AX5125H

I got an even cheaper one for I think around $190. It's a Hisense and I don't know the model offhand but they make one that I see a lot of people recommend as one of the best budget options. [Hisense 5.1.2 AX5125H](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hisense-5-CH-Soundbar-with-Wireless-Subwoofer/3488920129) I'm not a fan of their TV's but for the price I'm pretty happy with one I have. I haven't looked into anything in the $500 range because it's more than I would spend.

Hisense ax5125h could also fit that mix?

Always a difficult one. I can only judge what I have experienced. You can compare features and tech specs, but that's not necessarily making it sound better. The AX5125H had some good reviews from what hifi and ratings (based on the price). It does Dolby Atmos, but with only upfiring speakers in the bar, don't expect over head effects, just perhaps the sound in front of you to sound slightly taller. I'm happy with mine for movies and TV. Sometimes it's not great for music, but apparently that's pretty common on sound bars, especially budget ones. I found that placing the surround speakers to the side and just in front of me gave a much better experience than trying to put them behind, as that left them too close.

I have the 5125h. Obviously can't compare it to others, even when I went looking in shops all the systems would just be sat on a shelf with surrounds right next to the bar, so whilst you can turn them on, there's no chance of a realistic test. Whilst I haven't done an A/B test, I'm not convinced the upfiring speakers do much. If they do anything at all it would just be making the sound bar sound taller, like the speakers are the full height of the tv, but even then I'm not sure. Watching Atmos content though, I think I do notice a difference, but it's more like a 2 dimensional arc of sound rather than the advertised 3d dome. Some of this could be though a case of if a production has done an Atmos mix, then they've probably put more effort into the whole sound design rather than just separating backing tracks from dialogue etc. There is some concern from 5125h users around dynamic range compression in busier scenes. You'll find that documented in posts on this sub. The control of the 5125h is also very limited, you get bass, treble and surround volume adjustment. These do the system as a whole, you can't control any speakers individually. The system does sound good though. I found having my surrounds a little further out and at 90 degrees from the listener worked a lot better than behind, where they had to be a lot closer. Maybe just the limitations of my room though.

I just picked up a hisense ax5125h on the budget end of things. The sub can get very boomy in dramatic movies, so just need to watch that if you don't want to upset neighbours. I tried initially with the surround speakers behind me, but being a small room they were far too close and it sounded bad. I now have them out to the side, at about 80 degrees and it sounds great, with a nice wide sound stage. The upfiring speakers in the bar don't make anything sound overhead, but it does add a little bit of height, just still very much in front of you, maybe a couple of feet above the soundbar.

ive been pretty happy with ax5125h from hisense - it has atmos - it was black friday when i got it for $249 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwUZTQWjN8M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwUZTQWjN8M)

Hisense AX5125H is on sale for £199 atm I have owned mine for a year and i love it

i had the ax5125h and it has bad static in the rears. all units/design flaw. maybe theyve fixed that by now but dont trust them. also music sounds terrible on it.

maybe they've changed but i had the older cheap hisense 5.1.2 soundbar and it had noticeable static in the rears. i returned it for another one and exact same issue. from some comments online every single one had this, a design flaw. yet on user reviews they were highly rated. really have no idea i'm hardly an audiophile, the farthest from it. but i guess noone noticed that static. unbelievable. i also noticed, again not audiohpile so i cant say why, but music just didn't sound good on the hisense, beyond that static flaw. something just wrong. i've read some comments echoing that too. that hisense isn't good for music. so overall i think stick to the brands that know audio which for me are just Samsung, vizio (owned several vizio), and jbl. and i'm quite sure sonos lol, sony etc. maybe the new hisense are better but i dont trust them. they're also suspiciously cheap, like their 5.1.4 model goes for 399. now thats not fair by me because i love cheap chinese tv's like hisense and tcl that have served me well and give me the specs of a sony or Samsung that costs twice as much. but yeah for me i dont trust hisense soundbars after my experience. i'd at least make sure theres a way to return it if you dont like it.