Groov-e 160 Soundbar

Verdict

Decent value for money, the Groov-e 160 Soundbar’s crisp, clear, and energetic sound works well with TVs and movies, though at higher volumes it is prone to sounding shrill and unfocused.

Introduction

On this site we’ve talked about the importance of improving a TV’s audio quality greatly. Flatscreen TVs do not always have the room to incorporate big enough speaker drivers, which leads to a reduction in sound quality. There are times when an external solution is better and with the Groov-e 160 soundbar, you won’t have to bust open the piggy bank to find one.

Designed to be a convenient way to improve a TV’s sound, the 160 soundbar is Groov-e’s most expensive option, but within the soundbar market it’s an affordable option, but is it among one of the best options you can get?

Design

• Functional appearance
• No HDMI ports
• Digital optical cable included

Groov-e describes the look of the 160 soundbar as stylish, though I’d be given to calling functional rather than aesthetically dapper.

It’s a two-tone grey/black finish with silver ringlets on each side, the grey part turns out to be moulded plastic while the black is the grille that takes up the entirety of the speaker’s fascia. It’s not the most inspiring look but the build quality is solid, nevertheless.

It is slightly big and bulky, though more practical than the Majority Snowdon II’s design as though the elevated feet lift it off its surface, it can (just) fit beneath the frame of TVs that I place it under without blocking the IR receiver.

There’s an LED display in the centre of the bar that shows the current source and volume level. The lettering and numbers can look crude if you’re not sitting head-on, but it remains sharp enough to decipher. Through the remote, there’s a dimmer control (high, medium, low, and off)

There are no HDMI ports with this soundbar, with physical connections amounting to digital optical, auxiliary and USB located in a recessed area on the rear, and helpfully a digital optical cable is included in the packaging.

On top of the bar are buttons for power, input, volume, playback, and source. The small, spaciously laid out remote provides a few more options with more playback options, a mute button, and sound modes.

Strangely there’s a dedicated button for ‘Movie’, or you could just cycle between the other options with the Sound Mode button. It seems redundant to me to have two buttons that perform similar functions.

Features

• A choice of three EQ presets
• 160W of peak power
• Bluetooth 5.0 support

The Groov-e 160 soundbar isn’t exactly packed with features. There are three presets to choose from in Movie, Music, and Voice but no further options to adjust the EQ in any other way.

Bluetooth 5.0 wireless support offers another means of connecting to the soundbar with a mobile device.

Groov-e quotes 160W of peak power that the 160 soundbar can achieve (a clue as to why it has its name). Though in reality speaker power from the two medium/high-frequency drivers (25W each) and built-in woofer (40W) equals 90W of power in most use cases.

Sound Quality

• Crisp, clear, and energetic performance
• Can sound brash at higher volumes
• Bass has a punchy tone

Groov-e describes the performance of the 160 Soundbar as crisp and clear, and for the most part that is what you get from this soundbar, though some slight issues serve to restrict usage of the soundbar.

Tonally it can sound quite excitable and energetic, which at higher volumes does leave it sounding brash in how it goes about its business, lacking a degree of composure and blaring sound into a room.

This trait was most noticeable playing Gran Turismo 7 on the PS5, especially when the volume was above level 20. The Groov-e 160 Soundbar can mistake energy for just sheer loudness, becoming an unfocused wall of noise. It hits its volume ceiling at level 32, which feels quite low but then anything above 20 seems to invoke some shrillness in its performance.

Voices sound natural enough, though they can be a little hard in tone too, this soundbar is rather direct in tone and it can sound a tad strident with some female voices which come across as a little too sharp (verging in sibilant) in their reproduction. Choose the Voice preset and the soundbar is much smoother with voices, in particular female voices. Movie mode serves to be a little louder and more dynamic.

So far, I’ve been slightly on the negative with the Groov-e 160 Soundbar but there are plenty of things it does well. Watching season three of The Mandalorian, that excitable tone rewards itself with a dynamic, clear, sharp, and attacking performance with the action scenes, but it’s not all fireworks and excitement as it calms things down with the more dialogue-focused scenes.

There’s no Game mode but using the Movie EQ with Gran Turismo 7 did result in a crisp, clean, and detailed performance, with a decent stereo effect and sense of space, giving a better impression of cars to the left and right of me during a race.

With the plane sequence in Tenet, the Groov-e offers a dynamic performance, and there’s scale and size to the action sequence whether it’s the jet engines whipping up. Then there’s its sense of sharpness that’s just about well-judged as the plane collides with vehicles on its way to crashing into a hangar. And when it does crash into the structure, the explosion that erupts from the speakers packs a surprising amount of punch.

Bass performance isn’t what I’d label as big or deep, but the 160 Soundbar manages it better than the Majority Snowdon II does with Blade Runner 2049. The punches between Sapper Morton and K are articulated with more depth, clarity, and depth – the punches feel like they hurt on the Groov-e whereas they come across more lightweight on the Majority. The Groov-e 160’s performance is certainly better than most TVs it is likely to be partnered with.

Sending music to the soundbar over Bluetooth and it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Tonally music feels stripped back, there’s not the same level of energy as there is with the Movie EQ present, but the music is clear and detailed with a good focus on vocals.

It doesn’t sound as big as the Majority does with music, mostly because that soundbar’s angled speakers elevate sound higher into a room, but the Groov-e’s bass performance is again better with Talib Kweli’s We Got the Beat, putting a more detailed and precise performance.

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