Sony HT-G700
The HT-G700 leads its features on delivering “cinematic surround sound” from a 3.1-channel Dolby Atmos/DTS:X soundbar and wireless subwoofer. Physically those three channels face forward, and have nothing to do with either surround or the height effects usually associated with the audio formats of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Instead of adding extra drivers for those channels, the Sony bar aims to deliver both traditional and vertical surround via the magic of audio processing. This is a rarely successful strategy. But if anyone can, perhaps Sony can.
Equipment
Sony’s soundbar is quietly stylish, being 98cm long with a matte grey top surface and a front metal front grille which is punched through with a host of holes (our back-of-beermat estimate: 52,684 of them). Soundbars should be visually unobtrusive, while audibly obtrusive: ear-friendliness is essential, eye-friendliness secondary, and Sony ticks those boxes here nicely. The bar’s height of 64mm will also keep it clear of all but the most low-slung of today’s TVs, and it has a laudable collection of IR passthrough transmitters on the rear, so even it does block your TV’s infrared receiver,
