Majority Audio Bowfell Halo Atmos

For anyone looking to upgrade their TV’s sound with an Atmos soundbar, it’s become the norm to spend anywhere between £500 - £1000 to get something worthwhile – and even more if you want a subwoofer and satellite speakers too. So when a package promises all of the above for under £170, you’d be forgiven for wondering exactly what the catch is, if you haven’t already dismissed it out of hand.

However, that is exactly what the somewhat confusingly named Majority Audio Bowfell Halo Atmos 5.1 is offering. The brand has been making a pretty good name for itself in the affordable home audio segment for a little while, so when it arrives in a box you I can hardly believe could hold an entire AV sound system, I’m intrigued as to how it will perform.

The soundbar itself is incredibly compact, measuring just over 40cm long (7 x 40.5 x 9cm, HxWxD), and is joined by an equally compact front-ported wireless subwoofer (32 x 15 x 19cm, HxWxD), plus two palm-sized circular rear speakers. These satellites need to be wired to each other, as well as to mains power, and while that’s unsurprising at this price, it does make accommodating them much trickier in aesthetic terms, with wires that are almost impossible to hide.

Every piece of this package is predictably plasticky and lightweight, but does feel solid enough for its price. There’s a basic remote in the box, and top-mounted controls for power, source and volume – you’ll need the remote to select from the four EQ settings (Music, Movie, News and Sport), but otherwise I barely use it, since the soundbar responds to volume changes from my TV remote out of the box. 

As for connectivity, it’s a simple offering, but respectable enough for its level. It includes the option of a single HDMI eARC or optical input for connecting to your TV, an ‘aux’ line in and a USB port for music playback, plus Bluetooth 5.3. 

Sound Quality

Majority Audio doesn’t shout about exactly what’s running the show here, but we do know that there are three front-facing drivers inside the soundbar, one each in the surrounds and a downwards-facing woofer in the sub, driven by 300w of power. Since there are no upward-firing drivers, that means any Atmos effect (and Atmos only, might I add – there’s no DTS support here) will be virtualised, as it is in the Sonos Beam.

After flicking between the options, I select the ‘Movie’ (EQ2) setting for the majority of my testing, though the differences between them are subtler than you might find elsewhere. The Movie EQ has the best bass presence of the lot, though, giving a decent amount of body and weight. 

I’m pleasantly surprised at what I hear. There are understandable limitations here – and we’ll get to them – but for its price the sound is clear and upfront, bass is solid, and you can push the volume plenty loud enough while, for the most part, keeping distortion at bay. At this price, that isn’t always a given. 

Dialogue is projected well, and even in busier scenes the soundbar still does a good job of pushing it forward in a mix so it doesn’t get lost in the madness. Poor dialogue from TV sound is one of the big reasons people shop for a soundbar, and the Bowfell Halo Atmos will certainly solve that.

I would say the soundbar is a little on the “shouty” side though, and it doesn’t serve up the most refined, or the most natural, performance. Even at average volumes, its upfront sound can feel a bit unrelenting, and it’s not helped by the fact the dynamics at play here are fairly flat. You don’t get much by way of light and shade, and so when you push the volume even louder, that character is only more pronounced. 

It’s fair to say this soundbar struggles to escape its physical constraints too, and when you push the volume you don’t necessarily get a more expansive sound. It goes louder, but it doesn’t really sound any bigger. It’s hard to forget the size of the bar the sound is coming from.

Tonal balance isn’t bad, but I knock the treble down a few notches in the EQ settings to help get rid of some of the sharpness I hear at those louder volumes, and you can also do this with bass if you wish (as well as adjust the balance of sound between the soundbar and the rear speakers). 

I’d say adjusting the rear speakers is a must. At their default setting they are so quiet I can barely hear them when watching movies – even with them placed directly behind me. Once I bump their volume up in the menu, they are much more effective. However, just be sure to take them back down if you’re listening at a lower level, as they don’t adjust in tandem with the bar’s main sound. 

Their integration with the main bar is a bit of a mixed bag – sometimes the sound feels disconnected when it leaves the soundbar and arrives at the rears, but at other times it can really help give an extra dimension. I find they are particularly good with making soundtracks feel immersive, but am also surprised by how effective and subtle they can be with well-placed sound effects at times too. For a living room with multiple listening positions they might struggle to create a huge impact - but for a bedroom, or student digs? I think they’re a positive addition – I just wish you could turn them off entirely for music. 

