THE BEST SOUNDBARS

The best soundbars for TV shows, movies and music from Bose, Sonos, Samsung and more.

BUYING THE BEST soundbar will give your TV the home theater the sound that it deserves. And the powerful all-in-one speaker setup will go well newer slim displays, so they don’t stick out next to your svelte screen.

Soundbars traditionally sit in front of your screen (though many can also be wallmounted) and take over the heavy audio lifting from your television. Soundbars are also the perfect solution for smaller homes that can’t quite fit a 7.1 channel speaker system. Despite most only featuring front-facing speakers, they can project sound in such a way that makes it seems as though there’s booming audio coming from behind you.

The top soundbars offer even more advanced features, like Dolby Atmos support and even multi-room audio functionality, which allows you to stream the same audio signal between different rooms in your house. Choose poorly, though, and you may end up with a soundbar that’s barely better than your TV’s built-in speakers.

WHAT’S THE BEST SOUNDBAR?

Soundbars come in many shapes and sizes, and range in price from under $200 to over $1,500 or more. Cheaper models have basic connections, more expensive ones add superior HDMI inputs (including 4K/HDR passthrough), wireless audio streaming (e.g. Bluetooth and AirPlay), better power, more refined speaker drivers, and decoding of Blu-ray sound formats.

A full surround setup is the premium solution to bad sounding televisions, but if you’re short on space (not to mention budget) then a soundbar offers a very decent compromise. Plus, these days higher-end soundbars will also include the latest and greatest audio technologies like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.

Design is also important, with some models able to sit in front of your TV on a stand while others may need a separate shelf, or to be wall mounted. However, whatever your budget, there are some cracking good acoustic upgrades to be had that can give your TV the sound it deserves.