A FAIR HEARING

It needn't cost the earth to get a soundbar that does justice to your TV's images

Well-known fact: most modern televisions – including many of the affordable ones – look terrific. Equally well-known fact: most of them – including many of the expensive ones – sound as flat as the panels they are made of. Lesser-known fact: for very little cash you can significantly boost the sound quality of any flatscreen TV by hooking it up to one of the many affordable soundbars on the market.

It’s this lesser-known truth that we at What Hi-Fi? are keen to propagate, which is why we have assembled this standout trio of modestly priced soundbars to help you improve on the sound offered by your TV’s onboard speakers.

These soundbars vary in size, shape and features so you can pick the one that best suits your needs (and your telly), and all of them are Bluetooth-equipped so you can listen to music as well as get more from film soundtracks and effects.

HISENSE HS214 2.1

It’s hard to dislike Hisense’s inexpensive but effective soundbar

Compact soundbars are by definition limited in size, meaning that adding some low end to proceedings is typically the preserve of larger, mid-range models. But obviously no one told Hisense, whose cheap and cheerful HS214 has a 75mm down-firing woofer on its underside, adding a welcome touch of bass to this petite, straightforward and affordable TV speaker upgrade.

The HS214 has a classic soundbar aesthetic with a black-grained vinyl-look top, metal grille and two ports sitting at either end of the 65cm long chassis. Underneath it sports two front-firing full-range drivers, while mounted in the base of the cabinet is a dedicated bass unit.