Upgrade your TV sound with the pick of the best soundbar speakers we’ve tested from Sonos, Bose, Yamaha and more
If you’ve spent time choosing the right big-screen TV for you, you may wonder why you need one of our best soundbars. The truth is that after carefully unboxing your screen, you may be less than impressed by the mediocre sound quality from the built-in speakers compared to its bold and punchy pictures.
The issue is that as TVs get thinner, the built-in speakers often have to shrink to fit inside the tiniest of cabinet spaces, and the sound lacks the kind of impact to match today’s big screens. There’s plenty of sophisticated digital signal processing (DSP) tech onboard to help get the best TV sound output possible, but even the best TVs aren’t exempt from sounding thin and weedy.
How to improve your TV sound
A big TV screen deserves to be partnered with a great-sounding speaker and many new soundbars now come with Dolby Atmos support for a more immersive sound experience. With multiple drivers covering a wide sound area in front of your screen, even a relatively affordable soundbar can outperform the integrated speakers on most TVs.
A soundbar makes an effective sound upgrade for most screens — and in many cases could even form the basis of a much more ambitious surround sound setup, incorporating wireless surround speakers and a wired or wireless subwoofer, for example.
We’ve reviewed the best soundbars in real-world domestic situations just as they would be used at home, and ranked each based on their performance, features and value. To make sure you’re choosing the right soundbar for your TV sound needs, read on…
The best soundbars: News and upcoming releases (updated May 13)
Sonos just announced the Sonos Ray soundbar, a $279 small space-friendly device that has been designed to sound strong even when placed in a cubby or cabinet. It’s coming in June.
Costing $2,400 in the U.S. and £1,990 in the U.K., Devialet’s Dione is an upmarket soundbar that’s expected to go on sale in April. Equipped with Dolby Atmos support and room-scale audio calibration, the high-end Devialet looks to have all the right home cinema smarts to be a contender. Watch this space to see whether it joins our best soundbars list next month.
Sony unveiled its HT-S400 2.1ch soundbar earlier this year, which is expected to cost £260 when it goes on sale in the U.K. this month. Rated at 330W total power output it uses S-Force PRO Front Surround technology for immersive listening and comes with a wireless subwoofer. Look out for our review coming soon.
Denon has announced the introduction of the DHT-S517 soundbar earlier this year, priced at $449. A 3.1.2 configuration, it utilizes a seven-driver array comprised of left/right tweeters and midrange drivers, a dedicated center-channel, plus two up-firing speakers for Dolby Atmos 3D surround sound. It comes packaged with a wireless subwoofer.
LG unveiled plans to introduce three new models to its soundbar lineup scheduled for later this year. The new additions include the S95QY, S90QY and S80QY, and will introduce new built-in speaker arrangements with upward-firing center drivers to improve speech clarity. The new models will also support wireless Dolby Atmos compatible with the company’s add-on wireless surround speaker packages. Prices are yet to be confirmed.
Phillips recently launched the B8905 Soundbar, a model that comes with 3.1.2 channels to fill any room with loud, crystal-clear sound. It also offers the full Dolby Atmos experience and DTS Play-Fi compatibility for $599.99.
Hisense announced its new soundbar lineup, highlighted by the flagship HS312 3.1 Channel Soundbar, which combines six 30W speakers and a 240W subwoofer with Dolby Atmos. An HDMI (eARC) cable is also included to easily connect to HDTVs.
What are the best soundbars?
This month the top spot goes to the recently reviewed Bowers & Wilkins Panorama 3 soundbar for its brilliantly immersive handling of TV and movie soundtracks. Music is part of B&W’s DNA, so it’s not surprising that the Panorama 3 also doubles as an effective music system, making it one of the most versatile movie and music speaker systems at the price.
Second place goes to the Sonos Arc for its impressive auto-tuning capabilities that tailor the sound to your room, and voice control support via Alexa and Google Assistant. The price may be high but this really is one of the best sounding and smartest soundbars you can buy right now.
Among the options for a smart soundbar in the $300 to $400 range, Yamaha’s YAS-209 delivers good overall sound — especially for music — and has responsive voice controls via Alexa.
Those on tighter budgets, meanwhile, should consider our regularly maintained best cheap soundbars list. And a new budget soundbar could be on its way in the form of the Sonos Ray.
We test dozens of soundbars in our own homes every year, so read on to find out which of our top-rated models are likely to deliver the very best big-screen sound for you.
