Surround sound comeback king

Philips' transforming Fidelio soundbar offers old-school home cinema thrills, says Steve May

- Steve May

In the Love, Death & Robots episode ‘Automated Customer Service’ (Netflix, Dolby Atmos), a robot vacuum decides to purge a house of all living things, including its elderly resident. The animation style may be goofy, but the deep thrum the Vacubot makes as it hunts its prey is chilling; I began to fear this smart bar might have similarly malicious intent. Death by infrasonics? I can think of worse ways to go.

The Philips Fidelio B97 soundbar drops deeper than James Cameron chasing the Titanic. You might think the fancy detachable speaker modules that double as wireless rears would be the star of this high-end soundbar, but it's actually the subwoofer in this twin set that’s the pearl. It delivers profound, subterranean bass, the kind that slams you in the chest. Even The Rock would stagger under the weight of its output.

Back in business

The B97 is the new king of Philips' soundbar range, and the first to carry 'Fidelio' branding since that premium product class was resurrected in 2020.

It’s a 7.1.2 design with category redefining functionality. Philips calls its detachable speaker enclosures 'surround sound on demand', and that’s precisely what they offer. A light tug removes them from the main 'bar, so you can position them to the side of, or behind, your hot seat.

When set free, these enclosures pair with the soundbar automatically over Wi-Fi. They’ll run for upwards of ten hours, and recharge their batteries when reconnected to the main hardware (there’s also a USB-C option if you need it).