The best soundbars to boost your TV audio in 2024

Read our full review of the Samsung HW-Q990D

Samsung’s Q990D is my high decide largely due to its spectacular, immersive sound high quality. However, I additionally put it forward of the pack as a result of it’s a whole house theater setup. For $2,000, you get the soundbar, subwoofer and rear audio system all in the identical field. Whereas that’s dear, placing collectively a comparable bundle amongst the competitors will price the identical, or in some instances extra.

Throughout all the numerous items, Samsung packs in 22 complete drivers that create an 11.1.4-channel sound manufacturing unit. The audio is crisp and detailed for Dolby Atmos content material, making motion pictures and TV exhibits as near a theater expertise as you’re prone to get out of a soundbar setup. The Q990D additionally has options like Non-public Rear Sound that solely use the rear audio system when it’s good to hear at a a lot quieter degree. It is a nice possibility for music too, with the subwoofer offering booming bass when wanted and elevating finer components of tracks alongside the best way.

Sony has a protracted observe document of fantastic high-end soundbars and its latest is one other great-sounding product. The A7000 is a strong Dolby Atmos soundbar, able to immersive 7.1.2 audio due to Sony’s 360 Sound Mapping, Sound Subject Optimization, vertical encompass know-how and S-Pressure Professional entrance encompass. There’s lots of tech at work right here, and I haven’t even talked about 360 Actuality Audio or DSEE Excessive upscaling, each helpful in relation to listening to music. Talking of audio, you’ll have the choice of utilizing Chromecast, Spotify Join or Apple AirPlay 2 to ship your tunes to the A7000.

Two HDMI eARC inputs imply you’ll be able to hook up a number of streaming containers or gaming consoles. And due to HDMI 2.1 assist, you’ll be able to count on 8K and 4K/120 passthrough to your tv, so the A7000 is a good possibility for avid gamers. This soundbar is dear at $1,198 and it doesn’t include a separate subwoofer (although it does have one in-built). Nevertheless, Sony does offer you a number of choices for each a sub and rear satellite tv for pc audio system. The SA-SW3 sub is $298 whereas the SA-SW5 is $699. For rear audio system, the SA-RS3S is $350 whereas the actually wi-fi (and a lot better trying) SA-RS5 set is $598. Should you’re trying to avoid wasting cash on the soundbar itself, Sony provides the HT-A5000 for $999 (though we’ve seen it on sale for $798 lately). It packs nearly all of the same bells and whistles because the A7000, solely in a 5.1.2-channel configuration.

Read our full review of the Sennheiser Ambeo Mini

Whereas that is probably the most compact of Sennheiser’s Ambeo soundbars, the Mini stays within the premium class for 2 causes. First, you’ll have so as to add a subwoofer to maximise its potential, which provides one other $600. Secondly, the Mini is already $700, so a whole bundle places you at a comparable place to flagship models from the competitors. Upon getting each although, the Ambeo Mini is really spectacular for a small soundbar.

The primary characteristic is Sennheiser’s spatial Ambeo know-how that first debuted on the huge Ambeo Soundbar Max in 2019. With it, the corporate gives extra immersive sound with a mixture of driver placement and 3D virtualization. On the Mini, the audio profile is extra reliant on virtualization than the larger Ambeo soundbars due fewer audio system inside. Nevertheless, you’ll nonetheless get a virtualized 7.1.4-channel setup that works effectively for motion pictures and music. That’s, as long as you splurge for the Ambeo Sub too.

Read our full review of the Sonos Beam

Stable sound high quality? Test. Dolby Atmos? Yep. Compact and simple to arrange? Uh huh. Suitable with different Sonos merchandise for a extra sturdy system? You betcha. The primary-gen Sonos Beam has been considered one of our favorites since it arrived in 2018, however there was one factor it didn’t have: Dolby Atmos. That was the massive addition to the 2021 model, although it’s a bit restricted because the Beam doesn’t have any upward-firing audio system. Sonos manages to make issues appear extra directional by tweaking audio timing and frequency as a substitute of including extra drivers. The new Beam nonetheless solely has the one HDMI port which suggests you gained’t be connecting a gaming console or set-top field on to this. It additionally signifies that when you’ve got an older TV with an optical jack, you’ll want an adapter.

Read our full review of the Sonos Ray

Sonos’ newest bid for greatest soundbar could also be its most reasonably priced so far, however at $279, it’s not precisely a price range decide. Particularly when you think about there are cheaper choices that include a subwoofer. Nonetheless, the compact design doesn’t command lots of house in entrance of your TV or in your TV stand, making it an amazing possibility for smaller residing areas. The Ray is simple to arrange and gives nice sound high quality for each TV and music. There are some trade-offs in relation to the immersive nature of the audio, however it’s a superb possibility for upgrading your TV sound with minimal fuss.

Should you’re searching for a approach to enhance your TV sound on a price range, Vizio has some high-quality options. With the V21t-J8, you get a 2.1-channel setup in a compact soundbar and 4.5-inch wi-fi sub combo for $160. This could be an amazing alternative if you happen to don’t need your add-on TV speaker to take up lots of house. There’s no Wi-Fi connectivity, however that’s actually the one sacrifice in relation to the fundamentals. HDMI ARC/eARC and optical connections hyperlink to your tv whereas a 3.5mm aux jack and Bluetooth let you play music out of your cellphone or one other system. DTS Digital:X compatibility provides a few of the impact of encompass sound and not using a larger unit or further audio system.