Customer Ratings & Reviews

These are such a great compliment to the Sony soundbar. They link seamlessly and provide outstanding sound. Oh...and they are truly wireless

The new Sony SA-RS5 Wireless Rear Speakers with Built-In Battery is an outstanding speaker system and a fantastic addition to my Sony home theater. I am a long-term fan of Sony electronics, from the old Trinitron CRT TVs to the current Bravia 4K UHD models, to Sony audio and home theater components, to Sony digital imaging gear. I have consistently been extremely favorably impressed with Sony innovation, performance and reliability. The SA-RS5 Rear Channel Speakers are an evolution of, and improvement upon the SA-RS3S speakers. Wherein the RS3S speakers produce 100 Watts Total System power (50W + 50W) at 6 Ohms, 200-20,000 Hz – 1kHz with a THD of 1%, the new RS5 speakers are significantly more powerful at 180 Watts Total System power (90W + 90W) at 6 Ohms, 200-20,000 Hz – 1kHz with a THD of 1%. More significant are the innovative attributes that differentiate the Sony SA-RS5 speakers. The SA-RS5 speakers have internal, rechargeable batteries which support up to 10 hours of use exclusively on battery power. This makes the SA-RS5 truly wireless, with no audio cables and no power cables being necessary for operation. This wireless, no power-cord needed capability allows complete, optimal flexibility in room placement of the rear channel speakers, without being limited by the availability of electric receptacles to power the speakers. Any floor, bookshelf of tabletop location can be selected, as well as wall-mounting and dismounting as needed for recharging of the batteries. The incredible sound production of the Sony SA-RS5 speakers is the product of Sony’s superior synthesized spatial sound capability, which Sony calls “360 Spatial Sound Mapping”. Sony 360 Spatial Sound Mapping produces absolutely incredible, immersive surround sound by creating phantom speaker effects which creates a sound field that seems to originate from every direction surrounding the listener. The SA-RS5 rear speakers and the compatible Sony HT-A7000, 7.1.2 channel or HT-A5000, 5.1.2 channel soundbars each use internal microphones to accurately map the audio characteristics in the room and with the selected speaker component positioning. My system is comprised of an outstanding Sony Bravia X950G 75”, 4K UHD TV, an excellent Sony HT-A5000 5.1.2 Channel Soundbar and an impressive Sony SA-SW5 300 Watt Wireless Subwoofer in conjunction with the new, Sony SA-RS5 Wireless Rear Channel Speakers. These components are located in a fairly large room, with a high, vaulted ceiling. The SA-RS5 speakers are cylindrical with a flat back. They stand 9 7/8” tall and are 5 ¾” in diameter. Each weighs 5 lbs. – 5 oz. The speaker units are fully covered in black grille cloth. The top of each unit has a Power button and an Optimize button for initiating a 360 Spatial Sound Field Optimization process. Sound Field Optimization is necessary upon initial placement of the speakers, and needs to be repeated if the speakers are relocated thus requiring the recalibration of the sound field. Optimization can also be performed through the compatible soundbar, using the on-screen menus displayed on the connected TV. The bottom of the speakers have the DC power supply jack, a Link button for manually pairing to a compatible Sony soundbar, and the labeling designating which speaker is the Left Rear or Right Rear channel. On the front bottom of each speaker are LED lamps, concealed behind the grille cloth. Three large white LED lamps are in the lower position, and indicate the level of available battery charge when illuminated solid. During charging, each LED flashes slowly and incrementally until all three are illuminated solid, indicating a full charge. Similarly, as the battery charge is depleted, the solid white LEDs decrement to reflect the remaining charge. Above those LEDs is a smaller LED which illuminates red when the SA-RS5 is in Stand-By mode, and illuminates green when the speaker is active and in use. That LED will flash green when pairing with a soundbar. The brightness of the LEDs is adjusted in synchronous with the paired Sony soundbar. When used in battery only operation mode, upon powering off the connected TV and soundbar, the SA-RS5 speakers go into Stand-By mode, and after an interval of time, the speakers shut off completely to conserve battery capacity (the red LED turns off). Resultantly, when the SA-RS5 speakers have shut off completely, they do not wake automatically when the TV and soundbar are switched on. If the speakers remain connected to AC power, they do not turn off completely and will remain in Stand-By mode (just like the soundbar and sub-woofer), and all devices will turn on simultaneously with the TV so long as the soundbar is connected to the TV via an eARC (Audio Return Channel) HDMI port with CEC (Consumer Electronics Control). The initial setup of the SA-RS5 speakers is generally straightforward and is facilitated by the intelligent menu options in the soundbar. Upon connecting the SA-RS5 speakers to AC power with the included AC power blocks (which are fairly large) to charge their internal batteries, the “Easy Setup” process or Manual Setup options of the soundbar are used to pair the wireless SA-RS5 speakers to the soundbar. The “wall wart” power supplies are equipped with 6.5’ of low voltage cable. Immediately upon identifying the speakers, the soundbar prompted for the available software updates for the A5000 and SA-RS5 to implement the 360 Spatial Sound Mapping functionality. Once the software updates download and install, the 360 Spatial Sound demo audio immediately convinces you that you selected great components, as the sound is absolutely remarkable. The manner in which the audio fully surrounds and fully envelops the listener is incredible! Owing to there being a total of four top firing speakers, which reflect sound off the room ceiling, between the HT-A5000 soundbar and the SA-RS5 rear channel speakers, even high speaker effects are synthesized. Clearly, the design of the SA-RS5 speakers stands out. Each of the 90 Watt speakers has three active transducers behind the grille covering. On the front plane is a soft dome tweeter positioned above a wide directivity woofer. On the top of each speaker enclosure is an upward firing speaker which is mounted at a slightly forward oriented angle. Each speaker also has two passive radiators on the sides to further enhance low frequencies. This intelligent and powerful speaker design coupled with the amazing Sony 360 Spatial Sound Mapping software, creates a remarkable immersive and spatially realistic sound environment that is extremely enjoyable. In conjunction with the outstanding Sony HT-A5000 soundbar, which also has a pair of top firing speakers, the soundbar and SA-RS5 rear channel speakers fully support and capitalize on Dolby Atmos and DTS:X as well as 360 Spatial Sound Mapping to produce incredible, immersive surround sound audio which is especially enjoyable when viewing movies and concert performances which capitalize on the most faithful reproduction of sound tracks with those precision audio enhancement technologies. Sony claims that the SA-RS5 speakers will operate for up to 10 hours on fully charged batteries. I actually did get about 10 hours of intermittent operation over a period of a few days, before recharging the SA-RS5 internal batteries. I am presuming that the internal batteries are Lithium Ion cells, but I was unable to locate any documentation regarding the actual type of battery chemistry. Also undocumented, is whether or not the rechargeable batteries are replaceable, and if they are, whether they are end-user replaceable or if that would require delivering the SA-RS5 speakers to a Sony Service Center. Aesthetically, the Sony SA-RS5 rear channel speakers are sleek, modern and attractive. In fact, my wife likes their appearance as well and does not find them to be the least bit out of place in our home. Overall, I am very pleased with the new Sony SA-RS5 Wireless Rear Speakers with Built-In Battery. Coupled with the Sony HT-A5000 5.1.2 channel soundbar and the Sony SA-SW5 300 Watt Wireless Subwoofer, I am enjoying excellent 5.1.2 channel surround sound with movies and concerts. Additionally, for routine TV programming from news to sitcoms, this superior Sony sound system delivers very enjoyable audio, including clear and very intelligible dialog. If you are using a Sony HT-A5000 or HT-A7000 soundbar, the SA-RS5 wireless rear channel speakers are a necessity to derive the outstanding spatial surround sound experience!

