Sharp HT-SBW800

This Dolby Atmos soundbar brings big audio from a clever box at a surprisingly cheap price £449 sharpconsumer.eu

est known these days for its range of big-screen TVs, Sharp has also released a number of excellent soundbars, with the HT-SBW800 adding immersive Dolby Atmos to the line-up.

The soundbar boasts no less than seven speakers: three facing forwards, two firing upwards, and two at the sides, while a wireless subwoofer handles the bass. The resulting system is designed to produce an expansive wall of sound to perfectly complement the bigscreen TVs that Sharp has long been pioneering.

There’s excellent separation between speakers, and thus some very good stereo imaging. The inclusion of a dedicated centre speaker also ensures that dialogue remains clear – no matter how busy the mix gets. The subwoofer is nicely integrated, supporting the overall soundstage with layers of bass. This gives gunfire and explosions a seismic thump that makes action scenes more visceral.

Dolby Atmos soundtracks are handled well, and effects are placed with precision around the front of the room. The upward-firing drivers

Bcertainly work, bouncing sounds off the ceiling and creating the illusion there are speakers above you. However, the effectiveness of this approach does depend on your ceiling – the lower and more reflective it is, the better. It can handle any flavour of Dolby but doesn’t support DTS:X. Whether that’s a big deal really depends on your viewing habits. If you stream most of your content, it’s irrelevant because Dolby dominates, but if you’re a fan of Blu-ray then the lack of DTS:X might be more of an issue.

The Sharp HT-SBW800 certainly delivers on its promise of enhancing your big screen experience, with a powerful and expansive sonic performance. The Dolby Atmos ensures the soundstage is suitably immersive, albeit with the caveat that it’s very front heavy.

There’s no real surround presence, and sadly no option to add rear speakers. So if you’re looking for full immersion for a mid-range price, you might be better off with the Vizio 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos Soundbar and its wired surrounds.

However, people primarily buy a soundbar to beef up their TV’s audio instantly without running cables all over the lounge, and in that sense the SBW800 is a winner – this delivers fancy 3D audio features that are a noticeable upgrade for movie soundtracks but still keeps things simple, making it a cracking system.