Recently, Sony India showcased the new HT-A5000 and HT-A3000 sound bars at a limited press conference. Shohei Toyoda, Head of Audio Business at Sony India, stated at the unveiling that India has a stronger demand than more affluent Asian countries like Singapore for home audio devices, particularly sound bars. From a sales and market perspective, India is a significant market for home audio.
According to Toyoda, consumers in markets like Singapore and Malaysia are more inclined towards mobile audio products such as headphones and Bluetooth speakers as they prefer to spend more time outdoors and therefore usage of home audio devices is less. In comparison, India is predominantly a home audio market where the usage of both TVs and home theatre systems is high.
The Japanese consumer electronics giant is targeting premium consumers with its new A-series sound bars, consisting of HT-A3000 and HT-A5000. The HT-A3000 is a 3.1-channel bar with a 3.1 sound bar with left, centre, and right channels, plus built-in dual subwoofers. It takes advantage of Sony’s 360 spatial sound mapping and sound field optimisation technologies, which basically customise the sound for your specific living room using microphones and create “phantom” speakers based on the environment’s acoustic profile. The bar comes with immersive Dolby Atmos sound and includes support for Chromecast, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and Bluetooth audio playback.
The HT-A5000, which is 5.1.2 sound bar sports three discrete drivers for left, centre, and right channel duty, two up-firing speakers for height effects, and two bass drivers. The HT-A5000 supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive audio formats as well as hi-res audio and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio. The HT-A5000 is a step above the A3000 and both new sound bars join the HT-A7000 which is a 7.1.2 system and costs Rs 179,980 in the market.
The Sony HT-A5000 starts at Rs 1,11,980 and the HT-A3000 retails for Rs 83,980. The price includes an additional wireless sub-woofer (SA-SW5/SA-SW3) consumers can pair with the soundbar.
