The TCL S55H is a budget 2.1 soundbar released in 2024 that's compatible with Dolby Atmos. It comes with a subwoofer that connects wirelessly, which the manufacturer claims will combine with the 'dual horn echo chambers' in the bar itself to enhance bass performance. The bar also features some technologies that are more commonly found in higher-end bars, like AI Sonic-Adaption, which tunes the output to your room's acoustics, and 'Tutti Choral,' which works with compatible TCL TVs to utilize the TV's speakers as a center channel that supposedly improves Atmos performance.
Our Verdict
The TCL S55H is decent for mixed usage. It has a reasonably balanced default sound, with some thump in the bass range, courtesy of the dedicated subwoofer. However, there's some roll-off in the highs that can cause sibilants, like S and T sounds, to sound muffled in dialogue. Its height, surround, and soundstage performances leave something to be desired, too, as the overall sound isn't too immersive. Thankfully, this bar is capable of getting quite loud without compressing. There are also a few sound enhancement options, like the AI Sonic-Adaptation room correction tool and 'Tutti Choral,' which lets you sync a compatible TCL TV's speakers to use as a center channel.
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Can get quite loud with minimal compression.
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Dolby Atmos-compatible.
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AI Sonic-Adaptation room correction tool.
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Disappointing height performance with Atmos content.
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No Full HDMI In.
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Downmixes surround sound content.
The TCL S55H soundbar is good for dialogue and TV shows. Its mid-range output is mostly balanced, resulting in the smooth reproduction of dialogue and voices. It can also get quite loud without compressing, resulting in a relatively natural reproduction of speech, even when it's competing with blaring bass sounds. There's also a dialogue enhancement mode to add further clarity. Sadly, the center performance isn't the best, as this bar lacks a discrete center channel. This can mean that it's harder to pinpoint voices during busier scenes and detracts from their intelligibility. Latency is also high when using an HDMI eARC connection, which can cause lip-sync issues between the audio and video. Unfortunately, there's no AV sync function to manually adjust for this either.
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Can get quite loud with minimal compression.
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AI Sonic-Adaptation room correction tool.
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High HDMI latency, no AV Sync feature.
The TCL S55H soundbar is good for music. It has a pretty balanced default sound profile that can be refined with some bass and treble adjustments. There's a decent amount of bass on top thanks to the dedicated subwoofer, and the balanced mid-range renders vocals and lead instruments with detail. The treble range is somewhat recessed, though, resulting in sibilants, like cymbals, sounding a little muffled. The stereo soundstage also isn't the most immersive sounding. That said, it's capable of getting quite loud with minimal compression, and you can take advantage of the AI Sonic-Adaptation feature to tune the sound to your room or pick from one of the many EQ presets.
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Can get quite loud with minimal compression.
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AI Sonic-Adaptation room correction tool.
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Downmixes surround sound content.
The TCL S55H soundbar is okay for movies. Its relatively balanced stereo frequency response means that revving engines in chase sequences sound vivid, but there are some inconsistencies in the treble range that can rob sibilants of presence. Thankfully, the balanced mid-range ensures that dialogue and vocals remain clear and accurate. This bar is also capable of outputting plenty of volume without compressing too much, which is great for larger watch parties. That said, its surround and height performances with Atmos aren't the best, so dimensional audio lacks the immersive quality of setups with discrete satellite speakers. Latency is also quite high when using an HDMI eARC connection, which can result in sync issues between the audio and video. Sadly, there's no AV sync function to manually adjust for this either.
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Can get quite loud with minimal compression.
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Dolby Atmos-compatible.
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AI Sonic-Adaptation room correction tool.
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High HDMI latency, no AV Sync feature.
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Disappointing height performance with Atmos content.
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Downmixes surround sound content.
- 7.1 Mixed Usage
- 7.5 Dialogue/TV Shows
- 7.5 Music
- 6.7 Movies
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Updated Nov 11, 2024:
This review originally described the soundbar as being made of aluminum, but it's plastic, which has been corrected throughout the review. The text in Audio Format Support: Optical has been corrected to state that it supports DTS and Dolby Digital. The all-in-one TCL S45H is also mentioned in Style - Bar.
- Updated Sep 24, 2024: Review published.
- Updated Sep 17, 2024: Early access published.
