Comparison Edifier S50DB vs Edifier CineSound B1

Regular way to install a sound projector.

— Shelf. The installation itself on the shelf is extremely simple and requires a minimum of effort. However, in the absence of a shelf in a suitable place, you will either have to hang it there (for which, most likely, you will need to drill the walls), or install the projector "where possible" and try to adjust the sound as needed (and the success of such a setup is not guaranteed).

— Wall mounted. Projectors equipped with wall mounts, usually in the form of brackets or notches in the chassis for nails, screws, or other wall-mounted mounts. This option is good because you can choose the installation location of the projector at your discretion, not limited to the presence of shelves — the main thing is that there is a free wall.

— Shelf / wall. Projectors that can be either shelf-mounted or wall-mounted. Both of these options are described above. Here we note that the installation method determines not only the design of the case, but also some features of the sound produced by the projector. In fact, this means that a “pure wall” projector, when installed on a shelf, will not be able to produce sound of proper quality, even if there are no problems with the installation itself. In other words, if you need a device suitable both for a shelf and for hanging on a wall, you should choose from models for which such a possibility is direc...tly stated.

— TV Stand. In fact, such models are a variation of the shelf projectors described above, which have a flat body, so that a TV can be installed on top of such a device. This will prevent the sound projector from obscuring the controls and remote control sensor located below the screen (whereas with conventional shelf models, such problems often occur when placed on the same shelf with a TV). The disadvantage of "stands" can be called a rather large size in depth.

The projector supports the virtual surround function.

The purpose of this feature is that due to special sound settings and the reflection of sound beams from the walls of the room, the listener hears more channels than are actually available in the projector (see "Audio Format"). For example, a 3.1 system with virtual surround sound can produce sound similar to 5.1 surround sound. This allows you to achieve the effect of "immersion" in sound without increasing the number of channels and the cost of the projector. On the other hand, the reliability of such sound is usually noticeably worse than that of real surround sound, and the overall quality is highly dependent on the characteristics of a particular room.

Note that the virtual surround function is specified for 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 3.1 format systems. In more advanced multi-channel systems, there are a priori additional channels for reproducing surround sound.

The total power rating of the sound projector speakers (including subwoofer, if present).

This parameter is often used to estimate the overall sound volume of the device, but this is not entirely true. The fact is that the actual sound volume is determined mainly by the power of the main speakers of the sound projector, and the total power is the sum of this power and the power of the subwoofer. Therefore, models with the same power rating can vary markedly in actual volume: for example, a 150-watt soundbar with a 50-watt subwoofer will be louder than a 100-watt projector with a subwoofer of the same power, although in both cases the rated power will be equal to 200 watts.

Summing up, we can say that it is possible to evaluate the volume by rated power only if the sound projector is not equipped with a subwoofer — in such models, the rated power is equal to the power of the main speakers. In other cases, it is worth focus on the power of the soundbar and the power of the subwoofer directly stated in the characteristics (see below for both).

The audio frequency range supported by the projector's speakers.

When evaluating this parameter, it is worth remembering that the audibility range of the human ear is about 16 – 22,000 Hz (and narrows with age). If the projector's frequency range is narrower, this can result in "cutting" low or high frequencies (however, with a slight narrowing, this effect is almost imperceptible). There are models in which the frequency limit is much wider — however, this is a kind of "side effect" of high-quality acoustics and has no meaning other than advertising.

Also note that a wide frequency range in itself does not guarantee high-quality sound — a lot depends on other parameters of the projector.

— Airplay. Wireless technology for connecting an external signal source to the projector. Developed by Apple, it is mainly used to connect with its devices (for example, iPad tablets or MacBook laptops), although it is also used by other manufacturers. AirPlay allows you to transfer not only sound, but also text and graphic information, and even video, which can be useful when connecting the projector to a TV. This technology, by definition, means support for Wi-Fi (see below), because. it is based on this interface.

— Airplay 2. The second generation of the AirPlay technology described above, introduced in 2018. Among the main innovations of this version is support for the "multi-room" format, that is, the simultaneous transmission of several audio signals to different compatible devices installed in different places. In this way, you can, for example, turn on an online broadcast of a news programme in the living room, relaxing music in the bedroom, etc. In addition, AirPlay 2 received a number of other improvements — improved buffering, the ability to stream to stereo speakers, as well as support for voice control via Siri.

— Chromecast. The original name is Google Cast. A technology for broadcasting content to external devices developed by Google. Allows you to transmit an audio signal from a PC or mobile device to the soundbar, the broadcast is standar...dly carried out via Wi-Fi, while the receiver and signal source must be in the same Wi-Fi network (Chromecast media players are an exception). Note that in signal sources (smartphones, tablets, PCs, etc.), Chromecast is implemented at the level of individual applications. For example, at the time of its creation, this feature was available, among others, in the YouTube and Netflix apps for Android and iOS, as well as in the web versions of these apps for Chrome. Thanks to this format, this technology is extremely widespread nowadays, and the ability to connect a particular gadget to an audio system with a Chromecast is usually limited to the ability to install appropriate applications on this gadget.

— Wi-Fi. Wireless technology with multiple applications. One of them is connecting to a computer network; in sound projectors, it is primarily used for local resources (see DLNA below) or AirPlay technology (see above), as well as for controlling the projector over a network. Another option is to connect directly to other devices. The possibilities of such a connection in different models may also be different; one of the most popular options is remote control of the projector from a smartphone, tablet, etc.

— Bluetooth. Wireless technology designed to directly connect different electronic devices to each other. In sound projectors, it is primarily used to broadcast audio wirelessly from another Bluetooth device, such as a smartphone or laptop. However, there may be other options — for example, connecting wireless headphones to the projector itself or remote control from the same smartphone. It is worth noting here that the sound quality when transmitting via Bluetooth is somewhat lower than with a wired connection; on the other hand, this is offset by convenience, and some models of sound projectors may even have a "sound restoration" system.

