Soundbars/Soundbases

The soundbar market is saturated, but amongst the myriad models it's possible to see trends, as brands coalesce around specific price points and feature sets. A disadvantage for Denon's Home Sound Bar 550 (beyond the somewhat clumsy name) is that its basic specification – a compact 'bar with no subwoofer, Atmos/DTS:X decoding with no upfirers – is mirrored by models around the £300 price point. And it sells for £550.

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. 

JBL's Bar 5.1 aims to bridge the gap between the soundbar norm and a multichannel setup, by the addition of wireless surround speakers that unclip from the main enclosure. The idea being that you can bring these out for movie night, and reattach them to the 'bar afterwards. 

From the same range as JBL's multichannel-capable Bar 5.1, only less ambitious, comes the Bar Studio. A subwoofer-free, 2.0-channel design aimed at mid-size flatscreen owners, it arrives in the UK with a £150 ticket, meaning it joins an already crowded market of budget 'bars.

The Klipsch Cinema 600 puts forward a compelling argument for old-school sonic theatrics. With its distinctive horn drivers (a brand speciality), gutsy subwoofer and dynamic power plant, this mid-ranger compensates for a lack of Dolby Atmos and Wi-Fi smarts with its well-constructed wall of sound.