topic Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out in Home Cinema, Projectors & Players

HT-ZF9 sound drops out

GB-London — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 17:45:06 GMT

Our HT-ZF9 with rear surround speakers puts out some terrific sound. But, almost two years on, annoying random audio drop-outs continue. The unit, along with all of our other gear, is connected to our Sony KD65XF9005 with high-quality HDMI 2.0 cables. This issue was documented by consumers shortly after the HT-ZF9 was introduced two years ago. We keep the system software up-to-date. Hard resets by cutting power to the unit work as a fix less and less.

I'm stunned that Sony has not come up with a resolution yet.

Is anyone else still experiencing this problem. Has anyone solved the problem?

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

Pascale_F — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 18:44:39 GMT

Hi GB-London,

Welcome to the Community. Have you contacted Sony Support about this?

Thanks,

Pascale

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

J.M.11 — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 20:30:55 GMT

I have the same problem. Same HT-ZF9 configuration plus rear speakers. HT-ZF9 connected via HDMI ARC with TV KD-55AF8. All current software.
After some time, the HT-ZF9 will stop playing without any load, volume level 5. The fault is more common.

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

rjm1967 — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 12:35:05 GMT

I have a the same setup as you, and I'm experiencing the same issue's. It used to just happen with Sky Q on the (TV HDMI port 1), but this week it's happening with my Apple TV (4K) on HDMI port 1 on the soundbar itself. It's frustrating as it's such a great setup otherwise. I've logged a call with Sony (not expecting much), but I'll update on the outcome.

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

Michal28t — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:00:17 GMT

I have the same problem. Sometimes it happens once every few hours or few minutes. I’ve noticed it happens with streaming apps or tv, but not while playing PS4

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

Win_88 — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 14:29:55 GMT

Hi all

I think it's best if you get in touch with Sony support to log these issues as this usually helps them find more things in common with each set up which may lead to a solution. Especially since a power cycle has been cited to improve the situation a bit, which means it may not necessarily be a direct hardware failure issue.

Win_88

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

Jharps — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 18:54:53 GMT

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

Jharps — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 18:54:23 GMT

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

Jharps — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 18:58:19 GMT

So I have figured that this seems to happen when Dolby digital plus/ compression mode auto 1/auto 2 and pass through mode is/are activated on Bravia TV I have the KD-55XH9005 .

I’ve been testing with the tv sound settings for external devices and so far the tests conclude it is the 1 or a combination of these settings

hopefully all gets fixed soon only bought the kd55-xh9005 and ht zf9 for the ps5!!

It happens when watching TV and Netflix, basically any sounds being directed from the TV because when I use PS4 for Netflix I have no issue???

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

Saintmiko — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 00:11:53 GMT

https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/android-tv/ht-zf9-soundbar-and-tv-issue/td-p/3730236

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

Jharps — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 20:48:18 GMT

https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/android-tv/ht-zf9-soundbar-and-tv-issue/m-p/3733655#M49250

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

J.M.11 — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 21:12:30 GMT

I replaced the HDMI cable with a PremiumCord HDMI 2.0 High Speed + Ethernet 5m and now without outages, only when the soundbar moves (when the dust is wiped off), I see a problem with the HDMI ARC connector on the soundbar

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

Saintmiko — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 21:26:53 GMT

I think the angle in which the cable inputs into the soundbar doesn't help. I've tried a number of cables and didn't fix the issue for me.

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

J.M.11 — Sun, 29 Nov 2020 20:56:47 GMT

I add, today it happened to me that when I connected a PC via HDMI to a TV the soundbar stopped playing. Restarting the power off or resetting the factory settings did not help. As soon as I disconnected the HDMI connector from the PC, the soundbar played immediately.

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

ch3nks — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 11:22:11 GMT

i am having the same issue but it's my subwoofer that intermittantly cuts out.

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

Win_88 — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 16:45:22 GMT

Hi @ch3nks

Is your Sound bar up to date?

Win_88

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

ch3nks — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 16:56:22 GMT

yes it's running the current firmware 002.315

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

Win_88 — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 17:06:20 GMT

I wonder if the issue is resolved (even if for a short while) after a factory reset? If it's not, I'd contact a service centre and submit it for inspection,

Win_88

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

ch3nks — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 18:25:43 GMT

i did a factory reset yesterday to test.

the audio was fine up until about 15 minutes ago when the sub started intermittanly cutting out again.

sony support told me to go down the service centre route (closest one to me being about 20 miles away), however i'm not convinced it's a hardware fault. due to the amount of people i've seen have a similar issue (on here and on avforums.com) i think it's an inherent issue with either the firmware or the method of wireless connection being used (either that or sony have a quality control issue where they have shipped a lot of faulty units).

the kit was bought in May 2020, and it's a little unreasonable to dismantle the setup, and physically take a soundbar, sub woofer and the rear speakers to a service agent. plus as it's intermittant they'd need to set it up in an environment where they could use it for hours at a time to experience the issue.

Re: HT-ZF9 sound drops out

Win_88 — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 16:40:29 GMT

Hi @ch3nks

What your saying does make sense, however, Sony wouldn't recommend going through the service route unless all possible steps they can suggest you try have been exhausted. It's not convenient I know, but it's the final step to take.

Win_88