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 envelope of Atmos sound—and if your furniture is in the way, you’ll just have 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.
Slated to arrive this summer, the TCL Z100 is a smart and “panoramic” wireless speaker that can pair with a Dolby Atmos FlexConnect-enabled QD-Mini LED TVs—specifically, the TCL QM8K, QM7K, or QM6k.
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, TLC says.
You can use anywhere from one to four of the Z100 speakers with a single TV, and the system can scale itself up as you add more speakers to your living room setup.
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 time that consumer-ready FlexConnect speakers have been ready to ship.
We’re still waiting on more specifics about the TLC Z100 speaker, namely how much it will cost. It’s also not clear what the intial setup process will entail, although has previously promised that it will be “simple and fast.”
What we do know is that Dolby Atmos FlexConnect won’t work with existing home speakers, nor will a FlexConnect speaker work with any old TV or A/V receiver. In other words, TCL’s Z100 speaker won’t do you much good unless you have a TCL FlexConnect-enabled TV to pair it with.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers.
Then there’s the question of performance: 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 and calibrated 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 in the ceiling 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.