— NFC. NFC is a wireless communication technology over short distances, up to 10 cm. In sound projectors, it is used mainly as an auxiliary, to facilitate connection via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. It looks like this: instead of manually digging into the settings, just bring an NFC-compatible device to the projector chip and confirm the connection.

— FM radio. The projector has a built-in FM tuner. This function actually turns the device into a full-fledged radio receiver, allowing you to receive broadcasts on the FM band (which broadcasts most music radio stations). Note that some models with a tuner may support other bands, such as AM or digital DAB.

— LAN. A standard wired connection to a computer network, also known as Ethernet or RJ-45. Like Wi-Fi (see above), in sound projectors it is used primarily for working on a local network; however, LAN capabilities can include both playback of network content via DLNA (see below) and control of projector settings via a network from a computer. A wired connection is not as convenient as Wi-Fi due to the need to run a cable, but it is more reliable and can come in handy when the air is “loaded” (an abundance of Wi-Fi devices nearby).

— DLNA. A technology used to connect various electronic devices into a single digital network with the ability to directly exchange content. Devices for which support for this standard is claimed are able to effectively interact regardless of the manufacturer. And the network itself works on the basis of a conventional computer "local area", connection to it is carried out via LAN or Wi-Fi (see above). In sound projectors, DLNA can be used, for example, to play music from a computer hard drive.

— RS-232. A service interface used to connect the sound projector to a computer and control the sound settings from the PC through a special programme. On some models, it can also be used to update the firmware.

— Connecting an iPod. Special interface for connecting Apple iPod players. Most often it is based on a regular USB connector, to which the player is connected via an adapter cable; however, it may look like a dock — a stand with a proprietary connector, where the gadget is directly placed. Anyway, connecting in this way provides not only playing music from the player, but also other possibilities — for example, switching tracks from the projector's remote control, charging the battery, etc.

— Wireless connection to TV. Ability to connect the sound projector to the TV wirelessly. The advantage of this option is obvious: it eliminates the hassle of additional cables. On the other hand, a wireless connection is usually based on a certain proprietary technology (LG Sound Sync, TV SoundConnect, etc.) and requires a TV that supports the corresponding technology to work. This limits the use of this feature. In addition, such a connection is more susceptible to interference than a wired one, and “wireless” projectors are more expensive than wired ones. Therefore, it is worth specifically looking for a model with such a function if you have a TV with wireless technology support and at the same time the absence of extra wires is fundamental.

— USB A. In this case, we mean a USB connector that allows you to connect external drives (flash drives, hard drives) to the projector and play content directly from them. At the same time, models with video outputs (see below) can often work as a media centre, outputting the video signal to a TV or other external display.

— mini-Jack (3.5 mm). By itself, the 3.5 mm plug can be used in different types of interfaces; in this case, it means a linear audio input with a mini-Jack socket. This input is mainly used to connect portable audio equipment (players, smartphones) to the sound projector.

— RCA. Technically, RCA (colloquially "tulip") is a type of connector that can be used in different interfaces. However, the term "RCA input" is used to refer only to line inputs for connecting an analogue signal in stereo format. Note that this input consists of two sockets for RCA cables, because. Only one channel of sound can be transmitted through one cable.

— Optical. Connector for digital audio signal connection via TOSLINK fibre optic cable. This interface allows for multi-channel audio transmission and is virtually immune to electrical interference; its disadvantage is the fragility of the cable.

— Coaxial S / P-DIF. A connector for connecting a digital audio signal via an elect...rical cable with an RCA connector (not to be confused with linear RCA, described above). Similar to the optical input described above, in particular, the ability to transmit multi-channel audio through a single connector. At the same time, a coaxial cable, on the one hand, is not so delicate, and on the other hand, it is sensitive to electrical interference (therefore, it is advisable to use a special shielded wire for such a connection).

— Composite. In this case, we do not mean a full-format composite interface of three connectors that allows you to transmit audio and video signals, but only one connector for working with video. And since sound projectors don't display images, the composite input is used to send video through the projector to another device, such as a TV. The composite video interface does not allow working with HD and is not of high quality; on the other hand, it is widespread and can even be used to work with frankly outdated video equipment. Typically this input uses a yellow RCA plug.

— Component. An input designed to receive an analogue video signal for further transmission to another device — a TV, video projector, etc. This connection typically uses three RCA connectors, each carrying a different video component (hence the name). Due to this, the component interface has good bandwidth and picture quality, it allows you to work with HD and is considered the most advanced modern analogue video standard.

— IR control input. Connector for connecting an external infrared remote control receiver. When properly placed, such a receiver will allow you to use the remote control even in places where the signal from the remote control cannot reach the main (built-in) sensor — for example, in another room. Note that the role of the receiver can be played not only by a specialized device, but also by another component of the audio system — for example, an amplifier with an IR control output.

The total number of speakers installed in the sound projector housing (external subwoofer is not taken into account in this calculation).

Given the same audio format (see above), more speakers typically provide greater fidelity and more precise localization of individual sound sources. This is especially true for models with virtual surround sound.

The diameter of the tweeters ("tweeters") installed in the sound projector. The larger the speaker diameter, the higher its power can be, but the lower the operating range. Therefore, tweeters, usually, are small in size, and the required power can be provided by their total number (see above).

The presence of its own display in the design of the soundbar.

As displays, usually, small screens with the simplest LCD matrices are used. Various service information can be displayed on such a screen : volume level, operating mode, active inputs and outputs, equalizer settings, etc. This makes management easier and more intuitive.