Sony - HT-S2000

I didn’t like the ht-s2000 (pretty sure that was the one we returned prior to getting a samsung) as it didn’t seem to make a difference to tv audio. others may have a different experience however.

I have the Sony HT-S2000 and I LOVE the dialogue it produces, it gets even better if you add the sub as more of the bar’s power and processing then becomes available to focus on the midrange and higher frequencies where voices fall into, the bar comes with two built in powered subwoofers that give dialogue a nice weight and presence to it that I really like, turn on dialogue enhancer if you need additional detail and you’re on. The Beam Gen 2 and Bose SmartSounbar 600 are supposed to be pretty solid in this department as well.

I have the Sony HT-S2000. It has a built-in sub that's plenty enough for my cozy space.

We have a wall mounted Sony Bravia TV. We were only using the TV speakers and not fully enjoying it, so I decided to purchase the Sony HT-S2000 soundbar to improve the sound. It was a good decision. I am older with hearing issues, but we listen to a lot of music, and it is so much clearer at a lower volume, and dialog is clean as well. It is easy to install, small, and fits the space nicely without looking clutered. It is basically a plug and play. I'll probably add the rear speakers and subwolfer at some point.

I know your post is 2 months old, but just to add... I do have the S2000, and if your goal is to have better sound, then the S2000 will deliver. It's pretty versatile. I did have the Klipsch Flexus Core 200 (referenced in a separate comment here), but it was too much gun for my situation (or at least, that's my theory). Explosions and orchestral soundtracks sounded amazing, but dialogue was way too low, especially when listening to media in Dolby (5.1 or Atmos). Setting Dialogue Mode to high barely helped, and it came with the unfortunate side effect of messing with other sounds, like trumpets on an orchestral piece. The only way to control this huge discrepancy in dynamic range was to tell my TV to output in PCM, but even then it wasn't enough. I guess if you are trying to have a home theater experience all the time, that's fine, but most of the listening in the living room TV is kids shows/movies on Disney+ (and similar). The Klipsch app was also horrendously slow. The Core 200 does aim for a cinematic experience, and in that regard, it excels. It's also great that you can add any self-powered sub you want. And the addition of upward facing speakers does create immersion. I do think that if my living room was bigger, the big sound would have space to go and would not make the dynamic range sound as extreme as it does. Dialogue has not been an issue with the S2000. I have "voice mode" to off, and have no issues hearing dialogue. There are also options in the Bravia Connect App that allow you to compress the range even further in order to make volume differences less dramatic. This is good when watching TV when the kids are asleep or when you just want to watch TV casually. The sound is not as cinematic as with the Klipsch, and you can't connect your any sub you want (as with the Klipsch). You do get immersion despite the lack of upward firing speakers, but the immersion sounds "processed." You also need to set the bass to "Max", though, as I found that anything below "Max" is too anemic. Once it's dialed in, though, explosions and the like will sound very good. I can't imagine how you can be unhappy with this, especially if you get it at a discount.

Yes S2000 is what i would recommend, will match well with the bravia 8 aswell

I have the sony ht-s2000 soundbar and it has no voice announcements. I just love it.

Thank you for your reply! I actually bought S2000 few days after posting this since price dropped to 600 aed (~150 euros) which seemed like pretty good deal. I wanted to use soundbar in my living room, but i tried it also in (significantly smaller) bedroom and i left it there since in small room soundbar delivers almost cinema experience.

To be honest, i am not sure i can really elaborate it - yeah, sound feels more immersive certainly, not sure about distinguising left/right stereo (i have even tried now some left and right sound tests from YT and i think there is not quite a difference). In a small room (~18 m²) i just have feel its very similar to cinema experience but cannot explain beyond that, i am not really expert in sound area 😅

