Philips CSS5123

Sound Bar Reviews

Philips is back full-throttle in the audio game, having already proved its mettle with its previous sound bar. We only awarded 3 stars to the HTS9140, but the features and performances were nonetheless highly consistent and it was cleverly designed. After such a promising first endeavour, we needless to say have been patiently waiting to get our hands on the new CSS5123. This is a new format for Philips, who has reprised the idea found in the Bose sound bar with a compact and sober look. Let's make a point of mentioning there's no integrated Blu-ray player. The similarities with the Cinemate don't stop there: the CSS5123 can be mounted on the wall or laid on a flat surface with the speakers facing upward. Unfortunately, Philips' system is much less advanced than Bose's, although it's also much less pricey. The sound bar has to be raised on a detractable foot in order to tilt it to the right angle, making the bar bulkier than we were hoping. With the connectivity, Philips pulled out all the stops. Naturally you can use an HDMI cable for A/V, and an Ethernet port provides online capability. There's also a Wi-Fi chipset that works perfectly if you have no need for the cable.