The Best Soundbars for 2021: The Best Sound for Your Setup
Best Soundbars for 2021: The Best Sound for Your Setup
Right now, the Sonos Arc is the best soundbar overall.
Some soundbars come with lots of extra speakers. Some are terrific for music. Still others manage to get the job done on a shoestring budget. But when it comes to sheer versatility and performance, the Sonos Arc is the whole package.
It’s compatible with Dolby Atmos, it has room-filling sound, it’s expandable, and there’s nothing like it on this list when it comes to multiroom audio. It’s certainly not the cheapest soundbar you’ll find, but once you consider its many strengths, it’s hard to deny the value Sonos provides with the Arc.
That’s not to say it’s the only soundbar out there worth your hard-earned cash, though. Far from it, in fact. We’ve stocked this list with multiple other recommendations for you to check out, separated into the areas in which they excel, so you’ll have plenty of options to find the right soundbar for your setup and preferred media.
The best soundbars at a glance
The best soundbar: Sonos Arc
Why should you buy it?It’s a thrilling combination of Sonos functionality and impeccable Dolby Atmos sound.
Who’s it for?Anyone looking for premium home theater sound wrapped in Sonos’ signature simplicity.
Why we picked the Sonos Arc:
At the risk of sounding too sensational, the Sonos Arc embodies everything Sonos is about. It’s incredibly easy to set up and use, it provides great sound, and it seamlessly incorporates itself into your larger network of whole-home Sonos sound. With all of that packed in, it would have been easy for Dolby Atmos to be an afterthought.
Quite the contrary, as it turns out. The Arc uses up-firing drivers to re-create Dolby Atmos sound, and while it doesn’t completely blow you away, the execution is incredibly effective. The Arc adds a solid sense of 3D space to action-oriented films like Avengers: Endgame and Ford v Ferrari, bringing the sounds of roaring cars and interplanetary battles to life in stunning form.
Like the Sonos Playbar before it, you can easily expand the Arc’s home theater capabilities by adding other Sonos speakers as surround satellites, and its magnificent — if very expensive — Sonos Sub to fill in the low end.
It’s also a smart speaker, with your choice of Alexa or Google Assistant to help out with tasks like, “Alexa, turn on the TV,” or “Hey Google, turn up the volume.”
But what really pushes the Arc to the top of our list is how versatile it is for non-TV listening. The Sonos app gives you an incredible amount of control over the Arc (and any other Sonos speakers in your home), as well as streaming music sources. Whether it’s a playlist from Spotify or a track buried deep in your personal music collection, the universal search feature makes it a snap to find.
Did we mention the Arc is also an AirPlay 2-enabled speaker? For Apple users, this is a much better option than Bluetooth, as it preserves more of the sound quality.
It’s worth noting that unlike some soundbars on this list, the Arc does not have any HDMI inputs. So when you connect it to your TV’s HDMI ARC port, you will be losing an HDMI input on your TV. For those with only one or two video sources, this isn’t a problem, but others may have to make some tough choices — or buy an HDMI switch.
If you don’t mind spending a bit more money, the LG SN11RG is a better pick if Dolby Atmos is your top priority since it includes rear up-firing height channels as well. But we’ve given the Arc the win here for everything else it offers, and the far more affordable price it comes in at. That said, you can’t go wrong with either bar — they’re both going to instantly improve your movie nights, and bring the content you watch to life in remarkable detail.
Right now, the Vizio Elevate is probably the closest competitor to the Sonos Arc. It actually provides better Dolby Atmos immersion thanks to its included surround speakers, but it costs $100 more, and can’t touch the Arc’s impressive streaming music and multiroom audio capabilities.
Read our in-depth Sonos Arc review
The best value soundbar: Yamaha YAS-209
Why should you buy it? The YAS-209 offers excellent sound quality and tons of features for an unbelievably low price.
Who’s it for? Those who want the best sound and diverse features, including voice assistance, for a very reasonable price.
Why we picked the Yamaha YAS-209:
It’s hard to beat a bar as versatile and feature-packed as Yamaha’s YAS-207 — it really is the total package. But Yamaha added some impressive upgrades for its latest model, the 209, including Amazon Alexa built-in. These improvements, along with all of the other features we loved about Yamaha’s value-leading soundbar, make it the perfect complement to a reasonably priced 4K television. In fact, one of the only features this bar doesn’t have that we wish it did is Dolby Vision HDR pass-through for its extra HDMI input. It only supports HDR10, but at this price, that’s not unexpected.
