Customer Ratings & Reviews

Returned the soundbar since we couldn't get it to work like we hoped and found the Definitive Technology people to be less than helpful

Purchased a few higher end soundbar/sub. Purchased this on sale from BB ($350). No way I was paying $900-$1200. No value for me at that price. At $350 I couldn’t be happier with the sound. Currently have an AudioEngine BT1 with aptX hooked up through the 3.5mm jack. This allows high end Bluetooth Transfer providing very satisfying soundstage from a Bar. I knocked a star off because the HDMI is not ARC compliant. Not a deal breaker but at that MSRP Def Tech needed to provide that. Newer version was due in Feb 2019 but was pushed to May 2019. According to Def Tech website The newer version will have BT and HDMI ARC. PlayFi will not supported.

just bought this system because of product demonstration at the store.they sounded perfect.set up was fairly easy but beware the instructions included in the box only show you how to hook up the wires and set up the wireless end of the unit,i just wanted to hook it up to the tv/ blueray to start and there was not a word about doing this but figured it out in less then 5 minutes.there are no hdmi or optical cables included,do not listen to the sales associate if he tells you that all the cables are included like i did or you will be making another trip to the store to buy them.don`t expect the sound fron your local cable provider to sound like the demo in store,it will not but when you play dvd or especially bluerays you will see the difference.the sound bar is a touch tall and i had to lift my samsung 65 inch curve about 2 inches to make sure it did not block the bottom of the screen or the infared sensor.overall i`m happy with the setup and only gave it 4 stars due to having it setup for only 2 days and have not had a real chance to put it through a real test

The sound quality is ok but not worthy of the price it sounds good but for the price you should go bose

Sound cuts out constantly and sub stopped working after a month.

It did not work as well as anticipated, tried to use for both TV and Music

Subwoofer makes noises when not playing just when listening news...

I have to say that the sound from this setup is amazing for what it is. I replaced a receiver/ 3.1 speaker setup with this bar to save even more space in my small room. Even though this system is less powerful, smaller in size, and the speakers are closer together - it actually sounds better. The Good: My main reason for have a sound system is because I have trouble understanding what people are saying over regular TV speakers. Must be all those years at loud dance clubs without hearing protection. This system does a fantastic job of separating the channels of audio so I can understand conversations even with a lot of background sound effects and action. This system is about the best I've ever seen and simulating a 5.1 speaker setup as well. The subwoofer is absolutely shocking. It's so small but somehow fills my room much better than the Klipche 12" wired sub it's replacing. The setup of the sub was a non-event. I plugged it in and the speaker found it without me having to do anything at all. There is a sub sync option in the setup screen, but it was not needed. This is the first wireless sub I've ever owned and I can't imagine I'd ever go back. The sound quality far exceeded my expectation even after I heard the system in the store. The remote learning feature is a great touch, but doesn't work by default. You have to start by selecting the option "Clear all" before teaching it your remote. After 5-10 attempts I figured this out and the system learned my standard Verzion Fios remote volume and power buttons. The sound processing modes (there's only two) for movie and music do a really good job, but can seem over processed when there is just dialog going on. For action movies it sounds amazing in Movie Mode with the effect turned down about 20%. I watched the new Star Wars BluRay to test things out and was blown away. It was really amazing. The Bad: The software interface of this speaker is probably the worst I've ever seen. I had a receiver in the late 90's by Sony that had much better on-screen options and a GUI that actually worked great. The interface here is not only ugly, it provides for virtually no customization. There are only a few options here and only one of them have anything to do with sound quality. That option lets turn up or down the amount of processing the system does in Movie or Music Mode. The only other control you have over the sound setup comes from the remote where you can increase or decrease the CENTER channel and BASS. There is no other sound mixing that can be done. I find that the system really misses out on some of the mid-highs, but there's no way to adjust that. There is also no built-in source switching that would allow the system to automatically switch back to the HDMI port with my cable box once my BluRay player is not turned on. I just find that annoying. You turn on the system the following day after watching a movie and there's nothing on the screen and no explanation that it's on a source that's not present. The UGLY: The speaker is supposedly able to stream music. This process is done by either selecting the WIFI sync option in the useless menu system, or by pressing the dedicated button on top of the speaker. While you're able to connect this speaker to WIFI much like you do a Google Chromecast using their dedicated app on your phone, the system is otherwise useless. When you open the App the system syncs and then turns off the video feed to your TV. So it's not possible to have video in the background if you're listening to music. Luckily that's not a problem because the system is not compatible with the vast majority of music. **APPLE MUSIC: I like many many many people use Apple Music as my primary outlet. I have the songs downloaded and stored on my phone so that I can hear them when not online. The speaker system is able to find my library of music in their application but then tells me that the format is not supported. What's crazy is the first time you set it up and go to play a song it will play 1 song. Then all the songs are labeled as not supported. That's outrageous. The fact that a $1300 speaker being released in 2016 is unable to stream music from Apple Music is just unacceptable. This could easily be fixed with a software update but there is not currently one available. The PLAY-FI standard works with Pandora, but then occasionally cuts out for no reason and then requires you to turn off the speaker and turn it back on to sync things back up. Their support page claims this is a router issue, but I have the worlds best $300 router sitting 5 feet from the speaker. Definitive Technology could easily make this a world-class system by updating their software, but their refusal to do so is the reason I can not recommend the W Studio speaker system to anyone else. If they add more control to the sound output and enable Apple Music compatibility I would be willing to update my review. Otherwise, I would suggest looking at their competitors that are not using the streaming standard PLAY-FI. It's not at all ready for primetime.

