Soundbars Test 2024: With and Without Subwoofer

In the international community test, soundbars were tested in the following designs: one-piece soundbars and two-piece soundbars with an external wireless speaker (= subwoofer).

Clay (65%)

Five trained judges rated the sound in a listening test without seeing the devices. Music, speech, and movie scenes with effects were played. Sound pressure was determined in the bass range at frequencies of 40 Hz and 79 Hz.

Handling (20%)

The operating instructions provided and those available online were evaluated by an expert and two trained users for completeness and understanding. The testers evaluated the installation, connection and operation of the devices and, in the case of network-capable models, also the integration into the home network.

As part of the playback test, the effectiveness of the volume controls (tone controls) and audio software was evaluated as well as playback on the device, via the remote control and, if available, via the provider's app.

Testers evaluated the readability and depth of information displayed on the test device, on the TV screen and in the app, as well as the start-up time when powered on from power failure, standby and network standby. The time was stopped until start-up.

Energy consumption (15%)

The power consumption is evaluated according to the following usage profile: 4 hours of operation and 20 hours in standby mode. Every two days, after operation, the system does not switch to standby mode, but the automatic shutdown function is activated. For soundbars with separate subwoofer, the power consumption is evaluated for both devices.

If a product is “unsatisfactory” in terms of energy consumption, the overall rating cannot be better than “average”.

Data transmission behavior (0%)

Data flow from Android and iOS applications was displayed. If necessary, it was decrypted. Applications that transmit data not necessary for the function were classified as critical.

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