68 SEPTEMBER 2019 |COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE 379
HOME CINEMA
SONY
KD-55XF9005
★★★★★
£999•www.johnlewis.comThere’s no
ultra-high-
tech trickery
here: just asoundbar,subwooferand their combined
14 drivers blastingout pristine-qualityaudio,with Samsung’susual
high standardsforconnectivity.SPEAKERS (^14) • RMSPOWEROUTPUT372W•DIMENSIONS1,230x83x136mm(soundbar),
203x400x416mm(subwoofer)•NETWORKING802.11nWi-Fi,Bluetooth•WARRANTYOneyear
RTB•DETAILSwww.samsung.com/uk•PARTCODEHW-N850•FULLREVIEWFeb2019
SCREENSIZE55in•NATIVERESOLUTION3,840x2,160•VIDEOINPUTS4xHDMI•
TUNERFreeviewHD•DIMENSIONS771x1,228x258mm•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•
DETAILSwww.sony.co.uk•PARTCODEKD-55XF9005•FULLREVIEWAug2018
Direct-lit backlighting,excellent upscalingand
beautifullysmoothmotionmakethe KD-55XF9005a
worthy alternative to high-endOLED TVs, even though
it only has aVApanel.
SONOSBeam
★★★★★
£399•www.sonos.com
The Beam could join
ahome cinema
setup on sound quality alone,but it’s loaded
with smart features, too. It can adjust sound output to the size
and layout of aroom, forexample,and form amultiroomsystem
with other Sonos speakers.
SPEAKERS (^5) • RMSPOWEROUTPUTNotstated•DIMENSIONS651x100x69mm•WEIGHT
2.8kg•DOCKCONNECTORNone•NETWORKING802.11acWi-Fi,Ethernet•WARRANTYOne
yearRTB•DETAILSwww.sonos.com•PARTCODEBEAM1UK1•FULLREVIEWApr2019
PHILIPS55PUS6753/12
★★★★★
£429•www.amzn.to/2HwzUka
This Philips set
doesn’t have
the best
implementationof HDR we’ve
seen on aTV, but otherwise,the
55PUS6753/12is afantastic4K screen forarelativelylow price.
SCREENSIZE55in•NATIVERESOLUTION3,840x2,160•VIDEOINPUTS3xHDMI,5xcomponent•
TUNERFreeviewHD•DIMENSIONS781x1,244x266mm•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•
DETAILSwww.philips.co.uk•PARTCODE55PUS6753/12•FULLREVIEWDec2018
PANASONICDMP-UB900
★★★★★
£319•www.hifonix.co.uk
Together with the
SamsungUBD-K8500,this forms the
vanguardof anew breed of Ultra HD Blu-rayplayers.
Samsung’smodel is cheaper,but the DMP-UB900has superior
features, particularlywhere audio deliveryis concerned.
BLU-RAYPROFILE6.0•3DCAPABLEYes•DIMENSIONS435x199x68mm•
NETWORKINGEthernet,802.11acWi-Fi•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•
DETAILSwww.panasonic.co.uk•PARTCODEDMP-UB900EB•FULLREVIEWAug2016
SAMSUNGHW- 850
★★★★★
£799•www.box.co.uk
excellentupscalingand
53/1 -N850
PHILIPS65OLED80
★★★★★
£2,799•www.currys.co.uk
If you’ve got the budg
foranOLED TV,this is a
great pick. The panel technology’sbuilt-in
strengths,such as perfect blacks and wide viewingangles, are
aided by Philips’exemplaryimage processingengine,resultingin
truly wonderfulpicturequality.
SCREENSIZE65in•NATIVERESOLUTION3,840x2,160•VIDEOINPUTS4xHDMI,1xComponent
- TUNERFreeviewHD•DIMENSIONS824x1,449x280mm•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•
DETAILSwww.philips.co.uk•PARTCODE65OLED803/12•FULLREVIEWApr2019
S
★★
£390333
getget01
If you don’t have space in your home
cinemasetup foraset of surround-
sound speakers,asoundbaris the next best
thing. Whetheryou opt forasoundbar
(which typicallysits in front of your TV
stand) or asoundplate(which sits
underneathyour TV), you’ll be getting
significantlybetter audio than the weedy
speakerstoday’s flatscreenTVsprovide.02
If you want to cut down on cable
clutter,look forasoundbarwith
multipleHDMI inputs and outputsas well as
Audio Return Channel(ARC). Not all
soundbarsuse HDMI, with many makingdo
with digital optical audio connections
instead. This means you’ll have to connect
Blu-rayplayers, games consolesand set-topChoosing a... Soundbar
boxes to your TV and run all audio througha
single cable.Also look forphono inputs for
connectingolder devices and 3.5mm audio
jacks fortablets or smartphones.03
As with any speaker,the numberof
speakerdriversinside asoundbar
should give agood indicationof its audio
capabilities.Althoughthis won’t tell you
everythingabout sound quality,you should
still look out forseparatemid-rangedrivers
and tweeters, as these should be able to
deliver awider frequencyrange than
full-rangedriversalone.04
Bluetooth supportis amust if you
want to listen to music from a
smartphoneor tablet withoutwires.Most soundbarsnow includeBluetooth as
standardbut, if your device supportsit, it’s
worth lookingforamobile soundbarthat
includesaptX. This less-lossycodec is
capableof higher-qualitystreamingthan
the standardA2DP profile.
AirPlaystreamingis less common,but
iPhoneownersshould keep an eyeout forit.05
Foralittle extra bass, be sure to
look forasoundbarwith aseparate
subwoofer. Many soundbarsincludea
wired sub,but forextra convenienceyou
should look foramodel with awireless
subwooferinstead. These can be placed
anywherein aroom near apower socket,
withouthaving to run acable back to the
soundbaritself.