Roku Streambar
The world’s loudest streamer
£130 / stuff.tv/streambar
■ We’re fans of Roku’s Streaming Stick+, a device for bringing quick access to all your on-demand TV services in one place for just £50. But as tellies’ user interfaces get ever slicker, the need for a dongle to do that job gets ever smaller. Roku’s answer? To launch a mini soundbar with a streamer built in.
■ Designed for smaller living rooms rather than open-plan cowsheds, the Streambar has four 1.9in drivers: two firing straight forwards, two pointing out from the diagonal ends for better stereo separation.
■ The remote is the same as the one you get with the Stick+ and the idea is it’ll do everything, including turning your TV on and off, so you can chuck your old zapper in a drawer or use it as a dog chew… until you remember you still want to watch broadcast stuff via Freeview.
■ OK, compared to a high-end multi-speaker system with Dolby Atmos and haptic chair-shaking robo-transducers, the Streambar’s audio is not terribly impressive; but compared to the in-built speakers of the average flatscreen? It’s a monster, with genuine low-end thump and impressive clarity.
■ Only when we turn it up really loud does the Streambar begin to show its limitations, the midrange getting unpleasantly clangy as it starts to run out of headroom. But if you stick to the kind of levels that allow you to carry on a conversation over the top, this is a thoroughly grown-up soundbar.
Tech specs
Drivers 4x 1.9in full-range Max resolution 4K HDR Connectivity Wi-fi, Bluetooth 5, HDMI ARC, optical audio, USB, Ethernet Dimensions 356x107x61mm, 1.1kg