Sony HT-G700 Sound Bar - Was I expecting too much?

spandexbullet

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I've just bought this sound bar and am a little disappointed. Not sure If I am expecting too much though?

A little background - I generally watch films in my dedicated home cinema with projector/AVR/ speakers all round/ twin ported subs. This Sound bar I bought for the lounge TV to replace an old Sony Bluray 5.1 surround system that gave up some years ago. I couldn't deal with the muffled dialogue coming out of my LG OLED TV any longer, so thought it was time to try a simple and tidy sound bar.

The HT-G700 has a wireless Sub which is very handy for placement and adds some reasonable bass. The muffled dialogue from the LG TV's internal speakers is now no issue. Speech is clear and loud. This though, is about all I can say that's particularly positive. I didn't believe that the Sony would produce anything close to the Atmos that it advertises it can do, but I expected at least a decent degree of space and separation - some faux surround. Nope. There's literally no perception of anything like that at all - barely any noticeable stereo. The sound, good as it is, is very clearly all coming from the bar (and the sub) and very much sounding like just a single centre channel. I have tried the various sound options in the menu but not much really changes.

I avoided the up-firing Atmos bars as I have an LG TV with a curved stand which makes placing the bar in front of it pretty difficult and daft looking. I have located the bar on the shelf below the screen. I tried positioning it in front of the screen to check that the shelf was not the issue but no.

Anyone else have any experience of this sound bar? Am I just expecting too much? Should I return it and get something else? Sound bars are new to me. Thanks!
 

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It might a room/positioning issue. You could have a duff unit, but I doubt it. Have you got the TV settings correct? BTW, your first picture seems to be corrupt -- at least it is when I try and view it.
 
It might a room/positioning issue. You could have a duff unit, but I doubt it. Have you got the TV settings correct? BTW, your first picture seems to be corrupt -- at least it is when I try and view it.
Thanks Clem-Dye. I am stuck in where it can go - I guess that goes with the territory though, with Sound bars. I can move the Sub, but can't see that making much difference to the front stage. TV settings - I have tried it connected by bluetooth and also ARC - both give the same result. Having just read another review of the Sony, I am starting to think it's just not much good.
 
Hi, Unsure why. It's just an image of the bar sitting on the shelf below the TV
Is that what you see on the thumbnail and image when you open it? I’ll delete it and you can have another go f you like.
 
Thanks. Original image was corrupt.

Any suggestions for a better sound bar gratefully received!
How much would you like to spend? There are some great bars out there at the moment. Have you looked at Dali/Sonus,Arc/Samsung, certain Lgs, jbl, you can spend up to £2.5k for an ambeo, its really down to what features you really want and of course how much you are willing to spend. Some bars offer atmos ( room dependant) some such as the ambeo ( as well as the Stage) are single piece units that excel at dynamics and sq, others go more bells and whistles, they are still good units of course, just really down to budget and what you want feature set wise.
 
How much would you like to spend? There are some great bars out there at the moment. Have you looked at Dali/Sonus,Arc/Samsung, certain Lgs, jbl, you can spend up to £2.5k for an ambeo, its really down to what features you really want and of course how much you are willing to spend. Some bars offer atmos ( room dependant) some such as the ambeo ( as well as the Stage) are single piece units that excel at dynamics and sq, others go more bells and whistles, they are still good units of course, just really down to budget and what you want feature set wise.

Thank you. I spend most of my time in my home cinema for films and gaming where I have spent a lot. This is not so important to me. I guess really I don't want to spend more than £500
 
Thank you. I spend most of my time in my home cinema for films and gaming where I have spent a lot. This is not so important to me. I guess really I don't want to spend more than £500
I would have a series look at a Dali katch one soundbar
Not so much bells and whistles but great focus on great sound quality
I have seen them on a open box basis for your budget
You really won’t find anything that delivers such good sound quality from the other makes
 
I too have just upgraded to this bar and finding myself somewhat underwhelmed.

The Sony version of virtual surround I find good but it’s the sub that’s so disappointing, it’s just so weak compared to my 5 year old Sony ht-ct780 one.

Im past my 14 days of purchase with Hughes now so don’t know if my sub is just flawed or what I should do. It was too end of my budget but just expected more really.
 
I too have just upgraded to this bar and finding myself somewhat underwhelmed.

The Sony version of virtual surround I find good but it’s the sub that’s so disappointing, it’s just so weak compared to my 5 year old Sony ht-ct780 one.

Im past my 14 days of purchase with Hughes now so don’t know if my sub is just flawed or what I should do. It was too end of my budget but just expected more really.

I returned it and now have a Sonos Play bar inbound.
 
