Silensys E7 Active Noise Cancelling Headphones Review
Mentioned this before, but I feel like headphones are some of the most useful devices when you really consider everything they’re used for; gaming, movies, listening to music, etc.
Even when it comes to home theater, they’re particularly helpful for when you can’t exactly play your stuff out loud (especially if it’s late)
But being that they come in so many shapes, sizes, and form factors, choosing can be a bit of a hassle admittedly.
And while I’ve covered how to choose one before, today I wanted to specifically highlight a pair of headphones that I thought were a hidden gem of sorts.
They do some pretty interesting things that I honestly wasn’t expecting.
This is the Silensys E7 active noise cancelling bluetooth headphones review.
Appearance
Right off the bat, I think one of my favorite parts about the Silensys E7 has to be how they look.
To be honest I’m not even sure how to best describe them, but if I had to sum it up in a word, it’d be shiny.
No seriously.
Whether it’s the metallic black ear cups, or brighter metal trim around the first part of the headband and hinges, these headphones are really shiny.
But the great thing is it doesn’t look tacky either, they actually look and feel premium.
The one caveat though is that they pickup finger prints super easily so you’ll need to wipe them off regularly if that’s something that bothers you. But they come off pretty easily so it’s not that bad either.
The right ear cup also has a logo located on it on the right side, with an NFC logo situated off to the left.
Something else that’s kind of cool is that there’s a blue LED that acts as an indicator light for when the Bluetooth is connected. Though I will note that once it connects, it stays on, and once it’s on, it’s pretty bright honestly.
This might not matter to some people, but others might find it distracting so just figured I’d mention what I noticed.
The headband and cushions are plush, and they even look great too. I’ll get into that more in depth in the comfort & how they fit section though.
Overall from a purely cosmetic standpoint, these are a very attractive looking pair of headphones that have a very professional look about them.
It’s just that to maintain that look, you’ll often have to wipe them down to remove the barrage of fingerprints they often accumulate.
Still though, they look awesome, and if anything, looks even better in person.
Big thumbs up from me.
What’s In The Box/Unboxing
So what exactly do you get when you open the box for the first time?
Well besides the headphones, you get a USB to mini USB charging cable, user guide, a 3.5mm headphone cable, and a nifty little drawstring canvas carrying case that you can use to store your headphones in.
As for the box itself, it’s pretty simple in presentation. The box is in matte black, with a shimmery outline of the headphones themselves on the front.
There’s also the E7 notation placed prominently in the middle, and the Silensys logo placed off to the left. On the inside of the box, the headphones sit in a soft black foam cut out that’s intended for additional protection.
It’s a simple but aesthetically pleasing box in my opinion. Nothing overly ostentatious or gaudy — just a simple, clean packaging. I think it looks really good personally.
Features & Specs
Features
So what features do the Silensys E7 have to offer?
Well quite a bit actually.
The first thing I think you’ll be happy to hear is that these headphones have full Bluetooth capability meaning you can listen to all of your favorite content wirelessly.
Better still, is the fact that you also have the option of using them wired since they come with a 3.5mm cable too.
Another really cool feature that these headphones have is Active Noise Cancellation technology (or ANC for short)
By using special built in circuitry, the E7s have the ability to cancel out loud background noise allowing you to hear more of what you want to hear and less of what you don’t.
In fact, this noise cancellation even does a great job with reducing the loud roar of an airplane cabin, making them great headphones for travel.
Even the loud hustle and bustle of traffic is greatly reduced, leaving just you and your content.
Plus the noise cancellation can be used in both wired and wireless modes.
There’s a a built in microphone so you can easily take your phone calls hands free without having to pause your music, and the built in NFC allows you to easily pair your headphones by simply being close to the device.
Battery life is great too, with a 750 mAh providing for about 30 hours of playtime per charge — meaning that much more time you get to enjoy your favorite content.
Quick charge is also a helpful feature supported here with a mere 10 minutes of charging giving an impressive hour of playback time.
The ear cups, which feature a professional protein ear pad can swivel 90 degrees and are placed over your ears, making these over the ear headphones.
There’s also proprietary 40mm large aperture drivers for truly deep and accurate bass.
LED Colors & Their Meaning:
Blue & blinking means it’s turned on
Solid blue light means it’s paired
White means noise cancelling is active
Red means it’s charging
When the light is off, that means it’s fully charged
Setting Up The Headphones
In terms of how to put the Silensys E7 headphones in pairing mode for use, this is also a fairly simple process luckily.
To turn on the headphones and use the bluetooth or noise cancelling feature, flip the switch on the bottom of the right ear cup to the appropriate position (the middle for Bluetooth & all the way to the right for noise cancellation)
Then make sure Bluetooth is turned on on your device and find the headphones in the menu of that device. Then simply click on the name to to pair the two.
The light will be blinking at first but will become a solid color when paired.
When using Bluetooth, this LED will be blue, and when using Bluetooth & noise cancelling simultaneously, this light will be white.
For setup using NFC, if the device supports NFC and it’s turned on in its respective menu, simply tap the device to the underside of the right ear cup (where the NFC logo is)
It may ask if you want to pair the headphones. Accept and it should pair the two.
To wipe the pairing history from all previously connected devices, press and hold the volume up and down buttons for 5 seconds. Then delete the headphones from the Bluetooth list in the menu of the primary connected device.
Comfort & How They Fit
The one thing I really love the most about these headphones is just how comfortable they are even after an extended period of time.
The ear cups are made of a plush protein leather-like material that feel soft to the touch, but aren’t too mushy to the point where they don’t offer much in the way of comfort at all. I’d say they’re right in the middle.
The major benefit of this material when compared with something like foam is the fact that it’s a lot more durable over time, meaning they should last a lot longer overall.
The downside of that though is that this durability comes at the expense of breathability.
After a few hours I’d notice my ears getting really warm and I’d have to take them off for a bit. I suppose that’s kind of a moot point though when considering the fact that every 1-2 hours it’s actually recommended that you take off your headphones for a few minutes so there’s that.
But I just thought that was something I’d point out.
However even during extended listening sessions, never once did they actually feel uncomfortable which is definitely a plus. The padded headband is made out of the same material and feels rigid and sturdy (in a good way)
In the past, I’ve had headphones where the headband would actually feel uncomfortable after just a few minutes due to not having enough cushioning but I’m happy to report that this certainly isn’t the case here.
It offers support, but is never overbearing to the point where you want to take them off. If anything I’d sometimes forget I even had them on so that’s certainly a testament to their quality
The headphones themselves feel pretty light too, but they still feel like a quality pair of cans. There’s unquestionably a high level of attention to detail here when it comes to the build quality which is very satisfying.
The ear cups also swivel 90 degrees and can be extended or shortened to accommodate a wide variety of head sizes.
I found that I didn’t really need to adjust them too much out of the box myself. They also didn’t press down on my head like some headphones can, which can introduce an irritating pressure over time.
These instead, sat over the ears comfortably without any issues.
So if you’re someone who values comfort when it comes to headphones, rest assured that you’ll likely find these comfortable to wear.
But the most important thing, how do these headphones sound?
To be honest, I would say that they definitely sound great. They also do favor the bass side of the spectrum so keep that in mind.
The full answer as to how they sound though is actually pretty multifaceted so let’s dig a little deeper to get a better idea of what I mean exactly.
Bass/Sub Bass
So I just made mention of this before, but the bass in the Silensys E7 is very pronounced make no mistake about it.
If you prefer a neutral sound signature this certainly isn’t that. However if your you’re a basshead or even just enjoy an extra oomph in the low end from time to time then you’ll really enjoy these.
The E7s are a very fun pair of headphones with characteristically punchy mid bass and a very substantive amount of sub bass.
The bass isn’t sloppy either, it’s tight and controlled but has just enough kick to be really satisfying.
Even with that in mind, it’s never overbearing to the point where it becomes fatiguing or anything. The other frequencies shine too, it’s just that the low end helps round it out in a hearty way.
What I found particularly interesting about these headphones though was just how well they responded to EQ.
Using a music player with equalization settings really makes these headphones come alive with bass sounding stronger, and a more engaging soundstage overall.
So if you have the ability to do so, definitely recommend EQ’ing them.
Still, right out of the box, the different layers of bass that these have to offer sound great, and at higher volumes it becomes something that’s actually tangible rather than audible.
Even movies sound awesome with these, with the action on screen really making you feel like you’re actually there.
Midrange & Vocals
Another interesting tidbit when it comes to these headphones is how they handle voices.
Whether it’s movies, music, etc, voices tend to have a very warm tone to them but still manage to sound clear without sounding muffled.
Now some may be conflicted when it comes to this, especially if you happen to be an audio purist, but I personally feel as the midrange is handled adequately.
Funnily enough, when the active noise cancellation is turned on, this warmth is actually dialed back a bit causing the headphones to have a slightly more neutral sound signature.
But regardless, the quality of the voices themselves is very detailed, and doesn’t get lost in the mix at all.
Highs & Treble
The higher end side of the frequency is also interesting because while it sounds good, the highs can sometimes pretty recessed admittedly.
More intricate sounds certainly come through loud & clear, but at the higher ranges, it misses that sparkle that a more neutral or even brighter sounding headphone would have.
There’s certainly more than enough clarity to immerse you, and it’s probably something you may not even notice. But to the trained ear, it’s perceptible.
But like I mentioned before, and what’s particularly great about these headphones is how well they respond to equalization.
A few tweaks and these sound absolutely phenomenal with a lot of the darker tint now gone and more resolvable clarity when it comes to the treble.
Noise Isolation & Battery Life
How well does the noise cancellation work though? I’d say it works really well actually.
Wearing them around, I’d notice voices completely disappeared even when nothing was playing. Ambient noises in general were reduced immensely, and all but the loudest of noise were audible.
That’s the thing too, if someone’s shouting or a car is beeping a horn close by, you’ll still hear it — it’ll just be dampened a lot. It certainly makes a difference though and it’s something you really grow to appreciate.
When it comes to tamer noises at lower decibel levels like conversations or the hum of an AC, they’re reduced to essentially silence — making these a great pair of headphones for when you need to study in peace or want to read a book for example.
The noise cancellation is actually really impressive.
Even without using the noise cancellation feature, the fact that these are over the ear headphones and not on ear variants gives a sound isolation advantage by proxy.
With NC turned off, ambient noise was still mitigated a good amount when compared with not wearing them, so even using them as standard headphones will provide for a quieter experience.
I will say though that at very high volumes there is a little of sound leakage, but it was only noticeable when really cranking it.
At moderate volumes, it was pretty much a non issue.
Battery life was something else that I was also quite impressed with as with moderate use, they’d last me a few days before I’d need to recharge.
Quick charge worked well too, with a ten minute top up giving me an hour of playback time. Even on those days where I didn’t have time for that, the fact that I could still use them wired via the 3.5mm cable was pretty awesome.
Connection Quality
As for the the actual connection quality when connecting via Bluetooth, I had no issues there either. It connected fast and maintained a stable connection even from 35 feet away.
Would have nice if it supported Bluetooth 5.0 or even 4.1 though since those are a little more efficient when it comes to battery life and the distance you can be from a device.
But with regard to being stable, the connection itself was maintained without issue.
Call Quality
Lastly call quality was pretty clear too. It wasn’t as clear as using the phone’s speaker, but the other person on the line had no issues with hearing what I was saying.
The voice on the other side sounded decent too, and I was able to make out their words easily.
Well I hope you’ve enjoyed this Silensys E7 active noise cancelling Bluetooth headphones review and with it, now have a better idea of whether or not these are the headphones for you.
In my opinion they offer superb sound quality, great bass, and a useful noise cancellation that actually silences ambient noise —making them great for those moments when you just want some time to yourself.
They definitely get a huge recommendation from me.
Battery Depletion: Using Bluetooth without noise cancelling lasts around 30 hours
Using Bluetooth with noise cancelling lasts around 20 hours.
Operation & Setup
When it comes to using these headphones, they’re pretty easy to understand control wise. The controls are located on the right ear cup and are as follows:
Media Playback & Volume Functions
FunctionHow To Use It
Play/ Pause: Short press the multi function triangle button
Skip Forward: Short press the ➖ button
Skip Backward: Short press the ➕ button
Volume Up: Long press the ➕ button
Volume Down: Long press the ➖ button
Call Functions
Function How To Use It
Answer a call: Short press the triangle button
End a call: Short press the triangle button
Decline an incoming call: Press triangle and hold 1-2 sec
To Answer a second incoming call & put the first call on hold:
While on the call, press the triangle button twice
Decline second incoming call & stay on the first call:
While on the call, press triangle & hold for 2 seconds
Switch Between Two Calls:
With two active calls, press the triangle button twice
How To Use The Headphones & Noise cancelling modes
Noise cancelling modeDescription
Turn Noise Cancellation On: Turn the switch on the bottom of the right ear cup all the way to the right (NC)
Turn Bluetooth On: Turn switch to middle position (BT)
Turn Headphones Off: Turn the switch to the right to turn off (OFF)
Hey everyone it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jay, writer & founder of the site Easy Home Theater. I’ve been with the hobby of home entertainment for many years now. I decided to create this site to be a helpful resource, and share everything that I’ve learned from personal experience with you. I also happen to be a huge gamer, lover of all things tech related, and a major fitness buff (love weightlifting)
Whether you fully realize it or not, technology has proliferated into nearly every aspect of our personal lives in some way or another.
From fully motorized window blinds controlled via app, to electrical plugs that turn appliances into smart devices, a large portion of our homes are now considered smart homes in some way or another.
What’s interesting though is there’s one portion of life at home that hasn’t changed dramatically, and that’s home theater/entertainment.
As awesome as home entertainment can be — whether it’s watching a movie in surround sound, listening to your favorite music, or playing a video game, the core of the entire experience hasn’t really changed much in the last few decades.
I mean sure there’s a plethora of new technologies that have certainly introduced an interesting twist, (streaming for example) but for the most part, how we watch movies and enjoy all our favorite content hasn’t really changed much over the last few years.
However what if I told you that may not always be the case?
Imagine a reality where your TV can beam its signal to your surround speakers while calibrating your sound wirelessly without using Bluetooth.
Or imagine your house alerting you when you reach a certain electricity usage and shutting off lights in unoccupied rooms while automatically providing ways to maximize energy efficiency.
This might sound like science fiction now, but in 10-15 years, it very well could be the norm.
In fact, this might be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the smart home technology of the future!
Let’s take a look at some of the technologies that I think, will be a staple in smart homes in the not too distant future, some even as soon as 2024 and beyond.
If you’ve been paying attention to televisions in the last few years, then it’s likely at some point or another you’ve come across what’s known as an OLED TV.
In short, an OLED TV (which stands for organic light emitting diode) is typically renowned for its ability to reach true black since it doesn’t use backlighting of any kind, and can turn each pixel off individually — whereas an LCD is still reliant on light for its picture.
This gives the image on screen a certain vibrancy and pop that usually only an OLED can give, but the problem is that they sometimes can’t get as bright as an LCD; especially when it comes to HDR.
Enter Micro LED.
Like the name would suggest, Micro LED is a new and extremely promising TV technology that uses individual LEDs down to the pixel, giving an absolutely unprecedented picture quality.
It takes the best from both visual technologies; being able to individually turn off each pixel like OLED, while achieving the extreme brightness of LCD, to provide the ultimate image quality in terms of color depth, clarity, and realism.
