Hisense HS214 review: I was impressed by this small soundbar’s audio capabilities, especially given its incredibly low price
Hisense HS214 review
this Hisense If you’ve decided it’s time to upgrade from your regular ole TV audio, but your budget is pretty tight, the HS214 might be the perfect soundbar for you. The Hisense HS214 is a popular budget option, usually priced at just $99 / £79 (around AU$160). It is a 2.1-channel soundbar with a built-in subwoofer designed to deliver powerful audio in a compact, one-piece construction. But can it be achieved?
Well, before I answer this question definitively, let’s take a look at the sound quality. I’m happy to report that the Hisense HS214 sounded pretty good right out of the box. while watching I think you should leave On Netflix, a scene where two characters are talking in a room full of people has clear dialogue that is completely separate from the background cacophony.
Likewise, when watching howl’s moving castleprotagonist Sophie’s voice feels clearer in the overall mix than ITV audio. In one scene, the howling wind is also accurately replicated, without any tinny or unintentional harshness – something I always look for when searching for sounds. best soundbar Available at all price points.
One aspect of the HS214 that Hisense is talking about is its bass output. According to the Chinese electronics giant, this is mainly because the Hisense HS214 has a built-in subwoofer designed to deliver “powerful bass.” To be fair, the soundbar created a little more buzz than my TV could handle on its own – although it wasn’t terribly noticeable, which is to be expected given its size.
I watched a horror movie Smile During the heart-pounding, screaming and object-smashing scenes, the deep bass throughout is a little underpowered, meaning the overall heft of the scene is slightly limited. Fortunately, this problem can be significantly remedied thanks to the bass boost/cut option on the remote. This allows you to increase or decrease the bass output by five levels. Creepy scene when boosting low-end output Smile Featuring more punchy bass, this creates a darker atmosphere before the climax of the scene (I won’t spoil it, don’t worry).
So even if you don’t get huge and impressive bass from this mini soundbar, it’s possible that it can provide considerable support for some products. best little tv. However, you may notice that the soundbar struggles to cope with deeper bass and bass while listening to music. For example, when I turn up the bass splash mountain The low-end rumble of the deep bass throughout the track is a bit weak on Yung Gravy’s production. More generally, the HS214’s music sounds solid. It’s reasonably clear for the most part and doesn’t get overly harsh like some budget soundbars can.
I just mentioned the bass boost/cut option, but you might be wondering what other features the Hisense HS214 offers. You get three different sound modes here: Movie; Music; and Night. However, users with Hisense TVs can also access Sports and Night modes if you change the EQ mode through the soundbar settings menu (instead of the soundbar’s remote). Each of these is well differentiated, with the movie adding a little emphasis on the low end. I use this for most of my testing.
Another feature is surround sound mode, which, to clarify, has nothing to do with Dolby Atmos or DTS:X/Virtual:X. When I realized this was an option, I was excited to try it out, because even though the HS214’s overall sound quality is great, it doesn’t offer much of a sense of space. But unfortunately, surround mode is not worth activating. I try to use this while playing final fantasy Seven: Rebirth On the PlayStation 5, despite offering wider and more granular targeting, it didn’t take long for me to turn it off. This boils down to one big issue – it affects the audio quality drastically, the sound is tinny and a bit unpleasant.
Of course, it’s not the end of the world – the HS214 sounds perfectly fine without surround mode. Even if it doesn’t deliver mesmerizing spatial audio, it does deliver solid power. With a total power output of 108W, it’s quite loud, making it ideal for TVs with weak audio or prone to sound distortion at higher volumes. And the location isn’t too bad either. During the game, a character whizzed across the screen on a motorcycle, and I was impressed by his directionality. Granted, this is a small soundbar and you don’t get much width – especially with surround mode turned off – but the overall audio placement isn’t bad.
Another feature worth mentioning is the dimmer option, which changes the brightness of the LED light display on the front of the soundbar. I left it on maximum brightness, but I have to say, I’m not a big fan of the LED display used here. When you change settings or volume, instead of seeing volume numbers, EQ modes, etc., you’ll see a slight flash of light. It’s not the clearest or intuitive, and there are a lot of cheap soundbars out there like Elias MajorityFor example, use clearer text and letter displays.
