As a part of TCL’s announcement of its frankly mind-boggling X955 Mini LED TV, Dolby launched particulars of Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, a brand new expertise that may be launching with the TV in 2024. I’ve already had a primary pay attention, and this may very well be one of many greatest leaps ahead in house cinema sound since Atmos first made it into our dwelling rooms a decade in the past.

As its identify may recommend, FlexConnect goals to ship better flexibility than present encompass sound setups can supply, by combining a appropriate TV’s sound with quite a lot of appropriate audio system.

Customers have full management over the place these “satellite tv for pc” audio system go, in order that they needn’t sit at sure factors in your room, they usually do not even must be in pairs, and even all the identical speaker. It was recommended to me in my demo that originally FlexConnect would assist one or two audio system, however this may very well be expanded to 6 and even eight in time.

I think that the preferred setup would be the decrease numbers although – in spite of everything simplicity is essential right here. The aim is to not create 5.1.2ch, 7.1.4ch, or another variation of the normal at-home Atmos arrange that you just could be used to – you may already get that if that is what you need. However FlexConnect is about transferring previous that prescriptive pondering and creating essentially the most expansive sound doable in the most straightforward method, utilizing the (appropriate) audio system you will have at your disposal.

Dolby

The flexibleness of the system means it may well react rapidly to new additions, and likewise alter if a speaker falls off the community too – plus you may transfer your audio system round as your room and wishes deem vital, and the FlexConnect system will mechanically adapt.

Presently, Dolby has stated it is not planning to make its personal FlexConnect audio system, however speaker producers will have the ability to embrace the expertise of their audio system. There will likely be minimal necessities, in fact, although precisely what that appears like hasn’t been formally determined but. The engineer who ran my demo stated he anticipated there to be a variety of audio system in numerous sizes to swimsuit completely different rooms and budgets.

As a part of these minimal necessities, it additionally hasn’t been determined but if a speaker might want to have upwards firing drivers to actually drive house that Atmos impact, or if it may very well be one thing that is achieved nearly, like some soundbars presently supply. Personally, I hope Dolby shoots for the easiest efficiency right here and enforces these upwards-firing drivers in FlexConnect audio system – the Atmos at-home expertise is so a lot better when you will have them.

Testing it out

As TCL would be the first producer to launch the expertise in its TVs – a key a part of the setup – it had the honour of displaying off the primary demos at its stand at IFA 2023.

Settling all the way down to pay attention, the setup I heard comprised a TCL TV (not the X955, because it occurs, however an unnamed present era mannequin that had been modified to work with FlexConnect) and two prototype TCL Tutti Choral audio system – fairly chunky audio system with a considerably fascinating design, however crucially, which characteristic two angled, upwards firing drivers in its five-driver setup.

After I sat down, each audio system have been forwards of my viewing place, one in what could be thought of a standard front-left place and the opposite a lot additional away from the TV, in all probability about half method between me and the display.

To get the system to carry out its greatest, a fast calibration, managed through the TV and its distant, finds the situation of the opposite audio system within the room and understands their capabilities.

Some brief audio tones are performed, that are registered by microphones throughout the TV the place the calculations are achieved. Based mostly on what’s heard, the TV will tweak its personal inside sound in addition to that within the audio system to assist the general system sound balanced and at its greatest. This may sound difficult, however the calibration I sat by means of took round 12 seconds to be accomplished – so no nice inconvenience in any respect.

As soon as the calibration was full, a graphic appeared on the display mapping visually the place the audio system have been within the room, so you may verify its findings (although the Dolby engineer did stress that the demo calibration software program might change its design earlier than it involves market).Now it was time to pay attention, and I heard a number of clips – the traditional Dolby Atmos Amaze demo was first up, and contemplating there was no subwoofer in use right here, the burden and authority the system was able to with simply these two audio system and the TV sound was actually spectacular.

After all, it is the expanse of sound that is most of curiosity right here and the setup created a very room-filling sound, with results that stretched out extensive, far above my head and – most impressively – gave a way of sound coming from behind me that even the perfect Atmos soundbars battle to breed.

Dolby did concede that, although the system would do its greatest, the place the audio system are positioned in a room will nonetheless have an effect on how nicely these encompass sound results are reproduced – one thing I found when the front-left speaker was moved to alongside my viewing/listening place and the identical demo was replayed.

The calibration system ran once more, mapping the brand new speaker place, after which when the demo replayed, the encompass sound results have been all of the extra convincingly reproduced, with sound of birds swooping behind my head with appreciable depth.

We then switched to a soccer match, the place the system did a very good job at passing off the gang noise to the audio system on the perimeters and filling the house above and round me with cheers, all whereas maintaining issues like voices of the commentators and the primary of the on-pitch motion centered in direction of the entrance.

Contemplating the audio system have been at completely different, unparallel positions within the room, the system did an excellent job of masking this, so I might by no means pinpoint the place the sounds have been taking part in from. It actually does current as a cohesive, room-filling sound – and Dolby says this must be the case even you probably have mismatched audio system of various sizes.

The tip of soundbars?

Simply how good the system is was additional introduced into focus by switching off the FlexConnect tech fully and reverting to the TV audio system. As you’d anticipate, all of the ambiance, the depth and physique to the sound and naturally, the immersion that FlexConnect supplied was sucked straight again into the tv.

The sound from the TV by itself wasn’t horrible by TV requirements, however by with the ability to go off different frequencies to the exterior audio system and give attention to what’s most wanted by the built-in audio system, the general expertise is made so a lot better. And that is even at appreciable quantity – it by no means sounded pushed such as you’d typically anticipate from TV sound.

It is true that we have had wi-fi encompass audio system bundled in with soundbar packages for some time now, however the simplicity and adaptability here’s what makes FlexConnect so interesting – to not point out you do not want the expense of a soundbar pushing the worth up.

With extra TV producers anticipated to be introduced within the close to future, and speaker producers too, FlexConnect exhibits actual potential to make Atmos within the house extra accessible than ever. For somebody contemplating a soundbar for delivering Atmos with comfort, that is arguably extra so, and – at first pay attention at the very least – more practical too.