Product Reviews

Great sound with enhanced stereo, casting from sites with hd and ultra hd. 360 surround audio not as immersive or surround as I imagined but still excellent quality.

The shape of the speaker is unusual and makes a nice feature in the room without being too overpowering. It is heavy and solid giving the feeling that it is well built. After plugging it into the mains the Bluetooth setup was straightforward and worked perfectly. From the first time I played music through the speaker it was obvious that it would fill the room with rich deep sound. The mix had quite a prominent bass that was a bit too much for some tracks, a small adjustment using the phone app altered this to suit my taste. I then connected the speaker to our Bravia television to see how well that would work. The speaker is located a small distance away from the television and the sound experience is similar to a cinema. When people are speaking the sound matches their lip movement but the voice does not seem to be coming from their mouth in the same way that it does through the TV speaker. This took a little bit of getting used to but it was worth it because when you watch an action movie the sound is amazing. Because the speaker is so versatile it is always being used either to play radio via the internet, music from various sources or the TV. You do not need the volume high to get very good sound that fills the room. We have got so used to the quality of this speaker that our old ones are now redundant.

I haven't had a chance to try the volume at the max but has easily been enough to fill the room with an incredibly clear and crisp sound, even at low volume. Very easy to hook up devices via Bluetooth, thought the sound when paired with my blu ray player was every bit as good as my 4k speaker, found I got the best results when it was stood on a solid base as opposed to a carpet or rug. Overalll, very good and versatile speaker but I think the price tag will put off a lot of people.

A giant shaver? A strange looking toadstool? Those were my initial impressions when I first saw images of the SRS-RA5000! It's definitely different in terms of looks, but is it different enough to other wireless speakers in the most important area - sound quality? When I first opened the box I was pleasantly surprised that it was a lot smaller than I was expecting. I was worried it may dominate the room but it's actually the perfect size to give just enough presence, without shouting 'look at me!' Having said that, it will definitely be a talking point when guests visit due to it's unusual design. I was very unsure when I first saw the design but in person it looks stunning. The lovely warm copper of the speaker grills and feet compliment beautifully with the matt black plastic and mesh. Obviously the conical shape is used to enhance the function of the speaker, but it does add to the overall aesthetics. It's almost a work of art for your living (or other), room! The build quality can't be faulted either and is fairly hefty at 4.9kg. The speaker is mains operated and the AC in is found underneath the unit. It does come with an external AC power adapter and not a very long cord so bare this in mind when thinking about where to position it or you may need an extension cord. The instructions also tell you to place the unit with the SONY logo facing to the front. Turning on the unit I found the buttons are actually touch sensitive. These are all raised from the mesh and feature 'play' and volume controls on side and 'Power', 'Input' and 'Sound Mode' on another. When you first turn the system on it will automatically do the Sound Calibration which adjusts to the proper sound balance of your room, including the ceiling. The first thing I wanted to try was the highlight of the speaker - the 360 Reality Audio! There is a sample built in to the unit. WOW! The jungle animal sounds truly sound like they are all around you but the highlight has to be the jet which actually sounds like it flies over you! Onto set up. I wanted to connect my smartphone first and the quickest way is via Bluetooth, or so I thought. For some reason the Bluetooth would find the speaker but it wouldn't connect despite using the same version. I tried using NFC which worked straight away. I could immediately start playing music. You can choose to listen in standard 2-channel stereo, Immersive Audio Enhancement (indicated by a white downlight on the front), or 360 Reality Audio (Cyan downlight). However, the latter is not available over Bluetooth or NFC, only WiFi. Which leads me onto WiFi set up! I downloaded Google Home Assistant and was then able to link my phone to the speaker. Chromecast then allows you to play any music from your phone. I then encountered a problem. I wanted to connect my Sony Bravia (ZD9) to the speaker as I thought it would enhance the sound when watching films, etc. However, it appears the TV has an older version of Bluetooth and won't connect! The TV is 'only' five years old, but I guess that's the relentless pace of technology! Connectivity, in my opinion, is the only downfall of this speaker. A HDMI connection would have been the icing on the cake and would have met all my needs. Back to the positives though! The sound quality is superb! If you want standard 2-channel stereo it's crisp and clear, ideal for having the radio on in the background. However, to really appreciate this speaker select Immersive Audio Enhancement and play one of your favourite tunes! It will basically mimic the 360 Reality Audio and transform standard 2-channel sound into a three dimensional sound space. Two of my go to pieces of music when listening through new equipment are the Blade Runner end titles by Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarres' Oxygen. I have never heard them sound so good! It does actually sound like different sounds are coming from all around you! Not only that but the actual quality is crystal clear throughout all the ranges. Now onto the creme de la creme! The 360 Reality Audio! As this is a new technology by Sony there are not many songs which have been converted to this new format as yet. Included in my box was a 90 day free trial of Tidal which does stream 360 music. After looking through the list of available songs, I found Space Oddity by David Bowie - it had to be played! I was blown away! The quality is truly sublime. The opening part with the countdown in the background is stunning as the '10, 9, 8...' seem to come from all around. One number will be behind to the right, the next to the left from behind and above. The Immersive Audio Enhancement is great but the true 360 is something else! The three upfiring speakers definitely give 'height' to the sound. I can't wait to see what creative musicians do with this technology. You do feel like you are 'inside' the music. In the past there have been concert hall sound fields on TVs etc, but they don't come close to this. It also enables a fullness to the sound and is crystal clear even at low volume. The 6 speakers fill the room and the subwoofer provides a rich, deep bass. From bass range to high range notes it loses no clarity and gives exceptional expressiveness in every piece of music I have listened to. I'm looking forward to listening to old and new tracks as they become available through 360! I would say though that ideally I think the speaker needs to be placed in the centre of a room and you need to be in front of it for the 'perfect' listening position. Having said that you can possibly enjoy different experiences listening to the same song from different positions! Also if you want to place the speaker nearer a wall you can just recalibrate the speaker so it knows how to provide the best sounds. The SONY SSR-RA5000 is a superb, in some ways, exceptional, piece of technology. Beautifully made, intriguing design and sound which will make you want to listen to music you may not have listened to in years! My only criticism is regarding the connectivity issues. If you have a TV with the correct connectivity, you will get even more out of this speaker! I wanted to give it a 4.5 out of 5 for this reason but can only choose 4 or 5. I have decided to go for a 5 due to it's stunning sound! I'm off to find some more 360 Reality Audio tracks!

Sony said that ambient room-filling sound is the perfect way to listen to music or add that extra dimension to a film. And I must say I agree fully with this. This speaker is amazing. Even at really low volume it delivers on a full spectrum and the bass is rich. The way this speaker delivers music, it doesn't drown out conversations and is unobtrusive. If I didn't know where the speaker was placed it is hard to locate the sound source in the room. It is truly filling the space. I have mine set up with Spotify connect. I did so using Sony's Music Centre app. Once set up, which was very easy, you can play your latest playlist with just a touch of a button on the speaker. You can also play via Bluetooth or plug in a source, which I do to get a more immersive experience watching a film. The design of this might divide opinion but it is nice that it does not look like any other cylinder home pod. It feels robust and materials feel premium. The touch control buttons are very responsive. There is no Alexa or Google assistant built in but if you set it up in Google home you can tell your voice assistant to locate and play music where you want to. I prefer that it does not have a voice assistant built in as I find these too intrusive in my home. I'd recommend this product any day.