Sony Bravia Theater System 6 Review: Great Performance, Odd Design

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The system’s collection of 5.1 surround components includes a beefy subwoofer, two tall and musical surround speakers, and a small center soundbar that performs much better than you’d expect based on its thin frame and mundane design. The whole setup runs through the tubby sub, including all inputs and an amplifier box that acts as a bridge for the wired surround speakers.

The mostly wired configuration feels more Vizio than Sony, while its layout evokes ’90s A/V vibes. Without Wi-Fi, the System 6 is a pain to update and misses out on modern extras like smart assistants and Apple AirPlay, but features like Sony’s virtual 3D surround engine and controller app give you more to work with than vintage plug-and-play solutions. Most importantly, the System 6’s cinematic oomph is a blast for movies, gaming, and everything in between.

Home Theater in a (Big) Box

The System 6 may be all-in-one, but it’s still something of a bear to set up, starting with lugging the massive L-shaped box into your TV room. Flipping open the side reveals a sprawling collection of components, including five main pieces, dual power cables, and flat-wire cables for connecting the surrounds and main bar. It’s all pretty intuitive, but you’ll want to block out some solid setup time. Props to Sony for including the same attachable soundbar feet found in its flagship Bravia Theater 9 to help it sit above TV stands

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The Bravia Connect app walks you through the main setup, including ensuring the system properly reads your TV over HDMI eARC to control power and volume with your TV remote. Newer Bravia TV owners can also control some settings from the TV directly. The System 6 has its own remote, but the twix-like wand is only good for basic adjustments, with the app offering deeper settings like adjusting the velocity and distance of each component based on your sitting position.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Setting aside the frustrations of firmware failure, the System 6 was mostly a joy. It has taut detail, foundational bass, and surprisingly adept surround speakers. Even as 3D audio formats like Dolby Atmos increasingly monopolize the home theater conversation, the System 6 affirms the importance of real surround speakers over virtual ones. While upfiring speakers can be very effective with the right content, most effects remain at the front, sides, and back of the theater, or home theater, as the case may be.

The System 6 does a bang-up job immersing you in sound with fluid handoff between the bar and surrounds, and burly power from the sub that brings every explosion, gunshot, roaring engine, or rhythmic soundtrack home. The sub is the de facto leader and most impressive puzzle piece. It’s not as musical or articulate as the fancy Sonos Sub 4, sometimes getting too boomy, but turning it down a few notches worked wonders in my room.

The sub blends well with the bar, which takes on the upper register with notable panache for its size. You’ll hear some excellent touch to dialog and subtler effects, especially in the middle of the sound. The bar isn’t particularly lyrical or precise toward the top of the frequency spectrum, but it’s well tuned and serves its job admirably at the system’s center.

The System 6 doesn’t fully eschew 3D audio. It supports virtually every major sound format, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, and clicking the Soundfield button on the remote or app with supported content notably changes the vibe. The surround speakers push the sound forward to virtually mimic “sound objects” for a more spherical sound. You won’t hear pointed overhead effects like with true upfiring speakers, but it’s a nice option. You can even see the format change from 5.1 or 7.1 to Dolby Atmos or DTS:X with Soundfield engaged.

I don’t recommend using it for regular surround or stereo content, especially music, which is the System 6’s weak point. Streaming from your phone sounds good for most genres, but like a lot of surround configurations, the system is at its best when fed cinematic content, even if it’s just the laugh track in a sitcom or a well-mixed sporting event.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

While watching a golf tournament in 5.1, I was almost shocked at the near visceral recreation of the course’s atmospheric din, especially the singing bird near the production microphones that seemed to take up residency behind my couch. I had a similarly transportative experience playing the new co-op game Split Fiction, which served up a feast of potent effects, immersive environments, and traceable enemies to help my wife and me navigate the landscape.

Sony’s System 6 is more of a hassle than many of the best soundbars, and I’m still annoyed by my firmware failures. Conversely, for its nearly $800 cost, you could get a more traditional home theater setup, like this one from Klipsch. Still, the System 6 is more convenient and compact than multi-speaker setups, filling its own niche with thrilling cinematics in a fun and approachable package. Sometimes it pays to zig when everybody else zags. If you are after an aesthetic and great-sounding system for your living room, it’s worth considering.