“OK, action!” As the actors dive into the scene, the director closely monitors their performance. Every nuance is carefully examined to make sure nothing betrays the story being told or the characters who tell it. Once filming has wrapped, hours will be spent in post-production tweaking the look and sound of every scene. Eventually, the finished work will play in living rooms across the country, where it will sadly be mangled by those miniscule speakers built into the sides of your HDTV. What a waste. But you can do something about it. You can get the Harman Kardon SB 26 and recapture the director’s original vision. This attractive sound bar and wireless subwoofer work together to bring movies and TV shows into your home the way they were meant to be experienced: with explosive sound effects, clear dialogue, detailed music scores, and enough volume to fill large rooms. Rest the bar on your TV stand or mount it on the wall with the included hardware. A single cable from your TV can get you up and running, so you never have to rely on those underwhelming, overmatched TV speakers again.

The SB 26 isn’t just for movies and shows. Connect your Blu-ray player to one of the sound bar’s two HDMI inputs and play your CDs or concert Blu-ray discs through this system. The bar’s HDMI output lets you take advantage of this system’s on-screen guide, so you can easily view system settings like virtual surround listening mode or Harman Volume to keep commercials from playing too loudly. The SB 26 also features Bluetooth connectivity for wireless music streaming. Pair your smartphone, tablet, or computer to the bar and instantly play music stored on your device or in the cloud.

General:

• On-screen display allows you to view settings and options on your TV (requires HDMI connection)
• System frequency response 38-22,000 Hz
• Warranty: 1 year (electronics), 5 years (speakers)

Soundbar:

• 30 watts x 2 (RMS power)
• Dual two-way driver system, each with a 1″ dome tweeter and two 3″ midrange drivers
• Built-in Bluetooth for wireless music streaming from compatible smartphones, tablets, and computers
• Listen in stereo or virtual surround sound mode
• Built-in Dolby Digital decoding
• Harman Volume helps keep listening levels consistent across drastic volume shifts such as during commercials
• Learns your TV remote’s commands for single-remote use
• EQ switch to optimize bar for wall or table placement
• Wall mounting brackets included
• Includes IR repeater to extend TV’s infrared reception for use with TV remote
• HDMI switching: 2 in, 1 out (one HDMI cable included)
• Optical digital audio input (cable included)
• Analog stereo RCA input (miniplug-to-RCA cable included)
• 36-3/16″W x 4-5/16″H x 3-1/2″D
• Weight: 7.9 lbs.

Subwoofer:

• 100-watt built-in amplifier
• 10″ down-firing woofer
• Connects wirelessly to sound bar for easy placement
• Adjustable crossover for seamless blending with the sound bar
• Volume control via included remote
• Bass-reflex (ported) cabinet design
• Weight: 20.7 lbs.
• 12-5/8″W x 14-5/16″H x 14-3/8″D