I had a sound technician visit from Hughes last week who agreed the sub woofer performance was poor.

They are bringing a replacement unit this Wednesday which I hope solves the problem but I fear it might just be how it is.

If that’s the case they said I can swap it for the a different product by in my budget range I’d be looking at the Sonos beam or Yamaha yas209 and concerned I may be even less happy with those...it’s stick or twist really!
 
I had a sound technician visit from Hughes last week who agreed the sub woofer performance was poor.

They are bringing a replacement unit this Wednesday which I hope solves the problem but I fear it might just be how it is.

If that’s the case they said I can swap it for the a different product by in my budget range I’d be looking at the Sonos beam or Yamaha yas209 and concerned I may be even less happy with those...it’s stick or twist really!
well the beam is a very good soundbar for the money and of course upgradable should you wish as funds enthusiasm permits.
 
well the beam is a very good soundbar for the money and of course upgradable should you wish as funds enthusiasm permits.

so ive had the unit swapped over this morning and it’s not made any difference. Don’t get me wrong it’s not terrible by any stretch, the performance from the Soundbar itself is pretty good with IAE on. Despite the sub being noticeable in louder action sequences it’s the low end which is just generally lacking and the sound technician agreed that he would expect a lot more.

Have a real dilemma now as I can swap it but I’m not really going to know what my alternatives sound like in comparison until I get them home and my fear is I end up with something I’m even less happy with.

From the stock on their site I’m realistically looking at the Yamaha yas 209 as a like for like replacement but not sure that will be any better.

The bigger gamble is the beam as it would be with no sub, ive read plenty on it and how good it is but worried it will lack low and high end bass after what I’m used to.

any advice welcome!!
 
so ive had the unit swapped over this morning and it’s not made any difference. Don’t get me wrong it’s not terrible by any stretch, the performance from the Soundbar itself is pretty good with IAE on. Despite the sub being noticeable in louder action sequences it’s the low end which is just generally lacking and the sound technician agreed that he would expect a lot more.

Have a real dilemma now as I can swap it but I’m not really going to know what my alternatives sound like in comparison until I get them home and my fear is I end up with something I’m even less happy with.

From the stock on their site I’m realistically looking at the Yamaha yas 209 as a like for like replacement but not sure that will be any better.

The bIgger gamble is the beam as it would be with no sub, ive read plenty on it and how good it is but worried it will lack low and high end bass after what I’m used to.

any advice welcome!!
Guess it comes down to having lousy bass or slightly less but better quality bass, most subs that come with these soundbars are frankly crap, more of a box ticking exercise, most really should not even be called subs as they are incapable of playing subsonic frequencies, just upper bass.
A decent sub is upwards of £1000, and will play down to 19hz, most packaged subs somewere between 50 to 40hz so not really a sub.
try a beam what you will get is accurate and clear bass, just less of it.
 
Most frustrating part is my disappointment stems from the fact my 5 year old so y Soundbar I was replacing had a sub which was far superior, just super low end and high end feel...until my 2 year old filled it with toys and eventually broke it!

I will go and check the beam out again as I’m drawn to it but my budget won’t extend to adding anything else to it.
 
So I took the Sony back and replaced it with the Sonos Playbar (about the same price 2nd hand from eBay). The Sonos is better in every way including bass output even without a sub. It is night and day different and really shows just how crap the Sony actually was. Being a Sonos, it's also packed with a lot more functionality and tuning ability. The sound fills the room beautifully without any kind of faux "Atmos" processing and the bass is very surprising. I have an expensive audio setup in my HT room and can genuinely say that the Sonos Playbar in my lounge has really impressed me.
 
So I took the Sony back and replaced it with the Sonos Playbar (about the same price 2nd hand from eBay). The Sonos is better in every way including bass output even without a sub. It is night and day different and really shows just how crap the Sony actually was. Being a Sonos, it's also packed with a lot more functionality and tuning ability. The sound fills the room beautifully without any kind of faux "Atmos" processing and the bass is very surprising. I have an expensive audio setup in my HT room and can genuinely say that the Sonos Playbar in my lounge has really impressed me.
Rather an unfair comparison as the playbar (when new) was twice the price of the Sony. Sound is very subjective and one person's crap is another person's decent but to label something as rubbish against a product twice the price is hardly a comparison on a level playing field.
 
I’ll be honest, although I’ve been disappointed with the low end bass I certainly wouldn’t say it’s crap. For some £350-£400 is very top end budget so you are looking for bang for buck and the Sony is future proofed with its features
 
Rather an unfair comparison as the playbar (when new) was twice the price of the Sony. Sound is very subjective and one person's crap is another person's decent but to label something as rubbish against a product twice the price is hardly a comparison on a level playing field.

