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Sony OLED AF9

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EthuCrorie1
New
April 2019
April 2019

Sony OLED AF9

Hello everybody.

I am getting an AF9 and I was wondering whether people have views on whether it is best to use the TV speakers or run the sound through a CT390 sound bar that I already have.

Any thoughts?

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dutchice
Expert
April 2019
April 2019

Hi @EthuCrorie1,

Welcome to the Sony Online Community and congratulations on your Sony OLED TV! The AF9 is the first (3rd Gen) Android TV by Sony built on the latest hardware platform which in many aspects delivers an entirely different user experience to previous models. As such you can expect that the 6 (13 watts) speakers arranged in 3 channels and coupled by the 2 (10 watts) subwoofers will surely not disappoint you. In fact the clarity of sound due to the large panel surface will deliver a much richer sound when compared to the CT390 sound bar.

Note however that to enjoy the true Dolby ATMOS experience you will require height speakers, as these are essential to deliver accurate object based mapping in three-dimensional soundstage. Most current sound bars work based on phase shifting to simulate the effect of physical height speakers. This comes with huge restrictions (e.g. extremely reduced target area for the virtualisation to be effective) which in practical scenarios (standard living room) will not be able to reproduce the accurate object based mapping which Dolby ATMOS requires. Even flagship sound bars which have upward-firing speakers and work based on reverberation lack in practicality the capability to produce accurate object based mapping when compared to a pair of basic height speakers.

 

So to enjoy the best Dolby ATMOS sound, upgrading from a sound bar to (at least) 5.1.2 physical speakers powered by an AVR will deliver you by far more than any sound bar ever would be able to.

 

Cheers,
Dutchice

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profile.country.GB.title
dutchice
Expert
April 2019
April 2019

Hi @EthuCrorie1,

Welcome to the Sony Online Community and congratulations on your Sony OLED TV! The AF9 is the first (3rd Gen) Android TV by Sony built on the latest hardware platform which in many aspects delivers an entirely different user experience to previous models. As such you can expect that the 6 (13 watts) speakers arranged in 3 channels and coupled by the 2 (10 watts) subwoofers will surely not disappoint you. In fact the clarity of sound due to the large panel surface will deliver a much richer sound when compared to the CT390 sound bar.

Note however that to enjoy the true Dolby ATMOS experience you will require height speakers, as these are essential to deliver accurate object based mapping in three-dimensional soundstage. Most current sound bars work based on phase shifting to simulate the effect of physical height speakers. This comes with huge restrictions (e.g. extremely reduced target area for the virtualisation to be effective) which in practical scenarios (standard living room) will not be able to reproduce the accurate object based mapping which Dolby ATMOS requires. Even flagship sound bars which have upward-firing speakers and work based on reverberation lack in practicality the capability to produce accurate object based mapping when compared to a pair of basic height speakers.

 

So to enjoy the best Dolby ATMOS sound, upgrading from a sound bar to (at least) 5.1.2 physical speakers powered by an AVR will deliver you by far more than any sound bar ever would be able to.

 

Cheers,
Dutchice

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