These Sony SA-RS5 rear speakers have been an incredible addition to my Sony HT-A5000 soundbar and SASW3 subwoofer. At 90W of power output each, complete with up firing speakers, tweeters, and woofers, I am getting levels of audio detail to my movies and music that I have not heard before except for in theaters. The connection of these speakers is wireless and is probably one of the best options currently available if you are a renter and/or are hesitant to want to have to run cables inside your walls or other invasive or ugly means to run surround speakers. These are TRULY wireless, meaning, they have their own battery (up to 10 hours on one charge, an hour and a half of listening time at moderate volume with 10 minutes of charging) and do not have to be constantly plugged in to a power source to work in tandem with the rest of your Sony sound system. Think of them as large, powerful Bluetooth speakers that already come equipped for easy setup with your Sony soundbar. If you do want to have them hooked up to their AC adaptor cords though, that is not a problem! The setup of these speakers could not have been easier. I pulled them out the packaging, turned them on, and placed them in my room in the spots I wanted to try out. I then went to the Home screen of my soundbar and was able to get these to auto connect within seconds. I then updated the firmware of the speakers via the update navigator in the Sony HT-A5000 soundbar menu and got these updated. Finally, I followed the easy prompts to optimize the sound with the 360 Spatial Sound mapping technology and oh my gosh, the sound is incredible! Even my wife, who is not an audiophile but more representative of the average media consumer, came into the living room during the 360 Spatial Sound demo and her jaw dropped! The only issue I have had in general with the soundbar and these rear speakers is that I have had to do some tweaking of the audio settings and cable swapping to get my Apple TV 4K (2021) to play audio in tandem with this setup without audio dropouts occurring. I also moved my wifi router away from the soundbar and that seems to have helped reduce signal drops occurring. A couple of things I think you should know before you buy these are that they are definitely a clear a sensible upgrade if you already have one of the supported Sony soundbars. These are mountable on your wall via a screw (not included) or on a speaker mount stand. They also, in my opinion, are incredibly nicely built and look great on our side and sofa table the way we have them set up. They are no bookshelf speakers of the highest end power output and detail, but they are going to make 99% of listeners so ecstatic with the great surround sound and ease of set up. Altogether, I could not have asked for a nicer addition to my sound system. The lack of complexity setting these up combined with the incredible audio quality makes these an absolutely no-brainer purchase if you budget allows for it! Thank you so much and hope my review helps to encourage you!

I have been using the Sony HT-A7000 sound bar paired with their SA-SW5 subwoofer and SA-RS3S rear speakers for a few months. We absolutely love the sound from this package for both movies and music. While the surround sound was great, and we were impressed with the system overall I was really interested in trying out their upgraded SA-RS5 rear speakers. I am so glad I made the upgrade. Setup was a breeze. I unplugged my other SA-RS3S and connected the new SA-RS5 speakers. They didn’t auto-connect like my other speakers at first, but I was able to connect them within minutes through the setup menu on the soundbar. Ever since the initial setup, they have flawlessly reconnected back to the system without any hiccups. I allowed them to charge up and tried the field optimization from the same place I was charging them. Pressed the optimize button on one of the speakers and it opened the menu on the soundbar to go through the optimization wizard. It was all optimized and ready to go. I did the same thing again when I unplugged them and started using their battery. Since I changed their location, I ran the optimization again. Just as quick as the first time. I love not having to rerun wires or find new mounting locations. The battery is rated to last about 10 hours, which is more than plenty for us. We watch a few movies so we are within the battery limits before we need to charge them up. Honestly, they sound great when they are in their charging area a little further from our seats so not a big deal if we needed to keep them plugged in for our use case. The sound coming from these speakers are great. I think what made us really notice the difference was when we were watching the new Batman movie. It runs in Dolby Atmos and right away we were amazed by the immersion the speakers provided. The rear speakers once optimized have omnidirectional sound, and up firing speakers to read envelope the room in sound. One of the first scenes in the new Batman movie, Batman emerges from the shadows to take on a gang of thugs on a train platform. Like in most of the movie, the scenes take place in the rain, and it honestly sounded as if it was raining in our living room. I had to glance back a couple of times because I thought maybe someone was in the kitchen running water. The rest of the movies we tried were equally amazing. We tried listening to music using our Apple TV and Apple Music. The music sounded great, and the tracks that were optimized for Dolby Atmos were also impressive. I absolutely feel like these speakers do a much better job of immersion when compared to my older SA-RS3S. If you are setting up a new home theater system, even if you do not need the battery power, I would consider adding these to your surround system. The sound quality, and immersion is noticeably better. The battery backup is a nice bonus, and adds to its flexibility when setting up, but for me it was the sound quality, and easy setup that made these a worthy upgrade. We love them and love the entire package, they are an easy recommendation.

