Sony HT-Z9F Owners and Discussion Thread

can you confirm how this mode is enabled?
is it simply automatic if the cables are connected? or does it need to be enabled via the settings?
I checked and he hasn’t been active since March. Hopefully your quote gets him to reply!

I spent a good amount of time trying to get the wires to work, but to no avail. I feel confident saying that it’s not automatic. If it is something in the settings, then it’s buried away or unclear. Or straight up hidden. Please let me know if you decide to try it and get better luck than I do!
 
I have a question, hope someone might be able to help....

I am trying to use the soundbar as an audio only Bluetooth speaker, without changing what is displayed on the TV. For example, if I want the news on the TV in the background but listen to music as well on the soundbar.
If I try and stream audio to the soundbar, via any option, it changes the TV to the soundbar's own display, it shows the details of the song playing etc.

I can sort of get what I want if I turn the Control HDMI option to off, however this then disables some functionality that I don't want to lose.

Any ideas?
 
i don't think you are going to get what you want.
whatever source the sounbar is "playing" will be displayed on the screen on the TV.

what funcionality do you lose with HDMI control off?
 
i don't think you are going to get what you want.
whatever source the sounbar is "playing" will be displayed on the screen on the TV.

what funcionality do you lose with HDMI control off?

I lose the ability for the TV and the soundbar to work together, things like the TV remote being able to control the soundbar etc. Not a showstopper, but would be nice to have everything working together.
I had hoped the soundbar might have a mode that was audio only, i.e. nothing displayed on the screen.
Thanks for the quick reply.
 
ah, i use a logitech harmony to control everything, so don't rely on any HDMI CEC control.

the audio controls are really just another "source" on the device, so when you activate them it switches everything from the HDMI source to the internal audio source.
 
I have a question, hope someone might be able to help....

I am trying to use the soundbar as an audio only Bluetooth speaker, without changing what is displayed on the TV. For example, if I want the news on the TV in the background but listen to music as well on the soundbar.
If I try and stream audio to the soundbar, via any option, it changes the TV to the soundbar's own display, it shows the details of the song playing etc.

I can sort of get what I want if I turn the Control HDMI option to off, however this then disables some functionality that I don't want to lose.

Any ideas?
Have you tried using sonys android app?
 
Have you tried using sonys android app?

Yes, it has the same result.
I thought I read that you could use it as an audio bluetooth speaker even when the soundbar was switched off. But it just seems to switch itself on and then in turn switch to the audio display on the TV.
 
Yes, it has the same result.
I thought I read that you could use it as an audio bluetooth speaker even when the soundbar was switched off. But it just seems to switch itself on and then in turn switch to the audio display on the TV.


I just tested and it doesn't appear to do that if tv is on.
With tv off it works as Bluetooth only speaker. I had never tried to see if tv could have picture with soundbar playing music before.
 
I just tested and it doesn't appear to do that if tv is on.
With tv off it works as Bluetooth only speaker. I had never tried to see if tv could have picture with soundbar playing music before.

Interesting. In the HDMI settings on the Soundbar, do you have the Control option to On or Off?
Also, I have the HDMI in the "ARC" port on the TV, not sure if that makes a difference?
 
Interesting. In the HDMI settings on the Soundbar, do you have the Control option to On or Off?
Also, I have the HDMI in the "ARC" port on the TV, not sure if that makes a difference?
Sorry i meant that it doesn't display tv, but puts up track like you sa8d and allows soundbar to output music.
 
Sorry i meant that it doesn't display tv, but puts up track like you sa8d and allows soundbar to output music.

Yes, that is the same then for me.
It seems there is no way to have an "audio only" mode, unless you workaround it by turning off the HDMI control option. Or I guess I could just take the HDMI cable out of the TV for the times I need it as a standalone speaker.
Thanks for the replies.
 
still not sure why turning HDMI control off would make any difference.
the soundbar would still send the output signal to the TV regardless of whether it can control the TV or not.
 
still not sure why turning HDMI control off would make any difference.
the soundbar would still send the output signal to the TV regardless of whether it can control the TV or not.

If I switch off the HDMI Control option, the soundbar cannot change the HDMI source back to itself.
For example, if I have soundbar on HDMI1(arc) and another input on HDMI2, if I am watching HDMI2, as soon as I stream some audio to the soundbar, it automatically changes the TV to use HDMI1.
If I turn off the control option, it cannot do that, so I can watch on HDMI2 while listening to audio on the soundbar.
 
i guess it depends how you are using the soundbar and your devices.
if you have everything connected to the soundbar and the only device connected to the TV is the soundbar then no matter what the soundbar is doing it'll output to the TV.

this is how mine is configured.

the bluetooth audio service has a video output associated to it, which i guess in some situations wouldn't be the desired outcome.

personally i'm still trying to work out how to stop the soundbar sending a message to the TV when the connected HDMI device is asleep. i end up with a static message on the screen saying to check the device!
 
