‘Home audio market is bigger in India compared to other Asian countries: Sony executive

The Japanese consumer electronics giant is targeting premium consumers with its new A-series sound bars, consisting of HT-A3000 and HT-A5000. The HT-A3000 is a 3.1-channel bar with a 3.1 sound bar with left, centre, and right channels, plus built-in dual subwoofers. It takes advantage of Sony’s 360 spatial sound mapping and sound field optimisation technologies, which basically customise the sound for your specific living room using microphones and create “phantom” speakers based on the environment’s acoustic profile. The bar comes with immersive Dolby Atmos sound and includes support for Chromecast, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and Bluetooth audio playback.

Sony is known for its home audio products. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

The other sound bar Sony is launching is the HT-A5000, which is a 5.1.2 sound bar. It sports three discrete drivers for left, centre, and right channel duty, two up-firing speakers for height effects, and two bass drivers. The HT-A5000 supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive audio formats as well as hi-res audio and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio. The HT-A5000 is a step above the A3000 and both new sound bars join the HT-A7000 which is a 7.1.2 system and costs Rs 179,980 in the market.

The Sony HT-A5000 starts at Rs 1,11,980 and the HT-A3000 retails for Rs 83,980. The price includes an additional wireless sub-woofer (SA-SW5/SA-SW3) consumers can pair with the soundbar.

Sony has always been known for its premium audio products, but lately, the company isn’t shy about telling its customers that its Bravia TVs and sound bars complement each other, a page taken from Apple’s playbook. “We [Sony] are trying to deliver more synchronisation between Bravia TV and the sound bar in order to give a 360-degree and more rich and immersive experience to the premium customer which we are targeting,” he said. “We are targeting one or two per cent of the market with our A-series sound bars,” Toyoda added.

That being said, for Sony, a major driver for sales still continues to come from mid-to-high home audio products. For Toyoda, a sound bar is an entry product into creating a home theatre system. Whether a user buys the HT-A3000 or A5000, users have a choice to choose a dedicated subwoofer and Atmos-enabled rear speakers. But on the whole, a sound bar is a complete home audio product that is good enough to create surround sound and enjoy movies on the big screen at home.

“We are already building a subwoofer inside the sound bar along with a surround engine therefore, you don’t need multiple speakers. But you can always upgrade and add more speakers but that’s up to the customer,” he explained.