I tested a $149 neck pillow that’s also a Dolby Atmos surround sound system — and it’s mind-blowing

Meet the OXS Satellite Neck Speaker — the add-on to my ongoing journey to find the perfect PC speakers. This $149 neck pillow (available to buy separately soon) doubles up as both a super comfortable resting place for peak posture, and a way to unlock a full Dolby Atmos-certified 7.1.2 surround sound experience while on your PC.

As you may know, I switched from my standard speakers to the OXS Thunder Pro Soundbar , which gives me all I need in an immersive soundstage for gaming, a warm, detailed quality for every genre I listen to, and an EQ mode that’s meant to be for MOBA games, but also works as a flat audio profile to edit tracks rather well.

But that’s not where the OXS journey ends, dear reader, as the Satellite Neck Speaker completes the package in some game-changing style. Let me explain.

OXS Thunder Pro+ Soundbar and Satellite Neck Speaker combo: $699 @ OXS Studio
For a full 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos surround sound system for your PC setup, OXS has truly delivered the goods. The Thunder Pro+ delivers thundering bass with an array of drivers that nail the highs and mids, while the Neck Speaker gives you those additional surrounding details for a truly immersive experience. View Deal

Adaptable and easy to set up

So if you’ve seen the OXS Satellite Neck Speaker promoted anywhere, you’ll notice it’s been put in more logical places like the skinnier headrest you find on your typical bucket seat-esque gaming chair.

With the Sihoo Doro S300 , I’ve given it an interesting wider challenge, which it has more than risen to the occasion of with its elastic, adjustable strap. On top of that, if you’re mixing up the way you game with sim racing, I can also confirm this also slotted snugly over my PlaySeat Challenge X racing seat , too.

And as far as setting it up goes, while it is an exclusive accessory to the Thunder Pro, that seamlessness of getting it going is fantastic. Just plug the 5.8G wireless dongle in the back, charge up the speaker and turn it on — no additional setup needed! From this point, you can even control the volume output of the neck speaker with the soundbar’s remote!

All about the finer details

Now, on paper, the Satellite’s specs are sort of small at a peak power output of 20 watts with two 1.75-inch full-range drivers. And when you pump a stereo song mix through it, you can feel the tightness of these drivers.

But in much of PC audio, it’s not always about the raw horsepower, it’s about what you do with it. The soundbar has more than enough capability of throwing all the bass at your face — the neck speaker is here for all those finer details.

To start with, I kicked it up a gear and fired up Assetto Corsa Competizione to really put it through its speedy paces. Jumping straight into a race really showcases just what the Satellite can do.

The roaring engine dominates the sound in front of you, just like a V8 monster would, while the cars you’re racing fill the space around your head and give you a good audio indication of where exactly these competitors are around you — so much so that I started ignoring the on-screen track radar. It’s an impressive feat with no discernible latency.

Then, for a real surround test, I turned my attention to Hellblade II , and the binaural audio is simply mind-blowing. The distant whispers of the voices in your head come at you from all angles through the neck speakers really adding to the immersion.

And no matter what I threw at it, be it a spatial audio-tuned album or a surround-sound movie, I loved every second of being locked in — spotting tiny details in the music or sound effects that I hadn’t quite appreciated before. So much so that I managed to inadvertently test the 12-hour battery life claim from OXS.

In reality, you’re getting more like nine hours here, but that 10-minute quick charge for an extra couple hours gets you back up to speed in no time. Plus, shout-out to the sheer comfort of this thing, with a fabric that both feels silky yet rubbery to the touch to keep your neck cool, and an ergonomic curve that didn’t give me any strain over one very long session of gameplay.

But what about a gaming headset?

Now I know that this will be a key question for a lot of people when they see the $700 price tag for this combination of soundbar and neck pillow. Yes, this is technically the cheat code to surround sound, and we’ve reviewed the best gaming headsets you can buy at a far lower cost.

But this is something special — a social listening experience that is also super immersive to individual players, and a chance to dodge any chance of getting the classic sweaty ear problem from over-ear gaming headsets (gross, but true).

And it doubles as a great ergonomic pillow for supporting your neck, head and shoulders, to become another top notch accessory for your desk setup. Simply put, this combo of Thunder Pro and Satellite Neck Speaker is becoming a formidable duo in PC audio — for both gaming and general purpose.

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