And while it might seem like Micro LED is a ways off given the fact there’s very few commercially available, even a simple 10 years from now they’re likely to be pretty common place.
Here’s something that may actually manifest itself sooner rather than later, 8K resolution.
To be exact, that’s 7680 pixels horizontally and 4320 pixels vertically, for an impressive 4 times improvement over 4K, and an unbelievable 16 times improvement over HDTV.
If you’ve ever seen 4K in person, then you’ll know just how incredible it actually looks in motion.
Now try to imagine an image with multiple times more clarity than even that.
It’s pretty mind bending.
But you might be wondering well what’s even the point of 8K if we’re barely even just now standardizing 4K?
Does it actually bring anything of note?
Surprisingly it does.
I won’t go too in depth since I already wrote a dedicated article that I’ll list below, but basically some of the notable improvements you can expect from 8K are; invisible pixels to the human eye even close up, better quality 1080p/4K, improved color accuracy due to the increase in pixels, and improved clarity which are just some of the many surprising benefits that 8K offers.
This also just so happens to be the optimal resolution where the picture on screen seems the most realistic since we technically see things in 8K in real life, so there’s also that.
It might not be standard now, but in the future, this will be a pretty normal occurrence.
I mean there’s already commercially available 8K televisions, and even the new Xbox Series X & Playstation 5 support 8K resolution so it’s not as far off as one might think.
Interestingly though, I don’t personally feel there’s a point in going higher since it reaches a point of diminishing returns beyond that unless it’s for professional applications like photography.
But knowing the way technology advances, we might be looking at 12K resolution TVs 20 years from now lol.
Or maybe, there might be a new way to watch content beyond just the TV all together by then.
Another thing I think we’ll see a lot more of years from now is the next generation of wifi known as Wifi 6.
To put it simply, Wifi 6 brings with it a whole host of improvements over our now standard Wifi 5 (previously known as Wi-Fi, 802.11ac before being renamed for simplicity sake by the WI-FI alliance)
The first major benefit of this new generation Wi-Fi is the obvious speed boost from 3.5 Gbps (gigabytes per second) to 9.5 Gbps.
But given that these are theoretical maximum speeds and not the standard, you’re not likely to ever need to go that high, especially when the average speed right now is 72 Mbps or less.
However this speed can be divided between the devices connected to it, meaning those devices could hypothetically run faster if need be which is pretty helpful.
But this next iteration is a lot more than just a simple bump in speed, it offers more utility as well.
When a bunch of devices are connected to a single router (think a dozen or more) you may notice that there’s either a reduction in overall speed, or the router continuously disconnects all together.
This comes from it attempting to maintain its connection with each device, and after a certain point the airwaves can get congested.
The average household had about 5 devices connected at any given time when Wifi 5 was first introduced but now it’s likely greater than that.
This isn’t expected to slow down either, as it’s been predicted that within a few years we’ll be approaching 50 as our smart homes technology and home automation advance.
This is one of the main reasons Wifi 6 is being developed as it allows the the router to efficiently communicate with dozens of devices at a time while ensuring that they retain their speed, and even operate optimally on the same broadcast.
Then there’s even the newer iteration of that dubbed Wi-Fi 6E that operates on the 6GHz network for even faster speeds floating in the Gigabit range (which is absolutely incredible.)
Again as our homes become smarter, WIFI 6 is one of those technologies that will likely become universal due its wide host of benefits.
4.) Enhanced Voice Integration & AI
Voice assistants can certainly be helpful as they provide the vast information of the internet with convenience of a single voice command.
In fact, within a few years, it’s expected that a rapidly growing number of internet search queries will be through voice commands.
But imagine a scenario where this voice integration is dialed up to 11 and incorporated into everything like devices & appliances around the house too.
Picture walking into your house to unwind, and with the power of your voice, you turn on the TV, turn the temperature to the perfect setting, and ask your robotic assistant to make your favorite meal.
Talk about convenience.
More impressive still is the level of artificial intelligence that smart homes could also potentially have.
With a wearable pin that’s placed on the user’s body, or electronic sensors integrated via fiber optic cables within the home itself, your future smart home could track your location within the house automatically.
By knowing who and where you are, it could not only adjust things like lighting & temperature preferences automatically, but even anticipate your needs beforehand through machine learning.
It could adjust all of this info on the fly, all dependent upon who walks through the door.
As impressive as this all sounds, Bill Gates actually has a form of location tracking in his home already so the technology certainly is possible.
This one’s a little more distant though as voice control & AI is still being perfected, but in 15 years time this just might be the average day in a smart home.
5.) Smart Lighting That Senses Where You Are
Something else that I’m almost certain we’ll see sooner rather than later is smart lighting integrated into newly built homes.
Using PoE, (power over ethernet) this would allow the lighting in your home to sense when you’re present in the room and automatically turn on.
Then upon leaving that same room, they’d automatically turn off, saving you power.
As awesome as that seems, this can be applied even further. Imagine a scenario where you’re walking into your room at bed time and the lights in the room automatically turn on at a pre set level, and after being settled into bed, they turn off after at a set time.
Then if you happen to wake in the middle of the night for a glass of water, they automatically turn on but dimly, to help you find your way through the room.
There’s probably a lot more applications in which smart lighting could change, but that’s just one direction where l could see smart lighting going.
While it might not be something that’s all too common now, in a few years time, it just might be a technology that’s so normal we don’t even think twice about it.
I could even see bias lighting by extension changing in some form as well.
6.) Improved Energy Efficiency
Another improvement that I predict we’ll see in a few years time is a new found focus on improving energy efficiency within the home. There’s already various entities looking into improving the way we use electricity.
For example, a Maine-based company by the name of Powerhouse Dynamics recently managed to create a program that can track power usage within the household.
It can track what appliances use what amount of energy, and notify you of not only ways to improve your energy efficiency, but also let you know of any faulty appliances that may be sapping more energy than they need to.
It can even turn off lights in unoccupied rooms in the house which is really cool.
Later down the line, I think that we’ll really start to see more and more products that tout how incredibly energy efficient they are.
Even now, there are various companies and law makers looking at ways to improve energy efficiency across the board and I think this shows that a focus on energy efficiency is happening — and in 15 years from now, I feel like this will be even more true.
I mean hey, the mainstream shift to solar energy might even happen in the far off future.
7.) Modular Screens & TVs
Imagine the ability and convenience to reshape your television into any size you wanted by adding or removing parts of it, still giving you a uniform image from individual parts snapped together.
Sounds like science fiction right?
Well actually they’re what’s known as modular TVs and in a decade from now, they could be common place.
But you may be asking well why the need for a TV that’s pieced together from individual parts? Is there any benefit to it?
Well modular screens actually solve quite a few of the problems regarding logistics that’s also associated with many televisions — especially the larger ones.
One of the main issues with televisions is that the larger they are, the more difficult it is to safely transport them without damage.
This size can work against it making it easier for something to go wrong during the shipping process if not enough care is taken when actually transporting the display.
This is where the first benefit of modular TVs come in.
Due to the fact that there’s smaller individual pieces that can later be fitted together to make that same big screen TV, it ultimately makes the shipping process a whole lot easier.
Those smaller pieces are not only much more manageable, but also less prone to damage since they can be packaged a lot more adequately. This also extends to the user.
If you’ve ever bought a big screen TV, then you’d know the difficulty involved in actually getting the thing in the house safely.
But imagine instead of having to carry one bulk item requiring the aid of a few people, you now carry much smaller pieces manageable with just a single person, into your house to then be assembled into a single big screen.
It’s this level of convenience that I think the future entails.
Another issue that modular TVs solve is that it makes shipping easier from an efficiency perspective.
Shipping multiple large displays that require lots of packaging in one freight truck or plane can be cost prohibitive, especially if one happens to break during transport.
By having multiple smaller displays, you can fit more of them in a space, which can streamline the entire process greatly.
Another really important problem that modular televisions help mitigate is uniformity issues when it comes to picture quality.
The problem with larger TVs is the more surface area you have for a given display, the greater the chance for there to be imperfections in the manufacturing process.
This can then manifest itself in the form of banding where it looks like there’s different segments of the same color separated by visible lines, or even clouding where there’s uneven splotches on the screen that becomes extremely noticeable whenever there happens to be a single color on screen (for example an all white image)
Due the the fact that each individual screen that makes up a modular display is much smaller and manufactured separately, the chances for these imperfections to present themselves are greatly reduced, giving you a much more uniform and satisfying image.
Again, while not presently commercially available in masse, these types of displays are coming, and bring with them quite a bit of promise.
Random side note but come to think of it, this is just a thought but I suppose they could technically make the manufacturing process of micro led TVs easier too in a way since there’d be less area to cover.
Could you imagine a modular micro led TV?
8.) Foldable Screens & TVs
Even more unbelievable then a TV configured by snapping individual smaller screens together is a screen that can be rolled or even folded up and taken with you.
However as crazy as that might seem it’s actually something being explored by many of the top manufacturers as of right now.
For example LG is working a television that’s less than a quarter inch thick that when not in use, retracts into its base by rolling onto itself and is controllable via remote. Then there’s also the one that rolls down from the ceiling like a projector screen.
Or take Samsung for example, who’s working on a bendable display that they hope to one day widely incorporate into not only television displays, but even tablets and smart phones as well.
Now they’ve actually already managed to do just that with the innovative Z Fold smartphone, but I expect as the technology matures, for their to be additional implementation in additional devices and possibly even appliances too.
This could be helpful for a variety of reasons including increasing durability of devices, portability, and even just hiding the display for aesthetical purposes.
Plus it’s just a cool concept.
It’s this level of innovation that the entertainment space could end up seeing within the next few years, especially with display tech — and I gotta say, it’s pretty exciting to say the least.
9.) IMAX Enhanced Content
IMAX Enhanced is a new display technology that basically gives you an image that looks exactly how the director originally intended.
Now the main issue with current display technology is that while it definitely looks good, if any imperfections from the filming process are present, due to the sheer level of clarity, they become all the more apparent.
That obviously isn’t what the film maker had in mind and so the original vision gets clouded
IMAX Enhanced fixes that.
With it, it brings the promise of vast improvements to HDR, 4K & 8K, color reproduction and even sound improvements as well.
While it’s actually a feature that exists in a few TVs currently, within a few years, I feel that this feature will likely become common place.
Remember how awesome 3D was and how it seemingly disappeared almost overnight?
Well it’s actually possible that in a few years it could very well make a well comeback in a big way (well sort of..)
You see, there are actually several manufacturers working on 3D display technology right now that completely forgos the need of using glasses to get the same effect.
Think about that for a moment.
There’s a real possibility we could end up getting glasses free 3D television!
How’s that even possible though?
Well with the way traditional 3D works, there’s 2 slightly shifted images that each eyes sees just slightly differently that your brain then puts together into a 3D image. This is known as stereoscopy.
Now there’s of course different types of 3D technology where the glasses either use a particular color filter, a special shutter, or are polarized, but the general idea is basically convincing the brain into thinking it’s seeing a 3 dimensional image.
However with the way 3D glasses-less work, it’s a little more complex since different companies are tackling it in different ways.
The basic gist though is using special filters in the television itself, then using a high resolution image, splitting it in a specific way, to give the same illusion.
It’s of course much more complex than that so I’ll leave a few articles below if you’re curious behind the exact science of a few of the different ways to achieve.
But the big takeaway here is that it is actually possible to enjoy 3D without the need for specialized glasses when done correctly.
Not only that, but there are working prototypes that have already been demoed at various tech venues including CES.
Even more impressive I think, is that some manufacturers are looking to take this a step further and create real holographic displays.
Yep that’s right, that kind of holographic.
Admittedly that might sound a little far fetched at first, until you consider the fact that there’s already working prototypes that do exactly that.
In 2018, a company by the name of Light Field Labs managed to create a working 4 by 6 prototype display that could actually beam holographic images into thin air.
Not was the need for glasses completely negated, but the user could actually move around freely to see different angles of the projected image.
How incredible is that?
I think this shows that as much progress as we’ve made with display tech, there’s still a lot of room for improvement and if any of these 2 technologies actually manage to come to fruition, then we’re certainly in for a visual treat.
AV Receivers are the brains when it comes to a complete home theater. They’re what controls everything and acts as a hub of sorts.
Over the years there’s been some impressive improvements including ones that support 8K and even smart assistant compatibility.
But what if the receiver itself was the smart assistant where even if you didn’t have an external assistant, you could just tell the receiver to turn the volume up on the center speaker, adjust the bass of a subwoofer, and turn on game mode for example all with the power of your voice?
Imagine full control without even needing to lift a finger.
This is something I could really see happening in the next few years where technology is advancing to the point where even every day appliances start to become smart.
12.) The Disappearance of Receivers (WiSA)
Another thing I could also very well see happening is the disappearance of the receiver all together, and it simply being built into the television natively.
Interestingly enough, the technology for this already exists.
Known as WiSA (Wireless Speaker & Audio Association) this is a new wireless audio protocol and certification standard founded by a company named Summit Wireless that uses a special chip within a display to allow for high fidelity, lag free, crystal clear sound to be transmitted to external stereo, surround sound, and even Dolby Atmos speakers without the need for any wires.
Imagine getting a TV that essentially is the receiver, allowing you to have full surround sound without requiring any wires, additional setup, etc.
That’s a level of convenience I’m sure many could appreciate.
What’s great is there’s already a growing number of AV companies on board for this technology meaning it has a very real chance of becoming mainstream in a number of years.
Should this actually happen, this could potentially mark a dramatic shift for the entire industry as a whole, something that doesn’t happen too often.
Of course, the speakers as well as the display need to first be WiSA certified, but could you imagine how awesome this could potentially be with not having to worry about wires?
It certainly has a lot of promise that’s for sure.
This one is more speculative for sure, especially seeing as how HDMI 2.1 isn’t even fully integrated yet.
Though if the past is anything to go by, then it’s a safe bet that at some point or another we’ll end up seeing HDMI 2.2.
But what benefits could it bring?
Well seeing as how HDMI 2.1 has a top speed of up to 48Gps at 8K at 60Hz, my thoughts is that with the next iteration of HDMI, we’ll end up seeing increased speeds with the likelihood of support for 8K 120hz, along with the potential support for even higher resolutions than that.
10K resolution TV anyone?
Not only that, but newer technologies such as WiSA, holographic displays, and Micro LED could be the precedent upon which it’s built as well.
Plus the support for whatever else pops up between now and then. Time will only tell of course, but I do think we’ll end up seeing it at some point in the distant future; at least a decade in my opinion.
14.) Next Gen Bluetooth LE Integration
Another really cool technology that’ll almost certainly become widespread in the upcoming years is the next generation of Bluetooth.
Dubbed Bluetooth LE, (Low Energy) this new audio streaming specification introduced by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) at CES 2020 allows you to wirelessly share audio from a single smartphone to many headphones at the same time.
There’s also a new audio codec included called LC3 that uses less power than the previous standard SBC, and improves the overall sound quality.
This Bluetooth Low Energy chip marks the first time it’ll be used for this purpose since it was only previously used in low bandwidth applications like smart home sensors and health monitors.
The fact that this new standard provides better sound quality while being more energy efficient is great, and the ability to stream to multiple sets of headphones or even speakers simultaneously is extremely useful — especially when applied to smart home applications & entertainment.
This is one I think you’ll end up seeing a lot sooner rather than later as far as integration and widespread adoption is concerned as there’s a lot of potential uses.
As great as one screen is, in the future, more people may use more than one television when enjoying their favorite content.
