Dolby Atmos in your living room isn’t as easy as it sounds. Whether you’re dealing with a component A/V system or a soundbar, your speakers must be carefully positioned and calibrated to create that immersive Atmos experience—and if your furniture is in the way, you’ll just need to move it.
But with its new FlexConnect technology, Dolby is looking to make its Atmos audio technology more home decor-friendly, and it’s teaming up with TCL for the hardware.
First announced earlier this year and on sale starting today, the TCL Z100 is a smart and “panoramic” wireless speaker that can pair with a Dolby Atmos FlexConnect-enabled QD-Mini LED TV—specifically, TCL’s QM8K, QM7K, or QM6K series TVs.
Unlike the speakers used in other Dolby Atmos systems, TCL’s cylindrical Z100 speaker can be placed anywhere in the room, while Dolby’s FlexConnect technology will “intelligently optimize” the sound depending on the position of the speaker, TCL says.
You can use anywhere from one to four of the Z100 speakers with a single TCL TV, and the system can scale itself up as you add more speakers to your living room setup. Just to be clear, though, the Dolby Atmos FlexConnect tech employed in TCL’s Z100 speakers requires the use of one of those three TCL QD-Mini LED TV models (which come in sizes ranging from 55- to 115-inches) mentioned above.
Dolby originally unveiled FlexConnect back in 2023, but while it announced TCL as a partner and gave some ears-on demonstrations at IFA 2023 in Berlin, this marks the first TCL has released details about the TCL Z100, along with a price: $399.99 per speaker. Nope, that’s not cheap, but it’s roughly in line with the cost of a mid-range home theater speaker.
Besides being sold in single-speaker configurations, the Z100 is also available in bundles, including one with two speakers and a subwoofer ($1,299.97) and three speakers plus the sub ($1,699.96).
As for the Z100 itself, the 170W, 5.62-pound speaker measures 5.42 x 11.87 x 5.22 inches (WxHxD) and boasts four separate drivers that combine to deliver 1.1.1-channel Dolby Atmos audio. The first “1” in the “1.1.1” is for the main audio channel, the second “1” is for low-frequency sound, and the final “1” refers to the height channel that bounces off your ceiling.
Meanwhile, the nearly 10-pound, 130-watt Z100-SW subwoofer measures 9.61 x 13.15 x 8.87 inches (WxHxD) and arrives with a 5.25-inch woofer.
The Z100 speakers and Z100-SW subwoofer connect wirelessly to your supported TCL TV, and you can also stream music to the speakers from your phone via Bluetooth.
TCL is promising “effortless” setup, including a “smart calibration” process that detects the position of the speakers and adjusts the audio to match the contours of the room.
Sounds good, but what about performance? And how do Dolby’s FlexConnect speakers actually sound? I don’t think anyone expects Dolby’s FlexConnect tech to compete with, say, a precisely positioned, calibrated, and loftily priced 7.2.2 system with ceiling-mounted Atmos height speakers.
But for average users who want enveloping Atmos audio in their living rooms without drilling holes or completely redoing their living room decor, Dolby Atmos FlexConnect may wind up being an affordable and effective solution. Personally, I’m eager for an in-person demo.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers. It’s been updated with pricing as well as new details about the speakers themselves.