The Hisense HS2100 is a wallet-friendly 2.1 soundbar. It's similar in appearance to other Hisense soundbars, like the Hisense HS214, but comes with a wireless subwoofer that adds rumble and punch to your listening experience. While there's no Dolby Atmos compatibility, which is to be expected at this price point, it can play back Dolby Digital and DTS content via its HDMI ARC connection. Its small size means that it'll fit discretely under most TVs, and it comes with an array of sound enhancement features, like EQ presets and virtual surround sound, that help differentiate it from other budget soundbars.
Our Verdict
The Hisense HS2100 is alright for mixed usage. This 2.1 bar downmixes to stereo, which isn't great for an immersive audio experience but won't be an issue for regular stereo content, and its decent soundstage is well-suited to dialogue-driven movies and TV shows. While there's no Dolby Atmos support, there's support for multi-channel formats like DTS and Dolby digital support. Its default sound profile is warm, with a decent amount of bass, thanks to its dedicated sub. That said, even with the sub, there's not a lot of low-frequency extension. On the upside, there are plenty of sound enhancement features, like EQ presets and a virtual surround feature, that can help you tailor the sound to your liking.
- Onboard bass/treble adjustment.
- EQ presets available.
- Downmixes surround sound content.
- Some compression at max volume.
The Hisense HS2100 is good for dialogue and TV shows. It gets loud enough to fill your living room, although there are some compression artifacts present at max volume. The default sound profile is also well-suited to this type of content. It's a little warm, but the balanced mids and highs mean that dialogue and speech are reproduced clearly. You can also adjust the sound using the onboard EQ and presets to accentuate dialogue further. There's even a 'Night' mode preset that brings the overall volume down and rolls off the bass frequencies, so you can keep track of dialogue without waking anyone up. That said, the lack of a discrete center means it can be challenging to pinpoint the location of voices within the soundstage.
- Onboard bass/treble adjustment.
- DTS and Dolby Digital support.
- EQ presets available.
- Downmixes surround sound content.
- Some compression at max volume.
The Hisense HS2100 is decent for music. It has a relatively balanced default sound profile, with a solid bass response that's courtesy of its dedicated subwoofer. That said, even with the sub, there's not a lot of low-frequency extension, so you won't get too much rumble. There's plenty of detail in the mids and highs that helps accentuate vocals and lead instruments. It also gets quite loud, though there's some compression present as you crank the volume. While the bar has good focus at its center, localizing objects in the stereo field becomes harder as you get to its edge, so music with creative panning won't sound particularly immersive.
- Onboard bass/treble adjustment.
- EQ presets available.
- Some compression at max volume.
- No room correction feature.
The Hisense HS2100 is passable for movies. Its warm yet detailed sound means it's well-suited for dialogue-driven and action-packed movies. Although it's compatible with Dolby Digital and DTS formats, it's a 2.1 bar that has to downmix multi-channel content to stereo, resulting in a less immersive audio experience. While its stereo soundstage is okay, it can be difficult to pinpoint where voices and dialogue are coming from within the stereo field.
- Onboard bass/treble adjustment.
- DTS and Dolby Digital support.
- EQ presets available.
- Downmixes surround sound content.
- Some compression at max volume.
- No room correction feature.
Changelog
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Updated Jul 09, 2025:
The Compared To Other Soundbars and Surround 5.1 sections have been updated to mention the Hisense HS5100.
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Updated Jul 04, 2025:
The Inputs/Outputs - Bar section was corrected to state there's an analog audio AUX input port.
- Updated Sep 24, 2024: We've added a comparison between this soundbar and the TCL S55H in Audio Format Support: ARC/eARC.
- Updated Mar 21, 2024: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Hisense HS2100 is available in Black, and you can see the label for the unit we tested here.
If you encounter another variant of this soundbar, let us know in the forums, and we'll update our review.
Popular Soundbar Comparisons
The Hisense HS2100 looks similar to the Hisense HS214, although it's a bit wider and comes with a dedicated subwoofer. The HS2100 also has a more balanced sound, with better low-frequency extension that can help bring out low-end sound effects in action-packed scenes. It also has more sound enhancement features, including six different EQ presets and an improved virtual surround feature. It's similar in performance to the discontinued Hisense HS218. While the HS218 is better built, the new model comes with DTS support. The 5.1 Hisense HS5100 is a very similar soundbar to the 2.1 configured HS2100, but with extra channels.
See also our recommendations for the best budget soundbars, the best soundbars under $200, and the best small soundbars.
The Hisense HS2100 and the TCL S55H are both budget-minded 2.1 soundbar setups. However, depending on your preferences, these two bars have contrasting strengths. The Hisense has a more balanced default frequency response, a slightly wider soundstage, and significantly lower latency via HDMI ARC, meaning there's less chance of running into AV sync issues that can detract from dialogue-heavy content. That said, the TCL comes with more premium features, like AI Sonic-Adaptation room correction and Atmos compatibility. It can also get louder while compressing less, and owners of compatible TCL TVs can benefit from 'Tutti Choral,' which incorporates your TV's speakers into the sound field. The deciding factor for many users will be the TCL's Atmos compatibility. That said, there's an argument to be made that the lack of satellite speakers and convincing height performance nullifies this somewhat.
The Samsung HW-B650 is a better overall soundbar than the Hisense HS2100, but this is to be expected given its higher price. Both bars have similarly balanced sound profiles and are compatible with Dolby Digital and DTS, though they have to downmix these to stereo. While the Hisense has a 2.1 configuration, the Samsung features a discrete center channel that improves vocal and dialogue clarity. The Samsung also has less compression present when you crank the volume and more sound enhancement features.
The Hisense HS5100 is a better soundbar than the Hisense HS2100, though they share similar connectivity and audio format support limitations—no Dolby Atmos. Generally, both soundbars share similar sound enhancement features, too. Due to its 5.1 configuration, the HS5100 doesn't need to downmix surround sound like the HS2100's 2.1 design. Its discrete center channel is well-tuned and ensures speech cuts through better. It also retains your audio's dynamics very well at max volume. That said, the HS2100 has a very slightly boomier and deeper bass in stereo by default, which makes it a good choice if you mainly listen to music, but it lacks the flexibility of surround sound of the HS5100.
For most people, the Hisense HS2100 is better than the TCL S45H. The Hisense sounds much more balanced throughout the range, including a greater bass extension due to the outboard subwoofer. It's also low latency across various audio formats and connections. However, the TCL offers an app with more tuning options, like EQ presets, listening modes, and a room correction tool. Its dynamics are better, too. The TCL also supports Dolby Atmos, but it downmixes it to stereo. It's mainly impeded by its weak bass response.
Test Results