Similar to the way multi screen setups on pc work, a multi screen TV setup would allow for a wider field of view and could provide for some really interesting uses when it comes to movie applications.
Of course these new televisions would have to support it, but in the future, these could very well become a reality.
16.) VR/AR Movie Watching
If you’ve never tried VR (virtual reality) then I highly recommend it at least once. The experience it provides when done right really transcends words to be honest with you.
It really is like you’re actually there in the scene.
The great thing though is that this technology is only going to improve with age and in a few years, it’s likely that there will be higher resolution headsets as well.
This could potentially mean applicability towards traditional content rather than just gaming, and could be a new and engaging way to enjoy all your favorite movies.
I mean what’s more immersive than actually feeling like you’re there?
On the flipside of virtual reality is augmented reality or AR, and this could be another way to enjoy content.
Similar to how it works currently on smartphones, adding virtual objects and characters into the real world but on screen, AR could be implemented in televisions in much the same way; providing for yet another layer to helping your content to feel that much more enthralling.
Surprisingly it’s not as far off as you would think either as there are quite a few companies already researching ways on properly implementing the technology.
Apple for example released an augmented reality app in 2021, and later developed an AR headset that released in 2024.
However you look at it, there’s a pretty good chance that we could realistically see VR & AR being used in surprising new ways in a few years time which is really exciting.
17.) Smart Paint
This is one of those things that almost sound like science fiction the first time you hear about it.
Imagine being able to turn any object into a touch screen just by painting over it.
Sound a little out there?
Well that’s, exactly what scientists at Carnegie Mellon University managed to do.
The new technology called Electrik works by first coating an object with this conductive spray paint, allowing the object to conduct a small amount of electricity via a process called electric field tomography.
Then by placing small electrodes on the corner of the object, it’s able to detect any disruptions in this small electrical field and react in the form of input from the press of your finger.
It’s still very much new and being heavily researched, but the promise from initial testing proves it could have far reaching benefits including helpful applications within the future smart home too.
Just as impressive though, and somewhat similar, is another form of paint called electric paint that actually, like the name would suggest, conducts electricity.
Developed in 2009 by Bare Conductive, this type of paint was made commercially available to alleviate some of the concerns of prior conductive paints such as constricted availability and limited usability.
Now the the potential applications for this are vast.
Imagine instead of having to deal with complex wiring, you instead simply paint a wire saving time and hassle.
That’s just one example of course, but there’s so many possible uses for this that it’s honestly hard to really name them all.
But this is something that, if it gains in popularity over the years, could transform the set up process when it comes to smart homes entirely.
18.) ATSC 3.0 As The New Standard
One new development that I’m all but certain we’ll see in the coming years is ATSC 3.0 — or in layman’s terms, higher resolution cable.
Now with what we have currently today, cable resolutions typically top out at around 1080i and to be honest, haven’t really strayed from this resolution in quite some time, at least in the United States.
In places like the UK and Japan for example, there already exists higher resolution cable where content is shown in 4K.
But with ATSC 3.0, this will help to standardize this across the board.
So what’s exactly new with this new standard though?
Quite a bit actually.
Besides improvements to resolution, there’s also enhancements to audio for improved clarity, improved compression efficiency, more reliable transmission stability when it comes to televisions and mobile, and better personalization, interactivity, and accessibility.
On top of that, it’s built with the same foundation that modern streaming platforms are built on making it easy to improve and be compatible with further out future technologies — and acts as a way to bring together Over-the-air with Over-the-top content for a better experience.
There’s even a more robust and advanced emergency alerting & informing system to more quickly and efficiently disseminate important information.
As you can see there’s many benefits to ATSC 3.0 as you can quite literally consider this next gen TV in a way, and there are already quite a few manufacturers and industry leaders on board.
Expect 4K broadcasting to become the norm when 4K TVs become more widely used since right now, the majority of people still use 1080p displays.
In 10 years though? Not so much.
I think that’s when we’ll really start to see this kick off when the adoption rate of high resolution displays goes up although who knows, maybe it could be sooner?
19.) 12 Bit & Higher Color
If you’ve ever had the opportunity to view a display with an expanded color gamut, then you’d know just how big of a difference it actually makes in motion.
The standard color palette used in displays is referred to as 8 bit color and is capable of displaying over 16 million colors in total.
It does this by displaying exactly 256 colors for every red, blue, and green pixel.
Pretty impressive right?
Well 10 bit panels that tout an expanded color palette, often referred to as the DCI-P3 spectrum, (or Rec2020 for the 100% color accuracy) bump this up 64 times to 1024 possible colors for every pixel — resulting in over a billion different colors total which is incredible.
But if you thought it would just stop there, think again.
As of right now, various manufacturers are working diligently to produce commercial ready 12 bit panels actually capable of displaying a whopping 68 billion different colors.
Unbelievable.
A few of the big benefits of 12 bit panels is that they would produce more lifelike and vivid images, reduce dithering, and be more accurate when it came to representation of the different colors in a scene.
12 bit isn’t here just yet, but in a decade, it very well could be common place. I think there’s a good chance we’ll end up seeing it at the consumer level at some point.
20.) Robotic Furniture
This one sounds like its straight out of a Sci-fi movie but it’s one that very well could happen.
Imagine having a motorized bed that when not in use, could retract into the ceiling, subsequently revealing a full sofa and coffee table in its place.
Or picture having 2 shelving walls that at the press of a button, open up to reveal a fully useable walk in closet.
Well this is exactly what the Boston based startup named Ori is working on.
Ori is a part of the larger organization MassRobotics which studies the subject of robotics, and incorporates it into different scenarios that you’d encounter in every day life.
Their focus and reason for this shape-shifting furniture in particular is actually pretty interesting.
Their entire premise can be traced back to what was known as the Cityhome project that was originally created in 2011 by MIT Media Lab’s Changing Places group.
This was basically a study that found that US apartment floorplans were basically shrinking at the time and that by 2050, 66 percent of people are predicted to be living in cities.
So given that the amount of useable space in the average US apartment was becoming less and less, they wanted to basically allow for a way to not only have furniture take up less space, but have it be multipurpose as well.
This is just one example of many when it comes to all the different companies actually working on some form of this currently.
Furniture with the ability to change not only form, but its use case entirely I think is ingenious because not only could it ultimately save space allowing you to place more stuff in a room, could also serve as a way of transforming the look of your room too — allowing for some really interesting decorating possibilities.
This company and their ideal of saving the user space while incorporating advanced tech into their decorum is just the beginning in terms of what we’ll begin to see within the average smart home years from now.
Fully motorized & voice controlled furniture could become standard, and robotic furniture that changes form depending on how you want your room to look for that particular day could usher in a new way to customize your home.
Even with regard to home theater, this could breathe new life into the entire experience.
Sure there’s retractable projectors that come out of the ceiling, but imagine having retractable theater seats that come out of the floor when it’s time for movie nights.
There’s so many possibilities there that it’s honestly really exciting to see where it goes in the next few years.
21.) Light Up Walls
Ambient lighting is a great way to add character to a room and can even act as a way to reduce eyestrain from the contrast of a bright screen and dark room.
There’s even smart lights that integrate with the display that can change color depending on what’s happening on screen.
But imagine taking this a step further and having the walls themselves act as the lights; adjusting things like brightness, color, and even tone with the press of a button.
Cooler still would be full voice integration, allowing you to simply say a color and intensity level out loud, with the walls adjusting automatically to that particular command.
Now there’s already technically a way to somewhat achieve this now with led lighting hid cleverly behind a couch or counter for example, but in the future, the average smart home could simply have native lighting built in as standard.
Will this absolutely happen?
Not sure honestly, but I’ve heard of a few companies that were exploring this so should be interesting to see nonetheless — even if not for proof of concept.
Implementation of this in a smart home would no doubt require professional input, but the tech may advance to the point where it’s simply common place.
22.) Day & Date Movie Releases
This is one I think we’ll inevitably see sooner rather than later.
As more people begin to take an interest in home entertainment and opt to stay home, I feel as though more movie makers may decide to release their movies day and date for home release.
We’ve already seen the time between a film’s run in a movie theater and their home release shorten, so I personally think that period will shorten to the point where we start to see these bigger movie reach our homes screen the same day.
When this happens across the board remains to be seen of course, but I definitely think this may happen at some point in the near future (5 years-ish)
23.) Full Support For 24.2.10 Dolby Atmos Configurations
A memorable part of the true movie theater experience (besides the great food) is getting to hear that thunderous bass and pristine visual effects in surround sound.
When done right, it makes the action on screen all the more realistic — and if you’ve ever been to a proper Dolby theater with Atmos, you’d know just how engaging it can be
Dolby Atmos is an object based sound, meaning rather than simply approximating certain sound effects, it can actually now stimulate the sound per object, giving a much more precise convincing representation overall.
For example in a scene with rain, you’d be able to hear each raindrop falling around you as it hit the floor. Or if someone was bouncing a ball, it’d sound like it was actually bouncing off the ground in the correct direction.
As great as it is currently, there’s actually additional room for improvement for it to each its full potential.
As of right now, receivers only support 13.2 channels or 9.1.4 when using Atmos which is a far cry from the 24.2.10 Atmos supports at the upper limit.
As time goes on though, you can expect receivers to increase the amount of speakers they support and who knows – maybe in 10 or so years, we might see full Atmos support receivers which would be awesome.
24.) Dolby Vision Gaming
Dolby Vision if you haven’t seen it in person already can be summed up in 1 word, breathtaking.
It’s a variation of HDR that adjusts the meta data within a picture scene by scene, giving a more dynamic and colorful image quality (that’s of course putting it lightly)
It’s hard to describe just how beautiful Dolby Vision looks without seeing it yourself, but trust when I say it’s a huge step up.
So imagine my surprise when it was announced that the next gen Xbox Series X from Microsoft will actually support Dolby Vision for gaming in 2021.
Overjoyed doesn’t even begin to describe it.
This could be huge with regard to showcasing next gen games, as this is going to make them look even more spectacular.
Carrying the benefits of this HDR format into gaming is honestly something I didn’t even think of, so it’s incredible to think we’ll actually be seeing the benefits that are typically only reserved for movies, in gaming.
25.) The Move To All Digital
Ahh, the move to all digital.
This is the one I think is the most typically debated as some feel as though we should go full digital, while others feel that the physical medium should stay.
While I wrote an entire article on exactly this, I personally feel as though it will happen, just not yet.
As of right now, the split between physical and digital media certainly seems to be widening but with the rebirth of certain mediums like vinyl for example, we’re not quite there yet.
In order for this to happen, the CD itself would have to go the way of the dinosaur and I personally can’t see that happening any time soon; especially with what devices still have Blu-ray and even 4K Blu-ray drives like the Playstation 5 & Xbox Series X for example which will probably be around for a while.
But streaming will likely continue to gain in popularity due to its ease of use and make no mistake about it, at some point in the far off future, the move to all digital will eventually happen.
The industry is certainly heading in that direction I feel, but the good news is that I really don’t think it’ll be anytime soon.
This is all just conjecture of course, since it remains to be seen what will actually happen, but I really do feel like it’ll be decades before we actually see the physical medium vanish.
An Additional Thought: The Metaverse
The metaverse is something that several different companies are potentially looking into.
While it might seem like a buzzword now, in the future the metaverse may be something that impacts every part of our lives; including home theater.
What that fully entails or is ever realized remains to be seen, but it’s something to keep in eye on for sure.
Final Thoughts
Well that about wraps it up for this one folks.
Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this detailed look at some of the truly remarkable upcoming smart home technology of the future & just how much of an impact it’ll have on not only our daily lives, but our home entertainment experiences too.
There’s of course many variables between now and then since technology is always evolving, but these are some of the advancements I feel we’re most likely to see.
But who knows, there could even be some larger, surprise developments over the years not listed here that end up revolutionizing our lives entirely.
In any case, it’ll certainly be interesting and in any way you look at it, we’re in for a treat from a technology standpoint.
But hey, maybe you have an idea of what that could be? Or maybe you have a question about something?
Feel free to ask or let me know down below since I’d love to hear from you either way.
Until next time though, make it easy, keep it simple.
Hey everyone it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jay, writer & founder of the site Easy Home Theater. I’ve been with the hobby of home entertainment for many years now. I decided to create this site to be a helpful resource, and share everything that I’ve learned from personal experience with you. I also happen to be a huge gamer, lover of all things tech related, and a major fitness buff (love weightlifting)
The Edifier P17 passive bookshelf speakers have a warmer yet refined sound signature that compliments their impeccable clarity. While their lower 77db/watt sensitivity means they’re better suited for near-field or surround sound use, the adept quality of their audio make them really fun to listen to. Plus their cherry wood exterior looks beautiful in person.
MDF wood (medium-density fibreboard) is a composite material often used when constructing speakers.
This is done to reduce unwanted resonances by making them more rigid and resistant to vibration.
That allows for a cleaner overall sound.
Wall Mountable
Since the P17 has wall mounting brackets built into the speaker, it allows additional placement options with regards to what works best with your particular setup.
It could be placed on a wall and used as a surround speaker, or placed on a desk, speaker mount, etc.
4 Inch Woofers & Silk Dome Tweeters
This speaker features a 4 inch mid-driver, and a 3/4 inch tweeter. There’s also a bass reflex port located below that helps to further minimize distortion; providing for a much clearer sound.
Being that these are passive speakers, that means they’ll need an external source, be it an amp or receiver, to actually work.
In terms the set up of these speakers, they’re done just like with any other passive speaker; by stripping the wire, and inserting it into the speaker terminal or opening.
Here’s the full process for how that’s done if curious.
What about the sound though, how do the Edifier P17s actually sound?
My first impressions were that they produced a surprising level of clarity and warmth with their sound, but had a really subdued characteristic about them at the same time.
The best way I think these can be described is clear yet tame.
Now I will say this right off the bat, these speakers have a sensitivity rating of 77db/watt.
Sensitivity is basically a measure of how efficient a speaker is and the higher the sensitivity, the less power you’ll need to actually get to a decent volume.
77dB is actually pretty low, which means you’ll want a receiver with a decent amount of power to power these.
In my opinion, I think this makes them better in being near field monitors (such as listening to music or being used with a computer)
They work for home theater purposes too, it’s just that that low sensitivity means you’ll have to turn the volume up more to get to a useable level compared with a speaker that’d have a higher sensitivity for example.
But in terms of sound quality when doing so, they’re actually really good.
A really cool thing I also experienced with the P17s was how well they seemed to respond to EQ adjustments, reminding me of the Sony SSCS5s in that way.
They had a lot of versatility in that regard, and I was able to dial things in even more because of how favorable they responded to equalization.
The best way to guage the capability of a new speaker, in my opinion, is to first play music on them but without a subwoofer.
That way you get to see what they’re capable of on their own.
So with that being said, when I initially tested them with music, I noticed that they had incredible clarity.
I’d say they definitely leaned more towards the warmer side, with a real grounded & full bodied sound.
It was never muddled or hazy sounding though.
Everything sounded clear, and instruments were easily decipherable.
Keeping in mind the fact that these are bookshelf speakers, I’d say that the bass on these are decent.
Being that they’re rated to go down to a frequency of 55Hz, the bass was actually pretty good in terms of kick, it’s just the extension of the bass that doesn’t stick around.
I typically don’t listen to music without a subwoofer anyway though, but just figured I’d mention it for those that do.
In terms of pure audio quality, these are really enjoyable speakers to listen to and in that regard, I don’t really have any major quibbles that I can think of.
