Soup-up your TV’s sound

IF YOUR TV’S IN-BUILT SPEAKERS SUCK, THESE SOUNDBARS CAN BRING BACK THE HIGH-FIDELITY YOU’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR... AND THEN SOME, IN MANY CASES.

MODERN HOME ENTERTAINMENT isn’t as simple as it used to be. Once upon a time, you’d buy a TV that was barely distinguishable from the competition, you’d use it for five, 10, 15 or 20 years, then you’d replace it. Nowadays, much research goes into deciding which television is best for your home, what resolution it supports, whether it can stream and whether it can iron your shirt for you (none do the latter yet, we’re afraid, but we’re sure it’s coming). One thing is consistent, though: the sound on modern TVs, no matter the quality of its screen, is almost universally crap. That physical flatness comes at a cost.

That’s why you buy a soundbar: to ensure your home theatre experience isn’t like sitting in a cinema with cheap earbud headphones on. Soundbars are great if you’re not fussed about a big, multi-speaker home theatre setup, though some models can work as a component in these, if you wish to upgrade. And typically enough, there are dozens of soundbars on the market: you’ll need to do a bit of research to decide whether they are right for your TV, right for your room and right for your expectations regarding fidelity.

So without further ado, here are 10 of the major models available on the market at present.

Panasonic SC-HTB685 THE BEST AND CHEAPEST MIDRANGE MODEL.

LISTENING TO THIS mid-tier model from Panasonic compared to the SC-HTB18 on page 86, the difference is night and day. While this model is still cheap compared to some of the competition, the clarity of the high frequencies, and the drive of the lower is very impressive indeed — those extra watts make a difference to be sure, and it helps that it has a downward-facing subwoofer. Bass can sound oily and reverberating when it needs to, or like a mallet to the face.

This one supports HDMI, optical and Bluetooth, and while, in design, it shares a certain blandness with the rest of the Panasonic range, some people prefer something inconspicuous (it helps that the sub doesn’t need too much space either, being downward-facing and all).

Setup is easy here and, as we found in last year’s roundup, for a mid-range 3.1 channel soundbar, Panasonic just about rules in this field. We’d definitely suggest forking out a bit more compared to the company’s lower tier model.

Sony HT-RT5 MORE SPEAKERS THAN YOU’LL KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH.

IT’S EASY TO wince at that price, and for many, it’s not on the cards to spend 1–2 grand on in-home audio. This is a good deal, though: you’re not only getting a 5.1 channel soundbar and subwoofer system, but also two smaller speakers for the back of your loungeroom. In other words, this is capable of providing a more authentic surround sound experience than anything cheaper.

Sony’s Cinema Studio tech purportedly creates the sensation of 9.1 channel sound, though that seems less a flourish of genius and more a symptom of having two extra speaker units in the box. Whatever the case, we were able to get a monstrous and immersive sound in our fairly prosaic testing room, and watching some of the climactic scenes in The Hobbit proved seamless: perfect, basically. All the expected connectivity is there, and while some won’t approve of the sparkly mesh that adorns the speakers on all four units, it’ll strike others as classy and minimal.

If you want the extra immersion, $1,200 is a good amount to spend on a generous package.

Denon DHT-S514 PRESTIGIOUS FLAGSHIP IS CHEAPER IN ITS THIRD YEAR ON THE MARKET.

THE DENON DHT-S514 is a strong contender in the soundbar space, especially with the weight this brand carries. For starters, it boasts Denon’s own Virtual Surround, which offers several audio settings you can tweak to perfection for convincing (but not, you know, actual) surround sound. It has no LED display, but using the small, credit card-sized remote control, you can use lights on the soundbar as a guide — though you’ll need to remember what each colour means.

In terms of output, we had good results across the board. The DHT-S514 strikes a nice balance between clear, trebly top ends and well-rounded, static-free bass. Whereas cheaper soundbars generally have a weak point between either of those extremes, Denon seems to have mastered the balance in this space — though you’ll need to use common sense when it comes to coordinating volume between the subwoofer and the soundbar itself, especially given how powerful the DHT-S514’s bass can sound. War films will sound especially devastating through this configuration.

Bose SoundTouch 300 THE MOST STYLISH OF THE BUNCH.

THE SOUNDTOUCH 300 is a hard sell on paper: it’s $999 for the bar, but $1,998 if you want it bundled with its “bass module” (ie, a subwoofer); $1,448 with two surround speakers, and a whopping $2,447 for the whole bundle. Compared to the Sony HT-RT5 that’s a lot of money, but Bose is a premium brand and that’s evident when you take it out of the box. In addition to a beautiful glass-finish on the top of the bar, Bose’s ADAPTiQ calibration system is (arguably) a more important perk, requiring the user, upon set-up, to wear a headset and have the soundbar optimize itself based on the five most-used seating positions in your loungeroom. There’s no doubt that the SoundTouch 300 sounds amazing as a TV speaker – it pours sound into parts of the room where no speaker could ever go – but streaming music to it via Bluetooth had mixed results. Bass heavy techno sounded reedy and unsatisfying. Of course, the SoundTouch is meant to complement a multi-room system, but as a standalone TV soundbar it’s outstanding. Just don’t throw your stereo system out unless you want the other Bose multi-room components.

LG SH7 WON’T PLEASE RAVERS BUT GOOD FOR THE TV.

