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TCL Roku TV Alto R1 Wi-fi Soundba
MSRP $179.00
“Roku and TCL associate as much as make enhancing your Roku TV’s sound a simple plug-and-play expertise.”
Execs
Straightforward, one-cable setup
No additional remotes wanted
Good audio high quality
Vocal enhancement and quantity leveling options are good
Cons
No Dolby Atmos
Solely works with Roku-enabled TVs
No audio enter ports
When constructing out a house theater, one of many first belongings you would possibly do after selecting out a tv is add a sound system. One of many best methods to do that is by selecting up top-of-the-line soundbars. As a result of let’s face it, the built-in audio system present in TVs aren’t going to fill the room and allow you to really feel immersed in your favourite motion pictures. Roku is aware of this, and it’s been on a mission to make your audio expertise higher whereas additionally maintaining issues simple to arrange. At CES 2021 in January, Roku introduced a partnership with TCL to deliver a wi-fi soundbar for Roku-ready TVs.
The brand new Alto R1 is the end result.
This new soundbar is designed to work seamlessly with Roku TVs and be nearly easy to arrange. The place extra house theater sound methods would require, on the naked minimal, plugging a cable into your tv — the one cable concerned in organising the Alto R1 is the one offering energy. A part of the particular sauce that makes this minimalist strategy work is Roku’s proprietary Wi-Fi Audio streaming know-how. Whereas that sounds nice in principle, how does it pan out in actuality? Observe alongside, and I’ll reply that very query.
Can it actually be that simple?
Chris Wedel / Digital Developments
When unboxing the Alto R1 soundbar, all that’s included inside is the 31.5-inch speaker, {hardware} to mount the speaker to a wall, paperwork, and an influence cable. There aren’t any extra cables included within the field as a result of none are wanted for the reason that solely port on the soundbar is for the ability cable.
My skepticism elevated as I began to assume that there was no approach that pairing the soundbar to the TV might be this simple. So I powered on my 65-inch TCL Roku tv and plugged within the Alto R1 to the wall outlet. Pairing the soundbar to the TV requires holding the House button in your Roku distant for five seconds, choosing “Setup units,” after which “Wi-fi soundbar.” After that, the TV and Alto R1 acknowledged one another, and the soundbar processed an over-the-air software program replace.
The method of including the soundbar to my Roku TV couldn’t have been simpler. There aren’t any additional cables or remotes to handle. The TV robotically is aware of that the Alto R1 is paired, and when adjusting the quantity by way of the Roku distant, the adjustments occur by the soundbar and never the built-in TV audio system. I exploit a Caavo Management Middle to handle my house theater, and after making a couple of changes to it, I used to be controlling the quantity for the newly paired soundbar.
Options and sound high quality
Chris Wedel / Digital Developments
In use, Alto R1 is as no-frills because the setup is. It’s a two-channel, 120-watt soundbar fully managed by way of the Roku distant and your TV. Nevertheless, that isn’t a nasty factor. For those who merely wish to enhance the sound on your Roku TV or use it for taking part in music out of your cellphone by way of Bluetooth, this soundbar can accomplish that.
Whilst you received’t discover fancy options like Dolby Atmos and digital encompass sound in choices just like the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) has, the Alto R1 does have a couple of methods comparable to the power to offer extra focus to the dialogue of no matter you’re watching and to robotically decrease the quantity of commercials. There may be additionally a bass increase function and quantity leveling choices inside the sound settings accessible by urgent the Star button on the Roku distant.
Along with the skepticism I had towards the simplicity of setting the Alto R1 up, was doubtfulness concerning the audio high quality and the way in sync it could be with the content material on display. As a result of the soundbar is fully wi-fi in its connection to my tv, I anticipated a delay in what I noticed on display and after I would hear it. To my delight, I didn’t discover it within the slightest.
Chris Wedel / Digital Developments
Roku makes use of Wi-Fi to deal with the connectivity as an alternative of Bluetooth, which considerably reduces latency and will increase the knowledge capability. I watched 4K HDR motion pictures, stay soccer video games, and common TV programming, and all of it labored superbly. In fact, even with bass increase enabled, the Alto R1 isn’t going to rival a setup with a devoted subwoofer, however it’s additionally not attempting to.
I’ve a comparatively massive rectangular front room, so filling it with balanced audio is troublesome. The sound setup I often use is a Vizio soundbar with two wi-fi satellite tv for pc audio system and a wi-fi subwoofer — and it does the trick. As I started utilizing the Alto R1, I tempered my expectations for getting a full-featured audio expertise. However, surprisingly, the wi-fi soundbar did a high-quality job.
The audio was crisp, and the vocal enhancement options did job. It wasn’t an evening and day distinction, however there was sufficient of an enchancment with it turned on that I can safely say it’s price having. The soundbar is designed for TVs 43 inches and up, and I believe in most conditions, the Alto R1 will make most customers fairly glad.
Our take
Chris Wedel / Digital Developments
I’d like to say that the Alto R1 shall be an incredible alternative for anybody merely attempting to get higher sound for his or her house theater and doesn’t wish to fuss with a number of setup — and I nearly can. I say nearly as a result of it is just true in case you have a Roku TV. Now, you don’t must be utilizing the best possible Roku TV, however you do want a TV with Roku built-in. So, in case you use one of many many nice Roku streaming units that you simply plug into your TV — you received’t have the ability to use the Alto R1.
Roku and TCL had a transparent concentrate on what the Alto R1 can be good at — no-fuss setup course of and ease of use. For these two factors, the 2 corporations did a incredible job with this product. The method of going from out-of-the-box to utilizing the soundboard couldn’t be a lot simpler. The Alto R1 isn’t touting bleeding-edge options and even these changing into commonplace amongst different merchandise like Dolby Atmos and digital encompass sound. Additionally, by together with choices like these, the opposite byproduct can be a rise in the fee, and at $180, it’s onerous to argue with what the Alto R1 brings to the lounge.
Is there a greater various?
There are many soundbars that provide an entire function bundle however will come at an inflated worth. Nevertheless, if you’re keen to pay a bit extra however need not an excessive amount of extra, then the Yamaha YAS-209 tops our checklist of finest soundbars beneath $500 coming in at round $350. Not solely will this soundbar present a wider soundstage with assist for DTS Digital:X, a digital 3D encompass sound profile, however because of a separate subwoofer, it’s going to additionally deliver a low-end rumble to your favourite reveals. It received’t have fairly the identical stage of simplicity of setup because the Alto R1, and it’ll value you a couple of extra bucks, however the Yamaha YAS-209 does present a extra full house theater audio expertise.
How lengthy will it final?
TCL and Roku have each been on the house audio and video scene for fairly some time now and produce that have to the Alto R1 soundbar. Each corporations even have executed job of supporting their respective merchandise, and because of the Alto R1’s Wi-Fi connectivity, the soundbar can obtain OTA software program updates to assist it final for the lengthy haul.
Do you have to purchase it?
Sure, if you’re somebody who needs to be engulfed from each angle by what you might be watching, this isn’t the soundbar for you. Whereas the Alto R1 does a strong job of manufacturing good audio with nearly zero latency, it isn’t a encompass sound machine. It is because it’s restricted to 2 channels and doesn’t include the power to duplicate 360-degree audio. However, in case your aim is to improve the sound considerably above what your tv has built-in, not spend a lot cash to take action, and have a Roku-enabled TV, then the Alto R1 is effectively price contemplating.
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