Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 6: problems, parts and running costs

Checked: 2026-10-20

Summary

The HT-B600 rarely breaks; what owners and reviewers hit instead is a subwoofer that ships far too loud and still cannot dig, a bar with no EQ and no front display, and an infrared remote that lags. Running costs are electricity only — 35 W for the bar and 20 W for the subwoofer — with no subscription and no consumables, and owner sentiment runs 71% positive across nine Reddit discussions. It is a strong buy below about $500, a value judgment between $550 and $650, and thin value at the $699.99 US list price. [3][4][10]

Common problems and fixes

The 20 W subwoofer cannot produce deep bass — PCMag measured it at the extremely low end of the spectrum and found no palpable sub-bass even at high volume, and What Hi-Fi? found it not agile enough for fast material with a gap in the upper bass; one owner thought an older Polk sub hit deeper tones. No setting fixes this, so the answer is a different subwoofer or a different bar. [3][4][11]
No EQ and no sound presets — bass level is the only adjustment on the bar, the BRAVIA Connect app has no EQ, and setup depends on manual sofa-to-bar, sofa-to-sub and bar-to-ceiling distances because there is no auto-calibration. Nothing to repair; use Night Mode or Voice Mode instead of a missing EQ. [3][4][11]
No front display, and the remote lags — the two LEDs give almost no information, so button presses are hard to confirm, and PCMag found the included infrared remote takes an extra second or two compared with the TV remote or the app. Work around it by making every change in the app. [3][11]
It cannot switch sources — there are no HDMI inputs, only one eARC/ARC output, so a console or streaming stick must plug into the TV; there is also no Wi-Fi, no LAN, no AirPlay and no analog input, and Bluetooth carries SBC and AAC only, without aptX or LDAC. Plan the setup around the TV rather than around the bar. [2][3][6][12][13]
Firmware cannot be updated over the network — Sony ships updates as a USB download (version 1.057 or 1.058) that has to be installed by hand, though newer units may already be current. Put the file on a USB stick before you need it. [3][9]
The subwoofer can drop its link — Sony’s own support pages carry an article for “no sound coming from the Subwoofer” covering the LED link states and re-pairing for this model, so treat a silent sub as a pairing problem first. Sony’s standard US warranty applies, though the term is not published on the product pages. [1][2][7][8]
Voices can sound synthetic with Sound Field on — What Hi-Fi? heard occasional flat, synthetic voices and says the only remedy is to turn Sound Field off, which gives up part of the Atmos scale. Decide per programme: Sound Field on for films, off for dialogue-heavy shows. [4]

Parts and consumables

No other replaceable parts or consumables reported — no parts catalog, no repairability data and no third-party spares exist for this model, and nothing on it wears out on a schedule. [1][2]

Yearly running cost

Running costs are electricity only. The bar draws 35 W and the subwoofer 20 W, 55 W for the pair according to PCMag, and the bar drops into low-power mode after 20 minutes of inactivity. Multiply that draw by the hours the system runs and by your own electricity rate for the yearly figure; no measured usage, electricity rate or published annual cost is reported, so a dollar total cannot be given. There are no filters, pods or subscriptions, and the only other possible expense is a replacement remote, for which no price is published. [2][3][7]

When it is a good buy

$450-500 or less — the strongest zone: real up-firing height drivers, a dedicated center channel and a large included subwoofer in one package, and the reason to buy is strongest if you already own a compatible BRAVIA TV for Voice Zoom 3 and TV-menu control. [1][4][5]
$550-650 — a value judgment: PCMag found the 20 W subwoofer and the barebones app real weaknesses, and What Hi-Fi? put the bar clearly behind the Sonos Beam Gen 2 for music and subtlety. [3][4]
$699.99 and above — thin value: no HDMI inputs, no Wi-Fi, no multi-room, no EQ and a 20 W subwoofer are hard to defend at Sony’s US list price of $699.99. [1][3][6]
Other stores — an aggregator listed a Walmart offer at $599 in October 2026; Consumer Reports showed retailers from about $448 up to $698 in June 2025; PCMag measured $649.99 on the street in June 2025 and What Hi-Fi? tested it at $650 in May 2025. [3][4][6][10]
Sonos Beam Gen 2 — the better choice when music, detail and precise placement matter more than scale; What Hi-Fi? rated it clearly ahead of the Sony on those points while the Sony won on scale and height effects. [4]
LG S70TY — the better choice if bass headroom is the priority: PCMag found its subwoofer noticeably more powerful than the 20 W unit in this package. [3]