When it comes to sound quality, the YAS-209 is just like the 207: Extremely impressive for the money. The bar boasts clear treble and deep, growling bass, with a warm midrange to boot. It also features two dedicated virtual surround modes that emulate taller, wider surround sound images. That means a bigger, more comprehensive surround sound experience from a simple soundbar setup.
Throw on an action movie and the sound effects will fill your living room, or use the Clear Voice mode for slower, more dialogue-heavy scenes — it doesn’t matter, because this soundbar will deliver solid performance no matter what you send its way. The bar supports both Dolby Digital and DTS Virtual:X (though the latter tends to add an icy touch to the sound). It can also double as a Bluetooth speaker for streaming music from your smartphone, or get even better sound over Wi-Fi with features like Spotify Connect.
The Yamaha YAS-209’s big sound profile comes from surprisingly compact components, with the soundbar itself easily disappearing on your TV console. In fact, most people probably won’t notice the soundbar at all. The included wireless subwoofer is equally demure, allowing you to tuck it away behind your screen. Yamaha’s YAS-209 is an excellent upgrade, offering more features in a stylish-yet-subtle device that will provide a handy and handsome accent to your setup.
Want another excellent option at the same price? JBL’s Bar 5.0 Multibeam is a compact, single-speaker soundbar that can do virtual Dolby Atmos. It doesn’t have a dedicated subwoofer or the YAS-209’s voice assistant option, but its HDMI input supports 4K/Dolby Vision passthrough, and it works with AirPlay, Chromecast, and Alexa for a superb choice of connections.
Read our in-depth Yamaha YAS-209 review
The best single-speaker soundbar for Dolby Atmos: Sennheiser Ambeo
Why should you buy it? It delivers powerful Dolby Atmos surround sound and high-end audio from a single (massive) bar.
Who’s it for? Those with plenty to spend who are looking for virtual Dolby Atmos, future-proofing, and high-end audio performance.
Why we picked the Sennheiser Ambeo:
Sennheiser’s massive monstrosity of a bar offers incredible performance at a price to match. Sure, it’s got a crazy price tag, but if you’ve got to have the latest in home theater technology — and you want a thrilling Atmos experience without all the speakers and wires — the Ambeo is your new bar of choice.
Using Sennheiser’s acorn-to-oak Ambeo technology, the soundbar creates a vibrant swell of Atmos sound (along with multiple other 3D audio formats) right from your TV console. This isn’t just a bar, it’s an A/V receiver replacement, offering three HDMI inputs bearing the latest in eARC technology and supporting all major HDR formats for a future-proofed way to match that marquee TV with a marquee sound unit. One warning — this bar will cover up your TV screen if you use the legs or stand your TV came with, so you’ll want to wall-mount at least your TV.
When it comes to performance, the Ambeo is an incredible experience for cinematic audio, TV, and music, while auto-calibration and a slick and intuitive interface help you run the show with very few hangups. The system does depend on your room itself for its surround immersion, bouncing sound off walls as well as ceilings, so it’s difficult to hear sound fully behind you in many setups. Still, what this bar does with virtual surround is near-magical, while its high-end drivers and impressive interface (including a loaded app) make for a luxurious experience.
As of April 2021, the Ambeo is also compatible with Sony’s immersive 360 Reality Audio format, via Chromecast.
For cheaper, but considerably less effective virtual Atmos sound, the Sony HT-G700 is a good bar to consider on a budget. It’s a good-sounding system, but it doesn’t approach the quality of the Sennheiser Ambeo. For the $2000 difference in cost between the two, that’s to be expected.
Read our in-depth Sennheiser Ambeo soundbar review
The best soundbar for music: Bose Soundbar 700
Why should you buy it?It’s an elegant soundbar that handles music just as well as TV sound.
Who is it for?Anyone who intends to use their soundbar for streaming music in at least a part-time capacity.
Why we picked the Bose Soundbar 700:
For years, Bose has tried to stay neck-and-neck with Sonos in an endless race of wireless smart speaker standouts. The Soundbar 700 is the perfect alternative to the Sonos Arc for those who aren’t fussed about having Dolby Atmos — Bose makes up for this omission with music reproduction that truly impresses.
With tracks like Beck’s Hyperspace and The Who’s Pinball Wizard, the Soundbar 700 displayed its ability to add depth to the music, and to project that sound all across the room it’s situated in. It’s such an experience, that the untrained ear might not realize that this kind of sound is only coming from a single speaker. Yeah, it’s that good.
