Yamaha True X Surround 90A

Yamaha's latest soundbar system is sometimes brilliant, but not quite perfect

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If you're a fan of soundbars, you have Yamaha to thank. The Japanese audio brand popularised the concept with the first commercially available soundbar back in 2005 with the YSP-1, which featured 42 drive units packed into an all-in-one audio solution.

A lot has changed since then. Soundbars are available in all shapes and sizes, and a fair few of them now support this thing called Dolby Atmos (you may have heard us mention it once or twice).

Naturally, Yamaha wants to keep up with the times and, as the grandfather of soundbars, it hopes to establish its rightful place as the soundbar brand among fierce competition from the likes of Sonos, Samsung and Sony.

The True X Surround 90A is the company's weapon of choice to stake that claim, and with some seriously impressive specification on paper, it could be enough to reinstate its position. However, as we know well by now, specs don't tell the full story. We will need to dig into the full capabilities of this soundbar system to see if it is truly worth its sizeable price tag - so, shall we?

At £2116, the True X Surround 90A is a pricey bit of home cinema kit. You can forget the likes of the Samsung HW-Q990F or Sonos Arc Ultra - they cost less than half the price of this system. Instead, we look to the likes of Sennheiser and KEF to provide alternatives. The KEF XIO is available for £1999, while the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max launched at £2199 - the latter can be picked up for closer to £1999 in the UK and US respectively nowadays, though it seems to have retained its original price in Australia.

The catch here is that those options include only a Dolby Atmos soundbar, whereas Yamaha is offering a soundbar, two wireless surrounds and a subwoofer all in one package.

Weighty presence