Even with our Nostradamus-like powers of prognostication, we freely admit that the arrival of a new Sharp Bluetooth turntable was not on our 2026 bingo card.

It’s been around 20 or so years since Sharp, the brand we now more readily associate with TV and home cinema gear (and sponsoring Manchester United in the early ’90s), put out a new record player. Yet the established Japanese manufacturer has clearly been keeping one eye on the surging vinyl revival as it unveils its new RP-TT100 deck.

Sadly, you don’t simply get to walk back into the arena after a long absence and expect to dominate the competition. It just happens that Sony has also decided to get back onto the proverbial turntable horse in 2026, with its five-star Sony PS-LX3BT and PS-LX5BT also offering automatic operation, Bluetooth powers and built-in phono stages, albeit at higher prices than the Sharp.

Comebacks can be tricky things – just ask Katy Perry – so it’s time to find out if Sharp still has that cutting edge, or if it’s been left behind by the ever-spinning world of turntables.

Build & design

Considering its entry-level price tag, the Sharp RP-TT100 is a rather nice turntable to behold, and we’re pleased with the levels of quality the Sharp manages to exude.

It’s arguably a more attractive proposition than the Sony PS-LX3BT (£249 / $400 / AU$469) – whereas the Sony can come across a tad ‘Fisher-Price’, we can see the appeal of the RP-TT100’s more compact and sleeker profile.

That modest aesthetic appeal is paired with lots of user-friendly simplicity. Sharp’s slender turntable is well laid out and simple in its set-up and operation, with the only tasks required to get it started being to attach the rubber belt to the platter and place said platter, along with its mat, onto the main plinth.

Once that’s done, you’re pretty much ready to rock and roll. The cartridge comes pre-attached to the tonearm, and this being a fully automatic model, there’s no tinkering with tonearm tracking weights, either.

The budget-friendly turntable features an aluminium platter and a metal tonearm, as well as a matte black housing and a Perspex dust cover which can be attached via a series of plastic clips. The supplied cartridge is an Audio-Technica AT3600L moving magnet that tracks securely at 3.5g.

Elsewhere, the Sharp’s combination of clean design and usability makes operation a breeze. A host of buttons in the bottom right corner are available for power, Bluetooth pairing, returning and then lifting/lowering the tonearm, and playback – all of which are responsive and nice to use.

What we perhaps didn’t expect to find is a dial in the left-hand corner which will skip forward or backwards on your record by around a minute via left or right turns respectively. Better still, there’s an included remote control (yes, with a turntable!) for putting your deck into pairing mode, switching it on/off, skipping forward and back and returning the tonearm to its original position.

You may use the slim remote and think it’s not working, but bear in mind that the buttons need a really firm, deliberate press if you want to get the desired response.

Features

On the RP-TT100, you’ll also discover twin toggles for switching between record sizes – either 7 or 12 inches – and selecting either 33⅓ or 45 RPM speeds, both accompanied by small LEDs to let you know which option you’ve selected.

Bluetooth 5.4 is on the menu for streaming to compatible Bluetooth speakers and wireless headphones. Although, there’s none of the hi-res streaming codec support for the likes of aptX HD or Adaptive that you might find on the Sony PS-LX3BT or PS-LX5BT turntables.

Still, connecting to standard Bluetooth is hardly a chore. It’s a simple process to get the deck into pairing mode: just press the button with the large Bluetooth rune emblazoned upon it, and your nearby device should connect automatically.

If it doesn’t, make sure your receiving Bluetooth device of choice is also in pairing mode, something we manage by pressing the Bluetooth icon on our trusty JBL Charge 6 speaker and waiting a few moments for it to make a connection.

Despite its modest outlay, the RP-TT100 is fitted with a built-in phono stage, which is always useful if your amp or active speakers don’t happen to have one.

You can, of course, just bypass the Sharp’s phono output to use either a separate phono stage or your amplifier’s, making sure to toggle the switch on the back of your turntable from ‘line’ to ‘phono’ if you’re using an external phono stage.

Last but not least, a USB-C port is available for converting your records into digital files via a computer.

Sound

We want a revealing system to get the measure of the Sharp RP-TT100, so most of our listening is done with the turntable’s line-level output connected to the Arcam A5+ (£749 / $1200 / AU$1595) integrated amplifier to test the player’s phono stage. The speakers we use are the five-star Epos ES-7N (£1890 / $2850), and we also partner it with the more price-appropriate Ruark MR1 Mk3 (399 / $579 / AU$899) desktop powered speakers.

We place our first record – Will McNicol’s Volume Two series of folk/jazz recordings – onto the RP-TT100 with a little trepidation. This is Sharp’s first turntable in a long time, one stuffed to the brim with plenty of features for under £200. In the back of our minds, we wonder how much of the budget was left over for focusing on actual sound quality.

This feels like the scene in Oppenheimer where the team of scientists are nervously performing their nuclear ‘Trinity’ test for the first time, yet our trepidation soon turns to relief as we discover a budget turntable that is, at the very least, competent. It makes a sound and doesn’t gash our favourite records, so that’s a good start.

Will McNicol makes for a nice, easy place for the RP-TT100 to begin, and the Sharp deck makes a solid account of itself as it clearly and efficiently runs through each acoustic track with stability and composure.

No, these aren’t hugely complex arrangements, but they’re delicate and subtly emotive, all characteristics which the RP-TT100 just about reveals as it goes about its business with quiet confidence.

Detail levels are reasonable for the price, and while lesser decks at this level can sound coarse or hard-edged, the Sharp reins itself in admirably. Leading edges of violins, acoustic guitars and cellos are defined yet not over-etched, with the RP-TT100’s composed, uncluttered temperament giving McNicol’s Before The Light space simply to exist and shine.

This is all rather positive, so it’s time to see if we can push Sharp’s low-cost player a little further. Lukas Graham’s sincere and emotive Happy Home comes next, and this is where issues begin to arise.

The Sharp struggles to track the song’s dynamic swells with any real gusto, all while failing to bring out enough of the emotion from Tom Jones’ Did Trouble Me to make the Welsh crooner sound sufficiently engaging.

As we load up Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, we further expose the Sharp’s limitations. The RP-TT100 gives it a good go, but it simply doesn’t have the dynamic stretch or the sense of presence or scale to give Ludwig his due. Rhythmic patterns aren’t teased out with any real clarity or verve, leaving much of the drama of the piece to fall by the wayside.

Switching over to the slightly more costly PS-LX3BT reminds us just how good Sony’s five-star competitor is at this level. Across all aspects, it proves itself a punchier and more dynamic contender, with the Pastoral Symphony sounding lively and engaging thanks to the rival Sony’s more adept handling of rhythms and dynamics.

We’ve been listening to the RP-TT100 via its built-in phono stage, and as you might expect, moving over to our Arcam A5+ amp’s phono stage does make everything sound better.

The Arcam's phono circuit is simply more detailed and spacious, making tracks such as Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams or Bach’s Siciliano in G Minor sound more layered and musically sophisticated, even if the Sharp’s core limitations still remain.

Elsewhere, the RP-TT100’s Bluetooth performance is solid, and even with the standard codec, we’re pleased to discover that records such as Leon Bridges’ Gold-Diggers Sound and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours are cohesive and reasonably detailed when beaming out to a pair of Sony WH-1000XM6 over-ear headphones or a JBL Charge 6 Bluetooth speaker. All other things being equal, we’d struggle to ask for much more at this level.

Verdict

On paper, the RP-TT100 is a lot of turntable for not a lot of money, something which gives it broad appeal to vinyl newbies who want a cheap turntable that’s easy to set up and simple to operate.

