Sharp HT-SB400

Sharp HT-SB400 review

Sharp's skinny HT-SB400 soundbar looks like the ideal upgrade for your TV. It's a smart-looking system and only slightly longer than your average 40-inch TV, so it would suit anything from a 37-inch to 46-inch set. It's shallow too, with brackets and screws included for easy wall-mounting. Throw in a nifty credit card-sized remote control and you have a very convenient TV upgrade. It's also one of the most affordable soundbars around, which inevitably means some corners have been cut. You'll have noticed that there's no subwoofer for starters, but at least you do have line level outputs to add an active sub later if you wish and buttons on the remote to control it. More frustrating is the lack of a digital audio input, which limits it to a fuzzy analogue connection with your TV instead of a cleaner optical link from your receiver. At least this keeps things simple. With your receiver connected to your TV by HDMI, the soundbar will just take the stereo feed from the TV and whatever channel you're watching and boost the volume. The auto on function means it springs into life from standby whenever it detects a signal, so you won't even have to pick up the extra remote.