Portable Spatial Sound
Sony innovates with a portable 3-speaker system delivering spatial sound
Once again, Sony has designed an innovative speaker which they described as a “Portable Theatre System with 360 Spatial Sound Mapping”. It certainly brings variety to the otherwise dull consumer audio landscape – products like the LinkBuds and the Glass Speaker come to mind. For battery-operated speakers, rarely would you come across one that consists of three units that can be docked and charged to become a single operable unit.
The HT-AX7 only connects over Bluetooth 5.2 in SBC and AAC codecs, heavily limiting the input options. You will have to go for the next-tier models like the HT-A9 which runs on wall power. The main unit is 1.4kg while the individual speaker is 295 grams each.
They sit on top of the main unit cushioned by a thin silicone coating. The speaker plays a tone when they are correctly docked and starts charging, and there is also an LED lighting up next to each of the speakers. The rear design allows easy grip with one hand to move the speaker.
The smartphone app, Sony Home Entertainment Connect, has just a handful of functions like adjusting the rear level, bass level, volume, and selecting the audio mode. It also displays the battery level of each speaker unit. The night mode reduces the bass while the voice mode boosts the upper midrange (vocals). The Sound Field mode can be toggled only when both rear speakers are undocked.
It may seem that the two rear speakers need to be calibrated for optimal spatial experience, but there wasn’t such a feature. There are also no options to adjust the rear speakers’ L-R balance.
The additional speakers only help to create an acoustical room effect and not real directional audio. When the “Sound Field” effect is enabled, some of the mid-to-high frequencies are transferred to the multi-speakers. You will still hear most of the audio from the main front unit, while the rear speakers give an impression of sound reflected to you from behind like an enclosed room.
We say: The HT-AX7 sounds fine to listen to music casually, not for details or accuracy. In the normal mode, the treble is tame, the bass sounds relaxed and not too punchy. When switching to Sound Field mode, the treble is elevated and projected from all three speakers towards the listener.
At higher volumes, the audio remains laid back, delivering an audio experience of a single-unit 360 speaker rather than two separate speakers.
Rating 4/5
S$769
www.sony.com.sg
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Driver X-Balanced Speaker Amplifier Type S-Master
Frequency Response 20 – 20,000 Hz Connectivity Bluetooth 5.2 Bluetooth Codecs SBC, AAC
Battery Up to 30 hours playtime, 4 hours charging Dimensions 306 x 133 x 123mm
Weight 2kg
