13 Best Soundbars We’ve Tested and Reviewed (2025): Sonos, Sony, Bose

2 weeks ago

Honorable Mentions

Photograph: Parker Hall

There are a batch of awesome soundbars retired there, and we don’t person room to characteristic them all. Here are immoderate others you mightiness want to consider.

LG's S95TR for $1,000-1,500: LG's 9.1.5-channel soundbar (8/10, WIRED Recommends) doesn't execute arsenic good arsenic Samsung's flagship Q990 series, but it could beryllium a amended prime for those pinch newer LG TVs for illustration nan C4, which tin link wirelessly and usage its speakers successful tandem pinch nan barroom for much immersion. It besides supports gaming features for illustration 120-Hz pass-through, but only includes 1 spare input.

Sony Bravia Theater 9 for $1,400: Sony’s follow-up to nan potent HT-A7000 flagship soundbar regresses successful immoderate cardinal ways. There are less inputs (no much analog), a much mundane fabric-wrapped design, and minimal sound settings. The Theater 9's leaner framework equates to a little meaty and immersive soundstage. This is still a Sony flagship soundbar, which intends awesome musicality, superb detail, and precocious spatial imaging for 3D audio. Premium features for illustration an HDMI 2.1 input for connecting apical crippled consoles and precocious integration pinch newer Sony TVs sweeten nan deal, but astatine $1,400, it’s a pricey proposition.

Vizio 2.1 Soundbar (SV210M) for $170: Vizio’s curvy small combo brings enticing value, pinch coagulated sound value and immoderate cinematic punch from nan teensiest subwoofer you’ll ever see. There’s nary optical input aliases distant included, but nan Vizio app makes adjusting settings aliases swapping to Bluetooth elemental enough. The main drawback is that dialog sometimes (but not always) gets lost, reducing nan main tie of a inexpensive soundbar. That said, bully philharmonic chops and features for illustration DTS Virtual X description make it worthy considering connected sale.

Samsung HW-Q800C for $598: If Samsung's HW-Q990C everything barroom is excessively rich | for your blood, nan two-piece HW-Q800C (8/10, WIRED Recommends) could beryllium a bully compromise. This barroom offers a akin sound signature arsenic Samsung's flagship bars galore of nan aforesaid features, packed into a smaller bar-and-subwoofer combo for a notable discount–especially since it's now almost ever connected sale.

Sennheiser Ambeo Mini for $700: This pint-sized luxury barroom is awesome for those pinch money to pain successful very mini spaces. Sennheiser's built-in Ambeo virtualization exertion brilliantly throws sound each astir you for exhilarating TV and movies, and offers precocious features for illustration support for Google Assistant and Alexa.

Sony HT-X8500 for $300: Sony's HT-X8500 is getting harder to find, but it's still 1 of our favourite options for those aft a azygous barroom pinch coagulated bass consequence and expansive sound, including decent Dolby Atmos virtualization. While it's pricier than our apical bar, it's a awesome replacement for those aft a spot more, and worthy considering while it's still available.

Vizio Elevate M-Series for $700: If you want full-featured Dolby Atmos and you for illustration a spot of flair, Vizio's 2nd Elevate barroom is worthy considering. Drivers popular retired of nan broadside and purpose toward your ceiling erstwhile Atmos contented is playing, giving it a nifty statement instrumentality to show your pals. Sound value is coagulated too, and we for illustration nan compact creation and easy setup. However, you will person to way immoderate speaker cables for nan rear surrounds, and nan barroom is getting older truthful you'll want to drawback it earlier it's gone for bully (like Vizio's original Elevate).

The Yamaha SR-C30A for $276: This exemplary SR-C30A soundbar looks very akin so to nan SR-C20A, and that’s because they’re nan aforesaid point wherever dimensions, specification, and sound value are each concerned. The quality is that nan SR-C30A ships pinch a compact (335 x 160 x 364mm) wireless subwoofer for immoderate authentic Hollywood-style rumble and punch. —Simon Lucas

Sennheiser Ambeo Plus for $1,200: Given nan value and nan beingness dimensions of nan soundbar—which doesn't moreover see a subwoofer—the Ambeo Plus mightiness look for illustration a mediocre deal. But acknowledgment to its 400 watts of powerfulness and its 9 cautiously developed and moreover much cautiously positioned speaker drivers, this Sennheiser is tin of big, enveloping sound pinch a beardown proposal of nan sonic tallness that Dolby Atmos soundtracks thrive on. By measurement of an encore, it turns retired to beryllium a hugely tin wireless speaker erstwhile you want to perceive to immoderate music, too. —Simon Lucas

The Polk React for $269: This soundbar useful if you want to get situation sound yet but don’t person nan rate correct now. The Alexa-enabled soundbar is good connected its own, pinch situation speakers and subwoofers disposable from Polk if you want to upgrade.

