TCL’s latest soundbars add Dolby Atmos, room correction

Showing off its sleek new soundbars at CES, TCL says it will bring two key features—Dolby Atmos and automatic room correction—to its entire 2024 product line, including its more affordable models. 

Just like its new TVs, TCL is dividing up its soundbars into two lines: the high-end Q-Series and the step-down S-Series.  

The Q-Series and S-Series are getting two new soundbars each for 2024, and all four models will offer Atmos along with the ability to automatically adjust their audio according to the acoustics of the room, the latter of which being a feature we typically see in only pricier soundbars. 

TCL’s top-of-the-line soundbar for 2024 will be the Q85, a 7.1.4-channel model with four up-firing drivers for Dolby Atmos height cues. 

Boasting two wireless rear speakers plus a wireless subwoofer, the Q85 comes with Ray-Danz acoustic wave-guide reflectors, which TCL says will help boost the unit’s soundstage. 

TCL

TCL

TCL

Another new feature is the ability to direct center-channel sound to the TV’s speakers, allowing the Q85 to focus its efforts on the other channels while helping to emphasize dialog. 

Next up, the Q75 comes with the same look and feature set as the Q75 while dropping the wireless rear speakers. The 5.1.2-channel Q75 delivers surround audio by bouncing sound off your walls, with two up-firing drivers on the main soundbar unit serving up the Dolby Atmos height cues. 

Dropping down to the S-Series, the S55 has a boxier design than TCL’s Q-Series soundbars and lacks the Ray-Danz wave guide as well as up-firing drivers.  

But the 2.1-channel S55 can still crank out Dolby Atmos audio via virtualization, and the soundbar will also get auto room correction and the ability to use a TV as the center channel. 

TCL

TCL

TCL

Finally, the 2.0-channel S45 is essentially the same soundbar as the S55, minus the latter’s wireless subwoofer. A bass-reflex port will take on the low-frequency duties of the missing sub. 

All four of TCL’s 2024 soundbars will comes with HDMI-eARC ports and Bluetooth, and they’re also all “TCL TV Ready,” meaning they can be set up and configured via on-screen menus when connected to TCL TV sets. 

TCL has yet to share pricing or availability details for its new 2024 soundbars.