Sony HT-A3000 soundbar presented as a more affordable option with Apple AirPlay 2, Dolby Atmos and Google Chromecast support

Sony has announced the HT-A3000, a mid-range offering compared to the HT-A5000 and HT-A7000. According to Sony, the HT-A3000 has three front-facing drivers and a subwoofer channel with two woofers. In other words, the HT-A3000 will ship with a 3.1 channel configuration and lacks the upward-firing drivers of the HT-A5000 or HT-A7000.

Still, Sony claims that the HT-A3000 supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X for spatial audio reproduction. Please note that the HT-A3000 can only achieve this virtually using Sony's 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology, rather than having dedicated hardware to achieve this effect. Alternatively, Sony offers wireless surround speakers if you are after true surround sound, although the SA-RS3S and SA-RS5 cost about as much as the HT-A3000 itself. The soundbar supports SA-SW3 and SA-SW5 subwoofers too, which deliver 200 W and 300 W of sound from 160 mm and 180 mm drivers, respectively.

Meanwhile, the HT-A3000 itself provides up to 250 W of power and can be connected to a TV via HDMI eARC or Toslink. Moreover, the soundbar masters AAC, LDAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs, as well as Apple AirPlay 2 and Google Chromecast technologies via Wi-Fi 5 connectivity. The Sony HT-A3000 is available to pre-order now in multiple markets, including the US where it costs US$699.99. According to Amazon, Sony will release the soundbar on September 18 in the US, but not until October 1 in the Eurozone or the UK. For reference, the HT-A3000 costs €699 and £599 in the Eurozone and UK, respectively. By contrast, the SA-RS3S and SA-RS5 wireless speakers will be available for €499/£449 and €799/£699.

Pre-order the Sony HT-A3000 soundbar on Amazon