There are many different entry level soundbars available that you can choose from. One of these is the Panasonic SC-HTB8, which has had quite a lot of success since being released. It’s not brand new to the market, and it’s maintained popularity for several years now.
Its simplistic style is what attracts many different consumers to it, along with it’s reasonable price. But just how good is the SC-HT8, and is it worth considering adding it to your home setup? We’re going to investigate and see what this Panasonic soundbar has to offer.
Panasonic Soundbar Review: SC-HTB8 vs SC-HTB200
The SC-HTB-200 is an improved version of the SC-HTB8. It’s better in a few different ways: the main difference is an improved sound quality, but it has better connectivity options as well. The downside is that it’s more expensive than its predecessor.
This is to be expected with an upgraded model of a soundbar. B,ut that doesn’t mean that you should completely ignore the SC-HTB8 if you’re looking for a new soundbar for your home setup. For some, it may still prove to be the more suitable choice.
We know the key differences, but there’s a few more things we should take a look at. Let’s look at these models in closer detail and find out what they both have to offer.
Panasonic SC-HTB200
One of the top soundbars out there if you’re on a budget, the Panasonic SC-HTB200 was released in 2018. It’s an improvement on older models released by the brand, and it’s intended to fulfil the need for smaller soundbars to be used with small to medium sized televisions.
Typically, Panasonic TVs actually have pretty decent in-built audio, as a soundbar may not be necessary. But, this will undoubtedly be a bit increase in quality if you compare it to the audio you get with most smart TVs out there.
Design
As mentioned, this soundbar is designed to pack a lot of power into a relatively small speaker. It’s only 45cm in length, which makes it perfectly suited to smaller televisions. However, it used loud enough to be used as a home cinema speaker on it’s own.
It’s definitely a little different than what you’d consider a typical soundbar shape. But, it’s well suited to certain environments, and it would be the perfect soundbar for use in a bedroom.
Performance
In terms of performance, it’s hard to criticise anything about the SC-HTB-200. What it does best is to deliver bass, with a good amount of volume attached to it too. It’s designed as a TV speakers, although it could be used as a music speaker as well if necessary.
You can easily change the settings on the soundbar to what you’re doing, so you can add more bass for music or change it so it works better at increasingly the clarity of dialogue when you’re watching a film.
Connectivity
You’ll be able to connect to this soundbar by using an optical cable. But, that’s not the only method of connection that you can use. You can also connect to it via Bluetooth as well. This comes in handy for using it with Spotify and your phone, or you can connect it with your smart home system as well.
One of the main differences between the two is that the SC-HTB200 has the ability to use a HDMI cable to connect it to your television. With the SC-HTB8, you’ll have to use an optical cable to do this. Not a massive deal, but many of us prefer to use HDMI cables nowadays.
Pros
Cons
Panasonic SC-HTB8
The original version of this soundbar was released back in 2014, which makes it relatively old in terms of technology. It has proven to be pretty popular since it’s release, and you can still find it available online today, although in many cases it’s going to be secondhand.
Design
Out of the two soundbars, this one is much longer in length. It’s 75cm long, which makes it well suited to any TV size more than 32 inches. It’s thin design make it well suited to being positioned in front of your television.
However, one of the good features about this soundbar is that it’s design is specifically made so that you can easily adjust the sound direction to your own personal preference. You can choose to aim it a little higher at your face if you want to.
This makes it a good choice if you’re trying to set up your own mini home cinema.
Performance
The area where this soundbar lacks a little bit in comparison to the SC-HTB200 is in it’s audio quality. Even though this soundbar is quite a big bigger, it isn’t quite as good in terms of sound.
That doesn’t mean to say that this soundbar is bad by any means, because that isn’t true. The 80w speaker makes sure that it’s powerful enough to be a massive improvement over the majority of TV speakers out there.
It has two different preset modes on it of surround sound and clear voice, which can be used if you really want to hear the dialogue when you’re watching a film. It comes in handy to change between the two and find which one you prefer.
Connectivity
The main way that you’re going to want to connect this soundbar to your television is by using an optical cable. You can also connect to it with a Bluetooth 3.0 connection as well. This works well if you set it up and use it with the Panasonic app.
As mentioned, this soundbar doesn’t have the ability for you to connect to it via HDMI. This is a bit of a negative if you compare it to most other soundbars out there.
Pros
Cons
Conclusion – Verdict
Overall, the better of the two soundbars is the SC-HTB200. Essentially, the SC-HTB8 was released before the SC-HTB200. Although it’s stilla good soundbar in it’s own right, it’s pretty clear to see that Panasonic made improvements on their newer model by seeing what the feedback was on the original Sc-HTB8. So, the newer model has a better sound quality, as well as better Bluetooth connectivity too, which makes it the top choice of the two.
