Last Updated on July 5, 2023
This post is an open thread and contains affiliate links.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Read our full review of this sound bar here.
When I bought my home years ago, I starting thinking about upgrading my TV situation. At that time I was still toiling with a small tube TV, and while that was adequate for my little apartment, it was not up to par for my larger house living room. I eventually purchased my first HDTV.
The sound that came out of that HDTV was … well, adequate. It was fine for watching the news in the morning. But for watching a movie or big sporting event, it felt uninspired. That would eventually get me to searching for a sound solution that could match the screen.
The problem with sound solutions? They’re not necessarily cheap. Putting together set of quality speakers can run the tab up quickly, to say nothing of the receiver necessary to power them. In addition, you’ve got to find proper spaces for everything, arrange it all, power everything, and connect it all together. A good home theater setup can be well worth it, but there is labor involved to get there.
One popular intermediate option is a sound bar. A sound bar typically connects directly to the TV, allowing for easy setup, and many of them have versatile placement options, including wall mounting.
Most people tend to gravitate toward big brands when shopping for sound bars. But if you’re looking for a budget option, those are out there, too … including one from Aldi.
What We Know:
The Medion Sound Bar (Product Code: 708014) is an Aldi Find. That means it’s only in stores for a limited time. Stores will get a single shipment, and once they’re sold out, there won’t be any more until they come back, whenever that might be. If you can’t find any in your store, you’re out of luck and can’t order one online.
Medion is an Aldi-exclusive brand. Unlike many Aldi brands, though, it’s actually a company: Medion is a German subsidiary of Chinese tech giant Lenovo. Medion makes a number of tech products for Aldi, both in the United States and in other countries.
At the time of this post, this sound bar costs $49.99. That’s on the low end of prices for a sound bar, and it’s a fraction of the cost of your big name bars, which can run $150 or more.
Based on the photos Aldi has provided on its site, the sound bar appears to have connections for RCA, 3.5 mm, and optical. There is no mention of Bluetooth, and no indication that it supports HDMI.
What We Don’t Know:
In addition to the uncertainty over Bluetooth and HDMI (which I assume is not supported), we don’t know how easily this particular sound bar sets up, how rich the sound is, or how long it lasts. We’ve created this open thread for users to share their experiences.
Do you have experience with this sound bar? Let us know about it in the comments.
Just bought this and hooked it up less than an hour ago.
It does support HDMI and yes, there is Bluetooth. Idk much about soundbars I just know my Phillips Roku 65” sounded like poo and now with the built in subwoofer I can feel blown tf away with the vol at 15 (instead of 34) set up was RIDICULOUSLY easy, wall
mount was a breeze. I opted for optical since my HDMI slots are spoken for with with several other devices. I’m not super techie, but I’m overjoyed with my $50 purchase!
Thanks! When I saw your review I got one for our home and it’s amazing for $50. Greatly improved the sound for our very old television set. Provides a surround sound experience.
I ran and picked one up for my LG with BT (since 4.3 star, just on Ruth’s review).. They will probably be on clearance next week, they had a ton. BUT, $50 later, wife is very happy.
3 EQ modes you can change through with EQ button (little E1-E3 displays on the middle of the bar). I did E1 for TV, the way she likes (all smiles). E2 I will do heavy bass and E3 will be heavy treble.
Has optical, HDMI, RCA, DIN and Bluetooth. Our TV had BT so NO DARN wires, just AC power. We put it behind the couch, getting old so we like it behind us.
That’s it. Remember, it for TV watching, not BIG parties, though we did not turn it all the way up to see how loud. LOL.
I just bought it from Aldi store north east state of georgia:
the medion soundbar 15653 has two year Aldi warranty, and only limited parts warranty for the first 6 month.
it has hdmi interface, optical audio-in (Toslink) cable included, analog audio jacks (cable included), Line-in audio port with audio cable included, remote controller + 2x AAA batteies included.
I just tested the soundbar and the wife said but another one for downstairs. considering the price of 50$ USD it is an excellent product.
I just got this on clearance and it sounds great! Not the fanciest and best soundbar, but amazing for the price! Very noticeable improvement over sound quality over those little TV speakers. I connected via optical and works perfectly. LOVE the bluetooth feature, the BT paired quick and EZ with my phone for playing music, etc. Definitely recommend this soundbar!
Bought one of these on clearance last week for 25% off. My father wanted a soundbar to oomph up the sound on his Vizio TV but really didn’t want to spend a lot of money because he doesn’t need “fancy” audio. Before I hooked it up I looked online and found your review, so I just opted to use the RCA cable and it works great. The sound is so much improved, much fuller since we can now hear the bass. The equalizer options are limited as noted in another comment, but if you need a lot of choices in your audio settings you wouldn’t be buying a soundbar from Aldi in the first place.
My local Aldi had them on clearance for $12.50 each! That’s less than the optical cable alone would cost. I bought all the rest they had (4). For general use, you can’t beat that deal. The sound quality is decent and as other mentioned, it is very easy to use. I use them with my phone, ipad, and televisions.
Loved this soundbar until a speaker started crackling with music that has a lot of bass. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted.