There aren’t sufficient wall plugs to deal with every part we maintain putting in round our TVs these days. It was all good once we simply needed to plug within the tv then we added the cable field, soundbar and/or audio system, varied set-top packing containers, gaming consoles, and we’ve completed it off with ambient lights. However not everybody wants probably the most in depth and complex setup. Typically, you simply desire a easy product that ticks a number of packing containers, and that is what the brand new Philips Fidelio FS1 speaker does.

Skipping the technical particulars for a bit, the FS1 is a bookshelf speaker with LED lighting on the again that integrates with Philips’ Ambilight TVs to create an ambient gentle expertise round your content material. It’s nearly as in case you had put in a pair of invisible Hue Play gentle bars too.

Clearly, this isn’t the identical factor as a correct Hue Play expertise, although. The LED lights are weak and there are solely eight of them. They are often managed with a button on the speaker (a number of modes and brightness ranges), however they aren’t voice-activated and may’t be built-in into a wise house setup.

They do, nonetheless, work with Philips’ Ambilight TV collection with out a lot fuss. You merely hyperlink them to the TV then observe the UI prompts to combine them with each your sound and light-weight setups, even selecting the place precisely the speaker is positioned in relation to the TV. Holding the audio system subsequent to the TV will clearly end in completely different gentle results than in the event that they have been dealing with it.

It’s a easy thought, however one which works rather well in actuality. Two audio system on either side of the TV can present glorious, immersive sound plus ambient lighting that follows something on the TV with out messing with hubs, apps, HDMI cables, or cameras pointed at your display screen. For individuals who simply need to modernize their leisure setup with out spending additional time or cash on standalone lighting gear, the Fidelio FS1 will get the job completed — as long as you’ve gotten a Philips Ambilight TV.

You’d be forgiven in case you have been pondering that this actually ought to have been a correct Philips Hue Play gentle. However this Philips is completely different from that Philips. See, the model identify is now managed by separate firms: TP Imaginative and prescient is dealing with the video and audio line-up, whereas Signify is the one behind the Hue and Wiz lighting merchandise. I wouldn’t maintain my breath on a collaboration between the 2.

Going again to the FS1, it’s an unassuming however very versatile speaker. It packs a 1-inch front-facing tweeter, a top-mounted 2.5-inch driver, a bottom-firing 3.5-inch woofer (with two passive radiators), and adapts to varied setups. It may be used as a standalone mono speaker or as a part of a stereo setup if you pair a second FS1 unit. It could actually additionally work as a satellite tv for pc speaker for a Dolby Atmos setup or remodel into the left and proper channels of an Ambilight TV.

Our demo with the FS1 was actually quick, so we weren’t in a position to gauge its sound high quality as a standalone speaker. We are able to say, although, that in case you set it up with the remainder of the Fidelio vary — FB1 soundbar and FW1 subwoofer — in a 7.2.4 configuration, you may danger blowing the roof off your home. The sound is without doubt one of the crispest I’ve personally heard and the instrument separation is excellent.

A single Philips Fidelio FS1 speaker prices a hefty €349 and is already obtainable at a couple of small retailers throughout Europe. We anticipate it to indicate up at Amazon within the EU in some unspecified time in the future. Sadly, we don’t know when or if it’ll come to the US.