With Movies
Even with movies, cranking these up with a subwoofer produced a satisfying soundstage, with intricate details in action scenes clearly audible.
It’s just that I had to turn the receiver up a little more than I typically would to get to that same level of audio.
Once they’re at that level though, they’re certainly enjoyable.
I find that they work best in small to average sized rooms, and are even really good for close listening at lower volumes due to their versatility.
They also work really well as surround speakers, and I think for those looking for a good pair of surround sound speakers, these would certainly work.
Overall they produced clear sound even at higher volumes, and never sounded muddy or sibilant.
If you prefer a warmer sounding speaker that looks good and performs really well, then these are great speakers.
One of the things I absolutely love most about the Edifier P17 bookshelf speakers is their appearance. Even with the grille on, they still have a really distinct look that I personally think stands out in a good way.
It’s actually a common thing I’ve noticed with Edifier sspeakers. Their designs tend to be really intricate & unique, and it’s no different here.
When looking at the front of the speaker with the grille on, you’ll notice two black accents on the right and left with the company logo towards the bottom.
With the speaker grille removed, there’s a soft dome tweeter placed towards the top, a mid-woofer located in the middle, and bass reflex port towards the bottom.
Taking a look at the sides (and this is my personal favorite part about their look) you’ll notice the cherry wood panels that give the speaker a real professional look.
They definitely remind me of the Polk RTI A3 in that regard, but it’s cool to see the contrast between the black cabinet and cherry wood side panels.
I did notice that they pick up fingerprints pretty easily since they’re glossy so that’s something to keep in mind.
Another pretty cool thing about them though is the fact that they’re not gargantuan in size.
Now mind you they’re not exactly small, but they’re certainly not unwieldy either weighing about 9.46 pounds and measuring 6.61 x 5.04 x 9.37 inches.
So for those that plan on using them in a normal size room, I do think they’ll work.
All in all, they’re definitely a beautiful looking pair of speakers and manage to tout a unique identity that’s all their own.
What’s In The Box/Unboxing
In terms of what actually comes in the box, there’s the speakers themselves, and two sets of 6 foot cable included which is pretty nice.
You also have the option of using extra speaker wire if the length isn’t long enough.
Unboxing the speakers was also pretty straightforward with what Edifier calls an easy to open frustration free box.
I can attest to that being true because when you first open the box, the speakers are sat right on top and wrapped in plastic.
Not really much to say on the presentation of the packaging though since it comes in a brown box, but the speakers looked secure inside so that’s a plus.
Likes
Detailed sound quality
Great clarity
Bass has oomph in the mid bass with music
Responds really well to EQ adjusting
Wood finish looks beautiful
Can be wall mounted
Dislikes
Low sensitivity
Bass extension roll off at 55Hz
Final Thoughts
Hopefully you enjoyed this Edifier P17 passive bookshelf speakers review and now have a better idea of whether or not this is the right speaker for you.
I personally feel that they perform exceptionally well, while having a great sound quality and looking incredible to boot.
They’re just solid speakers all around and have no issues with recommending them.
Hey everyone it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jay, writer & founder of the site Easy Home Theater. I’ve been with the hobby of home entertainment for many years now. I decided to create this site to be a helpful resource, and share everything that I’ve learned from personal experience with you. I also happen to be a huge gamer, lover of all things tech related, and a major fitness buff (love weightlifting)
Here’s the LG SN5Y soundbar review, a comprehensive and helpful guide that’ll help you decide if this is the right soundbar for you!
I recall years prior when I purchased my first soundbar, I was absolutely floored with how big a difference it made compared with my TV’s speakers.
Fast forward to today, and the ones that exist now are light years ahead both in quality and features.
But with so many out there, how do you pick?
While I did write an article that answers that very question, with this review if I wanted to highlight a system I feel is an incredible performer for a 2.1 channel system.
The bass hits hard, the highs are clear, and it’s incredibly easy to setup.
So let’s see why the LG SN5Y is definitely a soundbar worth considering.
Designed in black, it’s a really subdued look that doesn’t call much attention to itself.
But to be fair, the focus should be on the sound so it doesn’t necessarily need to. That said, I still think it looks good.
Made with what LG calls a modern design with clean edges, this a system designed to aesthetically match an LG UHD series 43″ and up television.
You can use it with other branded TVs as well of course, it was just designed to best match that type of TV in terms of visual coherence.
But I like it all things considered.
It’s not a small soundbar by any means but it’s certainly not gigantic either. I feel it’s right in the middle given its 35.4-inch frame.
Immediately noticeable is the black metal grille which slightly wraps around the edges of the cabinet — with 4 buttons on the right side to control the power, volume, and the current input that the system is on.
It also has an LED screen to display this info which undoubtedly useful.
There’s a little bit of a chamfered edge towards the top of the unit too, while the top itself is slightly textured with a small LG emblem placed towards the bottom right.
The build quality of the device is solid (quite literally) with the bar itself feeling somewhat on the lighter side.
The subwoofer itself is pretty basic, with an all-black cabinet and a fabric grille covering the actual woofer. It’s also not as heavy as I was initially expecting, coming in at about 11.7 pounds so it’s definitely on the more manageable side.
All in all, I think they look good and should blend right in in a majority of rooms.
What’s In The Box/Unboxing
In terms of what you get in the box, there’s a remote control, optical cable, a warranty card, 2 triple A batteries for the remote, and the subwoofer and soundbar themselves.
It doesn’t come with an HDMI cable so that’s something to keep in mind. It does support the option to plug it in that way though. This is the one that I personally use.
The contents themselves are wrapped in plastic, which are then placed in individual sections of a thick styrofoam for protection. The styrofoam wasn’t hard to get out of the box either which I think is definitely a plus.
Features
Taking a look at the features of the LG SN5Y, there are a few features I think are pretty noteworthy and make the experience that much better.
Features:
Inclusion Of DTS Virtual:X
I’ve actually talked about DTS Virtual:X before, but it’s basically a way of simulating surround sound without the need for actual surrounding speakers placed around you.
While the sound still technically comes from a single source, through algorithms, it’s able to stimulate the surround sound effect convincingly enough to where you feel like the sound field is all around you.
It’s a cool technology, and it’s great to see it here.
Wireless Surround Sound
Then if you wanted to incorporate actual surround sound speakers separately, the SN5Y gives you the ability to do so. The speakers aren’t in the box though which is something to be aware of.
24-bit/96kHz audio resolution
High-resolution audio can make a big difference in the quality of the experience, and the higher the sampling rate & bit depth, the better the perceived quality overall.
The 24-bit/96kHz audio resolution that’s present here is one that actually surpasses CD quality, so on the content that actually supports it, it should provide a much more realistic and true to life sound quality.
AI Sound Pro
There’s also a feature here called AI Sound Pro that automatically adjusts the sound levels to the type of content that you’re watching.
So with whatever you happen to be playing, the sound bar can automatically optimize the sound for that specific content on the fly, adjusting things like treble and bass for the best experience.
Bluetooth
Full Bluetooth support is here as well with Bluetooth 4.2; meaning you’re able to play your favorite content from your smartphone, tablet, or other Bluetooth enabled device on the soundbar.
Wall Mountable
Lastly, should you wish to wall mount the SN5Y, it comes with wall mounting brackets so that you’re actually able to do so which is convenient.
How To Set Up The LG SN5Y
Setting up the S5NY is pretty simple, but it depends on the display you plan on using with it.
HDMI connected through ARC is my preferred connection choice since I feel it produces the best audio while being the easiest to set up.
However, if your TV doesn’t have ARC support, then you’ll have to use an optical cable to get any output.
First, if your TV does support it (most recent TVs do), then start by connecting the cable into the slot labeled ARC on the soundbar. Then connect the other side of that same cable into the same slot labeled ARC on your television.
Sidenote, if you’re planning to use a receiver, and that receiver is already connected to your TV through ARC via HDMI, then connect the soundbar to an HDMI input on the receiver.
If your TV doesn’t have an ARC slot like I mentioned before, then first take the optical cable and connect it into the soundbar. Then take the other side and connect it into the TV.
Each additional device such as a cable box or blu ray player would need to their respective HDMI cables that connect into your TV. This is the one I use.
Then plug the power cord into the sound bar, and connect that as well as the subwoofer into an outlet.
After the soundbar is on, turn the volume down to the minimum.
Next to pair the subwoofer with the unit, press and hold mute on the remote for 3 seconds and then press and hold the small button on the back of the subwoofer for 5 seconds until the small LED on the sub blinks red and green.
If it’s already blinking green you can skip this step.
Then unplug both the soundbar and subwoofer and wait for both LEDs to turn off. After this, then plug them both back up and they should pair automatically.
Keep in mind though, the sub should be kept within 15 feet of the soundbar to maintain the best connection and not cut out when playing.
Sound Quality Of The LG SN5Y Soundbar
So the features are cool and all, but how does it actually sound?
How The SN5Y Fares With Music
Well to answer that very question, the first thing I did was play about an hours worth of music to really get a grasp on how well it handled things like clarity, separation, and of course the low end with regards to the sub.
I went through a few playlists spanning a wide variety of genres, and ultimately, the main takeaway I had by this point was this — it’s incredible.
Not only was the sound quality crystal clear & precise, what I noticed was that it was really balanced too; not leaning too much one way or the other on the frequency range.
Often times with soundbars, they can end up seeming either tinny or lacking nuance but that certainly is not the case with the LG SN5Y.
Each instrument was clearly audible, while also managing to not seem too sibilant and fatiguing over time. It was just really enjoyable to listen to.
The subwoofer though was what I really found to be interesting.
While there wasn’t a notated frequency for the subwoofer, I found it that it actually went surprisingly deep, at least to my ears, and definitely had some good impact when it came to the bass.
On songs with a deep baseline, the low end delivered with a satisfying kick that really made things come alive.
It just had a certain level of punch and gravitas that was deeply satisfying.
It’s interesting too because subwoofers that are included with soundbars don’t typically perform at this level, so it’s definitely a stand out in my opinion.
It’s something you’ll no doubt have a lot of fun with, especially if you’re passionate about music.
I did notice that it bottomed out on those uber low notes though (I’m talking 20Hz range)
But if I’m to be honest, the average person probably won’t really care about that and likely wouldn’t even notice.
The point is the bass went deep enough to where I personally was happy and it sounded great.
How The SN5Y Fares With Movies
It performs admirably during movies too. The treble and higher end sounds were accurate, and the bass hit hard and loud.
This was in a larger sized room too.
In a normal sized room or bedroom, I have no doubts it’d sound just as good if not better.
The bass presented here is serious; it’s here in spades and actually doesn’t get boomy either at those higher volumes which is really awesome.
It’s clean, punchy, and really helps with making the overall action on screen that much more engaging.
Trying the different sound modes was fun, and really allowed for a lot in the way of customization. When it came to the Virtual DTS:X surround sound mode, it actually gave a convincing enough effect to where I preferred leaving it on.
The soundstage was much improved, and made it feel like there was some degree of surround sound even from above.
I wouldn’t personally say it’s a complete replacement for dedicated ceiling speakers, but it’s certainly compelling enough to use.
How The Features Worked
The compatible smartphone app was really helpful too, and allowed me to further adjust the settings.
It was pretty easy to use too due to how straightforward it was, allowed for a lot in the way of customizability.
The AI sound pro feature that automatically optimizes your content depending on what you watch I actually found to work really well. It did tend to slightly emphasize voices in a few rare instances, but it worked just fine other than that.
I could really see this being a helpful feature for those that don’t like to tinker with settings and prefer things that just work.
Overall then, I think the LG SN5Y is quite the compelling 2.1 channel system that certainly worth it.
When combined with the features it offers, and the excellent sound quality it’s able to deliver, it’s hard to nitpick too much about it quite honestly.
What it does, it does extremely well, and if you don’t mind the slight quibbles that I mentioned earlier (I personally don’t), then it really is a great system that’ll blow you away when you first turn it on.
All in all, it gets a big thumbs up and is definitely worth it.
The LG SN5Y is an exemplary 2.1 channel soundbar with superb sound quality & is a sonically balanced system that skips the hassle of a traditional surround sound setup.
Its simple setup is great as a causal user, and the slim design means it’ll fit in your entertainment center.
From the spare room to the living room, it’s a system that’s feature rich and versatile enough to really elevate your cinematic experiences.
The bass hits hard, the sound quality is superb, and it looks stylish enough to fit in with just about every room setting.
I have no problems with easily recommending this soundbar, and feel like it’s actually impressive when you do first hear it.
Hey everyone it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jay, writer & founder of the site Easy Home Theater. I’ve been with the hobby of home entertainment for many years now. I decided to create this site to be a helpful resource, and share everything that I’ve learned from personal experience with you. I also happen to be a huge gamer, lover of all things tech related, and a major fitness buff (love weightlifting)
(Edit: Another model to consider that may also be of interest to you is the JBL Bar 5.1 which is a great alternative to the ones talked about in this review.
I bring this up because due to it’s age, actual availability of the older Harman Kardon soundbar might be variable; but the newer JBL 5.1 is just as good as the originally reviewed system honestly.
Most of the positives mentioned hold true with this one as well, with the added benefit of having a higher output of 550 watts and a bigger 10 inch subwoofer.
Long story short, the positives listed in the review carry over with additional awesome features making it just as great of a system to have)
The difference between a good movie night and a great movie night (besides having the right snacks and a stunning picture quality) is undoubtedly the sound quality.
Having the right sound is ultimately what takes the entire experience to the next level and results in something truly memorable.
When it’s done right, the level of engagement it can provide really can’t be understated.
That’s why in this Harman Kardon SB26 soundbar review, we take a look at a 2.1 channel soundbar that I feel actually does it right, and is a monumental leap over speakers traditionally found in a TV.
I’d have to say that the appearance of the SB26 is certainly one of my favorite things about this particular soundbar. That’s due to the fact of how subdued, yet elegant the unit actually looks.
It’s not something that’ll immediately stick out when placed in a room, but upon close enough inspection, it becomes apparent just how many subtle details are actually there.
In terms of the design, it’s cylindrical in shape, while being flat on the bottom with rubber feet to ensure it actually stays in place. On the front of the unit is a black metal grille with the 2 speakers & tweeter on each side being slightly visible under a bright enough ambient light; juxtaposed the shiny exterior up top.
Placed in the center of the device is a silvery Harman Kardon insignia, which is a subtle but nice touch in my opinion and gives it a little more character overall.
A quick note though; the top of the enclosure is definitely a finger print magnet because of the material used, so that’s definitely something to keep in mind (a shiny type of black plastic).
Even just lightly touching it left pretty visible fingerprints, so you might want to keep a microfiber cloth handy just in case.
When it comes to size of the soundbar, it doesn’t appear burly or overly large, but it’s not exactly small either. I’d say it’s more so in the middle honestly, but it’s definitely manageable in smaller rooms at about 36.2 inches and 7.7 pounds.
The remote that comes with the system looks good, but it’s not anything to out of the ordinary to be quite honest. It feels solid but it is pretty thin so curious to see the durability on this over time.
For right now though, it still works perfectly fine.
The subwoofer looks pretty cool too, touting a more matte finish comparatively – with the company’s emblem placed up top, and 4 rubber feet on the bottom to keep it still when in it’s in use.
It’s also on the heavier side at 20.7 pounds so be careful if you happen to need to move it at some point.
