Sharing a mini review i did of a soundbase i purchased just last month...
Anyway, as we all know, the on-board speakers of most LED these days - regardless of brand just won't cut it; especially if compared side by side to our old CRT babies. Wont go in to detail anymore as to why this is as I assume everyone is already aware why this is so.
At any rate, let me now share the purpose of my hunt for either a soundbase or a soundbar; regardless of me owning a humble 5.1 setup. The audio of movies, tv shows, video games when outputted through my TVs speakers are absolute cr@p. On the flip side there are times when I just don't feel like outputting the audio through my pioneer receiver as I would only normally do this during more serious viewings or game sessions. So i decided to go on the hunt for something to bridge this gap.
Initially a soundbar was on the table as my list of options for my audio "capricho". However, as most soundbars came with a sub, this was a no-go for me since I didn't want another sub in the limited confines of my bedroom. Also, my display unit, a Sony 50W800b, had a stand whose clearance between the screen and the platform where the TV is placed and the actual display was only about 2 inches. Hence, most soundboard models would actually block the bottom part of the display. This was prompted me to go on the hunt for a Soundbase.
Hunting around popular appliance stores in the Glorietta area, including Listen Up, I chanced upon this model in SM Appliance Store in Makati:
The Cambridge Audio Minx TV
Truth be told, it was the ONLY Soundbase in the area; and when I say ONLY, I mean that this was the display stock that I had purchased.
A soundbase. No separate subwoofer since this model already had one built in!
Priced at almost P14k, allow me now to tell you why I jumped at this. While still in the store and pairing my Iphone6 with it via Bluetooth and then playing Santana's Black Magic Woman, I immediately fell in love with it. Unfortunately, SM appliance refused to give me the discount I was wishing for since I was purchasing a display unit. They did however guarantee that the unit would still come with the establishment's warranty and exchange policy that was as if buying a brand new boxed unit. I had asked if they still had the box, all manuals and cables etc intact, they said yes. I also saw a separate printed insert that had the local addresses of authorized service centers.
Did a quick googling to verify the actual contents of the box; not only did I find the information I was looking for, but also verified that watthifi.com and trustedreviews.com gave it a 5/5 and a 4/5 respectively. (More icing on the cake)
https://www.google.com/search?q=cambridge+audio+minx+tv+sound+bar&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8 Long story short - bought in on a 6 month 0% installment plan and set it up as soon as i got home last Sunday.
UNBOXING - Inside was a separate box that contained the soundbase itself, a separate powebrick similar to a typical laptop charger in appearance, an optical cable, a 3.5mm-3.5mm audio cable, the remote, and all manuals and inserts.
Looking at the front made the soundbase feel simple and straightforward. An LED display to indicate current input and volume level should have been a must for these units.
Stripped of the cloth speaker cover - Two 3 inch mid range and a bunch of color coded LED input indicator lights as well as the IR receiver in the middle.
The bottom shows us a 6.5 inch sub.
Rear view peek reveals the a bass port, a power port; optical, RCA and 3.5mm inputs. No HDMI - which would have sweetened the deal just a bit more. Didn't cry too much over this since my priority was connecting it to my LED TV (and it did sound just that much better considering I'm using an optical cable to connect them) as well as occasionally using it for streaming audio from my phone via Bluetooth.
The remote, as shown here side by side with my Sony TV remote is about half the size of a credit card although considerably thicker, is powered by a button type battery. I wish they had made this a bit bigger, sturdier, and powered by at least a AAA battery. Losing or breaking this thing would not require too much effort. Oh, and if either of those happens, I can say bye-bye to my soundbase's functionality. No manual controls built in the unit itself.
Here it is, set up with my Sony 50W800B. The TV stand was a photo finish fit (length-wise) Verified that it can support any TV size so long as the base or stand of the TV fits the soundbase's top surface and so long as it is below 15kg.
SOUND QUALITY:
The 100 Watts RMS does justify a promise of filling the room with rich sound. Bass had adequate but solid thump for a 6.5 inch SW. The two 3 inch mids threw out amazing quality in terms of clarity. A discriminating listener would look for tweeters at it could use some high frequency. Make no mistake that considering the overall sound quality and volume this baby is capable of outputting, the lack of tweeters is in no way a deal breaker.
PROS:
- Overall sound quality, clarity and loudness considering its size & price. (Close your eyes and you'd swear you were listening from a reputably branded, medium sized mini component.)
- Bluetooth, Optical In 2 types of analog inputs
- Space saver as compared to soundbars
- Built in SW
CONS:
- No HDMI in
- Remote Control design
- Lack of LCD input/volume level display
OVERALL:
Considering my current needs, the audio quality and the little bonuses like BT connectivity and multiple input options that this unit had to offer, I'm a happy camper.
It was not too expensive IMHO. And the peace of mind of having store warranty as well as local authorized service centers just in case made it easier to bite the bullet so to speak.
