Philips Fidelio HTL9100

Philips expands its range of audio system lounge with HTL9100. Behind this lies a reference set a wireless subwoofer and soundbar. The latter is not trivial! These ends are, in fact, two small removable speakers. Wireless working as housing, they act as rear satellites such as a home theater kit. See that this system gives real conditions.

All Fidelio HTL9100 is apparently a sound bar and a subwoofer without "lambda" thread. But in reality, it offers unprecedented flexibility to use since the ends of the bar are small removable speakers. Recent communicate wireless with the rest of the bar and are self-sufficient for 10 hours. So you can put behind you and thus reproduce installation type 5.1 in your living room. All is well finished and has an output of 210 watts, 90 for the box. It comes with a comprehensive remote control. The implementation is simple: it plugs into an outlet, it keeps a few seconds the little button on the back of the box so that it joins the bar and voila. Philips opts for opulence side connections. It consists of optical, HDMI (2 of which CRA), coaxial, auxiliary jack and a 3.5 mm. Philips also thought the Bluetooth so that you can associate the bar to your tablet or smartphone and to spread your favorite MP3 songs.

A little more bass!

The sound quality is good, the voices are clear and distinct. However, we would have appreciated that the subwoofer is needed a little more. The highs are clear and well defined and mediums them adequately represented. When you pick up the satellites, the sound loses a little in size and, especially, the front speakers accuse a level greater than that of the satellite output. The sound is generally stronger than the front and rear. And no adjustment is intended to address this gap, which is a shame.

A complete remote

The remote control supplied with the HTL9100 is well in hand and gives access to all functions of the bar. The source selection, adjustments to the volume, bass or treble, you have everything under your fingers. Activation of the "night mode" (low-frequency attenuation) and automatic volume adjustment (no increase in volume between the pub and a movie) also passes through the control box. However, it is unfortunate that, once you press a button on the remote control on the sound, it briefly cut to make the change. And if the set of white LED for indicating the volume level and activation of certain functions is attractive, it is not necessarily easy to read. We would have preferred a small screen giving more detailed information.

Fidelio HTL9100 is a powerful innovative audio kit, which replaces without discomfort who can afford them pregnant with a flat-screen TV. The sound is not perfect but good enough to enjoy movies in total immersion. Unfortunately, the price is a bit too high for our liking: the concept is paying a high price.