Swapping between the bar’s a number of inputs is barely extra intuitive, with a unique LED colour assigned to every enter: HDMI ARC glows magenta, optical is yellow, the analog enter is inexperienced, and the USB enter is cyan. This colour coding has turn out to be extra widespread in A/V gear of late, often seen in lively/powered bookshelf audio system just like the KEF LSX II the place area is at a premium. In the Q6310’s case, the bar’s center-channel speaker seemingly takes up the true property a standard digital show would possibly inhabit.

Another seemingly purpose TCL punts on the visible show is that, as a Roku TV Ready soundbar, the Q6310 is designed to let you management and alter some settings immediately from a Roku-powered good TV. That performance stems from a protracted partnership between the 2 manufacturers, with Roku taking the reins because the good interface in lots of TCL TVs (although TCL now appears to favor Google TV for its extra premium fashions).

If you don’t have a Roku-powered TV, TCL’s app makes controlling the bar’s sound modes, quantity, and different settings a lot simpler through an iPhone or Android machine. Other app settings embrace a Night mode to maintain the dynamics in examine when the household’s asleep, a Dialogue Enhance characteristic, and digital encompass sound management.

There’s additionally a calibration characteristic, AI Sonic, which makes use of your cellphone’s microphone to regulate the sound to your room, à la Sonos. That’s a powerful inclusion at this worth, however the setup expertise is kind of loud, and I couldn’t hear a lot of a distinction as soon as it completed.

Aluminum Punch

My first thought once I began evaluating the Q6310 was that it doesn’t sound significantly better than quite a lot of high-end TVs I’ve auditioned this 12 months. The sound is evident and ahead, particularly for dialog, however there’s a brittle, metallic high quality to the midrange and treble registers that may really feel as skinny because the soundbar seems to be. To be honest, quite a lot of pricier TVs today are outfitted with a number of audio system like soundbars are, so evaluating the 2 isn’t as massive of a diss because it as soon as was.