Compact and portable soundbar speakers – Better sound for pop-up home theater – And why not elsewhere too

Text and images Teppo HirviKunnas

Portable battery-powered and wireless soundbar speakers may seem like a strange product, but they have many uses. For example, in a pop-up home theater or other occasional use.

In comparison:

• Creative Stage Air V2
• Edifier MF200
• Exibel BX80
• Goobay SoundBar
• Hama PipeRoll 3.0
• Sony HT-AX7

We have tested several compact video projectors that make it easy and quick to set up a home theater or gaming studio almost anywhere.

A big picture is impressive, but the sound is not. The problem is the poor sound reproduction of projectors. Especially the fact that the sound comes from the projector itself, and not from the direction of the image. The projector may even be located behind the viewers and the direction of the sound accordingly. The feeling is quite weak. The sound should definitely come from the direction of the image and preferably in stereo, so that the sound can at least have some sense of space.

Of course, the projector's sound can be connected to your home stereo or even a proper home theater system, if one is available, but this limits the free placement of the projector and screen.

The most convenient, fastest and easiest solution for sound reproduction is to connect a separate speaker with its own amplifier to the projector, placed in front of the screen – this avoids extra power cables and adjustments. Most projectors also have a Bluetooth transmitter, which can be used to wirelessly transfer sound to a portable Bluetooth speaker without power cords or other cables. Easy.

In principle, any portable Bluetooth speaker with a battery will work as a speaker, and the sound will certainly be better than the projector's own sound. However, these speakers are usually monophonic. Stereo speakers would give a better spatial effect.