Philips Drops Ambisound SoundBar June 22, 2007

Read more Digital Audio , Entertainment , HDMI , HDTV , Hi-fi , Home Cinema , Home Entertainment

I covered this sleek, Philips Ambisound HTS8100 SoundBar back in January and not a lot has changed in six months except for the fact that it’s finally available from July.

As you can see from my cynical original post, I’m not the biggest fan of single speaker, pseudo-surround speakers, especially not ones that cost £700. A few more details are available now though on this undoubtedly pretty and reasonably thin (13cm) device.

Alongside the in-built DVD/CD player which uses excellent, Faroudja processing to upscale video to near HD quality, the speaker boasts six speaker drivers with soft dome tweeters. Unlike the Yamaha YSP series, Philips claims that the surround is not bounced around the walls, but 'steered' to envelop the listener - somehow.

There’s a three-band equalizer and something called DoubleBASS for those deep explosions. Connections include HDMI, component video and RGB Scart, as well as a coaxial socket for hooking up digital devices.

This will suit anyone looking for some form of cinema sound without the clutter and who isn’t worried about the cost. Hey, Marco B, if you are reading this send one over for test – I’m prepared to be convinced.-Martin Lynch

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