Philips Fidelio B5 review: A soundbar with surround on demand

You can connect the Fidelio B5 to your television or audio source through either its HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) port, digital optical, digital coaxial, RCA phono or 3.5mm auxiliary. A dedicated wireless subwoofer is also included. Measuring 200x510x200mm, it’s very tall and a little conspicuous for our tastes, certainly when compared to the slimline subwoofer included with the XS1 SoundStage that is easy to hide under a cabinet or sofa. An NFC contact point can be used to pair a Bluetooth device to the main soundbar and it also supports aptX and AAC codecs.

Inside the main soundbar are 2x 3in drivers paired with 2x 1in soft dome tweeters for stereo sound. Disappointingly, there’s no dedicated centre channel. The rear speakers use a 3in full-range speaker with 8W of power each, making for a total of 120W of power when coupled with the main soundbar. Inside the subwoofer is a 6.5in woofer to fill out the low-end with 90W of power.

Setting the Fidelio B5 up for 4.1 surround is a simple affair thanks to built-in spatial calibration. This uses a special tonal signal to locate the rear speakers in a two-step process. First you place the speakers in two locations you’re likely to sit, then you place the speakers where you’re likely to leave them. This will then adjust the sound balance and adjust the sound of each speaker. In testing it worked excellently and got round the awkward shape of our testing environment.

There are other clever functions, such as the ‘Close To Me’ listening mode. This mutes the sound from the main soundbar and only emits stereo sound from the two rear speakers that you place nearby. This is great for late-night listening when you don’t want to disturb the household. There’s a more traditional ‘Night’ mode that tones down the lower frequencies but still has audio outputting from all the speakers, too.

When used as a 4.1 set up, the Fidelio B5 creates an enveloping cinematic surround sound that you can’t really achieve with traditional soundbars. There’s clear audio separation and directionality from the satellite speakers meaning off-screen sound effects have real presence. The Fidelio B5 can decode Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby Pro Logic II, but not Dolby TrueHD, much like the Sonos Playbar.

However, without a true dedicated centre channel, dialogue wasn’t as isolated as we would have liked. It was by no means muffled or unintelligible, and certainly a cut above a television’s standard speakers, but it lacked the clarity evident with other soundbars, including Philips’ Fidelio XS1 SoundStage that has a dedicated centre channel.

Stereo separation from the main soundbar was also disappointingly narrow, both with and without the rear speakers docked. Other soundbars and soundbases often get round the problem of closely packed soundbar drivers creating a narrow sound field by dispersing the audio with side-firing drivers but that’s not present here. Even with the slightly narrow sound stage, sound quality for both movies and music was still very good with crisp mids and trebles and plenty well-controlled bass from the subwoofer.

Conclusion

Overall, the Fidelio B5 creates a surround sound experience that can’t be matched by most soundbars thanks to its clever detaching speakers, although you’ll need to have somewhere to place them. The sound coming from the front is disappointingly narrow even if it does sound excellent, however. The Philips Fidelio XS1 SoundStage has a far wider sound, and the Q Acoustics Media 4 is another option if you only have space for a traditional soundbar, but for sheer versatility the Fidelio B5 can’t be beat. You can see other alternatives in the Expert Reviews best soundbar guide.