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Another important factor to consider is longevity. When you buy a high-quality Sharp HT-SBW460 3.1 Wireless Sound Bar with Dolby Atmos, you’re making an investment that is likely to last longer. Cheaper products may seem like a good deal at the time, but they are often made with lower-quality materials and are not designed to last as long. This means that you may end up having to replace your device sooner, which can end up costing you more in the long run. The Stage V2 is also one of the best-connected cheap soundbars around, offering optical, HDMI ARC, AUX and USB-C connections along with wireless streaming over Bluetooth 5.0. If you’re after a cheap soundbar with a discrete subwoofer, this is the bar to buy.
Fortunately, it can be fixed, although not via level adjustments or by moving the sub around the room. I tried the latter technique to no avail. Nothing remedied the problem until I stuffed a couple of microfibre cleaning cloths into the bass reflex port at the rear. With this fix in place, the bass became much more controlled and manageable, even tuneful. There are some basic controls on the top for power, source and volume up/down. There also a proper LED display that clearly shows useful information such as the source, volume, audio format and sound mode. It makes a refreshing change from no display at all or a complex combinations of lights that has you reaching for the manual in frustration. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that, with the port stuffed, this is one of the best-sounding soundbars I’ve ever heard at this price. It’s musical and very detailed, and there’s plenty of scale. Even the bar’s virtual surround-sound mode, designed to add width to non-surround-sound material, works quite well, adding a sense of space and depth that wasn’t there before. The Sharp HT-SBW460 is compact, measuring 950mm wide, 105mm deep and 70mm tall, so it will suit most TVs from 42in upwards. Dolby Atmos-compatible soundbars generally combine the traditional soundbar tech with upward-firing speakers – like those in the Sharp HT-SBW800 – to recreate the Atmos experience without the clutter of a proper surround sound system.
4K pass through
The bar itself is also more compact than the V2 and you get a couple of HDMI inputs instead of an AUX-in and USB-C port, which will probably prove more useful for most people. The 360 also offers a range of sound modes tailored for different types of content and there’s even an option that optimises audio performance based on whether you’re sat within 1m of the bar while using it connected to your PC or further away with it hooked up to your TV. Still, this does at least make it super easy to set up the Sharp HT-SBW460. Once you’ve hooked up your HDMI inputs and outputs, and positioned the subwoofer, there’s no further setup required. Although the bar supports a fair few surround-sound standards – including Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital – you don’t need to do anything to enable them. The bar will simply switch into the most appropriate mode automatically, indicating which type of connection it’s using clearly on the LED display. So, if you don’t mind a bit of audio DIY, the Sharp HT-SBW460 is an attractive choice, but if you’d rather not tinker, you’re better off losing the extra audio channel and buying the Creative Stage 360 instead.
There’s no DTS support, though; instead, when this type of signal is detected the soundbar switches into PCM audio mode and downmixes the signal to stereo. Most manufacturers state the peak and average (Root Mean Squared or RMS) output of their soundbars in watts (W). Larger soundbars with more speaker drivers are capable of outputting bigger sound than their compact competitors but don’t worry too much about finding a bar with massive audio output. Both soundbars have two HDMI inputs and one HDMI output along with 4K pass-through and ARC CEC functions. They’re also compatible with loads of devices with Bluetooth 4.2, digital optical, aux, coax and USB. The downward-firing subwoofer sits on sturdy rubber feet that provide a good degree of support and isolation, and at the rear there’s a bass port for added low-end impact. The sub’s design mirrors the soundbar, and the two should pair automatically when you first set them up. If they don’t, there’s a pairing button at the rear of the sub. While these new soundbars aren’t quite the cheapest out there, they are among the more affordable available, especially when you consider some of the higher end options on the market.
Sound quality is impressive too, with virtual surround sound reasonably effective given the limitations of a 2.0-channel setup and plenty of ways to customise your audio experience. That customisation extends to the Katana SE’s LED lighting too, which won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but is an essential inclusion for some gamers. The bar is small but perfectly formed and a big step up from your TV’s audio output when it comes to detail, mid-range positivity and crisp articulation of higher frequencies. The accompanying subwoofer, which can be positioned vertically or horizontally, delivers a hearty low-end punch while remaining controlled and rhythmically astute. Dialogue is particularly well-handled, with voices proving characterful and nuanced even during the most hectic on-screen action. Connectivity is decent too, with Bluetooth support in addition to a pleasing number of physical options, including HDMI (ARC). Two inputs is pretty good for this price – the upcoming Sonos Arc doesn't include any HDMI inputs at all! – so you not only don't lose an HDMI port from your TV when connecting this, you actually gain an extra one. The Dolby Atmos decoding is often impressive, placing effects around the front of the room with an exacting precision. The disembodied voices at the start of Mad Max: Fury Road are particularly effective, floating in a definable three dimensional sound field. The upward-firing drivers certainly work, bouncing sounds off the ceiling and creating the illusion there are speakers above you. Watching the start of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, there’s a palpable thud as massive spaceships break through the atmosphere above your head. The other two sound modes are less impressive, but useful nonetheless. The processing-free Pure setting delivers audio as intended by its creator, while Night mode decreases the dynamic range to improve low-volume listening. There are also three dialogue enhancement options available, all of which successfully accentuate speech.
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