Product Description

Sony HT-S40R 5.1ch 600W Sound Bar

A lot of people prefer soundbars to more traditional speaker systems to cut the clutter of cables running around the room. While they undoubtedly improve the TV viewing experience by leaps and bounds, you still miss out on the surround sound effects that 5.1 channel speakers offer.

There is a vast library of content with 5.1 channel audio on OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and a standard 2.1 channel soundbar cannot do full justice to it. Sony looks to bring the best of both worlds with its new HT-S40R 5.1 channel soundbar.

It promises a proper 5.1 channel surround sound while minimising the interconnecting wires for a reasonable price. Let’s figure out how it does that, and if it’s worth the asking price.

Sony HT-S40R Soundbar: Design

This Sony audio system has quite a few components. Firstly, you have the 90 cm long soundbar that hosts the left, right and centre channels, and there are grooves in the grille for the demarcation.

The bar has an all-black body with a metal grille at the front and curved edges that make it look premium.

The construction is sturdy, and the bar weighs about two kilogrammes. There are absolutely no buttons or ports on the soundbar, but just a cable that plugs into the subwoofer.

The proprietary cable has three pins that are colour-coded and plug into the respective sockets on the sub. All the input ports and connectors are placed at the back of the subwoofer, while the USB port is located at the front, making it easy to plug in a USB drive.

There is a small seven-segment LED display at the front, which is always handy. It displays the input mode as well as volume among other things. The top of the sub has touch controls that are very easy to miss.