the remote is super fragile and will break in 75 parts if dropped, destroying it beyond repair. There is NO WAY to get a replacement remote and universal remotes dont control the various features the factory remote does (mid, sub, etc). This make a very expensive good sounding soundbar very useless without a remote replacement.

I have a very expensive home theater suround sytem and this sound bar and sub-woofer has equally good sound. Best investment I ever made.

Pros: Looks good, sounds great (for a soundbar). Cons: Setup is a bear, documentation poor, some features don't work I bought this mainly for TV and movie viewing. For that job, this soundbar gives very good results. If that is your primary need, you'll probably be happy with this product. However, setup is a nightmare. It took 3 hours to get play-fi setup and I'm not a networking dummy. Play-fi is in its infancy, given the difficulties I'm not sure it will survive. The online manual is plain wrong in some spots. They took the manual for a different product and upgraded a few pages. I know this because they didn't even "search and replace" the name of the other product in the manual. The DefTech remote is small and has a cheap feel. No problem, I'll use my Time Warner remote with it's DefTech code, but that didn't work. No problem, the soundbar menu has an option to learn IR codes for Power, VolUp, VolDn, etc. That feature did not work. Customer support by email was friendly, but concluded it must be a hardware problem. For $1200+, I felt I deserved a soundbar where all features worked, so I swapped it out at best buy. The new bar was no better and yes, play-fi again took 3 hours to setup. In summary, expect to be frustrated on day one, but happy with the sound quality thereafter.

Bought this for my living room to go with my Samsung 75 4K tv and I must say that it is unbelievable. Very easy to attach to my TV and the sound is simply incredible. Honestly I don't know how you can get any better sound from a bar!! If it's within your price range BUY it... Streaming Spotify from my IPad was the icing on the cake.

Sound is amazing. Music plays great and bass is very deep from the sub. One thing I don't like is the way it mounts to the wall. I don't like to just hang a $1000 soundbar on two screws that didnt come with unit. Also I have issues when turning on my TV, i need to always change the source on the television to "TV" then back to RVU to get the sound to work.

I picked this soundbar up on the deal of the day for 399.99 and knowing it sells for 1300.00. Took a couple of days to get, well packed and in great shape despite UPS trying to destroy the box. Set up was a breeze and straight forward. Doesn't come with an optical cable so if you're not using HDMI to connect you'll need to buy one. The sound is fantastic, I own Martin Logan's and some very high end audio so I was looking for a bar that sounds great for both music and movies and this is it. Bass is very balanced and the remote has good adjustments. I have read a lot about the App being bad, I haven't tried it yet and my never because it is hooked to my Sony 900e and is only used for TV and Amazon music and it works get. Now at 499.00 it is still an incredible deal. I'd buy another if I needed one.

