Philips' latest Dolby Atmos soundbar is gunning for an Award-winner

Philips is releasing three new soundbars, which the brand says will all offer “excellent performance, high power and good specifications.”

Kicking off with the B8301 model, this 3.1.2-channel system consists of a soundbar and a wireless subwoofer in a “slimline” package according to the brand.

There’s support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, which will be good news for movie lovers looking for multiple surround sound options. Under the hood, you will find dedicated LCR (left, centre, right) channels and with two up-firing drivers, all running on 190W of total system power.

The wireless subwoofer, which features a twin driver, can be mounted vertically or horizontally and includes 100W power output.

In terms of connectivity, there is an HDMI eARC port with 4K/120Hz passthrough, and Bluetooth on the cards. Like all of the new models, the bar offers an AI-powered "Intellisound Engine" which automatically chooses the sound profile based on what's playing. Options on offer include all the usual suspects: Movie, Music and Voice Boost.

They all also feature Philip’s EasyLink 3.0 system, which allows both the soundbar and a Philips TV to be controlled using one remote control.

So far, only the European pricing has been released, coming in at €329. That’s around £285 in the UK and $380 in the US. At that price, the B8301 is up against the Award-winning Hisense AX5125H (£249 / $350) soundbar system, which scored highly for its amazing weight, scale and spaciousness for the money. Tough competition, indeed.

Next up, the B5601 is a more compact model which Philips says is “designed to bring a full-size performance to smaller spaces.”

The 2.1 system is made up of a main soundbar and a subwoofer. You won’t find any Dolby Atmos support this time, however, as the model offers Dolby Digital+ and DTS: Virtual X compatibility.

Finally, the B5201 is Philips’ latest all-in-one model, which measures 6.5 x 77 x 91 cm (hwd) and has the smallest footprint of the bunch.

With 80W of total output power, the company says it “offers a simple but high-quality upgrade to TV sound as a single compact 2.0 soundbar”. Dolby Digital+ and DTS: Virtual X compatibility. The B5201 also includes an HDMI ARC connection, but there's no 4K passthrough on the cards.

There’s no word on price for the two more compact models, but the B5201 could well be gunning for the four-star Sony HT-SF150 (£90 / $100 / AU$199). With increasingly tricky competition in the budget soundbar market, Philips’ new range will have to work hard to stand out from the crowd.

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