The Monoprice SB-300 soundbar gives Dolby Atmos compatibility and good sound, for a simplified house theater setup.
Typically easy is greatest, particularly when including a house theater speaker system to your house or workplace. The Monoprice SB-300 soundbar brings Dolby Atmos help to any TV setup, with out breaking the financial institution.
The built-in audio system of most trendy televisions are helpful, however they usually lack in sound high quality or loudness, so prospects are compelled to seek out an exterior answer. House theater speaker techniques can vary from underneath 100 {dollars} to 1000’s of {dollars}, relying in your wants.
We discovered that the Monoprice SB-300 is the proper alternative for anybody trying so as to add a speaker to their residence or bed room. Because the SB-300 does not have a separate subwoofer, it’s apartment-friendly and retains wiring and setup straightforward.
Design
The on-device buttons do not supply a lot management
The SB-300 is an unassuming soundbar with no glossy curves or shiny flashing lights — and that is a very good factor. The design will mix in with most house theater setups and sit beneath your TV with out being a distraction.
The soundbar is constructed solely of plastic, and makes use of an LED behind the speaker grate to show info. There aren’t any blinking lights or shiny shows, which minimizes the possibility that you’re going to divert your consideration from the on-screen content material.
A dimmer button on the distant can be utilized to regulate the show’s brightness ranges, and there is a setting that turns the show off solely.
Connections and controls
There are 4 audio choices out there for the soundbar: Voice, Sport, Film, Music. These might be modified utilizing the included distant management.
There is not a “commonplace” mode that does not carry out any processing, so we default to Film for many content material. As well as, needing the distant to alter sound modes manually makes it a mildly cumbersome expertise.
The soundbar itself has energy, mute, and quantity buttons for fast entry to important controls. There’s additionally an enter management and Bluetooth pairing button on high of the soundbar.
There are a number of connection choices for SB-300
A speaker on this value vary is perhaps anticipated to be restricted on enter alternative, however the SB-300 has loads of choices. There are two HDMI-in ports, coaxial, optical, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a USB-A port.
Most customers will benefit from the HDMI port, however the different port choices for older setups make this speaker versatile. As well as, the 2 HDMI 2.0 ports might assist simplify connecting gadgets like an Apple TV or Ps if the TV in use has a restricted variety of out there HDMI inputs.
The USB-A port allows exterior storage drives or MP3 gamers to attach on to the speaker. Smartphones or computer systems can benefit from the three.5mm jack or Bluetooth.
The SB-300 is a 2.1 speaker system, which implies it has two audio system in stereo and a woofer used for bass. Sometimes, audio system on this value vary would come with an exterior subwoofer, however we discovered the soundbar supplied sufficient bass by itself.
That being mentioned, we would want an exterior subwoofer at this value since a devoted subwoofer would produce a greater base than the soundbar by itself.
Utilizing the Monoprice SB-300 soundbar
We examined the soundbar utilizing the eARC HDMI connection to our Sony TV. The media participant in use was an Apple TV 4K linked on to the Sony TV enter.
Because the soundbar was linked by way of HDMI eARC, we might management quantity utilizing the Apple TV distant and iPhone Distant app with none extra configuration. This additionally means the iPhone can management the soundbar quantity when viewing the now enjoying widget on the lock display.
The Monoprice SB-300 is an effective soundbar for budget-minded houses
The speaker’s most quantity was loud sufficient to be audible in noisy environments however not so loud that it distorts audio. Nonetheless, operating a loud fan or air-con unit close by is perhaps sufficient to drown out the speaker at any however the highest volumes.
We examined varied media on the soundbar, and all of it got here via clear and loud with none concern. Some small audio system have bother with dynamic audio, however the SB-300 might preserve voices and music separate and distinct.
Films encoded with encompass sound or Dolby Atmos carried out nice regardless of the 2-speaker soundbar. Whereas it could possibly decode Dolby Atmos, it makes use of this information to attempt to simulate encompass sound in a stereo atmosphere.
The simulated encompass impact is noticeable and never unwelcome. The soundbar was in a position to make sounds seem “outdoors” of the speaker enclosure utilizing intelligent audio methods.
Do you have to purchase the SB-300 soundbar?
We will not advocate this sufficient for somebody searching for a soundbar to suit into their tiny residence or bed room. The speaker is lots loud and does not produce sufficient bass to bother your neighbors.
Nonetheless, should you dwell in a loud atmosphere, have fixed fan noise, or an A/C unit close to the TV, it’s possible you’ll wish to discover a louder speaker. We discovered that the loudest quantity might barely overcome the noise of an outdated A/C unit close by.
The soundbar comes with the whole lot you want within the field, even wall mount brackets. For a soundbar underneath $150, we consider you will be proud of the audio high quality and simple setup.
- Able to enjoying at max quantity with out distortion
- Nice sound separation for encompass impact
- A number of enter choices for optimum compatibility
- No exterior subwoofer regardless of value
- Audio modes lack customization or management
- May very well be louder at highest quantity
Ranking: 4 out of 5
The place to purchase the Monoprice SB-300 soundbar
The Monoprice SB-300 soundbar is accessible on Monoprice’s web site for $179.99.