Rather an unfair comparison as the playbar (when new) was twice the price of the Sony. Sound is very subjective and one person's crap is another person's decent but to label something as rubbish against a product twice the price is hardly a comparison on a level playing field.

What really killed it for me was the delay in the wireless sub. It's slight but noticeable and causes a horrible distorted, muffled sound. The crossover is so high that the sub also puts out anything as high as regular dialogue quite audibly. The soundstage is just ridiculously narrow that to claim "Atmos" is just silly. Yes, maybe the comparison between this and a Sonos Soundbar is unfair, but seeing as the costs is the same as a barely-used Sonos, it just doesn't make any sense. I am sure there are many other soundbars around at the same price or lower that would be a lot better and without the issues that the Sony has.
 
What really killed it for me was the delay in the wireless sub. It's slight but noticeable and causes a horrible distorted, muffled sound. The crossover is so high that the sub also puts out anything as high as regular dialogue quite audibly. The soundstage is just ridiculously narrow that to claim "Atmos" is just silly. Yes, maybe the comparison between this and a Sonos Soundbar is unfair, but seeing as the costs is the same as a barely-used Sonos, it just doesn't make any sense. I am sure there are many other soundbars around at the same price or lower that would be a lot better and without the issues that the Sony has.

I do agree that Sony appears to have issues with the subs on their soumdbars which isn't just related to this model. Glad you are happier now 👍
 
I've just bought this sound bar and am a little disappointed. Not sure If I am expecting too much though?

A little background - I generally watch films in my dedicated home cinema with projector/AVR/ speakers all round/ twin ported subs. This Sound bar I bought for the lounge TV to replace an old Sony Bluray 5.1 surround system that gave up some years ago. I couldn't deal with the muffled dialogue coming out of my LG OLED TV any longer, so thought it was time to try a simple and tidy sound bar.

The HT-G700 has a wireless Sub which is very handy for placement and adds some reasonable bass. The muffled dialogue from the LG TV's internal speakers is now no issue. Speech is clear and loud. This though, is about all I can say that's particularly positive. I didn't believe that the Sony would produce anything close to the Atmos that it advertises it can do, but I expected at least a decent degree of space and separation - some faux surround. Nope. There's literally no perception of anything like that at all - barely any noticeable stereo. The sound, good as it is, is very clearly all coming from the bar (and the sub) and very much sounding like just a single centre channel. I have tried the various sound options in the menu but not much really changes.

I avoided the up-firing Atmos bars as I have an LG TV with a curved stand which makes placing the bar in front of it pretty difficult and daft looking. I have located the bar on the shelf below the screen. I tried positioning it in front of the screen to check that the shelf was not the issue but no.

Anyone else have any experience of this sound bar? Am I just expecting too much? Should I return it and get something else? Sound bars are new to me. Thanks!
I do agree that Sony appears to have issues with the subs on their soumdbars which isn't just related to this model. Glad you are happier now 👍
I have been experiencing the exact same problems with this sound bar that you described.

This sound bar is a piece of junk! Do NOT waste your money.

Thinking that I should stay with a Sony sound bar when I purchased my Sony Bravia TV was a BIG mistake!

Low volume, via EARC. Poor sound quality overall including poor voice dialog despite any of the remote control settings.

I even did the firmware update which appears to have done nothing.

I have a TCL Sound Bar that produces 100% better sound quality.

If I could return this sound bar I would.

Total JUNK!
 
The above doesn't mirror my experiences using the bar with a 2019 LG TV. The bar is not the best, hardly surprising given its price point, but I put it on a par with older Sony XT-HT1 sound base for quality, or thereabouts. In default mode, vocals can sound a little bit sibilant on occasion, but the bar and sub play well together, and the sub, at setting 10, seems about right.

I haven't really explored the virtual sound processing much though, which might be a factor. My system is really only used for watching Freesat, YouTube and occasionally D+, so the bar is just handling Dolby Digital and LPCM audio via ARC, not eARC.

My only gripe is the second or two that the bar takes to lock-on to the audio stream, which is a little annoying when watching YT, for example. However, I think that most Sony bars behave in the same way.

By comparison, when I listened to the Sony HTA-3000 and 5000 bars, I thought that they certainly lacked volume, at least on dem. I had to crank the volume to 90 to get a decent sound level out of both of them.

Better matching of kit might help, but I don't think that it's fair to say that the G700 is junk, because it's not. Using it in a large room might result in a lack of oomph, but at the end of the day, it is a mid-price unit, and it's certainly not in the same league as the bigger Samsungs, Sonos, etc. You're doing it an injustice if you're comparing it to more expensive models or expecting way too much from it.
 

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