Finding a good soundbar isn't hard. Plenty of the best soundbars are available at a range of great prices, with loads of options for different use cases and budgets.
Finding soundbars to match your TV, though, can be a whole lot more difficult. Even soundbars that come from the same manufacturer might not match your chosen TV set, leaving you with some form of design mishap atop your TV stand.
Philips wants to make it a whole lot easier to find a soundbar to match your TV, with a new range of soundbars that feature the same slick design as its latest TV sets. There are three models, and they're all wrapped in satin chrome for not just a good look, but a classy addition to the new Philips MLED950 and OLED810 TVs.
Slick designs, great specs
The first soundbar in the line is the flagship B8500. It measures 35 inches across, so it's a large device, but it's only 2.5 inches tall so you won't have to worry about it covering the lower half of your TV screen. It's supposed to fit perfectly with the central stands of Philips top-of-the-range TVs, and it's been filled with some top-notch hardware so you've got excellent sound to go with a great picture.
There's 5.1 surround sound, along with Dolby Atmos support. HDMI 2.1 allows for 120Hz 4K passthrough, and there's Bluetooth 5.4 should you want to listen to music from your phone with LE compatibility. The included sub brings the low-end, with an 8-inch driver and 150W of power.
The second soundbar is the B8200, and it wants to take up less space under your TV. It's only 1.4 inches tall, and a mere 1.6 inches deep. Despite that small size, it still packs in 2.1 sound and Dolby Atmos support. The sub features two stacked drivers, with 120W of power.
Finally, there's the 2.1 channel B6100. This looks to fit perfectly with smaller 48-inch to 55-inch screens, and has 40W of power and Dolby Atmos support. The subwoofer has 120W of power for the low stuff.
All three sound bars are coming out this year, although there's no news about how much they're going to cost. The B6100 is coming this May, but there's no news about the other two options. We'll be rigorously testing all three when they land, so stay tuned as to how we rate them.
