+1 to what was said earlier. Honestly, Sony features are unfortunately not as good as expected. Comparing Sony HT-A5000 vs Sonos Beam Gen 2, is the integration worth it for ur money?

Seconding the above! Sonys sync stuff is unfortunately not as good as expected and can strain ur TV hardware...

• Try Samsung HW-Q800C 5.1.2 Channel Soundbar
• Its way more reliable for gaming Cheers

Building on the earlier suggestion about how proprietary features can be a bit of a letdown... I totally get the desire to stick with Sony, but my experience taught me that performance usually beats brand matching every time. I was in your exact shoes with a $800 limit and realized Sonys a la carte pricing for subs and rears is kind of a headache for the wallet. I ended up with the JBL Bar 9.1 True Wireless Surround with Dolby Atmos and I have been super happy with it for over a year now. Its basically the best way to get a full theater feel without blowing your whole budget. The detachable rear speakers are such a win for movie nights because I just pop them off the main bar and stick them on my end tables. No wires, no mess, and they sound great. For PS5 gaming, the directional audio is a game changer. I managed to snag mine on a deal and it saved me so much cash compared to the A5000 setup where you have to buy everything separately. Definitely worth looking at the JBL Bar 1000 7.1.4 Channel Soundbar too if you can find a good price, it really brings those 4K movies to life.

Honestly, if u want reliability without the ecosystem headache, I usually recommend going for something that just nails the basics perfectly. I have found that the Vizio Elevate 5.1.4 Home Theater Sound Bar with Dolby Atmos is a total tank for movies and PS5 gaming. It doesnt rely on those proprietary sync features that often cause weird handshake issues with Sony TVs anyway. Since youre doing a DIY setup, just make sure you use a high-quality Zeskit Maya 8K 48Gbps Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable to avoid any of those annoying audio dropouts. Staying within one brand sounds nice on paper, but using standard eARC on a solid third-party bar usually feels way more stable in the long run. Plus, those rotating speakers on the Elevate are actually legit for height effects in 4K movies... definitely worth a look for your budget.

For your situation, brands often push those proprietary sync features to keep u in their ecosystem. Honestly though, be careful cuz in my experience they sound thin or metallic, which is disappointing for a premium setup. Ive used these for years and unfortunately the tech isnt as good as expected. But yeah, if u want that easy on-screen control, staying with the same brand is ur best bet. Gl!!

Totally agree with what the guys above mentioned. I fell into that same trap a couple years back thinking the proprietary features would make everything seamless. I actually had a setup where I matched the brands specifically for that center sync tech, but it ended up being a total headache. Every time there was a firmware update, the eARC handshake would fail and I would lose audio for like 10 seconds right in the middle of a boss fight. It was super frustrating... Basically, I realized that the more complex those integrated features get, the more points of failure there are. I eventually swapped to a different brand that just focused on the basics of a solid signal, and I havent had a single connection drop since. Ngl, losing the on-screen menu was annoying for like a week, but the peace of mind of it actually working every time I turn it on is worth way more to me now.

Exactly what I was thinking

Look, Ive been tinkering with home theater gear for a decade and honestly, if you want something that lasts, just go with Bose. Their room calibration tech is basically the industry standard for consumer gear. Even without the Sony sync features, the physical driver quality and the way they handle spatial processing is way ahead of the curve. Ive had my setup for years and it still gets regular firmware updates that actually improve things instead of breaking them. Just grab any of their upper-tier smart bars within your budget and youll be golden. You dont need the ecosystem lock-in to get a flat frequency response and a wide soundstage. In the long run, software stability and driver longevity matter way more than a proprietary center channel feature that usually just messes with the crossover anyway.