Which soundbar for tv

Similar soundbars are compared side by side with different content, including movies, music, TV shows and games. We grade the sound quality of each by evaluating speech clarity, dynamics, bass response and musical playback. The most important consideration when choosing a soundbar is how much you want to spend.

Single-bar systems are great for smaller TVs while a soundbar-and-subwoofer combo is great for a living room. Read more in our soundbar buying guide. With only a handful of exceptions you can use any soundbar with any TV, though it does sometimes help to match TV and soundbar brands.

Some older soundbars use an optical connection and most TVs offer these as well. The exception? The second is also proprietary between Samsung soundbars and TVs, though the soundbar usually offers HDMI for connection to other brands.

Modern TVs feature very small speakers that are designed to bounce sound off your TV stand. They can sound distant and tinny as a result. Adding a soundbar will improve the sound of most TVs almost instantly, especially when it comes to reproducing speech , and will also enable you to enjoy music as well. Playing music through your TV almost always sounds better when you have a soundbar connected. Many soundbars have Bluetooth, meaning you don't need the TV on to listen to your tunes.

In general a soundbar with a wireless subwoofer is best for music as it will help reproduce dynamics as well as deep bass. Get CNET's comprehensive coverage of home entertainment tech delivered to your inbox.

CNET editors pick the products and services we write about. When you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Ty Pendlebury. Vizio V Best soundbar for the money. Jump to details. Polk Signa S3: Great for music listening. Roku Streambar: Best soundbar with streaming video. Zvox SB Best bass without a subwoofer. This setup comes with two discrete surround speakers that help to clearly and accurately localize surround objects like voices and footsteps in the sound image.

You can also use its dialogue enhancement feature to make voices more crisp and clear. Unfortunately, this soundbar doesn't support Dolby Atmos content, which can disappoint some movie fans. It doesn't support high-quality passthrough, either. That said, if you're looking for a versatile setup that won't break the bank, it's a solid choice. Minor updates to the text for accuracy. Sep 10, No changes in product picks after verifying their accuracy and availability.

Minor updates to the text for clarity. Aug 13, No changes in product picks; minor updates to the text for accuracy. Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best soundbars for most people to buy. We factor in the price a cheaper soundbar wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it , feedback from our visitors, and availability no soundbars that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere.

If you would like to choose for yourself, here's the list of all our soundbar reviews. Be careful not to get caught up in the details. No soundbar is perfect. Personal taste, preference, and listening habits will matter more in your selection. Get insider access.

Best Soundbars. Soundbar Recommendations. View all soundbar recommendations. All Soundbar Reviews Sonos Arc. Beam Gen 2. Smart Soundbar TV Speaker. Solo 5. Soundbar M Series Ma-H6. V Series VH6. V Series V51x-J6. M Series M51a-H6. V Series VH8. V Series V21x-J8. M Series M51ax-J6. M-Series M21d-H8R. GX Soundbar. Cinema Bar Smart Soundbar. Alto 8i. Alto 3. Alto 5.

Bar 5. Bar 9. Link Bar. View all soundbar reviews. Latest Soundbar Activity. See all our soundbar reviews. The best Dolby Atmos movie scenes. Sony has excellent form with soundbars, and the What Hi-Fi? Award-wining HT-A soundbar is no different. In terms of height and precision, the performance is similar to that of the Sonos Arc , but the width of the soundstage and its forward projection is more convincing.

The integrated sub is also particularly impressive with a taut, controlled and powerful performance. Alongside two HDMI 2. Read the full review: Sony HT-A Award winning Sonos Beam Gen 2 achieves a convincing, immersive performance without so much as a vertical speaker in sight. Instead, when watching Atmos content, two of the soundbars five front-facing arrays are dedicated to reproducing overhead and surround sounds. With its hefty processing power, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 uses psychoacoustic HRTF head-related transfer function technology to give the impression of height without needing to get vertical.

While genuine overhead sounds are perhaps a stretch too far for this petite performer, its virtual delivery of the Atmos format outstrips any similarly priced soundbar and even a few that are more expensive.

The Beam Gen 2 offers an enveloping, spatial soundscape with rich, detailed audio as well as tangible motion and depth. Despite the lack of upward drivers, if space and budget are limited there isn't a better Dolby Atmos soundbar that we'd recommend.

Read the full review: Sonos Beam Gen 2. Soundbars aren't new territory for Sonos, but the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Arc is the only soundbar from the brand to deliver Dolby Atmos with verticle speakers. The Sonos Arc uses 11 drivers to create your soundfield, several of which are upfiring and angled into your room to bounce sound off your walls and ceiling. It all adds up to one of the most convincing Atmos performances you can get from a soundbar.

You're transported to the heart of the action. Surround effects are expertly placed, and there's great dynamism and good weight to the sound too. Tonally, it's nicely balanced if you just want to listen to music, although it could sound a tiny bit more direct. But, there's no doubt this is a hugely impressive soundbar for the money. Read the full Sonos Arc review. Judging on a sound-per-pound basis, the five-star Sonos Beam is currently the best soundbar you can buy, but sadly not for much longer as it has just been supplanted by a newer model.

