IONLYlisten
Member
Announced in April 2024, this is probably the top of the line and Mark II upgrade to the HT-A9. Kinda shocked it got zero mentions on ASR. What do you think? Has anyone here used the set?
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Sony HT-A9M2 "Bravia Theater Quad"
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Announced in April 2024, this is probably the top of the line and Mark II upgrade to the HT-A9. Kinda shocked it got zero mentions on ASR. What do you think? Has anyone here used the set?
Yes, it is a bit strange that a widely applauded system is getting no reviews, opinions etc on this forum (or we're not looking at the right places?).
Maybe because it is, of course, a bit of a mixed bag in terms of goals. Namely a surround set aimed at the film-loving people, and by some trickery does play music rather well. So maybe the die-hard audio-fanatics just can't take it serious enough to even consider listening to it?
Totally understandable. But it does that two-sided job quite well I have to admit (for people that can't place and/or pay for a surround system PLUS a stereo-dedicated system next to each other). And I have to emphasize here as well that it is very enjoyable to listen to music that is mixed in a 360 way. Unfortunately though, the vast amount of my music collection is in stereo.
And it is here that the system is having a bit more problems to play it in a way that is doing justice to a proper stereo music experience. It isn't bad, and certainly as I have the SW5 subwoofer added, it has a full and rather wide sound-stage. You can play it through the two front speakers and sub, but also tweak that stage it a bit by activating gimmicks like the sound-field, voice mode (which makes everything more crispy sounding), elevating the height projection of the sound stage. All that is working. Greatly so for films, that is sometimes really immersive. But it's a bit less effective for listening purely to music alone.
Hard to put words on it but I'd say that stereo-music is missing the extra 'sparkle', 'finesse' and thus also creating a lack of precision in 'instrument 'placement' (in contrast with what is does so well in surround/360 mixes). But oddly enough, within that same stereo representation, there is a sense that the shortcomings are more a problem of being hidden than lacking, and would be possible to enhance with a better EQ.
So, as I play most music via a Digital Audio Player, that has a 10-band precision equalizer to tweak the sound output, what would be a real treat in my opinion, is when one of the audio experts on this forum would spend some effort in getting a special EQ setting for the Sony Quad system (incl the sub of course) to project music in a better way than it does now out of the box. The precise high/low-shelf set-ups are too complicated for me to find out without the possibility to do some audio measurements. But I am convinced it is sooo much worth the effort to set up this system in a way that benefits stereo-music listening, that I sincerely hope this gets pick up by one of this forum's experts
Thank you soo much in advance!
Maybe because it is, of course, a bit of a mixed bag in terms of goals. Namely a surround set aimed at the film-loving people, and by some trickery does play music rather well. So maybe the die-hard audio-fanatics just can't take it serious enough to even consider listening to it?
Totally understandable. But it does that two-sided job quite well I have to admit (for people that can't place and/or pay for a surround system PLUS a stereo-dedicated system next to each other). And I have to emphasize here as well that it is very enjoyable to listen to music that is mixed in a 360 way. Unfortunately though, the vast amount of my music collection is in stereo.
And it is here that the system is having a bit more problems to play it in a way that is doing justice to a proper stereo music experience. It isn't bad, and certainly as I have the SW5 subwoofer added, it has a full and rather wide sound-stage. You can play it through the two front speakers and sub, but also tweak that stage it a bit by activating gimmicks like the sound-field, voice mode (which makes everything more crispy sounding), elevating the height projection of the sound stage. All that is working. Greatly so for films, that is sometimes really immersive. But it's a bit less effective for listening purely to music alone.
Hard to put words on it but I'd say that stereo-music is missing the extra 'sparkle', 'finesse' and thus also creating a lack of precision in 'instrument 'placement' (in contrast with what is does so well in surround/360 mixes). But oddly enough, within that same stereo representation, there is a sense that the shortcomings are more a problem of being hidden than lacking, and would be possible to enhance with a better EQ.
So, as I play most music via a Digital Audio Player, that has a 10-band precision equalizer to tweak the sound output, what would be a real treat in my opinion, is when one of the audio experts on this forum would spend some effort in getting a special EQ setting for the Sony Quad system (incl the sub of course) to project music in a better way than it does now out of the box. The precise high/low-shelf set-ups are too complicated for me to find out without the possibility to do some audio measurements. But I am convinced it is sooo much worth the effort to set up this system in a way that benefits stereo-music listening, that I sincerely hope this gets pick up by one of this forum's experts
Thank you soo much in advance!
The other issue is to properly test it you need not only the unit and the separately available sub but also a compatible Sony TV to act as the centre channel.
So it’s the kind of thing that will probably sell quite a few as an add on to people who are buying new top end Bravia TVs but go entirely unnoticed elsewhere.
So it’s the kind of thing that will probably sell quite a few as an add on to people who are buying new top end Bravia TVs but go entirely unnoticed elsewhere.
Agree, I'm too far from any of you to lend my set. So it would be great if someone living closer could. But the Sony TV-combi/centre-speaker option is not the dealmaker here. On the contrary, the TV as centre-speaker option is more of a gimmick, which according to people able to test this, isn't even a good one. With the right calibrations the set manages to create a virtual centre sound that is really convincing, closing your eyes you could point it out straight before you. So beside the fact it is indeed a mixed bag, hopefully someone will be able to put it to the test properly, before drawing conclusions based on assumptions I think..