In this buyers guide series, we try and take the leg work out of finding the right products for you. We review, test and use a number of competitors before deciding which one makes the cut in our home.
Today's buyers guide focuses around the search for a wireless Dolby Atmos capable surround sound system. We were looking for something as wireless as possible but still able to provide an immersive Atmos experience. Considering the breadth of manufacturing capabilities out there, it was surprising how very little out there fits the bill, until we found a British company called Damson Global.
What’s it all about?
The USP of this system is that it’s almost totally wireless. There is no requirement to drill holes in your walls or lay audio cable all over the place as the speakers are connected together via a proprietary wireless connection (JetStreamNet).
What do you get:
For £499.99 in the U.K. (at the time of publication) you get a 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos wireless home entertainment system consisting of a sound bar, subwoofer, two rear speakers and a magnetically detachable, upward facing, Dolby Atmos speaker.
The sound bar pulls double duty as both the centre and centre left and right speakers for the system.
The two back speakers are battery operated, with the option of keeping them tethered to a power cord. This means they can be used to play music when not watching a film or tv show or take one (or more) of them with you outdoors.
Expandability:
The unit can also accommodate an additional 16!! S-Cube speakers for multi-speaker multi-room setup. We didn't test this as the system was bought primarily for its Atmos prowess rather than its ability to send music all over your home but its nice to know that it has the capability should we wish to upgrade the system in the future.
Connectivity:
2x HDMI inputs
1x AUX in
Bluetooth
1x HDMI output with ARC
Codec Support: Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital+, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro-logic, Dolby Virtual Surround, DTS, DTS-X
Video Passthrough: Dolby Vision, HDR10, 4K UHD, HDPC 2.2
Size and Sound:
It’s actually quite remarkable in terms of size. When the box turned up I thought it was missing the sound bar!
The S-Bar is 24cm wide and 6cm tall. Attaching the Atmos speaker adds another 6cm to its height (at its tallest point) so that’s definitely something to consider if you want to put it under your TV.
The S-Cube speakers are:
10cm x 11.6cm x 10cm
35 watt output
7,800 mAh battery rated at 8 hour playtime but this figure will vary depending on your input source
The S-Woofer is 24cm by 24cm and 8cm deep. The bass is certainly one of the areas which feels a bit lacking. Scenes with loud explosions (or just bass heavy scenes in general) felt like they would have benefitted from a more powerful unit. Bass has its time and place and really can detract from both film and music if its too overpowering, but it is really vital at key moments.
What actually is Dolby Atmos?
Before going too much further we should explain what Dolby Atmos is! Well, it is an object based sound format from Dolby and it intends to add another layer of depth to the sound stage to get you further immersed in what you are watching.
The first thing to note is that not everything is recorded in Dolby Atmos and will depend on the content you are watching. In the real word, Dolby Atmos enabled films are still a rarity in part because film studios are split between two competing formats. Dolby and DTS. They are not interoperable so films usually are encoded in one format or another.
Things are further complicated by the fact that manufacturers also have to build in compatibility meaning that while the film you are watching may be recorded in Dolby Atmos, the audio receiver also needs to be compatible to decode the audio stream.
Not only that, Dolby Atmos has a number or different ways it can utilise speakers. With the Damson unit, the Atmos effect is created by bouncing sound off your ceiling and back down to where you are sitting to create the impression of depth in the soundstage, rather than needing to install downward facing speakers in your ceiling (phew!). The Atmos effect in our opinion is subtle but noticeable and does contribute to a more immersive experience.
Looks:
White we know this a wildly subjective section, we think this is a really great looking setup. The speakers and sub are made of a matt black plastic casing with a single multi-coloured LED to show that the speakers are on and outputting the chosen audio format.
Usability:
Installing the system was as simple as plugging in the power cable for the centre speaker and subwoofer and ensuring that the TV was connected to the sub via HDMI cable. If your TV supports ARC (audio return channel) then you can output the TV audio directly to the Damson without the need to plug in any other peripheral.
Additionally, we plugged in an Apple TV 4k and an Xbox One X to test both 4k (HDR10 and Dolby Vision) passthrough and Atmos compatibility with both systems working flawlessly with the Damson. To enable Atmos on the Xbox we had to download the Dolby app first before the Atmos light on the Sub began to flash.
One slight disappointment with the system was the remote. There is no way to sync the TV remote with the system and the one included does not include granular enough volume settings. We found in our testing that the volume would occasionally be either too high or too low with no way of getting to a more comfortable middle ground. The remote could also benefit from a more premium feel as it is so integral to the system, perhaps with the inclusion of backlighting along the same lines as an Xbox One remote.
Summary:
Pros:
One of the only fully wireless systems out there
Price
Size
Love that the rear speakers can use the built in batteries for cable free use
Cons:
Occasionally some of the speakers don’t sync when you turn the system on and requires a restart of the system
Would love to be able to purchase two more S-Cube speakers to have as dedicated front left and right.
Volume control - Has big jumps in volume
Remote lets it down. Feels cheap and needs backlight adding
Despite a few negatives it certainly is a commendable effort from Damson in what is their first stab at a Dolby Atmos enabled home theatre setup.