TCL Alto 6 Plus review: A cheap but powerful soundbar

Our Verdict

The TCL Alto 6 Plus doesn't cost much and has few frills, but delivers impressive audio for the price.

For

• Articulate dialog and booming bass
• Simple to utilise
• Affordable

Against

• Minimal sound adjustment
• No app

Tom's Guide Verdict

The TCL Alto vi Plus doesn't cost much and has few frills, but delivers impressive audio for the toll.

Pros

• +

  Articulate dialog and booming bass

• +

  Elementary to use

• +

  Affordable

Cons

• -

  Minimal sound adjustment

• -

  No app

If you've been wavering on whether it's worth spending money on meliorate sound for your Tv, the TCL Alto 6 Plus makes the decision much easier. This does exactly what you lot want from a soundbar: It greatly improves on the quality of the audio you hear compared to your TV'south born speakers. It'south too expressionless simple to setup and use, and information technology costs just $99.

TCL Alto 6 Plus specs specs

Toll: $99
Speakers: 2 x full range drivers, ane 10 subwoofer
Ports: 3.5mm aux in, optical in, USB-A in, HDMI ARC
Wi-Fi: Northward/A
Size: 31.5 10 4.two x ii.iv inches (soundbar),  12.8 x 7.ix x vii.nine inches (subwoofer)
Weight: Not stated

The Alto 6 Plus also sounds impressive, delivering a much bigger sound than you expect at first glance. It'south simplicity has a downside: you lot can't arrange the audio — what y'all hear is what yous get. Just for the money, you lot go more than than y'all paid for in improved audio. Keep reading our TCL Alto 6 Plus for the full verdict.

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TCL Alto 6 Plus review: Price and Availability

The TCL Alto vi Plus lists for $129.99, just you can discover it for $99.99 at Amazon, All-time Buy, Walmart, Target and elsewhere. That makes it even more affordable than i of the other high-quality, low-cost soundbar and subwoofer combos we've tested recently: the Artistic Stage V2.

TCL Alto 6 Plus review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

The Alto 6 Plus is a relatively small-scale parcel. The 31.5 10 4.two ten 2.iv inch soundbar has two drivers within and features rounded edges instead of the more than traditional rectangular aesthetic. The wireless subwoofer doesn't take up much space either, at 12.8 ten 7.nine x 7.9 inches.

Y'all can connect to your Tv set via HDMI ARC, or utilize optical digital or 3.five mm. There's a USB port for playing music and yous can stream wirelessly using Bluetooth.

The Alto 6 Plus doesn't have many special features, and then there aren't many buttons on the soundbar itself: merely power, input, Bluetooth and volume. There are 5 LED lights on the forepart: one that is always on and switches color to signal the input, and four that wink in various combinations to show you which sound mode yous've switched to, as well as signal the volume when you change it.

The remote also keeps it unproblematic, with buttons for ability, mute, input and Bluetooth. There's a bicycle that controls the book and has play/suspension, skip and back buttons for controlling music. Yous tin also select from three sound modes.

TCL Alto 6 Plus review: Operation

(Prototype credit: Hereafter)

The Alto six Plus produces a surprisingly big audio given its size and price. It makes dialog easy to hear, cheers in part to the extra resonance that the subwoofer punches in. The subwoofer also provides oomph on low-end effects, though it isn't very detailed.

While watching March Madness basketball games, the announcers were easy to understand, and Lady Whistledown'south voiceovers in Bridgerton sounded clear. In the action-heavy opening scene of The Falcon and the Wintertime Soldier, the subwoofer gave extra power to the punches and gunfire. When Thor brings the lightning downwardly on Wakanda in Avengers: Infinity State of war, the room rumbled satisfyingly — though it was a dirty rumble.

(Image credit: Future)

The Alto 6 Plus was merely okay for playing music. Some of its TV and flick strengths still practical, with the vocals on Blackness Pumas's "Burn down" sounding articulate and the bass rich. Merely the system lacks punch in the treble tones, which made the horns on the vocal sound apartment. Similarly, The Weeknd's vocalism was total on "Vivid Lights," simply the balance of the instrumentation was muted.

The little organization gets enough loud for most rooms, maxing out around 94 decibels. But information technology distorted significantly at that level, and the sound was much more pleasant at 85 decibels — which should still be loud enough for almost situations.

TCL Alto six Plus review: Setup

(Epitome credit: Future)

The repeating theme here is simplicity. Because the Alto half-dozen Plus doesn't have many features, there's non much you need to practice, or can do, during setup.

I connected the Alto half dozen Plus to my TV via HDMI, and the soundbar's HDMI sound return channel (ARC) provided a one-cable connection (the system comes with an HDMI cablevision in the bundle). Afterward the connection, I was able to use my Telly's remote to control the level of the soundbar.

TCL besides makes TVs that run Roku TV, like the excellent TCL half-dozen-Series Roku TV (R635), and the Alto 6 Plus is "Roku Television receiver Prepare." That ways if you have a Roku TV, it volition walk y'all through setting upwards the soundbar and you can use your Roku remote to control it. I didn't test this characteristic, merely setup was like shooting fish in a barrel fifty-fifty without a Roku TV.

The Alto 6 Plus has no mode to adjust to subwoofer level, which may bother some people who would prefer more or less bass. At that place's also no mobile app. In some means the lack of features was refreshing, equally soundbars get more complicated and throw in more means to complicate the setup procedure, simply if yous want the ability to adjust sound output to your tastes, and so the Alto 6 Plus is not for you.

Yous tin select ane of three sound modes — Movie, Music and Boob tube — but they don't actually change the sound much. Movie has a little more bass; Television receiver has a little more vocals; music sits between the two.

TCL Alto vi Plus review: Verdict

(Paradigm credit: Future)

For near $100, it'due south difficult to beat the Alto 6 Plus. It has a big sound and dialog is like shooting fish in a barrel to empathise. The subwoofer adds a lot to the audio and gives oomph to activity scenes. The Alto 6 Plus simply does the job without whatever fuss.

The lack of customization is a shame, but few soundbars in this cost range offer much in the fashion of audio adjustments. Vizio's SB3820-C6 has improve overall sound at the same toll, merely lacks a subwoofer. If, then, you like bass and don't want to spend more than than $100, the Alto half dozen Plus is definitely worth a heed.

• More than: The all-time soundbars at any toll

Michael Gowan covers soundbars, TVs, portable speakers and other audio- and video-related topics for Tom'southward Guide. He's written about music and engineering for more than than twenty years for a raft of publications including Wired, Men's Periodical, PC World and Macworld. When he'south not reviewing speakers, he'due south probably listening to one anyway.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/tcl-alto-6-plus-soundbar-review

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