HT-A7000

Had the a7000 and the a5000 was basically just as good. Sold the a7000, rs5 rears and sw5 sub for $550 or $585, it was $600 and the guy drove almost 5 hours so I gave him either $25 or $50 for the ride. He’s called me twice and is loving it plus he knows there’s no warranty but if it were to break I would give him something back if I knew he wasn’t pulling my leg. Still have an hta9 that I’ll be selling soon, but my Quads ain’t going anywhere in the near future as they still amaze me!

Look and see if Costco still has the Sony a5000 on clearance for $299. It has upfiring speakers for real Dolby Atmos and doesn’t come with a subwoofer but has just enough bass with a built in subwoofer. It was a $899 bar when released and I got at least 9 people to buy it and they all love it. You can buy rear speakers and a subwoofer in the future if you want but most people will be satisfied with this by itself. I had the a7000 and it just has 2 more speakers than the a5000. It’s a phenomenal deal and if you’re near a Costco you can always return it if you don’t like it but nobody else returned it. Good luck

I’m not sure about the width but by memory, I would look at the ambeo plus. It has no rears nor does it come with a subwoofer but it does have the option of adding subs in the future, either ambeo brand or better yet, an aftermarket sub, and I’ve never heard of any real issues with it, but it’s big brother, the Max does. I don’t know your budget as that would help with options, but you said the Bose Ultra and normally I don’t recommend Bose, but as a stand-alone option, then yes I would say it’s worth a look for sure. You don’t want a sub but you definitely want the bar to have some decent low end or it’s gonna sound really bad. I also highly recommend any of Sony’s Bravia models like the theater bar 7,8 or 9 as it’s a high quality product and long lasting, plus it has options for rear speakers and subwoofers down the line which is always better to have than not. I bought the first a7000 in late 2021, and passed it down to my son and it’s still rock solid and has no issues. The newer line is slightly better and range from $800-1299, but again go on sale. I’d say the theater bar 8 is the sweet spot or if you can find the a7000 from 2021 that’s new in store, I’d grab it. It’s a big list and a few might be too wide for u, but I still say ambeo plus first and then the rest. Good luck

First off, no I haven’t heard of any specific issues with the ambeo, but as I said earlier the ambeo max had issues with something burning or getting really hot, but I don’t remember. As far as the new Lifestyle, I don’t like to recommend any specific products that I’ve never heard in person. I know that the new one has substantially bigger rear speakers than the current ones now, I believe the 700’s are just ridiculously small and thin(think soda can but in a square-rectangle) but that doesn’t matter because you don’t want rears. I have only seen pictures of it and it’s top is glass covered except on the edges of the bar because that’s where the upfiring drivers are to give you a bounce like effect so sounds go around your head, but without rear speakers also firing up and bouncing back to give you that Dolby Atmos sound, it’s extremely difficult to get this immersive 360 sound with just the bar by itself. I’ll look it up when I get a minute and tell you what I see but I can’t recommend it because I never heard it. I’m sure it’ll sound better than the ultra will, but that’s all I can say right now.