Hisense AX5125H  Soundbar Review

The bar has a simple all-black design. You plug in the cables at the back of the bar, and they enter straight-on, which makes them easy to set up.

The rectangular sub has a simple look as well. The speaker is in the front, and the port is at the back. It's raised up on four plastic pegs.

The satellites have a rectangular design that suits well with the bar. Their speaker is located in the front, while the sides are closed off with plastic. Though the top is also covered by the metal grille, these satellites lack up-firing drivers.

The bar is wide and likely won't fit between the legs of a 65" TV stand. Still, it's not very tall, so you don't have to worry about it blocking your screen unless your TV sits flush on your table.

The sub's size is roughly equivalent to an average desktop computer. It connects to the bar wirelessly.

The satellites also connect to the bar wirelessly, which gives you a lot of flexibility when placing them in your living room.

You can mount both the bar and the satellites to the wall using the included brackets.

The Hisense AX5125H has a good build quality. The bar and the satellites have a similar construction: mostly made of plastic, which feels quite solid and durable but not very premium. The metal grille at the front helps to protect the drivers inside. There's fabric wrapped tight across the top of the bar, which can collect dust over time, but overall, it feels decently solid. Meanwhile, the sub is made of a material that seems like melamine. The back and the port are made of plastic, and it also features a metal grille in the front.

• Manual
• Remote with 2x AAA batteries
• Mounting brackets and screws
• HDMI cable (4.9 ft / 1.5m)
• Optical cable (4.9 ft / 1.5m)
• 2x straight power cables (for sub and bar) (4.9 ft / 1.5m)
• 2x L-shape power cables (for rears) (4.9 ft / 1.5m)
• Wall mounting template

The Hisense AX5125H has a great stereo frequency response. Overall, the bar's sound is quite even and balanced, resulting in a clear and accurate reproduction of voices and lead instruments across the range. Its sub brings the punch in the bass, though it audibly struggles with the deeper thump and rumble in tracks like Stay from the Interstellar soundtrack. Details like voices and instruments aren't quite as clear as what you get with more premium bars, but it still performs well for the price. If you're looking for a soundbar with deeper low-bass, check out the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Sub + Speakers.

It's worth noting that this bar comes with two virtual surround modes called 'Pure' and 'Pro'. These modes upmix stereo content to play from all the bar's channels. The 'Pro' feature brings more sound from the satellites than the 'Pure' mode. Additionally, 'Pure' is the default setting on the bar. Our results represent the bar's performance with 'Pure' on since it subjectively provides a better listening experience than with the virtual surround feature turned off. Notably, you get a clearer separation of sounds in the space around you for a more immersive and life-like feel. It's not as impressive as what you get with more premium bars, though, as sound feels like it's coming from the front and the sides separately, rather than creating an enveloping all-around experience.

This soundbar comes with bass and treble adjustments to help you customize its sound. If you prefer a more neutral sound with stereo content, lower its bass to -1 and up its treble to +3. The resulting sound is more even and balanced, with less punch in the bass and more brightness in the treble.

The Hisense AX5125H has a decent stereo soundstage. We tested with the 'Pure' virtual surround mode on, which means that the satellites played sound in addition to the bar. However, the bar doesn't have any tricks to fill the gap between it and each of the satellites, resulting in a slight gap. Focus is good, so sound effects are traced to accurate locations in the soundstage. However, sound effects sometimes come from inaccurate positions in the soundstage, which takes away from the life-like feel. If you're interested in an affordable bar with a wider soundstage, consider the Vizio Elevate SE SL512X-0806.

This bar gets loud enough to fill larger and more open rooms with sound. There isn't much compression present at max volume, except in the lowest frequencies, which aren't going to sound too obvious with the vast majority of content.

This 5.1.2 soundbar comes with a discrete center channel designed to improve vocal quality in the mix. The channel's frequency response is quite even and balanced, especially in the mids where most vocals are reproduced, though the roll-off in the treble makes the detail in some voices a little less clear.

