This $110 sound bar scores high with clarity

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Wohome’s S9920 sound bar


Wohome

Wohome may not be a household name but it makes Wi-Fi doorbells, dehumidifiers and sound bars. Makes for a rather unusual lineup, don’t ya think? Nevertheless, I persisted and requested a review sample of its S9920 sound bar. It’s priced at $110, and when unboxing this beauty it looks and feels like a higher-quality speaker than any similarly priced sound bar in my experience. A very promising start, but how does it sound?

In a word: clear. The S9920 is easy to listen to, and that’s no small accomplishment for a budget bar. Setup via the optical digital audio input and Bluetooth takes just a few minutes. Other connectivity inputs run to 3.5mm analog audio, USB and coaxial digital audio. A subwoofer output jack is conspicuous in its absence.

The S9920 is a 40-inch wide, two-channel sound bar with six drivers (sizes are unspecified), with 80 watts total power.

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See it on Amazon

The Rampage Blu-ray tests the S9920’s stamina, especially the scenes when the giant albino ape George wreaks havoc in Chicago. Disappointment quickly sets in, mostly because bass impact is in short supply, but that’s true for most budget bars. Since the S9920 lacks a subwoofer output jack, there’s no way to improve its undernourished bass.

My current favorite budget subwoofer-less sound bar, the $100 Vizio SB362An-F6 was on hand for direct comparison, and its more-amply-endowed bass makes Rampage a better visceral experience. Ditto for other action flicks. It also plays a little louder and with greater ease. Alas, I missed the S9920’s clarity; the SB362An-F6 sound is less crisp overall.

As I play more movies, I can’t help but be impressed with the S9920’s way with dialogue. Again, that’s where this sound bar’s clarity shined. The SB362An-F6 sounds less precise.

The Revenant Blu-ray is a treat as the S9920 unleashes wide-open vistas on the scenes in the forests, the sound is big and spacious. The soundstage further expands when I engage the bar’s 3D surround processing feature, but the overall sound balance thins out, and bass fullness suffers. So I prefer the sound with the 3D processing turned off for most flicks.  

Streaming all genres of music from Tidal over Bluetooth, the S9920 sounds perfectly respectable at background or moderate volume levels.

It’s no giant-killer. You should take the Wohome S9920 on its own terms, but it’s a big step up from the sound of your TV’s built-in speakers. Clarity is its main attraction, but it can’t play all that loud, and room-shaking bass isn’t in the cards for this sound bar. Vizio’s SB362An-F6 has a bit more muscle, but if you really crave more oomph from a sound bar and have room for a separate subwoofer consider Vizio’s mighty SB3621n-E8 sound bar/subwoofer system. It’s currently selling for $100 on Amazon and is impossible to beat for the money. 

See the Vizio SB362An-F6 on Amazon


See the Vizio SB3621 on Amazon