I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to watch tv. Shows,
movies, there’s a lot of content to pick from. And while tv’s have come a long
way in the quality of sound, the built-in sound still isn’t very good. If you
want better sound, the built-in sound still isn’t very good. If you want better
sound, you need dedicated speakers for your tv. The easiest option for this is
a soundbar. Soundbars have also come a long way. Up for review today is the
Philips Soundbar 5.1.2 TAB8967 with wireless subwoofer, with an $599 MSRP.
Soundbars themselves have come a long way since their
introduction. They were a single short but wide speaker array configured in
Left and Right for stereo sound. While they did not provide the really nice 5.1
channel surround sound, they still sounded much better than the tv’s built-in
speakers. And they were also really simple to set-up, connecting to the speaker
out on your tv. Over time, these soundbars also advanced to include a multiple
channel array for 5.1 surround sound. Some even included up firing speakers for
Dolby Atmos height channel. This is where the Philips Soundbar TAB8967 comes
in.
Features and specs:
Loudspeakers
Number of sound channels: 5.1.2
Center speaker drivers: 1 mid-low driver, 1 tweeter
Front speaker drivers: 2 mid-low drivers, 2 tweeters (L+R)
Up-firing speakers: 2 full range drivers (L+R)
Soundbar freq range: 150 - 20k Hz
Soundbar impedance: 5x 8
ohm
Subwoofer type: Active
Wireless subwoofer
Subwoofer driver: 1 x 8" woofer
Subwoofer freq range: 35 - 150 Hz
Subwoofer impedance: 3
ohm
Surround speaker drivers: full range driver (L+R)
Surround speaker freq range: 150 - 20k Hz
Surround speaker impedance: 2x 8 ohm
Sound
Sound Enhancement: Treble and Bass Control, Audio sync, Subwoofer
volume control
Equalizer settings: Movie, Music, Voice, Stadium, Custom
Speaker system output power: 780W max / 390W RMS (10 % THD)
Video: Video Enhancement, 4K Video Pass-through, Dolby
Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, HLG
Connectivity
USB playback: Yes
HDMI IN x 1: Yes
HDMI Out (eARC/ARC) x 1: Yes
EasyLink (HDMI-CEC): Yes
HDMI content protection: HDCP 1.4/2.3
Wireless connection: Bluetooth 5.0
Optical input x 1: Yes
Aux in: 3.5mm
WiFi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4GHz/5GHz
Works with Apple Airplay 2: Yes
Built-in Chromecast: Yes
Works with Ok Google: Yes
Supported Audio Formats:
HDMI IN1: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital plus, Dolby
TrueHD, LPCM 2ch, Dolby MAT
HDMI ARC/eARC: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital
plus, Dolby TrueHD, LPCM 2ch, Dolby MAT
Optical: Dolby Digital, LPCM 2ch
USB: MP3, WAV, FLAC
Bluetooth
SBC
Design
Wall mountable: Yes
Power
Auto standby: Yes
Main unit power supply: 100-240V AC, 50/60 Hz
Main unit standby power: < 0.5 W
Subwoofer power supply: 100-240V AC, 50/60 Hz
Subwoofer standby power: < 0.5 W
Surround speaker power supply: DC24V/2A
Surround speaker standby power: < 0.5 W
Accessories
Included accessories: Power cord, Remote Control, 2 x AAA
Batteries, Wall mount bracket, Quick start guide, Warranty Card
Dimensions
Main Unit (W x H x D): 1120 x 64 x 113 mm
Main Unit Weight: 3.94
kg
Subwoofer (W x H x D): 230 x 407 x 400 mm
Subwoofer Weight: 8.32
kg
Surround speaker (W x H x D): 90 x 134.5 x 108 mm
Surround speaker Weight: Left and Right 1.23 kg
The Philips is what all soundbars should be. Well, what they
all should be, if you like really good sound, as well as surround sound for
movies. The soundbar is an array of speakers, configured for multiple channels,
with separate drivers for left, center, and right channels, as well as multiple
drivers firing up at an angle for the Dolby Atmos height channels. There’s a
pair of wireless speakers for the two surround channels. It even has a separate
wireless subwoofer.
I love the design of the Philips Soundbar TAB8967. I love
movies, and to get the most enjoyment out of movies I need surround sound.
