Sony Theater Bar 6: https://geni.us/GC-SonyTheaterBar6
Sony Theater System 6: https://geni.us/GC-SonyTheaterSystem6
Sony Bravia 5 TV: https://geni.us/GC-SonyBravia5TV
So this is the Sony Theater system 6 and this is the Sony Theater Bar 6. And even though these two systems have very similar names… they are very different from one another. Speaker set up wise and especially connectivity wise. Now both of these systems are going to work well with any tv out there and they are a great value… but for a slightly better experience you do want to use them with a Sony tv. Nonetheless today we’re going to compare these two systems to one another and lets see which one is right for you.
Regarding pricing, these two systems aren’t bad, the Sony theater bar 6 has a retail price of $700 but it likes to go on sale for $550, not bad at all. Where as with the Sony Theater system 6, this one has a retail price of $800 but it likes to go on sale for $700, again not bad. So if you want to pick either of these two speakers up they’ll be linked down below or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button, and if you want to further support the channel then you can always watch some of the related videos in the description below.
So first we have to talk about what comes included in the box with these systems and especially connectivity, cause they’re a lot more different than you’d think. Now the Bar 6 comes included with a Soundbar and a subwoofer… very standard. And with the Bar 6, the soundbar plugs into power and the subwoofer plugs into power and you plug in the soundbar to your tv via your HDMI port. And with this subwoofer, since its wireless you can place it anywhere that you want. All of this is very basic.
Where as with the System 6, this system comes included with a soundbar, plus a subwoofer, and this subwoofer is larger than the subwoofer that comes with the Bar 6… and this system also comes included with a pair of rear speakers. However, the connectivity of this system has some major pros and cons. Now the very big pro about this system is that even though you have a total of 4 components, you only need 2 power outlets. One power outlet goes to the Subwoofer… and to power your soundbar, you plug it into the subwoofer. And two power the rear speakers, you have a wireless bass that plugs into power, and then you plug in your two satellite speakers into this bass. But the con here is, with the subwoofer, you have to take into consideration the placement of it, cause your HDMI port is on the subwoofer. So if you have a Sony tv like we do here, you’re going to have to place the subwoofer to the left of your tv. And with the two rear speakers, you’re going to have to run some wires under your carpet. But at least these wires are thin. But most importantly, you’re not going to be able to hide this subwoofer behind the couch like I usually do cause it does need to be near both your tv and soundbar.
And also with both of these systems, they each only have a single HDMI port that goes to your tv. Unfortunately you can’t directly plug in a playstation or blue ray player into it either one like you can with some other more premium systems like lets say the Bravia Theater Quad. Also, even though these are mid tier Sony systems… unfortunately hey do not have acoustic center sync. Which I do feel is a big let down, cause if you were to use these systems with a Sony tv like the Bravia 5 that we have here, you won’t be able to use your tv’s built in speakers as a center channel. instead your Bravia TV’s speaker will go to waste unless you were to go with at least the Bravia Bar 8 and Up.
Nonetheless, both of these systems are going to work well no matter what tv you use them with, however you will get a slightly better user experience if you use them with a Sony TV like we have here cause you will be able to more easily adjust their settings directly from the TV its self by just using the Sony remote. Which is what I usually do. Or you can always use the Bravia connect app, and from here you can also adjust your settings, and finally both of these systems do come included with remotes to adjust their settings, but lets be honest, I never use these remotes. Also keep in mind, neither of these two systems have airplay support so you can’t stream to them, but I don’t think that matters cause if I am going to stream to my soundbar, I usually just stream to the TV… but both of these systems do have bluetooth which I feel is important cause this way you can share your sound system without having to share your wifi password.
And also very quickly, I do want to point out that if you plan on wall mounting these soundbars, you just need some screws, there are no proprietary mounting brackets like with some brands out there that are sold separately, Bose and Sonos… and these soundbars are relatively light… which I know sounds very basic, but just given at how poorly built these new construction homes are and “Luxury Apartments” are… you don’t have to worry about these sound bars taring down your walls. But personally I am against wall mounting TV’s… I prefer having a stand.
