Amazon has announced that the Amazon Fire TV soundbar, its budget soundbar, will be released in the UK. It is available for pre-order now at a price of £99 (usually £119) at Amazon and first orders are set to be shipped from 29th July.
The Fire TV soundbar has a 2.0-channel speaker array and supports DTS Virtual: X and Dolby Audio (but not Dolby Atmos). It comes equipped with HDMI and optical outputs for a TV connection and Bluetooth for wireless music streaming, and also features Movie, Music and dialogue-boosting EQ modes.
Measuring at 60cm wide, the Fire TV soundbar is a cheap alternative to more premium compact bars such as the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and Bose Smart Soundbar 600 - two of the best soundbars available.
A modest, cheap TV upgrade
The Amazon Fire TV soundbar is a basic, no-frills soundbar that is designed to give a boost to your TV's built-in audio and save you money while doing it. At a price this low, however, it's expected you'll sacrifice quite a few features.
We've had a chance to review the Fire TV soundbar and in our review said that its 'sound quality is surprisingly good for the cost', noting that it has good dialogue clarity and spacious virtual surround sound that 'expands well beyond the confines of the soundbar and TV screen'. We did notice that bass was somewhat limited during our testing, however.
The Fire TV soundbar isn't going to compete with the likes of the Samsung Q990D, easily one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars available, or even compete with other budget options such as the Hisense AX5125H or Sony HT-S2000, but at £99, it's tough to argue against.
