The one upgrade a flat television cannot argue with · review
A 2.1 soundbar with a wireless subwoofer, published at both 40 W and 140 W.
The closing call A wireless subwoofer for fifty-six cents more than the Philips without one — and a title that says forty watts while its own first bullet says a hundred and forty.
Title: 40 W max. Bullet 1: 140 W. Description: 140 W total output.
Two against one, and the shape of the error is plain: a leading 1 fell out of the title.
The 140 W figure is also the one that fits. A hundred and forty watts split across a bar and a powered subwoofer is an ordinary rating for a 2.1 system — where 40 W would put it below Philips’s own 2.0 bars at 60 W, which makes no sense for a product with an extra powered cabinet.
Read it as 140 W. And read that as a maximum, like nine of the twelve figures on this shelf.
Philips sells two bars within a dollar of each other:
B4208 — $117.38 — 2.0 channel, no subwoofer, metal grille, slanted body B5306 — $117.94 — 2.1 channel with a wireless subwoofer, trapezoid body
Fifty-six cents apart, and the physics decides it.
Reproducing a 50 Hz note means moving a lot of air. A bar 67 mm (2.64 in) deep has neither the cone area nor the internal volume for it, so everything below roughly 100 Hz is absent: the explosions, the bass lines, the weight under a voice. A separate cabinet does nothing but that, which is why it does it well.
Buy the bass.
Bass wavelengths are meters long, so they interact with the dimensions of the room to create standing waves — places where bass piles up and places where it nearly disappears. Move a subwoofer three feet and it changes character entirely.
A wireless subwoofer can therefore go where the bass is even, rather than where the cable reaches.
Two bars here are wireless — this and the Hisense at $119.99. Suntrok at $81.21 is wired, stated twice in its own listing.
B5109 — $77.99 — 2.0 · 120 W · Dolby Digital Plus · DTS Virtual:X · 4 EQ modes · Night Mode · app · BT 5.4 B5306 — $117.94 — 2.1 + wireless subwoofer · 140 W · no Dolby or DTS named · no EQ modes stated
So forty dollars buys the subwoofer and costs you the decoding.
If you watch films and want weight: the subwoofer. Bass is the most audible change a soundbar can make. If you watch broadcast television or streaming with real surround mixes: Dolby Digital Plus, because decoding it means receiving the actual mix rather than a stereo downmix.
No weight, where the B5109 gives 1,928 g and the B4000 2,200 g.
No driver count and no driver size — none of the four Philips bars publishes either, where Suntrok gives diameters and Bose names two full-range drivers plus a center tweeter.
No HDMI cable in the box. The listed contents are a power cord, batteries, remote, wall mount bracket and papers — so the recommended HDMI ARC connection needs a cable you supply. Amazon, Hisense, Majority and Suntrok all include one.
962 × 376 × 217 mm is published for the system, bar plus subwoofer.
At the check, the American Amazon store stood at roughly $120.
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 — stereo plus a wireless subwoofer |
|---|---|
| Subwoofer | Wireless — so it can be placed where the bass works |
| Power, in the title | 40 W max |
| Power, in bullet 1 | 140 W — see the FAQ, the two cannot both be right |
| Power, in the description | 140 W total output |
| Connections | HDMI ARC, Bluetooth, audio-in, USB |
| Roku TV Ready | Certified, works with the Roku remote |
| Body | Trapezoid, compact, with integrated wall brackets |
| In the box | Power cord, 2 AAA batteries, remote, wall mount bracket, quick start guide, warranty card |
| Dimensions | 962 × 376 × 217 mm (37.9 × 14.8 × 8.54 in) — the system, bar plus subwoofer |
| Against the maker’s B4208 | 56 cents more, and it includes a wireless subwoofer |
| Surround formats | None named, where the cheaper B5109 has Dolby and DTS |
| HDMI cable | Not in the box |
| Weight | Not published |
| Amazon reference | B09XBV1KLZ |
| EAN | 0840063202351 |
The listing says both, and the two differ by a factor of three and a half. The title reads "2.1 Channel Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer - Bluetooth, HDMI ARC, Roku TV Ready, 40W Max Power, Black". The first bullet reads "This 140W soundbar system will make everything louder, clearer and deeper." And the description agrees with the bullet: "total output of 140W". Two sources against one, and the shape of the error is obvious — a leading "1" dropped out of the title. The 140 W figure is also the one that fits the product: 140 W across a bar and a powered subwoofer is an ordinary rating for a 2.1 system, where 40 W would be below the maker’s own 2.0 bars at 60 W. Treat 140 W as the intended figure, and remember it is a maximum, not an RMS rating.
It is the best value decision on this shelf, and it is not close. Philips sells the B4208 at $117.38 — 2.0 channel, no subwoofer — and this B5306 at $117.94 — 2.1 channel with a wireless subwoofer. Fifty-six cents apart. The physics makes the choice: reproducing a 50 Hz note means moving a large volume of air, and a bar 67 mm (2.64 in) deep has neither the cone area nor the enclosure volume to do it. Everything below roughly 100 Hz — explosions, bass lines, the weight under a voice — is simply absent from a 2.0 bar. A separate cabinet does nothing else, which is why it does it well. And wireless matters on top of that: bass wavelengths are meters long and interact with the room, so a subwoofer you can place freely can be positioned where the bass is even rather than where the cable reaches.
Both surround formats and some power, for a subwoofer — and which way that trades depends on your room. The B5109 at $77.99: 2.0, 120 W max, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS Virtual:X, four EQ modes, Night Mode, Philips app, Bluetooth 5.4 with LE Audio — no subwoofer. This B5306 at $117.94: 2.1 with a wireless subwoofer, 140 W, no Dolby or DTS named, no EQ modes stated. So forty dollars buys the subwoofer and costs you the decoding. If most of your watching is films and you want weight, the subwoofer wins — bass is the most audible difference any soundbar can make. If you watch a lot of broadcast television or streaming with proper surround mixes, decoding Dolby Digital Plus means receiving the real mix rather than a stereo downmix.
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 | Dimensions | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philips B5306 (TAB5306/37) | $120 | 2.1 — stereo plus a wireless subwoofer | 962 × 376 × 217 mm (37.9 × 14.8 × 8.54 in) — the system, bar plus subwoofer | Not published |
| Amazon Fire TV Soundbar | $120 | 2.0 — dual speakers, no subwoofer | 609 × 89 × 64 mm (24 × 3.50 × 2.52 in) | 1801 g (63.5 oz) |
| Hisense HS2100 | $115 | 2.1 — two front-facing speakers plus a wireless subwoofer | 89 × 800 × 61 mm (3.50 × 31.5 × 2.40 in) | 2223 g (78.4 oz) |
| Philips B4208 (TAB4208/37) | $115 | 2.0 — stereo, no subwoofer | 88 × 1100 × 67 mm (3.46 × 43.3 × 2.64 in) — the longest bar on this shelf | Not published |
Real bass from a Philips — the subwoofer is what you will hear, whatever the wattage says
Amazon reports what buyers took in the month before this page was last checked: at least 50.
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
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
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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