>> Overview The Sony SA-RS5 Wireless Rear Speakers, paired with a Sony A5000 soundbar and a Sony SW3 Subwoofer, are a delightful set of rear speakers that brings to you a fully surround experience (or as close to a full surround experience you can have with a decent budget). After finding a good placement for your Sony wireless rear speakers and after tuning them (there is an automatic Optimize mechanism available in the soundbar), you can start getting immersed in movies, music, TV shows, etc. If you never had rear speakers, then you’ll notice that the sound of somebody talking from behind, or a honk, or some other sound effect, provides an enhanced experience and lets you enjoy the show you are watching livelier. To be fair, it is not only the Sony wireless rear speakers, but it is in conjunction with the Sony A5000 soundbar and the decent SW3 subwoofer, all of them tied with the 360 Spatial Sound Mapping option, that you can be introduced to an amazing world of sounds. You can place the speakers on a stand or attach them to the wall, and have them plugged all the time or unplugged running on battery (you would need to recharge it after a couple of days). The wireless capability lets you easily move your speakers around and not have to deal with annoying sound cables. So far, I haven’t experienced any issues with the speakers, they seem to always keep the connection to the soundbar, sound quality feels outstanding, and we have been enjoying them for several days. I’d give the set of speakers a rating between 4 and 5. - Pros: easy setup, built-in battery, great sound, no sound cables to run. - Cons: a little trouble to recharge (unless it is kept plugged). >> Setup My Home Theater package arrived with the Sony Soundbar A5000, the wireless Subwoofer SW3 and the pair of Wireless Rear Speakers RS5. I set up the whole theater system all at “once”. First, I connected the soundbar to the TV with ARC, then placed the wireless subwoofer and rear speakers close to their final intended locations and plugged them all. Wireless speakers and subwoofer were detected and connected to the soundbar very quickly. I initially made the effort to connect the soundbar to the wireless network since there were instructions to update the firmware from the internet; however, after doing that and when I proceeded with the “basic setup” steps suggested on the screen, there was one step to do the wireless setup (which I already had done) and the next one prompted me to do the firmware update (so no need to “manually” go and do the update). Note: make sure the wireless speakers are powered and connected to the soundbar before doing the firmware update, as the soundbar update process also updates the wireless speakers. Firmware update took only a few minutes (the message on the screen was “…update may take up to 20 minutes including download time…”). About 500MB were downloaded (seems that there is a lot of software running these devices). I was not sure how the update process would be, after downloading and updating the soundbar, I breathed a sigh of relief when I next saw a “Updating wireless speakers…” message on the TV, which meant all was going as expected. Download time was fast (good internet connection) and the actual update took a mere couple of minutes. Overall, a painless experience. >> Configuring the rear wireless speakers I have spent a long time trying to get the best sound experience (I still believe there is still room for improvement to configure the best sound experience). Initially, after connecting the speakers and doing the updates, but without doing any suggested tune up, the sound coming out of the rear speakers felt very low/weak, even when bringing the volume up to the max, the sound overall was not what I had expected. I was waiting to hear a crisp and clear sound out of the box, and not like someone murmuring on my ear. Then, I gave the 360 Spatial Sound Mapping and the “Sound Field Optimization" a chance and what a difference it made (for the optimization, you can press the Optimize button on the wireless speaker or do it from the Setup menu on the TV). The test sounds and music and movies (I made sure to select the 5.1 Dolby versions) sounded just wonderful, it looked as if I finally had a decent sound system to entertain myself, the family, and guests. I have a set of sofas a few feet away in front of the TV and from my experience, the “minimum” location for the speakers is to the left or right of the sofas and pointing to the front and at about the level of your face. I was initially testing the rear speakers on temporary stands a little towards the front of me while seating on the sofa and the sound experience was not good at all. The best location, for my case, seems to be a little to the back of my sofas and attached to the back wall (well, there is a reason why they are called “rear speakers”, right?). As of now I have the speakers in stands, but I plan on attaching them to wall. The only problem I see is how to conceal the ugly power cables if keeping the speakers plugged. I could use the battery and recharge the speakers every couple of days (this feels like an inconvenience, though). >> Battery Battery lasts a decent amount of time (about a couple of days on “normal” use). The only trouble I see is when it is time to recharge them, as you need to run the power cable to plug it in. A little inconvenience some would say, but an inconvenience, nonetheless. I think that, after attaching the speakers to the wall (and after I figure out the most convenient location with the best sound to place them), I might just keep them plugged and only when visitors come, unplug them, so the rear speakers look neat and nice (talk about looks). One improvement for people who don’t like to have visible cables, would be a charging station for the speakers. That way it’d be easy to just place the speaker on top of the charging station, without fiddling with the power connector every time one of the speakers needs a recharge. >> Sound Although I didn’t pay much attention to it at the beginning, it is worth highlighting the 360 Spatial Sound Mapping option available in the Soundbar, it works pretty well in conjunction with the wireless rear speakers. I was surprised on how much better the sound felt. You can easily compare the sounds with and without this option. If the option is “off” you can choose the other modes but you’ll notice that they don’t come close to what the 360 Spatial Sound Mapping delivers. In this mode, besides hearing more clearly or with more intensity the sounds coming from the back (for example, a helicopter or airplane flying from behind), it seems that it also reproduces in some degree the other sounds intended for the other speakers, thus creating what Sony says “phantom speakers” around the house.

If you are buying these only for the upfirinf speakers then I would say don't buy them. The pair is really expensive and you are mostly paying for the rechargeable battery in them which I will never use. If these didnt have the battery then I am guessing the price would be similar to their cheaper surround sound speakers. Considering the cost and the fact my Sonos surrounds don't have upward firing speakers ana tbh, I think the Sonos sounds just as good I would save skip the Sony and go all in on Sonos. Also they are very heavy so finding a stand was difficult.