There is also a big jump in the experience when you add Dolby Atmos height
channels. And of course, no subwoofer for the explosions in action movies,
really cripples the experience. So the Philips Soundbar TAB8967 has all of the
boxes checked off when it comes to the needed features for sound. They have a
soundbar for the front left, center, right, as well as upward firing drivers
for the Dolby Atmos height channel. There are the two wireless speakers for the
rear surround channels, and the separate wireless subwoofer for its channel. So
there you have it, full 5.2.1 surround sound with Dolby Atmos included. Yet not
only do you get the great surround sound format, you also get easy set up! No
surround sound receiver is required. The main soundbar connects up to your tv,
and the soundbar sends out the wireless signal to the two surround speakers and
the subwoofer. Simple!
Connecting, and setting up the Philips Soundbar TAB8967 as I
mentioned above, was very simple. There are only two cables to connect for the
soundbar. One is an HDMI cable that connects to the eARC out on your tv, or you
can also use the optical cable. The 2nd is the power cord that plugs
into your power outlet on your wall. The
subwoofer just plugs into a wall outlet, as it connects to the soundbar
wirelessly. For the two rear channel
speakers, one plugs into a wall outlet for power, receives the wireless signal
from the soundbar, and sends a single cable to the second rear speaker. I really liked this design. Philips could have also gone wireless for the
second rear speaker, but then there would have been a bulkier power cable for
it. So a smaller single RCA cable from
the first surround speaker to the second surround speaker makes much more
sense.
Setting up the soundbar system was easy. And they even
provided the brackets to mount the soundbar and the rear speakers onto the
wall. The owner’s manual provided instructions on how to setup and pair the
speakers to each other. The soundbar connects directly to the TV, and the two
rear speakers and subwoofer pair wirelessly to the soundbar. The soundbar also
has an LED display so you can see the settings, and tailor the sound to your
liking. I wasn’t overly impressed with how the owner’s manual was written.
There was actually very little written instructions. But between the written
instructions and the pictures, it was sufficient to get the ideas across. With everything
in place, power cords connected, pairing the subwoofer and rear speakers worked
as stated in the owner’s manual. Now with it set up and running, let’s see how
it sounds.
For movies, I wanted something with a lot of surround sound
from the rears and height channels. So I turned to Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity
War. I went to one of my favorite scenes, when the heroes went up against
Thanos on Titan. Thanos was attacked from all directions. He was punched and
kicked with great dynamics. The webs slung at Thanos sounded crisp and clean
flying through the air. Bombs exploding on him were deep, with lots of
authority, filling my room with more bass than I expected! And with all of the
action and debris flying around, the sound from the height channels provided
good sound above me, so it seemed. While the height channels did not sound as
good as our reference system, which actually has speakers installed in the
ceiling, it still sounded good.
Multiple other scenes throughout the movie provided the same
aural results. Objects whizzing across the scene showed good channel separation
from the left to the right. Sound from the surrounds also sounded great, as did
the center channel. Vocals from the center channel sounded excellent, with
great articulation with all the talking very easy to understand. The highs were
crisp and clean, with the mids being warm and smooth with good resolution. And
the sub was nice and deep, and played with really good authority, filling my
room with bass.
While I was pleasantly surprised with the sound performance
with movies, I was equally surprised with its performance with music. Phil
Collins: In the Air Tonight, the soundbar gave a great sound of spaciousness.
What hit me first was its depth of soundstage, which I wasn’t expecting,
especially from a soundbar! Vocals were silky smooth with nice texture, and
when the drums kicked in, they had very good dynamics and definition of the
midbass.
Philips has done it with a great soundbar in
their TAB8967. Not only is it a well-made
product, that should provide years of enjoyment, it was very easy to set up as
well! You can get quality surround sound in your living room without the extra
expense of a surround sound receiver.
Or, it works great in a bedroom as well.
Set-up was very easy, and provided great sound in spades. With an MSRP of $599, Philips provides a big
bang for the buck. If you’re in the
market for a soundbar, the Philips Soundbar TAB8967 should be on your short
list. Based on its design, features,
quality, and performance, the Philips Soundbar TAB8967 has earned our Editor’s
Choice Award. Kudos to Philips on a
great product. For more info and
complete specs, check out their website at www.philips.com.