Soundbars/Soundbases

The soundbar market is making quite a noise these days. The compact convenience of these sonic slivers has proved a big hit with telly addicts eager to compensate for the rubbish audio offered by most superslim TVs. The latest maker to sound off with one is specialty hi-fi outfit SpeakerCraft, better known for its high-performance in-wall architectural loudspeakers. Only the brand’s CS3 isn’t exactly a sound bar, it’s more an audio pedestal. 

Dinkier than a corgi dog and looking less refined than a crate of raw sugar beet, in soundbar country the SBM1W is more Margate than Monte Carlo – and with just 40W of power, plus the 20W wired subwoofer, in home cinema terms the SB1MW is almost an irrelevance. But many of us have second screens that need a sonic supplement, a role well suited to the SBM1, especially as it manages to exceed expectations. For a start, unlike models costing twice as much (eg from Orbitsound and Samsung), it has both optical and coaxial digital inputs, making it well suited for hooking up, say, a screen and a Blu-ray deck. And, in addition to stereo phonos and a 3.5mm line-in, it can accept compressed audio wirelessly streamed over Bluetooth.

Yamaha's soundbar lineup can feel confused at times, with models dating back as far as 2015 still available (the YSP-5600 and YAS-105), joined but not replaced by later arrivals. In the middle of the 11-strong stable sits the new YAS-209, which represents the pinnacle of its standard soundbars – not endowed with MusicCast multiroom, and not classed one of the brand's multi-driver 'digital sound projectors.'

Anyone drawing up a mid-range/premium soundbar shortlist will no doubt be intrigued by Yamaha's YSP-1600. Selling for £500, it shares some of the DNA of the brand's higher-end models (the YSP-2500 and YSP-5600) but leaves more cash in the bank for Blu-rays. There are plenty of other prospect at this price, however, so can the soundbar do enough to make it an essential audition?

Calling the sound that comes out of a regular soundbar 'surround sound' is like saying that watching the World Cup on TV is the same as being in the stadium. But, judging from marketing literature, it's a good selling feature.