Hisense U5120GW

Mark Craven enjoys the connection flexibility - and Atmos presentation – of this two-piece sound system

- Mark Craven

WITH THE U5120GW, Hisense is upping its soundbar game. Previously, the Chinese company's soundbars (the ones sold in the UK, at least) have been budget affairs - just £130 would get you its most expensive 2021 model. This new arrival sells for £499.

A few things explain this. Firstly, it's a Dolby Atmos soundbar with physical upfiring drivers rather than the more affordable (and usually less impressive) virtual alternative. There's even decoding of DTS:X soundtracks.

Secondly, it's big at around 1.2m wide, suited to TVs 55in and up. The accompanying wireless subwoofer is also moderately large.

And then there's the rest of the spec, which includes seven sound presets, and a connections bank that is comprehensive for this day and age, even including both coaxial and optical digital ins.

These are likely to be left unused by many, so it's perhaps a bit of overkill from Hisense, but the fact the U5120GW also features two HDMI inputs, to go with its third HDMI (eARC) connection, is superb. This means external hardware (the TV) isn't going to add another layer of confusion to the process of getting sound. During my audition, being able to run a 4K deck and Sky Q box direct into the 'bar was useful, not lease because I could always know exactly what audio format I was feeding it.