Philips Fidelio HTL9100/12 review

The subwoofer is wireless too, and it connects to the soundbar automatically when you plug it into the power socket. The subwoofer fires downwards and is fairly compact, so it should just about squeeze behind a sofa. Despite its size, the subwoofer still manages to pump out a surprising amount of bass for films and music. Bass doesn’t dominate the mix, either. The subwoofer adds rumble where we’d expect it but it doesn’t not encroach on the mid-range.

Making the switch to surround sound makes an incredible difference when watching films. DTS digital surround support helps the HTL9100 create a realistic soundscape that surrounds you with incidental audio. When watching Avatar, the HTL9100 brought the first sortie into Pandora to life in a way no other soundbar has managed to achieve. You don’t need to change any settings to activate it either. Sound pauses briefly when you disconnect the speakers from the soundbar, and then resumes in surround sound. Music benefits from the extra speakers, too. Tracks have a richer, more precise sound with better differentiation between the mid- and high-frequency sounds.

The ability of the HTL9100 to transform from a soundbar to surround sound system in less than a minute, without the need to worry about batteries or cables, makes it one of the best home cinema speaker systems we’ve seen for those with limited space. The HTL9100 has all the features we’d expect from a high-end system, such as Bluetooth audio streaming, it looks gorgeous from virtually all angles and it sounds excellent. The similarly priced Sonos Playbar is an alternative, but you’d also need a couple of Play 1 speakers for surround sound. For non-Sonos users, the HTL9100 is one of the best sound bars around.