Honeywell Trueno U7000 Soundbar Review: Crisp Beats With Deep Bass To Bring Out The Party Animal In You

The Honeywell-branded soundbars bring a feature-loaded specs sheet at a competitive price. Plus, with the launch of the flagship Trueno U7000, the company aims to offer the premium 500W Dolby Audio experience in the sub-Rs 15,000 price range. The manufacturer promises unparalleled surround sound and enhanced crystal-clear output.

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But do these claims stand tall in real life? Secure Connection shipped us the Honeywell Trueno U7000 for review to find out. The device comes wrapped in two box packages for added safety during transit. With all the packaging film and tape out of the day, let's talk about the design.

Honeywell Truneno U7000. (Image:Vikas Yadav/JE)

Design and Build:

The Trueno U7000 soundbar offers a black glossy finish and a mesh grille on the front with Honeywell and 'Dolby Audio' branding. The red ambient light does enhance the look of the unit in dark environments. An LED display with three sound drivers sits behind the mesh grille. On the right end (if operated from the front), you have touch controls that accentuate the premium feel. The soundbar appears well-built from head to toe.

Bundled in the box are two satellite speakers that follow the design statement of the main unit. These help deliver the 3D 5.1 surround sound effect. You can mount all of them to the wall if you want. In contrast to the speakers, the subwoofer offers a matte finish except for the front vent. On the inside, it has a silver grille that can restrict foreign objects from entering the unit to some extent.

Honeywell Truneno U7000 soundbar and subwoofer. (Image:Vikas Yadav/JE)

The design is similar to the popular offerings you see in the market. However, I prefer an overarching matte finish across the board to keep scratches and dust appearance at bay. Plus, I craved more solid connecting pins on the subwoofer and satellite speakers because the metallic ridges surrounding the connectors are flimsy and can get damaged if the connector is forced into the soundbar ports.

Beyond the speakers, the package bundles a remote control, an AUX cable, and a user manual, among other essential paperwork. While I'm satisfied with the remote, the quality of the AUX cable could have been improved by increasing the wire thickness or adding a braided touch. Beyond these minor niggles, the design and build gets a thumbs up from my end.

The soundbar comes with an LED display. (Image:Vikas Yadav/JE)

Sound:

Transiting to the most important segment, the 5.1 system is claimed to deliver 500W sound output. This is ensured by the three 58mm drivers on the soundbar, two satellite speakers (58mm each) and a 165.10mm subwoofer. To enhance the music experience, it ships with Dolby Audio and six equaliser modes: Pop, Rock, Jazz, Classic, Country and Standard.

Beyond the specs, the Trueno U7000 sounds pristine with the right amount of treble, bass, vocals and instrumental separation at the default preset. It delivers the bassy thump when needed without sneaking into other frequencies to hamper the experience. The unit has a fine balance between bass and treble.

The Trueno U7000 5.1 music system is claimed to deliver 500W sound output. (Image:Vikas Yadav/JE)

For moments when I craved more bass, I switched to the 'Standard' (most bass-heavy mode) and 'Pop' (adequate bass with decent instrument and vocals separation) equaliser. I enjoyed my favourite music and instrumental tracks on 'Country' (crisp and loud musical notes and voice) and 'Jazz' (shallow bass but more surround effect) presets. I rarely used the 'Rock' (richer trebles with less bass) and 'Classic' presets.

Beyond the equaliser, you can adjust the treble and bass via the dedicated buttons on the remote across five levels. The amount of customisation it offers for bass, treble and other sound frequencies via the EQ presets is plausible. It can serve a wide category of audio listeners, provided you get the numbers and settings right. While Secure Connection touts 'Dolby Audio' for an enriching surround experience, I could not find any customisation controls on the remote or soundbar.

Honeywell Truneno U7000 ships with two wired satellite speakers. (Image:Vikas Yadav/JE)

The 5.1 system offers good sound separation across a wide genre of audio content. I could notice the car chasing from one end to the other on tracks in the Le Mans sequence in Ford v Ferrari. The high tones in the musical paradise Bandish Bandits were enjoyable. Switching to Panchayat S3 was also a good experience with crisp environmental and musical sounds.

Watching Defending Jacob and Chernobyl was enjoyable with notable differences across musical frequencies from different directions. Finally, while I dared to watch The Haunting of the Hill House, I had to pause after the first episode (even with 50 per cent volume) to sleep peacefully later. The final minutes of Tumbbad and Kantara turned mesmerising with audio entering the ears from different channels in the exciting sequence.

The subwoofer performs at its peak potential in the 'Standard' EQ mode. (Image:Vikas Yadav/JE) 

To sum up, the Trueno U7000 delivers plausible sound quality for the price on top of a wide range of customisations. It gets adequately loud to bring out the party animal in you to the dance floor on special celebrations. On other days, it can entertain you with an immersive audio experience while streaming movies, listening to your favourite music, enjoying a collaborative TV session with family and more use cases.

Connectivity:

Honeywell Trueno U7000 couples wide-ranging connectivity options. This includes Bluetooth 5.3, HDMI/ARC input, digital optical port, USB input and AUX connectivity. While I had no issues with connectivity, the sound profile did vary across these connectivity ports depending on the audio configuration of the connected device.

During my usage, I experienced the best output from the headphone jack via my Dolby Audio-enabled laptop. My second preference would be optical and USB. The audio was also decent with HDMI connected to my TV. Across these devices, you can enhance the experience via the standard remote and your device's settings to some extent. Coming to the remote, it offers a wide array of buttons to control the soundbar.

Remote control for Trueno U7000 music system. (Image:Vikas Yadav/JE)

The IR remote offers functions to mute the system, control the volume and tracks, adjust the equaliser, change audio input, switch to 2.1/5.1 modes and increase/decrease bass and treble, among other notable functions. Apart from the connector pins niggle highlighted in the design segment, I had no major issues with the remote and the connectivity on the device.

Also Read: Honeywell Trueno U300 Review: Superman Of Value-For-Money Bluetooth Speakers

Honeywell Trueno 7000: Price and Should You Buy?

With the festival season upon us, if you are looking for a new soundbar-based music system in the sub-Rs 15,000 price range, the Honeywell Trueno U7000 can be a nice addition to your options list. At Rs 15,399, the Honeywell-branded music system will turn heads because of its warranty commitment and good audio experience in the 500W category at a competitive cost.

Dolby Audio badging on the Honeywell Trueno U7000. (Image:Vikas Yadav/JE)

With sound being its strong point, it can serve a wide range of listeners, from bass fans to purists, with the EQ and customisable settings. Plus, the Hong Kong-based company promises a two-year manufacturer warranty (with technician visits at home if needed during this period) for added peace of mind if you face any issues. A sustained after-sales service will be the key to the success of the Trueno product line in the long run.