AS FAR AS easy, cost effective soundbar options go, the LG SH7 is hard to pass by. Setup is easy and it has support for optical, HDMI and Bluetooth music streaming, or you can stream Spotify, Google Play and more, direct to the bar using Wi-Fi. Pairing with a phone or a laptop is simple: just turn your TV off and the music will take over, and when you turn your TV off, whatever music you’re playing will pause (at least, it did with Poweramp).

Sonically, it emits a detailed and crisp sound which doesn’t favour either high or low frequencies — indeed, streaming especially bass heavy music from a smartphone felt a little toothless at times, but for cinema sound design, it’s just about perfect for the home, providing your home doesn’t double as a German nightclub.

The silver styling won’t be to everyone’s taste, but if you prefer or need something in plain black, there’s every other model on the market for you to check out. This is a solid, serviceable unit.

Philips 5000 series (HTL5160B) A GREAT MIDRANGER WITH AN INTERESTING TWIST.

THOUGH PERHAPS A minor point of difference, one of the first things you’ll notice about the Philips series of soundbars is the dimensions of the box it comes in. The soundbar come in three pieces, which you’ll need to snap together during setup. This is simple and, overall, doesn’t affect the way it looks once everything is connected. This is a 3.1 channel setup and, given the price tag, it achieves pretty much everything it sets out to do, and does so relatively stylishly — it’s among the thinnest soundbars you’ll find on the market at present, and while the front-facing LED display can be distracting, it can be dimmed as well. This aesthetic benefit is the only thing that makes it a more attractive offer than, for example, Panasonic’s mid-tier 3.1 channel model (reviewed on page 84), but looks are subjective, and aside from the price being a little higher, this is a good model with all the connectivity (HDMI, optical, Bluetooth, USB and AUX) that you’d expect.

Philips 3000 series (HTL3160B) NOT THE BEST LOW-RANGE MODEL, BUT HAS ITS PERKS.

THIS IS THE lower tier version of the Philips model reviewed previously, and while $399 isn’t as cheap as Panasonic’s SC-HTB18 ($279), this 3000 series soundbar does pump out an extra 80 watts, and has three speakers in the bar rather than one. This means a more convincing sense of ‘surround sound’, or rather, a better distribution of sound and a greater feeling of immersion. Assuming you have the money, it makes more sense to opt for this Philips model if you want to spend less than $500.

This price range is the province of folk who simply want a better sound than their TV speakers can handle, but the HTL3160B goes above and beyond: it has a satisfying cinematic feel to it, and sounds great a high volumes (though a little muffled at lower volumes). It’s a sleek device, wall mountable and boasts HDMI, optical, USB and AUX support — the former isn’t an option with Panasonic’s cheaper model, so that will be the best incentive to opt for this model for many.

Sonos Playbar IDEAL FOR MULTI-ROOM ARRANGEMENTS, JUST OKAY ALONE.

IF YOU WANT to simply plug your device in with an optical or HDMI cable and go about your business, be aware of one thing with the Sonos: you’ll need to install an app on your phone to set this bar up, then you’ll need to install any pending firmware updates. Once you’ve done that — and if you’re okay with controlling a device with your mobile — the Sonos is relatively easy to use, but its reliance on smart devices may be a dealbreaker for some. Still, it also means you can pair up any other Sonos speaker you may happen to own. As for the sound, Sonos hasn’t provided details on wattage, but we do know it has nine speakers spread across its 90cm front, and at high volumes (and without an accompanying subwoofer), it’s a decent, cinematic, if not jaw-dropping sound.

We didn’t notice clipping at high volumes during especially intense scenes nor during bass heavy music, though — as far as the latter is concerned — the bottom ends did tend to obscure some higher frequency detail.

Harman / Kardon Sabre SB35 UNIQUE FORM, BUT SUFFERS AS A RESULT.

THE SB35 HAS some of the most impressive industrial design we’ve seen in this space: the soundbar is extraordinarily thin and the subwoofer is a wall-mountable 9cm — a far cry from the big black boxes most units ship with. One drawback is the soundbar has to be wallmounted. The SB35 offers all the connectivity you’d expect at this price range: optical, analog, HDMI and Bluetooth. HDMI worked well for us, but do keep in mind that the soundbar only has mini-HDMI ports, and only one cord in the box. We had no problem getting good results from an HDMI connection in a home cinema environment: all the requisite clarity is present, the bass sounds like liquid molten at high volumes and the midrange sparkles. That is, until you try to turn it up too high — it starts to clip far too early. We suspect it’s the size of the speaker boxes at fault, or maybe that the SB35 provides too much leeway with its volume control, as it does seem to get louder than most of its competition but it doesn’t seem capable of those volumes. So it’s a neat package, if you’re willing to pay for style over quality.

Panasonic SC-HTB18 A SOLID MEAT-AND-POTATOES CHEAPY, BUT CONSIDER PAYING MORE.

THIS IS ABOUT as cheap as they come if you want a decent soundbar with a subwoofer bundled in, and while both speaker boxes combined can kick out only a modest 120 watts, it’s likely to be satisfactory for anyone working in this price range.

The soundbar is quite conspicuously fat, though neatly curved and black, while the subwoofer is sleek but unimpressive if noticed. This unit only supports optical, Bluetooth and auxiliary connections, so steer clear if you’re wanting to hook it up via HDMI.

We had no problem setting this up, though make sure you’ve already got an optical cord if you need one, because there’s none in the box. If you’re looking for something cheap that can improve on your TV’s dull output, this will be sufficient and, frankly, even impressive. We found no problems with the quality of sound, and while it lacks the clarity of some of its more expensive siblings, you’ll get a nice immersive home cinema experience that can handle low frequencies surprisingly well.