T3 - UK (2020-08)

AUGUST 2020 T3 69

Sony HT-G700

improved by a soundbar and it does
an excellent job here, adding firmness
to vocals and picking them out of
soundtracks nicely.
And the bar and subwoofer
combination is just as effective as
you’d hope for the ‘exciting’ thing:
adding meaty bass underpinnings to
soundtracks. It adds majorly to the
low-end, but doesn’t rumble the
room in a way you’re sure will annoy
the neighbours.

Hidden depths
But those are the basic sound
improvements: the big selling point
here is the fancy directional sound
stuff, and the G700 impresses a lot.
As with the Sonos Arc, not having
rear speakers means that it simply
can’t convincingly or consistently
replicate sounds coming from behind
you or directly overhead, but when
you’re sitting facing the soundbar, the
feeling is that the sound covers the
whole room in front of you.
Noises can have the distinct feeling
of coming from left and right of the
screen, and up and down – though
the lack of upfiring speakers mean it’s
better at width than height.

Occasionally, it does feel like it’s

expanding beyond being in front of

you, in tiny doses. In a crowd scene, a

voice that’s meant to come from

behind you does just about have that

feeling, if it’s really short and sharp

• anything of length breaks the
  illusion. But achieving that, in itself,
  is seriously good work from Sony.
  However, it’s not without
  limitations. The first is that it’s less
  dynamic and weaker with sudden
  changes in sound than fancier
  competition like the Sonos Arc. You
  wouldn’t really notice this in a quiet
  scene: where it’s noticeable is in
  scenes with already swirling
  soundtracks or background noise.
  It’s also not great for music over
  Bluetooth. It sounds so compressed
  and flat and even the subwoofer
  doesn’t seem bothered to really be
  involved when playing tracks.
  One feature that deeply pleases us
  is the inclusion of two HDMI ports:
  one eARC port and one HDMI for
  plugging a video source into the bar.
  This means you don’t lose one of your
  TV’s precious HDMI ports just to the
  soundbar. And if your set doesn’t
  support Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, you

can still take advantage of their

support in the soundbar: plug an

Atmos-ready media streamer or

DTS:X Blu-ray player in and you can

pass its video on to the TV.

All in all, we strongly recommend

the HT-G700 for those with mid-

range TVs who want a big cinematic

upgrade for movies. The way it creates

a rich, directional sound is so

impressive, and it’s a really well-

designed and great-value package.

It’s so close to getting our five-star

Platinum Award, and likely would

have if Sony had been able to squeeze

in some upfiring drivers. As it is, it’s

still the option we think most should

go for in this price range, thanks to its

ease of use and its great sound.

WE’RE IMPRESSED Remarkable

spatial sound; great audio

quality; 4K HDMI passthrough;

suitable for 43-inch TVs and up.

WE’D IMPROVE Not good for

music; less dynamic than some;

not real surround and height.

THE LAST WORD Delivers a

cinematic experience that’s hard

to pull yourself away from, no

matter the source. It’s the best

mid-price soundbar available

right now.

VERDICT

Having 4K HDMI

passthrough frees

up a port on your

TV and allows you

to add Atmos

peripherals

SHARP HT-SBW 800
Want a similarly
priced soundbar
with a few
added perks?
This one comes
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immersive vertical Atmos. It’s non-expandable
though, so it’s sadly not a stepping stone to 7.1.2.
£449, sharp.co.uk

SONOS ARC

Offering great

spatial sound

and gorgeous

audio for TV

and music alike,

this is the bar

to beat. It’s a pricier ecosystem though, so be

prepared to pay big if you want to add a sub.

£799, sonos.com

THE ALTERNATIVES

Check out more great soundbars

at: bit.ly/T3soundbars