Hi Guys,

Have been reading through this topic for a bit, since I also encounter issues with the rear speakers.
I have the intermittent drop issue, but also have weird sounds coming from it. If voices are played it sounds like they are coming from under water ( i used this vid to test: )

I've tested 3 sets of speakers, so i am pretty sure this is not a faulty rear speaker set.
Also have followed the calibrate topic to make sure sounds are not overruling others.

I also found the post where the stickers are removed from the back to attach the aux cable. This would be fine for me, yet this does not work out of the box which is also mentioned before.

I do not seem to have any issues with the soundbar and subwoofer itself. Would like to hear if someone finds out how to connect the aux cables.
 
Hi Guys,

Have been reading through this topic for a bit, since I also encounter issues with the rear speakers.
I have the intermittent drop issue, but also have weird sounds coming from it. If voices are played it sounds like they are coming from under water ( i used this vid to test: )

I've tested 3 sets of speakers, so i am pretty sure this is not a faulty rear speaker set.
Also have followed the calibrate topic to make sure sounds are not overruling others.

I also found the post where the stickers are removed from the back to attach the aux cable. This would be fine for me, yet this does not work out of the box which is also mentioned before.

I do not seem to have any issues with the soundbar and subwoofer itself. Would like to hear if someone finds out how to connect the aux cables.



Have you tested on an atmos source like netflix or a 5.1 source, you tube output is lpcm and as far as I remember stereo output. (LPCM is processed on your tv and not passed through to process on your SB like bitstream would be)

The bar will try to create a virtual upscale from sources like you tube which can do this. I experience this on some tv channels that are stereo and not 5.1

You can switch off this so that stereo will be output as stereo and not virtual 5.1 or atmos.

I would test via netflix as they have decent atmos content or a 4k disk to confirm everything is OK. I would think, with a proper atmos/5.1 input, your issue should be no longer apparent.
 
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I' ve tried multiple Netflix series/movies as well yes. The voices do not seem altered here, yet I do hear the tiny interruptions which are a few milliseconds. I did a reset yesterday and that seemed to made it a little less.
 
I' ve tried multiple Netflix series/movies as well yes. The voices do not seem altered here, yet I do hear the tiny interruptions which are a few milliseconds. I did a reset yesterday and that seemed to made it a little less.


On your soundbar do you have auto volume off, as if on this can cause drop outs.
 
Just checked, this setting is indeed turned off, will tonight watch a movie and check if dolby atmos is present.
 
Still have the tiny hiccups,so if someone has tips on that subject I would love to hear. Furthermore they sound great.
 
How does the HT-Z9F + Rear Speakers compare to the HT-ST5000? I can pick either for the same price, so I'm leaning towards the HT-ST5000 since it's more expensive at regular price but I kind of like having rear speakers... So torn!
 
How does the HT-Z9F + Rear Speakers compare to the HT-ST5000? I can pick either for the same price, so I'm leaning towards the HT-ST5000 since it's more expensive at regular price but I kind of like having rear speakers... So torn!

I've not heard the ht-st5000, so cant comment on it compared to the zf9 but the rears on the zf9, do make it a 5.1 system and do enhance the atmos effect on it.
 
Hi,

Have the HT-Z9F with rear speakers, I'm experiencing a noticeable drop in connection connection between the sub/rear speakers and the main unit.

I've been following the suggestions listed on the forum, but still feel it should be unnecessary to re-pair the units every couple of days.

Is this everyone else's experience?
 
Hi,

Have the HT-Z9F with rear speakers, I'm experiencing a noticeable drop in connection connection between the sub/rear speakers and the main unit.

I've been following the suggestions listed on the forum, but still feel it should be unnecessary to re-pair the units every couple of days.

Is this everyone else's experience?

I'm guessing you have auto sound on the SB switched off.

did you try changing the Rf setting that you had?

In my job I often do fault investigations and rule out what may be causing an issue to find a solution.

I havent had any issues with my connection, apart from on prime a couple of times I did notice sub dip. But on other sources I have never experienced this. And I don't ever loose the connection completely.

I do switch SB, sub and rears off at wall every night. Not sure if that would make any difference?
And I restart the tv once a week, and I did notice restarting tv and sb fixed lip synch issues in bbc iplayer app.

I wonder if it's something else causing the issues.

Does it happen on all sources or just some. Eg tv app, 4k player?

Do you loose the connection completely until you resynch or is a momentary loss of connection?
Does it do this on 1 specific sources eg prime tv app or on all sources?

What wireless devices do you have or could a device be interfering with the SB?

I would test by switching off any wireless doorbells etc to test. Though if you have neighbours using a device that possibly has interference you would not know.
I checked manual and wireless speakers use one of the frequencies below.

5150 - 5250 MHz < 18 dBm
5250 - 5350 MHz < 18 dBm
5470 - 5600 MHz < 18 dBm
5650 - 5725 MHz < 18 dBm
5725 - 5850 MHz < 13.98 dBm

The bottom range is in same range as 5g wifi channel 36

Channel 161 uses 5815 to 5795, which nest wifi such as bt hub, orbi etc will use for their back channel to link the individual satellites to the main router hub.

Try using a WiFi analyser to see if it is a possibility that something may be causing interference?

What tv model do you have connected to the SB?
 

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