“The Majority Sierra Plus delivers an entertaining, enjoyable home cinema sound. Its soundstage is broad and dialogue is clear and engaging”
View online review whf.cm/SierraPlus
£270
Given its ubiquity, it’s hard to believe that not long ago Dolby Atmos was new terrain for cinema sound. Initially tethered to the big screen and then available only to those with home theatre installs, Dolby Atmos sound from a system with height drivers can now easily be added to your living room courtesy of a premium soundbar.
But just because this new pinnacle of home audio has hitherto been the preserve of pricier products doesn’t mean it can’t successfully exist at a lower price point. Seeking to blaze that trail is Majority’s Sierra Plus soundbar, which offers 2.1.2 channels of sound with Dolby Atmos decoding for just £270, less than the price of many standard non-Atmos soundbars.
British brand Majority has been making affordable AV equipment, such as radios, mics and DVD players, for a decade. The Sierra Plus sits at the top of the company’s nine-strong range of affordable, mountain-themed soundbars, the cheapest of which, the Atlas, is a mere £30. It’s also available as a standalone soundbar without the sub for £210, but there are no options to expand it with rear surrounds.
Dolby Atmos soundbars with upward-firing drivers such as the Sierra Plus are a rarity at this price point, and unlike most of its competitors the Majority does not use virtual Atmos processing.
Virtual Atmos, without height drivers, isn’t necessarily inferior to ‘true’ Atmos, and it’s fair to say we would rather listen to a top-performing soundbar with virtual decoding than a lacklustre one with height drivers. The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is the benchmark at this price. It may have only front-facing drivers, but this What Hi-Fi? Award winner has a class-leading sound, wi-fi streaming and can be supplemented by adding rear speakers and a sub.
SMART APPEARANCE
Wi-fi connectivity is a bit beyond the scope of what the Sierra Plus can offer. Instead, this budget bar has Bluetooth on board for music streaming, and hard-wired inputs for HDMI ARC, optical, mini-jack and USB. Unlike the Beam, however, the Sierra Plus also gives users two further HDMI 4K HDR passthrough ports to connect external devices, such as a games console or Blu-ray player, directly.
The Sierra Plus has a smart appearance that wouldn’t look out of place under a TV several times its price. At just over 8cm high, it’s on the tall side, but sho
