Panasonic SC-HTB488

Huge Improvement – Firstly, any soundbar will be an improvement on the tinny sound that TV speakers provide. We have a separate 5.1 surround system that we use through our AV receiver but we can't use that through our Fetch Box. For just watching Fetch through TV, we needed to improve the TV sound itself, The Panasonic SC HTB488 GNK does and very good job of it and was so easy to set up. The Fetch controller meshes with the soundbar so no real need to use the Pana Controller unless you want to alter sound modes.

I've given 4 stars because the setting lights are on top of the soundbar and don't display directly forward so you can easily see what setting you're currently on. That said, the soundbar is lower profile height than others so it doesn't interfere with the IR sensor at the bottom edge of our 10 year Pana 3D Viera Plasma TV.

Very pleased with the purchase and highly recommend.

Pretty good – I'm no audiophile. Not even close. For years we discussed getting a soundbar, but neither of us are much into watching movies, and I don't care for surround sound. There's something about it that feels creepy to me. Nevertheless, I was sent a $150 voucher, no strings attached, by Appliances Online and whilst I looked at many things, eventually settled on a soundbar. Of course the voucher was to tempt me to spend money - obviously - and I did.

We've had a large LG LCD television for 6 years that I couldn't fathom needed any help in the sound department. We could hear it fine - why add something to it? But in the end we decided on this Panasonic soundbar. We only had to add $139 and it was ours.

I was still unconvinced it was necessary, so I steered away from more expensive options. My thought was it wasn't alot of money to waste if we didn't like it. And if we did, we have another TV we could add it to and buy a more extensive system later.

But once it was installed, oh my.

Switching back now to the audio out of the TV is crazy. How did we put up with that all these years? Tinny, shallow, awful sound. Completely unbelievable that we found that acceptable for years.

If you are new to soundbars, you won't be disappointed. The only negative I can see (and again, I'm no audiophile), is the 10 second or so delay when you turn it on before the sound comes through. Other than that, I understand some soundbars can come on automatically when you turn other pieces of your system on. This does not do that. You must turn in on independently of other items.

It also has a power saving feature that automatically turns itself off after so many minutes of no signal.

Highly recommended for a relatively low cost name brand option. Very happy with this purchase.

Brilliant sounding sound – This one was on special at betta electrical, while I didn’t want a cheap eBay one, I also didn’t wanna spend a fortune on something a decent branded device that could do the same for cheaper. I am hard at hearing and I also appreciate great sound, the wireless subwoofer is a bonus providing punchy bass and decent volume. A top quality device once again from betta electrical!