Schaub Lorenz TE3818

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Caractéristiques
Type	Sound bar
Frequency response	N.C. v69 - N.C. v69
Impedance	N.C.
Sound pressure	N.C.
Max power	250 W
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Number of tracks	2
Speakers	N.C.
Connectivity	HDMI, RCA, optical, mini-jack
Amplifier included	yes / N.C. / N.A.
Lecteur intégré CD/SACD/DVD/BD	yes / no / yes / no
Central speaker	N.C. x N.C. x N.C. v69 / 6 kg
Front satellite	N.C. x N.C. x N.C. / N.C.
Surround satellite	N.C. x N.C. x N.C. / N.C.
Subwoofer	N.C. x N.C. x N.C. / N.C.
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Tristan François
Translator: Catherine Barraclough
Test date: January 19, 2011

Pre-Set Equalisation

Apple's iPod music players highlight the problem with pre-set equalisation settings.

Their digital-to-analogue converter isn't bad at all. However, as soon as you switch on any pre-set equalisation mode, the sound quality suffers.

The problem is that the modes are just not calibrated very well. For, equalisation to work properly, the initial sound output should be natural and unadulterated and only small adjustments should be made.

Adjusting the equalisation manually isn't very easy but pre-set equalisation modes are generally much worse. That's the exact problem with the pre-set modes in iPods and with the modes in this sound bar.

Although for a long time Schaub Lorenz only made high-end products, the brand is branching out and trying its hand at a few budget products, including this sound bar with built-in DVD player.

Hardware & Design: a nice design

Designing an all-in-one sound bar is no mean feat. As well as including a good range of functions and connections, manufacturers must also find room squeeze in a decent audio set-up. Here, Schaub Lorenz has done a pretty decent job of things, with a sound bar that's practical and easy to use.

The only downside is the connections. A multifunction model should really be designed to be hooked up to other A/V devices than just a TV, via an HDMI port in particular. That's unfortunately not possible in the T3818, but the iPod dock and radio are a nice touch.

The sound bar is easy to set up: just plug it in and off you go. Plus, the remote control is clear and user-friendly.

Sound Quality: could be better

We were disappointed as soon as we switched this sound bar on. It seems that Schaub Lorenz has tried to do too much and that its plans have seriously backfired.

You can tell that the TE3818 is intended to produce a beefy, full sound, but that it's just not able to do so. The result is basically just a big fuzzy mess that's not particularly pleasant to listen to. Plus, as soon as you crank up the volume, it just sounds saturated.

The most worrying thing is a kind of 'megaphone' effect that crops up really quite often and makes the overall output lose quality and accuracy. Then again, when you try to get round it by turning up the volume, you'll just get that saturated sound we mentioned above!

You can play around with the various equalisers to try and balance things out, but it doesn't work every time nor with all audio sources.

It's also pretty strange to see a new sound bar that only has a DVD player, at a time when most manufacturers have upgraded to Blu-ray. In the end though, it's the lack of connections and disastrous performances that will really seal the fate of the TE3818.

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Pluses

Well-deisgned functions

Easy to use

Built-in DVD player

Minuses

Ill-balanced sound

Saturation and 'megaphone' effect often a problem

No Blu-ray player

The Schaub Lorenz TE3818 lags far behind what we've seen other manufacturers do (such as the excellent Philips Blu-ray sound bar). Sound quality is quite simply terrible.