With the trend towards multiroom audio at home evolving towards wireless solutions, Sony continues to expand its range with complete systems to address also multichannel entertainment for the living room with its slim, compact HT-RT5 Sound Bar with wireless rear speakers and subwoofer.
The new Sony HT-RT5 Sound Bar packs 550 W of true 5.1 channel surround sound with wireless rear speakers and a subwoofer, combining online music streaming from mobiles devices with Google Cast and Spotify Connect, while also supporting wireless multi-room music with SongPal Link.
Sony’s latest Sound Bar intends to combine an authentic home cinema experience - with room-filling audio from six separate speakers - with online music services and fewer untidy cables. The space-saving HT-RT5 was designed to enhance the living-room movie experience, while also connecting with other wireless solutions for everyday listening around the home.
The 550-W multichannel system features a choice of sound modes tailored to different types of screen content, including a Football Mode that captures the acoustics of the Morumbi Stadium in Brazil; a 9.1 channel Cinema Studio directly simulating the famous Cary Grant Theatre at Sony Pictures Studios in LA; and a Digital Music Arena recreating the expansive live acoustics of London’s O2 Arena.
The slim, stylish three-channel Sound Bar fits discreetly in front of the TV or can be wall mounted. The main unit includes a dedicated centre speaker for clear dialogue and transparent treble, whatever the volume. It’s combined with two wireless rear speakers plus a separate wireless subwoofer. Setup was designed also to be simple, with each additional speaker connecting automatically with no loudspeaker cables needed.
But the Sony HT-RT5 system was also designed to support and complement online services, with Spotify Connect and over 100 other music services including Deezer and Google Play. Google Cast support also makes it easy to ‘cast’ online music and radio services wirelessly from any compatible mobile device.
One-touch listening via NFC allows easy pairing of devices, using Bluetooth technology for streaming from smartphones or tablets, in this case powered by Sony’s LDAC technology which transmits three times more audio data than typical Bluetooth connections.
LDAC is a new audio technology from Sony to provide an enhanced wireless listening experience over Bluetooth by means of efficient coding and optimized packetization. LDAC down-converts hi-resolution audio (96kHz/24bit) and CD (44.1 kHz/16 bit) quality sources to a more robust codec, using three kinds of transmission rates: Quality priority mode at 990 kbps; Normal mode at 660 kbps; and Connection priority mode at 330 kbps.
Wireless multiroom mode enables listening to music around the home with a smartphone or tablet to control playback using Sony’s SongPal app. The HT-RT5 system in the living room can be paired in multi-zone mode with other compatible wireless speakers and hi-fi systems around the house. Supported wireless multi-zone modes are based on dual band Wi-Fi (2.4/5 GHz).
The HT-RT5 soundbar also allows direct connectivity of HRA sources with support for 96 kHz/24-bit pulse code modulation (PCM), FLAC, DSD- DSDIFF/DSF, ALAC, AIFF, and WAV formats via HDMI, with HDCP 2.2/4K pass thru.
www.sony.net
