Sony - HT-S2000

I didn’t like the ht-s2000 (pretty sure that was the one we returned prior to getting a samsung) as it didn’t seem to make a difference to tv audio. others may have a different experience however.

Invest a bit more in a Sony ht-s2000 and you will not be disappointed.

We have a wall mounted Sony Bravia TV. We were only using the TV speakers and not fully enjoying it, so I decided to purchase the Sony HT-S2000 soundbar to improve the sound. It was a good decision. I am older with hearing issues, but we listen to a lot of music, and it is so much clearer at a lower volume, and dialog is clean as well. It is easy to install, small, and fits the space nicely without looking clutered. It is basically a plug and play. I'll probably add the rear speakers and subwolfer at some point.

I know your post is 2 months old, but just to add... I do have the S2000, and if your goal is to have better sound, then the S2000 will deliver. It's pretty versatile. I did have the Klipsch Flexus Core 200 (referenced in a separate comment here), but it was too much gun for my situation (or at least, that's my theory). Explosions and orchestral soundtracks sounded amazing, but dialogue was way too low, especially when listening to media in Dolby (5.1 or Atmos). Setting Dialogue Mode to high barely helped, and it came with the unfortunate side effect of messing with other sounds, like trumpets on an orchestral piece. The only way to control this huge discrepancy in dynamic range was to tell my TV to output in PCM, but even then it wasn't enough. I guess if you are trying to have a home theater experience all the time, that's fine, but most of the listening in the living room TV is kids shows/movies on Disney+ (and similar). The Klipsch app was also horrendously slow. The Core 200 does aim for a cinematic experience, and in that regard, it excels. It's also great that you can add any self-powered sub you want. And the addition of upward facing speakers does create immersion. I do think that if my living room was bigger, the big sound would have space to go and would not make the dynamic range sound as extreme as it does. Dialogue has not been an issue with the S2000. I have "voice mode" to off, and have no issues hearing dialogue. There are also options in the Bravia Connect App that allow you to compress the range even further in order to make volume differences less dramatic. This is good when watching TV when the kids are asleep or when you just want to watch TV casually. The sound is not as cinematic as with the Klipsch, and you can't connect your any sub you want (as with the Klipsch). You do get immersion despite the lack of upward firing speakers, but the immersion sounds "processed." You also need to set the bass to "Max", though, as I found that anything below "Max" is too anemic. Once it's dialed in, though, explosions and the like will sound very good. I can't imagine how you can be unhappy with this, especially if you get it at a discount.

Yes S2000 is what i would recommend, will match well with the bravia 8 aswell

I have the sony ht-s2000 soundbar and it has no voice announcements. I just love it.

Thank you for your reply! I actually bought S2000 few days after posting this since price dropped to 600 aed (~150 euros) which seemed like pretty good deal. I wanted to use soundbar in my living room, but i tried it also in (significantly smaller) bedroom and i left it there since in small room soundbar delivers almost cinema experience.

To be honest, i am not sure i can really elaborate it - yeah, sound feels more immersive certainly, not sure about distinguising left/right stereo (i have even tried now some left and right sound tests from YT and i think there is not quite a difference). In a small room (~18 m²) i just have feel its very similar to cinema experience but cannot explain beyond that, i am not really expert in sound area 😅

Around Christmas I noticed there was a Yamaha SR-B30A soundbar open box return in the Amazon Resale section (FKA Amazon Warehouse Deals) listed for $239CAD. The current sale price for the soundbar is $300CAD, and the regular price is $450CAD. I also purchased a Sony HT-S2000 soundbar a week later to compare it to the Yamaha. The Sony was also an open box return at Best Buy for $359CAD. Both soundbars were in like new condition and worked without issue. I put them through the motions yesterday and came to realize that the Sony is overpriced compared to the Yamaha. Here's what I observed: - The Sony supports Dolby and DTS audio, while the Yamaha only supports Dolby. Both support Dolby Atmos. - The Sony has 3.1 channels while the Yamaha has only 2.1. - The Sony's integrated sub is weak and lacks punch. I even set the bass level to max in the app. I set the Yamaha bass to 0, the sub to 2, and bass enhancer is disabled. The Yamaha had significantly more punch. The comparison wasn't even close. - The virtual surround sound effect of the Sony seemed small and narrow. Definitely not immersive. The Yamaha's virtual surround sound is significantly more immersive and it wasn't even a close comparison again. The Sony's sound couldn't fill my bedroom, while the Yamaha could. Even raising the volume of the Sony to level 60 couldn't match the sound of the Yamaha on level 30. The Sony only got louder, which is what I wasn't trying to achieve. - Both soundbars offer a dialogue enhancement feature, and they work well but I preferred leaving it off. The vocals tend to be too forward when it's enabled on both soundbars. At least with the Yamaha the dialogue can be adjusted a bit more by adjusting the treble level. - The Sony's physical remote is better than the Yamaha's, but the Yamaha's app is significantly better with more options to change the sound. You can adjust the treble, bass, and sub in the Yamaha app, and only the bass in the Sony app. Both have options to improve dialogue. - The Sony's build quality is better. I'm not a fan of the fabric used on the Yamaha. The fabric can get dirty/dusty easier and potentially tear. - If all you care about is sound quality, the Yamaha sounds better IMO. If you're planning to expand by adding an external sub or rear speakers, then the Sony's might be a bit better. In my case I only want/need an all-in-one soundbar with integrated sub. I have no interest in adding additional components. I'm not sure if using HDMI ARC plays a factor, since I'm limiting the capability of both soundbars. Both would probably function better over HDMI eARC, but my TV is a few years older and only supports HDMI ARC. Would the Sony sound better than the Yamaha if I used HDMI eARC for both? I'm guessing it wouldn't. The MSRP of the Sony HT-S2000 is $700CAD while the Yamaha SR-B30A is $450CAD. IMO, the Sony is completely overpriced for how it sounds. I was hoping it would sound on par or better for the price along with the added DTS support, but it was disappointing. I don't imagine the Sony HT-A3000 would sound much better either for an even higher price, since that appears to sound similar to the HT-S2000. The HT-A3000 just has more functionality. I'm curious to know if anyone else has tried the Yamaha SR-B30A and what your thoughts are? It seems like an excellent option when on sale for $300CAD or less. I don't believe anything can touch the Yamaha in the same price range, unless I'm mistaken. Even the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is closer to the $500CAD price range when on sale in Canada.

I bought the Yamaha SR-B30A recently. I compared it to a Sony HT-S2000 and it destroyed the Sony IMO. I also used to own a Yamaha YAS-101 which I gave to my parents, and the sound is an upgrade on that. The virtual surround sound effect is similar, but definitely upgraded on the B30A.

And here I am with my humble little Sony HT-S2000 lol

Recently bought HT s2000. Can recommend this very much. It sounds really good, LIKE really really good and cost 250 or below that. And since you specifically asked for only the bar and no separate subs or surround sound tweeters HT s2000 3.1 would be the perfect choice. If you want the woofers and tweeters then the HT S2000 5.1 is what you want The tvs have pretty loud speakers, but they don't tend to be as detailed as a soundbar

Recently bought HT s2000. Can recommend this very much. It sounds really good, LIKE really really good and cost 250 or below that. And since you specifically asked for only the bar and no separate subs or surround sound tweeters HT s2000 3.1 would be the perfect choice. If you want the woofers and tweeters then the HT S2000 5.1 is what you want The tvs have pretty loud speakers, but they don't tend to be as detailed as a soundbar