hi everyone today we're looking at a soundbar with dolby atmos and dtsx that is a 2.1 channel
system with a built-in subwoofer this soundbar delivers impressive surround
sound and high quality sound that works well across a range of media from movies music to
gaming with an all-in-one design for a very reasonable price this is the sony htx 8500
this video covers everything you need to know from the unboxing to a look at its design and features
as well as a sound test and finally a sound quality review without further ado let's dive in
inside the box we have the remote control as well as batteries included which is always nice to see
next we have a pretty substantial ac power adapter as well as the power cord underneath we have the
sound bar itself first impressions it definitely has some heft for its size likely due to the
built-in subwoofer lastly in the box we have an optical cable unfortunately there is no hdmi cable
something i would have liked to see included at this price point we also have a startup guide
and an instructions manual finally we have the wall mount template always good to see
taking a closer look at the design you can see this 35-inch soundbar compared to my 43-inch tv
is best paired with tvs of this size and up in terms of heights the height of the soundbar is
64 millimeters which manages to still sit below my tv screen this is great if you're like me and do
not have a wall mounted tv along the top the sound bar has this faux leather finish which we've come
to see in some other sony sound bars and i think looks quite sharp unlike what you may find with
many other sound bars with a glass or glossy top this matte finish will not cast tv reflections
on the front the sound bar features a matte black metal grille while the design does not have a wow
factor it does feel solid and because it is quite understated means it will pair nicely
with most tv setups let's take a closer look at the speakers now this is a 2.1 channel system
with a built-in subwoofer taking a look at the front you can see we have four drivers first we
have the left and right channel to handle the highs and mids and then the built-in subwoofer
in the center which consists of two drivers to handle the lows on either side of the soundbar
there are two baseboards which when the volume is turned up displays quite some air let's take
a closer look at the controls now along the top of the soundbar you'll find touch sensitive buttons
for volume and changing source i found these to be very responsive and to work well additionally
the soundbar has multiple leds to indicate source and power however there is no display
something i wish sony had included as this would make changing finer audio settings much more user
friendly in terms of connectivity taking a look at the back of the sound bar for outputs we have
one optical port as well as an hdmi arc output in terms of inputs we have one hdmi port i'm glad to
see one hdmi input allowing you to plug in your playstation or blu-ray player directly into the
sound bar allowing it to act as a hub between your tv and other connected devices additionally the
soundbar supports bluetooth 5.0 this allows you to connect your smartphone or tablet and essentially
use it as a bluetooth speaker allowing you to stream your music or podcasts in terms of setup
the setup could not be easier simply connect the soundbar to your tv using hdmi arc if you have it
or optical do bear in mind to get the best sound quality through dolby atmos and dtsx you will need
to connect using hdmi arc setup really is plug and play which is great to see before we get into the
features and sound quality i want to give you an idea of how the htx 8500 sounds with a quick
live audio test let's have a listen what is it you're trying to say we're going on the internet
now let's take a closer look at the features as well as the sound quality starting off with
surround sound i was immediately impressed with the openness of the sound the biggest strengths
and features of the htx 8500 are the dolby atmos and dtsx integration along with sony's
vertical sound engine allowing for an impressive surround sound experience without having speakers
placed all across the room this simulates a full 7.1.2 surround sound system from a single unit
but how well does this really work well it does not replace a proper surround sound system but it
does come a long way making a significant difference to the listening experience
though you do have to sit pretty much right in front of the sound bar in order for this to
work best and when you do there is a true sense of immersion that comes from a very wide sound stage
and true surround sound experience especially on the horizontal axes in the vertical axis the
effect is less strong but still noticeable all in all i was really impressed by how well the
surround sound works especially when watching movies this really places you in the action due
to the length of the soundbar there is clear separation between the left and right channels
and this is further amplified by the surround sound effect something you really experience
when gaming for example in a first person shooter being able to hear the enemy player behind you
before you even see them on screen or letting you immerse yourself in an open world style game
and this brings us to sound profile now out of the box i would say this is quite neutral overall with
a slight emphasis on the low end highs are clear and well separated making it easy to hear dialogue
mids are present however could be emphasized just a little bit more as at times these can be
slightly muddled or overpowered by the lows speaking of lows i was very impressed by how well
the built-in subwoofer performs providing deep and punchy bass while it does not shake the house it
can definitely fill the room using the remote the base can be adjusted using the base button from
which there are three settings to choose from now this is again where a screen would have been nice
to have as i did have to refer to the manual for this i kept this on the standard mid level my only
complaint here is that the difference between base intervals is very large for example the high level
base provides too much bass to a point where this takes away from the mid i would have liked to see
more incremental intervals to adjust the bass more finely and this brings us to sound presets
now on the remote you will find many different sound profiles to choose from this will allow you
to easily find the sound you want as you can see there are many so i will focus on a few of the key
ones that i found myself using the most first is auto sound in this profile sony will automatically
adapt the sound mode to the content that is being played in general i found this to work quite well
in my experience this typically would emphasize the dialogue as well as the bass next is cinema
this is the mode i use most when watching movies and tv shows this mode increases the bass slightly
and further emphasizes that surround sound effect this brings us to voice now as the name implies
this adds volume to the dialogue and does so very effectively this also decreases the bass and
therefore makes voices stand out even more next we have the night profile now the night profile
allows for clear sound when listening specifically at lower volumes emphasizing the essentials such
as dialogue while also lowering the mids and bass to minimize disturbance this may be useful
for parents with young kids who want to watch tv late at night without waking the kids next
we have music now the music mode does a good job at keeping voices sounding as natural as possible
and generally showing clear instrument separation however for me removed a bit too much of the bass
i normally listen to genres such as wrap or house which typically have more low end therefore
prefer the cinema preset for this however if you plan to listen to music at higher volumes this
preset is good as it effectively keeps the sound in balance across a range of listening volumes
each of the sound profiles we've looked at so far i believe serve a strong purpose allowing you to
easily adjust the sound and again find the sound that you want i do think sony went a bit overboard
with a number of options though sound profiles such as news or sports seem a bit unnecessary
in terms of distortion while the sound bar gets very loud being able to easily fill a medium
to large sized room at high volumes you can hear the subwoofer struggle there is no distortion but
the volume of the subwoofer definitely decreases this happens around a volume of around 65 percent
and up however to give some perspective in my small to medium-sized room i listen at around 30
so there's still ample headroom if you plan to listen at high volumes and are looking for
a house shaking base i would suggest looking at a soundbar with a separate standalone subwoofer
much like the sony ht s350 that i reviewed previously as if you want to add a subwoofer
or rear channels this is not possible with the htx 8500 again personally i did not feel the need for
this as this is a very strong and complete package but is still something to consider
there is also no smart assisted integration such as amazon's alexa or google assistant
i've experienced no issues with latency or syncing one nice feature is that the sound
bar will automatically turn on and off with your tv finally behind the sound bar there is an rf
repeater allowing your tvs remote to still operate in case the soundbar blocks the sensor smart
overall the soundbar provides truly impressive sound especially for an all-in-one design the
design does not wow but will definitely complement most tv setups additionally it is very versatile
performing well across movies music and games even though options to adjust the sound are limited
having ample sound profiles means it is so easy to switch between and find the sound you want dolby
atmos and dtsx plus sony's vertical sound engine provide a level of immersion that is normally
not seen at this price point really creating that cinema experience at home all from a single unit
this soundbar will provide a substantial upgrade to your tv's built-in audio for under 300 links to
the bar can be found in the description thank you so much for watching guys if you have any
questions comments or feedback be sure to leave them down below and i'll see you in the next video