Soundbars/Soundbases

Bose has to be different. You can’t call the Cinemate 1SR a soundbar, it’s a sound array. Likewise, the sub is not a sub, it’s an Acoustimass module. Bose is also coy about giving out technical specifications, so I know not what the power output is of either component. What I do know is that the ‘array’ has five drivers and connects by cable, or wirelessly, to the Acoustimass module.

One of a trio of soundbars in Sharp’s latest lineup, the £120 HT-SL50 purports to be the world’s slimmest, at just an astonishing 26mm high. I don’t have a tape measure to hand and access to every other ‘bar on the planet, so I’ll have to take its word for it.

While the major CE brands are busy cramming everything but the kitchen sink into their soundbar offerings, the audio specialists continue to stick to the product’s raison d’etre – replacing the raspy, weedy sonics of your flatplanel’s in-built speakers with some high-quality stereo goodness.

The SB-100 claims to deliver a 5.1 experience through the magic of its so-called 3D sound feature, despite not being equipped with digital inputs or any kind of surround sound decoding. The only sockets are one set of stereo phonos and dual 3.5mm line inputs. Analogue signals are processed by circuitry licensed from Sonic Emotion and delivered to your ears via the SB100’s room-filling multiple drive units. There are six full-range tweeters and a 20W subwoofer that offer a combined 80W of power output, which is four times as powerful as most TV screens’ built-in speakers.

Since the advent of flat TVs, manufacturers have been coming up with audio solutions that fit the new ‘hang on the wall’ ethos. But few, if any, have done so as comprehensively as this system.