With the growing popularity of 3D sound, driven by the Dolby Atmos/DTS:X formats, many manufacturers are challenging themselves to offer compatible soundbars at low prices. This is the case of the Sony HT-G700, which is quite good at this exercise.
The HT-G700 is only a small evolution of the X8500. More controlled bass, more precise treble and a dedicated center channel… that’s what sets them apart. Our overall assessment therefore remains very similar. Like its little sister, the HT-G700 also has serious advantages in terms of spatialization given its 3.1 acoustic configuration and remains above all cut out for cinema listening. Its “raw” sound performance is less impressive, especially when compared to one of its rivals, Samsung’s HW-Q60T. The latter, on the other hand, is not at all the weight in terms of spatialization.
Points forts
- Remarkably effective virtual surround, including height effects.
- Good sound balance (as long as you stay in “Music” mode).
- Sortie HDMI compatible eARC.
- Support for a very wide variety of audio streams (including Dolby Atmos / DTS:X).
Weak points
- Lack of precision in the treble, whatever the mode.
- A slight lack of presence in “Music” mode.
- Very unintuitive navigation in the menus of the bar.
- Only one HDMI input.
NB: The reported price drop is calculated by comparing the lowest price of the day with the average of the lowest prices charged by all merchants for the product last month, with security rules to exclude prices from shops whose the VAT policy is not clear (known as “grey” shops, typically in the case of imports from China).
An alternative
The Yamaha YAS-109 certainly does not keep all its promises when it comes to the quality of its bass and its surround virtual. But we can’t really hold it against it, since it nevertheless offers more than adequate performance for its price range, satisfactory both for listening to music and watching movies – on the only condition of remaining wise on the sound volume.
