Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with subwoofer and surround sound speakers (newest model), 5.1 channel, Dolby Atmos, clear dialogue

Foreward: The market for home entertainment (specifically set-top boxes), whilst cutthroat, is also annoyingly lame. I use Plex to stream the majority of my entertainment, not whatever streaming service of the week is more interesting - and as a result, I care more about quality, but also codec support. To that end, the market shrinks to 3 real competitors, Amazon's Fire TV, Nvidia's Shield, and Apple's... Apple TV. (Roku and Google have poor audio codec support.) Of the 3, Apple requires me to buy into the walled garden, and Nvidia is doable, but it seems like support might be waning in the long-term. Amazon's Fire TV devices therefore is the obvious choice to me, which put me in a weird predicament - what to use for sound? I actually bought 2 Echo Studios and an Echo sub, and used them as my sound system, which worked but didn't support Dolby TrueHD audio, a codec I frequently encounter with content on my Plex server (which trips up family members who are using plex), and I was disappointed by it's (admittedly infrequent, but not zero) disconnects - where they would just stop playing audio, or worse, play audio with a delay. When Amazon announced this, and it's (rather low) introductory price, I was surprised but interested enough to buy the full kit. Sound: Listing this first, as it's the single most-important feature. Sound quality is good, it's able to get loud without distortion, and the dialogue boost is rather helpful. Being a soundbar, stereo separation isn't very good (i.e. left- or right-channel sound seems to come more from the center than their respective direction), so I strongly recommend getting the kit with the surround speakers, they're crucial to providing a proper left and right effect, but otherwise the sound is surprisingly good for the price. The bass response is surprisingly crisp, and I find it adding a lot of richness to even standard stereo audio, and definitely making itself present with properly mixed soundtracks. Setup: It's very simple, plug it into your TV's HDMI-ARC port and call it a day. It uses a protocol called "HDMI-CEC" to receive volume commands from your TV or streaming device, which means that you don't have to program any fancy remotes. Some people have tried connecting Amazon's previous soundbar via bluetooth, which does not end well - you will only get high quality audio if you use the HDMI cable, bluetooth is for when you want to stream audio from your cellphone. I almost forgot to mention the wireless speakers and subwoofer. They came pre-paired, and required no additional setup, beyond plugging them in (to power) and setting them up where I wanted them. Observations: Based on codecs that I send it, and on what audio actually plays, it seems to support every audio codec under the sun, even the rather difficult Dolby TrueHD. DTS is also supported, but DTS-HD:MA is a mixed bag - DTS (the company) encodes a regular DTS stream (the codec) into their DTS-HD:MA streams, so if I send a HD:MA stream to the device, I'll still hear audio (even if HD:MA support isn't there, thus I cannot confirm HD:MA support). Personally, I think the difference between regular AC3 and TrueHD, alongside DTS and DTS-HD:MA is indistinguishable for the average listener - the primary reason I bought this is so my folks don't hear nothing, or trigger a transcode no matter what audio settings they instruct plex to use. The subwoofer is about twice or thrice the volume of my old Echo Sub, but the actual speaker driver seems to only be an inch or inch and a half larger in diameter. The weight is roughly the same, which indicates to me that Amazon has built the subwoofer with some tuned resonance chamber, which seems to be the real reason why it sounds so much better. My only gripe with the system as a whole, is that the subwoofer's placement instructions recommend it be kept more than 12 inches from a wall, and away from corners - It seems this is due to their choice of having the speaker for it face downwards between the feet, rather than to the side, but I would prefer a more directional subwoofer if it meant I could stick it in a corner and keep my living room more tidy. Conclusion: I know a lot of people are disappointed by the soundbar not having FireTV built into it, or by missing some special features that might make it magical - but I am pleased as punch for that. In a world where everyone is trying to corral you into their walled garden, Amazon made a soundbar that will let you cancel your prime subscription, or ditch the Fire TV Stick, and it'll still work just as fine. It supports a wide range of codecs, uses industry-standard connectivity (HDMI-ARC & CEC), and doesn't punish you if you prefer to use a Roku, google TV, or an Nvidia Shield.

Yes, it took way longer to unpack than it did to set up. The soundbar connected/paired instantly with my Sony tv as soon as I plugged it in. And so did the wireless subwoofer and rear speakers. Also worked immediately with the remote from the tv (using HDMI-Arc port). And sounded great when we started streaming a movie a few minutes after plugging it in. Side note - extremely well packed. My old unit was a Vizio SB3651 surround sound system, but I was looking for a something with better voice clarity and also just general surround sound for movies. I have tinnitus pretty bad and dialog gets overpowered by everything else in way too many shows for me to hear people talking. I had read that technology had improved dialog delivery over the past few years but I didn't want to spend $1,500 or more for a new system. I can honestly say this system is a huge improvement - I can hear the voices so much better with this system. My wife has great hearing and even she was surprised at the difference it made for her! The remote has a button just for the dialog with five levels. But the dialog was so clear on the first level, that I haven't really needed to change for the shows we've watched so far. And it wasn't just the voices that were better. The surround sound effects streaming movies are way better than the Vizio. Both systems played DTS, but this system is just clearer and sounds better/sharper/crisper watching streaming shows or for over the air channels. Very impressed. One other note: the only knock I could really find on the system before I bought it was that it doesn't have upfiring speakers. But the room I have it in has a vaulted ceiling, and from reading up on how the upfire systems work, they are simply a complete waste of money if you have vaulted/slanted ceilings. The sound has to bounce off the ceiling and back down to where you are sitting, and it takes a lot of playing with the speaker angles to get the effect right even with flat ceilings - but it's realistically impossible with vaulted/slanted ceilings. Especially if the upfiring speakers are in a soundbar you can't tilt because it would aim all the other speakers in the bar to the ground or over your head. Just doesn't work. I could never bring myself to pay a thousand dollars plus for a sound system just because of the name. So at least for my purposes, this system is just exactly what I wanted - half to quarter as much money, crystal clear voices and sound, and couldn't have been easier to setup and use. Win, win, win!