Overall I’d say they make an attractive pair that can aesthetically work with a wide array of rooms without drawing too much attention to themselves.
They’re very minimalist in design, with the subwoofer being so much so that it’s easy to mistake it for a small table on first glance. But they look good, and it’s not hard to appreciate the build quality of the two since they feel really solid.
Design gets a thumbs up from me.
What’s In The Box/Unboxing
So in terms of what you actually get in the box, there’s a few things included.
More specifically, what you get is an AC adapter, one 3.5mm connector cable, one optical cable, one HDMI cable, 1 IR repeater cable, a remote control, mounting brackets for wall mounting the soundbar, and a quick start guide to help you get things up and running.
There’s also of course the actual soundbar and subwoofer included inside as well. The packaging weight is actually pretty heavy at 39.7 pounds so keep that mind too.
Upon unboxing everything though, what’s immediately apparent is the great lengths Harman Kardon went through to protect the contents inside; with lots of styrofoam and plastic to make sure nothing gets damaged during shipping which is great foresight on their part.
Really like that they took the time to do this since it shows that great care was taken. This is standard fare of course, but it’s just the quality of the plastic wrap given how thick it was, that made me feel like the overall packaging was really well done.
Features & Specs
Features
When it comes down to what the SB26 soundbar actually offers, it’s actually pretty light when it comes to the features side of things, but there a few.
Bluetooth
One feature though I’m sure will be much appreciated is the support for Bluetooth.
Using its built-in TrueStream Bluetooth, this means the ability to play all your favorite music or videos wirelessly from your phone or tablet is present, offering you an extra degree of convenience.
Surround Sound Feature
Another feature present is the Exclusive Harman Display virtual surround sound. This is basically a surround sound mode that when turned on, envelops you in a field of sound that makes it feels like the action on screen is happening all around you.
Wireless Downward Firing Subwoofer
The included 10 inch subwoofer is also wireless, meaning no need for any component cables or anything like that. All that’s needed is for to be plugged into an outlet and you have the ability to pair it with the soundbar which is really cool.
Smartphone App Compatibility
Like a lot of soundbars now a days, there’s also a smartphone app called Harman Kardon remote app which gives you an additional level of control over your content, and thus making things easier for you to manage.
More specifically you can control what devices are connected, see what content is currently playing, and it even acts as music player which is pretty convenient.
Automatic Resume At Mid Volume
There’s also a few more lesser known features too.
For example if you were to play it at more than 50 percent volume then turn the device off, when you turn it back on it’ll reset to 50 percent volume.
This is great for when you’re watching a movie at a loud volume then turn the sound bar off and come back to watch something later say at night for example.
Instead of instantly reverting back to that loud volume and potentially scaring you if you forget it was set that loud, it automatically starts at 50 which is helpful.
Subwoofer Sound Customizability
You also have the ability to adjust the subwoofer volume and even crossover settings on the sub which is definitely interesting as that isn’t too common on 2.1 channel systems. But it’s definitely an appreciated inclusion.
You’re able to use the crossover knob to adjust the low pass filter between 100 hz and 250hz to determine where the sub takes over for the soundbar.
The subwoofer also has a phase switch and this allows you to add electrical delay to the incoming signal thus reversing the polarity of the sub. This is helpful for when you notice the the sub and speaker not syncing correctly (especially if it’s placed farther away) and can help correct this by changing the phase.
So when the speaker driver moves outward, the woofer would move inwards and vice versa. Typically though, unless they’re placed very far apart, you probably wouldn’t have to worry about having to use it, but it’s just nice to see here.
The phase operates over a range of 0 to 180 degrees and is notated above and below the switch.
In addition, there’s also a table/wall equalization that adjusts the bass of the SB26 for either table or wall mounting. If you plan on wall mounting it, then flip the equalization switch to the wall setting for the best bass performance.
Conversely if you just plan on placing the unit on a table or something similar, then you’ll want to have the switch set to table for the best acoustical performance.
Specs
In regards to specs, the SB26 features four 3 inch (76 mm) low frequency transducers (or woofers), two 1 inch high frequency transducers (or tweeters), and one 10 inch (254mm) down-firing cone, bass reflex, ported subwoofer.
The woofers are rated at 30 watts, and the subwoofer is rated at 100 watts.
The frequency response is rated from 38Hz to 2kHz (-6db)
There’s 2 HDMI inputs, 1 USB port, 1 digital optical port, 1 3.5mm input jack, and 1 IR transmitter input.
There’s also an HDMI output with full ARC support.
The maximum power consumption of the soundbar is 230W and on standby it only consumes .5W.
With regard to power requirements it’s as follows, Soundbar: 24 VDC, 2.7 A
Subwoofer: 100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 100 W
The Soundbar measures 4.3 inches x 36.2 inches x 3.5 inches (110.0 x 920.0 x 89.0 mm) and weighs 7.7 pounds (3.5 kg)
The Subwoofer measures 14.4 inches x 12.6 inches x 12.6 inches (365.0 x 320.0 x 320.0 mm) and weighs 20.7 pounds (9.4 kg)
As for the box dimensions in (LxWxH), they are 40.3 inches x 21 inches x 14.3 inches.
How To Set It Up
When it comes to setting everything up, it’s actually pretty simple.
It’ll depend on whether you plan on using the included optical cable, HDMI cable, or even Bluetooth, but the process is rather similar regardless.
~ HDMI/Optical
I personally recommend going with HDMI if possible since that’ll provide the best sound.
If your TV doesn’t have an ARC slot (which is what allows the TV to pass its audio signal through from TV to the device, and cuts down on overall wire clutter) then you’ll likely have to use an optical cable.
If your TV supports ARC passthrough (it should if it’s a somewhat recent TV from within the last few years) then first start by plugging the cable into the soundbar in the appropriate slot. Then connect the other side into same slot on your television or display.
If it doesn’t support it, then like I mentioned before, you’ll have to connect the optical cable into the optical port on your soundbar, and take the other side and connect it to the appropriate slot on your TV.
If you plan on using additional devices such as a cable box or Blu-ray player, then those would connect via HDMI to your TV. This is one I use that I find works really well.
As a sidenote, if you also plan on using a receiver, then you would just plug the soundbar into the receiver via an HDMI input slot.
Then connect the power cord to the soundbar and plug it in. You should notice the power indicator turn amber indicating that it’s in standby mode.
When you press the power button on either the remote or your unit, you should notice the indicator light turn white which means that it’s turned on. Then go into your TV menu and turn its internal speakers off.
Having both playing at the same time might lead to a delay or echo of the sound so it’s best leaving those off.
~ The Subwoofer
Then find a good place for your subwoofer and plug it into the wall.
For me, that was along my front wall as I tried placing it in the corner but the bass seemed a bit much at first. You can play with the placement by doing the subwoofer crawl which should allow you to find the proper spot.
Then in order to pair it with your soundbar, press the wireless subwoofer pairing button on the back located on the left side, and the pairing button on the soundbar located on the right side within 30 seconds so they operate on the same frequency.
You should see the blue light blink a few times before it becomes solid. Once this happens that means it’s paired.
After that, everything should be up and running. You’ll be able to adjust the volume and even the subwoofer volume using the remote or the dedicated smartphone app.
You can adjust settings or switch inputs with the remote using the On- screen Information Display (OSD for short) that pops up for 5 seconds when you press a button on the remote control.
If you happen to use an audio only connection like Bluetooth, an auxiliary connection, or optical connection, this screen will overlay your content on screen with a Harman Kardon logo to indicate this.
Should you choose to want to do so, you also have the option of wall mounting the soundbar using the dedicated wall mounting brackets that are luckily included in the packaging.
The one thing I do want to make note of though is that because of the fact that this soundbar has such a high profile in terms of its dimensions, you may have to use the included IR transmitter (also referred to as a repeater) since it might block your TV’s IR sensor.
If you find that it does and you have issues with using the remote, then plug the transmitter into the back of the unit and aim it in the direction of the TV so it can pick up the signal. That way you’ll still be able to use it.
~ Bluetooth
If you want to use Bluetooth, then what you’ll have to do first press the Bluetooth button on either the soundbar or the the remote to initiate the pairing mode process. You should see a blue light blinking.
Then turn Bluetooth on on your device and find the SB26 in the list of available devices to pair with and select it.
Once they’re both paired the blue light should be constantly Illuminated indicating that the pairing process is complete. The on screen display should pop up when you do this.
Then press the Bluetooth source button on the remote to switch to that device in order to listen the audio from it. What’s cool is that even if it’s standby, if you play audio from the connected device it’ll automatically resume on the unit.
If you’re on a different source and wish to switch to the connected device, then pressing the Bluetooth button is a quick way to do so. Also if you switch sources from the Bluetooth device while it’s playing, it’ll automatically stop streaming.
If you want to disconnect that particular device from Bluetooth, then all you would need to do is hold down the button until the light begins flashing and stops.
Keep in mind though that when pairing a device for the first time, it might automatically set the volume at maximum so that’s something to be aware of.
The Sound Quality
So here’s the real question and what you’re probably wondering, how does the Harman Kardon SB26 actually sound? To sum it quite simply, it’s impressive.
No two ways about it really, it’s honestly super clear.
Watching action movies with this thing is a treat; offering separation and clarity between voices, musical scores, and sound effects to a degree I wasn’t expecting.
I was under the impression that it’d probably sound good just from the specs, but it was a lot more than I was expecting. Details were articulate, and delivered with a balanced pronunciation that held up even at higher volumes.
On movies with a lot less action that relied on character dialogue to convey emotion, it was able to pick up the little nuances in the actors’ voices, and added an extra layer of emotion to the scene.
It made things that much more engaging and compelled me to watch even more so.
I think this is a testament to whether or not a sound system is quality — if it compels you to watch further even in the most calm scenes and in this case, it did that with ease.
Regular day time television even felt more enthralling; especially since things that were inaudible before were now discernable.
Even the subwoofer and with its bass hit hard and fast, offering a satisfying impact with whatever was happening on screen.
The bass was full bodied but never over did things to the point it sounded boomy. It was just very balanced.
This could have a lot to do with the fact that the driver is actually 10 inches as opposed to the more common 8, so it’s able to go deeper and louder.
The fact that you can adjust the sub’s volume, phase, and crossover is also what made the experience that much better because that meant I could tailor the sub to what works for my specific room.
That’s what I was happiest about with this system — as with a lot of instances, I’ve personally found that a subwoofer in a 2.1 channel system (while typically allowing you to adjust the volume) doesn’t allow you to adjust things like phase and crossover.
So it being a feature that’s present here is a much welcome addition.
I will say though that the bass doesn’t seem to get into the uber low notes that a bigger one would, like into the 20Hz range for example; at least according to my ears.
But it did delve into the mid 30Hz territory which gave enough bass to be quite enjoyable nonetheless.
When I tried the surround sound mode, it did offer a little more in the way of attempting to convey a more enveloping sound field, but it wasn’t as convincing as a dedicated surround setup.
It certainly offered a little more in terms of surround sound, but not enough to the point where things sounded like they might be say, coming from behind you for example.
But I did prefer leaving it on as it did provide some benefit to the audio as far as spatial imaging is concerned.
It works really well for music too, with the same things I stated about movies applying here as well.
Instruments sounded crisp & detailed, kick drums had an attention grabbing thump, and vocals sounded realistic and lifelike.
As someone who loves music, this was definitely a big plus for me as it’s so easy to overdo one frequency over another and lose that sense of cohesion, but that wasn’t the case here.
It all came together and felt balanced which I greatly appreciated.
Even the Bluetooth worked great and connected to my phone quickly so no complaints there either.
Video games were also another area where this system excelled, giving an additional layer of realism to the action on screen.
Only slight criticism that I’d have is the lack of smart features, like integration with Alexa for example. For those with a smart home, you may understand where I’m coming from when I say how awesome it is to have all your devices just seamlessly work together.
Also, I used it in a pretty average sized room, so in rooms that are much bigger, you might need more power than what this particular one offers. Anything smaller, and it’ll be more than adequate.
Equalization control also would have been nice to have for a little more control over the sound.
But what matters really is exactly that, the sound, and if you don’t mind the lack of the previous things mentioned, then there’s no doubt that this is a fantastic system.
It gets loud, gives good bass, and sounds clear at both lower and higher volumes.
Definitely gets a thumbs up from me.
Likes
Powerful clear sound
Impactful clean bass
Big improvement over typical built-in TV speakers
Works great for movies, music, & video games
Bluetooth capability
Can be wall mounted
Dislikes
No smart home integration features
No extensive EQ settings
Final Thoughts
Well that about wraps it up for this one. Hopefully you enjoyed this deep dive with this Harman Kardon SB26 review and learned enough to where you can definitively tell whether or not this is the system that’s right for you.
For me, I personally felt like it performed well enough to where I felt happy using it, but of course like most things, it’ll depend on your particular room.
I feel like it’s excels in all but the biggest of rooms, and works with a wide variety of content. In summation, it’s awesome.
Hey everyone it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jay, writer & founder of the site Easy Home Theater. I’ve been with the hobby of home entertainment for many years now. I decided to create this site to be a helpful resource, and share everything that I’ve learned from personal experience with you. I also happen to be a huge gamer, lover of all things tech related, and a major fitness buff (love weightlifting)
The Klipsch R-120SW’s fun and dynamic bass response makes it suitable for a variety of content. Due to its high performance amplifier & rear port, the subwoofer’s beautiful high excursion woofer provides clean and authoritative bass with minimal distortion.
Like always, hope everyone is doing well. Today we’re going to be taking a look at a subwoofer that quite frankly, sounds just about as good as it looks.
The bass hits heavy, it gets plenty loud, and put simply, is downright beautiful.
So with that said, this is the Klipsch R-120SW active subwoofer review.
Features & Specs
When it comes to features & specs, there’s actually quite a bit to like about this particular sub.
The first thing of note that’s extremely important is the high excursion spun copper injection molded graphite (IMG) woofer.
Excursion by definition is basically how far the cone of a speaker driver can travel linearly from its resting position and back without actually damaging itself.
The more it’s able to move, the louder it can get without distortion.
So in this case, the fact that it’s a high excursion subwoofer means that it can output deep bass at a substantial sound level.
That’s due to the cone being capable moving a lot.
Another important part of good sound is the cone material itself.
In this case, the Klipsch 120SW has a spun-copper IMG (injection molded graphite) woofer which has the unique ability of being light yet remaining extremely rigid.
This reduces any warping or flexing of the cone at higher volumes — allowing it to output a much cleaner sound overall.
As a powered subwoofer, there’s an all-digital built in amplifier that’s efficient while being able to deliver a ample amount of power to the sub that remains true to the source material.
Some amplifiers may alter the sound slightly.
So for the audio purists out there, you may be happy to find that this isn’t the case here.
Speaking of power though, this thing has an appreciable amount.
With a 200 watt listed RMS, 400 watt peak, and a max acoustic output of 116db, it has incredible sonic capabilities.
There’s also gain, phase, and low passover controls meaning you’ll be able to adjust the bass so it blends with your other speakers and gives you a cohesive sound.
There’s also line level/RCA LFE inputs for optimal compatibility with a wide variety of home theater receivers.
On the back, you’ll notice that there’s also a port
That’s because this subwoofer is a bass reflex design.
That basically means it has a rear firing port that helps reduce distortion when producing low end sounds at higher volumes.
In terms of size, this certainly isn’t a small subwoofer, measuring 19.2 x 14 x 16.5 inches and weighing 31 pounds.
