Hisense HS214

It's hard to dislike Hisense's inexpensive but effective HS214 soundbar

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The primary concern for most manufacturers of smaller-budget soundbars is usually to improve dialogue clarity while broadening your TV's soundstage a little and maybe offering a few options for playback from a handheld device.

Compact soundbars are by definition limited in size, meaning that adding some low end to proceedings is typically the preserve of larger, mid-range models. But obviously no-one told Hisense, whose cheap and cheerful HS214 soundbar has a 75mm downfiring woofer positioned on its underside, adding a welcome touch of bass to this petite, straightforward and affordable TV speaker upgrade.

Hisense has garnered a name for itself in recent years as a significant player in the budget TV sector. The launch of the HS214 is still awaited in India however. Decent options for improving your TV sound at this price point are few, and those models that tend to succeed do so by keeping things simple. The competent but pared-back 2.0 Sony HT-SF150, for example, has an impressive cinematic soundstage but slightly recessed vocals.

The HS214 has a classic soundbar aesthetic with a black grained vinyl-look top, metal grille and two ports sitting at either end of the 65cm-long chassis. Underneath, it sports two front-firing full-range drivers, while mounted in the base of the cabinet is a dedicated bass unit. There is no external protection for the downward-firing driver, so caution should be used when unboxing to avoid poking a hole in the cone.

Decent build quality