- Updated Sep 04, 2024: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Aug 01, 2024: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Jul 09, 2024: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
- Updated Jul 06, 2024: The product has won our suggestion poll, so we'll buy and test it soon.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The TCL S55H comes in just one color variant: 'Black' (here's its label). You can also purchase the TCL S45H, which is a very similar soundbar without the wireless sub. You might also see the TCL S55H referred to as the S5XH, which is another designation for the same model.
If you come across another variant, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Soundbars
The TCL S55H is a 2.1 Atmos-compatible soundbar released in 2024. It boasts features like AI Sonic-Adaptation (a room correction tool) and 'Tutti Choral' (which lets you use a compatible TCL TV's speakers as part of the sound field) that are quite rare to find at the budget price point. The Hisense HS2100, for example, comes in at a similar price point but lacks Atmos compatibility and any kind of room correction feature. That said, it has a more balanced default frequency response and lower latency via an HDMI connection.
See also our recommendations for the best budget soundbars, the best soundbars under $200, and the best small soundbars.
The Hisense HS2100 and the TCL S55H are both budget-minded 2.1 soundbar setups. However, depending on your preferences, these two bars have contrasting strengths. The Hisense has a more balanced default frequency response, a slightly wider soundstage, and significantly lower latency via HDMI ARC, meaning there's less chance of running into AV sync issues that can detract from dialogue-heavy content. That said, the TCL comes with more premium features, like AI Sonic-Adaptation room correction and Atmos compatibility. It can also get louder while compressing less, and owners of compatible TCL TVs can benefit from 'Tutti Choral,' which incorporates your TV's speakers into the sound field. The deciding factor for many users will be the TCL's Atmos compatibility. That said, there's an argument to be made that the lack of satellite speakers and convincing height performance nullifies this somewhat.
Whether the TCL S55H or TCL S45H is better depends more on whether you have room for a subwoofer more than on their performances. Their performances and capabilities are nearly identical, except that, unsurprisingly, the TCL S55H, with its dedicated subwoofer, sounds better with a fuller bass response.
The TCL S55H is an improvement on the TCL Alto 8+ in most aspects. While both soundbars feature a 2.1 setup, the S55H features a more balanced default sound that's less dominated by bass frequencies. It can also get louder with less compression as you crank the volume, and its center and surrounds performances are a step up. Furthermore, the S55H also features Atmos compatibility and AI Sonic-Adaptation, which tunes the sound to your room's acoustics. The only thing in favor of the Alto 8+ is a slightly wider stereo soundstage.
The Samsung HW-B650 and the TCL S55H both fall into the budget soundbar category but fulfill slightly different purposes. The Samsung's 3.1 setup comes with a discrete center channel, which makes all the difference when compared to the TCL's simulated phantom center. It also has a more balanced default sound profile and a better dynamics performance, which makes it a great fit for those who value clear and detailed dialogue. It also has lower latency via HDMI and comes with an HDMI In port, meaning it can function as a hub between your console and TV. That said, the TCL is Atmos-compatible and comes with a better suite of sound enhancement features, like AI Sonic-Adaptation, which tunes the sound to your room's unique acoustic characteristics.
Test Results
The TCL S55H has a sleek and modern rectangular design with beveled edges. It's made of plastic that resembles brushed aluminum, with a metal grille covering the front drivers. It's very similar looking to the standalone TCL S45H, but it's a slightly lighter shade of black.
The subwoofer is quite tall and thin, made of plastic that resembles brushed aluminum. It's a slightly different color from the bar itself. While all its ports are located at the back, it can be connected wirelessly to avoid the clutter of cables.
The soundbar is low-profile and won't obstruct your view of your TV. While its design isn't exactly compact, it's possible that it can fit between the legs of larger TVs, though this will depend on your TV.
The subwoofer takes the form of a rectangle, which is around the size of the average PC Mini tower.
This soundbar comes with mounting brackets and screws, so you can attach it to your wall for a more streamlined look.
The build quality seems decently solid. While it's quite lightweight, this doesn't translate to feeling cheap or flimsy, and its surfaces are more resilient to fingerprints than plastic.
- Remote with batteries (2x AA)
- Wall-mounting kit
- Wall-mounting template
- HDMI cable
- Power cable x2
- Quick-start guide
- User manual
The TCL S55H has a decent default stereo frequency response. Using the standard EQ setting, with AI Sonic-Adaptation enabled, the sound is mostly balanced across the entire range, though it lacks some punch and rumble in the bass range. While vocals and dialogue come through with detail, there's some roll-off at the top of the treble range that can cause sibilants to sound a little dull and lispy.