That means you’ll want sufficient space for it, though there’s still ways of saving space if it’s in the way.
It definitely feels solid and really well built in terms of durability too which is a plus.
The frequency response is also rated from 29 Hz to 120hz +/- 3db.
When it comes to setting up this subwoofer, placement is done the same way you would with any other rear ported sub.
Before doing anything, make sure everything is turned off first of course.
Now on the back, turn the gain knob a little past the 12 o’clock position, and the low pass filter knob all the way to the right.
This ensures the crossover controls are passed to the receiver so that sub adequately handle the appropriate bass frequencies.
I found that setting the crossover to 80hz in the receiver so the R-120SW handles all the lower frequencies, and letting speakers handle the higher frequencies above that sounded best.
Then using an RCA cable, one end goes into the subwoofer input on your receiver, while the other goes into the LFE input on the back of the subwoofer.
Then turn on the receiver and play something just make sure everything is working correctly (that includes having your receiver and TV on the correct inputs)
If you happen to be using a receiver that calibrates things for you, then I’d highly recommend running that to calibrate the sub because doing it by hand isn’t exactly the fastest thing in the world.
After this you’ll want to do the subwoofer crawl for the most optimal sound setting.
It’s a tutorial regarding 2 subwoofers, but it’s also applicable in the case you happen to be using one.
After that though, that’s pretty much it.
You may want to run the auto calibration again in your new designated spot for the sub, but that’s entirely up to you (though I’d probably recommend it)
How It Sounds/Sound Quality
How It Sounded With Movies & TV
Here’s the real novel question though, how does this subwoofer stack up to the competition?
Does it actually sound good?
The answer to that would be a resounding yes, very much so.
In fact what I immediately noticed when I first started watching movies with it was just how punchy and upfront the subwoofer was.
Trying it with the Klipsch R-52C center speaker, the bass was really well rounded and just seemed to thump with an almost forceful thud.
What I like about this particular sub is that while the bass is definitely more active when compared with other more reserved subs, it isn’t boomy by any means.
It still retains key details at higher volumes without sounding muddy or all over the place.
Something I did notice though is that when playing content with notes that go below 30Hz (hertz), there’s a pretty fast drop off when it comes to audibility for each frequency lower.
That being said, at near reference level on my receiver, (which is likely louder than most will play their content due to how loud that is) when playing scenes from a bunch of different content, I noticed that the lowest note from my testing was about 27Hz.
That’s actually 2 hertz lower than the officially listed 29Hz.
Not only was that unexpected, it suprisingly exceeded my expectations in performance.
It could be that I simply benefited from some type of room gain at the time (basically where the room boosts the bass even more)
However it could also be that it is actually capable of doing so.
Not entirely sure, but the point is, there was more performance on offer here than anticipated which is always a nice surprise.
Below that frequency, there wasn’t too much in terms of lowest end sonic registry.
For the bass that was there though, it was superb in its delivery which was something I really liked.
What’s really awesome about this subwoofer too was its ability to remain detailed when it came to bass output at lower volumes.
A lot of times subs can sound muddled at lower volumes, but the Klipsch 120SW managed to maintain its composure at both higher and lower volumes.
That to me is a sign of a quality subwoofer and reminds of the BIC F12 subwoofer in that regard.
Watching general TV with it sounded awesome, and what I really liked was that it made voices sound more full bodied.
Something else that I noticed is this sub is particularly good for music, (like incredibly so actually) and that probably has a lot to do with the abundance of output in the 45-60Hz frequency range.
Whether it was Rock, Hip-hop, Blues, or whatever genre, there was just always something particularly alluring about the way it all sounded and came together.
I’d certainly consider this a very musical sounding sub.
If anything, I think this is undoubtedly the area where it really manages to shine.
The bass it outputs is tight, fast, and hard hitting, while at the same time backing off when necessary as not to be too overbearing.
It’s like the perfect mix of ostentation and sublety, that ultimately blends together for a really great experience.
At the end of the day, this subwoofer while undoubtedly great for movies, ultimately finds its groove when it comes to music.
It puts out a loud clean bass that you just can’t help but appreciate.
It’s just a really good subwoofer capable of going super loud if it needs to, without sounding boomy or distorting due to that high excursion driver it packs.
It hits hard, gets loud, and looks good all at the same time.
Appearance
I alluded to this back in the intro, but another big draw to this subwoofer, I feel, is its looks.
Now of course sound is the thing that’s most important when it comes to things you should look for in a sub, but looks can matter too.
That’s especially true if you want something that’ll compliment the look of your room nicely.
This is one instance where I feel that that’s exactly the case here.
Taking a look at the enclosure, what’s immediately apparent even with the grille on, is the elegant looking black textured wood grain vinyl.
This also sits atop the reinforced MDF cabinet.
In terms of aesthetics, I personally love this for 2 reasons.
The first is it obviously looks really cool and gives the sub a more nuanced look.
But also because of the fact that the material is textured and not smooth, fingerprints are essentially mitigated.
That means you really don’t have to worry as much about getting smudges all over your new sub.
I can’t state the importance of that enough given that it’s definitely something I’m familiar with when it comes to some of my audio equipment.
As much as I love a lot of my speakers and subs, having to wipe them off due to fingerprints whenever I’m doing adjustments or moving them does get a little tiring.
It’s a welcome bonus for sure.
This isn’t to say it’s entirely fingerprint proof or anything, just that the material lends itself well in that regard.
It also claims to be scratch resistant too which is pretty cool.
If you’re one that cares about actually preserving the look of your sub, that might be a plus.
The grille itself is pretty simple, with a small metallic Klipsch logo up at the top.
When it’s removed however, the look completely changes.
What immediately sticks out with it removed is the large copper spun woofer with 8 similarly colored rivets dotted around it.
In my opinion, this has to be one of the most beautiful subwoofers I’ve ever personally seen.
Pictures certainly don’t do it justice because in person, it’s definitely a statement piece.
It’s actually hard to describe though since the material isn’t necessarily shiny, but it’s not dull either.
It just catches light in a way that makes you want to look at it.
Now for some rooms this might be a great thing because it’ll add a layer of flair and personality to the setting.
But for others, it might be a bit too loud in a sense, (figuratively speaking of course) so they may prefer leaving the grille on.
I just think it’s great you have the option of leaving it on or off because it definitely offers a measure of duality — giving two very distinct looks depending on your preference.
The small metallic Klipsch emblem at the top of the sub itself is also a small, albeit cool touch that adds to the overall aesthetics.
In summary, I think it’s a really beautiful design that honestly looks great, feels sturdy, and has the ability to both stand out or blend in depending on whether the grille is left on or not
Overall Takeaways
If you just plan to use it for causal movie watching, music, or video games, and don’t mind that it doesn’t hit those really infrasonic levels, then it’s a really fantastic sub to put it simply.
The bass is clean, and its composure even at higher volumes speaks to its quality.
Hey everyone it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jay, writer & founder of the site Easy Home Theater. I’ve been with the hobby of home entertainment for many years now. I decided to create this site to be a helpful resource, and share everything that I’ve learned from personal experience with you. I also happen to be a huge gamer, lover of all things tech related, and a major fitness buff (love weightlifting)
(Edit: Another model to consider that may also be of interest to you is the Yamaha NS-F210BL which is a solid alternative to the ones talked about in this review.
I bring this up because due to it’s age, actual availability of the older NS 6490 might be variable; but the F210BL, while 2-way as opposed to 3-way, as well as floorstanding, are capable of loud clear sound.
Since they’re 6 ohms, the receiver that’s used with them should support 6 ohms.
While I would recommend using a subwoofer with them, a lot of the positives mentioned in the original review carry over such as clear sound quality
Long story short, they’re a great of a pair of speakers provided if you have the space for them since they’re 9.4 x 9.4 x 41.4 inches.
Keep in mind that generally, availability is per speaker individually.
How’s everybody doing today? Hopefully you’re all doing well.
As you’ve probably already surmised from the title, this is going to be the Yamaha NS-6490 3-way bookshelf speaker review, a look at a speaker that’s well.. quite interesting to say the very least.
But why’s that exactly?
And more importantly, is it one that’s worth your consideration?
Of all the interesting things about this speaker, I think one of the most prominent has to do with its appearance.
That’s not even to mention the aesthetic appeal since we’ll get to that in a second — but simply the sheer size of this speaker is what’s immediately apparent.
Make no mistake about it, this is no small speaker; with the box measurements coming in at 13 x 13 x 25 inches and the speakers themselves as 10.5 x 16.2 x 13.2 — and a combined weight of 29.3 pounds.
So right off the bat, this is one of those cases where you’ll want to make sure there’s adequate space beforehand. I’d almost say they’re better suited for larger rooms, but if you can make them work in a smaller space then hey, that works too.
In terms of their actual appearance though, they’re certainly distinctive compared with a lot of the speakers I’ve seen. The grille of the speaker is beveled, and juts out in a way I really haven’t seen before to be perfectly honest, but it looks really cool.
It definitely adds additional depth towards the front though, so that’s something to keep in mind with placement.
Toward the bottom there’s a small Yamaha logo with their signature symbol, and something else I found was that the drivers beneath are actually still somewhat visible; especially in a brightly lit room.
Removing the grille reveals quite the peculiar site; the tweeter and mid bass driver lined up side by side with the woofer placed directly below it.
It almost reminds me of the Edifier R1280T with its offset design, but it gives it a very expressive look that provides a little bit of extra character to the overall design; what with the silver components accented by black trim.
Something to note though; while the exterior of the cabinet is more of a matte finish, the front of the speaker has a shiny, black, almost mirror like finish.
While it definitely looks nice, it’s also a complete fingerprint magnet, so if you plan on using the speaker without the grille, you may have to wipe it down occasionally to keep it looking pristine.
Other than that though, not too much else to say really when it comes to appearance other than it’s a beautiful looking speaker that also happens to be on the larger side.
Specs & Features
In terms of the features of the speaker, there’s actually a few things that make it stand out. The first thing that makes this speaker pretty unique is the fact that it’s a 3 way acoustic suspension design.
That basically means there’s 3 separate drivers that handle the bass, mids, and treble individually in a specially sealed cabinet, allowing for a more accurate sound.
More specifically, there’s an 8 inch long throw cone woofer for the bass, a 4 inch ferrofluid cooled mid range driver for midrange sounds, and a ⁷/⁸ inch ferrofluid cooled balanced dome tweeter to handle the high end.
Ferrofluid cooling is basically a way to dissipate heat in the speaker to keep it working optimally, so it’s nice to see it present here.
These speakers also have the benefit of being magnetically shielded which basically helps protect your speaker and other electronics near them from electromagnetic fields which can affect performance.
They also have a wide frequency range of 45 Hz to 23 KHz, which should provide for a wide range in the sounds it’s capable of producing.
There’s also continuous output of 70 watts and a maximum output of 140 watts; meaning it can get plenty loud.
They also have an impedance of 8 ohms and a sensitivity of 90 dB/W/ meter. This basically means that for every 1 watt, it’s capable of producing an output of 90 decibels from 1 meter away.
The reason this is especially noteworthy is due to the fact that the higher a speaker’s sensitivity level is, the easier it is for your speaker to get louder while requiring less power to do so.
So it being at a 90 dB in terms of sensitivity means it’ll be much easier to actually power it.
In layman’s terms, this all basically means it can reach up to 108 decibels at max volume which is incredibly loud.
I’ve also made mention of this earlier of course, but just to reiterate as far measurements are concerned, they come in at about 10.5 x 16.2 x 13.2 and a combined weight of 29.3 pounds.
Setup
As far as setting these speakers up are concerned, it’s pretty easy to get them up and running.
I do want to note beforehand however, that there’s a spring loaded terminal and not a 5 way binding post on the back of the speaker; meaning you may want to use pin plugs with these.
But the actual setup itself is just like with any other passive speaker, meaning that in order for them to actually function, things like speaker wire come in handy. A wire stripper may also be helpful too.
In terms of connecting it, it can be done in one of 2 ways — either with or without a pin plug, and then inserting one end of the wire into the speaker and the other into the receiver (which should be turned off beforehand)
Other than that, that’s pretty much it.
Here’s a guide that details this more if you’re still unsure how to set things up.
So at the end of the day, how does the NS-6490 actually sound?
Very full bodied would probably be the best way to describe them.
Make no mistake, they certainly have a warmer sound signature for sure, but at the same time, they don’t overdo it to the point where it’s distracting either. It’s just a really smooth and refined sound that’s almost hard to describe honestly.
But in my opinion, it does it extremely well.
The quality of the audio itself is crisp, with the finer details in content well represented and prominent.
I’m sure this probably has a lot to do with the sheer size of the cabinet, but it probably has a lot more to do with the fact that these are 3 way speakers — meaning there’s actually dedicated parts of the speaker meant specifically to handle the bass, treble, and mids.
But again, they definitely have some of the fullest sound I’ve ever heard.
What do I mean by that exactly?
Well I’ve found that in particular, because these tend to err on the warmer side of things, they really excel when it comes to things like voices and dialogue, giving them a real sense of depth and grit.
From personal experience, I’ve noticed that it can sometimes prove difficult for a speaker to do voices convincingly, while also balancing all the other sound effects and details left & right channel speakers are often responsible for.
But with that being said, these speakers handled all of those things with ease.
At the same time though, what really impresses me is that despite being a warm sounding speaker, it again doesn’t neglect the more delicate and intricate sounds that can often be difficult to produce — adding an extra degree of dimensionality to the overall sound.
Bass, is something that these do especially well though, digging deep enough that if you were to forgo the use of a subwoofer, you’d still be pleasantly surprised by how much oomph these things pack.
I mean don’t get me wrong, I’d still recommend a subwoofer, but the fact that I’m even talking about bass at all when considering these are bookshelf speakers says quite a lot.
If anything, this level of versatility also helps if you plan on using these for stereo purposes too because it benefits music playback quite a bit — and I can certainly say from firsthand experience, music sounds pretty incredible with these.
All of these qualities come together to provide an almost 3D like soundstage that really immerses you in whatever it is you’re listening to.
They reminded me of the Sony SSCS5s in that regard, with an incredible fidelity in their audio delivery.
What’s surprising is that I really don’t have any major gripes with this speaker to be perfectly honest.
I mean maybe the size if I were to really nitpick, but if having a sound quality this good means a slightly bigger speaker then I’m personally all for it.
The power is there, the sound quality is there, and it really just all comes together for a really satisfying experience. It’s definitely a favorite of mine that’s for sure.
Likes
Warm sound signature provides for a superb sound quality
Works especially well for music
Excellent tweeter for higher frequency sounds
8 inch woofer provides substantial bass output
Unique grille design looks amazing
3 way design allows for more dimensionality in sound
Can get very loud with minimal distortion
Dislikes
Front of the speaker is glossy and can pick up fingerprints
Very large cabinet that requires ample space
No wall mounting key hole
Pin plugs are the only connection type
Final Thoughts
Well folks, that about does it for this Yamaha NS 6490 3 way bookshelf speaker review.
In short, it’s an awesome 3 way speaker that gets plenty loud and sounds great doing so. Be it music, video games, or movies, it handles all of them impressively.
Hey everyone it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jay, writer & founder of the site Easy Home Theater. I’ve been with the hobby of home entertainment for many years now. I decided to create this site to be a helpful resource, and share everything that I’ve learned from personal experience with you. I also happen to be a huge gamer, lover of all things tech related, and a major fitness buff (love weightlifting)
Home theater paint color ideas can be classified in 3 categories of colors; dark & neutral colors, primary colors, & custom color designs. These are further broken down into smaller subcategories monochromatic, analogous, & splitcomplimentary. The best home theater paint color schemes are darker as these help reduce reflected light on the screen, giving better picture quality in your content!
