The Philips DSP475U is the cheapest soundbar, I could find online. My main objective was to check if movie watching experience in my 32" LED can be improved and also listen to FM music.
Features and First impressions
It has wired sub-woofer, fm radio, USB, audio in port and of-course RCA ports.
Philips provides all the necessary connection cables, remote, battery and hooks/screws( for wall-mounting) to get started. There are no buttons/control options in the equipment and everything is thru the remote. There is a wire hanging from the soundbar to act as the FM antenna.
The soundbar is the length of my 32" TV. The sub-woofer is bigger than I expected, and I was surprised that the power connection is from soundbar only and not from sub-woofer.
Setup and Performance
After struggling for a couple of days to locate the audio-out port of my TV, I finally got it thanks to the picture of the ports in this online review( http: //archive.techtree.com/techtree/jsp/article.jsp? article_ id= 113597& cat_ id= 898& page= 2)
Once switched on, there is a small LED display visible thru the soundbar for displaying information based on remote action like Volume level, FM frequency etc.
Increasing volume doesnt lead to distortion. But, there is no option for dialogue mode etc to adjust the bass while watching movies.
After connecting to TV( which automatchandru021y mutes TV volume), I noticed that the stereo effect was gone. The soundbar was like a large center channel audio speaker. So to retain the stereo effect, I tried plugging into set-top-box instead of TV, so that I could get the stereo effect from TV, but I got an instant headache because the sub-woofer volume could not be adjusted. It was actually a big relief to switch off the soundbar. So I ended up connecting to my TV and adjusting the BASS to zero and Treble to a very minimal value in the TV audio settings.
Also FM fidelity/reception is not satisfactory. Morever if TV is switched on then there is lot of disturbance when listening to FM. There is a button in remote to auto-scan save FM channels. But I am yet to figure out how to store manually tuned channels
Verdict
In conclusion, I definitely didnt bargain for the "thundering bass", when I ordered for the Philips DSP475U sound bar. The irony is that, the separate sub-woofer was one of the factors which influenced me to buy this soundbar. But it is a device of 2 extremes. The music is punchier and you can feel the boom across the entire hall, BUT, you definitely get a headache listening to TV & Movies at high volume.
At Rs 4000, this is the cheapest soundbar you can buy, but the audio output feels even cheaper, maybe worth Rs1500. Atleast, if the FM reception had a high clarity then it would be worth recommending, but as of now, only, persons who want the thump of the sub-woofer while listening to music might benefit from this. For watching movies you are better of looking at costlier options.
Alternatives
The JBL SB100( soundbar only, option to plug-in subwoofer) is a cheap alternative at approx. Rs7500. MouthShut_Official review here http: // http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/JBL-Cinema-SB100-reviews-925702643
The Maxell Sound Speaker Tt252-au(also known as Maxell MXSB-252) @approx Rs6000 is a very good alternative for those who want a decent alternative in the same price range. The Maxell speaker is a sleek and flat table-top all-in-one speaker(see Pedestal Soundbars below) with 3 HDMI-in and 1 HDMI-out. It is good for listening to TV audio but not for loud music or punchy bass. The Maxell Tt252-au speaker while not loud, does add depth/space to the TV audio and is hence an useful addition for those who have already spent much on a new LED TV and cant afford to spend much more for expensive Audio. The detailed review is available in this link https://mouthshut.com/review/Maxell-Sound-Bar-Speaker-TT252-AU-review-mtqtuomour
For those who need the sub-woofer, the F & D - T 780 W Sound Bar @approx Rs10, 000 seems to be a good option. MouthShut_Official Review is at https://mouthshut.com/product-reviews/F-D-T-780-W-Sound-Bar-reviews-925702894
For the lucky few who have relatives abroad, you can consider the following options listed below:
popular Traditional Soundbars
1) Yamaha YAS-101 -$200( Rs 21000)
2) Sony HT-CT150 -$200( Rs 26000)
3) Sony HT-CT260H -$200( Rs 27000)
4) VIZIO S4251w-B4 -$250( Rs 40000)
5) Sharp HT-SB60 -$300( Rs 35000)
6) Pioneer SP-SB23W –$300
7) Harman Kardon SB16 -$400
8) Sonos Playbar -$700( Rs 1, 00, 000)
9) Philips Fidelio HTL7180 -$700 - Rs56, 000 -( Real surround with detachable wireless speakers)
Pedestal Soundbars
Pedestal soundbars below provide better audio quality - due to their depth, but again these are not wall mountable. They do have the advantage of being all-in-one solutions including sub-woofers.
1) Cambridge Audio Minx TV - £200( Rs 21500)
2) Bose Solo -$400( Rs 28000)
3) Denon - DHT T100 - £250( Rs 29500)
4) Onkyo LS-T10 -$400( Rs 37000)
5) Zvox Z-Base 580 -$400( Rs 38000)
6) Boston Acoustics TVEE ONE -$300
7) SpeakerCraft CS3 -$400
8) Canton DM 50 - £400
