2023-07-29 18:00:27
Dolby Atmos has become the marketing argument to be affixed almost systematically to any new soundbar. This format, which allows sounds to circulate above the listener, is however very difficult to implement in a sound bar, as it is difficult to give the listener the illusion that the sound comes from the ceiling, with a speaker housed under his television.
In fact, soundbars and wireless speakers capable of creating the famous vertical ambience of Dolby Atmos are very rare. Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus, Sonos Era 300 or JBL Boombox 3 Wi-Fi achieve this to some extent, with a host of all-round oriented transducers combined with sophisticated digital audio signal processing. In the absence of vertical transducers, the Sony HT-S2000 bar seems to be on the wrong track to meet the challenge of Dolby Atmos. However, it has other qualities.
Sony HT-S2000 Datasheet
Model Sony HT-S2000 Dimensions 80 cm x 12.4 cm x 6.4 cm Power 250 watts Spatial audio Dolby Atmos Number of HDMI ports 1 HDMI e-ARC Yes Wifi Unknown Subwoofer Integrated Rear speakers No Product details
The sound bar tested was lent by the manufacturer.
Sony HT-S2000 Design
The Sony HT-S2000 soundbar has classic lines with slightly rounded edges. Its front face is covered with an acoustic grille that hides the transducers and white LED display, while the rest of the speaker body is in matte black plastic and grained on the rear face. The upper face hosts a touch control zone on the right, with the possibility of adjusting the volume or choosing an input. The connectors are housed in two niches at the back, to facilitate wall installation.
The touch control zone and the bass-reflex vent // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Frandroid
The supplied remote control is compact and well laid out, with all the buttons accessible without too much contortion with the thumb. Although it is not backlit, a small lug makes it easy to locate the volume control. There is also access to the level adjustment of low frequencies, to night mode (dynamic compression) or even to Voice mode to reinforce the dialogues.
Design internal
Sony has housed five oblong transducers in the HT-S2000, in a 3.1 configuration. In other words, this bar broadcasts the left, center and right channels with three transducers, as well as the low frequency channel (LFE/.1) with two transducers. These last two are isolated in a dedicated volume, tuned in bass-reflex.
As a reminder, the bass-reflex technique makes it possible to inflate the low-frequency output of the loudspeakers, by mechanically amplifying certain frequencies by means of resonator tubes, which open out in the case of the HT-S2000, at the lateral ends of the pregnant. The five transducers are identical, which theoretically guarantees sound homogeneity when certain sounds move from left to right, for example. First disappointment, this bar does not use any tweeter to refine the reproduction of high frequencies and give the sound greater precision. It’s a shame, because conventional transducers like those fitted to the soundbar can’t go up in frequency with the same rigor of a tweeter.
Internal view of the Sony HT-S2000 // Source: Sony
Another remark, the absence of transducers oriented towards the edges of the room and towards the ceiling seems incompatible with the positioning of sounds on the sides and above the listener, and therefore, by extension, with the Dolby Atmos formats. or DTS/X.
Sony HT-S2000 Connectivity
The Sony HT-S2000 has somewhat sparse connectors, with a single HDMI socket and a Toslink optical input. The latter allows you to associate the bar with a television that does not offer audio feedback, or with an external source such as a DVD or Blu-ray player for example. The HDMI socket is compatible with ARC and eARC audio returns, as well as the CEC protocol for volume control of the bar with the TV remote. To enjoy sound in Dolby and DTS HD, Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, it will be imperative to associate this bar with an eARC compatible television; otherwise, classic Dolby and DTS 5.1 will be transmitted.
Optical Toslink and HDMI ARC/eARC inputs // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Frandroid
The Sony HT-S2000 also incorporates a Bluetooth receiver to listen to music, with a smartphone for example, and to control the bar with the Sony Home Entertainment Center mobile application. Finally, the power supply is integrated into an external block. A USB-A port is present on the bar for its technical maintenance.
Sony HT-S2000 Features
Sony has equipped its bar with Vertical Surround Engine and S-Force Pro Front Surround technologies. The first theoretically creates a soundstage above the listener from single stereo programs, while the second is used to establish a surround (side/rear) scene without an additional pair of wireless speakers. However, the HT-S2000 bar can work with the optional Sony SA-RS3S surround speakers (399 €).
