Soundbar for TVs has become quite a competitive market in recent years. It’s not that easy to be a distinct player especially in the budget segment. GOVO recently launched its Dolby Atmos-powered GoSurround 975 soundbar at Rs 12,999 to be your multimedia companion at home. I have been using it for a few weeks, and here’s how the experience has been:
The GoSurround 975 has a 2.1.2 audio system with a 6.5-inch sub-woofer included. The soundbar has two 2.25-inch upward firing speakers and as many 2.95-inch downward speakers. The soundbar has a matte finish to it and seems to have a decent plastic build for the price tag with no obvious loose ends or bends to report. The back of the soundbar houses all the ports – HDMI, 3.5mm audio jack, optical input, subwoofer input and power.
The remote control is smaller than a TV (similar in size to Chromecast with Google TV) and doesn’t feel premium in any way. Having said that, it does its job. The front has LED display to show you the current input source or to indicate power status (Red or White lights). You also have some rubberised control buttons on the right side of the soundbar to change input source, adjust volume and switch power on or off.
Connectivity-wise, the soundbar supports HDMI ARC, Bluetooth 5.3, as well as wired – both optical and 3.5 aux. Total output comes out to be around 400watts for the speaker system. You get a 3.5mm aux cable in the box, too.
When it comes to audio quality, the GoSurround 975 didn’t disappoint when used over HDMI connected to a smart TV for watching movies, TV shows or live sports. The soundbar is big on bass and delivers enough on the minds to high mids for handling your movies. You can choose between three audio modes – Movies, News and Music. These are loud and can be used to fill a 15x15 room without much sacrifice on the output quality for your music needs. Bass can be a little too much for music playback and there you can adjust from settings using the remote control.
The GoSurround 975 delivered clear dialogues and background noises in TV shows, which is something a lot of budget soundbars tend to struggle with. When it comes to handling Dolby Atmos, I found the soundbar to be just decent at best, which is pretty much expected at the price range. It can give a virtual Atmos effect if your source has Dolby Atmos to fill in your room (not a large hall) for movies, but don’t expect the experience to be anywhere like a high-end setup when it comes to Dolby Atmos.
If you’re looking to upgrade your sound setup at home to go with your TV around 12k, the GOVO GoSurround 975 is a worthy option. It’s high on connectivity options, sounds bassy and loud and delivers clear dialogues that your TV might not always do.
