One issue we often complain about today’s TVs’ poor performance is basic sound. The latest panel and image technologies take center stage, and the current market trend is to show fragile screens with practically no borders, leaving no space to mount a good audio system. That is why a sound bar can be considered one of the best companions for our television.
The sound bar we will talk about in this article is quite extraordinary:
- It is the first Xiaomi sound bar that officially arrives in Spain.
- Because it offers pretty exciting features, which we will detail below.
- Under these lines, we leave you with the technical sheet of the Xiaomi Soundbar 3.1ch.
Traditional yet elegant design
As you have verified from the article’s featured image, the design that this sound bar shows is quite traditional. It has a black finish and a rigid composition; that is, we did not find fabric covering the speakers in any corner, as was the case in previous models of the firm that did not end up here. The touch is lovely because, in the upper part, we get an anodized finish, right where the physical buttons for power, volume, and the area to use the NFC are located.
The bar also has an OLED dot matrix panel where we will see information about the volume, sound modes, connected sources, and more.
The subwoofer also presents no surprises when it comes to design. Of course, it causes sound pressure if we feel it (unfortunately for our neighbors). Another point that has also caught our attention is the design of its logo. And it is in this case that they get rid of ‘My’ to add the firm’s full name in the logo, a declaration of intent.
It is worth mentioning that this sound bar has a remote control where we can control the volume, sound modes, sources, and this type of thing. The rule is similar to those we have seen on the firm’s televisions, although somewhat more straightforward and compact since here, we do not depend on the numerical buttons or the rest of the functions. If we connect the bar via HDMI, it is good to know that thanks to the CEC function, we can control the bar with the same TV remote if it is compatible with said technology.
We are left without Dolby Atmos, although the deception in our heads continues.
Speaking of more significant issues, the Xiaomi Soundbar 3.1ch has three speakers in the soundbar itself and a subwoofer that connects to it wirelessly. The total output power is 430 W, a figure with features suggesting we are talking about a high-end product. However, given the price at which it is for sale, miracles cannot be performed either, and in this case, we do not have Dolby Atmos or DTS: X, having to settle for Dolby Audio and DTS Virtual: X Sound. However, that sense of immersion is well achieved by tricking our brains through DTS Virtual:X’s psychoacoustic processing for all types of content.
Despite the shortcomings in terms of multichannel audio formats, the sensations with this sound bar have been spectacular. During the tests, we reproduced all types of content from multiple devices. We have also tried its different sources and connections, and the truth is that it has fascinated us. However, it is good to talk about its predefined sound modes to delve into it.
Xiaomi soundbar
Xiaomi offers up to five default sound modes in this bar: Standard, Cinema, Music, Game, and News. In addition, we also find the ‘AI Sound’ technology, which relies on artificial intelligence to switch between modes depending on the type of content we are playing. Through the remote control or the physical buttons on the bar, we can go through the methods. The names of each of them do not give rise to errors, so we understand that you have an idea of what mode to use in each situation. However, there are small nuances that are worth mentioning.
If we intend to enhance the voices, that is, equalize in such a way that we increase the sensitivity of the highest frequencies, the most suitable modes for us will be the News and Standard methods. However, in these modes, we find a ‘canned’ effect that can dirty the experience, so we recommend you use these modes only if you want to give more importance to voices and dialogues.
Wired or without, l or that you prefer
Luckily, the Xiaomi Soundbar 3.1ch offers a good range of ports and connections to get the most out of it. On the one hand, we have HDMI eARC, which is essential if we want to reproduce all types of content, including multichannel high-resolution sound samples, through a single HDMI cable; given its nature since the arrival of ARC, the signal is transmitted bi-directionally. However, suppose our television does not support these protocols. In that case, we also have the possibility of connecting an HDMI input and another output in case we are playing content through an external device other than the television itself.