A New Update Makes It Easier To Upgrade Your Old Sony TV's Audio

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Sony has started rolling out a new feature to some of its older TV models, which makes it easier to connect new audio hardware to your TV. Known as Bravia Direct Connect, the feature was originally introduced as part of the company's 2026 Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II televisions, which are Sony's first True RGB TVs. It's a proprietary technology that enables the company's televisions to pair directly with the compatible wireless rear speakers and subwoofers without needing a soundbar. Typically, you have to connect a soundbar to your TV and then connect the rear speakers and subwoofer to that. 

Sony's system leverages the TV's built-in speakers as the center, left, and right channels of the overall audio system. This results in deeper bass and a better surround sound experience than just listening to the audio output of your TV's built-in speakers. The biggest benefit of the Direct Connect system is the seamless integration of additional audio hardware without requiring any wiring between the audio hardware or between the hardware and the TV. Everything is wireless; however, you'll still need to connect the speakers and the sub to outlets for power. If you've been thinking about upgrading your Sony TV's audio, you can consider using Direct Connect rather than going the soundbar route.

At the time of announcing the Direct Connect platform, Sony had revealed that its Bravia 8 II, Bravia 9, Bravia 8, Bravia 7, Bravia 5, and A95L TVs were compatible with the new technology and will receive it via a firmware update (v114.602.050.1). Each of these models is now actively getting the firmware update, adding Direct Connect support in North America, Europe, and other regions. As firmware updates are typically rolled out in batches, it may take a while to reach everyone. Unfortunately, no other older Sony TVs are known to be compatible with Direct Connect at this point.

Once your Sony TV has received the updated firmware, you'll be able to pair the company's Rear 9 or Rear 8 speakers and Sub 9, Sub 8, or Sub 7 subwoofers. You'll also have freedom to go with only a subwoofer, only two rear speakers, or both, depending on your budget and needs. You can find the Rear 9 speakers for around $750 on Amazon, whereas the Rear 8 speakers cost $500. The subwoofers are priced starting at $328.

Besides the Bravia Direct Connect feature, Sony is bringing a new "My Cinema" interface to the same set of older TVs, which offers a centralized and seamless way to adjust your TV's picture and audio settings. But more importantly, you can choose to have specific settings for different streaming apps on your TV, as per your needs. You can also create presets that you can then choose to deploy as needed without having to fiddle with settings every single time.

For example, you can have a preset for nighttime viewing or a preset for watching sports. The My Cinema interface appears as a pop-up on your existing TV screen, and there is plenty of freedom for customization. There are also bug fixes and improvements in the latest firmware update, which improve the general performance of the TVs.