Its music capabilities don’t detract from what it can do with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound movie or TV soundtrack. The same immersive vibe that the Soundbar 700 creates with your tunes works as well or better when the on-screen bullets start to fly.
You can stream music to the Soundbar 700 over Wi-Fi, as well as Apple’s AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth for Android devices. It can also be added to a family of wireless speakers for a multiroom music experience, in a very similar fashion to the whole-house system that first shot Sonos to stardom.
The Bose Music App has its share of quirks, but the Bose Soundbar 700 has compatibility with music services like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and several others, with the option of controlling your music from any of those audio apps directly.
Read our in-depth Bose Soundbar 700 review
The best soundbar with Alexa/Google Assistant: Bose Smart Soundbar 300
Why should you buy it? It gives your TV far better sound, handles music like a champ, and offers Alexa users hands-free control over their cable box.
Who’s it for? Folks who want a simple, small speaker that delivers amazing sound in small-to-midsize rooms.
Why we picked the Bose Smart Soundbar 300:
Until this year, the Sonos Beam owned this category. With its terrific sound, easy setup, and top-notch whole-home wireless sound control, it was the obvious choice.
But then Bose debuted the Smart Soundbar 300 and we were left with a truly difficult choice to make. In the end, the Smart Soundbar 300 edged out the Beam thanks to three features that simply make it a better option for TV audio.
First, it offers a clearer, brighter sound. We love the warmth and resonance of the Beam, but it has a tendency to enhance lower registers, which isn’t always ideal when it comes to TV dialogue. The Bose also does a better job at creating the feeling of immersion, particularly in rooms where it can bounce sound off the side walls.
Second, you can pair a set of Bose Bluetooth headphones with the Smart Soundbar 300 for totally private listening. Whether you simply want a more intimate sound experience or you need to keep from disturbing others while you watch TV, it’s a very handy feature — especially for bedrooms.
Third, when you choose Alexa as your voice assistant (Google Assistant is also an option), Bose extends Alexa’s capabilities by giving her access to your cable box as well as your TV. Once it’s set up, you can ask Alexa for a specific channel, something we’ve only seen on the Fire TV Cube.
Like the Sonos Beam, you can turn the Smart Soundbar 300’s three-channel system into a full-fledged 5.1 surround sound system through Bose’s optional wireless subwoofers and surround speakers, and you can do so more affordably than with Sonos.
The Bose Music app controls the show and gives you in-app access to many streaming music services like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Deezer, but it’s still a shadow of what Sonos can do with its app. Rounding out its music chops are Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay 2, and Spotify Connect, which make for a very good set of wireless connectivity options.
We also really like that the Bose Smart Soundbar 300 can connect to your TV via HDMI or optical, so it’s fully compatible with older and newer TVs. Toss in a small, simple remote control and you’ve got everything you need for great TV sound.
Read our in-depth Bose Smart Soundbar 300 review
The best budget soundbar: Vizio M-Series M51a-H6 5.1 Soundbar
Why should you buy it? The Vizio M-Series delivers immersive surround sound at a shockingly low price.
Who’s it for? Those with smaller rooms who want the best sound quality for the lowest possible price.
Why we picked the Vizio M-Series M51a-H6:
Our previous pick for this category was another Vizio model — the V-Series V51-H6. And while we’re still bullish on that soundbar, Vizio’s M-Series packs even more features and better sound for just $50 more. And as far as we’re concerned, that’s $50 very well spent.
The M-Series looks like a typical soundbar at 36-inch in length, and its 6-inch wireless subwoofer looks like many others. But what helps this model stand apart is its versatility.
If you have a medium-to-large room, you can place the subwoofer toward the rear of the space which lets you position the wired surround modules behind the viewing area. But if you’ve got a smaller space, you can put the sub near the front, and the surround speakers can be used from the front too — the M-Series will automatically calibrate the system to give you the best sound possible.
Our reviewer noted that one of the M-Series’ strengths is its ability to process lower-frequency sounds, like a deep, gravelly-voiced announcer, without having it sound like they’re being generated by the subwoofer — something that cheaper systems typically do.
With support for both virtualized Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X, you may not get quite the jaw-dropping overhead sounds that you’ll find with up-firing soundbars like the Arc or the Ambeo, but it’s a much more immersive experience than a traditional 5.1 setup.
