Verdict
A genius musical theme that ’s put to death well , the Sony HT - AX7 will ameliorate your small screen home movie theatre experiences thanks to its immersive surround sound speaker system . It ’s an frail speaker and works better with some content than others , but it is a blast to use .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
When it come tohome cinema sound , the focus has always been on the biggest screen in the firm – your TV – but what if you could get a similar operation for your laptop or tablet ? If that ’s something you ’ve want , the Sony HT - AX7 is here to fill that nothingness .
The audio from laptops , Macs , smartphones , and tablet is , by and big , disappointing . Like TVs , the designs are thinner and build up - in sound recording organization have become compromised .
The Sony HT - AX7 seeks to tip the scales back in the favour of ‘ good sound ’ , except unlike a menage cinema system , you could cart this speaker from one room to another . It ’s a rather whizz musical theme . Sony could be on to a succeeder with the HT - AX7 .
Design
The Sony HT - AX7 is a unique - looking utterer that can be sum up as so : a base unit that maintain the battery and main verbalizer with two detachable speaker system up top .
you could position these speakers behind you or around the room you ’re in , and the speakers re - attach to the principal whole magnetically . It ’s not the most untroubled adherence as it ’s easy to accidentally call on the speaker on by brush past and nudging the speakers .
The speaker get in one finale , an anonymous white-haired framework that ’s skillful to touch , and gives the mental picture that the talker could covertly blend into any environment . I found it gentle to enthral despite its 2 kg weight . A one - handed grip is all I needed to tilt it from room to room .
On the top surface are button for Bluetooth pairing , playback , bulk and actuate the Sound Field ( more on that later ) . Smack bang in the middle is the power button , and above that is a diminished LED that give a clue about current electric battery levels ; flashing Orange River when battery spirit level are low-toned , or green when it ’s high / charging . It ’s visible from a space or sitting down mainly because of how bright it stands out against the grey finish .
The breadth of the speaker ’s al-Qaeda make it easy to plant it on any surface , and around the rear is a USB embrasure for charging . That ’s the only forcible connecter , which I ’d say is fine given the flexibleness and mountain range of Bluetooth . This is not a speaker you ’ll be connecting to a telecasting anyway .
On a sustainable note , the main body is made from recycled plastic , and the textile material consists of 100 % recycle preferent bottles . The packaging is also plastic - detached due to its use of Sony ’s Original Blended Material ( made of bamboo , sugarcane , and recycle newspaper ) . Every picayune helps in protect the environment .
Features
Sony ’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping claims it can envelop the listener in spacial sound by creating multiple phantom speakers in front , behind , and above . It can also take stereo sound and make it three - dimensional . This is only available when the Speaker are detached and Sound Field is on , but when connected to the master soundbox , the Sound Field function is automatically disabled .
The Sony HT - AX7 connects through a Bluetooth 5.2 link ( SBC and AAC).Bluetooth multipointis available , although Wi - Fi is n’t supported , and that feel like an oversight for a verbaliser of this type ( and expense ) . Being able to cast directly over cyclosis via Bluetooth seems like the case of convenience and accessibility the HT - AX7 is chasing .
That said , the stability of theBluetooth connectionhas been fantastic over testing , able to stretch to 30 m. I ca n’t recall a single dropout in the considerable hours I ’ve used this speaker . I ’ve placed one detachable verbalizer in another adjoining way and the signal has n’t faltered . I ’ve placed both speakers in unlike room and they ’ve carried on . I ’ve even taken a utterer upstairs and leave the rest down the stairs – no progeny in terms of the signal wavering .
Before you get any estimation of a multi - room setup , when out of Sound Field style , the rear speakers fundamentally reinforce the sound of the independent unit only at a lower volume . These speakers are best when closemouthed to one other .
Sony tell that battery life is thirty hours , though that ’s a figure I ’ve set up severely to essay in a existent - human beings setting . watch a two - hour film at a volume of 33 and all three modules were still 100 % , but my feeling is that ’s not the best gauge of its barrage performance .
