I tested Amazon's Plus soundbar, it delivers crisp dialogue but bass lacks

The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus – AKA the HM34BR – is a modestly priced soundbar that promises an expansive audio experience, along with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X compatibility.

While it doesn't come with a separate wireless subwoofer, or provision for rear speakers, it does boast a dedicated centre channel for enhanced dialogue clarity, as well as (limited) Fire TV integration.

If you’re looking to elevate your TV’s lacklustre audio, without breaking the bank, it’s got obvious appeal. But does this Amazon ‘bar deliver as well as the best soundbars? Time for a closer listen…

What's Amazon's Plus soundbar priced?

The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus – not to be confused with the 'non-Plus' Fire TV Soundbar – is available now. It's a far bigger upgrade, hence the Plus name, but that also means a marginally elevated price.

That said, however, its on-sale price of £249 / $249, is much less than you'll pay for some more premium soundbars out there. There's no Australian price, as it's not available on that continent. The shopping widget above will show you the latest discounted pricing.

Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus key spec

Despite its impulse-buy price tag, the Fire TV Soundbar Plus looks pretty decent. Build quality is solid, and it’s not short on style.

The matte-black top panel has a silky finish, while a wraparound charcoal fabric grille hides its forward facing drivers from view. Weighing in at 4kg, rubberised pads on its underside ensure a modicum of stability.

Physical controls are minimal but sufficient: there’s power, input selection, Bluetooth pairing, and volume buttons available from the top panel.

At 132mm wide, this bar is best-suited for TVs between 50-inches and 65-inches. At 64mm tall, you should be able to park it beneath a screen without obscuring the glass. Of course, wall-mounting is also an option, with L-shaped brackets and a handy mounting template included in the box.

Connectivity is straightforward, with HDMI eARC joined by a legacy digital optical audio input, plus USB-A, so you can play tracks from a connected thumbdrive. Bluetooth is available for wireless streaming.

Setup is similarly fast and easy. Connecting via HDMI eARC ensures the best possible audio performance, and most TVs should automatically recognise you’re using a soundbar. Power up and the job is done.

While the soundbar sports Fire TV branding, it’s not Alexa-enabled and doesn’t support Alexa Home Cinema. But if you're a Fire TV telly owner – and the Omni Mini-LED is a solid option – you can control it using your set’s Fire TV remote control. That'll be a minor benefit for some.

For the rest of us, there’s a compact wand in the box that offers equalisation (EQ) and sound effect control, adjustable dialogue enhancer, plus standard bass and treble adjustments.

Four self-explanatory sound modes – Film, Music, Sports and Music – cater to different viewing preferences. The Sport mode emphasises crowd ambiance and commentary (tried it, but wasn’t keen), while the Night mode compresses dynamics so your neighbours aren't disturbed!

There’s no on-screen display here though. Instead, interactions are communicated via a fistful of LED indicators with occasional vocal confirmations from the soundbar.

Is the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus any good?

Amazon bills the HM34BR as a 3.1-channel device. It features a triple-tweeter array (positioned left, centre, right) and two woofers. While it’s Dolby Atmos and DTS:X compliant, it has no dedicated height drivers.

A 5.1.2 test tone sweep confirms that height channel information is amalgamated with that from rear channels, and delivered through the sound bar’s left and right drivers.

The result is an energetic soundstage that extends wide, if not tall.

The Soundbar Plus does a fine job depicting clear, lateral audio, although it invariably misses the kind of cinematic lift Atmos is generally recognised for. Still, its presentation is way more immersive than the average TV, and I was rather impressed.

Big budget, dystopian sci-fi movie The Electric State, (Netflix, Dolby Atmos), transfers well. Alan Silvestri's sweeping, Nineties-inflected score, along with copious robotic action, benefit from the extended sonic vista, and treble clarity. The movie’s cartoon bots clank convincingly.

Inevitably, the system’s low-frequency performance is modest. This soundbar starts to manifest bass effects at around 50Hz, but anything below results in a buzz rather than a rumble. Consequently, explosions and thunderclaps feel somewhat underwhelming.

Switching to Blu-ray as a source, I loaded up an official Dolby Atmos test disc, with a collection of multichannel demo sequences; this always provides a challenge for all-in-one soundbars. Here the ‘Amaze’ test clip, with its peel of thunder and tropical rainfall, confirms the benefits and limitations of the Amazon offering.

There's an excellent sense of width, as a fluttering bird starts at the extreme left of the sound stage and circles to the right. Clearly the soundstage doesn't extend to the rear of my seating position, and the clip’s familiar peel of thunder is inevitably muted.

What does impress though is the clarity of the mid-range. There's no shortage of detail. When the rainfall comes, it sounds much like a deluge should.

Bluetooth music playback also benefits from the stereo presentation, avoiding the monophonic pitfalls that befall many budget soundbars, however, increasing the volume results in high frequencies becoming overly sharp. This is no party speaker.

Movies rather than music are the Amazon forte. The insistent, electronic score that runs through Travelers (Netflix) manages a nice balance of midrange propulsion and twiddly detail.

Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus review: Verdict

Amazon’s Fire TV Soundbar Plus aims high with single-box Dolby Atmos compliance, but ultimately delivers an experience that, while enjoyable, never quite transcends its price bracket. Bass lovers and those after full surround immersion may want to look elsewhere (and maybe spend a tad more).

Dialogue clarity is ultimately where it shines, making it a perfect fit for those who savour sharp exchanges over bombastic action. It could also make a world of difference if you struggle with mumbling modern TV dramas.

There’s no quibbling about its value, either – and many may actually prefer a soundbar that doesn’t demand the sacrifice of valuable floor space for a separate subwoofer.

Also consider

Competition for Amazon’s Soundbar Plus comes from the comparably priced 2.1 TCL S643W, which ships with a separate wireless subwoofer, and the Hisense AX5125H, a rather more comprehensive 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos soundbar package, which is supplied with rears and a wireless sub, all for a very fair price indeed.