Around Christmas I noticed there was a Yamaha SR-B30A soundbar open box return in the Amazon Resale section (FKA Amazon Warehouse Deals) listed for $239CAD. The current sale price for the soundbar is $300CAD, and the regular price is $450CAD. I also purchased a Sony HT-S2000 soundbar a week later to compare it to the Yamaha. The Sony was also an open box return at Best Buy for $359CAD. Both soundbars were in like new condition and worked without issue. I put them through the motions yesterday and came to realize that the Sony is overpriced compared to the Yamaha. Here's what I observed: - The Sony supports Dolby and DTS audio, while the Yamaha only supports Dolby. Both support Dolby Atmos. - The Sony has 3.1 channels while the Yamaha has only 2.1. - The Sony's integrated sub is weak and lacks punch. I even set the bass level to max in the app. I set the Yamaha bass to 0, the sub to 2, and bass enhancer is disabled. The Yamaha had significantly more punch. The comparison wasn't even close. - The virtual surround sound effect of the Sony seemed small and narrow. Definitely not immersive. The Yamaha's virtual surround sound is significantly more immersive and it wasn't even a close comparison again. The Sony's sound couldn't fill my bedroom, while the Yamaha could. Even raising the volume of the Sony to level 60 couldn't match the sound of the Yamaha on level 30. The Sony only got louder, which is what I wasn't trying to achieve. - Both soundbars offer a dialogue enhancement feature, and they work well but I preferred leaving it off. The vocals tend to be too forward when it's enabled on both soundbars. At least with the Yamaha the dialogue can be adjusted a bit more by adjusting the treble level. - The Sony's physical remote is better than the Yamaha's, but the Yamaha's app is significantly better with more options to change the sound. You can adjust the treble, bass, and sub in the Yamaha app, and only the bass in the Sony app. Both have options to improve dialogue. - The Sony's build quality is better. I'm not a fan of the fabric used on the Yamaha. The fabric can get dirty/dusty easier and potentially tear. - If all you care about is sound quality, the Yamaha sounds better IMO. If you're planning to expand by adding an external sub or rear speakers, then the Sony's might be a bit better. In my case I only want/need an all-in-one soundbar with integrated sub. I have no interest in adding additional components. I'm not sure if using HDMI ARC plays a factor, since I'm limiting the capability of both soundbars. Both would probably function better over HDMI eARC, but my TV is a few years older and only supports HDMI ARC. Would the Sony sound better than the Yamaha if I used HDMI eARC for both? I'm guessing it wouldn't. The MSRP of the Sony HT-S2000 is $700CAD while the Yamaha SR-B30A is $450CAD. IMO, the Sony is completely overpriced for how it sounds. I was hoping it would sound on par or better for the price along with the added DTS support, but it was disappointing. I don't imagine the Sony HT-A3000 would sound much better either for an even higher price, since that appears to sound similar to the HT-S2000. The HT-A3000 just has more functionality. I'm curious to know if anyone else has tried the Yamaha SR-B30A and what your thoughts are? It seems like an excellent option when on sale for $300CAD or less. I don't believe anything can touch the Yamaha in the same price range, unless I'm mistaken. Even the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is closer to the $500CAD price range when on sale in Canada.

I bought the Yamaha SR-B30A recently. I compared it to a Sony HT-S2000 and it destroyed the Sony IMO. I also used to own a Yamaha YAS-101 which I gave to my parents, and the sound is an upgrade on that. The virtual surround sound effect is similar, but definitely upgraded on the B30A.

The S2000 isn’t horrible sounding for its current price point. $300 for a compact 3.1 with atmos/dts processing. I’d also look at Sennheiser. I NEVER hear anyone talking about their ambeo systems. Most immersive bar without rears I’ve heard. Got a long time Bose fan hooked on the brand

I just got the Sony s2000 and put it on my Sony x90l tv and it is way way way better. I can put a fan on in the room and still easily hear dialogue.

I have the Sony S2000, it’s 3.1 so stereo but has a “surround sound” mode. I really like it as massive upgrade from TV speakers, and has built in subwoofer so don’t need separate one but you can upgrade and get separate subwoofer and rear speakers too. Overall for me I wanted a nice and simple sound bar I could plug in and sounded great as I live in a flat, and it ticked all the boxes for £260 at Costco. I also have a 55 LGC4

100% I'm voting the Klipsch. Sony just doesn't sound good to me & they're too expensive for the performance in my opinion. & Sonos is just a disaster right now so I can't recommend Sonos to anyone. But the Flexus system is a fantastic system. 2 4" Subwoofers that hit quite well, & it just ROCKS. And the Sub 100 is a mean subwoofer!

