iLive 45-inch HD Soundbar Review

Disclosure: Complimentary product was received for review purposes

My family has movie night frequently, and we're always listening to music in the house. Thanks to the iLive - 45-inch Bluetooth Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer and Satellite Speakers (ARV $159), our movie-watching and music-listening experiences are elevated!

Set up was a breeze (my husband set it up), and in no time we had surround sound that really made a difference on movie nights and music listening parties.

Here is his detailed review regarding the set-up:

The iLive 45” HD Soundbar is the first soundbar I’ve owned and I’m very happy with it. The soundbar is 45” long with the detachable satellite speakers attached and 32” on its own. It comes with a subwoofer, a wall mount kit, remote control, power adapters for both the soundbar and the subwoofer, charging cables if you keep the satellite speakers detached, and an optical audio cable.Setup was very simple. I plugged in the soundbar and attached the two satellite speakers. Since my TV doesn’t have enough HDMI ports, I used the provided optical audio cable to connect the soundbar to the TV. I plugged the subwoofer into an outlet across the room. I turned everything on and was ready to test it out.

The soundbar was a huge upgrade over my TV speakers. The sound is full and the bass from the subwoofer is more than adequate. The remote lets you choose amongst music, movie, or dialog and they do make a difference in the listening experience. You can also choose amongst the different input options, control the volume, and adjust the bass and treble with the remote.

The Bluetooth is simple to connect with my phone and easy to switch between other sources if someone else wants to play their music. There is an auxiliary port on the soundbar if your music device isn’t Bluetooth capable and you need to connect the old school way.

I do have a few issues with the iLive 45” Sound Bar with Satellite Speakers & Wireless Subwoofer. First of all, the optical audio cable that comes with is only 3’ 4” long. I needed to buy a longer one to be able to run it from my wall mounted TV and through the wall to the soundbar. Secondly, although there are volume, bass, and treble controls on the remote, there’s no visual indication of their levels. You just need to press each up or down and listen to determine the desired level of each. These issues are not dealbreakers.

Overall, the iLive 45” HD Soundbar is a great sound system, especially for the price. It’s easy to setup, has enough features for the average user and, most importantly, it sounds great!