Sadly, there’s a certain level of sonic performance that we look for in any product, regardless of budget. The RP-TT100 may be sonically competent for the price, but its fundamental sonic limitations make it hard to recommend, especially when spending a little more cash on a Sony deck will reap far greater sonic rewards.

Review published: 1st May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 3
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our Sony PS-LX3BT review

Also, check out our Pro-Ject T1 Evo BT review

Our pick of the best Bluetooth turntables for every budget

Ever noticed that your TV picture sometimes looks too smooth — almost like a daytime soap opera, even when you’re watching a movie? That’s what people call the soap opera effect (SOE).

It happens when a TV feature called motion smoothing (or frame interpolation) is turned on. This setting makes fast-moving scenes look clearer by adding extra frames between the original ones – but it also changes how the video was meant to look.

Some viewers like the extra-smooth motion, saying it makes sports and action scenes look more realistic. Others find it distracting and prefer to see movies as the director intended, with the natural motion of the original frame rate.

If this all sounds a bit technical, don’t worry – our guide will walk you through what causes the soap opera effect, why TVs do it, and how you can adjust it to your liking.

Where does the 'soap opera effect' name come from? And why do higher frame rates change the look of content?

As mentioned, the soap opera effect refers to the perceived consequences of applying the motion smoothing features built into today’s flat-panel TVs.

But the term itself comes from the hyper-real and video-captured look of digital broadcast TV – especially soap operas, studio news, and current affairs shows.

These programmes are shot with video cameras at 25 fps (UK, Australia) or 30 fps (USA). However, because they are broadcast using interlacing, the viewer actually sees motion sampled at 50 fps or 60 fps. This gives video-based shows a smoother, more immediate feel than film.

Motion picture films, by contrast, were – and mostly still are – shot at 24 fps. In the case of photographic celluloid film, analogue cameras chemically expose 24 individual frames each second using complex motors and shutter devices.

Over the last quarter of a century, filmed entertainment has mostly transitioned from capture with film to capture with digital cameras. However, 24 fps has stuck and been the predominant budgetary and creative choice of filmmakers.

That difference of just a few frames per second between broadcast TV content and cinematic film creates a different viewing experience and associated characteristics.

Now, it gets a little more nuanced. You might rightly ask why 25 fps to capture broadcast content (as mentioned above) should look noticeably different to 24 fps?

UK and Australian broadcasters, for example, shoot at 1080i50 with 50 interlaced frames per second. When this is combined with specific studio lighting techniques, the resulting video content looks more ‘soap-opera-like’.

Let’s say you shoot some content at 30 fps. For want of better adjectives, the image will look more ‘immediate’ and ‘live’. That’s why many documentary filmmakers choose to shoot at this faster frame rate. Detail and motion perception are enhanced for the viewer. It’s almost as if you can ‘jump into’ the image.

Conversely, 24 fps content suffers from less smooth and more ‘stuttery’ motion. But the upside is that the film or programme almost looks as if it were shot in the past. The lower frame rate lends to a ‘dreamier’ or more surreal look even.

It’s this impressionistic characteristic that moviemakers love, making it perfect for long-form action adventures, dramas and historical subjects. It’s literally easier to transport the viewer to another world. We might refer to it as the ‘magic of cinema’.

Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie famously released a social media video urging the public to watch cinema films on all devices, including their own Mission: Impossible series, without motion smoothing of any kind applied.

What is the origin of 24 frames per second?

Up until the mid-1920s, silent cinema films were typically projected at 16 fps (or less). This led to a more jaggy and uncomfortable viewing experience for the audience, as the time in between each frame’s exposure on screen was greater in length.

But the movie industry consolidated on 24 fps after the emergence of ‘talkies’ (early movies with sound).

Not only did 24 fps lead to a viewing experience with much smoother motion, but it was ideal for cinema projectors to synchronise with the new time-interlinked sound systems.

Since the emergence of digital projectors in cinemas in the early noughties, some film directors made the creative decision to shun 24fps and instead shoot and project their works with higher frame rates.

Both Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy and James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water were notable examples, both employing 48 fps for what they felt was more vivid and impactful imagery.

But, as mentioned earlier, 24 fps has remained the creative choice for most filmmakers to this day.

So, what is the soap opera effect when it applies to my TV?

The act of adding more frames to any type of content has the effect of smoothing motion or reducing blur. This leads to a look that more closely resembles a soap opera or TV broadcast.

Frame interpolation is the digital fabrication of extra frames in between the native and existing frames in the content.

For example, you might increase the frame rate of a 24 fps movie to 60 fps. Or you might wish to watch sports at 120 fps to track the motion of the ball more seamlessly.

Some of the frame interpolation or motion smoothing features built into TVs include proprietary names, such as TruMotion (LG), Auto Motion Plus (Samsung), AquoMotion (Sharp) and Action Smoothing (TCL).

However, these monikers can change from brand to brand and series to series. You will need to refer to your device’s manual to learn about the specific feature names and associated frame rates available.

It’s worth bearing in mind that gamers are advised not to use motion smoothing features as they can inhibit the input lag and create unwanted picture artefacts. These can include ghosting and, of course, the soap opera effect itself.

Most TVs also include blur reduction and judder reduction sliders inside the ‘Motion Smoothing’ or other similarly named menu. These enhance the effects of frame interpolation and should reduce the look of the soap opera effect.

Blur reduction tackles motion blur, as the name suggests, in faster motion scenes. Judder reduction, by contrast, can particularly help with inconsistencies of film frames at 24 fps. Frame interpolation by itself can sometimes insert a frame identical to the previous one, for example, which can cause this stuttering effect. At other times, the interpolated images break up during, say, fast-moving scenes or when an object on-screen rotates and the edges of the object lose definition.

Note also that these two menu items impact different types of content. Blur reduction influences native content of 60 fps, while judder reduction affects content of 30 fps and less (such as 24 fps film).

Neither of these features, which are often standard on today’s TVs, uses frame interpolation in its electronic processes, but rather they are designed to enhance it.

So, is the soap opera effect good or bad?

It really comes down to your own personal taste, but as cinematic purists, we're broadly against it.

It is possible to add a small amount of smoothing to a movie, to remove the worst of the judder, without introducing an over-processed, soap opera effect. But adding so much processing that motion looks unnatural isn't something we recommend.

That said, to some it might still be appealing. Those who are not used to frequenting cinemas, watch films on portable devices, or take much less interest in movies as art, can be less inclined to view content in its native frame rate.

However, even though frame interpolation for 24 fps movies can make the action look more vivid or tactile, it can have the unintended effect of lessening the scale or what we might call the ‘abstract’ nature of the work.

MORE:

Here's our broader explainer on what is motion handling?

These are the best TVs you can buy right now

And here's our explainer on Filmmaker Mode, which usually turns off all motion smoothing

If you asked our team of experts to recommend a good 70-inch cheap TV a few weeks ago it would have been a very short conversation.

Not because we don't love a good chinwag. It's just that at the time there weren't any we'd fully reviewed and could wholeheartedly recommend.

But, this month all that changes, as we got a set that miraculously manages to tick all three boxes, offering a giant 70-inch screen, sub-£500 price tag and decent picture quality.

Pigs have flown.

Specifically, we finished reviewing the Sharp GK4245K (70GK4245K) and found plenty to like about the giant screen, affordable set.

For starters, though it doesn’t have HDMI 2.1 connectivity, which is yet to become standard on cheap sets, it has solid HDR support. As well as the standard HDR10 and HLG formats, it can recognise Dolby Vision signals – which is a bonus you won’t find on many sets at this price.

Its use of Tivo software also means app support is solid. As well as the usual Netflix, Disney Plus and company options it also has Freely support – which grants access to most UK broadcasters’ content including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

For gamers, while 4K/120Hz is off the cards, it can play titles at 1080p/120Hz – so PS5 and Xbox Series S/X gamers can get faster framerates, albeit at the expense of resolution.

Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and an Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) are also on offer, which lets the TV match the signals framerate and reduces latency – two other rare treats on a set this price.

But, most importantly, while not perfect, the TV offers a solid picture considering its price. As our testers said in our full Sharp GK4245K review:

“The GK4245K’s pictures turn out to be a really pleasant surprise in most ways. For starters, they’re substantially brighter than we’d anticipated based on our experience of other similarly ultra-affordable TVs. This expresses itself in both enjoyably crisp and punchy highlights within HDR pictures, and respectable sustained brightness with full-screen HDR bright shots.”

This all adds up to make it the first ever recommended 70-inch set in our best cheap TV guide.

So why the four, rather than five-star, rating? Sadly, like all TVs this price, there are some big compromises. For starters, while the picture is impressive, there are some backlight clouding issues, especially during dark scenes.

The Sharp’s design also means you will need a giant stand as its feet only have one configuration, at the furthest end of each side.

Third, its audio is middling, even by cheap TV standards. During testing we found its audio is thin and too bass-lite, meaning you will 100 per cent want to budget for a soundbar to go with it.

Even a super-cheap model, including the Sony HT-SF150, will surpass what the Sharp GK4245K’s built-in system is capable of by a country mile.

But, even with these caveats, we’re happy to report, if you want a giant 70-inch TV that won’t break the bank, then the Sharp GK4245K is the one to get.

MORE:

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We’re pretty used by now to TVs equipped with Tivo smart systems coming in at the more affordable end of the market.

Even knowing that, though, didn’t fully prepare us for Sharp’s 70GK4245K: a Tivo-toting TV with a 70-inch screen that costs just £489.

Surely a screen size to price ratio this extreme can’t actually be fun to watch, can it?

Price

It’s still rare for even 55-inch TVs costing under £500 to arrive in our test rooms, yet here we find ourselves staring at a 70-inch screen that costs just £489 (around $660 / AU$1000).

The 70GK4245K doesn’t look like it’s going to be just another ‘it makes a picture, what more do you want?’ budget TV, either.

For instance, its 4K screen can also take in the Dolby Vision high dynamic range format, its audio system can handle Dolby Atmos tracks, and its already content-loaded Tivo smart system is backed up by the latest Freely platform. Truly, our budget TV cup runneth over. So long as there’s also some sort of quality to its pictures, of course.

The 70-inch screen size is pretty rare these days, with most brands offering 65 and 75-inch options instead. Couple this with its ultra-affordable price, and direct competition for the 70GK4245K is hard to find.

If Tivo is the most important thing to you and you can resist the 70-inch screen, Sharp also has a decent little 43-inch Tivo model, the 43GM6245K, that can be yours for under £250, while Bush’s 50-inch 50UT24SB Tivo set is also an engaging all-rounder currently going for £319 on Amazon.

If strong picture quality is more important than Tivo, TCL’s 65-inch 65P755K is very good value at £449 at the time of writing, and as new replacement models are just around the corner, even the 75-inch can be had for just £549 if you get a move on.

Design

It became obvious as we were setting up the 70GK4245K that its build quality is pretty flimsy. Anyone with a sufficient wingspan should easily be able to pick it up and move it around without the need for a second pair of hands. Its bezel is on-trend thin around three of its sides, though, while the slightly wider bottom edge looks glossy enough to just about persuade you that maybe the TV isn’t entirely made of plastic after all.

The rear is fairly chunky by modern TV standards, making it a rather cumbersome wall hanging option. Though VESA wall mounting points are of course present, if that’s really the way you want to go.

The desktop feet provided with the 70GK4245K look OK in a no-nonsense kind of way, but infuriatingly, the only attachment point for them is right out near each bottom corner, meaning the TV can only sit on a bit of furniture that’s almost as wide as the TV. Which is no joke when that TV is a 70-inch model.

The GK4245K ships with a remote control that’s basically as plasticky and lightweight as the TV. A brushed finish for the main front plus a faux metallic look to the central cursor navigation section, though, just about succeed in making the handset look posher than it really is.

Features

We’ve covered the Sharp 70GK4245K’s headline claims already: namely that it delivers a 70-inch screen, Tivo/Freely smarts and Dolby Vision HDR (as well as the core HDR10 and HLG formats of HDR, of course) for the mind-bogglingly low price of £489. More detail is needed on some of those features, though – and, surprisingly, there are quite a few other things going on with this budget set, too.

The LCD panel used for the 70GK4245K appears to be a VA one rather than a low-contrast IPS one, for starters. It’s not clear whether the set is direct or edge lit, though the way some clouding appears over the picture’s edges (more on this later) suggests that it may be the latter. At any rate, there’s certainly no evidence of local dimming going on – which we wouldn’t expect there to be, of course, on such an incredibly affordable TV.

There is a global dimming system at work, however, which Sharp claims can deliver a dynamic contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. We can tell you now that this is an extremely optimistic figure, mind you, that’s based on mathematical potential rather than real-world performance.

The GK4245K only has a native 60Hz panel, so you’d think there would be no potential for high frame-rate gaming support through any of the provided three HDMI ports. Actually, though, a connected Xbox reveals that the TV can support 120Hz refresh rates – albeit only at 1080p resolution, and without any HDR support. You can retain HDR – including Dolby Vision – with 4K gaming feeds at 60Hz max, just to be clear.

The HDMIs support ALLM switching when a game source is detected, as well as VRR, and input lag in the Game mode is a very snappy 14.8ms.

Other connections include a couple of USBs, an Ethernet port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an IR remote control extender, an optical digital audio output, and even a blast-from-the-past mini composite video/stereo audio input. Plus, of course, there’s built-in wi-fi to feed the Tivo smart system.

The GK4245K’s Tivo implementation shows no signs of any budget TV-related compromises. It runs as slickly and stably as any other version we’ve seen, and it carries the usual impressive array of apps and sources.

These include Netflix, Disney+, YouTube, Prime Video, Rakuten, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, All4, My5 and the Freely platform, which essentially lets you live-stream many of the TV channels on the Freeview HD broadcast platform – as well as providing on-demand access to many tens of thousands of hours of catch-up programming from Freeview’s main channel providers.

The only really striking absentee from Tivo’s app list is Apple TV+. You can now access Apple TV through the Prime Video app, but the quality of the feeds you get that way doesn’t seem as good as those you get through direct Apple TV apps.

It’s worth adding that Tivo also supports arguably the most straightforward, intelligent and helpful voice recognition/content search system in the TV world.

Surprisingly, finally, the GK4245K carries a few quite premium picture adjustment features. There’s a 10-bit colour feature for smoothing out potential banding in HDR colours, for instance, as well as a pair of customisable Dolby Vision modes on top of the more predictable Dolby Vision Dark and Bright options.

There’s even support for a full calibration thanks to both 2-point and 11-point white balance correction, plus hue, saturation and brightness adjustments for the red, green, blue, yellow, cyan, magenta and flesh tone colour elements.

Picture

The GK4245K’s pictures turn out to be a really pleasant surprise in most ways. For starters, they’re substantially brighter than we’d anticipated based on our experience of other similarly ultra-affordable TVs. This expresses itself in both enjoyably crisp and punchy highlights within HDR pictures, and respectable sustained brightness with full-screen HDR bright shots.

You’re not witnessing by any means the full range and impact of HDR’s light range, to be clear. But you do get enough of it to help pictures look reasonably natural and engaging rather than the dull compromise we’d honestly expected to see. What’s more, while it’s hard to imagine Sharp has equipped a TV as cheap as the 70GK4245K with a particularly clever HDR tone mapping system, HDR pictures feel nicely balanced and don’t suffer excessively with clipping (lost shading and colour tone subtleties) in their brightest parts.

