Amazon Fire TV Soundbar 2.0

What you get

The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar package includes the soundbar itself, an HDMI cable (approx. 150cm), two power cables, a remote control with batteries and mounting hardware to screw the small bar to the wall. Unfortunately, an optical cable for all ARC-less TVs is missing.

Specifications

The Fire TV soundbar uses two ‘Racetrack’ drivers mounted on the outside of the front panel. This design provides a relatively large diaphragm area to produce full sound despite the flat design. The integrated amplifier delivers 2 x 20 watts, supported by a bass reflex design that thickens the sound at the bottom end. Weighing just 1.8 kilograms and measuring just 61 x 6.5 x 9 cm, the soundbar can be placed in a variety of locations – either on a piece of furniture or on a wall.

The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar 2.0 offers the following connections:

• HDMI ARC and eARC for easy connectivity and control
• Optical (Toslink) input for older TVs
• Bluetooth for wireless connectivity
• USB-A port, which can only play music files from a USB stick

The following audio formats are supported: Dolby Audio (no Dolby Atmos) and DTS Virtual:X for surround sound. Although the latter provides virtual surround sound, it cannot replace a real surround sound setup. Networking or tuning features found on more expensive competitors, such as Wi-Fi connectivity, Spotify Connect, calibration or Alexa, are missing, which is to be expected in this price range.

How to connect and use

Setup is simple: Just plug an HDMI cable into the HDMI ARC or eARC port on your TV and control the volume directly from your TV remote. An optical input is available for older sets without HDMI ARC. In this case, you will need to use the supplied remote control to adjust the volume.

Thanks to Bluetooth, content can be streamed wirelessly from a smartphone, tablet or PC, including music and podcasts. However, the manufacturer remains silent on this point: Amazon does not reveal which version of Bluetooth or which codecs are used. The latter is likely to be SBC (see guide).

The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar 2.0 in action

The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar 2.0 is particularly suitable for smaller rooms and TVs. In our testing environment, for example, a ‘normal’ soundbar would be almost too big for our small TV bench. At 61cm, the Fire TV Soundbar is not particularly bulky, so it fits neatly under our old 32-inch TV.

Its fairly minimalist design in charcoal/black looks thoroughly modern, even if the plastic casing doesn’t give a high-end impression.

When the soundbar is connected via HDMI, the TV or streaming device’s remote control takes over the volume control (including mute). You can control source selection, put the bar in Bluetooth pairing mode, switch on virtual surround sound, the three-stage bass boost, the three EQ presets (film, music, speech) and playback.

Some of your actions will be acknowledged by a rather loud voice prompt, which, especially at night, has the power to wake the rest of the family from their well-earned sleep. Fortunately, this can be quickly remedied by pressing and holding the mute button, which silences the cheeky female voice. Multi-coloured LEDs also indicate which mode you are in.

After a few minutes you can operate it almost blindly, but there are no Sonos-style calibration functions or dedicated app support. However, these limitations are acceptable given the price.

This is how the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar 2.0 sounds

One thing is immediately clear: the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar, with its 2 x 20 watts, is a significant improvement on the tinny TV speakers. Voices, in particular, sound clear and natural, which makes films and dialogue-heavy series stand out. The film and music modes are suitable for most content, but the dialogue mode can be unnaturally accentuated. It is important to experiment.

With DTS Virtual:X, the soundbar creates a wider soundstage and a certain spatiality. Although true 3D effects are lacking, the sound expands pleasantly. What it does well: When spatial sound is activated, the stereo sound is pleasantly stretched in width, creating a large soundstage. Don’t expect miracles, though, as it’s a few drivers short of a full home cinema experience. It can also handle Dolby Atmos, but discrete 3D formats are not supported.

The soundbar also performs surprisingly well when playing music. Vocals and instruments sound fairly clean in music mode, while the bass ranges from subtle to ‘too much’, depending on the remote’s setting. At maximum bass boost and high volume, especially with the latest hip-hop and electronica tracks, the soundbar tends to droning and lacks precision.

The Verdict

The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar 2.0 surprised us in the test because it offers a good and affordable introduction to the world of soundbars – if expectations are not too high. It is particularly suitable as an upgrade for smaller TV setups, which usually sound tinny and thin.

If you are also looking for a standalone Bluetooth speaker or even want to connect your stereo via an optical cable, the Fire TV Soundbar 2.0 is worth a closer look. At just under €140, it does have some limitations, but we still rate it as ‘very good’ value for money.