MusicCast BAR 400 $999

The MusicCast Bar 400 is one of the soundbars to which you can add either two MusicCast 20 speakers or a single 50 to create a 5.1-channel surround system — no need to add a subwoofer because the Bar 400 comes with its own. But that’s something for special occasions – when you want extra movie mayhem. The BAR 400 is a fine performer in its own right. It’s 98cm wide, but the more important dimension is its height, just 6cm, low enough to avoid covering either the screen or the infrared receiver of many TVs. It can also be wall-mounted. You can plug one HDMI source directly into the bar itself, and you should pick the source from which you’re most interested in getting the best surround effect, perhaps your Blu-ray player or games console. Though the Bar 400 is not a true surround device — it delivers 2.1 channels (stereo plus the subwoofer) — it can however decode 5.1-channel arriving via HDMI or optical, and has DTS Virtual:X on board which promises ‘3D surround’ playback even if you’re not going the MusicCast Surround route. Most sound will likely come to the soundbar from the TV, down the Audio Return Channel of the HDMI cable you use to link the soundbar to your TV, but you may not get surround through that way. You also network it by Wi-Fi or Ethernet to enjoy full MusicCast streaming and multiroom abilities. And this is a rare soundbar that sounds good with music as well as movies, the ‘Stereo’ setting yielding a clean friendly sound. Don’t get too excited about ‘3D surround’, but have a play with it. Overall then, highly versatile, loaded with MusicCast, unusually musical, expandable for surround: the Bar 400 proved an exceptional soundbar at the price.