The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer and Speakers is one configuration of Amazon's Fire TV Soundbar Plus. This successor to the original Amazon Fire TV Soundbar, released in 2023, introduces bundles that include a subwoofer and satellite speakers, expanding the discrete channel options available and improving the standalone soundbar to support 5.1 channels. Positioned as a value pickup, this soundbar supports a wide variety of audio formats, including lossless Dolby TrueHD and object-based Dolby Atmos. That said, the soundbar doesn't have discrete up-firing drivers, so height cues will be virtualized. As expected, the setup is constructed from inexpensive materials and doesn't feature an app or comprehensive sound enhancement features. That said, small improvements to usability are available when connecting the soundbar to a compatible Fire TV via HDMI.
Our Verdict
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer and Speakers is very good for mixed usage. This soundbar has a slightly excited sound suitable for most content, from music to movies. You can also cycle through presets and adjust treble and bass levels on the fly to suit your preferences. If you're playing back content like TV shows or movies, audio latency won't be much of an issue, as most TVs have A/V syncing features. That said, the soundbar's latency is high enough that you may notice A/V-desync when gaming, depending on your setup.
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Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support.
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Auto-volume feature.
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No room correction.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer and Speakers is great for dialogue-heavy TV shows. It gets decently loud and does a good job presenting voices clearly, making speech easy to follow. That said, dialogue can sound a bit thin for deeper voices. Although the discrete center channel gets reasonably loud without too much distortion, the elevated bass from the external sub can sometimes overpower speech in shows with heavy effects, like explosions or intense action scenes. Fortunately, a dedicated button on the remote lets you boost dialogue, which can help keep voices front and center when the mix gets busy.
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Dialogue enhancement feature.
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Bluetooth support for streaming podcasts.
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No room correction.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer and Speakers is very good for music. Using the 'Music' preset, the soundbar has a slightly excited sound profile with a bit more bass than treble, giving tracks a bit of extra thump. If you prefer a different tuning, you can easily adjust the bass and treble settings to your tastes. Stereo positioning is clear, and instruments are well-defined across the soundstage. That said, there are noticeable gaps between the left and right bounds of the soundbar, which can cause moving audio objects, like panning instruments or vocals, to sound unnatural as they transition across the stage.
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Bass and treble adjustment.
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Minimal compression at max volume.
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No room correction.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer and Speakers is good for movies. It supports most widely used audio formats, including lossless ones found on Blu-rays and Dolby formats commonly used by streaming services. The dedicated satellite speakers help enhance immersion for effects like planes or cars whizzing past, though the lack of up-firing drivers means vertical sound cues aren't reproduced with much height or realism. Once the action gets right in front of you, the soundbar characterizes audio from dramatic reveals to impactful fistfights clearly. However, sound cues in panning shots may be reproduced somewhat unnaturally due to gaps in the stereo soundstage.
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Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support.
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Dialogue enhancement feature.
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No room correction.
- 7.9 Mixed Usage
- 8.3 Dialogue/TV Shows
- 7.9 Music
- 7.6 Movies
Changelog
- Updated May 16, 2025: Review published.
- Updated May 13, 2025: Early access published.
- Updated May 01, 2025: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Apr 08, 2025: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Mar 12, 2025: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus is available in three different bundles: the standalone soundbar, the soundbar with subwoofer, and the soundbar with subwoofer and satellites. We tested the soundbar with subwoofer and satellites configuration. You can see our soundbar's label here. If you purchase a bundle without the satellites and/or subwoofer, our results won't be representative of your experience across each test.
If you encounter a cosmetic variant or a different bundle, let us know in the comments below, and we'll update the review.
Compared To Other Soundbars
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer and Speakers is one of the configurations of Amazon's second Fire TV soundbar. This value-oriented soundbar improves on Amazon's past 2.1-channel entry, the Amazon FireTV Soundbar, by expanding to 3.1 channels on the standalone soundbar and 5.1 channels with bundled satellite speakers. Additionally, the soundbar supports most audio formats, including Dolby Atmos, and directly competes with similar value-oriented soundbars like the Hisense AX5125H and the Vizio Elevate SE SL512X-0806. While its external subwoofer can reach lower frequencies than the sub of either the Hisense or Vizio, the Amazon setup lacks up-firing drivers, leading to a lackluster reproduction of vertical cues.
If you're looking to complete your home theatre setup with a soundbar and need a starting point, check out the best soundbars under $500 and the best Dolby Atmos soundbars.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Sub + Speakers and the Hisense AX5125H are similar value-oriented soundbars. They're positioned in the budget-to-mid range, but unlike most other products in this category, both soundbars come with an external subwoofer and satellite speakers. While the 5.1-channel Amazon soundbar typically reaches higher levels at max volume in all channel content, the 5.1.2-channel Hisense facilitates a more immersive Atmos listening experience with two up-firing drivers housed in the bar.
