Sonic fury without the fuss

Loewe might have been making televisions for close to a century now, but the German lifestyle brand is returning to the global stage with audio products designed from the ground up.

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Loewe Klang Bar5 MR | Soundbar+Subwoofer | ₹1,59,900

FOR Wireless sub packs a punch, surround effect is believable, build quality is ace

AGAINST HDMI e-ARC has hiccups, remote not backlit, set-up can require owner’s manual

The Bar5 MR and the Sub5 combo makes up for the flagship product in this new range that also has smart radios and multiroom speakers of varying sizes. Measuring less than 3in in height, the Klang Bar5 MR has to be one of the slimmest high-end soundbars out there, and is wrapped in an acoustic mesh grille up front and a perforated aluminium top to conceal its upward-firing tweeters. It may not win any beauty pageants, but it has won the prestigious IF Design Award and it’s clear why. It’s a clean aesthetic that will complement any wall mounted TV perfectly and the accompanying subwoofer isn’t the usual cuboid shaped eyesore. Form follows function and it actually holds six woofers all around its periphery, of which four are passive and two are active. Together, they sync wirelessly and in terms of wired connectivity, you get HDMI ports, optical and line inputs and a 3.5mm jack. Of course, Loewe expects you to be up to speed in 2021, so it supports AirPlay 2, Chromecast and even DTS Play-Fi if you have to mix and match products from different ecosystems. As long as they support DTS Play-Fi, they will be able to stream music to the Bar5 or be connected to it as additional multiroom speakers.