Over All Rating 2.5/5
Price Starts From ₹ 3,599/-
PROS 👍
- Low cost
- RGB LED strip
- Good connectivity options
CONS 👎
- Basic audio quality
- Loud announcements
There are people who buy soundbars purely for the aural enhancements they bring to the TV viewing experience. And then there are those who want the soundbars to add to the overall looks of their TV setups. The 60W Thomson AlphaBeat60 Bluetooth soundbar is trying to please both kinds. It’s got an RGB LED strip at its bottom that dances to the sound coming from it. And the best thing about it is that it’s extremely affordable. You can purchase this set right now for just Rs 3,599. If that price has got you intrigued, stick around till the end of this in-depth review and find out whether the AlphaBeat60 soundbar is for you.
Thomson AlphaBeat 60 Soundbar: In-depth Review
Design and functionality
In the box are a soundbar, a subwoofer, a power adaptor, a 3.5mm cable, a remote control, and a set of two AAA batteries. The soundbar itself is pretty compact in nature. It measures about 16 inches, and its RGB strip is about 11 inches. Its upward-firing speakers are protected by a metal grille that also integrates its rubber-coated physical. One thing I noticed immediately is that these buttons require a bit more pressure than normal, which can be mildly infuriating at times. While two of these buttons are meant for controlling the volume, one is a play/pause key, one is meant for switching between modes, and the other is for controlling the light patterns of the LED strip.
On the back of the soundbar are its all-important ports. The best way to connect it to your TV is via HDMI but you can also use its Bluetooth 5.3 support for the same. It even has an AUX port if you want to connect it directly to your phone. And then there’s the USB Type-C port for playing MP3s via your flash drive. I feel a Type-A port would have been more appropriate here. The other two ports on the back are for connecting the adaptor and the subwoofer to the soundbar.
Speaking of the subwoofer, it’s rather elegantly designed, with the Thomson branding at the bottom standing out amidst the minimality. There’s a vent at the front, and the back is solely populated by the cable going into the subwoofer. There’s nothing extraordinary about the design of this product. The only thing that makes it stand out among the crowd is its RGB LED strip, the patterns of which can be controlled using the dedicated button I’ve mentioned above. It can be set to flash single colours or multiple ones and even move to the beats of the sound. One complaint I have here is that the Thomson remote should have had a button to control the light pattern as well.
Anyway, the presence of the remote is still welcome, given the hardness of the buttons on top of the 60W soundbar. It allows you to switch modes, control the volume, play/pause the music, and even control the bass and treble levels. There’s even an EQ button that has pre-defined sound profiles. As I implied, the remote is the best way to control the AlphaBeat60. But this is where I’d like to point out a big gripe that I had with this speaker. The thing is, whenever you switch between modes, a voice announces these actions with prompts like “Bluetooth Mode” and “Aux input mode.” The volume of this voice is always set very high, meaning even if you want the sound coming from your speakers to be low and soft, merely switching between the modes will spoil the whole atmosphere for you. Needless to say, it’s going to wake up anyone who’s sleeping in the next room.
Connectivity
I connected the Thomson AlphaBeat60 soundbar to my TV using an HDMI cable. In case you’re wondering, there’s no passthrough support here, so you’ll need to free up an HDMI port on your TV in order to use it this way. An alternative is to use the soundbar’s Bluetooth support to sync it with your TV’s Bluetooth. During our testing of this method, we did not notice any issues with regard to audio lag. Interestingly, the Thomson AlphaBeat60 has been crafted to serve a second purpose – that of acting as a party speaker. That’s the reason it not just comes with an AUX port but also a USB Type-C port for connecting a USB stick with music loaded onto it. If you don’t want to take these two old-school approaches, there’s, of course, the option of pairing it with your phone using Bluetooth.
Sound quality
A power output of 60W is appropriate for a living room, but you can’t expect this soundbar to provide you with a high-quality sound experience. After all, it’s only got dual speakers, which Thomson claims create a 3D environment. That’s hardly the case. The audio coming from the soundbar has basic stereo properties that are nowhere near the kind of immersion levels that advanced 3D audio speakers provide. The binaural audio coming from the speakers lacks depth but can manage to give a bi-directional feel when watching movies, which is an obvious plus over the built-in speakers of your TV.
For a soundbar and subwoofer combo that’s priced at just Rs 3,599, the sound quality of the Thomson AlphaBeat60 is expectedly average, though not without some redeeming qualities. The midrange is clear enough for casual TV viewing and dialogue-heavy shows, but it struggles with more complex soundtracks and music. The bass offered by the subwoofer is more thumpy than tight, lacking the depth and precision you’d expect from higher-end setups. But it does add some basic rumble to action scenes, so there’s that to consider. At full volumes, there’s a noticeable decline in sound quality, especially in the higher frequencies.
Verdict
The main thing to consider here is that the Thomson AlphaBeat60 is a budget-friendly soundbar that costs just Rs 3,599. For anyone who’s fed up with the sound quality of their TV, this is a great entry point into the soundbar space. The RBG lights are a nice touch and do bring some flair to your TV setup. The AlphaBeat60 would definitely be a neat upgrade to the aural experience of their TV viewing. But if you’re a music lover or someone seeking immersive home theatre audio, you’d best stay away from it.
A power output of 60W is appropriate for a living room, but you can’t expect this soundbar to provide you with a high-quality sound experience. After all, it’s only got dual speakers, which Thomson claims create a 3D environment. That’s hardly the case. The audio coming from the soundbar has basic stereo properties that are nowhere near the kind of immersion levels that advanced 3D audio speakers provide. The binaural audio coming from the speakers lacks depth but can manage to give a bi-directional feel when watching movies, which is an obvious plus over the built-in speakers of your TV.
For a soundbar and subwoofer combo that’s priced at just Rs 3,599, the sound quality of the Thomson AlphaBeat60 is expectedly average, though not without some redeeming qualities. The midrange is clear enough for casual TV viewing and dialogue-heavy shows, but it struggles with more complex soundtracks and music. The bass offered by the subwoofer is more thumpy than tight, lacking the depth and precision you’d expect from higher-end setups. But it does add some basic rumble to action scenes, so there’s that to consider. At full volumes, there’s a noticeable decline in sound quality, especially in the higher frequencies.
Specification of Thomson AlphaBeat60 Bluetooth Soundbar
| Output power: | 60W |
| Frequency response: | 35Hz ~ 20Hz |
| Soundbar size: | 410 x 90 x 68.5mm |
| Subwoofer size: | 120 x 200 x 335mm |
| Bluetooth version: | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth range: | 10m |
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