GADGET SPECIAL .......THIS NANO CINEMA SPEAKER WILL IMPRESS YOU

THIS NANO CINEMA SPEAKER WILL IMPRESS YOU





Philip's B1 offers massive movie-quality sound in a small form factor

There's a growing demand for smaller soundbars. According to Philips, this is because everything from consoles to media players fights for space beneath the average TV. But can the $570 B1 defy the laws of physics and produce crowd - pleasing sound in a small form factor?
In short: It certainly can. Philips, under the auspices of Gibson Innovations, has done an impressive job of compacting the average soundbar.

The design

The B1 measures just 41cm meaning it wouldn't look out of place beneath a modest 30-40-inch screen. The body of the soundbar is protected by a rolled aluminium grille, while the end panels are black fabric.

Speaking of inputs, there's an HDMI-In plus an HDMI ARC output. You can also hook up via a 3.5mm minijack, USB or optical digital input. Wireless connectivity comes via Bluetooth aptX with NFC pairing.

Performance

The compact design might make you a little sceptical about the B1, but sonic per for m a nc e wa r r a nt s a t hu mb up. There's more than enough vol ume here to fill the average small room, and the front soundstage is surprisingly wide. The secret to this success is a brace of microbeaming speaker drivers.

Four drivers (two at the sides and two centred) are arranged in a cross-firing configuration, to create a wide sweet spot. There's a pair of additional soft dome tweeters at the top of the unit, each used with an 18hole waveguide that produces a virtual speaker array to heighten the soundstage.

Each driver has its own amplifier module, which Philips totals at 120 W. The partnering wireless subwoofer is a front-ported enclosure made from everyday MDF.

It has reassuring weight, and comes with a helpful plastic stand which makes it easy to position vertically. With a depth of just 86 mm (or 3.3 inches), you'll also be able to slide it horizontally beneath the sofa

in techradar com