From the title, I think you can surmise what we’ll be talking about today; home theater paint color ideas!
A major part of really ensuring that authentic, quality, home theater experience is feeling comfortably immersed where the enjoyment of that content takes place.
That’s because truth be told, your surroundings play just as much of a role in the experience as the speakers and display themselves.
What’s more, the actual color of the room in particular plays a huge role believe it or not; yet it’s something that could easily be overlooked.
If done right however, it can make a massive difference in the overall feel of the room — making it really feel like you’re at the movies.
So that’s why today, we’ll be taking a look at a few different home theater paint color ideas you can use that hopefully inspire some awesome home theater color schemes of your own.
That way, not only are you able to find the color theme that best works for you, but can also be confident that you’re getting the best possible experience to fully utilize what you currently have.
Different themes work best for different situations though, so we’ll also be looking at what works best when, and why.
This is going to be a fun one, so get comfortable, and let’s get into it! 😀
Deciding What The Room Will Be Specifically Used For
So before you do any painting, rearranging, etc, you’ll want to first make note of what exactly the room you’re planning your home theater in will be used for.
Will it be used for exclusively watching movies? Or perhaps it’ll be a more casual room used for watching TV with the occasional movie thrown in?
Maybe it’ll be a game room for playing video games, or perhaps it’ll be a little bit of everything in the form of a man cave?
The reason why it’s so important to figure this out first thing is it’ll have a direct influence on the color that’ll work best for the room.
Choosing the right home theater paint color schemes can give the room an entirely different feel and help improve the movie watching experience quite a bit.
If you know that the room will primarily be used for movie watching, it’ll probably be best to use darker colors or even black since it’ll do a better job in that regard.
However if it’ll be used for more casual viewing, then you’ll likely want to go with lighter colors as it’ll make the space feel more open — rather than feeling constricted like it could with a darker color; especially with watching in the day time.
A mix of different viewing conditions would likely benefit from a somewhat darker room color like a burgundy for example, since it’ll essentially provide the best of both worlds with regard to not feeling too enclosed — while also doing a decent job with handling light.
The point is, take into account who will be doing the content consumption, the kind of content that’ll be used in the room, and the actual furniture & decorum in the room before deciding on a color.
That way it’ll compliment, rather than hinder, your viewing environment for your specific situation.
Remember lighter colors reflect more light no matter what the material of the wall might be so the lighter the color you choose, the more light that may potentially reflect back onto your screen
This is why grey and darker colors are generally thought of as better for watching content because they offer such a good balance between practicality while still making the room feel like a genuine home theater.
Though using colors that are dark are helpful when it comes to viewing, ultimately it’s going to depend on your preferences.
Once you’ve got that figured out, it’ll be much easier to decide on the color, which I’ll provide examples of a little later on.
First though, there’s something else you’ll want to keep in mind (well technically a few things)..
Taking Into Account The Lighting Of The Particular Room
Another very important thing to take into consideration is the lighting conditions of the particular room too.
Depending on what it’ll be used for, you’ll want to find the right balance between immersion and watchability.
What I mean by this is let’s say you have a room that you really only plan on watching shows in, but you recently felt compelled to repaint the room just to give it a different feel.
Well while you definitely still could, it wouldn’t really be necessary to paint the room a darker color since that need for extreme image precision that a darker color provides wouldn’t be something that’s necessarily important — especially if you happen to be a more casual viewer who might also have others that watch from time to time as well.
This is especially true if you watch your content in the day time as a room with a darker tone may dull things quite a bit.
I’ve also personally found that daytime viewing in a room with darker colors can sometimes lead to the room not really feeling the same as with a brighter color in a way.
Not saying this is what will happen in your case, but it’s just something that I’ve personally noticed from my experience so it is something to keep in mind.
However that being said, let’s switch gears and also say for example, you want to transform your current room into a full dedicated movie room.
In this case then, you’ll want everything including external lights to be as dark as possible, as that’ll have a beneficial effect with regards to picture quality.
But the big variable in both of these scenarios is the amount of light present both internally and externally, as this can alter the experience dramatically — which can be either good or bad.
So how exactly do you optimize for your specific use case though?
Well the first thing you’ll want to do is make note of any windows in the room and how they affect the screen from your seating position.
Do you often find sunlight drowning out the screen making it hard to see?
Or is the room simply bright from the sun light entering the room?
If so that’s the first thing you’ll want to immediately address.
Now there’s a bunch of ways to do so, but one of my favourites is using black out curtains.
These block a majority of light and so will immediately make things more visible on screen.
There’s also things like retractable shades and black out blinds which can help too. Basically anything capable of blocking any extraneous light is helpful in this case.
Not to say that a completely dark viewing environment isn’t best for image fidelity, because honestly it is.
But if you do plan on watching for extended periods of time, (and I’m talking about hours on end here) then either taking a break every so often, or lowering the backlight of the display can help alleviate this.
Another thing you can do to strike a proper balance between great image quality and practicality is using ambient lighting.
Of course the room should be somewhat dark, but you’ll also want enough light so that people can move around safely too.
There’s certainly a myriad of ways to go about this, but one of my favorite ways is to use track lighting as it allows for directionality since you can actually focus where the light shines.
This works amazingly well since you not only have control over it, but it’s diffuse enough to where it won’t cast a glare on the screen if set up correctly.
An ambient light in the form of an led light strip set up on the back of the television also works beautifully, and can offer even more customizability in the way of brightness and even color.
You can even use dimmer lights since that’ll also allow you to control the intensity of the illumination in the room — offering just enough light to where it’s immersive, but providing enough visibility to see your surroundings should you need to move around.
Things like tabletop lamps and fluorescent lights should be avoided as they don’t provide the proper diffusivity for a satisfactory experience.
Not only that, but they’re also likely to cast a noticeable and localized glare on the screen which can be incredibly distracting.
That of course does depend on the type of screen you’re using though; as a matte finished television and/or projector screen won’t suffer nearly as much (if at all) from this issue which might allow for that type of light source.
Even then, the ones I mentioned before will still provide for a more optimal experience.
So try to stick with a light where you can control the direction as well as brightness and you’re golden.
A standalone lamp that can be dimmed can also work too as long as it’s not directly aimed at these screen.
On a side note and if you’re especially meticulous, then you can even consider the color of the light as well.
This is a good piece that goes over that, but basically the gist is that warmer colors are not only easier on the eyes, but give a sense of comfort as well.
So should you wish to get the absolute best in terms of optimization of your room, then this is something else to make note of.
The following is an example of a lamp I feel works really well.
Although the color of the flooring will make a small difference when it comes to things like light reflection, the material of the floor itself will make a much bigger difference in terms of overall light management and even sound quality.
You may want something that compliments the color of the room of course, but not in a way that makes things seem mundane or samey.
How you choose to do that is subjective, so that’ll really depend on your own personal preferences as that may be something you prefer.
An important thing to remember though, is that the actual material used is much more important and where the real focus should be; as something like a shag carpet for example, will do a much better job at dampening both light and sound waves than say a hardwood floor would.
Similar to what was mentioned previously about flooring in terms of coloring and material, the same applies when it comes to the furniture and decor present within the room.
Of course style will be subjective, but what I personally do is go for decor that adds a sense of punctuation to the room without being overly distracting — since the focus really should be on the screen and the speakers.
This is an area where you can really get creative and give the room personality. How you choose to do this will ultimately depend on how you actually plan on using the room, so keep this in mind beforehand.
That said, here’s a few seating ideas that may prove useful.
Before we get into the different colors and themes, something really important to note is that the type of paint you use for the room actually does matter quite a bit believe it or not.
Glossy type paints tend to reflect light, which can produce glares; the opposite of what’s optimal.
Due to their reflective nature, glossy paints reflect light bounce from the walls and ceiling on to your screen.
Not only can too much light in your home theater room cause a glare, but this excess light can also wash out the picture, causing the image to look dull or drab by comparison.
To avoid these issues, the best type of paint to use is a flat, matte based paint in my opinion since that will cut down glare and reduce light reflection, allowing for much better viewing conditions.
This is also because matte paint has light absorbing properties when it comes to indirect and direct light.
It also has the convenient bonus of hiding any minor imperfections that may exist, allowing everything to look uniform and even.
You can even apply multiple coats of paint to achieve the darkest shade, which will help with even further minimization of light reflection including from the screen itself.
Projector paint is similar in this regard but comes with the additional benefit of allowing you to use the wall as an adequate projection screen since the matte finish of the paint won’t reflect light back towards you — making this another good option to use in a room.
Adhesive wallpaper can work too, as there many different color options and even finishes including matte.
So if you’re not big on painting, this could be something to consider as well.
Dark and Neutral Colors & Where They Should Be Used
So in terms of the best colors to use for a home theater room, darker and neutral colors in the form of a matte paint are best as they provide the proper light reducing properties that often benefit visual content.
Think about the last time you went to the movies and try to remember what the room looked like.
Chances are, the room was likely a darker shade along with the furnishings; likely even the seating as well.
This is done to provide the most immersion while reducing as much light as much as possible.
Darker colors put the more focus on the content by not calling attention to themselves which further enhances the experience.
But as I’ve mentioned before, this is where knowing the type of room you want beforehand is key as you may want to keep some sense of versatility with the room; especially if you’re using it for more than one purpose.
If it’s a room where you plan on doing a lot of day time watching, then an entirely black room might not be best, whereas, a dedicated home theater room with primarily nighttime viewing probably would be.
It really is going to depend on your specific use case.
Ideally, if your only focus is watching movies & you want to get the best image quality possible, and it’s in a darker environment, then using darker colors for the walls and drapes would be better for dynamism.
Now with all of that being said though, let’s look at a few specific dark/neutral colors I think work best to inspire home theater paint color ideas you can implement & use — along with exactly why.
~ Matte Black
So keeping in mind the fact that darker room colors are best for light reduction, what better color to achieve exactly that than matte black?
Using a matte black theme for specifically watching movies is the most ideal color scheme in my opinion as it reduces the most light which helps the viewing experience.
However the thing is, its practicality can be questionable if you’re using the room for more than just movies since it can be tiring on the eyes in brighter conditions.
Just to reiterate, if your planning to just watch movies and use it as a dedicated theater room, then by all means — matte black is certainly the best option since it’ll provide for the best immersion in terms of an optimal home theater wall color.
But If it’ll be used for more than that, then there may be better choices to go with.
A big reason for this is that due to the light blocking capabilities of matte black, the effect that smaller light sources like lamps and such have on a room will be reduced even further.
This can be especially problematic for the instances where you’re not watching something and need to get around the room. If those happen to be your only sources of light, then it may not provide enough visibility.
Again, it all depends on your particular use case though.
~ A Darker Shade Of Grey
A good middle ground for versatility when it comes to properly managing the balance between optimal ambiance and actual utility in regards to designing a home theater room is the color grey.
It has the capability of providing enough light reduction for an exceptional viewing experience, while also being neutral enough that it looks in good in every day life.
Plus an interesting benefit I happened to notice is that it doesn’t tend to reflect extraneous color back onto the screen, which in theory, could provide for a more pure image quality.
Whether this is always the case or even noticeable is likely debatable, but the main takeaway is that it’s certainly a great color to use that works in a variety of conditions.
~ Darker Brown
Brown can also work as a suitable choice for a room I feel like when done right.
In my opinion, a subtle cinnamon or umber color tone specifically tends to give a nice enough balance to the room while maintaining a sense of sophistication.
Also when paired with a lighter brown, it can create a nice effect, adding depth and intricacy to the room.
Primary Colors & Where They Should Used
~ Dark Blue
A really versatile option and one of my personal favorite color choices when it comes to the primary colors is to use a darker shade of blue within the room.
Not only is it relatively similar to black in regards to light reduction & maintaining a dark enough atmosphere when it comes to time to watch a movie with the lights on, it still provides enough color to give the room a nice look.
When it comes to blues, there’s a lot you can use, but a few I think work particularly well are evening, oxford, and navy blue.
~ Darker Red
Another example of a pretty versatile color choice and great paint color idea is some sort of darker red.
Darker tones of red are a common color choice in many cinemas as it has somewhat similar light dampening properties to black, while still retaining that extra touch of color.
A ruby or even garnet color is a good choice to go with if you’ll be using the room for more than movie watching as it provides a dark enough setting for movie watching, while also giving the room a distinct look with other scenarios.
There’s many shades that would work, but those are just a few examples that look nice in my opinion.
Custom Color Schemes & What To Keep In Mind
You of course always have the option of coming up with your very own color scheme mix when it comes to the colors of the walls and furniture within the room.
While there’s many different color combinations you can use, the 3 I personally think work best when it comes to home theater color schemes in particular are monochromatic, analogous, and split complimentary.
Wait what?
Don’t worry, I’ll explain each of those, along with why and where I think they work best.
Monochromatic Color Design
Monochromatic color is using the same color or similar shades of the same color across everything in the room, ranging from your decorum and furniture, to even your walls and ceiling.
This is in my opinion is the best for those that specifically plan on using their room for strictly movie watching because it forgoes the usage of loud colors, and subsequently places a much heavier emphasis on the focal point of the room, the display.
For example going with a matte black finish for the walls coupled with a dark grey overtone for the seating & decorum — in tandem with a subtle down lighting and muted carpeting is a look that can work really well.
While it does provide the most immersion for sure, the reason why I feel it works best only for this particular scenario really relates to the biggest drawback to this type of theme; and that’s monotony.
If this is a multi purpose room where you might have guests over in the day time for example, it could be seen as lacking flair or real character.
Having everything the same or similar color wouldn’t feel the same as having the splashes of colors other rooms might have.
So if you think the room will be used for more than that, then there’s certainly more suitable themes for that purpose.
Analogous Color Design
Analogous Color theming is a little similar to Monochromatic in that they may use similar colors, however the difference with this one is that it uses multiple colors & shades that are close to one another on a color wheel.
This allows for enough variability that you can give the room enough decoration without things being too distracting at night.
It’s a good choice if you do plan on the room being multi purpose since it allows for a good amount of depth when it comes to design, while still giving you a fully immersive experience with movie watching.
An example of this is making a blue themed theater room where there’s a dominant & darker shade of blue — complimented by lighter shades of blue and indigo, topped off with various adornments throughout.
It would give enough variability to look captivating, while still sticking to the cohesive nature of the theme.
Another example is perhaps you decide on a garnet color for the walls, with a walnut hue for the furniture, and darker mahogany strip running through the middle of the room serving as a sort of statement piece for the rest.
The point is, it undoubtedly allows for a myriad of choices — so chances are you’ll be able to find something that works for you and your particular preferences with analogous design as a basis for the color scheme of the room.
Split Complimentary Color Design
Spilt complimentary gives the widest creativity range of the 3 color schemes mentioned here as it provides you with the ability to use a base color, and 2 adjacent colors of that original’s complimentary color.
For example you could use dark green for the walls, and then accent it with different tones of brown and even purple for a unique yet cohesive look for your room.
It’s certainly the most varied out of the 3 color designs since you do have so many possibilities, but once you get it right it can look really amazing.
Something to also keep in mind that’ll also help when it comes optimal image quality is using a darker color around the display as a border.
