- 2-Channel Soundbar with iPod/iPhone/iPad dock
- 3 x 2-inch Full Range Speakers
- Total System Power: 20W (10W x 2)
At first when I read some earlier reviews, I was a little scared about the audio decoding issue, but the review on CNET made it sound quite unlikely that it would be an issue: CNET wrote: "One technical note: the Haier Evoke Slim doesn't decode Dolby or DTS, so make sure your TV and other sources can send PCM signals (rather than bit stream) to the sound bar. If you don't know what any of that jargon means, don't worry, it likely won't be a problem for your home theater." I also knew Amazon would take it back for a full refund if it was a problem, so it decided it wasn't much of a risk anyway. Therefore, CNET and Amazon's return policy assuaged my fear, and I have had zero problems with audio not coming in as it should from right out of the box.
For a little background into my decision-making process I live in an apartment with a small-medium size living room, so I wasn't looking for a huge 7.1 surround sound system. I have a 60" Panasonic (P60GT30) plasma tv. My goal was to upgrade the plasma's speakers with something that sounded much crisper and lively for watching regular television, but also packed some rich room-filling bass for the action scenes on blu rays or for playing video games like Call of Duty of XBOX 360. I am also hoping it plays music pretty solidly for the Pandora app on my tv. I considered many different sound bars, as well as some 5.1 HTIB's (Home Theater System's in a Box), and also gave the Bose Cinemate II sound system a long look. I'm a fan of a less-cluttered look, so I was looking to avoid a system that needed a bulky receiver. I was willing to spend up to around $650, but would obviously prefer to spend less if I could get a solid sound system.
I seriously considered some of the 5.1 HTIB's (Home Theater System's in a Box), but I already have a blu ray player and access to online apps like Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Pandora, etc. via both my XBOX 360 and my smart tv, so most of the features of the newer HTIB's would have been much use to me. My old roommate bought a $500-$600 Sony HTIB last year. It sounded pretty good, but my big problem with it was that the dialogue would get drowned out or come in much lower than more "explosive" scenes. So it made watching a movie at night (if one of us were trying to sleep) difficult because we'd have to turn volume up high to hear dialogue, then we'd get blown away by the volume of loud scenes. I was looking to avoid drowning out of dialogue, and I was also not very impressed with the HTIB's that I went and listened to at Best Buy. Therefore, I decided to skip the HTIB's.
What I really considered was the Bose Cinemate Series II speakers. I was very impressed with what I heard at BestBuy, and I was drawn in to how small the speakers were, but they still packed some real power with a separate bass unit. However, in the end I ultimately decided against the Bose system because I felt the price being a bit high($600), the fact that I read some complaints about the dialogue getting drowned out, and the CNET's rave review of this Haier sound bar really sold me that it could be just what I was looking for. Long story short, I researched many of the other top selling sound bars, and what I read from CNET and elsewhere made me thing this sound bar offered the best mix of features and ability, so I went with it.
Without further ado, my pros and cons of the Haier SBEV40-Slim Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer:
Pros:
1. Very easy set up. Right out of the box, the feet (included or wall mount brackets) assemble onto the soundbar in seconds. From there, it is just plugging into wall and making a connection or two with your selected device(s). I currently have my cable, blu ray, and Xbox all hooked up to my tv with HDMI, so I just bought a $5 digital audio cableAmazonBasics Digital Optical Audio Toslink Cable, 6 Feet, and hooked up strait from the TV to the sound bar, and that was it. I never have to change inputs on the soundbar. Whatever I have playing through the tv, plays through the soundbar speaker and sub. It's got good connectivity with a variety of inputs too, if you'd rather connect strait to the soundbar then the TV. All I had to do was plug the sub woofer into the wall and it automatically synced up with the speaker.
2. Crisp, clear sound. Dialogue sounds great.
3. Overall slim design is awesome. That is one of the main unique features of this soundbar is that it is so much more stylish and less bulkly than nearly all others that I have seen on the market. Big thumbs up on being able to do this but not have a dropoff in sound quality compared to other soundbars. For anyone who has a wall mounted plasma/LED, this is the perfect sound bar with its 1.1" profile, and included mounting equipment. If they can make tv's as thin as they are nowadays, why should the sound bars be 5-6" thick? Haier is ahead of the game in this matter. The sub woofer is a slim build too, but it packs some very deep and clear bass (plenty for special effects to sound great). I was a little worried that maybe the sub would not be up to what I wanted, given the slim design, but that is not the case.
