Anker is a well-known brand in the mobile space: the company’s battery packs and other accessories are simple, functional, and thrifty. Anker hopes to bring that same vibe to its Soundcore sub-brand, now expanding into home theater.
The Infini series consists of two cheaper soundbars, the standard and “Mini,” both offering stereo sound at under a hundred bucks. But the Infini Pro is an interesting proposal from Anker: premium, powerful sound, with a simple setup that appeals to non-audiophiles who want better audio from their TV.
It uses a 2.1 setup with an integrated subwoofer and very few frills in terms of connections or settings but adds in Dolby’s Atmos kinda-sorta-surround sound and Bluetooth to help justify the higher $250 price tag.
And for the most part, it succeeds. Anker’s minimalist approach to design will undoubtedly be welcome by people who don’t know—or care—what ARC or optical audio cables are. The simple setup makes it easy to get good sound from more or less anything with barely any thought. This comes at the expense of flexibility and a higher cost—$250 might be more than some are willing to spend.
Keep It Simple, Soundbar
Building off the critical success of the Infini and Infini Mini, Anker keeps things simple with the Pro. At a little over three feet wide and 4.5 inches deep, the bar is bigger than many in this price range but justifies the size with the integrated subwoofer and top-firing Atmos speakers hiding behind the fabric wrapping.
There’s something notable in its absence, however: a screen. Even cheap soundbars often include a small LED for basic audio and source management, but the Infini Pro does without. Instead, it uses a short row of LEDs, opposite the hardware buttons on the top of the central unit, to indicate connection and input status.
On its own, that’s not a bad idea. Keeping the user interface to a minimum is a good call for something that’s going to be sitting in front of your TV. But while the LEDs are pleasantly obscured when you’re watching from a chair or couch, that means you’ll need to stand up to see if the input you’ve modified has any effect. It’s a surprising whiff in terms of usability.
Elsewhere in the box, you get some minimal documentation and an infrared remote, which has a simplified control setup that looks very similar to the mini remotes from Roku, Apple TV, et al. The remote is minimalism done right, with an intuitive layout that nonetheless manages to find a logical spot for every function. After a couple of days, I could control everything I needed to without relying on a backlight. Which is good, since the remote doesn’t have one. You’ll also get some small, flush brackets for mounting the soundbar to a wall.
Not Looking For a Hookup
The Infini Pro’s input options are a bit sparse, but they should get the job done for the vast majority of users. HDMI pass-through and HDMI ARC will take care of things for most TV and receiver connections—though if you have an audio receiver, I doubt you’d be looking for an all-in-one soundbar solution. Optical audio input and a standard headphone jack are there if you want to keep things even simpler. The rear panel includes what looks like a USB 3.0 port, but the manual says it’s for service only: it can’t be used for an audio connection or directly loading local music.
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Source : Anker Infini Pro Review: a Super-Simple Sound Bar That Hits the Right Notes