This system was very easy to install. It paired up with my TV emidality with no problems. The quality is better that I expeted. I highly recommend it. Great value for the money.

Powerful sound with deep bass and good home theater experience. Easy to install and perfect for use with Fire TV. Very good for the price, although it is not premium level.

The Amazon Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer is the perfect surround system for my 25' x 7' Tiny Home/RV. I live totally off grid with solar, battery-backup, and generator for electricity. The Fire sound system draws little power yet gets incredibly loud with very clean highs, mids, and bass. It mated perfectly with my new 55" Fire Omni Mini LED HDTV. I have a Marantz high-end 7.1 Receiver, but it is in a chest because it draws too much power and its speakers were too big- I gave them away. I cannot stress enough just how good this Fire Surround System sounds!. Plus, it has very effective Dialog Emphasis with many levels. The Bass boost Boost has multiple levels too and reliably adds thunderous low end that really brings movies and music to life. There is no clipping from the speakers or rattling. The Surround Channel's level is adjustable too. The sound is just very, very clean. The Subwoofer and Surround Speakers are wireless. They plug directly into available 110v outlets- no bulky and unreliable power packs to deal with. I was getting a bit concerned when I first connected my new Fire Omni Mini LED TV to the Soundbar via HDMI 2.1. The TV would not detect and "handshake" with the Soundbar to pass the Audio Signal. I tried multiple times and by correctly setting CEC and and Audio settings. After 45 minutes I finally did a total reset on the Fire TV and reset the Soundbar by holding down the power button for 10 seconds. Finally, after 1 hour and re-setting up the Fire TV and re-setting my M1 Macbook Pro's Audio, it synced up and has worked fine ever since- even after cutting the Tiny Home's Power which I always do when I'm out. I really like how well the Fire Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer mates up and operates with my new Fire Omni Mini LED TV. They really give me a high-end Home Theater experience.

Sound barely comes out of the surround speakers at full volume. It doesn’t turn on when the tv is turned on and these features are in 10year old devices that cost a fraction. Highly disappointed and sad I missed the window to return. I upgraded to better cables and TV as well as high mounts to try and make it better. But still at full volume I can only hear the surround if I am right next to it. Movie night at my house was better when I had a 100$ Vizio from 10 years ago.

I absolutely love this soundbar system. There are soo many adjustments you can fine tune each speaker with, it's really great. The speakers design appears well built, the entire system is super easy to set up and connectivity is almost instant. Be prepared for a heavy package if you buy this - my post office actually made me come pick it up from them because the USPS delivery person said it was too big and heavy to take to my doorstep. It is a heavy package, but it is also packaged very, very well. This system does work fine and is compatible with my Sony remote and my new gen Fire Cube remote.

Got this on Prime Day (20% off!). I'd been eyeing this thing up for quite some time. I wanted to add surround sound to my Fire TV Omni 75". I've been looking at Denon/Onkyo receivers, and the whole Home Theater market is saturated with convoluted opinions on brand preference, good vs bad, etc. I wanted something very simple that I could just turn on, and this fit the bill perfectly. It doesn't have the richest of feature sets, but the ease of setup and sound quality make up for that. I'm not an audiophile, but movie dialogue sounds great, explosions are deep and rumble with the subwoofer, and surround can be heard when going from left to right or right to left. This system brightens dialogue and makes it audible in movies (you know what I'm talking about) and now I don't have to keep adjusting volume during a movie (up during dialogue, down during action scenes etc). It has settings to adjust dialogue volume, bass, and treble. Very nice, but again, very minimalistic. Right out of the box everything is paired together, so literally all you have to do is place the speakers, plug them in to power, press the connect button, and presto, you have a fully-functioning decently capable surround sound system. The box contains all of the cables you'll need including a high-speed HDMI cable. I ended up replacing this with an Anker High Speed HDMI cable, as I don't know what brand of cable was included. I repurposed the included cable to my used LG Blu-Ray player. Everything is packaged well, and is protected with cardboard supports. The Box is BIG and heavy, so be careful when you first bring it into your house. The speakers and sound bar seem to be made to very decent quality (I wouldn't say top-tier, but it's definitely well above average), and feel durable and hefty. The sound bar and surround speakers have cloth mesh on the front of them, so be careful as to not damage those. The sound bar has a very minimalistic remote that doesn't have a lot of functionality. There's 5 LEDs on the sound bar itself that are used to show levels of different settings (volume, bass, treble, dialogue etc) as you adjust them, and a blue LED to indicate Bluetooth connection status. Speaking of Bluetooth pairing, it's very simple. Press and hold the Bluetooth button on the remote to place it into pair mode. I wouldn't have paid full price for this with the lack of feature set, but for the Prime Day price, I'd argue there's not a better deal for a full 5.1 surround sound setup.