However, I don’t want to be too picky, especially since I personally like the overall design of the Hisense HS214. It has an almost leather-like plastic casing on top of the soundbar, which is both attractive and adds a touch of class. If you don’t have the soundbar’s very neat-looking remote on hand, it also has button controls for power, source, and volume.
There are plenty of ports on the back that allow you to connect the soundbar to your TV in a variety of ways. These include: HDMI (ARC); Auxiliary; Coaxial; Digital Optical; and USB-C. This means it should fit nicely with any modern TV and give you plenty of options when you run out of all HDMI slots. I chose the HDMI ARC connection type and found setting up the soundbar to be very simple – just plug in the connectors and power cord and get started.
All in all, the Hisense HS214 is a very solid budget soundbar. It doesn’t do well in spatial audio, and you probably won’t be wowed in the bass department, but it’s an attractive, compact, easy-to-use soundbar that delivers clear dialogue and plenty of power. Considering the price you pay, this does make it an attractive product. If that’s all you need, I’d say this soundbar is worth considering, but for those looking for a stronger impression of space, one of these The best Dolby Atmos soundbars A more detailed, broader and better experience will be provided.
Hisense HS214 review: price and release date
- $99/£79 (approximately AU$160)
- Launching in 2021
The Hisense HS214 is positioned as a budget entry-level option for those looking to add some functionality to their TV setup. It’s launching in 2021 with a price tag of $99/£79 (about AU$160). However, you may be able to buy this soundbar for a lower price. I’ve personally seen this soundbar available for less than £70 Amazon UK for example, so keep an eye out for some great deals.
Hisense HS214 review: Specs
| aspect | 25.6 x 3.7 x 2.3 inches/650 x 95 x 58 mm |
| speaker channel | 2.1 |
| connect | HDMI ARC, Digital Optical, AUX, USB, Coaxial, Bluetooth 4.2 |
| Dolby Atmos/DTS:X | No no |
| include sub | No (but includes built-in subwoofer) |
| Includes rear speakers | No |
Should I buy Hisense HS214?
| property | notes | grade |
|---|---|---|
| feature | Weak surround sound mode, decent equalizer options, Bluetooth connectivity. | 3/5 |
| audio performance | Vocals are clear and have punchy size, but don’t expect deep bass. | 4/5 |
| design | Ultra compact, attractive build, nice remote control, LED display not the best. | 4/5 |
| Setup and availability | Setup is simple due to the numerous connection types and small size. | 4.5/5 |
| value | Decent audio packed into a small soundbar, and at a low price. | 4.5/5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Hisense HS214 review: You can still consider it
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Hisense HS214 | Panasonic SC-HTB100 | Amazon Fire TV Soundbar |
| price | $99/£79 (approximately AU$160) | £79 (approximately US$100/AU$160) | US$119.99/£119.99 (approximately AU$180) |
| aspect | 25.6 x 3.7 x 2.3 inches/650 x 95 x 58 mm | 30 x 2.3 x 2.8 inches/762 x 58 x 70 mm | 24 x 3.5 x 2.6 inches/610 x 90 x 65 mm |
| speaker channel | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| connect | HDMI ARC, Digital Optical, AUX, USB, Coaxial, Bluetooth 4.2 | HDMI ARC, digital optical, AUX, USB, Bluetooth 5.0 | HDMI ARC, Digital Optical, Bluetooth |
| Dolby Atmos/DTS:X | No no | No no | No no |
| include sub | No (but includes built-in subwoofer) | No | No |
| Includes rear speakers | No | No | No |
Hisense HS214 review: How I tested it
- Test for one week
- Use with Hisense U7K TV at home
- Mainly using the HDMI ARC connection option
I put the Hisense HS214 to the test for a week. I mainly use HDMI ARC when connecting the soundbar to my Hisense U7K TV – that model has support for HS214 integrated into its options menu.
During my testing, I watched a lot of TV shows, videos, and movies—mostly using streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and more Youtube. I’ve also played Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth Judge the soundbar’s gaming capabilities on the Playstation 5. Additionally, I connected a Samsung Galaxy S24 FE to a Hisense HS214 using Bluetooth connectivity to play music. I made sure to play tracks from the TechRadar test playlist to evaluate the quality of the soundbar’s music equalizer configuration.
- First review: January 2025
- Read more about How we test
