Your big-screen TV might be one of the very, very many that suffers from a common malady — incredible picture, but what did that person just say? Even the best picture can’t make up for missing dialogue, and all too many big-screen models come with unfortunately muddy sound when it comes to the spoken word. Amazon’s Fire TV Soundbar Plus breaks out the dialogue into crisp and clear form, and during this deal it does it for less — just $190, 24% off its regular price.
The newest model of the Fire TV Soundbar Plus is a 3.1 system, meaning the subwoofer is built directly into the bar rather than being a separate unit you need to tuck under a cabinet and connect wirelessly. That means simpler setup, cleaner living room, same bass response. For a dedicated soundbar under $200, that configuration is hard to come by.
Full Spatial Audio, Not Full Price
The audio specs that come with the Fire TV Soundbar Plus are far more substantial than the sale price. Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support mean compatible content will get the full spatial audio treatment, with sound that’s designed to feel like it’s moving through a space rather than just shooting out of a bar toward your face.
The dedicated center channel is the key to dialogue clarity, along with a third discrete channel that does a lot of the heavy lifting. If you’ve ever had to ride the volume control up and down through an action scene because you couldn’t catch what anyone was saying, a proper center channel fixes that.
From Box to Boom in Minutes
The setup is as simple as it gets. The Fire TV Soundbar ships with an HDMI cable, which plugs itinto the ARC or eARC port on your TV for the two devices sync automatically. Content-aware modes (Movie, Music, Sports, Night) handle the tuning from there, and the Night mode in particular is the kind of feature that earns its keep quickly if you’re watching anything with dynamic range — explosions to whispers — when other people are asleep. Bluetooth is also on board for streaming directly from a phone or tablet without touching the TV at all.
The Fire TV Soundbar Plus’s deal price of $190 positions it where the alternatives are mostly 2.0 bars without real subwoofer support, or 2.1 systems with a separate sub you’ll be tripping over. The built-in 3.1 configuration here, combined with Atmos and DTS:X at this price, is the real appeal. If your TV’s audio has been an ongoing frustration, this deal makes the fix feel more like it’s finally within reach.
