Soundbars/Soundbases

Philips has always been a company known for its innovative ethos. And that still remains, despite the CE aspects of the brand now being split between two separate entities (TP Vision for TVs, Woox Innovations for audio, recently acquired by Gibson). The former still advocates Ambilight technologies and potent processing, while the latter has been attacking the domestic audio market with some neat ideas, under the Fidelio umbrella. 

Focal, with its fine heritage in high-end speaker design, made the decision to join the soundbar club probably after it saw how successful Bose and B&W were doing at the premium end of the market. But neither the Bose Cinemate 1SR or B&W Panorama 2 have external subwoofer options and only the latter has the HDMI inputs that Focal’s Dimension offers. 

Up close it looks a bit like an MDF project your dad knocked together in the 1980s but, given the price tag, Maxell's MXSP-SB3000 has an awful lot going for it in terms of its spec. Its size and strength mean it will accommodate huge TVs up to 80kg in weight and its rear panel boasts three HDMI inputs, an HDMI ARC, digital optical audio, coaxial audio and various analogue variants. The icing on the input cake is aptX-compatible Bluetooth audio streaming. Power output comprises 100W for the built-in sub and 30W each for its two full-range drivers. 

In terms of size the 70cm-wide Onkyo LS-T10 is one of the bigger soundbase speakers around, making it more likely to accommodate screens in excess of 40in than any of its rivals if shoehorning in between tabletop and TV is a prerequisite. Its large capacity provides space for a six-channel class D amp with six full-range drivers complementing the separately powered, downward-firing 21W sub. Inputs are recessed on the rear and comprise both variants of digital audio and a 3.5mm line-in. 

The Orbitsound SB60 stands out from the crowd somewhat as a soundbase speaker with a glossy finish. This runs the risk of incurring scuff marks or scratches and adds to the cost. Handled with care though, it does look the part. For added interior design flexibility it is supplied with interchangeable black and silver grilles. Orbitsound says every screen up to 42in on the market will fit on its 60cm x 30cm footprint. 

Most soundbars are focused on sound quality, but Pioneer's SBX-N500 is a little more ambitious. Yes, it packs 140W of muscle for beefing up movies, but it’s also blessed with the sort of multimedia and networking talents that put some full-sized systems to shame, let alone soundbars.