Sony HT-Z9F soundbar review: The power of Dolby Atmos in your living room

The audio quality of the HT-Z9F is top notch. It is bigger and more wholehearted than a lot of other soundbars I have tried.

The entire rig of the soundbar, sub-woofer and rear speakers connect wirelessly and can be controlled with the same remote. However, the rear speakers needed a bit of manual intervention to pair with the main unit. Otherwise, this is a seamless process. The soundbar comes with a remote that controls all the units also give you presets. You can use the Sony Music app on your phone to yoke Alexa to the HT-Z9F and let it steam music online.

The audio quality of the HT-Z9F is top notch. It is bigger and more wholehearted than a lot of other soundbars I have tried. I would attribute a lot of this to the sub-woofer, which really packs a punch. In fact, the first time I played it in full volume, the window panes of my apartment cried out. I thought it was some procession on the road, as you can’t really make out whether the bass was coming from inside.

The soundbar comes with a remote that controls all the units also give you presets.

The HT-Z9F is perfect for watching movies on your television — maybe not the really scary ones. Because thanks to the Dolby Atmos in the HT-Z9F, the audio quality of this is mind blowing. And with me adding the rear speakers also good a surround effect.

Dobly Atmos packs the ability to move sound around the room, usually with an array of speakers. However, with just a 5.1 set up, the HT-Z9F still manages and effect that is close, if not the same as you would get in a theatre. There is a vertical sound mode, where you feel as if the soubdbar has been able to prop up a virtual wall from which it was throwing audio elements around the room. I tried some test audio files on YouTube and the effect was amazing. And when switching to a Netflix, just the opening jingle was good enough to tell you what this speaker packs.

But that does not mean the same is a great experience while listening to audio. I streamed my favourite numbers from Spotify and the experience was a bit flat, as if I was bathing in bass. This is where the presets on the remote come in handy and you can hit the Music mode to get an audio profile that is more attuned for listening to songs. There are other presets for news, sports and game.

There is a vertical sound mode, where you feel as if the soubdbar has been able to prop up a virtual wall from which it was throwing audio elements around the room.

The HT-Z9F is a full-fledged audio hub and can connect to all audio sources in your house thanks to multiple HDMI inputs and Bluetooth which I used it to stream songs from my phone. With the right presets you can really enjoy whatever the type of music you are listening to.

At Rs 62,990, the HT-Z9F is a bit on the pricey side. But then if you have invested in a good large screen television and love to watch movies at home, then this is maybe your best bet. After all, you are brining Dolby Atmos home.