Even more surprising, the healthy brightness the GK4245K manages to find for HDR playback doesn’t come at the expense of convincing dark scenes. The amount of greyness that creeps into parts of the picture that should look black really isn’t excessive at all, despite the screen’s lack of advanced light control tools.

What’s more, provided you don’t use the Dolby Vision Dark picture setting, shadow detail remains abundantly present in even the darkest corners. This helps dark scenes look almost as natural and full of depth and detail as bright ones, resulting in a much more consistent viewing experience than we’d expected to find on such an affordable big-screen TV. Though the ‘almost’ back there is doing some slightly heavy lifting, for reasons we’ll get to in a moment.

Another very pleasant surprise about the GK4245K is how sharp and clean its pictures look. Part of this is a result of the screen’s surprisingly subtle colour handling. There’s no wide colour gamut coverage or Quantum Dots here, yet the screen handles even the most subtle of blends and tonal shifts without the sort of striping, blocking or ‘clumping’ we’d anticipated at this price point. You don’t even need to call in the set’s 10-bit colour emulation feature.

Motion is also handled quite well for such a cheap TV. There’s a touch of blur if a fairly large object moves at speed across the screen, but this never turns into actual smearing or lagginess, and there’s enough finesse in the screen’s shading and enough native sharpness in the core 4K delivery to stop even action scenes from starting to look truly soft.

As well as containing more shading subtlety than expected, colours look consistently balanced, with no tones standing out too strongly against the rest, and no aggressive blue or green wash hanging over proceedings. As with the GK4245K’s brightness, we’re not seeing the full range of tones and saturations HDR can provide, but we’d take a holistic, balanced approach to colours like the GK4245K provides over some more heavily saturated but also gaudy and uncontrolled mess any day.

Add to the mix some surprisingly clean upscaling of SDR sources that holds up even on a screen as big as this one, as well as slightly more forgiving viewing angles than we’d expected, and you can see why we’re such fans of the 70GK4245K’s pictures for its money. The only thing stopping us from giving it five stars, in fact, is something we’ve alluded to a couple of times before: backlight clouding.

Extraneous light creeps into dark scenes in a number of areas – mostly at the screen’s edges, but also in a couple of more central spots. These light pools disappear entirely during bright footage, and they’re really the only significant issue we have with the GK4245K’s budget pictures. But they can be distracting enough during very dark sequences to cost Sharp’s TV one full picture mark.

Sound

The 70GK4245K’s sound can’t repeat its picture heroics. Audio struggles to escape the TV’s bodywork even at full volume, leaving action scenes and dense musical scores sounding quite swallowed and thin.

The way the sound feels trapped inside the GK4245K’s speakers, even with Dolby Atmos mixes, also means dialogue can sound a bit detached from the onscreen action, and given that Sharp’s TV doesn’t produce a particularly compelling midrange, you won’t be shocked to learn that there’s practically no bass presence.

The GK4245K’s sound is at least operating within the limitations of its speakers, though, meaning that even the most bombastic Hollywood moments don’t cause low-frequency distortions or treble harshness. So while we’d have loved much more sheer oomph from the 70GK4245K’s sound, what we’ve got does at least not sound broken.

Verdict

No 70-inch TV costing £489 is ever going to be perfect.

In the Sharp 70GK4245K’s case, that means having to put up with some backlight clouding in dark scenes and an uninspiring built-in sound system.

Putting up with these relatively minor issues is made surprisingly easy, though, thanks to both an excellent Tivo smart system and an overall level of picture quality that really has no business turning up on such an affordable home cinema-sized TV.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 3
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Sharp 43GM6245K

Also consider the TCL 65P755K or 75P755K

Read our Bush 50UT24SB review

Best TV: flagship OLEDs and budget LED sets tried and tested

The Sharp HT-SB700 offers an easy way to boost your TV’s sound and, although it does have its limits, it’s overall rather impressive for the low price

Japanese company Sharp is something of a jack-of-all-trades, dipping its toes into a variety of categories ranging from microwaves to home cinema kit. But it’s not kitchen appliances we are here to talk about today.

The Sharp HT-SB700 is the brand’s entry into the cheap Dolby Atmos soundbar market, with a 2.0.2 speaker system nestled within its compact shell. It’s a tempting proposition on paper, but how does it sound?

Price

The Sharp HT-SB700 launched at a price of £199 in the UK, but it appears never to have made it to the UK or US.

There are precious few Dolby Atmos soundbars available at the price, with our favourite ‘affordable’ model being the Sony HT-S2000, which is these days available for around £300 / $300 / AU$595.

When we reviewed it, we gave the Sony HT-S2000 a five-star rating for its overall audio performance and its “crisp and clear dialogue” in particular.

The Sonos Ray is another competitor, costing a little more than the Sharp HT-SB700 at £279 / $279 / AU$399. While it does not feature Dolby Atmos, we gave it four stars for its forthright projection and detailed treble.

Build

The Sharp HT-SB700 is one of the lightest soundbars we have had in our test room, weighing in at just 1.9kg. It’s quite a short and stumpy little thing as well, at 7.2 x 52 x 11 cm (hwd), so it is easy to position on most TV tables.

There are two forward-facing drivers at the front of the ’bar, as well as two up-firers at either end which are exposed under a metal grille.

In terms of connectivity options, there is a nook that houses the HDMI eARC port, power socket and optical. On top of the soundbar, you will find a row of tactile buttons that allow you to control power, volume, input and Bluetooth.

Features

There is a row of white LEDs that light up to indicate what input has been selected, as well as telling you whether the 3D mode is on.

The detail of what is being changed, however, is only visible if you are standing pretty close to the soundbar itself, as it is presented on the top. This makes it frustrating when you are changing through the modes from the comfort of the sofa and need to stand up to check what has been turned on or off.

Still, the remote control is reasonably responsive. You can use it to change through the different EQ modes: Movie, Music, Voice and Night. There is additionally the option to just turn all the EQ modes off completely.

With Music, vocals are brought to the centre slightly more, while the bass is exaggerated too. Voice brings dialogue forward, but does so at the expense of making the rest of the sound feel thin and less impactful.

If you turn on Night, the dynamics are compressed and softened so as not to disturb others in your household.

Movie is the setting we most prefer when watching films and TV as it has the best sense of space, while also keeping the dialogue clear.

You can also adjust the bass and treble levels with the remote control. A 3D sound mode is available, too, which allows you to expand the sound. However, we opt to keep it off because, although it does widen the soundstage, it struggles to capture the same level of detail in the upper treble and lower bass.

Sound

We begin with Dune Part Two, as Paul Atreides speaks to Zendaya’s Chani after successfully riding a giant sandworm. Both of the voices sound natural and balanced, and the Sharp HT-SB700 manages to capture their subtle, emotional conversation surprisingly well, while keeping them clear.

There is a decent level of detail present, which becomes evident with the delicate sound of sand shifting as characters walk across the desert.

For such a small product, it packs a surprisingly big punch, too. When Paul hops onto a worm for a little commute, the soundbar succeeds in showing at least some of the expected impact of the creature bursting out of the sand.

However, it does not quite get to the lowest bass that we would expect and just falls short of delivering a sofa-shaking experience. With Baby Driver, for example, an epic car chase with Baby at the wheel has a good sense of rhythm and musicality as Neat Neat Neat by The Damned plays in the background.

But when the engines rev with what should be a bone-shaking feel, the Sharp portrays a more muted and ill-defined lower bass.

Even though the lack of detail at both frequency extremes results in a less exciting overall performance than is ideal, the midrange delivers a mostly full-bodied and rich sound that provides an easy-listening experience.

