Haha yeah, “partner approval” is another part that makes it more complicated than it already is, but also why soundbars gained a lot of traction these last few years.

I always like Fidelio line for its product designs, not limited to soundbars. In general I find Fidelio B5 has received positive reviews, but again the concept of having detachable self-powered rear speakers is a rather new concept and probably still have room for improvements. It took Yamaha almost 10 years to constantly improve the YSP line (its first soundbar YSP-1 was released back in 2005, yep they were the pioneer) before soundbars become a mainstream product and acceptable alternative for HTiB. Back to Fidelio B5, I think the weak link is the wireless surround speakers. Since they run on internal batteries when detached, my guess is they are designed to be more conservative with power needed to drive the sound. Just a theory though as I have not tested them myself. But a “weak” surround sound is better than not having one at all.

Don’t hesitate to ask other questions or discuss other things. I’m no expert, but will try to give an objective view if I were in your situation.

Thanks Michael!

I went through the HTiB systems and although I’m pretty certain this would definitely do the job, I’m still facing the “partner-approved” situation because of the 2.1 needing to be wired anyway…

So one last question if I may: I also checked the Fidelio B5 which sounds like an excellent option for asymetrical room, providing 4.1 solution while also giving you as bonus separate bluetooth speakers you can drag along in your flat (kitchen/bathroom). But the reviews are really diverse here on this soundbar…Do you have any views on this ?
Thanks, and again thanks!

Hi Nicolas – The soundbar has been set in two different rooms as I moved to another house last year. In the first one (when I wrote the review), it was placed close to a window on its right with lots of space on its left. Right now it is more centered but no wall on the left is only halfway so I cannot calibrate the left rear channel to bounce perfectly. These conditions are when I can really appreciate the soundbeam technology so you can play around with the degree of each channel go get as closely as possible to a real surround sound.

Unless you have a fully closed symmetrical room, I doubt you will ever get the best result though. However in my case it has worked better than having a “regular” soundbar which you can barely feel the surround effects. So please do not get your expectations to high and think it could replace a 5 or 7 speakers setup. If you could balance the values of minimalism and simplicity over perfectionism, you would be pretty satisfied with YSP-2500.

Last word of advice. If you come from having a complete 5.1/7.1 speakers setup but planning to make your room less cluttered without worrying about too much degradation with your home theater experience, you might want to look into wireless and compact HTiB systems like Philips Fidelio E5. Similar concept was introduced in CES 2016 to a range of soundbars and home theater systems by mainstream brands, although these products might not be released until later this year.