The one upgrade a flat television cannot argue with · review
A 2.1 soundbar with a wireless subwoofer, six equaliser presets and the HDMI cable included.
The closing call A hundred and twenty dollars for a wireless subwoofer, six equaliser presets and the HDMI cable in the box — the most complete package on this shelf under two hundred.
Amazon’s Fire TV Soundbar sits at exactly the same price. Side by side:
Amazon, $119.99 — 2.0 · no subwoofer · DTS Virtual:X + Dolby Audio · HDMI cable included · no power figure · no EQ modes · 24 in long, 2.5 in high Hisense, $119.99 — 2.1 with a wireless subwoofer · 240 W max · DTS Virtual:X + Dolby Audio · HDMI cable included · 6 EQ modes · EZ Play
The same money, plus a separate powered bass cabinet and six presets.
The Amazon’s case is the body — shorter and lower — and tighter integration with a Fire TV.
Two things stack here.
First, having a subwoofer at all. A bar 61 mm deep has neither the cone area nor the enclosure volume to reproduce a 50 Hz note, so everything below roughly 100 Hz is absent: explosions, bass lines, the weight under a voice. A separate cabinet does nothing else, which is why it does it well.
Second, wireless. Bass wavelengths are meters long and interact with the room to create standing waves — spots where bass piles up and spots where it nearly disappears. Move a subwoofer three feet and it sounds different. Wireless means it only needs a socket, so it can go where the bass is even rather than where the cable reaches.
Two bars here are wireless: this and the Philips B5306 at $117.94. The Suntrok at $81.21 states a wired subwoofer twice in its own bullets.
Three Philips bars have four (Music, Movie, Voice, Stadium). Both Assistrust bars have three. The Majority has four. Amazon and Sony state none.
What presets are actually for: a film mix and a news broadcast have very different balances, and a bar tuned for one sounds wrong on the other. More presets means less fiddling with treble and bass by hand.
This is the central caution for the whole shelf.
Hisense publishes “240W max”. The Majority Sierra publishes “120W RMS”. Those are different quantities.
A maximum or peak figure is a momentary ceiling, usually measured generously and with no distortion limit stated. An RMS figure is continuous — power the amplifier can sustain.
As a rough industry pattern, peak ratings run two to four times the continuous figure for the same hardware. So 240 W peak may correspond to somewhere near 60 to 120 W continuous, and the Majority’s 120 W RMS is probably the more powerful bar.
Ten of the twelve bars here publish max or peak. The Majority alone publishes RMS. Sony, Amazon and Bose publish no figure at all.
Dolby Audio is the umbrella name for Dolby’s channel-based formats — Digital, Digital Plus, TrueHD — where each sound is assigned to a fixed speaker position.
That is genuinely useful, because it is what broadcast television, most streaming and nearly every disc actually send: the bar gets the real mix rather than a stereo downmix.
What it is not is overhead sound. The channel count says the same thing — 2.1 has no third number, so no height driver. Only the Majority Sierra on this shelf is 2.0.2 with genuine Atmos.
No driver sizes, front or subwoofer. Suntrok at $81.21 publishes two 2.5-inch front drivers and a 5.5-inch subwoofer — the only diameters on this shelf.
No enclosure type, where Sony names a bass reflex cabinet.
2,223 g and 89 × 800 × 61 mm are published.
At the check, the American Amazon store stood at roughly $115.
These numbers are what Keepa carried on the day this page was last built. Stock and prices move without notice.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 4 October 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.
| Channels | 2.1 — two front-facing speakers plus a wireless subwoofer |
|---|---|
| Subwoofer | Wireless — so it can go where the bass works |
| Power | 240 W maximum total — a maximum, not RMS |
| Formats | Dolby Audio and DTS Virtual:X |
| Equaliser | 6 preset modes — the most on this shelf |
| HDMI cable | INCLUDED |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 |
| EZ Play | One remote controls the soundbar from the TV, stated visual |
| Weight | 2223 g (78.4 oz) |
| Dimensions | 89 × 800 × 61 mm (3.50 × 31.5 × 2.40 in) |
| Against Amazon at the same price | A wireless subwoofer and six EQ modes, which Amazon has neither of |
| Subwoofer driver size | Not published, where Suntrok gives 5.5 in |
| Front driver size | Not published |
| Height channels | None — 2.1 has no third number |
| Amazon reference | B0C5476K3K |
| EAN | 0888143016740 |
It includes considerably more for the same money. Both are $119.99. Amazon’s Fire TV Soundbar: 2.0 channel, dual speakers, no subwoofer, DTS Virtual:X and Dolby Audio, HDMI cable included, Bluetooth, Fire TV Ready, 24 inches long, no power figure, no EQ modes. This Hisense HS2100: 2.1 channel with a wireless subwoofer, 240 W max stated, Dolby Audio and DTS Virtual:X, HDMI cable included, Bluetooth 5.3, six preset EQ modes, EZ Play single-remote control. So for identical money you get a separate powered bass cabinet and six sound presets. The argument for the Amazon is a shorter, lower body — 24 inches and 2.5 inches high — and tighter integration if your television is a Fire TV.
