Cinema around your neck for under three thousand. Sony Theatre U leaves your ears free

In the evening, you want to finish watching a movie, but the TV is too quiet and big headphones press on you after an hour. The Sony BRAVIA Theatre U tackles this problem quite unusually: it places small speakers directly on your shoulders. It looks a bit like a sci-fi collar, but the idea is appealing. The sound is close to your ears, which remain completely free. Alza is now selling Theatre U for 2,999 CZK, without entering a code.

Quick summary:
✅ Makes sense for: Movies and games, if you dislike headphones on your head and want to hear your surroundings.
⚠️ Consider: Spatial features depend on a compatible BRAVIA. An open speaker is also not inaudible to others.
💡 The price of 2,999 CZK is approximately 40% lower than Alza’s crossed-out amount.

Take the movie on your shoulders

Comfort is precisely the reason to consider this peculiarity. The flexible design weighs approximately 268 grams and doesn’t hug your head like headphones. It’s suitable for watching a series on the couch, but also for listening to a podcast while cooking: you hear the sound and simultaneously perceive what’s happening in the apartment. Don’t expect completely private listening like with closed headphones from open speakers.

Sony promises up to 12 hours of operation on a single charge. It charges via USB-C, and ten minutes with the charger should provide about an hour of listening. It also features a microphone and multipoint connection, so you don’t have to re-pair everything for a phone call while working on your laptop.

Reviewers were surprised by the spatiality. But it’s not a subwoofer

The editorial team at What Hi-Fi? praised both comfort and convincing spatial presentation during testing. Conversely, they noted weaker deep bass. This accurately describes what you’re buying: an alternative to headphones for movies and games, where dialogues and spatial effects might be more important than booming sounds with every explosion. On Alza, at the time of writing, the model has a rating of 4.4 out of 5 from 34 customers.

For spatial sound, you need to check your TV. Dolby Atmos and personal 360 Spatial Sound work with compatible Sony BRAVIA models. The mere Bluetooth logo on any TV does not yet promise all advertised features. For gaming, a cable is also included in the package, which helps reduce audio latency.

For under three thousand, it’s already a more tempting experiment for someone who dislikes headphones on their head. Especially if they have a suitable BRAVIA at home and can utilize the spatial features. It’s precisely the free ears and speakers moving with you that give Theatre U a distinctiveness that a regular desktop speaker cannot replace.

When watching movies, would you prefer a neck speaker or headphones?