Insignia F40 Series NS-32F401CA26 32"

A tiny TV with giant gaming chops and absolutely dreadful speakers. Buy it for the response time, keep it for the Fire TV convenience, and please plug in a soundbar.

The real surprise here is gaming. We're talking 92nd percentile in our database, which sounds absurd for a cheap 32-inch TV until you plug in a console. The 2.5ms response time and HDMI 2.1 support mean motion is crisp and input lag is basically nonexistent. It's one of the best small gaming TVs on the market right now. But that's where the good news ends for performance. The audio sits dead last in our rankings, a 0th percentile showing that's tinny, hollow, and completely undermines the DTS Virtual-X branding. You'll want a soundbar, no question.

The Insignia's real competition isn't other 32-inch TVs, it's slightly larger budget models like the TCL QM6K or Hisense U6 Series. Those 55 and 65-inch sets demolish the F40 in picture quality and HDR performance, but they cost more and take up way more space. If you need a small screen for a specific spot, the Insignia wins by default. If you have room for a 43-inch or larger TV, spend the extra $100 and get a TCL or Hisense. The Samsung Neo QLED and LG QNED models are in a completely different league and price bracket, so they're not really competitors here.

At $150 to $180, this is a fair deal for what it is. You're not getting a steal, but you're not getting ripped off either. The value proposition collapses if you need to buy a soundbar to make it usable, but if you've already got one or you're just using it for casual background viewing, it's a solid buy. Just don't expect it to compete with anything in the $300+ range.

The Insignia F40 Series is the little TV that could, as long as you know exactly what you're signing up for. This 32-inch 1080p set is a budget bedroom or kitchen warrior that punches way above its weight for gaming and casual streaming, but it's not trying to be your main home theater screen. The one thing to know? For under $180, you're getting a surprisingly responsive panel with built-in Fire TV that makes a fantastic second screen, but the audio is genuinely terrible and the picture quality won't impress anyone who cares about deep blacks or accurate colors.

If you're looking for a living room centerpiece with immersive sound and a cinematic picture, this isn't it. Go get a TCL QM6K or Hisense U6 Series instead. Those will cost more but actually deliver the movie-watching experience this little Insignia can't touch.

Buy this if you need a small, fast TV for a secondary space and you already own a soundbar or don't care about audio. It's a killer little gaming monitor for consoles and a perfectly fine streaming screen for bedrooms or kitchens. If audio quality or cinematic picture performance matter to you, walk away and save up for something bigger and better. This is a specialist, not an all-rounder.