The battery is in the master social unit , while the detachable speakers are rechargeable . I ’ve found that , when the speaker are placed back on the speaker , the main unit will charge them anddepleteits own electric battery in the appendage . I ’ve regularly encountered situation where the rears are 100 % but I ’m get low electric battery admonition from the primary speaker that ’s pass below 20 % .
I ’ve found that it ordinarily takes around two weeks for the speaker to reach low battery , but also that the AX7 ’s standby mood seems to frivol away bombardment life away . I ’ve go away it alone almost to the full - charge for a week - and - a - one-half only to come back and discover the main speaker at 20 % . The question is whether the HT - AX7actuallyturns off and if it does I have n’t figured out how .
That said , there ’s fast - point support – 10 mo is right enough for another 2.5 hours , and I ’ve found fill again the main utterer is quick than the grueling four hours Sony title . When plug into the rampart it took just 90 minute to fully reload .
Sony offer aUSB - Ccable in the packaging but no bulwark charger . I used my OnePlus and Apple USB - C paries chargers and institute neither did the john ( I suspect it ’s a voltage issue ) . However , a Samsung USB - C charger for my work laptop did workplace . It ’s a fiddling annoying that Sony does n’t go full pig and include a wall adaptor , which is probably why the recharge figure are so long .
Before you get get , it ’s deserving downloading the Sony Home Entertainment Connect app ( Android , iOS ) that guides the drug user through initial bent - up . Through it , you could customise the rearward speaker and bass grade , adapt the bulk , enable Night , Voice , and Sound Field modes , control playback , see what character Bluetooth you ’re stream at , and put the speaker in understudy . It ’s a wholly simple and straight app to use .
Performance
In terms of offering portable surroundings audio , the Sony HT - AX7 hits the mark . I lean to put myiPad Proin front of the speaker , but this obscures the chief unit , causing a softened strait . A short distance between the independent unit and the silver screen is recommended .
ab initio , it did n’t feel as if speech sound was get along from the iPad , but from the loudspeaker , but after a few proceedings it all came together and I found myself immerse with what was on screenland . The rear speakers do a very good Book of Job of filling in the space behind , so though the master speaker aim the focus , there ’s enough information and natural process in the posterior to convincingly make a surround sound experience .
sync between the verbalizer and the cover is splendid , and the nearer my iPad is to the speaker the more attached dialogue and audio effects felt to the screen . There is unfeigned panning of effects in the disc conflict of Tron Legacy ( Disney+ ) , while in the first episode of The English ( iPlayer ) the reverberation of a gunfire reverberate from the screen to the buns .
There ’s batch of enjoyment to be had in the ambiance that the rearward speakers offer . I can hear small details and background consequence that would n’t be as large if the audio was funnel through my iPad Pro ’s progress - in audio organisation .
Dynamism is fluently conveyed , whether capturing the inflection in voices or medicine in nail-biting scenes , which aid dousing . At clock time it really does palpate like your own personal movie nighttime .
The overhead aspect of these Speaker is overstated , with no sense of pinnacle that I can sense . you may probably check two people within the distance of the rearward speaker depending on the sizing of screen you have . Night mode makes well-grounded retreat inwards to the talker rather than being projected out .
There ’s decent bass response with television shows and films , with a nice depth to the sea bass in the Daft Punk soundtrack when the sirens get Sam quick for the disc engagement , as well as a stage of low - end front whenever the ‘ phonation ’ is used in Dune ( Netflix ) . I ’ve found the AX7 ’s bass is n’t always as strong with music , with the low frequency in Kingdom ’s Bank Head merely ok even with the bass part level adjusted to ‘ MAX ’ .
