Sony HT-S2000 soundbar review

About the Sony HT-S2000

• Price: $499.99
• Height x Width x Depth: 2.63 x 31.5 x 5 inches
• Weight: 8.3 lbs
• Speakers/drivers: Two tweeters, two midrange woofers, two built-in subwoofers, two passive radiators
• Wireless connection: Bluetooth 5.2
• Wired connection: One HDMI eARC/ARC, one HDMI input, one digital optical input, one 3.5mm auxiliary input, one 3.5mm stereo input, one USB input
• Sound formats: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS Virtual: X, AAC, SBC
• Video support: 4K HDR/Dolby Vision passthrough

The HT-S2000 arrives with standard operating accessories, including an HDMI cable, a remote (with batteries!) and an operating manual. Once you establish power and a connection to your display, you’re ready to start listening.

What we like

It sounds pretty good overall

Before factoring in all the bells and whistles that Sony engineered into the HT-S2000, it’s important to look at the soundbar’s sound profile as presented. The good news for Sony is this soundbar checks (most) of the boxes.

The HT-S2000’s sound signature is well-balanced, highlighted by clear dialogue and dynamic, detailed mid frequencies. A rendition of Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania proved as much, effortlessly transitioning from Scott Lang’s opening monologue to the entire Ant-Man family being sucked into the Quantum Realm mere moments later.

Even the bass falls under “adequate” which is a feat considering Sony somehow fit a pair of small woofers into the soundbar’s cabinet. It won’t fill large spaces during action-packed scenes, and it won’t dig quite deep enough for lovers of bass-heavy music. But for an all-in-one soundbar, it’s better than others at adding some boom.

It’s a virtual anomaly

More and more all-in-one soundbars are adopting virtual technology to try and make up for a lack of surround speakers or height channels. And aside from standouts like the Sonos Beam (or on a more expensive note, the Sennheiser Ambeo), most miss the mark in some form or another.

Not so with the HT-S2000, which uses Sony’s Vertical Surround Engine and S-Force Pro Front Surround virtual technologies. But you don’t really need to know that jargon. All you need to know is that the HT-S2000 has means to virtually place sound around your living room, and for the most part, it does it pretty well. Surround sound performance is a lot more convincing than Dolby Atmos or DTS:X.

Pressing the “Sound Field” button on the soundbar’s remote makes it sound like there actually are drivers producing sound at either side of your listening space. You do lose a bit of the dynamics of the soundbar as the bar’s three drivers try to stretch the soundstage, but it’s not a deal breaker by any means.

I found Dolby Atmos to be slightly less impressive, but still far more present than I expected without the presence of real height channels. Some scenes really felt like vertical sound was missing, but other instances (like Krylar’s massive spaceship making a grand entrance in Quantumania) did well to make it sound like a spacecraft was landing from overhead.

It’s the foundation for a fully expandable surround sound system

If the virtual technologies aren’t up to par (sound is subjective, of course, so they may not be for some), then you’re in luck. The HT-S2000 is compatible with Sony’s SA-RS3S wireless rear speakers as well as either the 300-watt SA-SW5 or 200-watt SA-SW3 subwoofers.

These additions aren’t cheap, but depending on which subwoofer you opt for and which sale you take advantage of, you could build a complete surround system for less than a full setup from Sonos.

Sony’s app is easy to use

The HT-S2000 can be controlled by Sony’s Home Entertainment Connect app, which essentially pairs the standard controls from the soundbar’s remote with additional sound settings and options. It’s a very simple interface, which makes actions like adjusting the volume or enabling the soundbar’s Voice Enhancer feature incredibly straightforward. For reasons that we’ll touch on later, this isn’t totally a good thing. But as far as usability is concerned, it’s an ideal setup.

What we don’t like

Audio adjustments are astoundingly scarce

As we’ve already touched on, the HT-S2000 sounds pretty good in its own right. But that doesn’t mean it can skate by without the ability to adjust the bar’s sound in any meaningful way. The remote has three bass levels to choose from (minimum, medium, maximum), an option to enhance dialogue, and a Sound Field button for engaging virtual sound. But that’s it.

Notable missing features are things like individual channel adjustments, a multi-band equalizer, or even the option to reduce or increase treble. Like I said, it's a good sound out of the box. But being able to change the sound to your personal taste or room is a standard, essential function of most soundbars. The HT-S2000, for some reason, doesn’t have it.

There’s no Wi-Fi

Among the significant features that separates the HT-S2000 from something like Sonos is Wi-Fi. Sonos has built its brand on having a collection of speakers connected via Wi-Fi for easy, whole-home audio solutions. While the HT-S2000 is, like Sonos, an expandable system, it offers only Bluetooth as a means of streaming. Wi-Fi would have been a strong addition and another tool Sony could have used to compete with the big kid on the block.

Should you buy the Sony HT-S2000?

Yes, because it’s a great, tech-driven all-in-one solution

The Sony HT-S2000 is an all-in-one solution built to impress on multiple fronts. First and foremost, it stays true to Sony’s reputation and sounds quite good compared to its counterparts in this price range. Beyond that, the HT-S2000 employs various technologies to add virtual sound that enhances the listening experience far more than it hampers it. And, if virtual isn’t your cup of tea, you can add real wireless speakers (plus a subwoofer) into the mix for a full surround setup.

Available audio adjustments are few and far between. So, tinkerers beware: what you hear from the HT-S2000 is essentially what you get. If that doesn’t deter you, though, the HT-S2000 is a great, albeit pricey option to consider alongside the likes of the Sonos Beam and others in the all-in-one soundbar space.