4. The wireless Sub and the Speaker really work well in unison right out of the box. This was one of CNET's big points about it, and I have to say I agree 100%. Overall, the bass just seems to be in perfect harmony with the sound bar.
5. I really like and appreciate the fact that the sound bar has a light up LED screen that shows when you change setting, go up or down in volume levels, or mute it. Many other sound bars do not have screens, and I really like the fact that it disappears after a few seconds.
6. Price. Around $250, it is very reasonably priced for sound bars, while I personally feel like it is the top class of soundbars and would have expected its price to be in line with the highest premium-priced sound bars. It's a great deal in my opinion.
7. Plenty loud and can fill the room with ease. Like I said, my living room is an apartment that is not too big, but I think it would do fine in a relatively large room too (20 x 15). I love what it does for movies and playing video games. Makes them so much more engrossing. Music from Pandora sounds pretty darn good too. And just for reference, the volume goes up to 25, and I typically watch tv at around level 6.
Cons
1. While I like the simplicity and look of the remote control, I dislike how flimsy it feels (light plastic). I just feel like this soundbar and sub deserve a more substantial, less cheap-feeling remote.
2. You can't tinker with individual settings, such as bass level. As I said above, I really love the synchronization of the bass, so i's really not an issue for me. However, are a few pre-set settings to switch through (Surround, Movie, Music, News), and one of these settings usually fits whatever I am looking to listen to. However, if it is late at night and you are watching a movie, the bass may be a slight bit loud at certain points if others are sleeping in close rooms. However, there is the option on the remote to completely turn off the subwoofer, just not the option to change its volume, which would be nice to have.
3. Soundbar slightly blocks my tv IR reader. This is a problem with many soundbars if you place right in front of tv where the IR reader is. Would be nice if the sound bar shot out the signals it received from remote to the rear for the tv IR, (which I believe I saw on a Yamaha sound bar), but it does not have this functionality. With that said, it's not a problem with me because I can do some minimal remote angling and it will get to the tv with ease.
4. While I really like the sound of this sound bar, it is still a soundbar, and you aren't going to get a great or true Surround Sound experience. This soundbar and some others try to sell that you get the surround sound feeling with just the front speaker(s), but I am just not really buying into it. It fills the room great, but you don't hear the car come from behind like you may with a rear speaker surround system.
All in all, I am very impressed and pleased with the sound, style, and price of this sound bar 5 stars for sure!
Buy Haier SBC20 20-Inch 2-Channel Soundbar with iPod/iPhone/iPad dock (,2) Now
This particular soundbar is nice looking and sounds great. It has ample inputs including 3 HDMI, optical and direct line in. The remote control is nice and easy to use. The sub woofer is wireless and very easy to use as well. So why only 1 stars; well because this soundbar only accepts PCM audio, not stuff like dolby digital. So basically it works great with my ps3 and Wii, however it doesn't work with OTA HDTV. OTA HDTV broadcasts in dolby digital, my TV only has an optical output so I cannot use the soundbar when watching TV, which isn't what I wanted, especially when football starts. So be warned, if you need this soundbar to broadcast dolby digital, buy something else, it will not work on this soundbar. If I would have known this before buying, I would have went with a different soundbar. Otherwise a great product, it is a shame and a huge weakness that this soundbar does not support more audio types. Honestly I pretty much wasted $250.Read Best Reviews of Haier SBC20 20-Inch 2-Channel Soundbar with iPod/iPhone/iPad dock (,2) Here
Got this from Fry's last week. And wow, what a difference in sound. Didn't expect the sound quality to be so good. I generally am pretty picky about my sound quality and have gotten 3 sound bars to compare: the LG 3510A (low bass, no HDMI), the vizio vht215 (ugly, ARC didn't work correctly) to this.This is by far the best one out of the bunch. The sound is crystal clear, bass is clear and rich.
Bottom line: Awesome value, and looks great to boot!
Want Haier SBC20 20-Inch 2-Channel Soundbar with iPod/iPhone/iPad dock (,2) Discount?
It's not the best soundbar out there, but for the price you get a good bang for your buck. It totally beats trying to listen from my laptop or phone tho.Save 3% Off
Works great and I like the features for Movies, News Etc. I called Haier over a month ago and wanted them to send me the 3 digit code to convert over to one commerical remote. Guess what---They have not sent the code to me. Sales person said they had to contact their engineering dept. This would not rate very high in customer service.