My TV room is not congruent to surround sound set ups. It is open in the back, the TV cutout is off-centered on the wall, and trying to position surround speakers in such a way that wires are not visible everywhere and we don’t knock over speakers as we are walking is very difficult. I’ve been through several soundbars trying to find the perfect mix of surround capability, power, and ease of installation (including ones from Samsung, LG, and Sennheiser), but it has been difficult to find the one that provides an excellent surround experience as well as a great music performance. When the Sony RS5s showed up, I was very excited to give these wireless rear speakers a try. Not only do they connect to Sony’s current HTA5000 and HTA7000 soundbars, they also contain upfiring speakers, making them perfect for Sony’s 360 Audio format and for Dolby Atmos effects. Having rear speakers that can both envelop you in side to side surround and overhead effects is something that only a few complete soundbar setups have attempted, but Sony provides a couple of additional benefits to the RS5s: You get 90 watts of power per speaker, and they have a 10 hour battery. So, if you don’t want to leave the speakers out in their surround position all the time, you can pack them away somewhere (or charge them somewhere else) and just pull them out when surround sound listening is required. The 90 watts equals A LOT of sound, especially when compared to some of the other name brand wireless speakers which in many cases are lucky to give you a third of that. The speakers themselves are nice and hefty, with a fabric covering that helps them blend in with the decor. I connected mine to my Sony HTA5000 which also has a connected SW5 subwoofer. After running through the automatic setup (all the speakers emit a series of tones and sounds that helps them calculate distances), I let everything break in with some soft jazz for a couple of days. Then I sat down to do some listening tests. The RS5s have many strong suits. Their size and portability allows them to be placed just about anywhere. Pushing the Optimize button on the top of either speaker immediately performs a system calibration. It takes 30 seconds, and the speakers are optimized for their location. They are powerful! I turned on 1917, Chapter 17, and listened as the RS5s easily transmitted the grand scale of the musical score, as well as the explosions taking place and the soldiers yelling as they ran towards the battle scene. James Bond’s No Time to Die has an excellent scene where he and his wife are sitting in his old car and watching as gunmen everywhere are shooting at it. The sounds of the bullets come from everywhere in the room, from above and the sides. The ability of the RS5s to transmit these effects was obvious. As an FYI, these moves were watched in Atmos with the HTA5000 set to Soundfield Optimization on. The RS5s had no issue working in conjunction with the HTA5000 to provide an enveloping sound (the volume on the HTA5000 was turned to 90) with no distortion whatsoever. John Wick has several scenes where rain is falling (is it ever sunny where that guy is?) and the HTA5000 and RS5s provided a wonderful sense of rain coming down everywhere. What I liked about the RS5s is they are not directional. When you sit in the primary listening space, you don’t hear sound coming from specific spots. Instead, sound is enveloping. The RS5s simply disappear and allow you to enjoy the movie. I tried a non-Atmos movie, Kill Bill, and the HTA5000 and RS5s did an amazing job of conveying the surround effects during the scene where the main character fights a chain and ball with razor blades wielding young woman. The scene has the chain and ball being spun around the woman’s head like a mace, and the RS5s allowed you to hear the sound of the spinning ball both above and behind you. I dare say that it was as good as a dedicated 5.1 surround sound system. I also listened to the RS5s in conjunction with the HTA5000 while streaming Amazon Music, with both 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos tracks. Again, the RS5s provided an enhanced soundstage that was wider without losing focus than the HTA5000 by itself, or even my Sennheiser AMBEO soundbar. Often times, soundbars struggle with stereo imaging because they are just too narrow and cannot provide the separation between left and right channels that a dedicated stereo can. But color me impressed, the HTA5000 with the RS5s, when used together, provide a great music-listening experience. There was just the right amount of sound provided from the RS5s to make me think I was listening to my dedicated pair of Klipsch floorstanders. Sound quality was excellent, even when I connected my AT turntable and fed some music over Bluetooth connection to the HTA5000 and RS5s with the Sound Field setting on. I couldn’t find any weaknesses as I used the RS5s. There were no audio dropouts, no distortion, and no issues during my review time with them. These are, in my opinion, quite simply the best rear wireless surrounds on the market right now. The HTA5000 is a great soundbar to use them with, and the SW5 completes the package quite nicely. The RS5s provide an enhanced music and movies listening experience and require little space and no wires to do so. A win-win in my book.

