the HT-G700 creates an experience in one minute that is credible enough that most people don't care anyway.

Connections and functions

Other than its expansive and somewhat confusing relationship with audio formats, the HT-G700 doesn't have many other bells and whistles. It has an HDMI input and an HDMI output, the latter supporting both ARC and eARC to optimize data exchange between the bar and your TV. There is also an optical audio connection for older televisions.

Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

You can also connect the soundbar to your TV via Bluetooth, although this configuration only gives you stereo sound. I'm also worried about the noticeable delay between audio and video in this setup and would recommend saving the effort and sticking to a physical connection.

This Bluetooth 5 technology is best reserved for pairing a mobile device for music playback. Surprisingly, Sony has quite limited this bar when it comes to supporting audio codecs via Bluetooth, with only AAC and SBC formats to mention. In particular, codecs like aptX or even the LDAC technology from Sony are missing.

You have to live with that though, as Bluetooth is your best (and essentially only outside of streaming from a TV app) way to easily play music. With many bars connected these days (the new Sonos Arc is the industry leader in this regard, but even the Vizio bar has Chromecast built-in), the HT-G700 is a little disappointing when it comes to the world of Wi-Fi. Despite the advances that Bluetooth is making in quality, native streaming from a speaker or soundbar is still the best way to hear, and the fact that Sony doesn't offer you this option in a $ 500 bar is disappointing .

Powerful for music

If you're reading this review, you're probably interested in the HT-G700, mostly because of the cinematic experience that Sony advertised it to be. After all, almost everything about this soundbar points first to films and then to everything else.

Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

However, here is a nice advantage: The HT-G700 is also ideal for listening to music. I should have expected that, given the pedigree that Sony has in terms of audio. Still, making music sound good is not an easy task when you're working with smaller drivers housed in the same case.

With the HT-G700, it not only works, but also exceptionally. With every genre I've tested over a couple of weeks – from Puddle of Mudds She Hates Me to Eric Churchs Like A Wrecking Ball, with some funnier selections like MIA's Paper Planes – the bar stayed impressively clear and impressive. Overall, a pleasant sound signature.

The submarine is also a powerful little workhorse. It won't exactly replace the booming authority of a full-size home theater subwoofer, but it has adequately filled the bottom end of most of the tracks I've sent it. You could assume that sometimes it is too bass-heavy, although you can adjust the sublevel using the bar's remote control.

In this sense, there are countless easily accessible audio settings on the remote control. The more invested enthusiast will love this because they have the opportunity to tinker with each of the many options to get the preferred hearing result. It is far too easy for me to fall into a rabbit hole full of options and preferences. There is a music preset on the remote control itself that would do miracles to most people when disturbed.

Testing the virtual cinema

When it was time to finally see what the processing skills in this soundbar really do, I called old believers: that is, I referred to our list of the best Dolby Atmos films and got to work.

In Pops Deadpool and immediately, the HT-G700 made an impressive film debut. During the opening scene of the film, in which the Merc crashed through the roof of an SUV to arrest a henchman, my poor dog was shaken awake. For him and me, the soundbar made us believe for a moment that the glass-breaking sequence took place directly above us.

Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

As was to be noted, this was with the Immersive AE button activated. As with the previous music, there are many settings for watching movies. There is a Dolby Speaker Virtualizer that, according to the Sony manual, "enhances the surround and treble speaker channels to achieve an immersive and enveloping virtual surround effect" and a setting to enable DTS Virtual: X.

Other presets are Voice (extends the dialogue range), Night (reduces the dynamics of the sound for late night viewing) and Cinema. For something even more optimized, there is an automatic preset that switches between standard, music and cinema sound depending on the content. It was interesting to navigate through these settings and notice the effects of the sound, which were sometimes subtle and sometimes less. But again, this can be a lot to deal with for the average soundbar buyer, and the default presets will likely be enough.

To get back to how the HT-G700 actually sounds like content, here's my setting after hours of watching movies and TV, including everything from Logan to Family Guy to Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope: This is a soundbar that will take serious steps Increase your audio experience, but it has its limits.

As mentioned earlier, the subwoofer delivers solid bass, and the center speaker does an excellent job of keeping up with the left and right channels. The processing technology we cover is surprisingly good, which means that most listeners generally get the cinema experience they want. However, compared to a similar product with actually upward-facing drivers and rear speakers, Sony's limits are exposed. The virtualization of Dolby Atmos surround sound simply cannot be compared to the actual offer. The Vizio system offers real immersion at the same price.

Our opinion

The Sony HT-G700 is value for money and offers great sound for music and movies in a minimalist package. While its technology commendably compensates for the lack of true surround sound, it doesn't fully compensate for the missing components.

Are there any better alternatives?

For standard audio, I would probably prefer the HT-G700 to Vizio's alternatives. But the $ 500 SB36512-F6 or the slightly more expensive $ 700 SB36514-G6 would probably be better Dolby Atmos options for a limited budget. However, these have rear speakers that may not be suitable for certain setups.

The connected, more music-friendly option is the Sonos Arc for $ 799, which still has Dolby Atmos, but in particular has no subwoofer. This is an add-on for $ 700 that brings Sonos to the premium buying area.

How long it will take?

Sony has a long tradition of making and sticking to quality products and I wouldn't expect anything else from the HT-G700.

Should you buy it

Yes. There may be a better Dolby Atmos bar for the money, but by effectively simulating this sound, the Sony HT-G700 remains competitive with a more compact system.

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