Blaupunkt Germany’s SBW100 120W Wired Soundbar with Subwoofer, Bluetooth and HDMI Arc

Blaupunkt SBW100 120W 2.1 Channel Soundbar with wired Subwoofer

Having researched several brands with their respective qualities and offerings I finally settled on this product on a single ground “Made in India” with German technology, of course.

Initially bought this product from Amazon for Rs. 5,499/- on 22nd January 2021 along with (separately) HDMI Arc enabled cable and Digital Audio cables. Products were delivered on 27th instant. Well company packing.
The first received product had to be replaced (only option) within 2 days because the subwoofer sound was almost inaudible, sound quality unsatisfactory. Received the replacement quite shortly on 2nd February.
The company packaging again very good. Using it for last 12 days.

CONNECTIVITY:- My experience and observations on the four connectivity options are as below –

Bluetooth:- Version is said to be 5.0. Easy pairing and prompt connection every time, almost instantly, provided bluetooth on the host device is properly set up. The USSD on the first delivered product didn’t contain the brand name but the later replaced product showed brand name. However the sound quality including bass not that good and is variable depending on the devices. The default volume level is set to 16. But at this volume level the overall sound is poor, not expected of 120W set. YouTube music files and videos are poorly received and output. The sound quality including the bass is not at par with the sound quality when usig the Line-In and USB modes.

HDMI Arc:- This cable is not supplied with the product. I expected it because not all HDMI cables are supported. I connected the HDMI Arc enabled cable (purchased separately) with my LG LED TV but there was no sound at all. May be my TV doesn’t have HDMI Arc output port. So this remains to be verified.

Line In:- A 3.5mm end-to-end Line-in cable is supplied with the product along wih an audio cable. Happy with the sound quality when using 3.5mm Line-in cable connected with android phones or laptop. The bass, treble and the finer details of the musical instruments could be heard clearly and the volume is also very clear and loud enough in this mode. The audio cable is yet to be tried.

USB:- As with Line In connectivity, the sound quality with USB (flash drives) connection is quite good. The default volume level, again, appears to be 16 as with bluetooth. There is no way to choose the music folders in a USB drive. However, it remembers the last played sound file and moves to the next file when played next time.

CONTROLS:-
Remote Control:- Handy and cute remote with dedicated keys, powered by 3 AAA batteries. The dedicated keys for the different modes of connectivity is very useful. Of the four preset equalizer keys viz Song, Cinema, Dialog and Flat, I think the later two presets are rarely used. Instead, dedicated Classical and Jazz keys would have been more productive. The manufacturer may consider it in near future and I will be very happy if it replaces my remote :-).

On-Body side controls:- It’s a good option in case the remote control gets disfunct. Though it needs repeated pressing to select the desired option.

SOUND QUALITY :-
Soundbar:- The sound bar greets with “Hi” when powered on :-). The sound is not up-to-the-mark in comparision to its claimed wattage of 120W. The build quality and design is good. The two speakers are smaller than expected. It should have been 1-2 inches larger sidewise to produce desired sound. The sound quality specially when connected in Line-In and USB modes is quite good. But with bluetooth connection, it doesn’t meet our expectation and it’s something remarkable when BLUETOOTH CONNECTIVITY is the most desired option since sound quality output should have been equall in all modes. It should have been way better.

Subwoofer:- Build quality and design and weight is good enough. Wired connection with soundbar. Bass is moderate and not a threat for a heart patient but unable to reproduce the ecstatic sound vibrations of instruments such as of tabla, dholak, mridang, drums.

Summarily, the soundbar with subwoofer lacks to produce 120W of sound quality as claimed and expected but it’s not that bad too. It’s suitable for an average room and I think it’s adequate for the price. Not a loss at all.

Remote stopped working in under 2 months.

Reviews helps me a lot before buying this product. So decide to review here after 10 days of usage to help other buyers :-
Purchase Experience with Amazon-
1. Very Good, I called Amazon executive before buying this product because was confused with lot of similar product in market and they help me a lot
2. Packaging and delivery –
One day delivery (within 15 hours) with prime membership. Minor broken outer package and very little scratch on woofer but rest is fine.
3. Product Look-
Classy
4. Sound –
Very good bass, treble, clear sound go for it if you loves classical music or modern one like pop, jazz etc.
5. Remote-
Very easy to use. predefined modes available and you can also adjust bass, treble up to 8 points (-4 to 4)
Connectivity –
Bluetooth –
connected through mobile, laptop working even from other room i.e. good range and very good sound quality on Bluetooth
Aux –
Option available but better to avoid due to aux technical limitation. I used with TV through 1 to 1 Aux cable but TV sound is better than i believe 2 – 1(L-R) Aux is recommended for TV. L-R Audio port are in back of my wall mounted TV So decided to move on HDMI Arc connectivity. Not checked with mobile because Bluetooth connectivity with mobile gives me excellent sound.
HDMI Arc –
Perfect Sound on HDMI Arc connectivity with my Sony Bravia TV .This connectivity confused me a lot even before buying and after buying the product so describing this in little because this is little bit technical
A. Connecting TV and Sound bar through HDMI cable didn’t means you will get sound
B. TV should HDMI Arc supported, usually smart TV are, if you not have connect through Aux cable
C. Not every HDMI port is Arc supported so if you have multiple port in TV select HDMI Arc one you can find this through selecting input source in TV
D. Not every HDMI cable is HDMI Arc supported so buy HDMI Arc supported cable, this is not included in package
E. After connecting change output speaker in TV to Music/Audio system (Your TV might have different option). Select Digitial Audio output to PCM in AV setting of TV(One time setup).
F. Add on feature supported with Sony Bravia it works perfectly with Bravia Sync feature i.e. auto on sound bar, from standby mode etc. other TV might have different features but this doesn’t effect sound bar usage or usability
USB Connectivity –
Work perfectly it remember last played track even after power off.
Other Feature –
Not remember last connectivity mode –
Sound bar Not remember last connectivity mode after power off but this is not a big concern for me because TV connectivity managed by Bravia Sync automatically and rest is one click away from sound bar buttons or remote
Not Remember last sound setting –
Great, if it would have
Warranty and Customer Support –
You have to register product online for warranty, customer support called me 2-3 times after registration to now the feedback or if I am facing any issue. Home service also available for my location .

A good indication of just how cheaply made this soundbar is, is that it doesn’t indicate the model number or any specifications anywhere on the product. There’s no way to know if you received the 160 W or the 100 W version except to trust in the seller’s honesty. I found this glaring omission to be the first of many shocks received.

Connecting the soundbar to the TV is a breeze thanks to its HDMI ARC and Bluetooth support. However, you’ll quickly discover another flaw. None of the settings you chose are retained after the main power is turned off. If you want the soundbar to remember the last input source, sound mode, volume level, etc, you’ll have to keep it on standby mode 24×7 and waste power, or repeat the settings every time you turn it on. Needless to say, this gets real annoying, real quick.

The final shocker comes when you actually start listening to the soundbar. Despite its advertised massive subwoofer size, the sound output is underwhelming, to say the least. It’s just a minor upgrade over the standard TV speakers, with just a bit of bass enhancement and extra loudness. Nothing that’ll rattle the windows even one bit. Forget 160 W, the RMS output probably isn’t even 30 W.

In other words, I wish I’d never bought this soundbar. I was taken in by the tall claims and fancy description, and was sorely disappointed with the results. The only consolation I have is that I bought it at the rock bottom price of ₹5000, so I didn’t waste more money on it than I absolutely had to.

AVOID.