The Sony S100F 2.0ch Soundbar with Bass Reflex Speaker is a simple, no-frills upgrade over the thin, tinny speakers built into most flat-screen TVs. It’s a 35-inch black bar that sits on a stand under your TV or mounts to the wall behind it, and it connects through a single HDMI cable using the ARC port on the back of most modern televisions. Setup takes about five minutes from the time you pull it out of the box to the moment you’re actually hearing dialogue clearly for the first time in years.
Head over to Amazon to get the Sony S100F 2.0ch Soundbar with Bass Reflex Speaker for just $98, down from its usual price of $118. That’s a $20 discount and 17% off.
A wireless soundbar with excellent audio and quick setup
Inside the bar, Sony is running a two-channel system using an internal tweeter for the highs and a bass reflex port, adding low-end weight that does not need a subwoofer. The total wattage of this speaker system is 120 watts, enough to fill a small to medium-sized area such as a bedroom, den, home office, or apartment living room. In addition to the ability to produce good-quality audio at lower volumes, you’ll also experience improved dialogue clarity while watching TV shows.
Sony’s S-Force Pro Front Surround technology handles the simulated surround sound. It’s not going to fool anyone into thinking they have a full 5.1 setup with rear speakers, but it does widen the soundstage past the physical edges of the bar and give movies a bit more atmosphere. For news, sitcoms, sports, and most TV dramas, that wider soundstage is more than enough.
Connectivity is kept intentionally simple. HDMI ARC is the main input, optical digital is there as a backup for older TVs, and a USB port on the back lets you plug in a flash drive loaded with MP3 files if you still keep a music library that way. Bluetooth is built in for streaming music from a phone, tablet, or laptop, though the older Bluetooth version means it’s better suited to music than to video, where audio lag can become noticeable.
Physical design keeps things low-profile. The bar measures just under 35 inches and sits low enough on most TV stands to avoid blocking the TV’s remote sensor. Keyhole mounts on the back make it easy to hang on the wall underneath a wall-mounted TV, and the included remote handles volume, input switching, and the preset sound modes for cinema, music, and standard listening.
The Sony S100F 2.0ch Soundbar with Bass Reflex Speaker is on sale for $98 instead of the usual $118. For anyone who still watches TV through the built-in speakers and wonders why dialogue in every modern movie sounds like a whisper, this is the cheapest real fix on the market.