Atmos, though, feels MIA for the most part, and I don’t think you should buy this system expecting much in the way of height. The Bowfell Halo can lift some sound effects to about the edge of the TV but I’ve yet to hear it do much more than that. Interestingly, there’s a Majority Audio Bowfell Halo system that looks near enough identical but without the Atmos name, and it’s around £50-60 cheaper – I’d be intrigued to hear the difference. 

As for music, it’s a passable performance if you aren’t listening with too critical an ear. A lot of the criticisms I’ve made regarding TV sound follow through to music - and are occasionally more pronounced. Ultimately, it’s a small performance that can be pushed loud, but sounds a little thin, or overly processed, if you do. Still, there’s enough energy to get your foot tapping, and there are no sharp edges or anything that makes it an uncomfortable listen – it’s just lacking body and detail.

‍Living with the Majority Audio Bowfell Halo Atmos

Getting set up with the Majority Audio Bowfell Halo Atmos package is pretty straightforward, with the sub connecting wirelessly to the soundbar automatically once connected to power. The rear speakers are supposed to do that too, but I actually have to manually pair them – it’s a little fiddly but easy enough if you follow the instructions. Even with that, it only takes a few minutes to be up and running. 

There’s no wi-fi on board here, which in many ways helps reduce the opportunity for technical glitches. This does of course mean there is no control app for tweaking the various settings, but there is a small dot matrix display that helps you navigate that. It lets you know some worthwhile information, such as volume level, EQ selection and level, input and the sound format that’s playing, and it’s a lot clearer than the random selection of LEDs you see on some budget bars.

For placement, I have the soundbar on my TV stand and it tucks easily below my screen without blocking it. It can be wall mounted if you prefer, as can the rears, and there is a kit for doing so in the box. The rear speakers do need to be placed the correct way round so make sure you pay attention to that – the main satellite, which needs plugging into power, goes on the left side. If this isn’t possible due to your socket location, you can switch them using the “pair” button on the back.

At just 40cm long, the soundbar does look a little swamped by my 55-inch TV, and overall I would imagine it would look more at home under a smaller TV in a kitchen or bedroom. 

‍Conclusion

When you invest in a whole soundbar sound system for £169, there are some expectations that should go along with that. If they do, the Majority Audio Bowfell Halo Atmos 5.1 package is a great-value setup that makes a particularly solid option for secondary, smaller spaces in a home, like bedrooms. I’m not sold on it as a main system, but it will amplify your TV’s sound effectively if that’s your aim, and would make a nice setup to send a teenager off to uni with.

As mentioned, it probably works best when paired with a smaller TV, not only from a visual perspective, but because it would also have all the more impact - smaller TVs only struggle even more to produce any decent sound.

There are criticisms that have to be raised though, because there are downsides to consider - its poor Atmos performance perhaps the greatest of all. If you can overlook them, though, this little package does a great job at boosting TV sound, giving it added dimension and serving up energy along the way. 

‍Listening notes

Extraction 2 Netflix
The film’s famous 21-minute “one-shot” action sequence is an attack on the senses, not least for the pure amount of violence that fills it from start to finish. Of course, this is perfect for system testing and the soundbar shows a good handling of crisp, solid and impactful gunshots. You get a good sense of immersion from the rear speakers too, with gunshots, car crashes and helicopters coming at you from all angles. The system can sound a bit overloaded when there’s a lot going on at once though, and although surround sound effects are generally well placed, the Atmos part of the soundtrack is mild at best.

‍Apex Netflix
A foreboding soundtrack, Taron Egerton’s deranged hunting cry and a whole lot of rainy jungle running give the surround speakers plenty of opportunity to show what they’re made of. And they do a pretty good job. When the rain falls around them after Ben has captured Sasha, you do feel suitably immersed, with the dialogue between them always lifted above the action.

‍Kesha Woman
With its treble knocked down a notch or two, the soundbar handles all of the blaring trumpets in this track with surprising restraint, and there’s enough energy here to keep it interesting too. It does sound a little congested in some sections though, and the instruments can lean towards sounding a little unnatural too.

If you’re on a very strict budget, or if you’re looking to boost the sound on a secondary TV in your house, the Majority Audio Bowfell Halo Atmos is a solid choice when approached with sensible expectations.

A smaller TV. The more compact dimensions of this soundbar would look most at home sat under a 32- or 43-inch TV.