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Boston Acoustics TVee Model 25 (photos)

The Boston Acoustic TVee Model 25 is a competent but unexceptional sound bar with some design flaws that make it not quite worth its premium price tag.

Matthew Moskovciak
Covering home audio and video, Matthew Moskovciak helps CNET readers find the best sights and sounds for their home theaters. E-mail Matthew or follow him on Twitter @cnetmoskovciak.
Matthew Moskovciak
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Boston Acoustics TVee Model 25

When Boston Acoustics first came out with its TVee line of sound bars, its modest pricing and focus on simplicity were a welcome addition to a market filled with overpriced models. A few generations later, the TVee Model 25 faces a much different set of competitors: tons of cheap sound bars that are good enough if you just want something that sounds better than your TV.

That's essentially the rub with the TVee Model 25, which is an all-around decent sound bar with better-than-average sound quality (and some design flaws), but its $350 street price seems out of sync with the market. If you find it at a discount, the Boston Acoustics TVee Model 25 offers up pretty solid sonics for its size; otherwise you'll get a better value elsewhere.

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Front panel

We don't need a sound bar to wow us with its style, but the TVee Model 25 is bland even to our taste. It's unexciting in just about every respect, from its matte-gray finish to the close-to-cubical subwoofer. The only thing that stands out is that the front panel is relatively tall and thin, extending above the rectangular base behind it.
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Flared front panel

The flared front panel might be a nifty look if you're planning on wall-mounting the Model 25, but if you're placing it in front of a TV, that extra height (it's 4.44 inches tall) may end up blocking your TV's remote control sensor. It's worth breaking out a ruler to see if this would be a problem with your TV.
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Back panel

For connectivity, the TVee Model 25 has a stereo analog input, minijack input, and optical digital audio input on the rear panel. That's not much, so plan on connecting your gear directly to your TV and connecting the TV's audio output to the sound bar. You'll be using your TV to switch between devices and you'll only have one cable running to the sound bar.
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Petite, wireless subwoofer

The subwoofer may not be the sort that'll shake the foundation of your house, but we were impressed with how well its sound blended with the sound bar's.
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Subwoofer controls on the back

The sub has its own volume control knob on its rear panel, which permits finer tuning of the sub and sound bar bass balance than systems with just a few subwoofer volume settings. That's nice, but it also means you can't adjust the subwoofer from the remote.

Return to the TVee Model 25 review.

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