How to Connect Your Soundbar

We’ve included a database of disposable connectivity options adjacent to each soundbar connected our list. Most soundbars will link to your TV via optical aliases HDMI cables, though nan optical input is starting to spell distant for newer models, including moreover pricey flagship options. In astir cases, HMDI is nan preferable relationship anyway.

If your TV and soundbar some person an HDMI ARC/eARC larboard (the cablegram larboard looks for illustration regular HDMI, but it’s branded ARC aliases eARC), connect it that way. It will let you to usage nan measurement buttons connected your TV distant to power nan soundbar’s volume. Also, make judge CEC is enabled. Use an optical cablegram only if HDMI isn’t available, arsenic HDMI is besides basal for Dolby Atmos and different 3D audio formats.

Finally, cheque your TV audio menus to make judge your TV’s soul speakers are group to disconnected (so you don’t get immoderate weird audio fluttering) and find nan champion spots to spot your speakers and sub.

We person yet to trial a caller TV that didn’t sound amended pinch an audio accessory. That’s mostly owed to nan measurement televisions are designed. Great-sounding speakers are bulky, and arsenic TVs person gotten thinner pinch shrinking bezels and sleeker designs, manufacturers are having a harder clip building bully speakers into them.

You tin walk arsenic small arsenic $100 to $150 connected a caller soundbar, and it’s basal to getting nan astir retired of your TV experience. Our database of nan champion soundbars we’ve tested includes soundbars sold connected their ain and models that travel bundled pinch a subwoofer and situation speakers astatine a wide assortment of value points.

Are Soundbars arsenic Good arsenic Speakers?

Stumble onto immoderate A/V aliases location theatre subreddit aliases forum and you’ll spot a mob of group claiming moreover nan thought of a soundbar matching up to a brace of speakers is heresy. The truth, arsenic acold arsenic we’re concerned, is that it each depends connected your individual wants and needs.

If you’re looking for nan astir philharmonic bang for your buck, particularly erstwhile it comes to hi-res audio and vinyl grounds collections, a awesome brace of bookshelf speakers is apt your champion worth option. Even if you’re not keen connected shopping for an amplifier and moving speaker wires, our best bookshelf speakers guide offers plentifulness of powered/active pairs that see each nan inputs and amplification built-in, for illustration a soundbar strategy for audiophiles.

That whitethorn not beryllium nan champion action for everybody, though. If you’re conscionable aft thing inexpensive and elemental to crockery up your TV sound, aliases conversely, a convenient measurement to research breathtaking audio formats for illustration situation sound and Dolby Atmos, a soundbar could beryllium nan cleanable choice. Soundbars are affordable and hassle-free solutions, galore of which connection sound and features that whitethorn lucifer your needs amended than a brace of speakers aliases a accepted location theatre setup. We return nary sides here, we conscionable emotion bully sound and awesome features. For many, a soundbar is nan champion measurement to get there.

This is simply a mobility only you tin answer, but location are a fewer points to see earlier making a call, starting pinch your surviving space. If you unrecorded successful a smaller flat aliases multiplex, a subwoofer whitethorn not beryllium nan champion prime owed to some its size and its likelihood of arousing sound complaints. Larger modern soundbars person gotten progressively bully astatine reproducing convincing bass from a azygous bar, often utilizing aggregate speakers successful performance to bring much punch to little frequencies without causing tons of roar and bombast.

If you're little concerned astir adjacent quarters and looking for much cinematic punch, you should highly see a soundbar pinch a subwoofer. Physics tin only beryllium stretched truthful far, and nary multi-speaker strategy we’ve heard tin lucifer nan punch and potency of a dedicated ample driver and acoustic cabinet. Even galore affordable soundbar models see a subwoofer. If you want full-throttle sound, we propose considering going each successful for a subwoofer, aliases astatine nan very slightest a barroom that allows you to adhd 1 later.