Design and build:

Comparing the Sony HT-A9 vs HT-A7000, the HT-A7000 is a standalone bar whereas the HT-A9 is a setup of 4 satellite speakers and a control box. Look for the FL and FR on the speakers and place them on the front side. The other two speakers are satellite speakers and need to be placed at the back of the room.

They are labelled are RR and RL. They are made of plastic and covered with metal grille. While the HT-A9 has an off-white color, the A7000 is a black soundbar. Sony HT-A7000 is made of plastic that has a glass top panel. It has metal grilles to cover the body and fabric grille for the upward drivers.

Size wise the soundbars vary vastly. The Sony HT-A7000 is suitable for larger TVs like 75 to 85” sizes. Sony HT-A9 speakers can easily be placed on both side of the TV regardless of their screen size. Place the small control box in front of the TV. Both these models are wall mountable as well so it is suitable for tight spaces.

Performance:

Comparing Sony HT-A9 vs HT-A7000 systems, the HT-A9 system has a 4.0.4 channel configuration and the HT-A7000 bar has a 7.1.2 setup. Instead of a bar, the HT-A9 will have two speakers as left and right channel. Sony HT-A7000 has 5 front driver, 2 side-firing and 2 up-firing drivers. It also has 2 built-in subwoofer drivers. It works with up-firing drivers and Vertical Surround Engine to deliver a powerful sense of height effects even without in-ceiling speakers.

Unlike the HT-A9, it supports both Dolby Digital and DTS audio formats. Compared to the HT-A9, the 7000 model has low latency over ARC so you will not notice any delay in audio and video. If you compare the Sony HT-A9 vs HT-A7000, you will see that the A9 does not have any center channel. This means with a dedicated driver for center, the HT-A7000 will deliver transparent, clear and intelligible dialogues.

Sony HT-A9 has loud and detailed sound. In terms of surround, the HT-A9 performs better than the Sony HT-A7000. This is because the HT-A9 system has satellite speakers as well. The sound is room-filling and prominent. It is realistic and more accurate. While watching movies, we heard subtle sound effects with good overheads. Bass is present but average. Comparing the Sony HT-A9 vs HT-A7000, the A9 system has amazing soundstage.

With discreate speakers all around the user, the soundfield is pure, wider and more accurate. To improve the vocals in the HT-A9 home theater system, you can use Acoustic Center Sync. This is where the bar will connect to Bravia TV (2021 and up models) and use the TV as the center speaker. With 4 up-firing drivers, the overheads are lively, accurate and impactful compared to the HT-A7000. Overall, the HT-A9 system with phantom speakers can deliver great sound compared to other soundbars.

The soundbars have immersive AE (Audio Enhancement) feature that adds height effects even to non-Atmos contents. With 360 Spatial Sound Mapping, the bar creates phantom speakers to deliver a sense of sound space emits sound everywhere in the room. They have Sound Field Optimization for room calibration. This analyzes the room layout and enhances the sound.

The bars have 360 Reality Audio where it focuses on producing a multidimensional sound space making audio performance for realistic and accurate. For that users should have subscription to 360 Reality Audio music streaming services.

Features:

The soundbars have settings for night more, dialogue, room calibration, EQ presets (Standard Surround, Cinema, Music and Auto Sound), etc. In the HT-A9 model you get the additional bass level adjustment. With HDMI 2.1, both these soundbars allow 8k@60 Hz and 4k@120 Hz passthrough. With support for ALLM and VRR, the bars are suitable for gaming.

The bars are versatile and support Apple Airplay 2, Chromecast and Spotify Connect. These open doors to several opportunities. With Apple Airplay 2, you can create multiroom system. Stream from Apple and Mac devices. It allows users to talk to Siri and give commands. Spotify Premium users can take advantage of the Spotify Connect feature where playing music from Spotify app is easier.

The Chromecast allows users to stream from internet radio, listen to podcasts, play content from cloud and other compatible apps. With this you can also build multiroom audio with Chromecast supported speakers. They have Bluetooth Receiver and Transmitter mode. This means you can connect to Bluetooth supported TVs wirelessly to the bar. Or, connect a Bluetooth headset and listen to audio from the bar.

Connectivity:

Sony HT-A9 has HDMI out, HDMI In, and Ethernet port. The HT-A7000 has optical port, 2 HDMI In, HDMI out, and USB port. There is a S-Center out port to connect Bravia TV to it. They are versatile and supports both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Multiple speaker pairing:

Both the soundbars will connect to Sony SA-SW3 or SA-SW5 subwoofer wirelessly. With Sony HT-A7000, you can also connect the SA-RS3S Wireless Rear Speakers.

Control options:

Comparing the Sony HT-A9 vs HT-A7000, the HT-A7000 has several physical controls including power on/off, volume up/down, input source, Bluetooth, choose Spotify. They both come with a handy remote that is large and has several buttons. Sony Music Center app is also available to adjust settings. None of the bars have any voice assistant support.

Although there is no direct support, both these soundbars can talk to Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Users need to purchase voice assistant enabled devices separately and connect them.

Cost:

Comparing the Sony HT-A9 vs HT-A7000, the HT-A7000 soundbar is less pricey than the HT-A9. It is available under $1000 whereas the HT-A9 is found under $1500.    

FAQ:

How to place the Sony HT-A9 speakers?

Sony HT-A9 consists of 4 individual speakers and not a single soundbar. The FL and FR labelled speakers should be placed on two sides of the TV. Place the RR and RL speakers behind or beside the user. Sony claims that users can place the speakers on different heights like one on the tabletop and another on wall in case of space issues. With Sound Field Optimization, the audio output will remain unaffected and pure.

Is the Sony HT-A7000 and HT-A9 compatible with 3D-contents?

Both these systems will work with 3D-ready Blu-ray disc movies and games. It will support 3D content via the HDMI port.