Are you prepared for a brand new soundbar? Higher but, are you prepared for a brand new Dolby Atmos soundbar? If that’s the case, you are in luck, as a result of there are many very exciting-looking fashions on the way in which in 2023.
In case you personal a good TV, probably the greatest methods to improve your film, TV present and gaming expertise is to cease utilizing these TV audio system for the sound. The virtually-always tiny audio system of a contemporary TV merely aren’t as much as the duty of delivering full-bodied, thrilling or partaking audio.
In fact, if you need the total dwelling cinema expertise, an AV amplifier and speaker package deal is the way in which to go, however for many individuals, that type of setup simply is not an choice. That is the place the Dolby Atmos soundbar is available in.
Satisfied? You could possibly merely select a present mannequin from our checklist of one of the best soundbars accessible proper now. In any case, each mannequin has been fastidiously chosen after intensive, comparative testing in our devoted labs.
However what if there’s one thing even higher on the horizon? Is it price ready? We will not move judgment on a brand new soundbar till it has been absolutely examined, but it surely’s honest to say that some very attention-grabbing new fashions have already been introduced for launch quickly, so learn on the study all concerning the coolest 2023 Dolby Atmos soundbars.. .
Why choose a Dolby Atmos soundbar?
Even the easiest TV audio system are invariably much less sonically succesful than a good soundbar, and most TV audio system – even these constructed into pretty premium TVs – are satisfactory at finest. Including a soundbar is nearly at all times a fast, simple and substantial improve. In lots of circumstances, it is fairly cost-effective, too, although you possibly can spend loads on a soundbar if you wish to.
The massive function to look out for if it is a cinematic sound expertise that you just’re after, is Dolby Atmos. This can be a type of 3D audio (additionally generally known as spatial audio) that principally tries to fill your room with sound and place sound results exactly inside this three-dimensional soundstage.
To be able to fill your room with sound, Atmos soundbars usually fireplace audio forwards, to the edges and upwards, however some additionally include satellite tv for pc audio system than could be positioned to the edges or behind the seating place for a extra enveloping expertise. Some additionally include a subwoofer for additional bass or can have one added.
There are different types of spatial audio, however proper now, Dolby Atmos is the preferred, most mainstream implementation of spatial audio. Primarily based on our intensive expertise reviewing merchandise with the tech, we are able to affirm that whether or not you are gaming or watching a film, Dolby Atmos can radically enhance the expertise.
So, if you happen to’re within the soundbar market, shopping for one which helps Atmos is usually a good suggestion. And that brings us to our round-up of the Dolby Atmos soundbars to look out for in 2023.
Nakamichi Dragon
A very long time in the past, Nakamichi made one of the vital iconic hi-fi merchandise ever, the Dragon cassette deck, and at this time, the model is asking again to that legacy with this wild 21-channel Dragon soundbar.
This soundbar sits someplace between a standard soundbar and a full-fat speaker system. That is as a result of the Dragon is not simply a soundbar: it is really an enormous soundbar, a pair of rear encompass audio system, and two subwoofers.
In complete, the Dragon boasts 31 completely different drivers that ship 21 channels of audio in an 11.4.6 configuration that, in fact, helps Dolby Atmos alongside DTS:X Professional. In keeping with Nakamichi, that is the primary plug-and-play soundbar that helps the Atmos code designed to allow assist for greater than 7.1.4 channels.
We had been handled to an illustration of the Dragon’s energy throughout CES 2023 and described it in our hands-on as “a plug-and-play beast that may make one heck of a roar”, although we can’t be offering a full verdict on the system till we have had it in our take a look at labs for a full evaluate.
In fact, a system this measurement and this tech-heavy would not come low-cost, and the Dragon is ready to value $3500 (round £2830 / AU$5000) when it launches later this yr. If that price ticket would not put you off, you possibly can head over to the Nakamichi site to sign up to be notified (opens in new tab) when the Dragon turns into accessible for buy. We advocate that you just wait till we have absolutely examined it earlier than handing over any cash, although.
JBL Bar 1300
In case you like audio package, you may be properly conscious of the JBL identify. This can be a model with a repute for critically high-end audio package, from the L100 Traditional audio system to the Synthesis SDR-35 AV amplifier, however that additionally produces an unlimited vary of extra inexpensive units comparable to headphones, wi-fi audio system and soundbars.
