Maxell MXSP-SB3000 review

The three HDMI inputs on its back panel are a generous inclusion for any sound bar, never mind a cheaper model such as this. All three support 3D pass-through and the single HDMI output is also Audio Return Channel (ARC) compatible, so you can use the MXSP-3000 with your TV’s integrated tuner. The MXSP-3000 also has digital optical and coaxial audio inputs to which you can connect devices with compatible outputs. You’ll also find analogue RCA and 3.5mm inputs on the back panel.

The MXSP-SB3000’s twin 30W speaker drivers and separate 100W subwoofer should be capable of significantly better audio than the tiny speakers built into your TV. Unfortunately, our testing revealed a distinctly lacklustre performance. Unless you’re sat directly in front of the system, which needs to be at a low height in order to get the best from it, it sounds hollow and tinny.

Even positioned on a high coffee table or an AV cabinet, much of the sound is lost to the room, with only the mid-range and a sharp high-end making its way to our ear. If you stand directly in front of the system there’s a respectable amount of bass for a unit without a dedicated subwoofer, but it may not travel depending on the layout of your room and the furniture within it.

Using the digital equaliser presets did little to help either music or films. Sadly, you can’t adjust bass manually, you can only choose from three different settings and the highest setting only provides a little low-end boost. The Cinema EQ preset sounded hollow, the Music preset aggressively sharpens the high-end and SRS mode produced mixed results. With certain musical genres it worked reasonably well, and we could pick out detail in delicate tracks, but it couldn’t cope with heavy rock tracks. It pushes the high-end much too far so that it dominates the mix, and although it adds bass we think the crossover point is set too high to give electronic and guitar tracks the right balance of drum beats and bass against the harsh snares and hi-hats.

There was a reasonable amount of stereo separation that added some much-needed presence to multi-channel films, and we could always hear speech over action in hectic movie scenes. However, with no side-firing speaker drivers the MXSP-SB3000 isn’t able to compete with many other sound bars that create a wider sound stage using multiple speakers.

Although it has plenty of connections, and provides Bluetooth connectivity and ARC, we just can’t recommend the MXSP-SB3000. At £230 it’s simply too expensive given its mediocre sound quality. Considering you can get the Best Buy-winning Philips HTL5120 for only a little more, there’s no reason to opt for the Maxell MXSP-SB3000.