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Feb 19, 2024 | 
rtings.com | Simon Barbier |Becca Fischer |John Peroramas
The Hisense HS214 has a middling stereo frequency response. Like most standalone bars, it really struggles to bring the deep thump and rumble in the low bass. The mid-to-high bass range is also underemphasized, resulting in a lack of warmth in the mix. Still, thanks to its balanced mids, voices and other instruments are reproduced with clarity and accuracy. Subjectively, the Music and Movie EQ presets perform about the same.
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Feb 2, 2024 | 
rtings.com | Raphael Boyer |Becca Fischer |John Peroramas
The Klipsch GIG XXL has a lot of different controls for its various features. You'll find more traditional controls like a play/pause button, as well as buttons to skip to the next or the previous track. Pairing to Bluetooth is easy with the dedicated button, and you can hold it down for three seconds to make a true wireless stereo pair with another device. Also, you can adjust the echo as well as control the volume for the microphone and the guitar inputs. These buttons are easy to use overall.
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Jan 25, 2024 | 
rtings.com | Raphael Boyer |Becca Fischer |John Peroramas
The Creative Stage soundbar has a decent stereo frequency response. Out-of-the-box, you get a boomy sound with lots of extra punch in the bass range. This bleeds a bit into the mid-range, resulting in a muddier sound with voices and sound effects in your favorite games. The bar seems to be missing some brightness in the treble, too, though this is likely because of the overemphasis in the bass.
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Jan 15, 2024 | 
rtings.com | Raphael Boyer |Becca Fischer |John Peroramas
The EarFun UBOOM L has a passable frequency response accuracy. Its sound profile is fairly even, especially in the mids, where most voices and lead instruments are reproduced. However, the roll-off in the treble range makes audio sound less detailed. Like most small speakers, it also lacks a lot of low-bass, so you don't get the deep thump and rumble in genres like EDM and hip-hop. This speaker comes with Indoor and Outdoor sound modes, which are designed to adjust audio to suit the space you're in.
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Jan 12, 2024 | 
rtings.com | Raphael Boyer |Becca Fischer |John Peroramas
Compared To Other Soundbars The TCL Alto 6 is another budget-friendly offering from the manufacturer that provides a simple upgrade over your existing TV speakers. Unlike the TCL Alto 6+, it comes without a subwoofer, making it ideal for smaller or more compact living rooms. As with most cheaper soundbars, you won't find a ton of extra features or customization options, though.
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Jan 5, 2024 | 
rtings.com | Raphael Boyer |Becca Fischer |Yannick Khong
Compared To Other Soundbars The Hisense AX5125H is a mid-range 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos soundbar. It's an affordable alternative for those who want a bar with satellites and Atmos support at a more affordable price than more premium models like the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar or the Sonos Arc with Sub + One SL Speakers. You won't find as many sound enhancement features, and its soundstage performances aren't quite as impressive as the higher-end models, so you don't get the same life-like feel.
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Dec 19, 2023 | 
rtings.com | Raphael Boyer |Becca Fischer |Yannick Khong
The Samsung Q60CC soundbar uses the manufacturer's Acoustic Beam technology to simulate height with content like Dolby Atmos. Essentially, a side-firing channel inside the bar sends sound across the "beam" to exit out of holes at the bar's top. It's not quite the same setup as other Samsung bars with up-firing channels like the Samsung HW-Q990C, and it can't reproduce as much height as more premium models.
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Dec 14, 2023 | 
rtings.com | Raphael Boyer |Becca Fischer |John Peroramas
The LG SP7R 7.1 has a pretty standard selection of sound enhancement features. You won't find a room correction tool like with more premium bars, but you can make up for differences in the sound a bit with its bass and treble adjustments. There are lots of EQ presets on hand, too, including 'AI Sound Pro', 'Standard', 'Bass Blast', 'Music', 'Clear Voice', 'Game', 'Cinema', 'DTS Virtual:X', and 'Sports'. 'Clear Voice' enhances dialogue in movies and TV shows.
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Dec 12, 2023 | 
rtings.com | Raphael Boyer |Becca Fischer |John Peroramas
This soundbar uses its side-firing and front-firing drivers to simulate height in the space around you when you listen to content like Dolby Atmos. Its AMBEO Virtualization sound processing feature is meant to create the illusion of additional speakers in the space around you, too. The frequency response on these channels is rather uneven, though, meaning that sound effects aren't as accurately reproduced.
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Dec 4, 2023 | 
rtings.com | Raphael Boyer |Becca Fischer |Yannick Khong
The Yamaha ATS-1090's stereo frequency response is fair. It has a dark and bass-heavy sound due to the extra emphasis in the high-bass. The bass leaks into the mids a bit, pushing voices and other instruments towards the back of the mix. Smaller details are somewhat lost as a result. You can always turn on the Clear Voice feature to make voices louder in the mix, though it doesn't do much else to improve the sound quality.
