Dolby Atmos Home Cinema System - Damson S Series Wireless 5.1.2 4K Passthrough AV Receiver VERSION 1

Having lived with the S Series for a few weeks now I thought it was time to give my view on this product.I guess the first two words that come to mind are surprised and happy.Surprised that such a small system can produce such rich, involving sound and obviously happy that it does. I was very sceptical at first as having a full blown home cinema set-up I know how it should sound and I didn’t think something so small could do justice to watching movies but I have been proved wrong.I was setting up a small TV room with games consoles (for the kids) and wanted a surround sound system to finish it off. I wanted something simple the kids could use without going through a lengthy training session of “switch that on then switch to that input etc”. I looked at various sound bars but nothing really stood out. I then read a small article in Home Cinema Choice about Damson and what they were trying to achieve with their system. It was all very interesting and I kept an eye on how the system was developing.Usually I would wait until I at least seen a review in the technology press before purchasing but time was marching on and no sign of said reviews. So, after a nice online chat with Damson customer support I took the plunge and ordered the S Series.Pros:Small/compact systemWell builtEasy to set upWireless rear speakers (built in battery)Great soundGreat price – good value for money for what you get4K pass through (x2 HDMI inputs gives you option to add more equipment if you have used all the TV HDMI inputs)Cons:To be honest there aren’t really anyThe bass could maybe do with a bit more oomph but given the compact size of the subwoofer I’m probably expecting too much.The only thing I would add is the system is being used in a small room (approx. 3 square metres) so cannot comment how it would sound in a bigger room.So ultimately, I have no hesitation in recommending this product. The fact it comes with a 30 day money back guarantee means if you are not happy you can return it for a full refund but something tells me you won’t be doing that.

I'd waited so long for this system and the sound is disappointing. There is very little bass from the sub which is a shame given I think the bass can really add to cinematic experience. The soundbar has a tinny sound. The notches between volume clicks are too far apart; it's either too quiet or too loud. Soundbar on it's own sits low enough not to block TV screen, add the Atmos speaker on top and you'll be blocking the lower part of your screen if TV is mounted on a stand. The S-Cubes buzz like an old guitar amp, no denying this from Damson, in fact their response was that you can't hear the buzzing when music is playing. I'd bought extra S-Cubes and hearing a buzzing noise between each track of an album is just not good enough, the sound is ok but nothing like a Bose travel type speaker. The remote feels very cheap and flimsy. The speakers have a mix of colours from the LED, no idea why they can't show the same colour when in cinema mode e.g. soundbar and bass show red, S-cubes show blue. There's only 2 HDMI inputs so if you have say Apple TV and a Blu-Ray, that's both inputs taken up so you can't then add a games console.I really wanted to like this system and appreciate a lot of effort might have been invested but the sound is a let down and overall it feels a bit cheap.

not great for the money, returned

I'm very pleased with this system. I bought it as a sound system for my TV and, unlike some others, I have no intention of listening to music through it. The sound quality is very good, Dolby Atmos works well both through Sky Q box and from the TV Netflix App via ARC and you really can tell the difference between Dolby Atmos and Dolby Surround. Amos envelopes you with sound but the speech is still clear and other Dolby modes works fine.No issues with blue tooth connectivity. It automatically connects when you turn it on and it just works. This was the main appeal of this system for me and it works perfectly.There some issues though. Firstly, the soundbar with Atmos speakers is too high to fit under out TV. We have an 55" LG oled b7v mounted on its stand so we had to raise the stand up.Also, the volume jumps are too big. It does tend to go from too quiet to too loud in a single step. It would also be good to have separate volume controls for rear, upwards and center speakers.But otherwise I'm very pleased with this as it is half the price of the other soundbars with bluetooth speakers I was considering. Although I've got no idea how the audio actually compares....

The sound is not worth 1,000 look for something els!c!!

