Sony's Latest Dolby Atmos Soundbar Is A Gateway To 360 Spatial Sound

In 2021, Sony introduced the HT-A9 speaker setup with its seemingly magical 360 Spatial Sound Mapping tech, and a few months later, the feature rolled out via a software update for the HT-A7000 and HT-A5000 soundbars. The company is now bringing that audio wizardry further down the price lane with its new HT-A3000 soundbar. The 3.1 channel (three front speakers and a single dual subwoofer) soundbar relies on the in-house Vertical Surround Engine and S-Force PRO Front Surround technology — and serves it all up with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X experience — to deliver an immersive surround output.

Sony says the 360 Spatial Sound Mapping tech will make the listener feel as if the sound is coming from "every direction and distance." Just the way Apple's AirPods Max headphones rely on onboard sensors to track head movement and adjust directional audio, Sony's system deploys built-in microphones for analyzing the 3D presence of a soundbar and the connected rear speakers to create what Sony calls a network of phantom speakers blasting audio waves from all directions.

Another feature that audio purists will appreciate is support for DSEE Extreme. Short for Digital Sound Enhancement Engine Extreme, this is another Sony tech that upscales compressed music files by using AI. In the background, it enhances the sampling frequency and boosts the bitrate of a compressed file, ensuring that the final output has more depth and offers the subtlety of the original recording.

But there's a catch before you bravely go ahead spend a few hundred dollars on the blocky soundbar. In order to experience the perks of a phantom speaker network that Sony touts with its 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology, you will need to pair the new soundbar with Sony's own rear speakers. That means forking out extra cash on the SA-RS5, which is priced at $600 (180W output), or the SA-RS3S speaker (100W output) which will set you back $350.

To further elevate the experience, users can also link up the HT-A3000 soundbar with the SA-SW5 (300W output, 180mm driver) or SA-SW3 (200W output, 160mm driver) sub-woofers, which are sold separately. Sony says the HT-A3000 follows a plug-and-play approach right out of the box, but there are a few smart tricks under the hood. It plays well with Chromecast, Spotify Connect, and Apple AirPlay 2 to stream music. 

Plus, it can piggyback on Bluetooth or the shared home Wi-Fi waves for streaming your audio library. Sony's HT-A3000 soundbar can also handle digital assistants when hooked to a network with Chromecast built-in devices for accessing Google Assistant, and Alexa setups, as well. The company is asking $699.99 for its latest soundbar and has already listed it for pre-orders via Amazon and authorized partner outlets.