When watching the war movie Unbroken, a bomb attack on our protagonists’ plane shows off the soundbar’s effectiveness at giving a general sense of space. While its execution of Dolby Atmos is not the most precise, the Sharp HT-SB700 does succeed in delivering some of the atmosphere.

Playing the same scene with the Sony HT-S2000, the bass is much more defined and the treble sounds more extended. Of course, given the Sony’s higher price, it’s no surprise that it sounds more sophisticated.

Many people expect their soundbar to double-up as a music speaker, and some models are almost as adept with music and they are with movies. That’s unfortunately not the case with the plucky little Sharp.

Playing Aurora’s Churchyard from Tidal through Bluetooth, the soundbar portrays the ethereal high vocals at the start with surprising balance and subtlety, but when the track gets busier with a throbbing bassline and multiple vocalists, it struggles to define all the different sounds.

This results in a blobby, ill-defined overall delivery, and Aurora’s voice sounds a little crackly as the soundbar tries to figure out how to deal with the complex track.

Verdict

If you are expecting an extremely precise Dolby Atmos performance, floor-shaking bass and hi-fi-quality musicality, the HT-SB700 isn’t for you. But, frankly, at this price, it was never going to be.

If, however, you are on the hunt for an affordable soundbar that will be an instant upgrade on your TV’s speakers, particularly in terms of dialogue clarity and general spaciousness, this little Sharp is easy to recommend.

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Features 4
• Build 4

MORE:

Read our full Sony HT-S2000 review

Also check out out Sonos Beam (Gen 2) review

Our pick of the best soundbars for every budget

Much as we love getting our teeth into the latest and greatest hunks of glorious high-end TV technology, it’s also a great day at What Hi-Fi? towers when we happen upon a massive TV bargain.

Happily we’re having one of those days right now, thanks to Sharp’s 43GM6245K: a 43-inch TV that somehow manages to combine both TiVo and Freely smart systems with good picture and sound quality for less than £250.

Price

The 43-inch GM6245K’s price in the UK (the only territory where it’s available) is its single most eye-catching feature. Just £249 for a 43-inch TV is seriously cheap under any circumstances, so by the time you add to the bargain one of the most user-friendly smart services around and surprisingly good picture and sound performance, the value appeal becomes pretty much off the charts.

That’s not to say there isn’t any competition out there at the same sort of price. Bush’s 50UT24SB delivers a decent 50-inch picture and TiVo smarts for just £270, for instance, while there are also TVs out there from multiple brands sporting Roku smart systems that also deliver 43- and 50-inch screen sizes for less than £300. The 43GM6245K, though, ultimately has more going for it than any of its similarly cut-price peers.

Design

Looked at from a typical viewing distance, the GM6245K is pretty easy on the eye for such a cut-price TV.

The grey finish of the slightly wider bottom edge contrasts neatly with the slender black used for the rest of the bezel, and Sharp has managed to make a design feature of its logos, with the words Aquos and Harman Kardon (more on this one later) appearing very stylishly in the bottom left and right corners of the screen respectively. The two blade-style feet that Sharp’s TV sits on boast a pleasingly shiny finish, too, while at the same time presenting such a slender profile when the screen’s viewed head-on that you barely notice them.

The surface delights do hide a couple of classic giveaways of the GM6245K’s ultra-affordable nature, though. Namely, that it’s really quite chunky around the back by modern TV standards, while its exceptionally lightweight chassis reveals that it’s made almost entirely from pretty low-grade plastic.

While these build issues raise concerns about the quality of what might be going on inside the set, though, they’re not really obvious to the naked eye once the TV has been set in place.

Features

Despite how cheap it is, the Sharp 43GM6245K is much more than just a 4K 43-inch screen. It uses a VA type of LCD panel, lit directly from behind, for starters – a combination that typically delivers better contrast than the IPS and/or edge-lit alternatives commonly used in the budget TV world.

Sharp actually claims a huge dynamic contrast ratio for its TV of 1,000,000:1 – an on-paper figure that you can very much expect not to see with real world content, but which does at least suggest that the GM6245K’s light output can adjust to changes in source content to a greater extent than you would expect to find at the this price point.

Colours are delivered by a Quantum Dot system that is also not something you could normally expect to find on a sub-£250 43-inch TV – though it’s worth saying that other budget TVs that use Quantum Dots don’t always make a success of it, seemingly compromising other aspects of their performance in their eagerness to embrace the expanded colour range and brightness available.

The GM6245K’s panel only supports refresh rates up to 60Hz, so there’s no support for the 4K/120Hz gaming feeds now delivered by the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X or premium PC graphics cards. There’s some solace for gamers, though, in that Sharp’s TV does carry a dedicated Game picture preset that reduces input lag to just 15ms.

There’s also support with both gaming and video sources for high dynamic range formats that extends beyond the basic HDR10 and HLG platforms to include the premium Dolby Vision system. This supplies compatible TVs with extra scene-by-scene image data to help them deliver more accurate and dynamic-looking results.

The GM6245K’s connections include three HDMI ports (one capable of passing Dolby Atmos sound on to soundbars or AVRs using HDMI’s eARC technology); two USB ports; a 3.5mm headphone jack/audio line out; an optical digital audio output, and mini composite video and audio inputs. This adds up to a slightly more comprehensive roster of connections than you might necessarily expect to get on a £249 43-inch TV.

The unexpected surprises extend, too, to the GM6245K’s audio system, with the Harman Kardon logo at the bottom right of its screen frame showing that Sharp has promisingly worked with the respected third-party audio brand in developing this TV’s 2 x 12W speaker system.

Last but certainly not least on the GM6245K’s feature list is support for both the TiVo and Freely smart TV systems. TiVo provides an admirably straightforward and engaging interface for most of the TV’s streaming apps, which include such big hitters as Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and YouTube. It also carries arguably the most comprehensive and easy-to-use content searching/finding service in the TV world, built on TiVo’s quarter of a century of working on intelligent content recommendation experiences. This now incorporates an impressively flexible and helpful voice recognition system – not bad for a sub-£250 43-inch TV.

The only issue with TiVo’s smart platform at the time of writing is that it does not provide direct access to the Apple TV+, Discovery+ or Paramount+ streaming services. There is a workaround, though, in that they are all now available via the Amazon Prime Video app.

Freely, if you’re not familiar with it, is a relatively new (launched in 2024) streaming service backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 that carries a claimed 70,000+ hours of on-demand content but also, more importantly, lets you live-stream many of the channels carried on the Freeview HD broadcast platform, potentially removing the need to have an aerial installed on your home.

Picture

As with its features, the 43-inch GM6245K’s picture quality is far better than we would have expected from such a cheap TV.

Its contrast, for instance, while predictably not achieving anything like 1,000,000:1 levels of exuberance with real-world images, manages to deliver simultaneously both richer, deeper, more neutral-looking blacks and more brightness – especially with full-screen bright HDR clips – than you’d normally get at this price level.

The black bars above and below wide aspect ratio films and TV shows look a bit greyer than we’d ideally see, perhaps, but this greyness is less noticeable in the main image area. Dark scenes become greyer-looking if you have to watch the GM6245K from an angle, too – though this is a limitation common to the vast majority of VA-type LCD TVs. And, actually, the angle you can get to before the drop in contrast becomes really ugly is a bit wider here than we usually find with budget TVs.

The level of greyness hanging over dark scenes is limited enough to stop them looking flat or unconvincing, especially as Sharp’s set manages to hold on to impressive amounts of subtle detailing in even the darkest picture corners. There are also no obvious distracting instabilities caused by the TV’s dynamic contrast tools, despite the TV managing to deliver (especially with Dolby Vision sources) surprisingly punchy and backlight blooming-free highlights even when they appear against mostly dark backdrops.