If you're after a more balanced sound, you can adjust the bass to 2, while keeping the treble as standard. This adds a bit more oomph in the low-end, while maintaining clarity and detail in the mids and treble ranges.
The stereo soundstage performance is okay. It creates a sound that seems to be about as wide as the bar itself, though sounds at the peripheries of the stereo field seem more distant. Focus across the bar is decent with content that involves minimal audio objects, though the sound can become disjointed with busier tracks or action-packed sequences.
The TCL S55H has great stereo dynamics. It can get loud enough to fill the average room with sound, and there's fairly minimal compression as you crank the volume up, with not much in the way of pumping artifacts.
The center performance is reasonable. While there's no dedicated center channel to improve the clarity of vocals and dialogue, it employs a phantom center between the left and right channels to simulate this. The center's balanced mid-range means that voices are mostly clear, with minimal distortion even at max volume. Clarity can become more muddled in more dense musical arrangements or busy movie sequences though.
This soundbar also comes equipped with TCL's 'Tutti Choral' feature, which allows you to connect a compatible TCL TV with up-firing drivers to improve height performance. While we expected this feature to have some impact on center channel performance, too, we found that it didn't affect this much when using a TCL QM8 TV, though it did subjectively increase the volume of height in Atmos content.
The TCL S55H has a poor surrounds performance. Given its 2.1 format, it has to downmix surround sound content to stereo, which results in a closed-off sound that isn't particularly immersive compared to other setups with satellite speakers. As a result, sound effects aren't spread across a wide sound field; instead, they seem to come from directly in front of you.
The height performance with Atmos content is poor. This soundbar lacks up-firing drivers that bounce sound off the ceiling and, as a result, Atmos playback is often one-dimensional and lacks any sense of verticality. While dramatic left/right sweeps are registered across the width of the bar, sounds like ascending helicopter rotors seem static and lack any sense of movement. Scenes involving multiple audio objects in motion sound muddled and cluttered, with very minimal detail involved.
This soundbar also comes equipped with TCL's proprietary 'Tutti Choral' technology, which allows you to connect a TCL TV's speakers to the soundbar. While this is advertised to improve height performance in Atmos content, we found that it made only a marginal difference in increasing height volume.
This soundbar comes with a few sound enhancement options that can help you tailor the sound to your needs. There are a few EQ presets available, including 'Music,' 'Movie,' 'Voice,' 'Sports,' 'Standard,' and 'Game.' There are also some sound effects that can be applied like 'Night' mode, which tones down the sub to avoid disturbing others, and 'Surround Enhance,' which boosts the width of surround sound content. 'Dialogue Enhance' is a useful tool to achieve even more vocal clarity, and there's also virtual surround support in the form of DTS Virtual:X (which we found did little to improve the immersiveness of DTS content).
You can connect this bar using both Optical and HDMI connection types. There's even a USB port in case you want to play back MP3, WMA, WAV or FLAC files via a thumb drive. Sadly, there's no Full HDMI In port for video passthrough, though.
The TCL S55H supports a few popular audio formats, including Dolby Digital, Dolby Atmos, and DTS. DTS:X support is eschewed in favor of DTS Virtual:X, however.
This bar supports Dolby Digital, DTS, and 2.0 PCM content via its Optical port.
While latency values are good when playing back PCM or Atmos content using an HDMI eARC connection, they're high enough when playing Dolby Digital content that you can encounter lip-sync issues between the audio and video. Unfortunately, this bar doesn't come with an AV Sync function, so you can't manually adjust for this either.
Audio latency via the Optical port is great, which means that you'll encounter minimal issues with your audio and video not syncing.
This soundbar lets you wirelessly stream audio from your devices via Bluetooth.
The TCL S55H bar has an LED strip on the top surface that indicates the audio source, the volume level, and the status or level of a particular sound enhancement feature. However, it lacks any kind of numerical display that can give more clear feedback.
There are a few basic controls located on the bar's top panel. These allow you to power it on/off, switch the input source, enable Bluetooth pairing, or turn the volume up/down.
This bar comes with a remote that gives you control over a lot of the essential functions. There's also a companion app you can use, which allows you to adjust parameters from your mobile device more easily.