UNBOXING: The unboxing experience of the SA-RS5 is very simple. Inside the box you have the 2 wireless rear speakers, their 2 wall power adapters, and fancy cable guides to tidy up the power adapter’s entry point into the bottom of each speaker—this is especially nice for when you are using the speakers on a shelf or flat surface, rather than using the threaded screw mount for stands or wall mounting. BUILD: In terms of build quality, the SA-RS5 appears well-built for a pair of wireless speakers. The minimalist fabric provides a clean aesthetic that should fit in with most setups, and the fact that the rear is flat means that it shouldn’t have issues mounting to a wall should you wish to do so. On the bottom, you have the AC power entry point, a basic cable holder for AC the power cable, a LINK button for manual setup, and a closed port entry that is likely to be for Sony’s proprietary diagnostics/servicing tool. You won’t need to access this port, and adhesive is used to keep this port closed. It should also be noted that these speakers have an internal battery rated for up to 10 hours of playback should you wish to take advantage of it. On the back, you have a removable door to access the threaded mounting holes so that you can mount to a wall or a speaker stand. Each speaker functions via a wireless connection to either the HT-A7000 or HT-A5000 Soundbar. In addition to the front-facing tweeter and woofer found on most wireless speakers, the SA-RS5 sport up-firing speakers for more immersive directional audio experiences as well as dual passive radiators for deeper bass tones. All of this becomes necessary with the use of Dolby Atmos audio. SETUP: The first step to setting up your speakers is mounting them at a reasonable location. If possible, mount them a few feet or more behind your seat position and several feet away from your ears, and with the height positioned such that your tweeters are level with your ears. The setup of the SA-RS5 is one of the easiest setups I’ve had yet. Simply fire up the settings menu of your HT-A7000 or HT-A5000 soundbar, and launch the 1-2-3 easy setup. The wizard will detect your wireless speakers, run a calibrating sound test, and it’s ready to go. Additionally, you can do some manual adjustments in the menu that allow you to indicate the relative positioning of the speakers if you would prefer to better dial in your seating position or increase the verticality of the speakers. Additionally, pressing the OPTIMIZE button on either of the speakers can start the sound field optimization functionality—which is especially useful if you are re-positioning the speakers around and don’t want to navigate the on-screen menus to perform the optimization. In tandem with the onboard battery, this makes the SA-RS5 a good pair of speakers that you can store away when not in use, and quickly whip them out to use when you’ve got a movie night. And Sony claims a quick 10 minute charge should yield about 90 minutes of playback time. It’s important to note that Dolby Atmos support via ARC is not a guarantee on all TVs, and if you didn’t notice it before installing the SA-RS5, it’s important to double check that you are properly receiving a Dolby Atmos signal. You can usually check this via your TV’s on-screen info menu. If you have an older TV or if you’re simply running into compatibility issues with getting Dolby Atmos working, you may have to route your device (Blu Ray player, Game Console, Apple TV, etc.) through the sound bar for best compatibility, as was the case for me. SOUND: It’s important to note that the SA-RS5 is really only as good as your source audio lets it to be. I tested some shows and movies that supported Dolby Atmos to best experience the best that these rear speakers have to offer. After having spent several days and several different movies with it, I feel as though the SA-RS5 adds crisp, clear directionality to my system. Paired with the HT-A5000 and the SA-SW5, my cinematic experiences are fuller, with more immersion thanks to the added directionality. You’re paying quite a bit for these speakers, but I should also note that these don’t at all sound tinny compared to other wireless rear speakers I’ve tested in the past—even from Sony. Coming from an older Sony wireless system (HT-Z9F sound bar + SA-Z9R rear speakers), the SA-RS5 is a drastic step up in terms of presenting a full-bodied sound that represents a perfect match for the HT-A7000 or HT-A5000. Whether it’s an explosion, a car driving by, or people chattering behind me, there’s a clear difference with these rear speakers added in. There’s often a sense of being surrounded by audio, but your mileage will of course vary depending on the source material. In terms of vertical height, this Sony system virtualizes height effects, which will work best when your ceiling isn’t egregiously tall, as it's designed to use acoustic reflections from your ceiling to virtualize these effects. I can’t say that my experience with the virtualized height has been particularly impressive, but this experience will also depend on your source material, and I don’t feel as though my material particularly made good use of this effect. So your mileage will vary, but it’s not going to compare to having actual ceiling speakers. Sony also recently added a 360 Sound Mapping feature which is supposed to virtualize extra speakers so that you achieve even more directionality without actually having all the additional speakers. In my experience, it does a decent job at adding more sound to the left and right. If you’ve ever experienced a great surround sound set-up, there are often demos that have objects making noise and circling around you—like a buzzing insect, or a helicopter. The Dolby Core Universe demo demonstrated a much more complete auditory image with the 360 Sound Mapping feature enabled versus having it disabled. Without it enabled, it was more obvious that I didn’t have speakers to the left and right of my seated position. But I wouldn’t say that it fooled me into believing there was an actual speaker where there was not. When it comes to standard stereo music, I think the SA-RS5 ends up being more tame in its presentation, and it’s almost a shame. Even with the rear speakers maxed out, they’re more of a subtle presentation. I think Sony could allow some additional customization since some people might want a bit more volume out of the rear speakers during music playback. CONCLUSION: The SA-RS5 wireless rear speakers are a good piece of tech, but they have some room for improvement. The pair delivers very clear audio during cinematics and music playback, but sometimes I think the speaker levels are a bit too subtle, so I’d like to see some options to better calibrate this behavior since some may prefer a more obvious and accentuated rear-speaker experience. There’s a lot of technology packed into this pair of speakers, and that’s reflected in the price. While I’m not the kind of person who will make use of the onboard battery, I think this kind of niche characteristic is great for those who live in smaller spaces and simply don’t have the room or power outlets for rear speakers to be permanently positioned. They can be conveniently stored away until they are needed, and they can be set up virtually anywhere and calibrated very quickly with just a touch of a button. While I don’t think this is an absolute home-run product that everybody should get, I think that especially those who have limited space but want a full-bodied surround sound system should absolutely consider pairing the SA-RS5 with an HT-A7000 or HT-A5000 soundbar and the SA-SW5 or SA-SW3 subwoofer. These rear speakers are easy to set up and stow away, and they add more presence and directionality to your home theater audio experience.

Excellent speakers. Works very well. We are able to hear the sounds clearly and has a great effect watching movies.

Sony has nailed what I have been looking for in a home theater solution. Finally, rear surrounds that can run on battery and feature up firing speakers for improved Dolby Atmos! Though I initially wanted the HT-A9s, I was intrigued by the SA-RS5s ability to not only pair to a traditional sound bar with a discrete center channel but also the flexibility in placement thanks to a built-in battery. Out of the box I was impressed by the build and aesthetics. Though smaller than the HT-A9s, the SA-RS5s are roughly 6” wide and 10” tall. Sony graciously provided power adapters that are practically as large as the speakers themselves. Fortunately, just 10 minutes of charging can provide 90 minutes of playback, great for topping them off before a movie if you don’t plan to leave them out. The SA-RS5 speakers automatically paired to my HT-A5000 and SW5 which enabled Sony’s latest 360 Spatial Sound Mapping firmware to create an immersive audio experience after optimizing the speakers. One great feature is the dedicated optimize button which adjusts the speakers based on their location in your home. I tried placing the speakers in numerous spots including the floor (not recommended) and Sony’s optimization does a pretty good job for compensating placement. Having found the HT-A5000 to have only fair height effects in scenes of Atmos enabled movies, the SA-RS5s round out the effect providing not only improved height effects but also extended the sound stage around you. I do find the speakers to be a touch soft so I have the rear volume set to max but sometimes I found myself wanting a touch more unless they were directly behind me on the sofa table. The 10-hour battery life makes it convenient to turn them on as needed without worrying about the charge level or they can remain plugged in and they will go into standby instead of turning off when the sound bar is not in use. For me these speakers are exactly what I was looking for as I don’t have the optimal place to have rear speakers plugged in without cords along the floor. The speakers are also a perfect addition if you already own a compatible Sony sound bar or if you were considering the pricier HT-A9s but don’t love the look or have the needed outlets.