The Sony HT-S2000 remote control // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Frandroid
Most of the bar’s settings are accessible from its remote control (surround mode, dialogue enhancement, sound compression, bass adjustment, etc.), but also available in the Sony Home Entertainment Center app. To access the bar’s advanced settings, this is the app you will need to use.
The Sony app homepage
Advanced settings not accessible from the remote control.
The choice of setting the sound field (which does nothing concrete).
With it it is possible to update the firmware of the loudspeaker, activate the DSEE mode (to improve the dynamics of the high frequencies), adjust the level of the dialogues (on DTS signals only) or even activate the automatic volume management or the automatic compression of the Dolby signals, in order to level the level differences.
Power consumption
The power consumption of the Sony HT-S2000 is well controlled in network standby (Bluetooth), with only 1.8 W consumed. Active, it consumes a little over 7 W without producing sound and around 9 W up to a quarter of the volume, where its sound level is already high.
Bar + subwoofer power consumption In Bluetooth standby1.8 W Active (no sound)7.5 W Volume at 25%9 W Volume at 50%14 W Volume at 75%22 W Volume at 100%41 W
Sony HT-S2000 Audio
I tested the Sony HT-S2000 bar (firmware 1.878) in a 30 m² living room and a small attic room, combined with a television and a video projector.
The sound performance of the HT-S2000 is decent, but this bar doesn’t shine with any distinctive quality. Unsurprisingly, the absence of tweeters mentioned above affects the fluidity of the sound message. It’s clean, but the sound lacks subtlety and pep in the treble. Despite the presence of a subwoofer » integrated, the bass performance is just passable and not much exists below 100 Hz.
Response curves according to broadcast volume // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Frandroid
Our measurement curves show that the downward extension of the spectrum is limited and that, moreover, the bar emphasizes the upper bass (peak around 100 Hz), which makes the bass punchier but removes any impression of depth. . In other words, the scenes of films and series implementing impacts or rumbles are played without flavor. We understand better that Sony offers two optional boxes for the HT-S2000: the SA-SW3 and SA-SW5, billed respectively €499 and €799. I put a layer on the lack of tweeter, drawing your attention to the obvious differences between the three curves and the collapse of the transducers in the treble as you push the volume. As much on the blue curve (moderate level), the rise in frequency is generally linear, as much as the pink and orange curves (sustained volume and max) show that the transducers are, at high level, incapable of reproducing the highest frequencies.
Slightly limited stage width
The dimensions of the bar (regarding 80 cm) constrain the stage, the width of which is quite average, despite the technologies for improving the sound field. Under a 50-inch television, the HT-S2000 is an illusion, but it broadcasts too narrow a sound under a 65-inch or with a video projector. The depth is correct, without ever being striking.
Unnoticeable Dolby Atmos and surround immersion
Can we claim support for films and series in Dolby Atmos 5.1/7.1 with a 3.1 soundbar? On paper, this seemed paradoxical. In practice, the sound has absolutely no vertical dimension and the bar places no sound at the sides of the listener. The performances in Dolby Atmos and surround (Dolby 5.1, DTS 5.1, etc.) are therefore not convincing.
Intelligible dialogues
The voices are on the other hand properly restored, without the need to activate the Voice mode. The latter is mainly useful with the programs of the TNT to the imprecise mixing. However, the performance of the HT-S2000 is good when it is entrusted with films or series with modern mixing. With films from the 30s/40s/50s, the voices lack a bit of intelligibility.
Withdrawn musical performances
The small Sony bar is not equipped to constitute an alternative solution to a pair of speakers and an amp for listening to music. Once once more, the absence of tweeters does not help to produce a very precise sound, and, above all, the weak extension of the bass register deprives the listener of any feeling of generosity.
In which room to install the Sony HT-S2000?
Since you don’t have to push the Sony HT-S2000 soundbar too much for it to maintain a pleasant balance, it seems wise to reserve its use for small living rooms, while settling in 3 meters to listen to it.
Sony HT-S2000 Price and Release Date
The Sony HT-S2000 soundbar is available in black for €499. It competes with the Sony HT-A3000, with similar characteristics, but with AirPlay or Chromecast audio streaming in addition and offered at 399 €. For a price of 549 euros, Sonos also offers its small Beam Gen 2 with more interesting acoustic performance.
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