The TCL Q85H is better than the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Sub + Speakers in most ways. The 7.1.4-channel TCL has additional discrete channels compared to the 5.1-channel Amazon. The TCL's additional surround and height channels help facilitate a more immersive Atmos listening experience by bouncing height cues off your ceiling and improving the tracking of panning audio objects in the soundscape. Both soundbars support most audio formats, but the TCL has lower audio latency and the option to pass through video from a gaming console to mitigate A/V-desync. That said, Amazon is the less expensive pickup with lower optical latency, making it better for use with older home theater gear.
The Vizio M Series M51ax-J6 and Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Sub + Speakers are similar 5.1-channel soundbars with external subwoofers and satellite speakers. The Amazon is built better and reaches similar levels at max volumes in individual channel tests. That said, the Vizio is priced more competitively and supports PCM-7.1 channel input via HDMI and can pass through 4k @ 120Hz video.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Sub + Speakers and the Vizio Elevate SE SL512X-0806 are both positioned in the budget-to-mid range. Unlike the Amazon, the Vizio has up-firing drivers, which help add a sense of verticality to your audio. That said, the Vizio requires a wired connection between its satellite speakers and its wireless external sub, while the Amazon's sub and satellites all communicate wirelessly.
Test Results
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus has a simple black design primarily constructed from plastic. Taut cloth covers the front of the bar; while it isn't thick, the fabric likely won't tear.
The rectangular subwoofer has similar styling to the soundbar. Relatively tall feet elevate the down-firing driver contained within the plastic housing.
The satellites have a more square design than those found on other soundbar sets like the Hisense AX5125H. Like the matching soundbar, the satellites have a cloth covering their front.
The soundbar is fairly wide and likely won't fit underneath smaller TVs. That said, certain bi-pedal feet designs like those found on Sony TVs accommodate most soundbars. Even if you can't place the soundbar underneath your TV, the soundbar isn't very tall, so it likely won't block your screen.
The subwoofer takes up around the same space as a smaller computer case.
This soundbar setup has relatively large satellites compared to other soundbars like the Hisense AX5125H. Fortunately, they connect wirelessly to the soundbar, allowing for more flexible placement solely constrained by your options for power delivery.
While the soundbar includes mounting supplies for wall mounting, the satellites only have mounting holes on the bottom and back, and don't come with any brackets or screws. If you want to mount the satellite speakers, you'll need to source a third-party kit.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers has a good build. Each component features a predominantly plastic build and rubber feet for stability. The soundbar has a cloth wrapping around the front and sides that extends partially toward the back to protect the drivers from dust. The subwoofer has decent heft to it, though it doesn't have quite a premium feel. In contrast, the satellite speakers are lightweight and feel somewhat hollow and cheap.
- Documentation
- Remote
- 2x AA batteries
- 2x drywall anchors
- 2x mounting screws
- 2x mounting brackets
- 2x bracket screws
- 2x power cables (2m / 6.6 ft)
- 2x power cables (1.5m / 4.9 ft)
- HDMI cable (1.5m / 4.9 ft)
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers has an impressive stereo frequency response. We tested the soundbar throughout the entire review with the 'Music' preset—the default 'Movie' preset has a more excited signature that deviates further from our target.
The soundbar's sound signature is slightly excited, with more bass than treble. Bassy sound effects and blaring horns are well reproduced throughout Hans Zimmer's scoring of Inception. That said, subjective observations during testing characterize the subwoofer as one note due to its de-emphasized low-mids compared to a sub found on a more premium setup like the Samsung HW-Q990F. When you're listening to a playlist on the couch, vocals and lead instruments come through clearly on the soundbar, though they may lack a bit of body.
If you pick up the standalone soundbar variant, bass performance won't be the same as the setup we tested. A brief test sweep found the integrated subwoofer exchanges low-frequency extension for more high-bass and low-mid emphasis.
The default settings of the soundbar are within our acceptable slope range. That said, you can customize the bass and treble settings independently on a scale of one to nine, with five being the default.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers has a decent soundstage performance. The stereo soundstage extends slightly wider than the bar with good focus as audio objects pan from left to right. That said, we noticed gaps in the stereo image for objects between the left and right bounds of the bar.
The Amazon Soundbar Plus with Sub & Speakers gets loud enough to fill large listening spaces. Although there is a bit of compression in the bass at max volume, you won't encounter the issue at a more typical listening level.
