Slim and sexy they may be, but when it comes to sound, flatpanel TVs usually fall flat on their full HD faces.
Those wafer-thin chassis don't leave a lot of room for powerful audio circuitry and, as a result, movies can end up sounding thin and weedy.
The obvious remedy to this problem is to get yourself a home cinema system, but not everyone has the space or the budget – and that's where soundbars come in.
These units provide a happy medium between your TV's speakers and a full-on 5.1 setup, packing all the necessary audio technology into a single 'bar' that can be mounted on the wall or placed on your AV stand. Most come with built-in virtual surround technology too, saving you the hassle and messy cabling involved in rigging up rear speakers.
So if you want to be part of the soundbar revolution, the five one-box wonders on test here are a good place to start. Let's find out which one deserves your hard-earned cash.
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