Majority Teton Plus

Verdict

If you’re looking to boost your TV’s audio performance, and add some more bass to the equation while you’re at it, the Majority Teton Plus is a solid, inexpensive way to do so.

Introduction

Majority has carved a name for itself in producing affordable products, and one of its latest is the Teton Plus soundbar.

Despite boasting the same look it’s a step up from the Snowdon II model with new features in an HDMI ARC input and a subwoofer to give TV, films, and music some additional low frequency wallop.

Cheap products are often associated with prioritizing value over performance. Where does the Majority Teton Plus fall on the spectrum?

Design

• Too big to sit in front of most TVs
• LED indicator light for signal input
• Optical cable not included

The main unit of the Teton Plus is practically the same as the Snowdon, and that means it comes with a few of the same issues.

One is that the Teton Plus is too tall for most TVs, blocking the bottom bezel which means a TV’s IR receiver is obscured. Point your TV remote at the screen and you’ll be doing some arm gymnastics to try and find the right angle. Like the Snowdon the impression is that this is a soundbar designed to be wall-mounted with the TV sitting above.

The soundbar won’t win beauty contests with its crescent-moon shaped front, see-through grille, and grey/black finish, but for the amount of outlay I imagine most won’t be concerned.

There’s an LED light in the top right-hand corner that’s visible and bright enough to see from a seated position, changing colour depending on the input chosen (blue for Bluetooth, yellow for optical, light blue for HDMI ARC). It would have been nicer if Majority integrated a display – trying to figure out the volume (or bass/treble levels) is difficult as there’s no way of telling how loud or quiet the bar is unless you play something.

On the side are buttons that cover power, inputs, Bluetooth pairing and volume (in case you lose the remote). There’s also an aux input for connecting a player to the soundbar, though if you’re looking to control that device, you’ll need quite a long a cable if you’re sat on the couch.

The subwoofer is as nondescript as the main bar but compact and slim enough that it won’t occupy too much space. It’s a wireless effort – it automatically connects to the soundbar – so doesn’t require a cable to connect to the main bar, although Majority does recommend it’s placed within 8 metres of the main unit. It comes with a front-firing port so you don’t necessarily need to place it next to a wall – you have the freedom to move it about.

Features

• Customisable EQ
• HDMI input
• Bluetooth connectivity

The Teton Plus is a 2.1 system (two drivers, .1 for the sub) with 180W of power at its disposal. What you get is stereo sound with no 3D wizardry going on here.

Like the Snowdon there’s still no mention in the manual of whether this soundbar supports Dolby or DTS audio, but it does mention PCM several times, so if you find there’s no audio coming from the speaker, dive into your TV’s settings and change the output to PCM.

There’s Bluetooth 5 to connect another device wirelessly to the Teton Plus. Physical connections amount to RCA, optical digital inputs, plus an HDMI input. What’s great about the HDMI connection is that as soon as the TV powers off, the soundbar will do so too and vice versa, as well as being able control volume with the TV remote. A HDMI cable isn’t provided so you’ll need to buy your own.

Customisation of the sound is possible with Music, Movie, Dialog and Flat presets. When the EQ is enabled, treble and bass can be adjusted from either 0dB to 8dB (Music, Dialog) or 0db to 4db (Movie) while Flat resets EQ adjustments to default.

Sound Quality

• Strong bass performance
• Clear dialogue delivery
• A little lacking in clarity and detail

The Snowdown put in a punchy performance with the low frequencies but couldn’t provide the depth and weight required for a more cinematic performance. As the Teton Plus comes with a subwoofer, its inclusion helps beef up that area of performance, easing the reliance on the main unit to try and produce the bass.

As a result the Teton Plus’ performance is much more cinematic than the Snowdon II was thanks to the extra grunt, providing decent rumble and power watching Blade Runner 2049 with only a little bit of distortion noted with that film’s soundtrack.

The bass in the opening scene from First Man feels lean and punchy – the Majority reproducing the violence of rocket shaking and descending through the atmosphere in a decent manner.

With other films, such as Tenet, the Teton Plus offers and energetic, snappy, and dynamic performance that fits the films action scenes – it’s a soundbar that likes to go loud, and there’s lots of power afforded to boost the low end.

However, the bass can feel one-note in films such as Dune. The subwoofer doesn’t offer too much variation or depth, it doesn’t crater but at times it can sound a little too hard and intractable when pushed.

You won’t want to listen to films too loudly either. The 180W of power can be a good thing in certain circumstances, but at louder volumes the Teton Plus loses its grasp over detail. At this price I’d never have expected it to be the clearest or sharpest sounding soundbar, but at higher volumes it does begin to reach the limits if its talents.

Nevertheless, the Teton Plus puts in a solid performance as far as dialogue is concerned. Episode 5 of The Bear (Disney+) and every one of the characters sounds distinctly themselves, with dialogue sounding natural and smooth enough without veering into to being too sharp or lean.

The bar lifts dialogue onto the screen well, so voices emanate from where the characters are positioned. Switching to Freely and some daytime TV, and the bar provides good clarity and detail to voices, although I’ve found in general that male voices can sound a little too bassy. This can be altered with the EQ settings.

And unlike the Snowdon II’s EQ settings, adjusting the bass and treble does feel like it has a difference on the audio. Dialogue takes a bit of the bass out from what’s said, Movie adds more intensity and loudness, while the Music mode features bass that’s tighter and punchier. Adjusting bass and treble can draw out more bass or give voices more (or less) of a presence in the soundstage.

With music the presence of the subwoofer adds another dimension to its performance. Daft Punk’s Around the World is reproduced with some meaty bass, while Nelly Furtado’s Maneater has more power and depth. The beefiness of the sub’s performance helps with music genres that need it (R&B, Hip Hop, Dance), and although it’s not the clearest or most detailed performance, it is enjoyable thanks to the slightly warm performance the sub gives.

Latest deals