Hisense2.1 CH 240W Soundbar HS2100 - DTS Virtual X, Subwoofer, HDMI ARC, Bluetooth (2023 Model) , Black

I got this as my Sony seemed to have an issue with the built in speaker on the right hand side.This was really easy to install, I was actually surprised how much things have moved on from the days of yore where you had to wire every speaker in your 5.1 across your room. I guess you still need power but one less cable. The subwoofer to my amazement was wireless!In terms of connectivity, I opted to use HDMI ARC. The experience is virtually plug and play. There is a delay when starting the TV, about 10 seconds as a voice tells you power on and then paired and connected. The device does not have a standby mode which your TV most likely does. After maybe 45min-1h the soundbar will disconnect from the TV. You need to manually restart it or restart the TV.Occasionally, it will says power on. I believe this is only common with OLED TVs like mine as they are never off and shortly after shutting it off a pixel refresh function begins. This might end up scaring you when your TV eventually does a long pixel refresh (depends on brand but could be once 2 months) and turns the speakers on in the middle of the night.The audio quality is excellent, it’s very bass heavy. I have the bass turned down but I also live in a flat. The treble is good enough, perhaps somewhat tinny but very good compared to built in speakers albeit broken in my case.The speakers are very loud, or rather not very linear in volume setting. In my case the system takes over the inbuilt one and the TV knows that. The remote even controls the “Sound System”, therefore it’s not possible to create a buffer on the volume by using the remote to reduce to source output. I’m sure it will be somewhere in the settings but I’m too lazy to check. As a result, my other working Sony can be up to 45 on certain movies. With these speakers I don’t go above 10. As such, with a louder source like Spotify I can often be on 2 or 3. At nighttime or when someone is sleeping even 1 seems slightly too loud.The size is very acceptable and of standard for this type of product I’d say. Just a long bar that’s wall mountable and a rather compact subwoofer.The materials are plastic but they look nice enough. Once set up you’d never touch it anyway. The “interface” consist of an LED through which you adjust certain EQ settings. This is fairly straightforward again but perhaps not very precise as the setting is translated through the brightness of the LED light. So not very precise.You need two 3 pin plug sockets as the subwoofer has its own power supply. This makes this slightly less versatile but certainly manageable.For the price you pay for this you can’t get better really. Nothing to complain about. I’d recommend this if you’re looking to improve sound quality of TV on a budget. It has won numerous award for best value for money soundbar too. Sure, you can get a £500 one but if it’s for a spare room etc there no need really. This is more than capable.

I already owned a HiSense 40E4KUK LED TV, great value at £183, but the sound quality is poor compared to same size Samsung LED TV. This soundbar resolves that issue. I had originally thought to use the optical connection from TV to soundbar, but I wasn't happy with the connection at the soundbar, it worked but didn't feel positive enough and my optical cable connector was just slightly too long with the soundbar wall mounted. A HDMI cable is supplied and this is by far the better connection. The HDMI port on the soundbar is angled so it will not foul on the wall and is a more positive connection in my opinion. I have wired both TV and soundbar into the same plug, so when switched on, both TV and soundbar are in standby mode. When using the remote to switch on the TV, the soundbar also switches on and after a minute the TV audio is directed to the soundbar - no need to change anything on the TV or soundbar. The TV remote turns the soundbar volume up and down, you use the soundbar remote to change the bass settings. Soundbar remote has buttons for 'Movie', 'Music' and 'News', plus a surround 'SURR', 'Dim-' and 'Dim+' and 'Source' buttons. I find I only use the TV remote. Soundbar supports Bluetooth also (not tried). I am very impressed with the sound quality, a great improvement over the HiSense TV audio and I think great value for money at £69. There are more expensive HiSense soundbars but this 2+1 unit is ideal for use on a secondary TV. Wall mounting was easy, fittings are provided, but no template though.

Straight out the box I was blown away. I was left smiling in wonder. Wow! That’s even before the EQ is setup. Rich, deep, thick, resounding bass. Sound so thick you could cut it with a knife!This is miles better than many speakers that are three times more expensive.In fact last week I returned a Sony that was more expensive with 600W. It was sounding too muddy. This is so soo much better.This Hisense soundbar is Incredibly powerful. Maybe it’s a tad too powerful as music that’s not well produced might over-modulate (distort) somewhat.It’s 360 Watts. So it might shake a small flat. I find that if you turn the Bass up to 5 (maximum) depending on what you’re listening to, the bass can lose its composure. But at this price point - we can’t expect too much.I would say the makers should enable the high-end Trebles to go up to 6 or even 8. Because the current top end won’t overcome the bass when it’s turned to maximum.Mid range sounds are nicely handled.But overall the soundbar with wireless subwoofer is lovely. Small but packs a punch without a bunch of wires everywhere.Set up is EASY. syncing with EARC via HDMi is Easy. The speed of the response from the remote is truly fast.BUT, Hisense really must fix that very annoying sound ident it makes each time the system is powered up or down. That intro or”extro” sound ident/sig-tune isn’t even soft or subtle. It’s a foolish gimmick that spoils an otherwise decent speaker.