An acoustic masterpiece - introducing Sony's new SRS-RA5000

Sony SRS-RA5000 Premium Wireless Speaker

Sony has made its much anticipated return to the 'premium home speaker' arena, and we recently spent some time with the new SRS-RA5000 and its sibling, the SRS-RA3000. The step up to the RA5000 grants access to High-resolution audio, three up-firing speakers which spread music vertically, and three side speakers, which spread sound horizontally. These are backed by a powerful woofer that delivers the speaker's impressive bass performance. Priced at £499 and £299 respectively, both speakers easily justiy their price tags, delivering big, exhilarating sound performance with ease. In this article, we're focusing on the RA5000, and we'll cover the RA3000 in a separate post. In focus: SRS-RA5000 The RA3000 is available in black and grey, whilst the RA5000 is presented exclusively in black. Both speakers take inspiration from the WH-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling headphones' black and rose gold colour palette, which we're huge fans of. The RA5000's unique design is a mix of mid-century modern design, laced with elements of cutting edge futurism. Concave sides connect the gently curved top side to the three feet at the base of the speaker, where you'll also find the power lead connector. The top of the RA5000 is where the design really comes to life - three speaker grilles dominate the matte black surface, and light reflects beautifully off the edges of the rose gold coloured metal discs. Coming in at 4.9kg, the RA5000 is definitely not a portable speaker, but we're happy to report that there's a great reason behind the speaker's hefty frame (more on that in a bit). The 329mm height means you'll need to make some space for Sony's new flagship home speaker, however, the excellent fit and finish is impressive, and exactly what we'd hoped for at this price. The tight, almost athletic character lines of the RA5000 give it a taut, daring look, making it appear as though Sony's design team stretched the surface materials over the internal framework - it looks every part the premium speaker, but is also a beautiful design statement. There's an audio in jack, allowing wired connections from devices such as an Xperia smartphone, Walkman or iPod, but aside from that - it's all wireless from hereon in. Setup is easy, thanks to Sony's Music Centre and the Google Home applications, taking less than five minutes to connect to our wireless network - of course, bluetooth is also an option if you'd prefer, there's an NFC contact point for devices that support pairing via this method. Regardless of where you decide to place your RA5000, it can be calibrated for optimum audio performance, using an internal microphone and Sony's bespoke algorithm. Remember the weight? Once connected, the RA5000 comes to life, delivering an acoustic performance to be remembered. We started our test with Han Zimmer's 'Time', where the RA5000 gently teased the track's impending thunder, followed by a full-bodied eruption of sound as the music progresses. Zimmer's 'Now We Are Free' sounded superb, with deep, sonoros bass and a stunning crescendo. Things get even better when the RA5000 gets fed a track dominated by vocals. Joe Thomas' rendition of 'Hello' is brought to life with airy violin notes and well defined guitar chords. The track is reproduced with real vigour, keeping Thomas' vocals front and centre, whilst the guitar and percussion play their auxilliary roles. Never ones to shy away from variation, we gave Faithless' 'Insomnia' a go and the results were no different - the pumping bass and frantic tempo of the club classic are faithfully (no pun intended) reproduced - turn it up, and you'll be rewarded with an immersive, room-filling sound, reminiscent of a pre-pandemic concert. Moving to other genres, the Weeknds 'Starboy' thumps with tight, controlled bass, and breathy vocals, whilst Daft Punk's influence on the track is brought to life thanks to the Sony's 46mm mid-speaker. The percussion on Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' is expertly handled by the RA5000, whilst Jackson's vocals remain clear and unrestrained. Moreover, the rumbling lows of the 80's hit are spot on, thanks to the 70mm woofer. Before we move on, one track that underlined the RA5000's penchant for well defined notes was a violin cover of Sia's 'Chandelier'. The sensuous string vibrations are reproduced with a great degree of realism, whilst the D-string notes of the track are artistically crafted by the Sony's impressive speaker array. Talking about the woofer, the RA5000 can move some air - it renders the house kick drum's thud from 'Billie Jean' perfectly, whilst basslines across various genres are weighty and well controlled. With a clean, prominent midrange and wide, pronounced soundstage, the RA5000's upward and outward firing speaker arrangement delivers on its promise of 'immersive audio', and strikes a happy medium between height and width.

Sony SRS-RA5000 Premium Wireless Speaker