Placement, and on bass that is almost everything. Low frequencies have wavelengths of meters, so they interact with the dimensions of a room to produce standing waves: positions where the bass piles up and positions where it nearly vanishes. Move a subwoofer three feet and its character changes completely — which is why the standard advice is to try several positions and listen. A wireless subwoofer only needs a mains socket, so you can put it where the bass is even rather than where a cable reaches. On this shelf, this and the Philips B5306 at $117.94 are wireless; the Suntrok at $81.21 states a wired subwoofer twice in its own bullets. And a separate cabinet of any kind is the single most audible upgrade over a 2.0 bar, because a body 61 mm (2.40 in) deep cannot move enough air below about 100 Hz.
No — it is almost certainly less, and this is the most useful thing to understand about this shelf. Hisense publishes "240W max audio power". The Majority Sierra publishes "120W RMS". Those are different quantities. A maximum or peak figure is a momentary ceiling the amplifier can touch for an instant, usually measured generously and with no distortion limit stated. An RMS figure is a continuous rating: power the amplifier can sustain. As a rough industry pattern, peak ratings run two to four times the continuous figure for the same hardware — so 240 W peak may correspond to somewhere around 60 to 120 W continuous. Ten of the twelve bars here publish max or peak; the Majority alone publishes RMS; Sony, Amazon and Bose publish nothing.
Between home cinema devices of the same category and nearby price. Shown: what they all state. A half-filled column says nothing.
| Model | Price | Channels | Weight | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hisense HS2100 | $115 | 2.1 — two front-facing speakers plus a wireless subwoofer | 2223 g (78.4 oz) | 89 × 800 × 61 mm (3.50 × 31.5 × 2.40 in) |
| Philips B4208 (TAB4208/37) | $115 | 2.0 — stereo, no subwoofer | Not published | 88 × 1100 × 67 mm (3.46 × 43.3 × 2.64 in) — the longest bar on this shelf |
| Amazon Fire TV Soundbar | $120 | 2.0 — dual speakers, no subwoofer | 1801 g (63.5 oz) | 609 × 89 × 64 mm (24 × 3.50 × 2.52 in) |
| Philips B5306 (TAB5306/37) | $120 | 2.1 — stereo plus a wireless subwoofer | Not published | 962 × 376 × 217 mm (37.9 × 14.8 × 8.54 in) — the system, bar plus subwoofer |
The most complete soundbar on this shelf under two hundred dollars
Amazon reports what buyers took in the month before this page was last checked: at least 500.
The figure is a floor, rounded by Amazon, and read through Keepa — it says what buyers picked, not what a maker claims.
Specifications: the manufacturer sheet for home cinema gear and the matching Amazon product page. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure on this page names its source.
2.0 speaker soundbar with DTS Virtual:X and Dolby Audio, dual speakers, an included HDMI cable for an eARC or ARC port, Bluetooth streaming, Fire TV Ready certification, 24 inches long and 2.5 inches high, made from 18 percent recycled materials
A 2.0 soundbar with DTS Virtual:X and Dolby Audio, 24 inches long, with the HDMI cable included.
Best for: A Fire TV household wanting a tidy 24-inch bar that works out of the box
≈ $120
2 in 1 detachable soundbar with four drivers rated 80 W, automatic loudness boost, three equaliser modes for movie, music and news, Bluetooth 5.0 with ARC, optical and AUX inputs, and an 18-month warranty with a 60-day replacement policy
A detachable 80 W soundbar with four drivers and three equaliser modes, for under fifty dollars.
Best for: Two small speakers and a soundbar in one box, for fifty dollars
≈ $50
90 W soundbar with Bluetooth 5.3, ARC, optical and AUX connection, three one-touch equaliser presets for movie, music and news, volume stepping three levels per press, an 18-month warranty and published pre-purchase checks on television ports
A 90 W soundbar with three equaliser presets and published checks on your television’s ports.
Best for: A first soundbar bought carefully — it tells you what will go wrong before you order
≈ $60
