Sony's odd HT-AX7 mini surround system

2:50 Always a good sign when the shop gets in touch asking if you're sure you want to buy it!

Since it's just stereo anyway, I find it disappointing they couldn't be bothered to add a 3.5mm stereo input

I think the best use for that is in a caravan.

When you see how many Japanese live in very small flats with no space for big TVs, an expectation that they won't disturb neighbours with thumping bass, and high rates of solitary living, this product manufactured by a Japanese company makes perfect sense for the domestic market.

3:07 "I know what it is and I'm prepared to be disappointed." Succinctly summing up my view about almost everything.

I still think Techmoan should open a museum. I would love to go and see all these things in person.

I sincerely miss that sense of discovery new tech used to inspire. It somehow made the world feel so much bigger and more exciting...

I think the perfect user for this is a couple that watches a tablet or projector in bed together. Can't use headphones when watching together. One speaker on each bedside table, main unit on the dresser

so, this thing is only bluetooth, therefore cannot do surround, and costs 500? hilariously if they added a line-in, USB audio, or anything to get low latency audio, on sale this would be a neat little package for all-in-one PC speakers.

4:00 There is actually something genuinely new happening in the Bluetooth space - BT LE Audio supports multichannel hi-fidelity audio, and many other nice things like high quality microphone inputs, *finally* getting past the decades-old Bluetooth audio limitations. Device support is still very limited, but something to look forward to.

Might be good for a portable projector, for those people that like to watch movies out in the garden or while camping.

In some weird kind of way, Mat reviewing a pointless product is top Techmoan content.

It actually looks like it would be better as just a speaker for music at a party in a medium size room

Saturday is complete. Thanks Mat.

I think this is aimed at the Japanese market where many people live in small spaces and may only have a tablet or a smartphone (ie, Bluetooth out for audio), but want a more immersive audio experience.

The hours I spent is Dixons and Currys looking at HiFi equipment. I miss that so much now 😢

The design and form reminds me of something BANG & OLUFSEN would make :)

I would absolutely use this as a bed system for sleeping music, with the main unit on a table at my feet and the surrounds flanking my head on end tables. Harsh and bass shy can sound ok at low volume, and the "embiggened" stereo would be ideal for spacey ambient music.

I have this, and I use it with my projector in the bedroom as there's no real space to put a proper soundbar or speakers permanently. No plug socket on the wall my screen is hanging on either. Can plonk the 'surround' speakers on my headboard, put the central speaker at the foot of my bed, and it's quite a nifty little solution. (Edit: In your setup with the Nebula, if you had that behind you projecting a bigger screen, with the central speaker from this on the little table in front of you, that'd be close to the way I use it. It's not "proper soundbar" levels of good, but it beats the in-built speakers of my projector.) Sure, it could have been done better, and I'd have liked to have seen it evolve over the years with bigger/better iterations of the concept, but alas t'was not to be. It's also quite fun watching football with, bizarrely. Does quite well with crowd noise feeling immersive.

Bluetooth LE absolutely does support surround - theoretically up to 31 channels, but bandwidth and chipset limitations means 7 is more likely. Bluetooth LE is shipping now, but it’s not widespread. And Sony’s ProLogic and later revisions does an excellent job of extracting “surround” from stereo recordings - eg Eurythmics “Ball and Chain”. I’m most excited about LE enabling Ambisonic B-format over Bluetooth, allowing *instant* head tracking for spatial->binaural decoding in-ear.