If you want to have theater-like experience at your home or simply enhance your listening experience, you’ll need a solid soundbar.
️🎯 Soundbars can provide far more quality and realistic sound than a TV, and they even have smart technologies that make everything far more enjoyable.
However, all soundbars aren’t made the same.
We’ve researched over 27 different soundbars and looked for something with surround sound technology, high-quality deep bass speakers, space-saving design, and many other important factors.
Here are the top 5 picks:
Celine M - Research Specialist
With over 15 years of researching and inspecting helpful gadgets and tech devices, Celine gained an admirable knowledge. Check out her world-class knowledge and expertise in our Top 5 Reviews series.
1. Osmo SoundLite
from SmartX
Overall Grade
A+
Rating
9.8/10
OVERALL ANALYSIS
Osmo SoundLite is by far our favorite choice on the market.
The first thing that really stands out is innovative surround sound technology that provides realistic sound coming from all parts of your room evenly. This really creates that theater-at-home experience.
Next thing that we find impressive is their deep bass speakers that have a huge impact on small details, no matter if you’re watching a movie or listening to music.
It has a space-saving design.
Unlike some other large soundbars that take too much space, SoundLite is ultra-slim and saves you a lot of space.
Don’t let the size fool you, it’s still one of the most powerful soundbars we came across in our research.
You can quickly stream any content from your device within a few seconds – simply pair it via bluetooth and you’re all set up.
If you want to have a full immersion from your home – you won’t regret trying SoundLite.
Osmo even offers a 14-day money back guarantee, so you can try it out for two weeks and still receive a full refund if you don’t like it.
⭐ Osmo SoundLite is fairly priced for a market-leading soundbar with surround sound system and innovative technology. Take advantage of this limited-time discount while supplies last. Osmo offers a 14-day money-back guarantee and free shipping. Osmo SoundLite was unanimously voted the best soundbar of 2023.
Sony has excellent form with making some of the best soundbars for TV, and the 2023 What Hi-Fi? award-winning HT-A7000 is no different. A 7.1.2 slab of sound, this Dolby Atmos soundbar packs in two up-firing speakers, two beam tweeters, five front-facing drivers and a built-in dual subwoofer into a single chassis. Using a combination of driver placement and psychoacoustic techniques, the Sony HT-A700 delivers a broad and high soundstage, whether you’re watching immersive content or not, while retaining musicality, presence and detail.
In terms of height and precision, the performance is similar to that of the Sonos Arc, but the width of the soundstage and its forward projection is more convincing. It’s not the same as having direct audio from the speaker above or the side, but it’s effective and dramatically enticing, enriching the viewing experience. The integrated sub is also particularly impressive with a taut, controlled and powerful performance.
With its wide range of supported audio formats, the A7000 excels itself and includes Dolby Atmos (in both the Digital+ and TrueHD formats), DTS:X, LPCM, hi-res wireless audio and Sony 360 Reality Audio.
The A7000 is as packed with streaming smarts as it is stuffed with speakers with Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast all on board and integration into a multi-room system – with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit and Google Home all supported.
Delivering Dolby Atmos from a small chassis is no mean feat, but the 2023 What Hi-Fi? award-winning Sonos Beam Gen 2 achieves a convincing, immersive performance without so much as a vertical speaker in sight. Instead, when watching Atmos content, two of the soundbar’s five front-facing arrays are dedicated to reproducing overhead and surround sounds. With its hefty processing power, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 uses psychoacoustic HRTF (head-related transfer function) technology to give the impression of height without needing to get vertical.
While genuine overhead sounds are perhaps a stretch too far for this petite performer, its virtual delivery of the Atmos format outstrips any similarly priced soundbar and even a few that are more expensive. The Beam Gen 2 offers an enveloping, spatial soundscape with rich, detailed audio as well as tangible motion and depth.
Soundbars for TV aren’t new territory for Sonos, but the 2023 What Hi-Fi? award-winning Arc is the only soundbar from the brand to deliver Dolby Atmos with verticle speakers. It sits above the Beam (Gen 2) in terms of pricing and is suited to 55in TVs and above, with optional wall mounting fixings available for £79 ($79/AU$99) .
There are touch-sensitive play/pause and volume controls on the bar with LEDs that indicate status and when you’re talking to the built-in Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. Connectivity includes AirPlay 2, ethernet and eARC for Dolby Atmos from compatible TVs.
The Sonos Arc uses 11 drivers to create your soundfield, several of which are upfiring and angled into your room to bounce sound off your walls and ceiling. It all adds up to one of the most convincing Atmos performances you can get from a soundbar.
The Ambeo Soundbar is Sennheiser’s first consumer speaker, and it’s quite the proposition – a premium soundbar crammed full of features including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support, 4K HDR pass-through (all of which are useful if Netflix and/or Amazon are your main movie and TV show source). You also get auto-calibration and four HDMI inputs, plus Bluetooth and support for Chromecast.
📍 Measuring 127cm wide and 14cm tall, it’s certainly a beast. The result is that the Sennheiser delivers a sound big enough not to need its own subwoofer, with clear, direct dialogue and detail and subtlety in spades. The way it stretches the sound around you creates a great atmosphere and really draws you into the action.
To get the full Dolby Atmos effect, you’ll need to wall mount or position the soundbar on the top shelf of your rack so the upward-firing speakers aren’t obstructed. It’s well worth the effort, though.
Soundbar, sound bar or media bar is a type of loudspeaker that projects audio from a wide enclosure. It is much wider than it is tall, partly for acoustic reasons.
⭐ Advantages of Soundbars
A lot better sound
Deep realistic bass
Ultra-slim design
You can pair any device
Easy to set up
Comes with a separate remote
Long-lasting battery
Affordable
✔️ Things To Consider WHEN CHOOSING THE BEST Soundbar
Surround sound system
Surround sound system is responsible for delivering more realistic audio when you’re watching your favorite movies and TV shows as sound comes from every angle and not just straight-forward as with TV’s speakers.
Ultra-slim design
A lot of soundbars can often be large and require a lot of space which makes them less practical to use. A good soundbar should be ultra-slim and have a space-saving design.
Quality bass
Bass is also very important if you want to have a full immersive experience at your home. No matter if you’re listening to music or watching movies, a quality bass is a must have.
Wireless
Wireless soundbars are great because they don’t let cables get all tangled up and it looks far more professional and even better. Always go with wireless options first.
Warranty
If the brand doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee or warranty on their soundbar, you should stay away from it. Always look for something you can try out and receive a full refund if you don’t find it useful.
❌ What To Avoid When Choosing Soundbar
No BT compatibility
This has a lot to do with streaming your devices on soundbar and the easiest way to do so is through bluetooth. So, always look for BT compatibility before anything else.
Hard to set up
From our research, we were surprised how hard are some soundbars to set up and you need to watch 3-hour long tutorials on it. It’s far more convenient to look for soundbars that are easy and fast to set up.
Cheap knockoffs
There are a ton of cheap products (even on Amazon) that are just pure garbage. They aren’t even tested and they’ll just waste your time and money. In my opinion, anything below $100 can’t be functional.
Celine M - Research Specialist
With over 15 years of researching and inspecting helpful gadgets and tech devices, Celine gained an admirable knowledge. Check out her world-class knowledge and expertise in our Top 5 Reviews series.