Yamaha TRUE X SURROUND 90A

The Yamaha TRUE X SURROUND 90A is the pair of wireless surround speakers from Yamaha’s TRUE X system. They pair to a TRUE X soundbar as rear channels, and they run on internal batteries rather than mains power.

Because they are battery-powered they detach and work as ordinary portable Bluetooth speakers, so the same pair covers the garden in the afternoon and the film in the evening.

What Apple Home actually does with it

This is an AirPlay 2 device rather than a HomeKit accessory.

• It appears in the Home app as a speaker you can play to, and as an AirPlay target in Control Centre.
• You can put it in a room and group it with HomePods for synchronised multi-room audio.
• Siri can send music to it by room name.
• It can be the audio output in a scene or an automation.

Television sound does not go through Apple Home at all. That arrives over HDMI ARC or optical from the television, and the soundbar’s own remote and app control the modes and the volume.

Before you buy

These are an accessory to a soundbar, not a standalone system. They need a compatible Yamaha TRUE X bar, such as the TRUE X BAR 90A, to work as surrounds.

The freedom from mains sockets behind the sofa is the main argument for the whole system. Weigh that against remembering to charge them.

Specifications