Finally, I found a room-filling soundbar that makes a subwoofer unnecessary for me

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When it comes to watching TV or playing games, I prefer my surround sound to fill the room with rich, dynamic, and accurate sound. To date, my favorite soundbar has been the JBL Bar 1000, and no other has even come close to topping that device.

My bar is set very high.

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when i received Bluesound Pulse CinemaI was sure it would sound inferior to the JBL. After all, this soundbar didn’t include a subwoofer (although it did have a single RCA output for one), so how could it compare to the bass produced by the Bar 1000?

Turns out, Pulse Cinema offers a few surprises. Let me explain.

my experience

I connected the Pulse Cinema to my TV via HDMI eARC, which was much nicer than connecting via Bluetooth (with less delay and more codec support). HDMI also meant that connectivity was easy and instantaneous. I will always prefer a wired connection to my soundbar rather than Bluetooth.

In other words, connecting the Plus Cinema Soundbar was simple.

Then came the app.

I don’t know about you, but I’m familiar with everything an app requires. I get it: It’s probably cheaper for manufacturers to rely on consumers to install the app and use their phones as remotes (rather than building and shipping a physical remote with the device).

Sometimes, these apps aren’t bad. In the case of Bluesound Pulse Cinema, the app is bad. The UI is poor, the controls are inadequate, and the overall experience is confusing. Furthermore, the ability to change the sound is also not present.

There is no EQ, which would be a huge advantage for this speaker. Additionally, you should be able to connect the soundbar to services like Spotify. No matter how hard I tried, a connection could not be made (even with my phone connected to my Spotify account).

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The app also has a bit of a learning curve, which really shouldn’t be there.

But how does it feel? After all, this is the most important aspect of a soundbar.

Fortunately, the sound produced by Bluesound Pulse Cinema makes up for the app’s problems. Yes, it would be great to have a subwoofer connected, but even without the sub, the sound is rich and dynamic.

There’s also something Bluesound calls Surround Upmixer, which turns channel-based audio into virtualized surround sound.

My JBL Bar 1000 includes two satellite speakers, which do a great job of filling the room with beautiful sound from every corner. That being said, Pulse does a remarkable job of replicating the cinema environment. This feature is enabled by default, and you’ll expect to find satellite speakers conveniently placed around the room.

This is really impressive.

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Plus, even without the sub, you get a surprising amount of rumble and rumble from the speaker. The average ear won’t miss the subwoofer. I guess the average ear might think a sub involving Pulse Cinema would be overkill.

The reason this soundbar is able to deliver such amazing sound is because of its 16 drivers, including dedicated upfiring and center channels. The speaker arrangement creates an amazingly wide 3.2.2 Dolby Atmos soundstage, and you’ll never miss a word of dialogue, a note of music or a single detail.

Even listening to the latest episode ControversyWith all the ambient sound on, I had no problem hearing dialogue. To my surprise, the dialogue didn’t seem dull at all (which is a pet peeve of mine). The voices seemed dimensional and lifelike.

vision

Although I favor the looks of the JBL Bar 1000, the Pulse is a beautiful piece of cinema technology. It is a tall pill-shaped speaker with a design plan that is not interrupted by an LED display, lights or anything else. It’s clean and beautiful. And with the ability to use it either laid flat on a table (or TV stand) or mounted on a wall, this soundbar should fit in with almost any aesthetic.

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But again, I go back to the sound, and the Bluesound Pulse Cinema delivers. I spent a few hours listening to Pulse Cinema and when I finally went back to the JBL, I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, I’m glad I’m back into this.”

In fact, after switching back to the JBL, I was surprised that the sound seemed a little less dimensional than the Pulse Cinema – and that’s saying a lot.

ZDNET Buying Advice

Bluesound Pulse Cinema isn’t cheap. At around $1,500, you can definitely buy a cheaper soundbar. Given that the JBL Bar 1000 can now be had for almost half the price of the Pulse Cinema, it’s a hard sell.

However, with Pulse Cinema, you get more for less, as well as a higher level of flexibility. Having a soundbar that gives you the feel of a subwoofer without actually needing one (and taking up space) is a significant benefit.

Also: I struggled to hear TV dialogue, until this soundbar fixed everything for cheap

I love a good subwoofer, but I’ve been in situations where it’s not practical to have one. In those cases, I’ve always felt that the lack of a low level diminished the experience. You don’t have to worry about Pulse Cinema, and that alone justifies its price.

I would have a hard time choosing between the Pulse Cinema and the JBL Bar 1000. Pulse Cinema delivers amazing depth, smooth mids and brilliant highs all at once. So, if you’re pressed for space, but still want loud, clear, dynamic sound, the Pulse Cinema is hard to beat.

Specifications

• 3.2.2 Dolby Atmos Soundbar with 16 drivers
• Built-in amplification and Dolby Atmos decoding
• Smart DSP with Automatic Orientation Sensing
• HDMI eARC, optical, analog inputs for TV setup simplified
• Subwoofer output for wired or wireless bass extension
• Optimized surround sound with Pulse M, Pulse F, Lex and SUB+
• Seamless Multi-Room Streaming with BlueOS
• Wall-mount bracket included
• Ways to listen to movies, music and late night
• High-resolution audio and MQA playback support