PUMP UP THE VOLUME

As TV screens become slimmer, unfortunately so too do the speakers, meaning the sound coming out of a TV set is often worse than it was a decade ago. Fortunately, there’s now a convenient solution: the soundbar. These elongated speakers sit below your screen and pump out all the power and precision your TV can’t, while taking up as little space as possible. Some come with an additional speaker called a subwoofer to boost the bass. These tend to sit behind the sofa and are often connected wirelessly to the soundbar. Here are our top four soundbars...

BEST ON A BUDGET Acoustic Energy Aego, £249

The Aego soundbar proves that you don’t need a huge budget to bag yourself a quality sound system. The robust soundbar is accompanied by a separate powerful bass speaker that really helps to bring Hollywood into your living room. On the down side, the bass speaker does need to be connected by cable to the soundbar, potentially making it harder to tuck out of view than the wireless alternatives below. On the plus side, you can play music wirelessly from your smartphone, tablet or Bluetooth-ready laptop.

BEST FOR MULTI-ROOM AUDIO Sonos Playbar, £699

Boasting superb, powerful, detailed sound, this can be upgraded with a separate subwoofer and

Sonos Play 3 speakers for a true surround-sound setup. It also integrates seamlessly into the brilliant multi-room experience (which allows you to share music wirelessly all around your house) Sonos is justly famed for. This means you could, in theory, still hear the TV show you’re watching as you move to the kitchen to make a cup of tea.

BEST FOR VALUE Samsung HW-MS650, £499

Delivering all its sonic power from a single box – there’s no need to accommodate a separate subwoofer or other speakers – this is extraordinary, offering a wider, more detailed, more robust and more bass-heavy sound than any other speaker in its class.

BEST FOR A CLUTTER-FREE ROOM Yamaha YAS-207, around £350

While this might not give you the precision of a multi-speaker surround-sound system, this two-piece set cleverly bounces beams of sound off your walls to create a similar effect that’s more immersive than you’d think possible for such a relatively modest outlay.