AmazonFire TV Soundbar Plus with subwoofer and surround sound speakers (newest model), 5.1 channel, Dolby Atmos, clear dialogue

Foreward:The market for home entertainment (specifically set-top boxes), whilst cutthroat, is also annoyingly lame. I use Plex to stream the majority of my entertainment, not whatever streaming service of the week is more interesting - and as a result, I care more about quality, but also codec support. To that end, the market shrinks to 3 real competitors, Amazon's Fire TV, Nvidia's Shield, and Apple's... Apple TV. (Roku and Google have poor audio codec support.)Of the 3, Apple requires me to buy into the walled garden, and Nvidia is doable, but it seems like support might be waning in the long-term. Amazon's Fire TV devices therefore is the obvious choice to me, which put me in a weird predicament - what to use for sound? I actually bought 2 Echo Studios and an Echo sub, and used them as my sound system, which worked but didn't support Dolby TrueHD audio, a codec I frequently encounter with content on my Plex server (which trips up family members who are using plex), and I was disappointed by it's (admittedly infrequent, but not zero) disconnects - where they would just stop playing audio, or worse, play audio with a delay. When Amazon announced this, and it's (rather low) introductory price, I was surprised but interested enough to buy the full kit.Sound:Listing this first, as it's the single most-important feature. Sound quality is good, it's able to get loud without distortion, and the dialogue boost is rather helpful. Being a soundbar, stereo separation isn't very good (i.e. left- or right-channel sound seems to come more from the center than their respective direction), so I strongly recommend getting the kit with the surround speakers, they're crucial to providing a proper left and right effect, but otherwise the sound is surprisingly good for the price.The bass response is surprisingly crisp, and I find it adding a lot of richness to even standard stereo audio, and definitely making itself present with properly mixed soundtracks.Setup:It's very simple, plug it into your TV's HDMI-ARC port and call it a day. It uses a protocol called "HDMI-CEC" to receive volume commands from your TV or streaming device, which means that you don't have to program any fancy remotes. Some people have tried connecting Amazon's previous soundbar via bluetooth, which does not end well - you will only get high quality audio if you use the HDMI cable, bluetooth is for when you want to stream audio from your cellphone.I almost forgot to mention the wireless speakers and subwoofer. They came pre-paired, and required no additional setup, beyond plugging them in (to power) and setting them up where I wanted them.Observations:Based on codecs that I send it, and on what audio actually plays, it seems to support every audio codec under the sun, even the rather difficult Dolby TrueHD. DTS is also supported, but DTS-HD:MA is a mixed bag - DTS (the company) encodes a regular DTS stream (the codec) into their DTS-HD:MA streams, so if I send a HD:MA stream to the device, I'll still hear audio (even if HD:MA support isn't there, thus I cannot confirm HD:MA support). Personally, I think the difference between regular AC3 and TrueHD, alongside DTS and DTS-HD:MA is indistinguishable for the average listener - the primary reason I bought this is so my folks don't hear nothing, or trigger a transcode no matter what audio settings they instruct plex to use.The subwoofer is about twice or thrice the volume of my old Echo Sub, but the actual speaker driver seems to only be an inch or inch and a half larger in diameter. The weight is roughly the same, which indicates to me that Amazon has built the subwoofer with some tuned resonance chamber, which seems to be the real reason why it sounds so much better. My only gripe with the system as a whole, is that the subwoofer's placement instructions recommend it be kept more than 12 inches from a wall, and away from corners - It seems this is due to their choice of having the speaker for it face downwards between the feet, rather than to the side, but I would prefer a more directional subwoofer if it meant I could stick it in a corner and keep my living room more tidy.Conclusion:I know a lot of people are disappointed by the soundbar not having FireTV built into it, or by missing some special features that might make it magical - but I am pleased as punch for that. In a world where everyone is trying to corral you into their walled garden, Amazon made a soundbar that will let you cancel your prime subscription, or ditch the Fire TV Stick, and it'll still work just as fine. It supports a wide range of codecs, uses industry-standard connectivity (HDMI-ARC & CEC), and doesn't punish you if you prefer to use a Roku, google TV, or an Nvidia Shield.

This is my first sound system so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but I love this one and couldn’t think of anything to make it better. The sound quality is awesome, even at high volumes. The different modes are great; sports games sound awesome, movies have cool effects out of the side speakers, and the music mode fills the whole room. The sub woofer really makes a difference when blasting music loud for a party.Install was super easy.

1. The subwoofer DEFINITELY works.2. The setup is almost annoyingly simple. Plug the main bar's HDMI into your tv's HCMI-ARC port (had to look on my tv, a TCL - mine was HDMI 4). Then plug the subwoofer and L/R speakers into individual power.2a. Is the power on, on these speakers? White light on? Then they are connected. Automatically. You are done, right there.2b. Nothing TELLS you that you are done, you just are lol2c. So don't spend time searching around menus (or even the instruction manual), like I did.3. Using the remote, tap the bass / treble / dialog buttons until that main bar audibly tells you what you want to hear. There is no visual menu, except the lights on the bar itself. Nine (9) is maximum on any of them.4. Did I mention the subwoofer works? I recommend several full-volume tests, when you're running a fun (game/movie/whatever). Very cool.

Update 12/12/24I wanted to update this review because I was able to get everything working. On my old fire TV I went into the settings and made everything auto and that seemed to have fixed the issues I was having.Unfortunately, my TV broke and I had to get a new one. I invested in a quality Sony tv and the soundbar system works like a plug and play with it, so no complaints. The sound itself is crisp and bassy. I'm no audiophile, so it sounds great enough to me.The reason I won't change it to 5 stars is because the hassle I had when originally trying to to get everything working correctly. If you can manage to get it to work correctly, it's a value.--------------------Old review:To say that I'm extremely disappointed by this soundbar system would be an understatement. Upon unboxing the soundbar, getting everything in place and connecting them it hasn't worked correctly.I have a fire TV OLED. This should be plug and play. It's not. The first time I turned it on immediately the soundbar would change the tv input back and forth, almost like a bad HDMI cable. I switched the cable and it didn't fix it.I went into my equipment under the tv settings and that seemed to help, but not much.The rear speakers don't play sound.It plays static noises.I'll be returning it. I'm sad I wasted my money on this when I should have gotten something better that was on sale.