Surprise! The hottest new affordable Dolby Atmos soundbars come from a big-name vacuum specialist, and they look good on paper

• Dream launches 3.1.2-channel soundbar system with 500W total output
• And a 5.1.2-channel system with 630W of power
• Roughly $310 and $630, currently China-only

Nature, they say, abhors a vacuum – and it sometimes seems that vacuum cleaner firms would rather be making more exciting things too.

Following in the footsteps of Dyson, which decided to move into the headphone market with its OnTrac headphones, another vacuum manufacturer is embracing audio. This time it's Dreame, best known for its robotic, cordless and corded vacuum cleaners. But the firm also makes home entertainment products, and now it's moving into soundbars.

Let's get the joke out of the way, shall we? All together now… I hope they don't suck!

As with Dyson's headphones, the jump to soundbars is maybe not that odd if you think creatively: most of Dreame's products are about moving air around, and that's what speaker and headphone drivers do.

And Dreame's Pano S1 and S2 are designed to move a lot of air around, with the S2 putting out a whopping 630 watts.

Dreame Pano S1 and S2: key features and pricing

Both models support Dolby Atmos and have Bluetooth 5.4, and both are very loud: the more modest of the two, the Pano S1, still puts out a hefty 500W of power.

The S1 is a 3.1.2 system featuring a main soundbar with nine speaker drivers – three full-range, three tweeters and two Atmos up-firing speakers – and a 6.5-inch wireless subwoofer. The diaphragms in the drivers are plant-fiber composite and the tweeters are silk domes.

Connectivity is decent: HDMI with eARC; optical, aux and USB. Frequency response is 45Hz to 20kHz and there are three sound modes for music, cinema and gaming.

The more powerful Pano S2 is a 5.1.2-channel system with a larger sub: 8 inches to the S1's 6.5. It includes rear speakers, which have one tweeter and one full-range driver apiece, while the main soundbar has three full-range drivers, two Atmos up-firers and two tweeters.

The larger sub means lower bass – frequency response for the S2 goes down to 40Hz.

For now these are exclusive to the Chinese market, where Notebookcheck.net says they're priced at roughly $310 / £234 / AU$469 for the S1 and $630 / £477 / AU$955 for the S2 before shipping, tariffs and taxes.

Dreame has been breaking into the US and European markets, so perhaps there'll be a new competitor among the best soundbars soon enough.

The best soundbars for all budgets

➡️ Read our full guide to the best soundbars
1. Best overall:
Samsung HW-Q800D
2. Best budget:
Sony HT-S2000
3. Best premium all-in-one:
Klipsch Flexus Core 300
4. Best Dolby Atmos surround system:
Samsung HW-Q990F

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