For all the advances TV speakers have made to improve quality, and they are becoming significantly better than in years past, they are no substitute for a soundbar. TV speakers may provide spatial audio and crisp, clear sound, and there are indeed ways to improve the audio quality, but they can’t compete with the depth, range, power, and clarity that the best soundbar can provide.
5 tricks for making your TV sound louder
Your TV might struggle with sound, but your ears don’t have to.
Anyone who has invested in a quality smart TV, presumably in order to best enjoy films, shows, and games to their fullest, should at least consider acquiring accompanying soundbar to boost the audio. It’s often a situation where you may think your TV sounds fine if you’ve never used a soundbar before, but once you opt in, you’ll notice a world of difference and wonder whatever you were waiting for.
I tested out Amazon’s Fire TV soundbar, which presents itself as a quality and affordable sound bar that boosts your audio experience. It offers plenty of convenience, but also left me wanting a lot more.
Amazon Fire TV Soundbar, 2.0
A basic, affordable soundbar from Amazon that despite it’s name, doesn’t do much to integrate with a Fire TV. It offers decent sound quality for the price, but lacks a lot of helpful features.
- Inexpensive
- Lightweight
- Easy to use
- Two speakers
- No subwoofers
- No Dolby Atmos
Price, availability, and specs
Is the soundbar worth it?
The Amazon Fire TV soundbar retails for $120, but as it’s an Amazon product, it can often be found on sale on its website. You can connect to your TV via two wired options: optical or HDMI, which is included. It is also Bluetooth compatible.
The sleek soundbar is just two feet long with a height of 2.5 inches and 3.5 inches deep. It also weighs under four pounds, making it easy to position. The two-channel soundbar features a pair of 20W, front-facing speakers, and supports DTS Virtual: X and Dolby Digital (it does not support Dolby Atmos). It includes three basic equalizer presets in Movies, Music, and Dialogue, which is nice for watching a variety of content.
Amazon Fire TV Soundbar, 2.0
- Connectivity
- HDMi, Bluetooth, optical
- Audio Format
- DTS Virtual:X, Dolby Digital
- Power
- 20W
- Subwoofer Output
- N/A
- Dimensions
- 24 x 3.5 x 2.5 inches
- Colors
- Black
Simplicity
Easy setup and operation
The Fire Soundbar is designed for an easy user experience. Its price range, smaller size, and quick setup all combine to make for a device that is for people who know they need some better audio, but don’t want to spend a lot of time, money, or energy. I was excited that I could get up and going pretty quickly. Before even setting it up with my TV, I just plugged in the soundbar to an outlet and turned on the Bluetooth.
Despite it being called a Fire TV soundbar, which is confusing and a bit annoying, you don’t need a compatible Amazon TV to enjoy this device. I can see little-to-no added value by having a Fire TV, other than not needing two remotes.
Additionally, there’s an HDMI included for connection to your TV as well. Because it is relatively small at two feet long and surprisingly lightweight, it’s easy to wield and turn and hold as you try to navigate connecting cords and position the device. My iPhone connected quickly and my Samsung TV immediately recognized a new device.
Sound quality lacks power and precision
A thorough testing of series, film and albums
I took it on a spin of Disney+ to start. Our first stop was an episode of X-Men ’97, mainly to hear how the soundbar supports the iconic theme song. It undeniably rips, but I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t quite feel immersed in the sound, particularly since the action on screen comes at you from all over the place. Voices were clear and crisp, but the explosions left much to be desired. I didn’t feel I was in the action so much as next to it.
I didn’t feel I was in the action so much as next to it.
I was more unimpressed watching Star Wars on May the Fourth. I opted for Episode II: Attack of the Clones. I was disappointed; the sweeping piece “Across the Stars,” with its emotional rises and falls, didn’t quite come out with the soundbar. It lacks the quiet precision in the more intimate sections as well as the controlled power of the highs.
Best Bose soundbars: Audiophile recommended and ranked
Currently, these are the best soundbars in Bose’s catalog that can level up your home theater listening.
Next up was Folklore: The Long Pond Sessions, a Taylor Swift music documentary that was soundbar was much more ready for, mainly because it’s more or less an acoustic performance. There’s not a lot of deep bass or complex arrangements that require parsing and layering. I was feeling better. Still, when I switched to Spotify, I already knew what the soundbar was capable of and where it was lacking. My favorite 90s R&B and shoegaze hits aren’t as supported as my favorite current pop songs.
5 Spotify settings I use to get the most out of my TTPD listening
Taylor Swift’s lengthy album requires repeated listening and careful preparation.
Controls and design
Ready to mount right out of the box
The grill covers the entirety of the front of the speakers while creeping slightly over the edges to cover a part of the sides, the top, and the bottom. Atop the soundbar are a set of controls: you can turn the power on, connect to Bluetooth, toggle the source, and turn the volume up and down.
One plus is that the soundbar, with its less than four pounds of construction, is ready to be easily and quickly mounted with the included pair of washers, a pair of anchors, and a pair of screws. There are two holes already in the back of the soundbar on either side.
While the mounting is helpful, I do have some concerns, namely that in order for the mounted soundbar to look attractive and provide practical audio, you’ll need your TV to be mounted more or less flush to the wall. I have an older Samsung TV that’s bulkier than recent models, and I utilize a larger wall mount that allows me to turn the TV from one side to another that isn’t flush against the wall. Mounting this soundbar doesn’t make sense, and it’s worth keeping in mind if your TV comes out from the wall more than six or eight inches that the soundbar, with only a few inches of depth, is going to look off. The depth may also be an issue for projecting sound.
Best budget soundbars under $300: Level up your home audio
Upgrade your TV home viewing and gaming experience with budget soundbars from Bose, JBL, and more.
Included with the soundbar is a small remote that seems rather perfunctory. It offers basic volume controls, including a mute option, as well as the ability to go forward or back on a track listing or play and pause. The more useful options include the ability to change the EQ preset and connect via Bluetooth. If you use a Fire TV, you can utilize a single remote instead of having two sitting around, which is what I was dealing with while testing.
Limitations leave lots to be desired
You may want to pause before purchasing
There are more than a few limitations to the Fire TV soundbar that are definitely worth giving pause before purchasing. For me, the biggest setback is the lack of expansion possibilities. If you invest in this soundbar, it will be the height of your home sound system as long as you keep it around. There is no subwoofer, either built-in or additional, so the limits to the depth of sound will be readily apparent when watching or enjoying heavier content.
The Fire TV Soundbar isn’t designed to expand beyond the two channels, so you can’t add rear or side speakers to the arrangement (mixing and matching speakers from different brands seems highly complicated and risky). Outside the three presets, there is no way to adjust your sound quality. There is no compatible app, and it doesn’t integrate any virtual assistants, so the only way to operate the soundbar is with a remote.
Verdict: Who exactly is it for?
It’s hard to recommend this soundbar outside very specific situations for certain people. The ideal situation is you have an older TV that sounds bad, and you simply want to upgrade the quality without paying too much money. The soundbar is cheap, and because it’s Amazon, it’s likely to be on sale often.
However, because there are only two channels, and you can’t expand the arrangement, it’s not ideal for anything with a high quality TV looking to create an immersive audio experience. There are better soundbars to invest in that will include a subwoofer and another channel. The TV speakers won’t be significantly improved by this Amazon soundbar, and even so, if you’re spending a lot of money on a TV, you should have some money to spend on a quality soundbar.
The speaker is fine, and priced low enough to be tempting, but saving money now may limit you down the road.
Trending Products
