During the past two years the TV sound market has seriously evolved, first we had 5.1 then 7.1 home theatre kits, then along came soundbars, that has up to 24 speakers built in.
Now Aldi is set to release a value Bauhn SoundMax soundbar that has a built in amplifier and wireless sub, so that you can stream music from a tablet or smartphone direct to the soundbar. It also delivers excellent sound from a soundbar that only costs only $229.
During the years I have conducted several Aldi consumer electronics product reviews from the early days of Medion PC’s to their excellent range of budget TV’s including their latest 4K UHD offering.
What I have learnt is that Aldi is incredibly demanding of their suppliers. For example, the Bauhn SoundMax soundbar is made in the same factory as a lot of branded soundbars that are selling for double the price including soundbars from Harman Kardon and Marley.
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This product has HDMI in and HDMI out.
When I set up this soundbar I tested both the Optical in and the HDMI in and there was very little difference. I also tested it up against the Sonos Playbar with a Panasonic 4K UHD TV and again there was not a lot of difference especially as the Sonos Playbar is retailing for $997 at JB Hi Fi.
Housed in a sleek aluminium casing this soundbar is best used directly under the TV, do not place the device on a shelf below the TV as the sound will be impacted by the refined space.
To really get the benefits that this device delivers simply open the Google Play Store on your Smartphone or tablet and search for the SoundMax App.
Then install the App to your Android device. When you open the App for the first time, it will search for the available SoundMax units that are connected to the Wi-Fi network.
The names of the found devices will be displayed under the ‘Device List’ menu.
You can also check your SoundMax Soundbar device information, set a password for its built-in Wi-Fi network and reset the unit back to its original factory settings.
I found it extremly easy to configure this device to not only the TV but my smartphone so that I could easily play music from my Spotify streaming service.
You can do the same for IOS devices, simply go to the Apple store and download the SoundMax app.
This soundbar also has ARC technology built in.
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Audio Return Channel, or ARC, uses a single HDMI connection to send audio from a TV to the sound bar or AV receiver.
This is great is if you have multiple sources (Blu-ray player, Foxtel or a gaming console), but only one input on your sound bar.
With ARC, you can connect everything to the TV, and the TV will send audio down an HDMI cable to the sound bar. No extra cables needed (i.e. an optical cable).
Speaker output on the SoundMax Soundbar is 18W x 2CH + 36W however I strongly recommend that you spend the extra money and put two rear speakers, the difference is significant especially when watching a 4K movie on a Bauhn 4K UHD TV streaming Netflix for example.
Another big plus for this device is the instruction manual. It’s well laid out easy to read and it takes you step by step through the app and connectivity issues.
Conclusion:
This is a true value for money soundbar that’s ideal as a mainstream speaker or in a den or spare room. It vastly improves the output of any TV sound system.
