Pioneer SBX-N500 review

Throughout our testing, the SBX-N500 produced crisp, clear audio that should easily fill a small or medium-sized room. It won’t drown out a dedicated 5.1 speaker system, and it isn’t ear-piercingly loud, even at maximum volume, so you’re unlikely to get complaints from the neighbours.

The sense of stereo sound is excellent, as long as you sit directly in front of the unit; speech was always distinctly separated from other audio, even during hectic action sequences. Unfortunately the virtual surround sound effects aren’t quite so impressive, and the speakers lose a lot of their punch if you sit to the sides of the bar.

Whether we were playing music or watching films, the SBX-N500 had a dominant mid-range and slightly sharp high-end. This manifests itself mainly in cymbal crashes, hi-hats and action scenes with screeching brakes or breaking glass. It’s not ear-splitting, but it’s a little harsher than we prefer. Happily, the SBX-N500 includes an equaliser, so you can boost or reduce certain frequency bands.

As the SBX-N500 is a single unit sound bar, we weren’t expecting much in the way of bass compared to other models with external subwoofers. However, the SBX-N500 does a fairly good job at adding low-end rumble to action scenes and music. Rock and dance tracks won’t rattle the furniture, but there’s enough bass to enjoy your music. If you want more bass, you should consider Pioneer’s SBX-N700, which includes an external subwoofer.

For £250, the SBX-N500 has an incredible amount of features. Many other sound bars in this range make do with Bluetooth, but Pioneer has managed to include wireless video, DLNA streaming and even some smart TV abilities. Despite the fiddly HDMI issue, the SBX-N500 is still great value overall.