I have the SARS5 setup with my HT-A5000 sound bar and my SA-SW5 Subwoofer. this setup as a whole is Amazing and its everything you might need or want in any size home theater. What the rear speakers in this case do is create a bubble of surround sound that will immerse you in a great experience and will amplify and enhance the sound quality over all. the speakers are built well and setup took about 15 minutes after I installed the latest software update on the sound bar. then the soundbar looks for the speakers and finds them and creates the best sound bubble experience. the great thing about those speakers is that they are wireless and they dont need to be connected to electricity all the time thanks to the battery pack inside which provides up to 10 hours of sound, so I can hang them on walls without worries about power cords showing up. and the other great thing about them is that if you ever change the placement of the rear speakers you can just run the calibration setting again to get the best sounds based on the location of the rear speakers. those speakers create what's called phantom speakers across the room because of 360 spacial sound mapping and wide directivity woofers and the upfiring speakers. this means you will hear audio as if it is all around you. these rear speakers are truly outstanding and sound amazing and blend in easily in our room decor.

Pros Battery allows placement anywhere No routing wires from amplifier Can still be used hardwired Charges quick Easy to set up Expands the soundstage Makes movies more immersive Cons Limited adjustments Occasional signal loss Can’t be used as independent Bluetooth speaker Design and Features The Sony SA-RS5 is designed to compliment the A5000 and A7000 soundbar. In this review, the SA-RS5 was paired with the A5000 soundbar and the SA-SW5 subwoofer. At the time of writing there is no mention of it working any way except when paired with one of those two soundbars. In fact, the addition of the Sony A5000 soundbar seems to be a new edition as the manual states it only works with the higher end A7000 and the cloth speaker cover is only present on the A7000. The A5000 uses metal grill speaker covers so, while the look still works, it isn’t as close of a match. The power connection is in a cavity on the bottom of the speakers with a clip to hold the cord. This way if you want to keep them always plugged in, they can remain securely plugged in. If you prefer to mount the speakers on the wall, there is a hidden mounting hole behind a plate on the back. It’s a subtle, but nice touch, to have it covered in case you prefer to have the speakers sitting somewhere where the back is visible, such as an end table. On top is a power and Optimize button. If you move a speaker, just press the Optimize button to recalibrate it. In front, hidden behind the cloth grill, is a power status light and 3 level battery status lights. The overall look is very muted allowing the speakers to blend into the décor more easily. Usage and Performance Setup is very simple. If you have them in range of a compatible soundbar they are automatically recognized and paired. Most likely the next step will be a firmware upgrade to enable new features such as the 360 sound. If you have ever set up a traditional surround sound system, you know you run a calibration by moving a microphone and remember how slow the process can be. You might also remember how if you either put the microphone at the wrong position or noises were made, several minutes of work would be wasted. This optimization process is much quicker and far simpler. After making sure all speakers are up to date, the soundbar will prompt to run sound optimization by playing a series of sounds and measuring them with the built-in microphones. There is no need to connect a microphone or move anything. The process is very quick and doesn’t require anything more than clicking next. Once optimization is done it will play a demo. This is where you start to hear the difference. Compared to traditional surround speakers, the soundstage is larger with far less fuss. The addition of vertical firing Atmos speakers seems to help enhance the overall experience of space. Even though the A5000 has its own Atmos speakers, they don’t give the experience of volume the same way as when paired with the SA-RS5. It makes it seem you are listening to music or watching movies in a much larger room. It also means that instead of it sounding like sounds were coming from a thin soundbar under the TV that they were coming from a much larger area and not all from one spot. An example is the movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The combo of the A5000 and the SA-RS5 did something other Atmos setups haven’t done. In the scene right after the characters learn their traits a rocket comes spiraling through. You could hear the rocket spin through the room with enough clarity where both my dogs jumped up startled looking for what made the noise in the room. They are accustomed to regular audio and surround sound test so getting this response is no small feat. Also, in scene where the first character respawn happens and you hear the chime distinctly above you. This doesn’t happen in the same way when just using the soundbar. This shows how much these speakers are adding to the effect. Another welcomed bonus is if you use these speakers in your bedroom. Most people put their bed up against the wall, which is the worst listening position for surround sound of any sort. For the effect to work properly the speakers need to be behind you. The SA-RS5 didn’t seem to have this problem. While some sounds didn’t sound as far behind you, it could still create an immersive experience with the bed against the wall and the speakers pointing towards the bed. When playing music, the sound unsurprisingly wasn’t as rich as a larger set of speakers but still above what you would expect for the size. The overall experience was well balanced and didn’t need any adjustments. This is good because there is no EQ. Adjustments are limited to changing the rear channel volume. This is ok as it keeps things from getting overly complicated for a system that is supposed to make things simple. Listening to 360 audio, at first just seems like they used an old trick of adding an echo to make it sound like a larger space. This changes the more you listen and hear certain instruments in physically different places. Battery life is respectable lasting an entire day with a mix of somewhat loud music and several hours of TV. If they had been turned off between use, they likely could have lasted longer but they didn’t seem to lose much battery life and charging is quick. It’s worth noting the specs say battery life could be as low as 3 hours at high volumes. At that point, battery life might be less of a worry and heat might be more of a concern. The instructions say that the speakers will get hot with extended higher volume use. It even warns to be careful with more delicate surfaces. This seems like it would be a rare problem for a few people. What might be more comment are interference issues. The speakers work with the soundbar on the 5Ghz frequency. If that sounds familiar it’s because it’s the same frequency as more modern Wi-Fi systems. With this frequency range getting more crowded, you might have to make some adjustments to improve signal reliability in built up areas. The troubleshooting in the manual gives you some tips on how to do this, but the system tries to take care of this for you. Overall, the speakers have been excellent and are well balance with the rest of the system. The only omission, or missed opportunity to be more accurate, is the lack of Bluetooth support. These speakers already have a battery to allow placement where you like. Imagine if they had the flexibility to serve double duty as portable Bluetooth speakers. Maybe Sony will decide to add that in the second generation. Final Thoughts If you are in the market for a soundbar that is easy to set up that creates a more immersive movie and movie experience, then Sony A5000 or an A7000 soundbar is worth considering. If you already own one, then including adding a set of SA-RS5s almost seems like a requirement. They create a more immersive listening experience in a way the soundbar alone cannot do.

