This is my first experience of a soundbar and this one had good write-ups. Once unpacked and book read. I went to set up. Unfortunately, my Tv is not the latest model and the Bluetooth on the TV does not talk to the bar. This is why I gave it a 4 out of 5.

Sony is a great brand and the speaker does what is says on the box with easy connection but it didn't give me the surround sound experience I was expecting so 4 weeks later I purchased the 5.1 Sony Atmos sound bar and LOVE it

Strong home cinema specs and big scale sound are undermined by foggy audio quality

Neat design; Dolby Atmos and DTS:X; Weighty; open sound

Thick; muffled midrange; Lack of crispness and definition; Occasionally confusing operation

In a lot of our reviews of TVs, we tend to recommend buying a separate audio system because of their inadequate sound capabilities. Even if the TV's audio is good enough, it usually doesn't go beyond basic stereo sound; you'll need a good speaker system to turn your living room into a proper home...

Good; Easy to set up and use; Decent mid-range and low-end sound; Can get quite loud; Support for Dolby Atmos; DTS:X; 4K passthrough; HDMI-CEC; Fairly wide soundstage

Bad; Vertical Surround mode is gimmicky; No display; confusing LED-based prompts

Sony HT-X8500 soundbar review: At the moment, the Sony HT-X8500 is among the best soundbars you can bring home, given that it performs ...

Sony HT-X8500 soundbar review: At the moment, the Sony HT-X8500 is among the best soundbars you can bring home, given that it performs ...

Sounds great much better sound than tv speakers good surround sound with movies.

The HT-X8500 soundbar doesn’t only offer brilliant value for money, it also brings the multiplex home in a way few will find difficult to live with. While it's only a 2.1 system, the impact of Sony’s inventive DSP post processing for that surround sound effect is genuinely impressive.

All-in-one 2.1 design; Good with movies and music; Plug ‘n’ Play installation

No Wi-Fi support; No up-firing Dolby Atmos drivers; Pronounced sweet spot

All-in-one 2.1 design ; Good with movies and music ; Plug ‘n’ Play installation;

No Wi-Fi support ; No up-firing Dolby Atmos drivers ; Pronounced sweet spot;

This was recommended by a Sony 'expert' in store and he was absolutely bang-on our requirements. Very easy to set up and works very well. Still haven't used all the pre-set sound options but quick tests suggest will do all it promises