- #TV SOUNDBAR HDMI PASSTHROUGH HOW TO#
- #TV SOUNDBAR HDMI PASSTHROUGH UPGRADE#
- #TV SOUNDBAR HDMI PASSTHROUGH BLUETOOTH#
- #TV SOUNDBAR HDMI PASSTHROUGH TV#
If you do fancy saving some money and want the still-excellent original Beam, you'd best act fast because it's officially been discontinued. In 2020, we had no choice but to give it the nod yet again – for the best soundbar in the highly competitive £300 - £500 / AU$500 - AU$800 bracket. We liked it so much that we gave it one of our coveted What Hi-Fi? 2019 Awards. Of course, you'll probably want to connect it to your TV, where it will bring a sound quality that's far superior to built-in speakers. It supports Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Siri personal assistants, and its WiFi connectivity means it has excellent integration with streaming services, including Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, Amazon, Deezer and Google Play Music.Īs a Sonos speaker, it works with other products from the brand and can be added to a multi-room network or a surround system. This is the original model of Sonos's smaller, cheaper soundbar, and although it has been supplanted by the Beam Gen 2, it's still an impressive-sounding device, unmatched in its price bracket, and packed with great features.
#TV SOUNDBAR HDMI PASSTHROUGH UPGRADE#
There will also be a forthcoming upgrade to add support for Amazon Music Ultra HD audio, which will give access to lossless 24-bit/48kHz tracks as well as Dolby Atmos Music.ĭespite the lack of upward drivers, if space and budget are limited there isn't a better Dolby Atmos soundbar that we'd recommend. This means you can stream to the Beam Gen 2 from a handheld device using Apple AirPlay 2, and Spotify Connect is built-in too. Not that many soundbars at this price point come with networking capabilities, but this being a Sonos product, the Beam Gen 2’s ability to integrate into a wireless multiroom system is fundamental to its design. The Beam Gen 2 offers an enveloping, spatial soundscape with rich, detailed audio as well as tangible motion and depth. While genuine overhead sounds are perhaps a stretch too far for this petite performer, its virtual delivery of the Atmos format outstrips any similarly priced soundbar and even a few that are more expensive. With its hefty processing power, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 uses psychoacoustic HRTF (head-related transfer function) technology to give the impression of height without needing to get vertical. Instead, when watching Atmos content, two of the soundbars five front-facing arrays are dedicated to reproducing overhead and surround sounds.
#TV SOUNDBAR HDMI PASSTHROUGH HOW TO#
And, you can always visit our dedicated guide on how to choose and set up a soundbar for some extra tips and advice.ĭelivering Dolby Atmos from a small chassis is no mean feat and the Sonos Beam Gen 2 achieves a convincing, immersive performance without so much as a vertical speaker in sight. But rest assured, all of the soundbars below sound good – you can read the full, in-depth review attached with each if you need further information.
You should also look for a decent remote control, ample connections for your set-up and of course that all-important sound quality. Even at the affordable end of the market, it is possible to find models that support other wireless technologies like Apple AirPlay 2, and a few work with smart assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, too.
#TV SOUNDBAR HDMI PASSTHROUGH BLUETOOTH#
So what should you look for when buying one? Bluetooth is a handy extra feature as it allows the soundbar to wirelessly play tunes stored on your phone. Instead, a soundbar sits demurely beneath your TV, quietly getting on with levelling up its sound.
#TV SOUNDBAR HDMI PASSTHROUGH TV#
Soundbars add more powerful, direct and better quality audio to your TV but, unlike dedicated speaker packages, your lounge won't have to accommodate six chunky boxes. Best Dolby Atmos soundbars 2022: the best Atmos TV speakers.But the good news is that you can do something about it without spending a fortune just by adding a budget soundbar to your setup. From struggling to hear dialogue to underwhelming action sequences, relying on your TV's built-in speakers is a bit like using the headphones that come bundled with your phone: they do a job, but once you sample an upgrade, you're never going back. You might have discovered recently that despite spending big on a 4K TV and forking out for endless streaming services, your 'home cinema' experience remains sonically underwhelming.