Great for what theyre supposed to do. Sometimes they freak us out a little when is quiet and you hear a voice from the speaker. But excellent sound for a soundbar wireless system with no dedicated reciever. Down sides? A little on the large side, but quality made. Plenty loud, but I'd like them to be able to go a touch louder. And price... i bought everything separately and while on sale. Even then, it's like "Really, THAT much?"

These rear speakers made an unbelievable impact when I added them to my Sony HTA-5000 Soundbar and SASW-5 Subwoofer. They added a whole new dimension to my home theatre experience. By adding these speakers I was able to activate Sony’s Spatial Audio Mapping which creates “phantom speakers” around the room. They show it in the advertisement as being a dome of sound and after playing the demo you really do get that affect. If you own a Sony HTA-5000 or HTA-7000 soundbar you need these speakers they make a massive difference. 360 Audio: Sony’s 360 Spatial Audio is an eye opener or maybe I should say an ear opener. I was shocked by how immersive the sound quality got by just adding these two speakers and turning on the 360 Spatial Audio. I have Amazon music which supports Sony’s 360 Audio so I added the Sony Music Center app to my phone and followed the directions to set up Alexa. Now I use Alexa to play my playlist as well as songs created in the 360 audio format. If you don’t want to hear the spatial audio you can use the remote to turn it off. I am yet to find a movie or tv show that was not enhanced by the 360 experience. Sadly Sony does not have any preset equalizer settings for various types of Music or even a Movie mode to help enhance the Home Theatre audio. Also the Soundbar has a nice display that indicates the soundbar functions but it does not show you what the audio input is (stereo, Dolby Atmos, DTS-X etc) nor does it indicate what the soundbar and rear speakers are playing. Since the Soundbar supports Dolby Atmos, DTS-X and Sony’s Spatial Audio I would like to know which one is being played as well as the ability to switch between the modes. Features: Each speaker includes an up-firing speaker, a tweeter, a woofer and two passive radiators. The speaker is rounded with a flat section on the back for wall mounting. Its solidly built and has some heft to it so it’s no light weight. Each speaker provides 90 watts of power. Even though they look small and unintrusive I found that they provide quite an impact to the overall listening experience. I’ve played various movies and types of music and so far these speakers surprised me with the amount of bass they produce. The mids and highs blend nicely with the soundbar audio and they provide good clarity even at a higher volume level. It takes about 4 hours to fully charge each speaker and the charge should last for 10 hours of play time. They have a quick charge feature that will play 90 minutes after a 10 minute charge. On top of the speaker there are two buttons, one for power and one for setting a sound optimization. Setup: The speakers were easy to set up and Sony provides a setup document with the speakers. They recommend you update the soundbar to the latest version which I did. Then I set the speakers where I wanted them and powered them up by pressing the power button on top of each speaker. My soundbar has a digital display that shows the Rear L and Rear R speakers as they connect to the soundbar wirelessly. My rear speakers are about 15 feet from the Soundbar and I have not experienced any drop outs or issues with connectivity. The soundbar setup screen on the TV also showed when the rear speakers were recognized. I then did the sound optimization which has each speaker send out test tones which are then used to configure the speakers for the room. The speakers have built in microphones to measure the test tones versus having to use a separate microphone which I have done with home theatre systems in the past. Once this was complete I was ready to enjoy the new speakers.

These speakers are part of a complete wireless surround system, and you’ll need a Sony HT-A5000 or HT-A7000 soundbar to connect them. The HT-A5000 I connected these to sounds amazing on its own, but these along with a subwoofer really elevate the experience. My previous “wireless” surround system had a receiver box for the rear speakers that had to be plugged in, and then speaker wire ran from that to the satellites. It was sort of a messy solution, but better than trying to run wires around the entire room, and it still meant I had to run power along the floor to the box, which was hidden under the couch. These speakers connect individually to the soundbar and have batteries that allow them to run up to ten hours without any form of wires at all, so if your room setup has your seating sitting away from walls (like mine), you can just set these on some speaker stands for movie night and you’re ready to go. Setup was a completely painless process. I simply powered them up and they automatically connected to the soundbar. I did have to enter the soundbar’s settings (through HDMI-ARC) and update the firmware, but that was quick and easy. The soundbar pushed the firmware update out to the speakers, and then prompted me to set up 360 Spatial Audio, a process by which it plays sounds to determine information about your space, setting up phantom speakers around your room. This sounds like a gimmick, but it’s not. I don’t know what technological wizardry Sony’s pulled off here, but it’s amazing when you play content that supports it (which includes music streaming like Spotify and Amazon, and other Bluetooth sources). I tried out a few movies that support Dolby Atmos along with a couple of PlayStation 5 games that support spatial audio, and it’s impressive. The phantom speakers do a great job at creating a wide sound environment. If at any point you move the speakers to a new location, you can just press a button on the top of either speaker to recalibrate the 360 audio. I like to keep the rear speakers along the back wall of my living room for everyday sound and music playback, and move them in closer to the seats for movie night. The whole process takes a couple of minutes. Also, If you like to crank the sound, I was able to get these very loud without any noticeable crackling or loss in audio quality. It’s rare to find technology that just works the way it’s supposed to, and I’d strongly recommend these to anyone who wants a fantastic home theater audio experience out of the box.

