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Sofabaton X2 - Short Review

JonProphet

JonProphet

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 1, 2026
Messages
508
Location
Indiana
This thing is FANTASTIC. I work in building automation and I'm no stranger to whiz bang devices and what not. Granted I've never messed with home automation and have not used a "universal remote" in YEARS.

If you are tired of fumbling with 2 or more remotes in the dark or losing a remote and searching on end for the "damn sound remote", those days are limited. Amazon Prime days had this bundle for $20? more than the hub, dock and remote kit bundle at that time. Normally the hub, remote and dock kit are $360. I ended up getting the IR blaster, hub, dock and remote for less than $300 ($400 value). I'm pretty certain I was more excited about this device than my new JVC projector.

Programming is easy. The LCD is bright but does turn off after a short period of time of inactivity. The actual interface is a smidge clunky. The actual value and killer app is in the "Activities" ability. You can basically create a script to power on all devices when you are sitting down for a session of viewing. Activities can assign certain buttons to volume while other buttons are used for the media player of your choosing.

If you don't like a remote that is from their library of remotes, if the IR code (or RF I'm sure) is valid on your device, you can then delete all the functions from that particular device and point the original remote at the hub and program buttons as you see fit as well as rename the button. My Marantz remote has a ton of buttons on it and I only programmed a select few inputs, power, OSD buttons and volume.

The one negative i see is the main navigational back button is not lit. Not a huge deal because, where it is, is easily memorized. There is a short learning curve to it and it is not as intuitive out of the box. I'm sure there are YouTube video's (I'm looking at you @thrillcat) on how to use this. I had a friend who bought one a few weeks earlier and he helped me a little.

Hopefully some of you already enjoy this device or if you are looking for HT automation, give this a look.

As always feedback is welcome if you have experience with this device.
 
Yep, I've got several videos about this remote in my "Remote Possibilities" playlist. ;)

It's solid, huge improvement over earlier models. Still not my favorite or the most powerful option out there. But it's a solid performer at a nice price point.
 
thrillcat said:
Yep, I've got several videos about this remote in my "Remote Possibilities" playlist. ;)

It's solid, huge improvement over earlier models. Still not my favorite or the most powerful option out there. But it's a solid performer at a nice price point.
Click to expand...
What alternatives are out there? Are they in the same price point catagory?
 
I primarily use the AVA Cinema Remote - but it's priced much higher. I also really like the Unfolded Circle Remotes - I have the Two and the 3 - but they're priced higher, a mid-point between AVA and Sofabaton, and they're hard to get due to production delays.

Those two are well above the X2, in that they can control my system, and many systems, via IP control, and don't rely on IR. There is a very big reliability improvement when controlling via IP, plus it's 2-way, so you can monitor your system status on the remote itself.

There's also the Astrion remote, which relies 100% on Home Assistant. I like the hardware, but haven't dug deep enough into the alternative programming options that some have used. I find the official Astrion options to be limited and not great. But people who are really into Home Assistant seem to love the custom options.
 
JonProphet said:
What alternatives are out there? Are they in the same price point catagory?
Click to expand...
Astrion is amazing. With Claude I have turned it into the remote of by dreams, full custom Android app. It helps that everything was controllable from HA to start with (every item I have is IP controlled). Voice control of both Apple TV (via Siri) and Kscape (custom integration).
 
I use openhab and the Astrion isn't compatible. Any good remotes for an openhab ecosystem?
 
artur9 said:
I use openhab and the Astrion isn't compatible. Any good remotes for an openhab ecosystem?
Click to expand...
Appreciate the response but if you wouldn’t mind, send pm’s or create a new thread.

Just trying to stick to the original topic and post alternatives and their price points.
 
I recently replaced my theater Harmony Elite with an X2. Seems to be the best direct replacement for the beloved Harmony and I would consider it mostly an upgrade. The hardware is very premium and it really is very flexible with how it can control devices. It can be setup fairly quickly for basic IR/BT control but with the option of direct IP control and HA integration it can be quite customizable. I have gotten more into HA over the last year and now that all my theater gear is HA accessible my theater activities are all HA scripts with activity changes on the X2 just triggering those scripts. A few quirks here and there but nothing major and hopefully will even further improve with updates.
 
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