If you’re looking for a top-notch Dolby Atmos soundbar, it’s hard to beat the Sonos Arc Ultra. But Sonos is still recovering from its self-imposed 2024 software fiasco, and many of its once-loyal customers have sought refuge with the company’s competitors. Chief among these is Bluesound, a wireless, multiroom audio ecosystem from the Great White North.
With a collection of speakers, subwoofers, and music streamers that closely mirrors Sonos’ lineup, Bluesound is especially popular with audiophiles who value the company’s support of lossless, hi-res audio formats and have been willing to pay a premium for it (Bluesound devices typically cost 30 to 50 percent more than their Sonos counterparts).
Like Sonos, Bluesound also does home theater audio, but in this department it has lagged, most notably in its discrete support for the height-channel sound effects that epitomize Dolby Atmos—until now. Bluesound’s $1,499 Pulse Cinema is a pricey new chapter for the Canadian company: its first Dolby Atmos soundbar with dedicated up-firing drivers and a center channel.
A Sonos-Like Footprint
Photograph: Chris Haslam
There’s a single HDMI-ARC/eARC port, and, like with most of Bluesound’s speakers, an analog input, a digital input, a USB port for external storage, two-way Bluetooth with aptX Adaptive, and your choice of Ethernet and/or Wi-Fi. There’s even a wired subwoofer output, which is far from standard on most soundbars. Except for the lack of any HDMI inputs, it’s a generous and versatile collection that leaves the Arc Ultra in the dust.
Size-wise, the two speakers are similar: The Pulse Cinema, at 47 inches, is just one inch wider than the Arc Ultra. Both will look right at home under 50- to 65-inch TVs, but the Pulse Cinema, with its wraparound fabric grille and soft curves, may appeal more to those who want a less high-tech look. If you’d prefer to wall-mount it, a bracket is included. (Sonos sells its wall mounts separately.)
Armed with a 500-watt, 3.0.2-channel, 12-driver array, the Pulse Cinema pumps out impressive levels of detail for both movies and music. It’s this commitment to both formats that helps it stand out. Most soundbars will be a big step up from your TV’s internal speakers for movies and TV shows, but few offer a similarly rewarding listening experience when it comes to music.
Great for Dialog
Photograph: Chris Haslam
For TV audio, dialog clarity is a standout feature, with voices that are both well-centered and easily understandable, even in scenes with lots of competing background and surround sounds.
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.jpg?ssl=1 "These New Smart Glasses From Solos Come With a Privacy Shield for the CamerasSmart glasses company Solos has long focused on audio-only smart glasses. On Tuesday, it announced two new pairs of glasses, one of which has a camera—but you can buy a separate accessory to hide the camera for privacy’s sake.Solos’ new smart glasses are the audio-only AirGo A6 and the second iteration of its camera-enabled glasses, the Solos AirGo V2. The latter was first announced last year as an effort to directly “outshine Meta.” These 9 glasses do just about everything you’d expect from Meta’s new 9 Meta Smartglasses, including photo and video capture, playing music, and interacting with an AI-powered assistant that can see what you see. They can be fitted with prescription lenses and have a 10- to 12-hour battery life.The AirGo V2 glasses can also be paired with a new Privacy Kit, a set of clip-on accessories that let wearers control what their camera glasses can access. The clip-on privacy shield blocks the cameras from view and from recording the world, allowing you to keep wearing the glasses in audio-only mode. There’s also a clip-on polarized lens, and the full kit of modular options costs .Selling a privacy kit as a clip-on accessory is perhaps not the most effective way to stave off concerns about people running around with small, discreet cameras on their faces. Having to buy a separate item, then clip it on and off every time you want to use or disable the camera, is a lot of extra steps that will likely keep people from bothering with privacy at all. Also, there isn’t anything stopping bad actors from removing the clip-on blockers later in an interaction—say, after entering an event that prohibits camera recording.Courtesy of Solos SmartglassesSolos’ first camera-enabled glasses, the Solos AirGo Vision, launched in 2024. WIRED put them in the “Don’t Bother” section of our Best Smart Glasses gallery, citing some decent design choices, albeit ones held back by middling media capture quality, frustrating touch controls, and a power-hungry app that demands too many permissions. All in all, the glasses haven’t quite reached the standard Meta has set with its popular smart glasses.Meta has been the dominant force in the smart glasses market, but other big companies are trying to fill in the cracks. Google and Samsung have a partnership to build out Google’s Android XR platform, with new glasses arriving later this year from eyewear brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Apple has reportedly been building its own smart glasses as well.Some smaller companies are adjusting their target markets to counter Meta, like Even Realities and its camera-free glasses. Solos’ reemphasis on privacy comes after a period of widespread criticism of Meta’s glasses. The devices have been called creepy “pervert glasses” and were criticized after the company silently added face recognition code to its glasses, then quickly removed it after public outcry following a WIRED report. Meta hasn’t done itself any favors since then, announcing last week that it will start charging for features on its smart glasses that have previously been free.Meta has acknowledged that a market for audio-only smart glasses exists, as CTO Andrew Bosworth said in a private Q&A session with media that he thinks there is “market demand for that product for sure.” But Meta hasn’t moved away from its camera-forward spectacles yet. It may very well make audio-only glasses in the future. Until then, companies like Solos are eager to chip away at that market.#Smart #Glasses #Solos #Privacy #Shield #Camerascameras,design,smart glasses,wearables,artificial intelligence,meta")
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