The Hisense AX5125H comes with two discrete rear speakers that create a clearer and more life-like feel with 5.1 content. Sound effects stretch into the space around your room, making it seem like the action is happening all around you. For example, the Live Aid concert scene in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) takes on an immersive feel as music and crowd sounds play all around you. Effects are clearly represented, though bright details are less noticeable due to the roll-off in the treble range.

The Hisense AX5125H has two up-firing channels designed to ricochet sound off the ceiling to simulate height in content like Dolby Atmos. These channels have a warm frequency response, and the extra bass emphasizes booming scenes like explosions.

Subjectively, the bar's performance with Atmos content is pretty good. Thanks to its rear speakers, sound effects stretch into the space around your couch for a more life-like feel. There's good separation, too, so each sound is clear and distinct. However, the bar can't simulate much height, as sound only stretches about the level of your head. Effects like helicopters flying overhead seem to be coming from the sides rather than over your head. If you want a better Atmos experience with sounds coming from the rear channels, the TCL Q85H adds two extra up-firing drivers.

The Hisense AX5125H doesn't have as many sound enhancement features as more premium bars on the market. For example, it lacks room correction, so it sounds a little different depending on the unique acoustics of your space. You can make up for this a bit thanks to its bass and treble adjustments, which give you some control over the bar's sound. You can choose between several EQ presets, including 'News', which enhances dialogue. Various virtual surround modes allow you to create a more immersive sound, even with stereo content, by using all the bar's channels. 'Pure' is the default, and 'Pro' brings even more sound from the bar's satellites. You can also turn them off if you prefer stereo sound.

You can connect the bar to your TV using an HDMI or Optical connection. An AUX port is on hand if you want to wire devices to the bar for audio playback, and there's even a Full HDMI In port for those who want to use the bar as a hub between devices.

The Hisense AX5125H supports lots of audio formats. It can playback common surround sound formats like Dolby Digital as well as lossless and object-based formats like Dolby Atmos. We found that it can only support up to 5.1 PCM channels, even though the manual states that it can playback up to 7.1 PCM channels.

Similarly, the bar can playback lots of audio formats commonly found on streaming platforms and Blu-rays via Full HDMI In. You can watch surround sound formats like Dolby Digital as well as lossless and object-based formats like DTS:X. Again, the bar only supports up to 5.1 PCM channels over this connection.

The bar can playback Dolby Digital and DTS content over Optical. These are the two most common surround sound formats, which you'll likely come across on both streaming platforms and Blu-rays.

The latency over ARC connectivity is decent. PCM formatted audio's latency isn't especially high, but latency with Dolby formats is high enough that you may need to compensate for it with your TV or app settings to avoid audio/visual mismatches.

The Hisense AX5125H's HDMI In latency performance is satisfactory. PCM formats have lower latency, which isn't too bad for audio/visual lag, though you might notice it in dialogue-heavy scenes. On the other hand, Dolby formats like Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos exhibit higher latency, meaning you're likely to notice some delay between the audio you hear and the visuals on screen. That said, some apps and TVs compensate for latency differently.

The optical audio latency is decent. Optical latency is higher for PCM and Dolby Digital formats than via HDMI In and ARC. It's high enough that you'll encounter audio/visual mismatches with your media, but some TVs and apps can mitigate that.

This soundbar can passthrough many common resolutions and refresh rates when you use it as a hub between devices like a TV and a gaming console. You can enjoy a high-quality image with clear and crisp text on your screen. Plus, the bar can passthrough some variable refresh rate technologies for a tear-free gaming experience. That said, our max refresh rate result at 4k is dependent on the device you use. We got to 120Hz with an Xbox but only to 60Hz with PS5 and a PC.

The Hisense AX5125H is Bluetooth-compatible, so you can wirelessly stream audio from your mobile devices to the bar.

A display on the front of the bar shows various settings as you adjust them. For example, you can keep track of the input you're on and which EQ preset you're using.

On top of the bar, a few controls let you adjust the bar's most basic settings. You can power it on/off, change the input, and adjust the volume.

The Hisense AX5125H doesn't have a companion app, so you'll need the remote to control its settings. The device has a simple design that makes it easy to find various controls.