Philips' new Dolby Atmos soundbar aims to solve 3 problems for mid-range TVs at once

Philips B8500 soundbar with a subwoofer
(Image credit: Philips TV)

Philips' new soundbar range has just been revealed, and it looks like a very smart set of bars designed to solve key practical problems that not all of the best soundbars take into account very well.

First up is the Philips B8500 (pictured above), which is the highest-end of the three, and jumped out to me not only because it supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X (as do all the models here, in fact). It's a 5.1-channel soundbar, featuring left, centre and right speakers, plus two angled side-firing drivers, with an eight-inch separate subwoofer.

The three problems with mid-range TVs (and quite a few high-end ones) that I see it solving are:

1) the generally middling sound from these TVs. It's a hefty soundbar, it's gonna sound much better!

2) Its design is made to accommodate a TV with a central stand. Naturally, it's specifically designed to fit seamlessly with the Philips OLED810 and Philips MLED950 TVs – also released this year – but it will likely fit better with most TVs that have a central stand, because it has a large cut-out in the body underneath it, at the back. Hopefully that means you won't need to put it so far away from the front of the TV in order to avoid it wobbling on the stand.

3) It has 4K 120Hz HDMI passthrough, meaning that if your TV has two HDMI 2.1 ports for gaming and that's not enough (since you'll usually need one of them for the soundbar as the HDMI eARC port), you can still get full next-gen gaming nirvana. This will be useful for those with TVs from Philips, Panasonic, TCL, Hisense and many mid-range Samsung models.

However, the downside of the Philips B8500 is that it doesn't have any dedicated upfiring speakers, so any Dolby Atmos height effects will be virtual. That may hold it back, but a lot will depend on the price, which Philips hasn't revealed yet. It's planned to launch in September 2025.

Philips B8200 soundbar on a white background

(Image credit: Philips TV)

Next up is the super-slim Philips B8200 (above), which also comes with a super-long subwoofer, keeping the beanpole appearance going. It's also been designed to fit well with Philips TVs that have a central stand by having a magnetic base to clip it securely onto the stand – and it also aims to work well TVs that are very low to the surface (including several Philips TVs over the years), with a height of just 42mm. It's a 2.1-channel soundbar, and the lengthy subwoofer has two drivers itself, and can be used upright or laid flat. Again there's no price yet, but it launches in August 2025.

Finally, the Philips B6100 is designed to be less wide than other soundbars, so it can fit between the feet of TVs. It's another 2.1-channel system with a dedicated subwoofer, and will be available in May 2025 (again, with no current price).

Philips B6100 soundbar on a white background

(Image credit: Philips TV)

All of these models feature Bluetooth for audio streaming, including Bluetooth LE Audio support, which is nice and future-looking.

The speaker configurations here are fairly basic, so the final verdict on these will come heavily down to price as well as speaker quality. But I really like the approach they're taking of trying to solve the practical design problems that people have with soundbars, and not just leaving it up to us to realise too late that a nice soundbar is an awkward fit with our TV and we're gonna need a bigger stand.

These are all confirmed for a UK and Europe release; I've asked Philips if a US release is planned, and will update when I hear back.

Matt Bolton
Managing Editor, Entertainment

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Entertainment, meaning he's in charge of persuading our team of writers and reviewers to watch the latest TV shows and movies on gorgeous TVs and listen to fantastic speakers and headphones. It's a tough task, as you can imagine. Matt has over a decade of experience in tech publishing, and previously ran the TV & audio coverage for our colleagues at T3.com, and before that he edited T3 magazine. During his career, he's also contributed to places as varied as Creative Bloq, PC Gamer, PetsRadar, MacLife, and Edge. TV and movie nerdism is his speciality, and he goes to the cinema three times a week. He's always happy to explain the virtues of Dolby Vision over a drink, but he might need to use props, like he's explaining the offside rule.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
The Philips B8200 soundbar in front of a TV in a demo room
I heard Philips' super-small new Dolby Atmos soundbar, and the sound is way bigger than I imagined
Ultimea Apollo S80 soundbar
This cheap Dolby Atmos soundbar splits into 3 speakers, and has its own Philips Hue-style LED lights too
The Samsung Q800C soundbar on a cyan background
The best Dolby Atmos soundbars 2025: home theater upgrades for all budgets
An array of Genelec speakers with. a Samsung soundbar in the middle at the Samsung Audio Lab
‘Atmos content costs too much money’: Samsung told me why Dolby Atmos isn't the future of surround sound, and why it launched Eclipsa Audio
Panasonic SC-HTB100 on white table with remote control
The best cheap soundbars for 2025, all tested by our experts
Best TVs for sound 2024 hero image with the Sony Bravia 8
The best TVs for sound 2025: from Sony, Panasonic, Hisense and more
Latest in Soundbars
Sonos Arc Lowest Price deal image
You can now save $250 on one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars from Sonos
The Sonos Arc Ultra in a living room, in front of plants and personal niknaks
Setting up the Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar was one of the worst tech experiences of my life, but damn it sounds incredible
Bose Solo Soundbar 2 and remote
Owning a soundbar has been a game-changer for me – here are 5 cheap options I’d recommend
Sony HT-S2000 lowest price deal image
Get Dolby Atmos on a budget: the Sony HT-S2000 soundbar is back to its lowest ever price
Bose Smart soundbar on TV stand with TV showing The Batman
I'm amazed by the Bose Smart Soundbar’s features for the money, and am also impressed with its Dolby Atmos sound
Bose Solo Soundbar 2 against pink background with plant
It’s no dud, but this cheap Bose soundbar I reviewed felt a little outdated for this one reason
Latest in News
Google Pixel 8a in aloe green showing
Google Pixel 9a benchmark link teases the performance of the upcoming mid-ranger
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #1148)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #379)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #645)
Apple iPhone 16 Pro HANDS ON
Leaked iPhone 17 dummy units may have given us our best look yet at all four models
A super close up image of the Google Gemini app in the Play Store
It's official: Google Assistant will be retired for phones this year, with Gemini taking over