The Sharp HT-SB100 is the concrete demonstration of why you should buy a soundbar to be combined with more or less any TV. Not because it is perfect, has top specs and is the best in everything. Simply, because it is the confirmation that such a device, even simple and relatively cheap (costs 79 euros)is able to radically improve the listening experience of modern flat screen TVs.
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How the Sharp HT-SB100 is made
On sale since August, it has a dark colored front grille and a black top, shiny and slightly inclined towards the rear: nothing can be placed on it, because it will slide backwards. There is no display and the dimensions are small (about 80 centimeters): the Japanese company recommends it for “televisions with a 32-inch or larger screen”, we we tried it with a 55 ” (this) and we did not find it underpowered.
The configuration phase is relatively simple: a cable to the current, one to the TV, the batteries (included) inside the nice remote control and you can proceed to listen. We used the connection with an optical cable, both because we did not have an extra HDMI cable and because we consider it more reliable and stable. Two precautions: you have to choose the right source, from the remote control or from the soundbar itself (between Optical, ARC, USB, AUX or Bluetooth), and if some sources are muted, it is necessary set the TV audio output to PCM. It happened to us with streaming platforms, which did not emit sound despite the fact that the TV channels, YouTube videos and video games on our Xbox sounded perfectly: it was enough to change a setting and we solved the problem.
How the Sharp HT-SB100 sounds
This soundbar has 75W maximum output power and a 2.0 stereo system, simple but effective: there are 3 equalization presets (Music, Film and Voice), or you can adjust the bass and treble according to your preferences. Which, however, is a somewhat cumbersome operation, especially due to the absence of even a small screen: our advice is to use the Movie mode practically always and to switch to Music only while listening to the songs. A couple of clicks on the remote and you get out of it all.
The sound performance seemed very good to us: mind you, we are not faced with a product that will shake the walls, crack the windows or scare the neighbors, but the purpose of a soundbar is not this. As said at the beginning, the point is to improve the listening experience. Which is something that the Sharp HT-SB100 does very well: in movies and TV series, the sound effects are convincing and the voices clear and well understood, even without resorting to Voice mode. Playing at Forza Horizon 5which is now a bit our benchmark, the difference between listening with / without soundbar is widely perceptible, as well as the details that make it different the rougher tone of an AMG V8 and the loudest of an Audi V10.
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What we liked
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value for money
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sound rendering
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ease of use