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GarageRock KY8000 splittable 2-in-1 TV soundbar review

A bar that separates into two speakers — an unusual format that turns a soundbar into a stereo pair, and a genuine reason to choose it.

The bottom line A genuinely different idea at the low end: two speakers when you want them, one bar when you do not — and no centre channel in either mode.

The feature that makes it unusual

It comes apart. A soundbar is a compromise imposed by furniture: drivers 15 cm apart cannot make a stereo image. Split into two speakers placed either side of the television, this one can.

What that changes and what it does not

Changes: width, separation, and how music sounds. Does not change: dialogue. Neither configuration has a centre channel, so speech is still a phantom image — better placed when the speakers are apart, and still a phantom.

The connections

HDMI ARC, optical and aux, which is the full set. ARC is the one that matters: it carries audio back from the television and lets one remote control the volume.

The mode worth using

Auto volume boost. It is dynamic range compression, which narrows the gap between whispers and explosions — the single most useful setting on domestic television sound, and the one people go looking for after the first film.

What is not published

A power rating with conditions. Common at this price, and it means the bar cannot be compared on power with one that states RMS into a stated load.

Availability

On sale from 60 € to 70 € on the German, French, Italian and Spanish Amazon stores at the time of checking.

Not found on the American and British Amazon stores, where the buy link falls back to a local search rather than to a page that does not exist.

Prices and availability are what Keepa reported on the date this page was updated; both move.

Prices quoted in this text were read on 4 September 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.

What we like, and what we don't

Strengths

  • Splits into two speakers, which widens the stereo image far beyond what a single bar can do
  • HDMI ARC, optical and aux — the full connection set at this price
  • Bluetooth 5.3, so it works as a music system when the television is off

Compromises

  • No centre channel in either configuration, so dialogue remains a phantom image
  • No power figure with conditions
  • Split apart, it needs somewhere to put two speakers — which is the constraint a bar exists to avoid

Specifications

FormSplittable into two separate speakers — stated
ConnectionsHDMI ARC, optical, aux — stated
WirelessBluetooth 5.3 — stated
Modes3 sound modes, auto volume boost — stated
PowerNot stated with conditions in this listing
Amazon referenceB0FVS2H3FG (same reference on 4 Amazon marketplaces)
EAN6977741975710

Questions people actually ask

Is splitting it actually better?

For music and for width, yes — separation is what creates a stereo image, and two drivers 15 cm apart cannot produce one. For dialogue, it makes no difference: neither configuration has a centre channel.

What is auto volume boost?

Dynamic range compression under another name: it narrows the gap between quiet and loud passages. It is the setting most people actually want on television sound, and having it as a named mode is more useful than it sounds.