Building your audio setup can quickly get complicated in the office, especially with the majority of monitors not featuring built-in speakers. For those that don't want to have to reach for the headset every time sound comes into play, soundbars like the BlueAnt Soundblade answer the call.
This soundbar is designed to occupy the space below your monitor, which is typically eaten up by your monitor stand regardless. To this end, BlueAnt has designed a very attractive soundbar with considerably more fun color options than I expected. There's a lot to love about this soundbar (especially if you need something to fill, well, a whole house with noise), but its pricing underscores the handful of weaknesses it has a little too much.
If you're in the market for a soundbar or speaker setup on the desk, the BlueAnt Soundblade could be the perfect solution. You can skip the preamble and go straight to checking out the BlueAnt Soundblade for $199.99 at Best Buy, or keep reading to see why I'd personally recommend waiting for the deals I've already seen for this soundbar.
BlueAnt Soundblade review: Pricing and specifications
Pricing highlights
- The BlueAnt Soundblade Under-Monitor Soundbar retails for $199.99, and you can choose from five different colors.
- Considering the audio experience of this soundbar, though, that price point feels a little steep.
- The BlueAnt Soundblade has been seen to go on sale for as little as $150, though, and that point feels like a much better purchase.
• Price: $199.99 at Best Buy | Amazon
• Speakers: 2.1 channel surround w/ 1x 80mm Neodymium subwoofer, 2x dual voice coil Neodymium magnet drivers
• Connectivity: Wired via USB Type-C (PC, Mac, console, mobile) & 3.5mm audio jack, wireless via Bluetooth 5.3
• Dimensions: 584 x 218 x 54mm (23 x 8.58 x 2.13in)
• Weight: 1.7kg (3.75lbs)
• Other features: Plug-and-play functionality, built-in touch controls, included remote control, 3 audio EQs
The BlueAnt Soundblade Under-Monitor Soundbar is positioning itself as a more premium product in the space, retailing for $199.99 at Best Buy where you can find other decent soundbars for less than $100. BlueAnt is justifying this pricing largely based on the Soundblade's design, which admittedly does stand out in the sea of black bars we're accustomed to.
It does help that you can get the BlueAnt Soundblade in five different colors, including fun options like blue, green, and pink, for $199.99 at Amazon. BlueAnt sadly sent me the tried-and-true grey, but it's nice to see a company embrace "fun" in an era where everything seems to be black, grey, or white.
In the box, you'll find the BlueAnt Soundblade Under-Monitor Soundbar, an included remote control with 2x AAA batteries, a USB Type-C to Type-C cable, a USB Type-C to Type-A cable, and a 3.5mm audio cable. You'll also find eight extenders for the Soundblade's rubber feet, which elevate the soundbar more for taller monitor stands or legs. The BlueAnt Soundblade is also covered by a 1-year full warranty with a 7-day resolution guarantee.
BlueAnt Soundblade review: The good
The pros highlights
- The BlueAnt Soundblade does have a sleek and quality design, and I love that there are multiple color options.
- This soundbar is dead simple to set up, too, with various connectivity options, integrated touch controls, and an included remote.
- The Soundblade also offers a solid audio experience with good low end and an absurdly high max volume.
The BlueAnt Soundblade clearly stands out from the get-go thanks to its iconic design, and I have to admit this is one of the more attractive soundbars I've seen. All of the speaker components are tastefully hidden underneath a swooping plastic top with a brushed finish, giving the soundbar a much sleeker look than your average black bar (I would've love to have seen some of the more colorful options in person). The construction feels quality, too, with sturdy plastic, snug ports, and quality fabric covering the forward-facing speakers.
On the right side you'll find a handful of touch controls for power and volume, which work but can be finicky. I suppose form won over function in this case, since capacitive buttons are undoubtedly sleeker than the physical alternative. All your connecting ports are aligned on the back of the soundbar, and it's obvious what goes where. Finally, the remote control included in the box (with batteries) also feels soundly constructed with a simple, easy-to-use layout and simple controls.
It's with this remote that you'll change audio inputs and EQs, but you also get volume and track controls, too. It all works great and — most importantly — works immediately. There's no need to install drivers or additional software; the moment you plug in the BlueAnt Soundblade and turn it on, it just works. The same goes for Bluetooth with your mobile devices, too. The Soundblade is always ready for me the moment I turn my computer on, and I've never had to wait for it to connect to my phone when I needed it to.
You won't find any digital voice assistants like Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa here, though, and there are no mics anyways. This is just meant to be a soundbar, and it does accomplish that job. The dual drivers and internal subwoofer inside the Soundblade provide warm sound with deep low end bass, and it sounds great for video conferences, media consumption like movie, and even cinematic games. You have three different EQs on the remote (Game, Music, and Movie) and they do change the audio profile to a noticeable degree, but I tended to leave it on the more neutral "Music" profile.
By far, the most impressive part of the BlueAnt Soundblade Under-Monitor Soundbar is just how loud it gets. Keeping the soundbar at 10/100 is more than comfortable when I'm sitting on my desk, and at max volume the Soundblade easily fills my entire two-bedroom apartment with noise. I'll get into the downside of this ear-shattering volume in the next section, but those who are deliberately looking for an incredibly boisterous soundbar will meet their match in the BlueAnt Soundblade.
