'This Majority Sierra Plus soundbar transformed my budget TV – but there was one major flaw'

Living in the so-called Golden Age of TV, many of us have transformed our living rooms into our own home cinema with high-spec smart TVs and audio devices. But the crowded market can be tricky to navigate as countless tech brands fight for our custom.

One such brand is Majority, which offers a range of affordable audio gadgets like soundbars and subwoofers. I was lucky enough to receive a to try out, which is available for £199.95 from Amazon where it’s racked up hundreds of positive reviews.

The 2.1.2 Dolby Atmos soundbar is touted as delivering 3D surround sound with cinematic audio, so as someone who’s never watched a TV with a soundbar, I was excited to give it a go. Unboxing the bundle, my first thoughts were that the soundbar and subwoofer looked like a premium product; it’s stylish, robust and not too big, making it ideal to use in both large and smaller spaces.

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I was planning to spend the night at my parent's house after I received , so I thought what better time to try it out than during family film night? They have a decent that’s somewhere in the mid to high-end range – at least it was when they bought it around five years ago.

Getting it up and running wasn’t overly complicated once we figured out what we were doing, though it did take some tinkering. The instructions were relatively clear though I feel it would be easier for the tech-savvy or someone more versed in the world of soundbars.

However, the first road test wasn’t what I’d hoped. I feel like switching from the TV’s internal speakers to a soundbar can take some getting used to as it is a noticeably different sound, but even with this in mind and with much tweaking of settings and preset sound modes, we just couldn’t land on a setting we felt was superior to the TV.

Using the Sierra Plus Soundbar with a Hisense TV

The TV’s speakers just felt more immersive and rounded, whereas the audio from the soundbar felt thin. With that in mind, I thought I’d take it home to try on my own which I picked up around the £250 price range.

Admittedly, it’s not the most amazing smart TV on the market – it’s not bad either, just a great budget-friendly option. Aesthetically, the soundbar looks great and is the exact width of my TV, so they pair well together on that front, with the soundbar looking like an extension of the screen.

Setting it up also seemed easier than with the Samsung: simply switch it to Bluetooth mode using the button on the soundbar then find the device on the TV’s speaker settings. It was up and running in minutes, with the subwoofer not far behind thanks to its single pairing button.

It can also be connected to the TV with an HDMI cable, but to my surprise, there wasn’t one included, so you either need a spare cable or have to buy one separately. It also comes with an AUX cable that can be connected to a tablet or smartphone, so there are a few options available.

I wasn’t sure where to start to really give a run for its money, but as England were playing, I thought that would be the perfect way to try it out. The soundbar features several different preset modes: Music, Movie, News and 3D.

I thought it would be good to have a sport mode, but without that option I opted for Movie. I’ve always struggled with the sound from my Hisense; quite often I find the quiet bits are too quiet and the loud bits are too loud, so I regularly have to turn up the volume when people are talking then get a shock if there’s loud music or an explosion, for example.

The solved this. Everything was at just the right level, with the crowd noise, the commentary and everything in between sounding rich and more direct compared to the TV’s built-in speakers.

I didn’t feel much benefit from the subwoofer during the football, it just seemed to emit a low, bassy rumble, as if the wind in the stadium was blowing directly through the speaker. But the soundbar delivered a richer sound perfect for any sporting event.

Music mode beat my TV's speakers

As a big music lover, I was also keen to give the Music mode a try and for me, this was the best-sounding mode I used and was far superior to the TV’s speakers. I’ve been on a Black Sabbath hype lately so thought I’d see how they sounded with the new setup.

This is where the in particular really came into its own. The bass was full and rounded without overpowering the other instruments and the direction of the sound made it feel like I was watching the gig in person.

The sound from each instrument sounded as if it was coming from where each band member was standing on stage and Ozzy’s vocals cut through just as you’d expect them to. I also loved how the soundbar seemed to direct the sound based on where it was coming from on screen.

I was particularly impressed by the surround sound; even while watching regular TV, if someone was talking off camera, the soundbar made it seem like they were beside the TV or elsewhere in the room, which made it feel very immersive and not dissimilar to watching in the cinema. However, I did find one major flaw with the soundbar which put a damper on the whole experience.

The sound and picture were out of sync by at least a second. While that may not sound like much, it makes a big difference in viewing and makes most things all but unwatchable.

After flipping through the instruction manual and doing some googling, I found a fix to adjust the ‘lip sync’ settings on my TV. The problem was, that my TV wouldn’t allow me to do this when connected to a Bluetooth speaker, meaning there was seemingly nothing I could do to fix the problem.

Other users have reported switching to HDMI or adjusting the lip sync settings on their , but sadly these just weren’t an option for me. If you’re only using the soundbar to listen to music or watching TV in the background, then out-of-sync audio wouldn’t be a problem.

It all depends on your TV

But to watch TV or movies, synchronised audio and video is essential. In summary, the is a great entry point into the soundbar world at an affordable price, though it may not be for everyone depending on the quality of TV it’s being used with.

If you have a mid to high-end TV, you may want to consider upgrading to a more premium soundbar to feel the full effect. If you’re using it with a cheaper model – like my Hisense – then it should really do the trick, so long as you connect it with an HDMI cable or own a TV with more flexible audio settings.

There are plenty of alternatives on the market from some big name brands, like this , which has seen a £121 price drop in the Debenhams sale. It’s on offer at £178.99 and also comes with a free mystery tech gift worth £15.

While I haven’t had the chance to try it out, it’s received no negative reviews from customers, currently boasting 44 four and five-star reviews. Like the Majority device, the LG soundbar offers 2.1 channel surround sound, while the wireless subwoofer handles the bass frequencies.

The LG also boasts AI Sound Pro that automatically adjusts and optimises the sound depending on what’s on screen, as well as preset modes like Cinematic and Gaming.