Sony announced it two new sound bars at CES 2019 including the HT-X8500 and HT-S350 soundbars. Now the company has released its Sony HT-X8500 soundbar with Dolby Atmos in India. Sony HT-X8500 is characterized by a design to be easily integrated with the furniture. X8500 measures 890 x 64 x 96 mm. It is equipped with 2.1 channels double woofer and integrates the subwoofer inside. On the sides, there are the bass reflex ducts. The compatible formats include practically everything possible: Dolby Atmos, DTS: X, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HS Master Audio and so on.
The X8500 is equipped with various DSPs (Digital Signal Processing) such as the Vertical Surround Engine. This is an upmix processing that brings the number of channels to 7.1.2 (obviously virtual) so as to exploit also the vertical expansion given by the “object-based” tracks (Dolby Atmos and DTS: X). Connectivity offers Bluetooth, an optical input, an HDMI input and output with eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel), the improved audio return channel capable of conveying uncompressed tracks.
On the back is an HDMI-in, an HDMI-Out (2.0) and a TOS-Link port and the connection for the power supply. The scope of supply includes, in addition to the bar, a power supply, a remote control (including batteries) and a TOS-Link cable. We are looking for an HDMI cable in vain. On the sides, the bass reflex ports complete the picture.
HT-X8500 even supports eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel). Thus, audio signals from the TV can be transmitted directly to the Soundbar via an HDMI connection. With an HDMI input and output, also copy-protected content (HDCP 2.2 / 2.3) with 4K / 60p and HDR (HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision) can be looped to a third device. An optical digital input (SPDIF) is also available. The model can also be connected via Bluetooth (version 5.0) with mobile devices or the TV. The USB port on the back is unfortunately only for firmware updates.
