The one upgrade a flat television cannot argue with · review
A 2.0 channel soundbar at 60 W maximum with Bluetooth 5.4 and Roku TV Ready certification.
The closing call Seventy-five dollars, the newest Bluetooth on the shelf, and the cheapest Philips — but its own stablemate three dollars above it doubles the power and adds both surround formats.
Philips sells four bars on this shelf, and two of them sit within three dollars of each other:
B4000 — $75.10 — 2.0 · 60 W max · Bluetooth 5.4 · HDMI ARC · Roku TV Ready B5109 — $77.99 — 2.0 · 120 W max · Bluetooth 5.4 · HDMI ARC · Roku TV Ready · Dolby Digital Plus · DTS Virtual:X · four EQ modes · Night Mode · Philips app · optical and USB in
Two dollars and eighty-nine cents buys double the stated power and both surround formats.
Nothing in the audio specification favors this one. If the shape suits your shelf better, that is the argument; there is no other.
B4000 — $75.10 — 2.0 · 60 W · BT 5.4 B5109 — $77.99 — 2.0 · 120 W · Dolby + DTS · BT 5.4 B4208 — $117.38 — 2.0 · 60 W · no Dolby, no DTS · BT 5.3 B5306 — $117.94 — 2.1 + wireless subwoofer · 140 W
The B5109 at $77.99 strictly beats the B4208 at $117.38 — double the power, both formats, newer Bluetooth, thirty-nine dollars cheaper. The B4208’s only distinguishing claim is a slanted “geometric design” with a metal grille.
Better sound synchronization… reduced lag.
Latency is the gap between your phone sending a sound and the speaker producing it, and on older Bluetooth it can get wide enough that lips and dialogue visibly separate. Newer versions narrow it and hold the link better at range.
The versions on this shelf: 5.4 here and on the B5109 · 5.3 on the B4208, the KY2023 and the Hisense · 5.0 on the Assistrust KY-8000 and the Majority Sierra.
Keep it in proportion, though: for television you will use HDMI ARC, which has no such problem.
Ten of the twelve bars here publish a maximum. This is one of them.
Only the Majority Sierra publishes RMS — 120 W continuous, the single comparable figure on the shelf. So 120 W RMS beats a “240 W peak” bar despite reading half as large.
And Sony, Amazon and Bose publish no wattage at all.
No equaliser modes, where the B5109, the B4208 and the B5306 all have four (Movie, Music, Voice, Stadium) and the Hisense has six.
No driver count and no driver size. None of the four Philips bars publishes either; Suntrok gives actual diameters, Bose names two full-range drivers and a center tweeter, Sony a tweeter.
No subwoofer, and no HDMI cable stated in the box — where Amazon, Hisense, Majority and Suntrok all include one.
2,200 g and 104 × 762 × 65 mm are published.
At the check, the American Amazon store stood at roughly $75.
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 | 2.0 — stereo, no subwoofer |
|---|---|
| Power | 60 W maximum |
| Bluetooth | 5.4 — the newest on this shelf, stated for better synchronization |
| Connection | HDMI ARC |
| Roku TV Ready | Certified; stated supported in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK and Brazil |
| Stated origin | Built with EU expertise |
| Weight | 2200 g (77.6 oz) |
| Dimensions | 104 × 762 × 65 mm (4.09 × 30 × 2.56 in) |
| Against the maker’s B5109 | $2.89 less, for half the power and neither surround format |
| Surround formats | None — no Dolby, no DTS |
| Equaliser modes | None stated, where three other Philips here have four |
| Driver count or size | Not published |
| HDMI cable | Not stated |
| Subwoofer | None |
| Amazon reference | B0F45KG877 |
| EAN | 0840063204546 |
On the published specification, you would not — and the gap is two dollars and eighty-nine cents. This B4000 at $75.10: 2.0 channel, 60 W max, Bluetooth 5.4, HDMI ARC, Roku TV Ready. The B5109 at $77.99: 2.0 channel, 120 W max, Bluetooth 5.4, HDMI ARC, Roku TV Ready — plus Dolby Digital Plus, plus DTS Virtual:X, plus four EQ modes (Movie, Music, Voice, Stadium), plus a Night Mode, plus a Philips app, plus optical and USB inputs. So for $2.89 the dearer bar doubles the stated power and adds both surround formats and app control. The only argument for this one is if the B4000’s shape or finish suits a specific shelf better; nothing in the audio specification favors it.
Synchronization, mainly, which is the thing you notice. Philips states it directly: "Bluetooth 5.4 enables better sound synchronization, for smooth audio streaming with reduced lag." Latency is the gap between a sound being sent by your phone and arriving at the speaker, and on older Bluetooth it can run high enough that lip movement and dialogue visibly separate. Newer versions reduce it and hold the connection more reliably at range. On this shelf the versions run: 5.4 here and on the B5109, 5.3 on the B4208, the KY2023 and the Hisense, and 5.0 on the Assistrust KY-8000 and the Majority Sierra. Worth keeping in proportion, though: for watching television you will use HDMI ARC, not Bluetooth, and ARC has no such latency problem.
A convenience layer, and it is smaller than the badge implies. HDMI ARC already gives you one-remote volume control on any television — that is what ARC is for, and every bar on this shelf has it. What Roku TV Ready adds is that the soundbar’s own settings appear inside the Roku TV menu, so you adjust bass, treble and modes from the television’s interface rather than hunting for the bar’s remote. This listing is also the only certification on the shelf to publish its geographic limits: "Roku TV Ready-supported in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Brazil". Amazon’s bar carries the equivalent Fire TV Ready badge for its own ecosystem. On a television of any other brand, both reduce to ordinary ARC.
Between home cinema devices of the same category and nearby price. Shown: what they all state. A half-filled column says nothing.
| Model | Price | Power | Weight | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philips B4000 (TAB4000/37) | $75 | 60 W maximum | 2200 g (77.6 oz) | 104 × 762 × 65 mm (4.09 × 30 × 2.56 in) |
| Philips B5109 (TAB5109/37) | $78 | 120 W maximum — double the maker’s two 60 W bars | 1928 g (68 oz) | 91 × 766 × 67 mm (3.58 × 30.2 × 2.64 in) |
| Suntrok S09 | $81 | 240 W peak — a momentary figure, not RMS | 2000 g (70.5 oz) | 76 × 810 × 76 mm (2.99 × 31.9 × 2.99 in) |
| Assistrust KY2023 | $60 | 90 W — a maximum, not an RMS figure | Not published | 787 × 51 × 102 mm (31 × 2.01 × 4.02 in) |
Nothing on this shelf that the Philips three dollars above it does not do better
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
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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
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Best for: Two small speakers and a soundbar in one box, for fifty dollars
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Best for: A first soundbar bought carefully — it tells you what will go wrong before you order
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