Alto 9+

Overview

The Alto 9+ (model TS9030) is the Dolby Atmos 3.1 system in TCL's 2020 Alto range. The bar is 1050 mm wide, 58 mm high and 110 mm deep, comes in dark titanium, and can be wall-mounted with the wall mount kit in the box. TCL lists it as ideal for TVs of 55 inches and above.

It is a 3.1 system with a dedicated centre channel and a wireless subwoofer, which is included. The bar uses TCL's RAY·DANZ design: calibrated acoustic reflectors and angled drivers widen the soundstage, instead of relying on digital processing. TCL lists 2.5 x 1.5 inch drivers and a 1 inch tweeter in the bar and a maximum audio power of 540 W for the system. The subwoofer should be placed less than 9.8 feet (about 3 m) from the bar.

The inputs are HDMI ARC, an HDMI input, optical, a 3.5 mm AUX line-in, USB (MP3, WAV and FLAC playback), Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz). Over Wi-Fi it supports Chromecast built-in and AirPlay 2, and it works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Wi-Fi is set up with the Google Home app on Android or from the Wi-Fi settings on an iPhone or iPad. The box contains the subwoofer, two power cords, an HDMI cable, an optical cable, the remote control with two AAA batteries, wall mount brackets, anchors and screws, a wall mount template and the printed leaflets.

The bar has buttons for power, source, Bluetooth and volume, a five-character LED display and a Wi-Fi status LED. The remote adds bass and treble, the Movie, Music, TV and Boost sound modes, an audio delay from 20 to 500 ms and a switch for the vertical surround effect with Atmos content. The bar can also be controlled with the TV remote.

What the specs mean

• 3.1 speaker setup: left, right and a centre channel for dialogue, plus a subwoofer channel. The ".1" is the wireless subwoofer in the box, which needs only a power socket, no cable to the bar.
• HDMI ARC: the TV sends its sound to the bar over the included HDMI cable. TCL lists HDMI ARC first, then optical, then AUX, in order of best performance.
• Audio formats: Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos. TCL notes that a Blu-ray player connected to the bar's HDMI input is the way to play Dolby TrueHD based Atmos content.
• HDMI passthrough: a player or console plugged into the HDMI input passes its picture on to the TV in up to 4K at 60 Hz, with HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision.
• Wi-Fi streaming: Chromecast built-in and AirPlay 2 let apps on a phone, tablet or computer play music on the bar over the home network. Bluetooth 5.0 is also available for direct streaming from a device.