Bluesound has released two Dolby Atmos soundbars to challenge Sonos’s five-star favourites

Bluesound has added two new soundbars to its ranks which the Canada-based brand says combine “audiophile-grade performance and everyday usability.”

First up is the Pulse Cinema, a “premium” 3.2.2 Dolby Atmos soundbar.

It features 16 speaker drivers including a centre channel, dual four-inch woofers and dedicated up-firing speakers. The brand claims this results in a “3D soundstage” with “more details and realism”.

With a total of 500 watts of power and a reasonably meaty width of 119 cm, Bluesound says the soundbar is best suited for TVs above 55 inches.

There is also the Pulse Cinema Mini – a more compact 84 cm soundbar which the company claims is ideal for smaller setups. It delivers 280 watts of total system power, also with four-inch woofers built-in.

You won’t find any up-firing Atmos speakers here, but there are angled drivers and Atmos 2.1-channel virtualization.

Both models support HDMI eARC, optical and analogue inputs, and come with wall mounts to give the maximum flexibility for positioning.

If you want to connect a multi-channel surround system, Bluesound’s BluOS platform is also on board. It works with more than 20 streaming services including Tidal, Spotify and Qobuz and supports hi-res audio up to 24-bit/192kHz.

In terms of design, these new 'bars are available in a black finish with a grey fabric grille, or a white finish with tan details.

Both models are up against some tough competition, however. Priced at £1149 / $1499 / (around AU$2315), the Pulse Cinema is competing with the likes of the Sonos Arc Ultra which we rate highly for its three-dimensional sound and expressive bass.

The less expensive Pulse Cinema Mini is £799 / $999 (around AU$1543). That means the five-star Sonos Arc, which launched at £799 / $799 / AU$1399, is the one to beat. The Arc snagged a What Hi-Fi? Award last year, so we are keen to see how Blusound’s latest soundbar entries will perform.

Both will be available for pre-order from the 24th of September.

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