I needed a soundbar with the ability to adjust the center channel as voices "die" in our 19x24 family room with vaulted ceiling and open back to a large kitchen. Aesthetics and cabinet ventilation prevents a true surround sound in the room. With separate volume for center and sub (on remote), this soundbar provides the projection needed to clearly hear programs and movies. While the unit lacks the surround sound imagery other bars, it makes up for in clarity of voices and sounds. The PlayFi app is adequate. Note, this bar does not support Audio Return Channel (ARC) so you will need to feed sources into the soundbar and the soundbar to the TV or use the digital audio out from the TV to the soundbar. With the digital audio, you lose the 5.1 channel surround, on screen menu and refined volume control. Note #2, I combined this soundbar and Sony TV with a Harmony Ultimate Home remote to handle the switching with DirecTV, DVD & Roku equipment going into the soundbar and the soundbar connected to the TV.

I was asked by a friend to find her a good sounding soundbar. She wanted Sonos and I wasn't sold on the sound quality of it. I did research and and decided that the older Definitive Technology Solo soundbar sounded great, but was willing to wait for the never version that supports the Play Fi standard. Glad I waited. You give up Bluetooth, but gain real uncompressed (for the most part) streaming audio in an easy to configure package that looks great and sounds better. The small sub is surprisingly punchy! Very happy overall. Easy install as well. Two HDMI connections and power and that is really it. Very little to configure. It will never be a true surround sound system but makes the audio from even old TV shows sound more modern and clear. If you are still listening to audio from your flat screen TV speakers, you should try a soundbar. I think this one was a great choice.

But what I got was not only an excellent sounding sound bar but a system that can replace my existing stereo system. The sound is simply amazing. It was easy to set up and it works with many online music services. So not only did I get an impressive sound bar I now have a replacement for my stereo. It's play-fi compatible so I can add any compatible speaker in any room. The only thing I noticed (and it might just be me. My hearing isn't what it used to be) is the center speaker sounds a bit muffled and not as crisp as I'd like but aside from that it's sound is truly amazing, playing both music and watching movies. This thing will rattle the walls if you turn up the bass.

You can only add more speakers when listening to audio from your app. You cannot create a true 5.1 (cannot add more speakers) other than just playbar and subwoofer when connected to your TV. I would think the Def Tech would have taken that account to outdo their competitors such as Sonos. The sound is definitely very good. Heavy on the bass.

I am a Def Tech Fan and really wanted this to work. I'll start with the good. The sounds are phenomenal, clear, concise, nice bass, the quality of sound is so wonderful, but it ends there. First off, I can't get it to connect to my TV through HDMI, so I cannot get to the setup screen. I just bought a Samsung 55"UHD Curved, 8 series TV. I hooked up the HDMI, the 1 connect detected the connection, but could not hook up to the source. I then tried to set it up manually, but all of the choices are preset to Sony, Magnavox, Yamaha, etc., so there was no way to manually set it to Def Tech. I just plugged it in using the digital optical, but that does not allow me to see the screen setup. I predominantly use it for watching movies on TV, and I have to have it turned up nearly all the way in order to hear the characters speak when they are talking in low tones. If I was using it for my upstairs I would consider keeping it, but it is replacing a 5.1 system in the basement, but I had a house fire and was not wanting to have to replace speakers everywhere, just wanted great sound downstairs. Unfortunately, this isn't going to work and I am taking it back. My $200 sound bar for my TV upstairs is louder and more user friendly. The $200 sound bar allows me to see the mode right on the bar itself, so you know what mode it's in, and it has blue tooth, whereas this bar does not. The sound output is really disappointing, especially at this price point. I would recommend to a friend depending on the needs of the individual, if they wanted good sound, but not much volume, absolutely, and when I mean not much volume, I mean, not much volume, not from the TV anyway.

Listen folks....I wouldnt have paid for this at its full retail price but at the clearance it is well worth it. Its worth the full retail price of 1300....I just wasnt going to pay that lol. There isnt a signle 5.1 soundbar with wireless sub better than this Magnolia setup. Great for movies, Sports, and Music. Separate controls to increase voice as well. Trust me.....If you want great but dont want to spend a ton...This is it....Period