This will provide a bigger contrast between the screen & the room, while also helping to mitigate light pollution and reflections around the screen.
If using black for the room or even wall of the display isn’t feasible for the theme that you’re planning, try to use a darker color for a similar effect within the room.
A Custom Design
These are all just suggestions of course, since you can always tweak these by adding your favorite color decorum as accent pieces, or simply coming up with your own theme all together entirely.
The reason I chose those 3 color schemes in particular is that I personally feel they do the best job of balancing aesthetics, immersion, and cohesion within the room.
But there’s a plethora of possible combinations really, and that includes creating your own.
One theme I personally enjoy is black walls with red seating as I feel that just looks incredible.
However for you that might be entirely different.
But that’s what makes home theater in general so great honestly, since you have the ability to truly make it your own.
Final Thoughts
Well, that about does it for this one.
Hopefully you found these paint color ideas helpful, and after this, have in mind a few color schemes that might work for your particular room or space.
There’s certainly a lot in the way of customizability and even things to consider, but that just means you have the capability to create something that truly looks incredible.
If you have questions or concerns though, definitely reach out and I’ll be more than happy to help.
Hey everyone it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jay, writer & founder of the site Easy Home Theater. I’ve been with the hobby of home entertainment for many years now. I decided to create this site to be a helpful resource, and share everything that I’ve learned from personal experience with you. I also happen to be a huge gamer, lover of all things tech related, and a major fitness buff (love weightlifting)
*Another model to consider that may also be of interest to you is the Samsung HW A550 which is a great alternative to the one talked about in this review.
I bring this up because due to it’s age, availability of the older T650 model might be difficult; but the newer HW A550 is not only as good as the one talked about, it’s arguably better then the originally reviewed sound bar honestly.
Most of the positives mentioned hold true with this one as well, with the added benefit of features like bass boost, even better sound quality, and game mode.*
Now in terms of appearance, it’s honestly quite the interesting design at least as far as sound bars are concerned.
There’s a flush metal grille on the front that covers the drivers, that sort of curves out on the top and bottom to give the overall casing a unique shape.
On top of the bar is where you’ll also find the power button, pairing button, and volume up and down control should you wish to adjust things manually rather than using the included remote.
On the top is a brushed aluminum finish with a small Samsung logo placed to the upper left.
The included subwoofer is pretty standard with a removable cloth grille that also has a small metallic logo placed towards the bottom, and large bass reflex port on the back to minimize distortion.
I personally love the way this sound bar looks because it’s different enough that it’s able to differentiate itself while not doing so to the extent where it’s outright distracting.
The fact that it’s able to do this is certainly a testament to the level of attention to detail that Samsung was able to incorporate as there’s not exactly too many form factors you can really do when it comes to sound bars — especially when considering the function of a sound bar is to provide quality sound with the sound drivers themselves having to be in a certain arrangement to actually fit said description.
So given that it’s able to provide a different enough look through a culmination of subtle details — from the brushed aluminum, to the chamfered edge dividing the grille from the rest of the cabinet — is certainly something to appreciate.
It’s a design I feel would look good in most rooms as it isn’t hulking in size to the point where it’s blocking part of the TV. It’s subdued yet refined, which I feel adds a lot to the overall feel.
It definitely looks really nice in person.
Even the subwoofer, though simple in design, feels and looks quality. It’s a look that won’t stand out incredibly which some may appreciate, since ultimately the focus should be on sound and anything extra is really icing on the cake.
Again I personally like the presentation that this duo provides as I think it adds to the room without overdoing it, but of course, that’s up to the discretion of the individual when it comes down to it really.
Specs & Features
When it comes to down to features, the HW T650 certainly has a few interesting ones.
One of the main ones though that I’m sure a lot will be happy to hear is the offering of full Bluetooth support. But not just any bluetooth support, it actually has the ability to support 2 different connections at the same time.
That means whether you want to enjoy your shows wirelessly, or choose to listen to all your favorite music off of your smart phone or tablet, you’re able to do so while switching between them seamlessly which is awesome.
Another cool feature supported here is what Samsung is calling its smart sound technology which basically analyzes the sound signal coming in and optimizes it in real time for the best performance.
So say for example you’re watching a music video with this mode on, then you decide to watch a movie, the sound bar is able to adjust the audio on the fly to provide you with the best sound with no input needed from the user.
If you happen to be a gamer, there’s also a dedicated game mode that actually boosts sound effects; and surprisingly well at that — though it’s important to note that this feature only works with specific Samsung televisions.
Keeping on that same theme, if you do happen to have a Samsung television, powering the television on and off will do the same for the sound bar, and the included remote is able to control both.
It’s a minor thing, but it’s the little attention to details like that that make the entire experience that much more enjoyable; and not to mention simple!
The sound bar also has a small led display that shows simple info like the the sound profile or input you’re on for a quick reference point which is also a nice touch.
The included remote, aptly named one remote, allows you to easily control everything when it comes to the sound bar allowing you to customize everything the way you want it.
In terms of specs, the sound bar measures 38.6 x 3.5 x 2.3 inches, and weighs 5.3 pounds.
It also has support for the many of the major sound formats such as LCPM 2.1, Dolby Digital, and DTS 5.1 channel support – with support even being present for the newest formats as well such as DTS:X.
DTS:X basically allows for you to get the full surround sound experience without the need for speakers all around you. It basically gives you a 3D sound all from a single sound bar.
There’s an HDMI ARC input for passthrough to the television along with an with an HDMI output.
There’s an optical input as well as a 3.5mm jack. There’s also support for USB music playback. It can also be wall mounted via the included wall mounting brackets and screws on the back, which luckily aren’t visible once it’s installed on the wall.
Surprisingly, there’s even a dedicated center speaker in the unit which allows for a much more engaging experience due to the crystal clear dialogue and sound separation it provides.
On the subwoofer side, it’s wireless (save for the actual power cord) and measures 8.1 x 13.9 x 11.9 while weighing 13.7 pounds.
The total system power is rated at 340 watts and is also ENERGY STAR certified.
Setup
Now there’s multiple ways to set this one up given the fact that it has optical, HDMI, and bluetooth support, so the way you do this will depend on your particular setup and television.
If your TV is a Samsung and/or is a newer one with bluetooth then this is one option and most likely the easiest as you’d just have to connect the power cable to the device itself and pair the 2. To confirm they’re actually paired, you can check in the device list to make sure the TV actually detects the signal.
If your TV is older and doesn’t have HDMI ARC passthrough, then you’ll have to use the included optical cable to connect from the sound bar to the back of the television, then go into the menus to ensure it’s set on the right input on both the TV and the sound bar.
The final way is if you have a display that does support HDMI ARC – as all you’d have to do in that case connect the HDMI cable from the sound bar to the TV. The subwoofer plugs into an outlet for the power with the included power cable, and pairs with the sound bar.
How It Sounds
So what about one of the most important questions though, how does the HW T650 actually sound?
To be quite honest, extremely good.
I’d say that as a whole, it has a pretty neutral sound signature; not really favoring either end of the spectrum. Of course there’s the option of going into the menu and adjusting settings like treble and bass, but by itself without doing anything, the quality of the sound itself is pronounced and crisp without being overly bright or harsh.
I’ve found that some soundbars tend to over exaggerate the treble resulting in a slight hiss with some content, but luckily that definitely isn’t the case here.
It’s just a really balanced and pleasing sound that quite frankly, actually sounds really good, even at higher volumes.
I would say that even the mids are well represented here, giving voices crisp and realistic tone. Like for example with watching a movie, even at higher volumes, no one note seems to be in excess over another, with everything from the bass to the high end being equally present (and at 340 watts, this thing can get loud!)
Even In normal instances and at normal volumes, it’s just a really clear and present sound. I know I’ve said that already, but it really is the best way to describe it.
I’ve noticed with some sound bars in the past, some scenarios where the low frequency effects would be emphasized over the high end and vice versa, but there’s none of that here. It’s just balanced yet super clear which is awesome.
The sub actually surprised me though. I don’t know if it was maybe my room or what, but the bass was a lot deeper than I was anticipating.
There was a discernable thump with it, and it definitely had some decent impact when watching movies which was really interesting considering I really wasn’t expecting it to do that to the degree it was doing.
Granted extreme bass drops didn’t go as deep as some of the previous subs I heard since there was some roll off in the deeper notes, but it’s certainly no slouch. For the average living room or even room in general, this will more than get the job done.
Music definitely sounds amazing on this one too, with it being able to represent instruments and voices with an equal enthusiasm that you almost can’t help but want to dance along too; so definitely no worries there if that’s an area you were planning to use it with.
The Bluetooth also worked fine, and my phone was able to pair with it relatively fast so no complaints there either. The multi connection feature worked well and I could switch between my phone and tablet on the fly.
In fact, I really don’t have any major qualms with this one at all come to think of it.
Aside from a few minor quibbles with ultra low frequencies, It’s just a solid performer — with quality sound that’ll really offer an entirely different layer of enjoyment with your home entertainment.
Even the dedicated game mode worked surprisingly well, and really gave it a more impactful experience overall. From Minecraft, to Ori & the Will Of The Wisps (love that game) everything just sounded a lot more dynamic and alive.
Again as a whole, the T650 not only performs admirably, but does so while looking good doing it — and when compared with normal TV sound, it’s undoubtedly leagues ahead. So no two ways about it then, it’s an awesome sound bar overall.
Likes
Clear sound quality capable of getting loud
Works well with movies, games, you name it
Wireless subwoofer that provides strong bass
Bluetooth capability for wireless use
Smart sound mode that tweaks audio depending on the content
Polished design
Can be wall mounted
Multiple ways to set up
Dislikes
Bass extension rolls off before uber deep notes
Only certain TVs can utilize game mode
Final Thoughts
Well that about does it for this one. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this Samsung HW-T650 sound bar review. In summary, it’s an awesome sound bar that I have no issues with recommending.
It provides a balanced & clear sound quality coupled with a deep bass that manages to maintain its clarity even at higher volumes. Its ability to perform well in a wide variety of content is also worthy of merit — plus it even looks cool to boot!
Hey everyone it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jay, writer & founder of the site Easy Home Theater. I’ve been with the hobby of home entertainment for many years now. I decided to create this site to be a helpful resource, and share everything that I’ve learned from personal experience with you. I also happen to be a huge gamer, lover of all things tech related, and a major fitness buff (love weightlifting)
(Edit: Another model to consider that may also be of interest to you is the Bose TV Speaker which is a great alternative to the one talked about in this review.
I bring this up because due to it’s age, actual availability of the older Bose Solo 5 might be difficult; but the Bose TV Speaker is just as good as the one original talked about.
Most of the positives mentioned hold true with this one as well.
Long story short, the positives of the older model listed in the review carry over making it just as great of a system)
In terms of appearance, the Bose Solo 5 keeps a pretty low profile, in that it looks nice, but doesn’t stand out in a way that’ll distract you from the action on screen.
There’s a metal grille that runs across the front and squares off to the sides, with a small metallic logo placed in the middle.
Other than that, there’s really not too much else to say about the actual design. It’s certainly attractive, but it’s nothing that’ll immediately jump out for your attention if that makes sense.
I mean that’s probably a good thing since it should look nice in most rooms due to its minimalistic look. Again I personally like it, but I suppose it all depends on the individual and what they prefer.
Specs & Features
With regard to features, one that I’m sure a lot will be happy to see is the inclusion of full bluetooth capability. That means using this sound bar with your smartphone, tablet, or other bluetooth enabled device is made completely possible.
This is especially helpful if you like to listen to music from time to time as all you would have to do is pair the 2 devices, and you’re good to go.
Should you wish to use a wired connection, this is also possible since there’s a 3.5 mm jack to do so.
For those who have a hard time hearing dialogue from their television or even current sound system, there’s actually a feature called Dialogue Mode that when enabled, enhances the clarity of voices making them much easier to hear.
This is certainly helpful for those times where you want to hear what the people are saying, but you don’t want to turn the volume up just to hear it; perhaps during nighttime viewing for example.
With this, you have the option to do just that, allowing you a flexibility with how you want to enjoy your content. What’s really cool though is the fact that this system comes with an included universal remote that’ll allow you to control your sound bar, Blu-ray player, and a bunch of other devices with just one remote.
Now I’ve sung the praises of universal remotes before, but just know that from personal experience, they really do tend to streamline the whole experience quite a lot.
I mean not having to use multiple remotes for a bunch of different devices just makes things a lot easier, so it’s nice that there’s one here.
There’s a bunch of different controls on the actual remote, but a really helpful one is a bass control that allows you to control the amount of bass the sound bar outputs. So if you’re watching a movie and you notice there isn’t enough bass, you have the ability to make adjustments during the content.
In terms of specs the soundbar has dual 2 inch drivers. It measures 3.4 x 21.5 x 2.8.
It weighs 3.7 pounds and has an optical and coaxial input. It can also be wall mounted.
Setup
Luckily setup is a cinch thanks to its plug and play nature.
All that’s required is plugging the power cord into the bar, and then plugging the optical cable into the input named optical on the back of the bar.
Then take the other end of the optical cable, and plug it into the input named optical on your TV. After that, eureka, we have sound!
How It Sounds
Speaking of sound, how does it actually sound?
I would say it’s awesome but is sonically better suited for smaller to medium rooms in my opinion. Plus it’s smaller form factor allows it to fit in a smaller room comfortably without overpowering it.
I mean that kind of makes sense considering its smaller stature, so its really hard to fault it on that. I’m personally not sure of the exact frequency numbers, but I could tell that it didn’t go quite as deep, at least to my ears. With movies for example, if there was a bass drop, you would hear it go down somewhat before dropping off.
However mids and voices is something that this soundbar does beautifully, and if your major concern is how it’ll sound just watching shows and regular television; it’ll undoubtedly do great with that.
The dialogue mode especially works great, and I found myself not having to turn the volume up nearly as high to hear what was being said which was definitely nice.
The highs were good too, with details coming in with a level of clarity leagues above regular TV audio from my experience. So if that’s something you’re coming from, you’re in for a treat with this one.
I will say that music sounds great on this too, and it has a good amount of thump and articulation to really make music come alive.
Whatever the genre was, I found that it did a good job with representing any voices, instruments, and effects without enhancing any particular one at the expense of the other.
That I feel is a good indicator of quality, and it’s certainly something that this one has. I’d personally say that the Solo 5 excels in small to medium rooms from what I’ve found.
It works in larger rooms too, it’s just that roll off in bass tends to happen in those larger environments.
But if your normal day to day use case will be shows and music, with the occasional movie or 2 thrown in, then the Bose Solo 5 is a fantastic choice with voices and sound effects produced with an impeccable clarity.
Likes
Crystal clear sound quality
Dialogue mode enhances voices for further clarity
Smaller form factor
Easy to set up
Can be wall mounted
Bluetooth capability
Included universal remote
Dislikes
No HDMI slot
Bass isn’t as pronounced in larger rooms
No additional mode presets
Final Thoughts
That about does it for this one. Hopefully you enjoyed this Bose Solo 5 TV Sound Bar Review and found it helpful.
Again if your main focus is being able to actually hear the voices in your content, then it’s is an awesome soundbar for sure.
Hey everyone it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jay, writer & founder of the site Easy Home Theater. I’ve been with the hobby of home entertainment for many years now. I decided to create this site to be a helpful resource, and share everything that I’ve learned from personal experience with you. I also happen to be a huge gamer, lover of all things tech related, and a major fitness buff (love weightlifting)
