This Yamaha True X Surround 90A soundbar gives you a dozen good reasons to buy it
Most soundbars that support Dolby Atmos usually only have a couple of upward-firing speakers (if any at all), but Yamaha has very much taken a more is more approach with its latest effort.
At each end of the Yamaha True X Surround 90A are six 28mm drivers that point directly towards your ceiling in order to bounce the sound off it and give the impression that there are noises coming from above – and for once they won't just be your upstairs neighbours, whose pet elephant seems to wear lead boots.
It supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X for movies, but Yamaha claims that it's also the first soundbar that can decode Auro-3D audio – an alternative spatial audio format.
Behind the front grille it has four oval-shaped mid-range speakers and three tweeters, while the separate wireless subwoofer should give Nellie a taste of her own medicine.
Then there's the two battery-powered rear speakers, which each include a 58mm full-range driver and a passive radiator, plus they double up as regular Bluetooth speakers for when you've exhausted all the Jason Statham movies on Netflix.
Wired connectivity comes in the shape of HDMI (including eARC), optical, and ethernet, and it supports CEC so you can control everything with your TV remote. On the wireless front it works with Yamaha's MusicCast app, which will let you stream music from Spotify et al, but it also has Apple AirPlay onboard.
In fact, when you think about it, that's far more than 12 reasons, but we never were very good at maths. You can pick a Yamaha True X Surround 90A up for £2499 / $3499.
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If you're looking for just one good reason to get a new soundbar this year, the Yamaha True X Surround 90A has gone all out and given you 12 instead. Most soundbars that support Dolby Atmos usually only have a couple of upward-firing speakers (if any at all), but Yamaha has very much taken a more is more approach with its latest effort. At each end of the Yamaha True X Surround 90A are six 28mm drivers that point directly towards your ceiling in order to bounce the sound off it and give the impression that there are noises coming from above – and for once they won't just be your upstairs neighbours, whose pet elephant seems to wear lead boots. It supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X for movies, but Yamaha claims that it's also the first soundbar that can decode Auro-3D audio – an alternative spatial audio format. Behind the front grille it has four oval-shaped mid-range speakers and three tweeters, while the separate wireless subwoofer should give Nellie a taste of her own medicine. Then there's the two battery-powered rear speakers, which each include a 58mm full-range driver and a passive radiator, plus they double up as regular Bluetooth speakers for when you've exhausted all the Jason Statham movies on Netflix. Wired connectivity comes in the shape of HDMI (including eARC), optical, and ethernet, and it supports CEC so you can control everything with your TV remote. On the wireless front it works with Yamaha's MusicCast app, which will let you stream music from Spotify et al, but it also has Apple AirPlay onboard. In fact, when you think about it, that's far more than 12 reasons, but we never were very good at maths. You can pick a Yamaha True X Surround 90A up for £2499 / $3499.
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Single tap controls were disabled by default on my review unit; you can set it to play or pause your tunes through the companion app, but once I did it struggled to tell the difference between a tap and a swipe. It's frustrating, and meant I largely reached for my phone to make changes instead of my ear. I can't say call quality stood out to me, being about the same as other sub-£100 earphones I've tried – and picking up the same amount of wind noise. LHDC Bluetooth is a welcome inclusion, though. It's a shame there's no optX or LDAC, which are more widely used, but if your device supports it these buds will handle 24-bit playback. The only downside is that battery life drains that bit faster. OK, thirty minutes less listening time might not seem like a big deal, but it's not like these are particularly long-lasting buds anyway. With ANC enabled on an LDHX connection, I saw a little over five hours of playback from the buds; this was more like six with AAC or SBC Bluetooth. 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Pros Lightweight with a comfortable fit Capable noise cancelling for the cash Energetic, bass-forward sound Cons Battery life is only OK when using ANC or a high quality codec Wireless charging doesn't make the cut Squiffy touch controls OnePlus Buds 4 technical specifications Drivers 11mm + 6mm dynamic ANC Yes Bluetooth version Bluetooth 5.4 Codecs supported SBC, AAC, LHDC 5.0 Durability IP55 (buds) Battery life 5.5hrs/22hrs (LHDC, ANC on, buds/buds+case) 11hrs/45hrs (ANC off, buds/buds+case) Dimensions 31x21x4.2mm, 4.7g (buds, each) 65x52x25mm, 40g (case)