The convenience of a nice home theater setup is having a wireless system. This allows for an easy setup overall without the hassles or trying to figure out how to hide the wires, or dyi'ing a behind the wall drill mess. The RS5 wireless speakers paired with the A5000 sound bar, and the SW5 sub make for an amazing combination. The best part is that the setup is as easy as plugging everything in, and pressing the home button to set up the wireless link that allows all of the components to talk to each other. Once your sound bar is connected to your home's wi-fi, it updates, and with the update comes the optimization. The sound is truly remarkable. After the setup is complete, it runs a rainforest demo to test out the sound, and that alone got me excited. I quickly turned on an action movie to really see how it compares to being at the theater. I will say that the only negative thing I can say is that the sub woofer doesn't really pack that strong of a punch. I have it on max volume and I still don't feel the nice rumble you would experience at the theater. The rear speakers and the soundbar sound great. The soundbar has chromecast built in so you can cast music from your phone or laptop to it. I will say this. All of the components are quite large. The sound bar itself dwarfs the soundbar it replaced by almost 40%. The rear speakers are also the size of my lamps. The sub is also about 25% larger than my previous sub but doesn't sound that much better. I haven't tried the whole setup at full max volume, and maybe that's how I get to hear the sub at its best. Regardless this is an amazing setup that's wireless, great sounding, and convenient to set up.

Very very surprised with this system. I currently own a 9.2 magnolia system brand starts with M ends with Z and I am running in ceiling and exterior speakers. I have owned over 10 AVR amps in the course of 10 years. This Sony system rear speakers keep up with my current 9.2 AVR. Wow.... At first... I had setup issues because the 360 spatial mapping software was not released yet over the air (OTA) but I was notified it would be release the following day and it was and setup completed after that. Spatial mapping was a snap. No need to setup a separate mic. It was all inclusive. eARC worked great... The rear speakers were cinch to set up. I charged it and it last 10 hours on accident while the system was on and I forgot to turn off. I had 1 bar left. So battery life is pretty good. The rear speakers are nice and compact. If you keep these plugged in you will need an outlet near by so be cognizant of that. One complaint that I have with all Atmos systems is the center speakers don't do well with voice and you have to crank it up to hear dialog. Then back down when action happens. Turns into a yoyo exercise. Back to these speakers. Rear speakers pickup good rear and height and rear sounds. Played various action movies, kid movies, and drama and the speakers all performed pretty good. Mounting options are good. 3 possibilities. On base or shelf Use screws on wall Use speaker mounts type screws I reused old speaker stands and repurposed them and they worked just fine. Great set of speakers. Great sound bar set up with HT5000 and wireless bass unit. I am now a sound bar fan. I have owned 3 other sound bars and by far these are making me lean towards a sound bars instead of a full wired AVR system. Nice JOB Sony. I would recommend these speakers coupled with the sound bar system.

So I have the Sony HTA5000 Sony Dolby atmos soundbar paired with the Sony 300 watt subwoofer for my living room downstairs. I recently picked up a new earc tv and I wanted to take full use of the awesome Dolby atmos. I wanted true to life surround sound. But didn’t want to settle for standard surround rear speakers. So I chose these atmos Sony surrounds and I am so so glad. They truly give you full effects with either Dolby atmos or Sonys spatial 360 audio. Sounds bounce off the ceiling in my house and back to our ears. And we just love watching movies down stairs so much. Crystal clear sharp effects. I do turn the rear speakers up to max level. As far as design, these look great and feel great as well. A cloth type material. Solid build and not too heavy even with built in rechargeable batteries. And that leads me to the one of the best features in the true wireless rears. The built in batteries last at least 5 days in our use case. We run them about 4 hours a day. Which is amazing how long they last. You can literally put them any where and no have to worry about running long wires to power them. Great speakers and definitely worth the upgrade if you have a compatible Sony Dolby atmos sound bar. I recommend 100%. Pricey but worth the happiness these bring. Especially if you are a movie like me, my wife and kids are. Great job as always Sony!

Out of the gate, these surround speakers truly complete the set for the Sony soundbars, and you should absolutely add these to your setup when possible. The speakers themselves are fairly small and can easily fit on a nightstand. They’re also battery-powered and chargeable for 10 hours of battery life, though higher volumes may make the life decrease faster, so if you don’t have the ability to keep them plugged in, these will still be valuable for those big gaming sessions, movie nights, and watch sessions. The speakers have both a power button and an optimize button, which runs the acoustic calibration for 360 sound mapping between it and your bar/sub for if you move the rear speakers in order to keep the bubble/phantom speakers optimally placed with the app providing a more advanced calibration. The sound quality itself is very good. The rear and surround channels sound great with the rear heights giving you true forward-to-back sound tracking. As a product designed for the last generation of Sony bars, you may notice that there is a slight difference between the timbre for the rear speakers vs the soundbar speakers, but it’s very slight and you get used to it very quickly to the point that it’s unnoticeable. Connecting these with one of the theater bar products and a sub will also allow you to utilize IMAX Enhanced, which for supported media on Sony Pictures Core and select titles on Disney+, truly sounds incredible. Overall, the RS5s truly make your soundbar setup into a home theater environment that will bring enjoyment for years to come.

If you've got one of the soundbars like the HT-A7000 and want real surround sound with dolby atmos, then this is what you need. Yes, the price is outrageous, but they are well thought out and engineered speakers. They are beefy with good bass, wireless (with a built in battery even for true wireless), with no noticeable lag, and super simple set up. The speakers also have a button so you can run the room calibration at any time. A must to get the best atmos soundscape. The dolby atmos effects with these rear speakers really complete the experience. I feel like there is dome of sound around and above me. Much like the bars, theses are pricey, but I don't feel ripped off. as I said in my review of the HT-7000 though, this isn't for anyone that has a house and can use a real receiver and discreet speakers with a subwoofer. If you live the apartment life though, and want the best experience you can have at reasonable volumes, then this is it.