Here's our full review of the Sony HT 09 home theatre system. (Image Source: Sony) Despite my love for the game, I have not been able to watch as much tennis as I would have liked. However, this Sunday was different and I was lucky enough to have witnessed one of the biggest comebacks in Australian Open history when Rafael Nadal fought from two sets down to win the championship. But there is another reason I will not forget this game so easily and that is the Sony HT-A9 home theatre system that literally transported me to the Rod Laver Arena for the Men’s Finals.
The Sony HT-A9 is the sort of home theatre system you get when you are passionate about your cinema and your music. It is a premium product in every sense of the term, which also means this is not for everyone. There is a small controller unit that connects wirelessly with four speakers that you keep around the room and the SA-SW5 sub-woofer unit to create a 7.1.4 channel audio output.
Set up seamless as all the speakers and sub-woofer link up with the central controls automatically. The control unit is connected to the TV via the Arc HDMI port and I could control the volume via my OnePlus TV remote. The unit has its own remote too and you can see the setting on the small LED pane of the control unit.
There is one thing to keep in mind though. You need separate power points for all the speakers here. I was luck that my living room had the extra points needed. But I know most houses will find this a challenge.
Note that you need separate power points for all the speakers here. (Image Source: The Indian Express/ Nandagopal Rajan) The speakers need to be placed as marked on the units — I put two beside the TV along with the largish sub-woofer unit and two behind my sofa. With the front right unit, I did get the sense that something was interfering with wireless connection at times. This was fixed when I made sure it was in front of the control unit and not slightly behind.
Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping takes a few minutes to configure as you set up. It is good that on the TV, the HDMI source port shows all the options on offer as well as the configurations. You can directly connect Spotify or even stream via Bluetooth from your phone to the Sony HT-A9. I did not need to set up Spotify as my TV was already logged into the streaming service. There is also the 360 Reality Audio app, but you need to pay for the service for anything other than the demo.
The Sony HT 09 features a small controller unit that connects wirelessly with four speakers that you keep around the room. (Image Source: Sony) And I have to confess the audio quality was so amazing and a refreshing change from all the small Bluetooth speakers I have been trying out in recent times that I literally played all my favourite songs in the 10 days or so I was reviewing this unit. Having 7.1.4 channel output means the composition gets the breathing space to move different instruments to different channels, placing them in the positions they are recorded it.
Playing a soft melody like Nanavere, I could hear Tessa Chavara and Vipin Lal’s vocal floating over the room as the sitar was on the front right and the guitar on the left. The Dolby Atmos kicks in with the soft percussion booming over the room like a cloud. The overall experience is almost ethereal.
It is not that the back speakers are not working, as I realised during a rerun of Saving Private Ryan. In the very first scene itself, I could feel like I was on Normandy beach, explosions rocking every inch of my living room. Then, watching some other movie, the protagonist moved out of the screen, but I could hear her speak in another part of the living room as the character left in the frame kept looking towards her. This is surround sound at its best, with a clear sense of space.
Here’s what the Sony HT 09 home theatre system interface looks like. (Image Source: The Indian Express/ Nandagopal Rajan) Sony HT-A9 offers a lot of control on your music from presets on the remote to volume adjustments just on the back speakers or tweaking of bass range. My favourite remote button was the immersive AE which is like pulling up a dome of sound over yourself and best when you are watching movies at home.
The HT-A9 + SW5 combo which I tested is priced Rs 1,97,980 and is certainly not for everyone. But if you are setting up a home theatre system at home to go with your large screen television or 4K projector then this is a worthy investment. However, keep in mind you have the wiring and the space for something like this before taking the plunge or your house will be a tangle of wires. For me, this is way beyond my budget and will for now be another addition to my bucket list.
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