This is an affordable soundbar that could transform your listening experience. It's small, light and will fit in front of most TVs. You can wall-mount the Beam, although the optional bracket is pricey.

Sound quality is superb. Inside, four full-range drivers, one tweeter, three passive radiators and five class-D amplifiers help drive sound around your room for a more immersive, cinematic experience. The width, depth and three-dimensionality of the sound smashes expectations — you won't find a better soundbar for the money. But if you do fancy saving some money and want the still-excellent original Beam, you'd best act fast because it's officially been discontinued.

Who knows how long the stock will last? Read the full Sonos Beam review. There are some fine soundbars to be had for little money, and this JBL proves that. Build quality is good, too — it's clear that JBL has crafted this model to its usual high standards of aesthetic modernity. Given its petite size it's 60cm long and 6cm tall , the scale of the JBL's sound is a little restricted, but it still delivers a confident sound with plenty of detail, clear dialogue and punchy, rich bass at the bottom end.

You also get JBL Surround Sound, an in-house technology designed to replicate the wrap-around sound of a 5. It might not be a market leader, but this is a superb buy for an impressive all-rounder for the money.

The result is that the Sennheiser delivers a sound big enough not to need its own subwoofer, with clear, direct dialogue and detail and subtlety in spades. The way it stretches the sound around you creates a great atmosphere and really draws you into the action. To get the full Dolby Atmos effect, you'll need to wall mount or position the soundbar on the top shelf of your rack so the upward-firing speakers aren't obstructed.

It's well worth the effort, though. For those who want convincing 3D sound without the speakers, this is the best soundbar with a premium price tag that we've ever tested, which is why it retained its title once again at the What Hi-Fi Awards.

Read the full Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar review. With a multitude of soundbars competing in the budget-to-midrange market, the fact the Yamaha YAS manages to excel in some areas of sonic performance that others don't makes it pretty special.

The bar also comes with a wireless external subwoofer and plenty of features, including Bluetooth, an app to cycle between surround sound modes and an HDMI socket that enables 4K HDR passthrough.

It produces a crisp, exciting sound and proves as adept at playing music and as it does movie soundtracks. Read the full Yamaha YAS review. There's plenty to talk about with the Dali Katch One, a soundbar that offers five different audio inputs, three ways to mount it and ten drivers all working together to deliver an immersive sound experience. It is quite tall, so you really have to mount it on a wall, but that will only aid bass performance from the rear-firing drivers.

It also boasts the ability to sound fun with music too. Provided you have space to wall mount it, this bar will be a delightful addition to any TV set-up.

Read the full Dali Katch One review. JBL's soundbar is the closest you can get to the big-screen sound experience without crowding your lounge with separates. The 5. It's small enough to fit under almost any TV yet feels solid and well built.

And it packs a lot into its modest dimensions: there are five 48 x 80mm racetrack drivers complemented by four 75mm passive radiators and a grille that runs from ear to ear with two more drivers on the hood to deliver height effects. It uses Dolby Virtual Atmos rather than the full-fledged real deal but still manages to fill a room with sound. The sound quality is outstanding, with no rough edges at all, even when you turn it right the way up.

If you have a large room to fill but only enough space for a soundbar instead of separates, this could be the ideal solution. Read the full JBL Bar 5. It makes film soundtracks so immersive you'll think you're in the movie. The HT-ST is fantastic — pairing a real sense of height thanks to its upfiring drivers with sophisticated sound quality. You can also stream music to it wirelessly via wi-fi or the Bluetooth 4. The design of the remote is a bit fussy, but that's really our only gripe.

If you really value the low end of the sonic spectrum, then a soundbar with a separate sub is a must. However, very few soundbar subs perform as well as Samsung's QA with a muscular, room-filling sound and a gut-busting bass, all contained within a relatively small package.

So what's hidden under the grille? Across the front edge of the main soundbar are three forward-facing channels, and on the top are two upward-facing tweeters that provide height channels for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X formats, while the modestly sized sub has a side-firing 20cm driver and rear port, for a capable 3. Not only does the QA offer powerful overall performance, but it also has a broad feature set. The sound from this excellent soundbar is hugely engaging, and it looks very dapper to boot.

The bar delivers a wide, spacious soundstage and pings effects around the room with ease, giving them ample room to manoeuvre. Add some hefty low-end heft to thicken the sound, and you have a punchy soundbar that wipes the floor with many of its rivals. Not sure about a red soundbar? Don't worry; the grilles are removable. Red, white and black come as standard, but you can splash out on six other snazzy colours, including purple and lime green.

As you'd expect for the money, this is a solid bit of kit with a well-designed chassis and decent connectivity. For high-quality music streaming, there's aptX Bluetooth, plus two optical inputs, micro USB so you can hardwire it to a Mac or PC and access high-res tracks and a sub socket, should you feel the need to hook up a subwoofer.