Re: "Building on the earlier suggestion, I actually have..." - unfortunately, I've had so many issues with those budget Atmos bars. I bought one last year and the firmware was just buggy as hell... kept dropping the connection. Its not as good as expected when you're just trying to watch a movie and the audio cuts out. Reliability is everything. I always tell people to check RTINGS.com before buying anything. Their Dialogue Enhancement score is the only thing that matters for your thin sound issue. I learned the hard way that flashy features dont matter if the unit wont turn on. Here are the only ones I trust for an easy, safe setup:

• Bose TV Speaker Bluetooth Soundbar
• Sonos Ray Compact Gaming Soundbar The Bose is basically plug-and-play. No complex apps or WiFi nonsense. Its better to get a solid 2.0 system that actually works than a cheap 5.1 system that breaks after a month.

Saw this earlier and wanted to chime in since I've spent way too much time messing with Bravia setups over the years. Before you pull the trigger, how much space do you actually have? Like, do you have room for a separate subwoofer box on the floor or are you looking for something all-in-one for a shelf? Knowing if you're in a studio or a bigger place helps. You definitely dont need to stay in the Sony ecosystem. In my experience, you often get better value elsewhere. Since you're struggling with dialogue, look for these:

• Samsung HW-Q600C 3.1.2ch Soundbar with Dolby Atmos and Q-Symphony usually fits your budget and the dedicated center channel is a game changer for hearing actors over background noise.
• Yamaha Audio SR-B20A Sound Bar with Built-in Subwoofers and DTS Virtual:X is great if you want to keep it simple with no extra clutter. Just use a decent Monoprice 8K Certified Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable to connect to the HDMI ARC port and your Sony remote will control the volume automatically. Super easy.

Over the years Ive found you dont need to match brands at all. Any soundbar with HDMI ARC will work perfectly with your Bravia. Since dialogue is the issue, you want a bar with a dedicated center channel.

• Sony HT-S2000 3.1ch Dolby Atmos Soundbar is great for apartments.
• Vizio M-Series M51ax-J6 5.1 Channel Soundbar gives you more bang for your buck. Both are dead simple to set up.

Building on the earlier suggestion, I actually have the exact same problem with my Bravia and honestly the dialogue thing drives me crazy. In my experience, you have to be really cautious so you dont end up with a mess.

• Check the bar height so it doesnt block your remote sensor
• Avoid expensive cables the stores try to push I spent way too much on my first setup and it was a headache...