The GM6245K’s pictures are impressively sharp for its price, too. Native 4K sources actually look 4K despite the compact (by today’s standards) size of the 43-inch screen, helped by some good colour tone definition in bright scenes and less interference from judder and motion blur than budget TVs usually manage. That’s not to say there’s absolutely no resolution loss during camera pans or over fast-moving objects, but the occasions where you might spot a little softness creeping into an action-packed scene are rare enough to feel like surprises rather than a constant distraction. And there’s certainly no sign of the aggressive judder with 24fps films or the sort of smearing effect over fast-moving objects that so many similarly affordable TVs seem to produce. And that’s despite the GM6245K not having any dedicated motion processing to help counter potential motion issues.

We mentioned that colours in bright scenes are delivered by the 43GM6245K with good subtlety for a budget TV, and this is backed up by precious little sign of the sort of banding/striping issues that some HDR TVs – even some much more expensive models, in fact – can suffer with when trying to show subtle colour blends. Skin tones, too, look unusually natural and nuanced, avoiding the jaundiced or plasticky finish often seen with budget and even mid-range TVs.

This doesn’t mean colours are perfect. They’re not the most vibrant we’ve seen, despite the Quantum Dot influence, and during dark scenes colours sometimes start to exhibit clumping, as the TV struggles to deliver subtle tonal differences as effectively as it does during bright scenes. A faint pinkish tone occasionally creeps into the picture too, but this is rare and sufficiently subtle when it occurs that many viewers may well never even notice it.

While these issues might be a reason to spend a chunk more cash on stepping up to a good mid-range TV, though, they’re all pretty puny complaints by the standards of the 43GM6245K’s price point.

Sound

The Harman Kardon-designed audio of the GM6245K incorporates a two-way speaker system, with separate bass/mid-range and treble drivers designed to deliver a cleaner, clearer sound. For the most part, it works pretty well.

For instance, the TV can get louder than most budget TVs without succumbing to distortions or harshness. Dialogue is delivered with enough power and clarity to always remain totally intelligible, yet despite some high-pitched voices sounding slightly sibilant, speech in films and TV shows typically doesn’t sound too bright or detached from the rest of the mix. Voices also benefit from a mild vertical lift, so that they seem to be coming from the onscreen action rather than from the speakers built into the screen’s bottom edge.

The GM6245K is able to project sound a likeable distance beyond the physical confines of its bodywork too, enabling it to get more benefit from its ability to play Dolby Atmos soundtracks than you might expect from a two-channel speaker system. Certainly, there’s enough about its staging to create an effective sense of ambient sound effects existing somewhere beyond the more specific effects at the heart of an Atmos mix. This also helps the sound appear cleaner.

Some treble sounds can become rather shrill, though, and a general lack of bass can leave big movie moments feeling a little weightless and thin. Though the GM6245K does at least acknowledge its bass limitations rather than trying so hard to find low frequencies it can’t sensibly support that it forces its speakers into distortions or dropouts.

An odd quirk of the GM6245K’s sound finds it emitting a nasty raspberry sound whenever you skip tracks on a Blu-ray disc. While we felt a bit affronted by this problem while skipping to and between favourite test scenes for this review, though, it obviously isn’t something that will often trouble anyone in regular viewing conditions.

All in all, while inevitably not perfect, the 43-inch GM6245K’s sound once again performs better than we’d expect from such a cheap TV.

Verdict

Is the Sharp 43GM6245K good enough to give good mid-range or premium TVs sleepless nights? Nope, not really. Is it good enough, though, to humble the vast majority of other similarly ultra-affordable TVs out there? You bet your bottom £249 it is.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 4
• Features 5

MORE:

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Joining an array of new arrivals at CES 2024, Sharp has launched three new affordable home cinema products including a new Dolby Atmos soundbar, wireless surrounds and a wireless subwoofer.

The HT-SB700 soundbar is Sharp’s most compact and affordable Atmos bar. Intended for small to medium-sized rooms and TV sets, it measures in at just 52cm wide. It is designed in a 2.0.2 configuration and should pair well with Sharp’s other offerings. The bar is priced between rivals the Sonos Ray, which currently costs around £280, and the Sony HT-SF150 soundbar, which comes in at £99.

Joining the new bar are some wireless rear surround speakers. The HT-AWS2001 is Sharp’s first product fitted with its new AQUOS Wireless Surround Technology which transmits multi-channel sound, including Dolby Atmos, wirelessly from compatible Sharp TVs. In this instance, it would mean the TV would be converted from a 2.0 system to a 4.0 full surround set-up.

Alongside the wireless surrounds comes the HT-AWS0101 wireless flat subwoofer which aims to extend the low end and add extra bass for a more faithful cinema experience. It can be stood upright or laid flat to fit underneath furniture – a potentially valuable feature for those running low on space.

Sharp’s HT-SB700 soundbar is set to be available from March 2024 for £189 / €199, while the HT-AWS2001 rear surround speakers and the HT-AWS0101 wireless subwoofer are expected to be available from March 2024 for £209 / €239 and £139 / €159 respectively.

We are on the ground covering CES 2024 live from Las Vegas, so we will be sure to report back with any additional information or hands-on impressions we get with these products.

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We haven't heard much from Sharp since it unveiled the burly Sumobox portable speaker in early July, but the brand has now revealed a pair of new products that could be ideal for the money-savvy consumer. Sharp is back with not only a new radio hi-fi system – the Tokyo DAB+ All-in-One Hi-Fi System (XL-B720D) – it's also dropped a micro hi-fi system in the shape of the Tokyo FM (XL-B514).  

We've been keen to see more radio/all-in-one systems thanks to the recent successes of the five-star Revo SuperConnect Stereo and the gorgeous Ruark Audio R410, so we'll start with the Tokyo DAB+ (pictured at top). Dubbed by its manufacturer as a "modern, elegant and timeless" system with a simple, contemporary design, the new model combines built-in two-way speakers with DAB/DAB+ radio and 5.0 Bluetooth for wireless streaming via your smartphone or similar devices. 

There's also a CD player and MP3 support, as well as a headphone jack and 3.5.mm aux input to connect any external analogue stereo devices directly. A handy remote is provided as standard, and you can also choose from the device's nine preset equaliser options to adjust the sound to your liking.  

Next up is the Sharp Tokyo FM Hi-Fi Micro-System (above), a smaller unit that features a similar set of functionalities for a lower price. Like its bigger brother, the Tokyo FM boasts an integrated CD player as well as MP3 playback via USB, but this time the radio capabilities only extend to FM rather than DAB or DAB+.

Like the larger model, the Tokyo FM boasts a 3.5mm aux input for hooking up a physical connector, and nine preset EQ options. This model comes with a separate pair of two-way loudspeakers with a laminated wood housing: think of the Denon DM41 for an Award-winning comparative.

According to Matt Sineko, Sharp's European Product Director for Audio: “Our family of Tokyo audio products offers consumers great functionality at an affordable price. These two new additions are a stylish, modern take on classic hi-fi systems, adding the latest DAB+ and Bluetooth technology."

The Tokyo DAB+ All-in-One Hi-Fi System (XL-B720D) is available now in black for £139 / €149. Conversely, the Sharp Tokyo FM Hi-Fi Micro-System (XL-B514) will be available in early January 2024 in black at an RPP of £99 / €99.

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Looking for a gorgeous all-in-one system? Check out our Ruark Audio R410 review

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There are budget TVs and then there’s the Sharp 55FN2KA – a 55-inch 4K TV that can be yours for just £399. You don’t get only the absolute basics for that money either; there’s also a fully fledged Android TV smart system, Dolby Vision HDR and even a speaker system designed by Harman Kardon. So what’s the catch?

