Hisense announces its own surround system as an alternative to the Sony Bravia Theater Quad
Hisense has unveiled its own 360 surround speaker system – called the HT Saturn – as an alternative to the Sony Bravia Theater Quad (as reported by Flat panelsHD).
The system, unveiled at IFA 2024, consists of four wireless speakers, a subwoofer and a control box. It is similar to the Sony Bravia Theater Quad, although the Quad does not come with a subwoofer in the box (it can be paired with the SA-SW3 and SA-SW5 wireless subwoofers).
Hisense claims 720W of power, which far exceeds the Quad’s claimed 504W. The HT Saturn supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio formats.
If the HT Saturn follows the same processes as the Theater Quad, the control box is located where the connections are made (for example HDMI for your TV) and then sends the audio signal wirelessly to the four speaker units and subwoofer.
This system is an extension of Hisense’s soundbar range, which also includes the Hisense AX5125H. This is one of the best soundbars available. Currently, this product comes closest to an immersive surround sound experience in Hisense’s range, thanks to its four separate units consisting of a soundbar, subwoofer and two satellite speakers.
There are no further specs, pricing or release dates available at this time, but we’ll definitely keep an eye on it.
Price vs performance
The HT Saturn’s main aim is to offer a noticeable improvement over the fantastic Hisense AX5125H, which we complimented in our review with 4.5 out of 5 stars for delivering powerful, dynamic and ‘true’ Dolby Atmos surround sound at such a budget price (the AX5125H costs around $299 / £299 / AU$499).
The HT Saturn will likely cost a fair bit more than this, but given Hisense’s usual pricing, it’ll likely be extremely competitive with the Sony Bravia Theater Quad, which costs $2,499/£2,499/AU$3,699. That itself is a significant price hike over its flagship soundbar, the Sony Bravia Theater 9, which currently retails for $1,199/£1,199/AU$1,799.
The prospect of a budget alternative to the Quad is an exciting one, though, and when we heard the Quad in action we were suitably impressed with its surround sound prowess. We didn’t think it beat the Bravia Theater 9 by enough to justify its significant price hike, but when we paired it with the Sony Bravia 9 (Sony’s 2024 flagship TV) and used it as the centre channel in our Quad setup, the Quad stepped up to another level.
It’s unclear whether Hisense’s HT Saturn will do something similar with its own TVs, such as the Hisense U8N, one of the best TVs released so far in 2024, but if it can do so at an affordable price, sign us up. We have high hopes after seeing what Hisense could do with the AX5125H.