Sky Soundbox

[Gaz]

I had a demo of a Sky Soundbox this morning, apparently it's made by, or in conjunction with, Devialet so I expected something a bit special.

It was quite simply awful, admittedly it made a big noise for its size but it was exactly that, noise. It sounded boomy dull and tinny at the same time, which is quite an achievement albeit not a great achievement.

I'm amazed that a company like Devialet would put their name to something like this that sounds like some 1980s Amstrad tower system speakers. My £79 from Richer Sounds Tibo Soundbase sounds better.

[walpurgis]

Devialet obviously saw a buck to be earned from the association with Sky. Not to mention getting their name into the mainstream, as opposed to the specialised and pretty expensive end of the audio market.

[Pigmy Pony]

Looks like a lifestyle product, designed to fit easily into your average modern shoebox house.

Seems to get some good reviews, but when it comes to Sky's products I would take everything I read with a pinch of salt. No doubt they nailed Devialet to the floor on price, probably about £50 per unit, and so Devialet will have done the best they could with their paltry budget. Sky then put a HUGE mark up on it which they then can discount heavily as an incentive to sign up.

I know businesses have to make money, otherwise why bother, but I think Sky take the piss.

For some time now the sound from my TV through the a/v set up (always on) has sounded flat and rather lifeless, and I find I've had to increase the volume on the amp considerably to get a reasonable listening level. I thought maybe my 8 year old Sony amp was to blame, until I installed a Fire TV stick last week - the sound quality I remember has returned! Call me paranoid, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sky hadn't deliberately done something at their end to degrade the sound, in order to steer me towards a Sky Q box.

[gninnam]

I bought one as you got a good discount being a Sky customer and after 3 days promptly sent it back.
It was awful - so bassy (which you couldn't alter) as to make watching anything unbearable.

Use a Sonos PlayBase now and a happy bunny

[antonio]

Quite the opposite feelings here. We needed something to make dialogue clearer and purchased a soundbox at a good discount and are very happy with the sound quality for tv listening. I'm absolutely sure we could have purchased a cheap amp and speakers which would better sq, but that would mean finding space for two pairs of speakers, and the Sky box is discreet and sits on a shelf under the tv.

[Dubster68]

I bought one of these when I got Sky tv installed and find it pretty good. If you are using it with Sky Q you have a menu that you can alter the sound output depend on what you are watching. Or you can have it where the unit reacts to whatever you are watching. I find it fills a big space with a small box. Pretty happy with mine and better without the clutter of to many speakers in the living room. May be different if you don't have Sky Q as you won't have the menu to adjust the sound. Also it sounds better when sat outside a cabinet as the speakers fire off sound to the sides and gives a surround sound feel on movies.