This 5.1-channel soundbar has very good center channel performance. While dialogue is clear, deeper voices might sound a bit thin due to a dip in the lower mids.
It's also worth noting that if you pick up the variant without the subwoofer or satellites, voices will likely sound different due to the different characteristics of the soundbar's integrated subwoofer.
The surrounds performance is passable. The two satellite speakers that come with this bundle aren't bad at reproducing surround sound effects. While the satellites' sound signature is lacking in bass, this is due to the external sub being inactive in our isolated channel tests. In real-world content, however, the subwoofer will be active, resulting in a more balanced and immersive experience.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers downmixes vertical audio channels to the left, right, and surround channels. The general tonality also colors vertical queues bright and lacking in the bass, though this likely won't be noticeable outside testing conditions. If you pick up a variant without the satellites (standalone bar or bar with subwoofer), you'll notice a further reduction in expansiveness and clarity in soundscape.
As you'd expect, the absence of up-firing drivers weakens the overall perception of verticality. That said, subjectively, the bar's overall listening experience with Atmos content is decent. Object panning is a bit vague in overhead and back-to-front panning until helicopters and passing vehicles are right in front of you. While there's bass present when towers fall and explosions erupt, the soundbar's reproduction is on the muddy side and lacks detail. Additionally, sound queues downmixed from Atmos can be somewhat piercing at times.
If you're looking for a listening experience with more height, consider the TCL Q85H, which has up-firing drivers on both the bar and satellites.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers doesn't feature many sound enhancement options. While the soundbar lacks automatic room correction and subwoofer adjustment, you can configure the treble, bass, and surround levels to optimize the sound to your room. You can also adjust the satellites' L/R balance to compensate for an asymmetric layout.
The soundbar has a few EQ presets: 'Movie', 'Music', 'Sports', and 'Night mode'. You can also access dialogue enhancement, auto-volume, and virtual surround features with dedicated buttons on the soundbar's remote.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers supports HDMI eARC and optical connections. While the soundbar comes with an HDMI cable, you'll need your own optical cable if you plan on using the optical port.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers supports most audio formats. It supports formats lossless formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, and object-based formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.
During testing, we encountered handshaking issues with the soundbar when switching to DTS-HD MA and PCM formats from other audio formats—resulting in a failure to play audio. That said, we confirmed support for DTS-HD MA and PCM by power cycling the soundbar. In practice, you won't be flip-flopping between formats, so you likely won't encounter this issue.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers doesn't have an HDMI In port.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers supports the Dolby Digital, DTS, and two channel PCM formats via its optical input.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers have decent audio latency over ARC. Regardless of format, the soundbar latency is high enough that you may need to compensate for it manually; the soundbar doesn't have this feature, but most TVs have A/V-sync settings. That said, audio latency is only one component of A/V-sync error and is largely affected by other parts of your setup, so you may not run into any issues.
We weren't able to test ARC latency with either PCM format due to handshaking issues with the soundbar. However, you can get a general idea of PCM over ARC audio latency with this A/V-sync error recording.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers doesn't have an HDMI In port.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers has good optical latency. Although we couldn't isolate ARC audio latency for the PCM format, this A/V-sync error recording using PCM-2.0 via ARC shows almost no difference compared to the same recording via optical. In contrast, Dolby Digital over optical has perceivably higher audio latency. That said, most modern TVs and apps can compensate for differences in visual and audio latency automatically and/or via dedicated menus.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers doesn't have an HDMI In port. As a result, the soundbar doesn't support video passthrough. If you're looking a similar setup with an external subwoofer and satellites that can pass through 4k @ 120Hz VRR signals, check out the Samsung HW-Q910D.
You can stream content to the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers from your mobile device via Bluetooth.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers has a small strip of five LEDs that changes based on configuration states. You can find a legend in the soundbar's quick start guide. Volume adjustments are on a scale of one to nine, which are discretely represented by the LEDs through half-step illumination. The subwoofer and satellites also have single LED indicators that flash amber when connection fails and shine a solid white when connected.
While you have access to comprehensive information and the interface is responsive, it's not particularly intuitive compared to dot matrix displays found on more premium soundbars like the Samsung HW-Q990F.
You can find simple controls on the top of the soundbar; they give you control of power, source, Bluetooth pairing, and volume.
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Subwoofer & Speakers doesn't have an app, so you'll need the remote to configure its settings. You can find the controls on the soundbar's quick start guide.
If you connect the soundbar to a FireTV via HDMI-eARC like the Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED Series, you can configure the soundbar with your Fire TV's remote and access settings directly through the TV's Display & Sound menu.