TVs across the board have grown slimmer which doesn’t leave much room to implement powerful speakers. Most of the current options, particularly those in the mid-range and affordable segments, need an external system for apposite audio experience. And consumers expect brands like Realme and Xiaomi to bring in such products that don’t cost as much and punch above their weight. In our Realme Soundbar review, we will try and answer if it’s one such value proposition and whether you should buy it.
Realme 100W Soundbar review: Price and specs
Realme 100W Soundbar review: Box content
There are no omissions in the box. You’d get:
Soundbar 40W subwoofer Remote control and AAA batteries AC Power adaptor HMDI cableCoaxial cableWall mount kid with screws
Realme 100W Soundbar review: Design and Connectivity
Realme Soundbar doesn’t look like a budget product at first glance. There is a metal grill running along the front and a matte finish plastic for the top and back. The sub-woofer has an appealing design and houses a 5.25-inch side-firing driver. The remote is the only part that feels cheap and flimsy, but at least it’s there. Thanks to HDMI CES, we don’t have to use it all that frequently and can mostly manage well with the TV remote. Controls are present at the top but LED indicators indicating the ‘Mode’ are positioned behind the front metal grill – which makes them useless. The soundbar announced the current Mode loudly whenever the bar powers on irrespective of the set volume. The bar has four 2” 15W speaker units (two full-range speakers & two tweeters) spread across its 940mm length. The Soundbar is reasonably slim yet conceals the IR sensor of the Realme TV when placed in front of it – which is a common peeve point of most soundbars. Realme Soundbar has all the required connectivity options. The I/O ports present on the rear include HDMI with ARC (Audio Return Channel), inline RCA, optical and coaxial digital inputs, and 3.5mm analog input. There is also built-in Bluetooth 5.1 that you can pair with multiple devices and a USB port to directly plug a flash drive.
Realme 100W Soundbar review: Setup and operation
Setting up the Realme Soundbar is an extremely simple process. Just plug the bar and play. We connected it using the HDMI ARC port but you may also choose coaxial S/PDIF, stereo RCA or 3.5mm socket. As stated above, you can switch inputs using the remote control or using the mode button. Play/Pause, power on/off, and volume buttons are also present on the Soundbar itself.
Realme 100W Soundbar review: Sound quality and performance
Realme has tuned the Soundbar for TV viewing and it works well for the said purpose. Dialogues were clean and clear even when the background score suddenly shot up and the same goes for vocals while listening to music. The Soundbar works better than the built-in TV speakers for watching action movies and sitcoms and the experience was quite immersive. The base has a nice punch to it. Don’t expect audiophile-grade music, though. The mids and high feel a bit recessed. The sound stage is not very wide and channel separation doesn’t feel very accurate. Music mode works better for listening to music, but you can switch audio modes only using the remote control. Latency is high over Bluetooth and the volume control feels a tad erratic. In spite of these issues, we’d say the audio output is good for the price. This is obviously a product that’s targeted at quotidian consumers who are not very fastidious about audio and such consumers are likely to enjoy the boost it provides over their ho-hum TV speakers.
Realme 100W Soundbar review – Should you buy it?
If you are looking for an affordable soundbar to replace your inadequate TV speakers, Realme Soundbar is an option worth considering. It looks premium, has all the required connectivity options, and has been tuned for TV viewing. If you are thinking of Soundbar that doubles as a multipurpose music system for your home, one that you can pair with multiple gadgets, perhaps you should look for more expensive options that are better suited for the purpose.
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