Tonally , reproduction of dialogue is warm and on the fuzzy side at nonremittal setting , but switch to Voice Mode and it cleans up dialogue easily – I can hear Lady Jessica ’s reading of the Litany of Fear well without having to extend – while detaching the speaker puff out more sharpness and clarity . That tell , there were prison term where I felt dialogue was a bit lost in some natural process view in Mr and Mrs Smith ( Prime Video ) .
At higher volumes dialog can go thin and strained with the speaker system come away , and in this contour the verbalizer exhibit a lean tone that strips it of item . I ’d say volume 35 is the high you ’ll want to go .
Most of what I ’ve submit applies to medicine . There are fine levels of clarity utilise to vocal , though in Sound Field modality they retreat to sounding thinly in Benjamin Clementine ’s London . bend that mode off and you ’ll get a more natural performance with the speaker ’s natural warmth and smoothness taking over , though the speaker unit loses out in term of lucidity and definition . There ’s a trade - off , and neither mode brings out the good in music .
It wo n’t serve up monolithic amount of freshwater bass , but what ’s provide is mediocre enough in visible light of the speaker system ’s two passive radiator . Rhythmically , it can deliver tight - paced songs like GoGo Penguin ’s Raven with drive , while there ’s an gratifying energy to the percussion in boygenius ’ $ 20 .
The top end shows decent stratum of clarity , fluctuation , and detail , though you ’ll never err the AX7 for being shiny – in fact , its treble performance is rather slow . Regardless , it ’s a comely euphony arrangement , though not needs its metier .
One last scruple I have with the Sony HT - AX7 is specifically about whether it sounds well with the Sound Field mode on or off . With 5.1 subject matter – Dune or Mr and Mrs Smith – having the Sound Field brings benefit , even out the front and rear speakers and spreading sounds better .
With other content , let ’s say YouTube or podcasts , what I see in the butt is similar to the front speaker unit so activating Sound Field seemed unpointed . If audio sounds compressed , deactivating Sound Field fashion makes dialogue smoother which is a becoming compromise .
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Should you buy it?
Laptops , smartphones , pill ; whatever small screen you have is going to be compromise when it comes to audio . The Sony HT - AX7 flesh out auditory sensation in a manner that make for your own personal surroundings sound experience .
£ 449 is a lot to pass on what ’s essentially a portable wireless speaker . It makes more sense for those who do n’t even have a TV and apply nomadic gadget sacredly , but will they be able-bodied to afford the HT - AX7 ? I ’m less certain of that .
Final Thoughts
In the sentence I ’ve spent with the Sony HT - AX7 , I ’ve had a blast . It lives up to the promise of create your own personal outer space for movies and TV show . It ’s far and by better than take heed to video recording / sound recording subject through the chintzy speakers on your mobile equipment or laptop computer .
Its designing is smart and allows for auditory sensation to be fan out throughout a room , and its informality of use of goods and services is a forte . While battery life is foresighted , the fact that it depletes when in standby mood means it ’ll require veritable charging . Other reservations are that it sound compressed at higher volume , and that the Sound Field musical mode sound better with content that has the information required ( flick and TV series ) but does n’t always sound great with some YouTube or music subject .
Expense is another factor to consider . At closely £ 449 , that ’s more than Sony ’s ownWH-1000XM5and more than Bose’sQuietComfort Ultra Headphones(which sport Bose ’s Immersive Audio feature ) . The overconfident of the Sony is that it opens the soundstage in a way that a phone ca n’t .
The Sony HT - AX7 is a environment system that put the emphasis on being ‘ personal ’ , and in that regard it is a success . Ultimately its operation could be improved , but this is the first speaker unit of its like that I ’ve come across , and hopefully not the last . For more traditional options , check out ourBest Surround Sound Systemguide .
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How we test
We examine every wireless verbaliser system we review exhaustively over an extended period of time . We use industry received tests to compare feature decently . We ’ll always tell you what we regain . We never , ever , live with money to survey a product .
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FAQs
There is no Dolby Atmos support on this speaker , though it can offer three - dimensionalised stereophony sound .
