Sony Bravia Theater U review: Sony’s wearable speakers make me want to ditch headphones
Surround sound that's head and shoulders above the competition
Pros:
✅ 😌 Comfortable design for almost all-day wear
✅ 🔊 Speakers direct sound directly to you
✅ 🤫 Others can barely hear the speakers
✅ 📲 Multi-point lets you connect two devices at once
✅ 💫 360 spatial sound that wraps around you
Cons
❌ 🪫 Battery life could have been longer than 12 hours
❌ 📺 360 spatial sound only works with smart devices and Sony TVs
❌ 🏠 Not really usable outside of home
🏆 Review score: 4.5 out of 5
🏅Editor’s Choice
Shortcut Review
The Sony Bravia Theater U is Sony’s second crack at a wearable speaker system for $299 and between how comfortable it is to wear and how good it sounds, it’s made me want to ditch wearing my headphones ever again. It’s a lightweight pair of speakers you wear on your shoulders for personal sound that won’t disturb your family or roommates. Seriously, you can sit right next to your partner playing Spider-Man 2 for PS5 and they’ll barely hear the constant twips of your webshooters as you play.
Sony’s wearable speakers provide fantastically detailed sound for watching TV and listening to music. And if you combine it with 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer, you can get spatial sound for movies and games that literally wraps around your head. The best thing about the Theater U is you get sound quality that’s as good if not better than headphones without any discomfort.
Full Review
⛷️ Feels like I’m wearing nothing at all. It’s easy to forget you’re wearing the Sony Bravia Theater U. It sits softly on your shoulders with only the slightest bit of pressure thanks to its 9.45-ounce weight. The actual part of the wearable speaker that comes into contact with you is made of a soft touch rubber that helps keep it in place with just the right amount of grip.
🔪 Perfectly balanced. Sony’s wearable speaker also stays in place as long as you’re not moving around too much. The weight is balanced so it doesn’t weigh down on the top of your shoulders or collarbones. Now where the Sony Bravia Theater U’s wearability falters is if you try leaning back in a recliner chair or your office chair. Tip too far back and this speaker just falls off your shoulders, so don’t get too relaxed with them.
🗣️ Great sound for you, mumbles for others. The Sony Bravia Theater U has been engineered with speaker drivers that are shaped and oriented so you can listen without disturbing others around you. I was barely sold on the concept before testing them, but sure enough, my partner, sibling, and other people around could barely hear what I was watching. Most of the time other people would tell me they couldn’t tell what the speakers were playing unless I bumped up the volume beyond medium or high. And even then, the only way someone else can make out what you’re listening to is if they already know what you’re watching.
🔊 Like headphones but more comfortable. I had my doubts that the Sony Bravia Theater U could deliver great sound with a pair of speakers sitting on my shoulders, but they absolutely do. While others can’t really hear what they’re playing, the speakers concentrate their output into a cone of sound around your head. You can clearly hear the dialogue, music, and everything else as if you’re wearing a pair of headphones. Except you aren’t, it feels a lot more comfortable without something clamping down on your head or making your ears sweaty.
😌 Surround sound around your neck. Surround sound on the Sony Bravia Theater U is fantastic, but it does require some setup. If you’re just watching and listening to media from a Bluetooth-connected phone, you can launch the Sony Headphones app and photograph your ear to get Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound features.
It works great with Sony TVs as you can scan a barcode and link up your ear scans to give you surround sound with a big screen – but this only works with Sony TVs unfortunately. The 360 surround sound was especially noticeable while watching 1917 I felt I was in the middle of a battlefield with the characters. It also extends well to games where you want more immersion or situational awareness such as Horizon Zero Forbidden West and Modern Warfare III.
🎮 Lag-free gaming audio. The Sony Bravia Theater U is also perfectly well-suited for gaming. There was no noticeable audio lag with the games I tested. Spider-Man 2 sounded amazing as I could hear the wind and leaves flying past me as I web-swung around NYC. I also heard a deeper sound mix of clanging sword strikes and musical crescendos while playing Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth.
😈 Perfect for late-night gremlin mode. The Sony Bravia Theater U is perfect for privately watching TV/movies, listening to music, and playing games especially late at night. It feels a little less sneaky and way more comfortable than putting on a pair of headphones or a gaming headset, and it’s way more comfortable too. With the Sony Bravia Theater U, I’m free to stay up as late as I want with my entertainment and not bother anyone with noise.
🙉 No total noise isolation. As you might expect, hearing sound play from shoulder-mounted speakers doesn’t isolate you from the world at all. On one hand, this is great if you need to be present for your kids, spouse, parents, or someone else in your home. However, this also means the Sony Bravia Theater U isn’t a solid option if you want to get lost in your entertainment or games. It is too easy to hear other things and people talk over what you’re trying to hear play from the Theater U.
☎️ Shouldering the call. Taking a call with a wearable speaker might seem silly, but the Theater U works well thanks to its fantastic microphones. I made several calls with the wearable speaker and two people I spoke with remarked how clear I sounded. This is all thanks to how AI signal processing helps to reduce surrounding noise and feedback from the speaker. Of course, any conversations you have with the Theater U are being blasted on loudspeaker, so I rarely ever used it outside.
👯 Multi-point connection. As with most modern Multi-point devices, you can use the Sony Bravia Theater U with up to two devices and easily switch between them as audio sources.
📺 Works great with Sony devices, but few others. My other big hang-up with the Sony Bravia Theater U is it just loses a lot of functionality when connected to non-smart and non-Sony devices. You lose out on the 360 surround sound if you can’t run Sony’s Headphones app which is only available on iOS or Android. Also, any non-Sony TV leaves you with only basic stereo sound. To get the most out of this wearable speaker you really need a smartphone and/or a Sony TV.
🤷♂️ Where am I supposed to use this? Possibly the biggest hurdle of even considering the Sony Bravia Theater U is you just can’t take it very many places. It’s only waterproof enough with an IPX4 rating to handle a bit of rain or sweat. It falls off too easily to go running with it or do a few weight training exercises. And unless you want to be that person playing your music out loud, you can’t wear it on your commute and it’s not loud enough to drown out the noise on an airplane or train.
🔋 12-hour battery life. You can get a maximum of 12 hours of battery life out of the Sony Bravia Theater U. That’s well more than enough to get through a marathon of gaming and movies. With more regular use, you basically have to charge them after two or three sessions. I was hoping Sony could have packed more battery capacity into the Theater U considering how much bigger it is than a pair of headphones. The Theater U also features quick charging, which gives you 60 minutes of battery after a 10-minute charge.
Should you buy the Sony Bravia Theater U?
Yes, if…
✅ 🌚 You’re a late-night gamer or movie watcher who doesn’t want to bother others
✅ 🎮 You own a Sony TV and want to experience 360 surround sound games and movies
✅ 😌 You’re tired of wearing headphones, but still prefer personal audio
No, if…
❌ 📺 You don’t have a Sony TV
❌ 🏃♂️ You want a sound system for commuting or working out
Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director and has been reviewing tech for more than a decade, including going in-depth on TVs and soundbars.