TCL's new soundbar uses fewer speakers to get a better sound
China's TCL, known for its TV sets, as well as phones launched under the Alcatel and BlackBerry brands, is expanding heavily into audio.
At a media briefing ahead of the IFA show in Berlin, the company showcased a new soundbar, and to its credit, it brought some innovative features to the table.
Soundbar makers today often try to cram as many speakers into the bar as possible to achieve a wide sound stage and/or a faux-surround effect. The TCL RAY-DANZ soundbar goes the opposite direction: three speakers are crammed in the middle of the bar, whereas the left and the right side of the bar is empty.
Well, mostly empty. The company calls the curved plastic pieces in the soundbar acoustic "reflectors." In theory, the two angled speakers firing into those reflectors have the sound waves bouncing around, producing a wider sound stage. Coupled with a third, front-facing speaker that should provide accurate voice positioning, and a separate subwoofer, the system should sound good regardless of your position in the room.
TCL gave us a short demo, and the sound indeed was quite consistent as I moved around, with the sound stage wide both vertically and horizontally. It wasn't the most balanced sound I've heard -- the mids were barely there, though that could be due to the nature of the rainy/snowy demos TCL has provided.
Still, the soundbar got me interested. The killer feature for such a product should be the price: If you're replacing speakers with empty space, this thing should cost less than competing products, while providing an equally balanced sound. TCL wouldn't give us the exact price, but a company rep did say it's going to be around €400 ($441), which isn't cheap enough to make it an instant recommendation.
The company also showcased a bunch of new headphones, mostly of the entry-level variety. The most interesting among those were the ACTV500TWS wireless buds, which offer IPX7-level water resistance and are aimed at those with an active lifestyle. The copper/black and copper/white combo looks nice, and 6.5 hours of playtime (plus an additional 26.5 hours provided by the portable charging case) doesn't sound too shabby, either.
Another standout are the ELIT400NC headphones (Elit designates TCL's most expensive product range, but make no mistake, it's mid-range at best), which have 40mm drivers and active noise cancellation. I've only tried them for a short time so I can't say much about the sound, but they're among the lightest and comfiest headphones I've had on my head, and for €129 ($142), they might be a decent purchase.
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
