I have tested a fair amount of soundbars in my time, from budget bars to premium multi-speaker systems. Most of those models fit fairly neatly into the soundbar category, serving as a way to upgrade your TV’s speakers without having to fill your living room with a load of extra kit.
But the most recent product to enter our test room has not sat perfectly in that mould. Enter the Focal Mu-so Hekla, dubbed on the brand’s website an “immersive home cinema system [that] combines Dolby Atmos technology, outstanding sound performance, and ease of use.” This is a joint release coming from Naim as well as Focal, as the brands merged in 2011.
The Hekla is coming for the premium end of the market, with a serious price tag of £3000 / $3600.
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Now, I’m hesitant to call it a soundbar for a few reasons.
The Focal Mu-so Hekla takes its name from Naim’s well-regarded line of wireless speakers. That includes such products as the five-star and What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Naim Mu-so, Mu-so 2 (2019) and Mu-so Qb 2nd Gen models. And the name reveals its close ties to hi-fi as well as home cinema.
Then there is its design. The Hekla makes much more sense as a hi-fi system than a soundbar when it comes to where you can actually place it. Measuring 30cm deep and 100cm wide, the Mu-so Hekla does not offer the same pick-up-and-play build, especially compared with premium soundbars such as the KEF XIO. Its size also means it can be difficult to place in front of the TV unless you have dedicated furniture to house it.
(Image credit: Future)
On top of the system is a light-up dial (see above) which acts as a touch screen to control volume, power and input. That placement is not ideal for being below your TV, as you can’t easily see what is being displayed. Also, the light from the display can reflect off your TV screen at certain angles, which makes viewing a little distracting.
All of that means it would look more at home on a side table, much like a hi-fi system rather than a soundbar.
Its performance also stops us from calling it purely a hi-fi or soundbar system. Our full review is in the works but, spoiler alert, it sounds excellent with both music and movies. With both, we are met with an immersive, detailed and full-bodied sound that elevates whatever we throw at it.
There have been soundbars that have performed well with music and movies, but the Mu-so Hekla’s ability to handle both brilliantly certainly threatens to set new standards for the category. And that ability to do it all has made me question whether the soundbar label is becoming outdated.
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Ultimately, it’s not clear which category the Hekla fits into. We had been debating what to call it within the What Hi-Fi? team even before it entered our test room. But its show-stopping performance could move the goalposts for what we should call a soundbar – and I’m excited to see that the label will keep evolving.
MORE:
Here is our hands on review of the Focal Mu-so Hekla
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