Price

Sharp no longer sells TVs on a concerted international basis, meaning that different Sharp-branded models turn up in different territories. So the 55FN2KA is a purely UK model, with no direct international equivalent.

When you’re talking about a 55-inch TV that only costs £399, price is clearly its number one attraction. A cheap price doesn’t necessarily equate to great value, of course, but the 55FN2KA’s feature list is longer than you might expect for so little money and, as we’ll see, in some ways at least, its pictures aren’t that bad. So long as you’re sat in exactly the right place. 

Design

The Sharp 55FN2KA looks OK if you don’t scrutinise it too closely. The screen frame is strikingly slender around three of its four edges, and while its lightweight build quality reveals the bodywork to be built pretty much entirely from plastic, the bezel’s slightly glossy finish just about manages to disguise the flimsiness when assessed from typical 55-inch TV viewing distances. 

The screen is supported on a pair of bog-standard plastic feet that are positioned out towards the screen’s bottom corners, meaning you’ll need to have a fairly wide bit of furniture to rest the TV on.

The screen is accompanied by a mostly similarly plasticky remote control that tries to hide its basic build by featuring a metal-effect silver navigation ‘ring’ around the OK/Select button and including a helpful selection of direct stream app access buttons. 

Features

The 55FN2KA has more tricks up its sleeve than you might expect of such a cheap TV. Its 4K screen, for starters, also supports HDR in not just the HDR10 and HLG standard versions, but also the ‘premium’ Dolby Vision flavour, with its extra scene by scene picture information.

Its smart system is powered by Android TV bolstered by the Freeview Play app to ensure the 55FN2KA supports all of the UK’s major terrestrial broadcaster streaming services. The Android engine means there’s built-in Chromecast support, too, as well as Google Assistant voice control.

The screen uses a VA rather than IPS LCD panel type, which should help it deliver more contrast at the expense of more limited viewing angles. The panel is direct- rather than edge-lit too, which again typically leads to a superior contrast performance – though inevitably for such a cheap TV the backlighting doesn’t feature any local dimming control.

Picture processing is provided by the grandly named ACE Pro Ultra Engine, though it’s hard in truth to find much evidence of what this does in either the 55FN2KA’s picture setting options or its picture quality. 

Surprisingly the 55FN2KA does go to the trouble of including an 11-point white balance adjustment, as if it imagines someone might be willing to pay a calibrator more than they spent on the TV to get it calibrated…

Other picture tweaks of note include a rather mysterious (given there’s no local dimming system) Local Contrast Control feature, and an Adaptive Luma Control feature that adjusts incoming pictures to create the perception of more contrast. Unfortunately the Local Contrast Control feature doesn’t seem to make much difference, while the Adaptive Luma Control causes horrible amounts of shadow detail to be crushed out of dark picture areas on anything higher than its Low setting.

The 55FN2KA’s connections are impressive up to a point for a £399 55-inch TV, including as they do four HDMIs, two USBs, a headphone jack, an optical audio output and even a Micro SD card reader. The only HDMI 2.1 features supported by the 18GB HDMIs, though, are eARC, enabling pass through of object based audio to soundbars and AVRs, and auto low latency mode (ALLM) switching for automatically activating the TV’s Game mode when a game source is detected.

There’s no support on any of the HDMIs for such cutting-edge gaming-related features as 4K/120Hz (the screen is only 60Hz too) and variable refresh rates – but nor would we expect there to be for so little money. There is one genuine disappointment for gamers, though. Input lag, the time the screen takes to render its images, remains at a performance-damagingly high 50.3ms even with the 55FN2KA’s Game mode active. The best TVs this year get input down to below 10ms, by comparison.

Picture

First impressions of the Sharp 55FN2KA’s pictures are pretty positive – at least to the extent that things don’t look nearly as nightmarishly bad as we might have expected with a 55-inch 4K TV that costs less than £400.

We’re struck right away, for starters, by how bright it manages to look with HDR content. While we’re inevitably not talking anything even close to the sort of brightness you get from OLED or, especially, premium LCD TVs, the 55FN2KA shows both peak brightness highlights and full-screen bright HDR images with more light behind them than we’d normally see with such an entry-level TV. 

You can certainly still argue that the 55FN2KA isn’t bright enough to deliver a true high dynamic range experience, but that doesn’t alter the fact that it does more justice to such an experience than some 55-inch TVs costing twice as much. 

Colours on the 55FN2KA, meanwhile, while not very vibrant or voluminous, do at least manage to retain a decent sense of balance, so that no tones jump out too strongly against the rest. Similarly, while the backlight system is very basic and only results in average black levels, average is actually a pretty good result for a £399 TV – especially as you can still see plenty of shadow detail in dark parts of the picture. 

The simplicity of the backlighting, meanwhile, ensures you aren’t distracted by issues such as blooming and ‘jumpy’ brightness levels that – ironically – some much more expensive TVs can suffer with.

If you can play Dolby Vision into the 55FN2KA you will be rewarded with a slightly more dynamic and rich-looking picture – especially if you opt for the Dolby Vision Dark mode rather than the default Dolby Vision Bright option, the colours of which can look a bit over-saturated.

While the Sharp 55FN2KA’s pictures get more of the basics right than might have been expected for its money, though, there are a few issues to be aware of, including a couple of real potential deal breakers.

First and worst, the 55FN2KA sports what may be the narrowest viewing angles we’ve ever seen. If your seating position is even just a few degrees off from directly opposite the screen, the already average black levels slip into looking outright poor. 

The second big issue is that when watching 24fps film sources, a combination of quite pronounced judder and a touch of resolution loss means that motion doesn’t look comfortable or natural. And there are no motion processing options on hand to help you sort this out.

Smaller issues include areas of faint clouding during very dark scenes, the occasional appearance of a faint light border running around the image’s edges, some minor clipping of subtle shading in the brightest parts of HDR pictures, and a slightly softer presentation, even with 4K sources, than you would expect to see from a more premium 4K TV. 

Sound

With fairly routine audio sources the 55FN2KA sounds pretty decent for such a cheap TV. Dialogue sounds clear without becoming too exaggerated, and also feels like it’s coming from the screen rather than from somewhere below or behind it. The midrange is clean and dynamic enough to avoid harsh treble or general thinness, and the Harman Kardon-designed speakers are sensitive enough to create a nicely busy soundstage.

The 55FN2KA doesn’t cast its soundstage wide enough or accurately enough to get much value out of its built-in Dolby Digital Plus and DTS Virtual X decoding, though. Also, while there’s at least some attempt to inject bass into proceedings, this bass tends to phase in and out quite inconsistently and can descend into distracting levels of distortion and crackling when pushed hard by a potent action scene. 

Such action scenes can also cause the 55FN2KA’s sound to collapse in on itself, becoming quieter rather than louder and more impactful as they escalate towards their explosive payoffs. 

Ultimately the 55FN2KA sounds like a TV with audio ambitions beyond its actual capabilities, rather than a TV that’s aware of and willing to work within its limitations.

Verdict

We’d really wanted to love the Sharp 55FN2KA. Being able to wholeheartedly recommend a 55-inch TV that only costs £399 would have made our day. Unfortunately, though, while it does a few things better than you might expect for so little money, its limitations when it comes to motion handling, response times and, especially, viewing angles may well feel like one compromise too far for TV fans and gamers alike.

SCORES

• Picture 3
• Sound 3
• Features 3

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Sharp is partnering with high-end audio manufacturer Devialet to launch a new portable Bluetooth speaker in a team-up that not many of us saw coming. The CP-LS100, colloquially known as the SumoBox, sports a large, weighty design, a removable battery pack and, according to Sharp, “a bass line that will hit you like a sumo wrestler”. There’s no indication that it comes fitted with its own loincloth, though.