But with all of that out of the way, lets talk about sound. Now when it comes to speaker set up. With the Bar 6 this soundbar has a total of 5 speakers, three that shoot out the front and two that shoot upwards. And thanks to the upwards firing drivers on this soundbar, the bar 6 has true dolby atmospheres support and it has a good sense of verticality. But unfortunalty, this system does not have any tweeters. And like I mentioned earlier, this system does come included with a subwoofer, and this is a 17 millimeter frontward firing subwoofer with frontward firing exhaust ports. So you’re going to get some very clean resonance in your bass.
And then with the system 6, this soundbar has a total of 3 frontward firing speakers, and two frontward firing speakers… but unfortunately there are no upwards firing speakers, so you’re not going to have true dolby atmospheres support. However this system still sounds open thanks to the satellite speakers which each have a driver and a tweeter, and we also have our subwoofer which is larger and heavier than the sub that comes with the Bar 6 cause this subwoofer has a diameter of 20 millimeters that also has a frontward firing exhausts and also proves that Size does matter.
But now we’re going to go into the sound test, now both of these systems are playing at 70% volume with their bass set to 5. And the built in speakers on the Sony Bravia 5 that we have here will be playing at max volume. And keep in mind, even though these are Sony systems with a Sony tv… they don’t have acoustic center sync, so the built in speakers in the Bravia 5 will not be working when the systems are playing.
Soundtest
So first off, obviously any soundbar is going to sound better than your tv’s built in speakers. Your TV most likely has a pair of downward firing speakers that bounce sound off of the table, they don’t get all that loud, and when the bass gets going then it can become a rattling mess. However if you were to go with a more premium TV like lets say the Bravia 5 like we have here, distortion isn’t a problem… however you are going to be better off getting a soundbar cause these built in speakers are going to be mainly for hearing dialog with.
Now when it comes to sound, these two systems do have their key differences. Now first off there’s the bass. Since the sub on the System 6 is larger and heavier than the sub on the Bar 6… the system 6 does have more bass. This is going to be the most obvious difference between these two systems. But both of these systems do give you a lot of rich resonance cause they aren’t downward firing… so their bass doesn’t become over powering like with lets say JBL’s downward firing subwoofers. But with the System 6, you are going to get more than you would with the Bar 6.
But more importantly when it comes to sound quality, with the Bar 6, this system does have true dolby atmospheres support and has a good sense or verticaitliy to it cause this system actually has upwards firing drivers. But my main critique about this system is that the highs might not sound as defined as id want to to… and vocals might not pop as much as id want them to cause the bar 6 doesn’t have any tweeters.
But then there is the System 6, now unfortauntly this system does not have true dolby atmospheres support cause it doesn’t have any upwards firing drivers and this system doesn’t have a sense of verticality like with the Bar 6… but this system does sound more open cause it does have those satellite speakers. So you’re going to have true surround sound. Not this fake wall bouncing surround sound that the marketing department likes to show off. and also, voices are a little more promiannte on this system cause there are a total of 4 tweeters here so the highs have better definition.
And finally when it comes to max volume performance, both of these systems are going to have no problem filling a medium sized living room with sound and they are both good for house parties… but the System 6 does get a little louder cause it does have additional tweeters, it has extra satellite speakers and it also has a larger and heavier subwoofer.
But with all of that being said, both of these systems are good values and they both sound good. But they do have their major differences and they both have their pros and cons. With the System 6, this set up is louder and it has more bass, but more importantly dialog is more pronounced thanks to the tweeters and you get true surround sound thanks to the satellite speakers. But sadly you don’t get true dolby atmospheres support. Also you do have to be aware of this system’s power set up. The cool thing is you just need to power outlets to power the whole thing… the only thing is, subwoofer placement is very specific for this system cause the subwoofer has to connect to power, the soundbar, and the tv. But then there’s the Bar 6, this is an all around good performing system, and you can place this subwoofer where ever you want. The only thing is, dialog isn’t as defined as id want it to be cause there are no tweeters. And keep in mind, even though these are Sony systems, they don’t have acoustic center sync, which I do feel is a big let down if you have a Sony Bravia 5 TV and up.