Room calibration doesn't make or break sound staging. I can't exactly speak on the A5000 but I can speak on the S2000. To me, all Sony soundbars are underperformers. Yea they might do DSP work better but if it doesn't sound good overall then that's a deal breaker for me. And Sony is delivering systems that are nowhere near my expectations of them. I think they're starting to get better & closer to my expectations with the Bravia bars, but I've only heard a demo before. The S2000 is their "entry level" bar that some reason can apparently get louder than the A3000-5000-& 7000 (according to rTings.com with SPL readings). And I won't lie it does get quite loud, but it definitely does NOT sound good at high volumes without doing a decent amount of EQ tweaking on my phone. Also that SW5 is the biggest joke of a "flagship" subwoofer I've ever seen. I had an old Sony 5.1 AV unit with a single 8" subwoofer and let me tell you, it was so much better than this SW5, Like twice the performance at about the same size. Hell I honestly can't personally even recommend Sony until they release new subwoofers cause these subs are just ass. The Sonos Mini Sub was legitimately half the size, sounded 10x better & honestly can probably get louder too. I had the Sonos Mini Sub literally sitting on top of the SW5 & honestly I think it might be able to sit 2 mini's on top of the SW5. My Klipsch Flexus on the other hand, entirely different animal. Has been one of my absolute favorite systems along with the Q800B & Sonos Arc + Sub Mini as close runner ups. EDM & especially guitars have an incredible richness to them on this Flexus system that the Q800B & Sonos Arc just don't come close to. And if I'm honest I think this bar has an incredible soundstage. I was watching something the other day and something was happening to the left off screen & it was madly impressive how much I actually thought there seemed to be a whole separate speaker actually making the sound instead of the bar. Also choice of a 10" or 12" subwoofer, & choice to run 2 of them if needed. I have a single 10" (Sub 100) and its definitely a subwoofer that really means business.

It's an ok bar. I have it + the SW5. I definitely wouldn't say it has exceptional sound quality. Bar by itself has quite poor bass, but then again it is just a bar. I will say it can definitely get quite damn loud so that's something. Do some EQ adjustments on your phone and it can sound a bit better, but still nothing exceptional. I have no idea what's up with Sony but Sony soundbars have honestly always disappointed me considering it's Sony. I honestly find it hard to believe it's even a Sony system. The Klipsch Flexus Core 100 is a bit more expensive, but a MASSIVE step up. I also have the Core 200 + Sub 100. I definitely recommend looking at the Core 100. 2 4" subs built in that really hit quite hard actually.

I'd personally pick Samsung over both. My dad still has his Bar 3.1 system & it's alright. I had the JBL Bar 500 & it was honestly a disaster to my ears. Subwoofer was surprisingly bad sounding compared to the Bar 3.1 which is older, & The bar was noticably more distorted sounding than the older Bar 3.1. Which was realllllyyyy disappointing. But even with the Bar 3.1 I still wish they did better on the subwoofer. Doesn't play nearly as deep as I think it should considering it's a 10" subwoofer. Sony on the other hand is kinda starting to get better. I used to have a full Sony SEN-R5520 5.1 AV system. Shit rocked. But Sony soundbars I've experienced just don't even come close to the same experience (I know AV isn't a comparison to a soundbar, but it still shouldn't feel like 2 different brands of systems). Sony desperately needs to release an all new lineup of subwoofers cause that SW5 is absolutely laughable for the price, performance & size of it. Doesn't get very loud, & doesn't play very deep either. I have the S2000 bar & the SW5 & it's definitely disappointing. Only good thing I can say about it is that the bar can get quite loud, but it's definitely not very clean sounding, & honestly I have a hard time believing I'm even listening to a Sony system. I have had a brief listening of the new Bravia theater bars & they're definitely sounding more like how a Sony should sound to me. But again they really need a new subwoofer lineup so badly. I expect so much more from Sony it's honestly sad to me that this is what we get for soundbars.

Try to see if you can find the Klipsch Flexus Core 200 on sale. I'm seeing it on sale from Walmart for 349. Little more than what you want to spend but it absolutely blows all those you mentioned away. I have the S2000 as well and it's alright, bass is eh, clarity is eh. I will say it gets loud ASF, but that's the only good thing I can say. But it's an odd bar cause without surround on it plays as a 2.1 while with surround on it plays as a 3.1, at least I believe that's what I'm experiencing. The Beam 2 is wayyy overpriced for its performance in my opinion. Had it for awhile too. But can't speak on the Samsung but I guarantee it won't touch the Flexus system.

For this price the Sony s2000 is a good choice. Had it myself and does a good job.