The speaker itself features two 5cm (2-inch) tweeters and two 20cm (8-inch) woofers, outputting a claimed 120W of stereo sound. So how and why is Devialet involved? SumoBox is the first product to see Sharp partner with the French audio brand, using its patented Speaker Active Matching (SAM) technology which, alongside an unvented closed box design, should facilitate the production of a “rich, detailed and powerful bass with minimal audible distortion”.

Connectivity comes courtesy of three inputs (2x TRS/XLR combo, one aux in) and Bluetooth 5.0, all of which support independent volume level control. If you’re looking to boost your sound even further, the SumoBox can be linked with another model via Duo Mode to provide True Wireless Stereo playback, or you can use wires to connect multiple speakers together in a daisy chain. Best of all, you can plug a keyboard, microphone or guitar in to use as a rocking portable amp wherever you go.

Battery life is a key consideration for customers seeking a new Bluetooth boombox, so the SumoBox’s uniquely removable and rechargeable Lithium-ion battery pack, providing up to 10 hours of playtime, could be a real bonus. Want to keep playing without interruptions? Quickly swap out the battery pack for another, or else connect to the mains supply to recharge and keep the music going. 

Aesthetically, Sharp bills its SumoBox as being “functional and imposing” thanks to its industrial black steel grille design and hefty design. Silicone corner protectors are also included to protect the Box during transport and allow the speaker to be used as a monitor on its side. Additionally, three handles on the top and sides further facilitate the placement of the CP-LS100 in either upright or horizontal orientations, or when taking it into the garden.

In addition to the SumoBox, Sharp has announced the PS-949, AKA the XParty Street Beat for £269 / €279. With its LED wheel lights, strobe synchronisation and super-bass effect, the XParty is specially designed for rowdy raves and parties by the pool. 

Priced at the top end of the market at £399 / €399, the new Sharp CP-LS100 SumoBox has a tall task if it wants to compete with the best Bluetooth speakers around. Both new Sharp speakers are available now from Euronics with Amazon availability incoming, and while neither will be launched in Australia, we're currently waiting on US prices and availability.

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A new maker of high-end OLED TVs is coming to Europe. Chinese brand Konka is bringing its TVs to these shores to compete with the likes of Sony, Panasonic, LG, Philips, Samsung and the other makers of the best OLED TVs around.

Konka is launching 55- and 65-inch OLED TVs in Europe. It has partnered with an unnamed OEM (original equipment manufacturer).

Chinese brands have flooded the smartphone market in recent years, offering high-end specs at very competitive prices. But Konka is taking a different approach. It claims it has "no desire to compete on price with competitors", which would suggest its TVs will be priced similarly to those made by household names.

It might be a relative unknown in Europe, but Konka is a big player in its native China. As well as making TVs, its parent company (the Konka Group) manufactures digital signage, refrigerators and other kitchen appliances.

Its 812 Series TV (pictured) uses an OLED screen manufactured by LG Display.

There are no details on where in Europe Konka's OLED TVs will be sold, nor how much they will cost. But with the big guns such as LG and Samsung unveiling their new TVs at CES this week, Konka will have a fight on its hands if it wants to establish a toehold in the premium TV market.

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It has been confirmed that the legendary Japanese brand Onyko, which filed for bankruptcy in May, will return to the European market under the joint ownership of Sharp and Premium Audio Company (PAC), a subsidiary of Voxx.

PAC has officially announced that Onkyo, along with stable mates Integra and Pioneer, will soon be available for distribution across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with stock available from the autumn.

Paul Jacobs, the President and Chief Executive Officer of PAC, said, "Demand for Onkyo, Integra and Pioneer products has been very high, and we expect this to intensify in the coming years. We have been working very closely with Sharp to ramp up production and have grown our business significantly since the acquisition was completed. 

"We have big plans for Onkyo and the other brands, and as we build production and expand distribution, we believe sales will more than double in the near term."

Onkyo has been a fixture of the hi-fi scene since 1946, making its name with classic hi-fi separates and later AV receivers. The company includes its premium sub-brand Integra, introduced in 1969, and Pioneer, which it purchased in 2015. While products such as the A-9010 successfully continued the company's legacy, in recent years it struggled to meet shifting consumer demand.

The first indication that all was not rosy came in 2019 when Onkyo tried and failed to sell its audio business to Sound United – the owner of Denon and Marantz – for a reported $73m (approx £53m, AU$95m). The company subsequently tried to keep doing business on a smaller scale but couldn't stop its worsening cash flow problems.

In September 2021, Onkyo sold its core home AV business to Sharp and the US-based Voxx International and its earphones and headphones business to an investment fund. The joint venture saw Sharp, which has been producing some Onkyo products since 2017, take over manufacturing and supply chain management of AVRs, amplifiers and hi-fi separates, while PAC manages all product development, engineering, sales, marketing and distribution.

Although Onkyo later filed for voluntary bankruptcy this did not include the assets that were previously purchased by PAC and Sharp and the company's new ownership had been widely expected to ensure that the Onkyo name would live on. In 2022 sales of Onkyo, Pioneer and Integra products through US distributor 11TC grew from $13.7 million in revenue in 2021 to $59.4 million.

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Onkyo has filed for bankruptcy. The Japanese brand has been a fixture of the hi-fi scene since 1946, but couldn't meet shifting consumer demand.

The firm filed at Osaka District Court on Friday, with total liabilities of around 3.1 billion yen ($24 million), Nikkei reports.

However, the Onkyo name will live on. In September, it sold its core home AV business to Sharp and the US-based Voxx International, and its earphones and headphones business to an investment fund. The Onkyo brand will live on in a joint venture between Sharp and Voxx.

The Osaka-based company was delisted in August. Two subsidiaries handling Onkyo's OEM (original equipment manufacturing) and sales filed for voluntary bankruptcy in March.

Onkyo made its name making classic hi-fi kit like speakers and turntables, and later AV receivers. Recent products such as the A-9010 successfully continued the company's good name.

The first indication that all was not rosy came in 2019 when Onkyo tried and failed to sell its audio business to Sound United – owner of Denon and Marantz – for a reported $73m (approx £53m, AU$95m). The company subsequently tried to keep doing business on a smaller scale, but couldn't stop its worsening cash flow problems, the firm told Nikkei.

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Dubbed a “wireless handy TV speaker” by Sony, the SRS-LSR200 is designed to be a foolproof and more flexible alternative to a soundbar; to easily boost TV audio around a home without the restrictions of a 'fixed' set-up.

The primary aim of the compact, portable device, which can easily be carried from room to room, is to boost on-screen dialogue. It has a dedicated centre speaker for voices, which is flanked by left and right stereo drivers, plus a Voice Zoom mode that detects the human voice and makes it clearer and easier to hear. Voice Zoom brings voices to the front of the presentation, while Voice Zoom 2 emphasises high frequencies.

By delivering the lower register of the voice through the left and right speakers, too, Sony says voices sound natural and realistic through the SRS-LSR200.

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The new Sony speaker works wirelessly with TVs from major brands (Sony, Hitachi, LG, Loewe, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sharp and Toshiba), and features an integrated remote for controlling them. 

The transmitter and speaker are connected by 2.4GHz wireless transmission, with Sony promising low-latency so that both the SRS-LSR200 and your TV speaker can be used simultaneously for extra volume (which sounds... interesting). As the connectivity range is around 30m, the idea is that if you step away from the TV room you can still take its audio with you. Again, this is no ordinary speaker.

A 3-hour charge on the supplied charging dock allows for 13 hours of playback. It also has a handle for carrying from room to room, and is splash-proof (equivalent to IPX2 standards).

The Sony SRS-LSR200 will be available from this month in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with availability in the rest of Sony’s European markets due in September.

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