Focal Mu-So Hekla Soundbar Review: Dolby Atmos With 1 Speaker

I watched Avatar: Fire and Ash using the Fandango at Home app, and in one scene, there’s an alarm chime during an attack sequence that fills the room. A main character is running out of oxygen, and you can hear the warning beeps move from the side to the center. Even when I watched Crime 101 using the Amazon Prime app, the droning synths and pounding drums sounded ultrarealistic, even compared to my own floor-standing speakers. All good so far, but I will be curious to get my hands on the LG Sound Suite speakers, because they are the first to support Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, which lets you put speakers anywhere. With the soundbar, sub, front, and rear speakers, the LG system could be a top pick for its unique feature, just as the Mu-so Hekla is for its one-box setup.

For movies, the Mu-so Hekla could even replace an AV receiver if you are space-constrained. I hate running speaker wire everywhere, so a stand-alone speaker does have a certain appeal. In side-by-side testing, however, a full multiple-speaker setup is more like a movie theater.

Games, News, Sports, and Everything Else

Using the DirecTV streaming app, I watched a hockey game, a news broadcast, and several television shows. During the NHL game, I could hear the announcers even with the crowd noise and blaring horns. A David Muir news broadcast on ABC was also clear and distinct. I was worried the Hekla’s full-throttle bass would overwhelm those broadcasts, but it was more subdued and made the main center vocals sound clear.

For games, I felt Forza Horizon 5 was not as convincing for surround sound as the movies and shows. You would expect to hear cars zooming by on the side and rear channels thanks to the audio drivers, but it didn’t feel like I was transported to the racetrack. My current gaming obsession, Crimson Desert, also didn’t blow me away with surround-sound audio, although the sweeping epic score of that game sounded much better than the Sony Bravia Theater System 6 soundbar, especially at full volume.

Movies are specifically designed for Dolby Atmos, though, so it’s not a surprise that the games I tested didn’t create a cocoon of surround sound. In fact, that’s the main takeaway here: The Mu-so Hekla soundbar is my top pick for movies and Atmos albums as a stand-alone speaker. The Cambridge Audio Evo One is a better stand-alone speaker for music. If you add multiple speakers and a sub to the Sonos Arc Ultra, the price is roughly the same as the Mu-so Hekla, and the Atmos surround sound is similar in overall quality. If you’re tight on space or want the best possible Atmos experience from one speaker, the Mu-so Hekla is the best option.

Note that this soundbar is currently only available through Focal dealers; you may be able to order it over the phone, but it’s better to visit a local showroom and listen for yourself.