Sony’s New Home Audio Hardware Gets Weird With Surround Sound, Neckband Speakers

We started with the convention in the soundbars, then moved onto the quirkier Quad speaker set, and now we close with something that’s outright esoteric: the Sony BRAVIA Theater U neckband speakers. Neckband speakers are nothing new, whether from the likes of LG or Sony specifically. However, branding them as part of the premium BRAVIA line, alongside a batch of new products that effectively start at $1,000? That’s new.

Sony’s press briefing notes that “BRAVIA Theater U offers an improved design over its predecessor for more comfort and flexibility,” but it doesn’t specify what that predecessor was. (The SRS-NS7 home theater neckband speaker seems as good a candidate as any.) Sony emphasizes that it’s “Ideal for watching without disturbing others or in conjunction with the TV/Soundbar but at different volumes,” suggesting that the design makes it so that its sound is not projected at anyone other than the wearer. But Sony also says that connecting the U to a PlayStation 5 controller “offers engaging gameplay without isolating you from others,” meaning that it’s supposed to be the best of both worlds, taking elements from headphones and regular speakers.

The BRAVIA Theater U will retail for $299.99, making it easily the lowest-priced SKU in this batch of audio hardware that Sony just announced.