It’s, in fact, soundbars that we’re focused on right here, and the newly introduced JBL Bar 1300 has caught our eye.
The Bar 1300 is the newest in a soundbar sub-genre that has wi-fi audio system that may be hooked up to the primary bar or indifferent and positioned to the edges or rear of the seating place for a extra surrounding expertise. It comes with a wi-fi subwoofer, too, and has 15 channels of audio total.
Contained in the Bar 1300 are six upward-firing drivers, JBL’s MultiBeam tech, and within the removable audio system are rechargeable batteries alongside Bluetooth for wi-fi pairing. It helps Dolby Atmos, in fact, but additionally DTS:X. AirPlay 2, Alexa Multi-Room Music and Chromecast are all on board.
It is just like the JBL Bar 9.1, which additionally had removable audio system, however the Bar 1300 packs in additional audio channels than ever earlier than. Hopefully, it would additionally sound higher, because the Bar 9.1 acquired a considerably disappointing 3-star score after our intensive testing.
We’ll ship our verdict on the JBL Bar 1300 as soon as it is had its personal full take a look at in our devoted labs. Solely then will we have the ability to conclude whether or not it is well worth the £1300 / $1555 / AU$2300 price ticket.
LG SC9
LG’s C-series TVs are comfortably the preferred OLED TVs on the market, but it surely’s honest to say that they do not sound wonderful. In our intensive C2 evaluate, we acknowledged that the TV “whereas decent-sounding, is extra simply upgraded [by a soundbar] than could be anticipated of a TV costing as a lot because it does”.
LG would clearly choose that these including a soundbar did so utilizing certainly one of its personal fashions, and to that finish has created the brand new SC9 mannequin, which is designed to be the proper aesthetic and sonic associate for the C2 and new C3.
The SC9 comes with a customized bracket it may be mounted on to the TV, primarily changing the TV’s authentic pedestal stand for placement on prime of a TV unit or hanging neatly beneath it if wall-mounting. The mount is even designed to completely place the soundbar in order that the sound from the three upward-firing drivers is not blocked by the underside lip of the TV.
Dolby Atmos is on board, in fact, however so is DTS:X. And if you happen to associate the SC9 with a brand new LG TV, you can even reap the benefits of a function referred to as Wow Orchestra, which synchronises the soundbar’s drivers with these of the TV for a probably greater, extra spacious sound. This function sounds similar to Samsung’s Q-Symphony, and it is going to be attention-grabbing to totally take a look at it and set up whether or not it delivers precise enhancements over utilizing the soundbar’s audio system alone.
One other neat little bit of symbiosis permits the SC9 to hook up with a few of LG’s TVs utilizing a function referred to as Wowcast, which is basically wi-fi transmission of audio. Whereas a soundbar is normally positioned very near a TV, we are able to think about that some individuals will nonetheless admire the choice to eliminate the cable between the 2. Those that are much less cable-averse can in fact use HDMI eARC as an alternative.
Pricing and availability have not been introduced but for the SC9, however we are able to see it being widespread with LG OLED house owners, of which there are hundreds. Here is hoping LG has put as a lot thought into its sound because it clearly has the design and have set. We’ll in fact wait till we are able to absolutely, comparatively take a look at the soundbar earlier than delivering our verdict.
Samsung HW-Q990C
Samsung’s new flagship soundbar, the HW-990C, presents up 11.1.4 channels of sound alongside Samsung’s Q-Symphony 3.0 tech, which is designed to “exactly direct particular person audio components” by means of utilizing the soundbar and your Samsung TV’s audio system. With each TV audio system and the soundbar in play, Samsung says that Q-Symphony can leverage as much as 22 channels of audio in complete.
With the Q990C itself, you are getting the bar, a pair of encompass audio system, and a wi-fi subwoofer. Dolby Atmos is supported (the ‘bar would not be on this checklist if it did not), and the system could be managed through wi-fi, which is absolutely at least you’d anticipate from a Samsung flagship.
Particulars on pricing and availability are to this point unconfirmed however anticipate information imminently. We are going to, as ever, carry out a full, comparative take a look at earlier than delivering our verdict.
MORE:
Here is our checklist of the finest Dolby Atmos soundbars round
In addition to our checklist of the finest soundbars out now
And these are our favourite merchandise from CES 2023
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.