ht-sb60

Sharp HT-SB60 review: Superlong sound bar packs fittingly wide sound

Sharp makes some of the biggest TVs in the world, so it's not surprising that the company is applying its plus-size worldview to sound bars.

The Sharp HT-SB60 ($320 street) is a startlingly long sound bar, designed to pair up with TVs 60 inches and up. That length may give it a more balanced look under your own personal Jumbotron, but it also allows the HT-SB60 to produce some fantastic sound quality, surpassing that of smaller sound bars in the same price range. There's also enough space on the back for two HDMI inputs, giving you more flexibility … Read more

Three great-sounding affordable sound bars

No one can deny the popularity of sound bar speakers, but I've always been frustrated by their sound quality. There were exceptions; the $899 Atlantic Technology PB-235 and $699 SpeakerCraft CS3 are quite good, but in the more popular $300-to-$400 range the 'bars weren't all that great. Granted, they were a big step up from TV speakers, but their sound was still a compromise, compared with what's available from the better $300-to-$400 Emotiva and Audioengine self-powered stereo speakers (they get hooked up from your TV's stereo analog jacks).

A few weeks ago I spent … Read more