I received this unit and for about 2 days, it was working great. Simple to hook up and it works perfectly as long as you follow the directions, it comes with. The sound is incredible. I have had Samsung's, Sony's, etc. I was very sceptical on this with it being wireless and the sound quality from a company I never heard of before! The sound is unreal, Dolby Atmos really shines through and when you don't have a Atmos signal it directs it to 5.1 Dolby! The items are really build well, I mean there is a lot of weight to them, doesn't feel flimsy at all. I like the strong metal grills they put on all the items. Fow what you get and what it does and the price and it being the only wireless Dolby Atmos on the market, its unreal! The remote is flimsy and does not feel as strong as the other parts, but works perfectly and to be honest, if you don't throw it around, it should last! After 2 days, I started losing the signal through arc on my 55C8 OLED. I tried everything I could think of. When sources were directly plugged into the S-Woofer, it worked find. When set to ARC, it wouldn't work. Finally, I contacted them and talked to there head guy there and explained it to him and he was in the UK!! After about 90 minutes which included dropped calls, all were my fault, he kept calling me back. He finally fixed the issue. My tv must have HDMI-CEC enabled from the get go. It was awesome they kept calling me back to fix the issue at that moment. Name another tech company that does that! All an All, great product, incredible support.

Despues de mucho investigar sobre AV Receivers, decidi probar este por la promesa de Dolby Atmos y su capacidad inalambrica. Desafunadamente quede desepcionado. Despues de venir de equipos mucho mas baratos con cables y ni comparacion con la calidad de sonido.Suenan como cualquiera de los nuevos parlantes de playa inalambricos pero conectados entre si. No se le puede pedir mucho mas. El sub es completamente inexistente, y si bien al parecer se configura automaticamente casi todo a diferencia de los AV con cables, no encuentro un motivo por el cual ese AV Receiver cuente lo que cuesta. Lo he utilizado con una TV LG led y la demo de Dolby Atmos para probar estos dispositivos y el atmos es nulo en todos los demos, y siguiendo las instrucciones (online solo!) el receptor indica con luces que si esta decodificando Atmos. Una pena ya que tenia habia puesto mucha ilusion en este equipo. Los materiales relativamente de calidad. El material de plastico velvet queda muy bien pero esta en desuso ya que se ensucia y raya con extrema facilidad. Espero saquen algo de mas calidad en el futuro ya que por ese precio y ni por la mitad valdria la pena. Hay muchos AV por la mitad inlcuso packs que suenan mucho mejor.

I had no problems with the seller in fact they were reasonably responsive with customer support. The system itself performs well in regard to sound quality but there are a number of little issues that made me give this system only 3 stars. The issues include the fact that the volume control is very poor. When changing volume with the remote you can't be sure if it is going to blast you out of the room or drop down to the point where you can't hear. The steps between volume settings is so large that it is hard to avoid the volume being either to loud or too soft.It would appear to be a small complaint but the cover for the battery compartment on the remote will not stay closed so you need to tape it shut in order to keep from losing the batteries. Not a great feature on a $800 system ,makes it look like it is something that you bought back in the 80's and still have around. The hanger on the S-cubes, when installed, make it very difficult to insert the power cord for charging.

The media could not be loaded.  The system set up easily and synchronized right away. It worked well for a while then one of the S-cubes wouldn't stay connected. Shortly thereafter the sound and video would pause and a loud high pitched sound (see included video) would come out of the speakers. I was able to duplicate this with several DirecTV shows. I contacted Damson and they set up a video conference to observe what was going on. They saw/heard the problem and asked me to send the equipment back and email them a video of the issue. I had to pay to return the equipment and, when they found faults in both the main system and the S-cube, they replaced them. Since I sent the whole system in (including Atmos module) they failed to return the Atmos module until recently (after repeated requests). It now appears to be working OK, but even though they found their system was at fault I wasn't reimbursed for payment to return it. A caution to others who may have issues with the system. Also, changing channels with DirecTV often results in a black screen with sound and I have to turn the TV off and on to get the video back. Poor channel switching!

There is a lot to like about this system. For movies & TV the sound is awesome, although it could use a little more base, but for a true wireless speaker surround sound and a small footprint soundbar and satellite speakers, I dare you to find a better one. I added 2 more S cubes to my system so I'm around $1000 but that is still cheap compared to Sonos and Yamaha MusicCast. You can add up to 16 S cubes.I would give it a 5 but the lack of base, cheap remote, and hard to see buttons on S cubes and Soundbar. Maybe Damson will take some of these reviews and make the improvements necessary to put them over the top.Worth a look for sure, especially if you spouse or significant other doesn't like all the wire and large speakers mucking up the room decor.