Sony 2018 Home Audio Lineup: Sound Bars, Dolby Atmos, Vertical Audio

Home entertainment enthusiasts will have a slew of new home audio products to choose from this year thanks to Sony, which has just unveiled a bunch of sound bars and more. Though the products, which include speakers and sound bars, won't be arriving until this spring season, the company has shown them off ahead of time. Vertical Surround Engine, surround sound audio, Chromecast support, and more round out the features.

Sony has a bunch of sound bars to show off at CES this year, all of them designed for home entertainment purposes. The new lineup is comprised of the HT-Z9F and HT-X900F, both featuring the company's own Vertical Surround Engine, as well as the compact HT-S200F.

The HT-S200F offers 2.1ch sound with the promise of deep bass and a wide sound field. Sony packed S-Force PRO Surround Sound into this sound bar, which is virtual surround sound tech that produces what Sony describes as realistic audio. The model also features Dolby Audio support and an integrated sub-woofer. While the maker has revealed that this sound bar will be available this spring season, it hasn't detailed pricing yet.

Joining the compact S200F are the HT-Z9F and HT-X900F.

As mentioned, these two models sport Sony's Vertical Surround Engine, which provides audio that includes "vertical sound" sans the need to install actual in-ceiling speakers. The speakers pack both DTS:X and Dolby Atmos, as well as a "Vertical S" button on the Z9F's remote for up to 7.1.2ch audio.

Both of these sound bars work with Dolby Vision and 4K HDR10, while the Z9F in particular has support for hi-res audio formats via DSEE HX. The Z9F model also has integrated WiFi so that it can be directly used with streaming services via Google Chromecast built-in. The X900F model, meanwhile, is designed to pair well with the Sony X900F 4K HDR TV lineup.

Both models, as with Sony's other newly unveiled audio products, will be available this spring season; the Z9F will cost $899.99 USD and the X900F will cost $599.99 USD.

Sound bars are great for some, but maybe you're not looking for television-centric audio. Thus enters Sony's new SS-CSE speakers with Dolby Atmos, Sony's new SS-CSE speakers with Dolby Atmos. These models are angled for what Sony describes as "up-firing" audio that bounces off of nearby surfaces, ultimately giving a multi-dimensional audio experience.

These speakers are compact and designed to be placed on top of existing bookshelf or floor-standing speakers, eliminating the need to mount them. SS-CSE features include an MDF cabinet, Mica-reinforced cellular cone, 10cm full-range speaker system, up to 100W per channel, and a frequency range of 70Hz to 32000Hz. Pricing hasn't been announced yet.

Finally, Sony has introduced its new UBP-X700 4K UHD Blu-ray player with support for Dolby Vision and its new STR-DH790 Dolby Atmos-enabled AV receiver. The X700 offers the high dynamic range that has become increasingly popular among content creators thanks to Dolby Vision, while the DH790 receiver supports DTS:X.

With the new 4K UHD Blu-ray player, buyers get Dolby Vision and HDR10 pass-through loss, as well as a "genuine cinema sound," while the receiver supports 5.1.2ch setup. In addition to playing Blu-ray discs, the X700 offers access to the major streaming services, namely Netflix, Prime Video, and YouTube, as well as support for playing various local file formats, such as FLAC and MP4. Pricing hasn't yet been announced.