BlueAnt Soundblade review: The bad
The cons highlights
- The Soundblade's premium design also comes with some downsides, including its extra deep shape.
- This soundbar also doesn't perform the best when it comes to music, quickly becoming muddied and losing separation (especially at higher volumes).
- These compromises wouldn't be so bad, if you weren't also paying $200 for a 2.1-channel soundbar.
The BlueAnt Soundblade is indeed an "under-monitor soundbar" in that it's designed to comfortably sit on your monitor stand, space that's already occupied. It's immediately much better than most normal soundbars that demand a completely flat, long surface to rest on because of that design, but there are some downsides, too. Well, one, actually.
Where most soundbars are long and narrow, the wide Soundblade squats on your desk. Reclaiming the space your monitor stand claims doesn't mean much if your soundbar claims all of it and more, and the Soundblade does indeed. I actually keep the Soundblade off to the left of my monitor, just so my keyboard (and its wrist rest) would have a little room to breathe. BlueAnt could've done with making this soundbar a little longer and a little narrower.
Another positive with this design? The rubber feet on the bottom. By default, they give you enough leeway to set the Soundblade on top of a flat monitor stand, but if you need more headroom you can elevate the Soundblade with included extenders. That being said... the extendable rubber feet feel like they were a stroke of genius during the design process, but the execution feels more like an afterthought.
I was pleasantly surprised to find them in the box and, indeed, the BlueAnt Soundblade wouldn't work nearly as well with my setup without them. However, they're all too easy to knock loose and don't feel sturdy in the slightest. They're simply rubber, and installing them gives the Soundblade a concerning amount of lateral movement. On the other hand, it gives the subwoofer a little more room to spread those low end notes out, which sounds lovely.
Speaking of sound quality, that's also an area where the BlueAnt Soundblade leans too far in one direction. Sure, this soundbar can get ridiculously loud (louder than I'll ever need), but the cost of that is a muddier audio profile that stands out most with music. It's not bad, but the Soundblade clearly struggles to maintain clarity and separate with complex music, and it only gets worse as the volume increases. I would happily trade some of that max volume for clearer sound, but you're not even given a way to tweak the Soundblade's EQ yourself to try and find a good middle ground.
That all brings me to my final point. The BlueAnt Soundblade retails for $200, which is easily among the more expensive 2.1-channel soundbars, firmly in the territory of 4.1-channel soundbars, and beginning to intrude on the dominion of the most affordable 5.1-channel soundbars. A unique design and a solid foundation of basic features isn't quite enough to justify that price tag when you can get more dynamic or outright better sounding speaker setups for the same price.
BlueAnt Soundblade review: Final thoughts
You should buy this if ...
✅A soundbar perfectly designed to slot under your monitor is what you've been looking for
This design isn't perfect and the Soundblade can still take up a lot of space, but its design is nonetheless rather unique and can be the perfect missing piece for a lot of desk setups dealing with a space-eating monitor stand or arm mount.
✅Volume matters more than pure audio quality
The Soundblade sounds quite good as far as the average 2.1ch soundbar is concerned, but its sheer ability to fill any available space with absurd amounts of noise is hands-down this soundbar's defining characteristic. If you're willing to sacrifice a little audio quality for that benefit, this is the way.
You should not buy this if ...
❌You listen to a lot of music at louder volumes
I overall enjoy how the Soundblade sounds, especially with its surprisingly present low end and warm tones, but I can't overlook that this soundbar struggles the most with complex music tracks. If you plan to primarily listen to music (especially at higher volumes) you can find better-sounding speaker setups for around the same price.
The BlueAnt Soundblade Under-Monitor Soundbar is a fascinating product that I can easily see slotting right into a lot of people's office or gaming setups, and it's clear this was not a product hastily thrown together to make a quick buck. It's a quality soundbar with great fundamentals and good (sometimes great) audio quality for a wide variety of content and tasks. On top of that, it's unbelievably easy to set up and just as simple to control, too.
If you highly value a loud sound system, then that's just the icing on the cake. I doubt I will ever use the Soundblade at max volume beyond the testing I did for this review, especially since I don't believe my neighbors would at all appreciate the ruckus. There are just enough compromises here to really make that $200 price point stand out, though.
The Soundblade still manages to take up a lot of valuable desk space because of how much deeper it is than your average soundbar, and the brilliant extendable feet feel less brilliant when they keep falling off. At this price, I also expect great audio quality across the board, and the Soundblade both struggles most with complex music and struggles more as the volume increases. When you can find solid soundbars with more speakers and audio options at this price, the Soundblade looks a little less appealing despite its unique design.
Don't get me wrong, I still really like this soundbar overall, and it'll keep its home on my desk until something undeniably better comes along. I also know that you can regularly get the BlueAnt Soundblade for $149.99 at Amazon, which feels like the perfect price for this monitor. If it's on sale, I absolutely recommend it.
Especially when it's discounted, the BlueAnt Soundblade is a premium soundbar and a worthwhile investment for those looking to upgrade their audio and cover that unsightly monitor stand. It's not perfect in either design or the audio experience, but the ease-of-use and great fundamentals still make this a soundbar worth considering.