The M-Series also benefits from an HDMI eARC port — a rarity at this price — which means that it can support much higher bandwidth, lossless audio when connected to a compatible TV. An extra HDMI input means that you’re not forced to give up an input on your TV.
Its auxiliary port is ideal for plugging in an Alexa or Google smart speaker. When you do, they can play any requested content through the soundbar and reduce the volume of your TV sound when they answer your question, bringing it back up when they’re done.
There’s also the usual complement of connections, including Bluetooth, optical in, and a USB port for removable drive-based audio files.
All of the M-Series’ settings — of which there are many — can be controlled from the included remote, which has an embedded LCD to help you navigate the myriad options.
The only real caveat with the M-Series (which we noted about the V-Series too) is the lack of Wi-Fi. This means you can’t stream music to it via AirPlay or Chromecast. But that one aspect notwithstanding, the Vizio M-Series is an outstanding choice for anyone who wants fun, room-filling surround sound without breaking the bank.
Read our in-depth Vizio M-Series M51a-H6 soundbar review
The best soundbar for dialogue: Zvox AV157 TV Speaker
Why should you buy it?With 12 levels of speech enhancement and enough oomph for movies, it’s an ideal TV companion.
Who’s it for?Those who normally find it difficult to hear voices on TV, especially those with hearing impairments.
Why we picked the Zvox AV157 TV Speaker:
Several Zvox speakers help with enhancing the clarity of TV dialog, but none possess the power and versatility of the AV157.
The AV157 packs six levels of Zvox’s AccuVoice technology for speech enhancement and an additional six levels of its SuperVoice tech for a huge range of assistance for those who are hearing-impaired or who just struggle to separate speech from other sounds.
For a deep dive into how the AV157 does its speech enhancement magic, check out this full explainer, but here’s what you need to know: The Zvox AV157 doesn’t just make things louder, it selectively increases the dynamic range of vocal sounds, while simultaneously decreasing all other types of soundtrack audio.
The 12 levels of AccuVoice and SuperVoice determine how pronounced this effect is. At its most powerful, the AV157 can deliver speech so clear and precise, it’s almost painful. But for those who suffer from hearing loss, it will be a pleasure.
But better dialog is only the beginning. The AV157 is also a surprisingly capable movie and music speaker too. Turn on the surround sound mode and it does a decent job with all kinds of immersive soundtracks.
Bass performance doesn’t quite measure up to full-size soundbars, but it’s solid and well-balanced. Should you want to get a bit more rumble, you can add an external wired subwoofer using the analog sub-woofer output.
Connections are modest: You can use an optical cable or an analog cable to connect the AV157 to your TV, and there’s no Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. But this keeps things simple and you won’t have to give up an HDMI port just to get better sound from your TV.
The included remote is also a simple but effective device, with large, easy-to-press, and clearly labeled buttons.
If you’re tired of relying on subtitles to understand what your favorite actors are saying, the Zvox AV157 is a perfect TV companion.
Read our in-depth Zvox AV157 TV Speaker review
Research and buying tips
They offer a small footprint, they’re affordable and easy to set up, and they sound much better than the speakers built into most TVs.
Some of them are, some of them aren’t. That’s why we recommend reading reviews and best-of lists like this one.
Virtually all modern soundbars connect to your TV via digital connection either with an optical or HDMI cable. The latter is generally preferred for TVs with HDMI ARC or eARC, as it allows for better sound and control of basic functionality with your TV remote.
Can soundbars be controlled by a TV remote?
Some of them can be, yes. See the above for information about HDMI ARC.
Can soundbars be mounted on a wall?
Yes, many come with mounting brackets in the box, but almost all have optional wall-mount solutions you can buy later.
Can soundbars be mounted above a TV?
Technically yes, but we usually recommend mounting them below the TV. In general, we recommend you get them as close to ear level as possible for the best sound.
Some are, but they generally come with brand restrictions. The TCL Alto R1, for instance, connects to TVs wirelessly, but it only works with Roku TVs. Other kinds of TVs need a cable. The vast majority of soundbars connect via HDMI ARC or optical input.
What about Wi-Fi and Bluetooth?
Most new soundbars do have this sort of wireless functionality. This typically allows you to stream music from your smartphone or home network directly to the soundbar. If a soundbar is also a smart speaker (e.g. Sonos Arc, Bose Soundbar 700) it will be Wi-Fi equipped.
Wi-Fi is generally preferable to Bluetooth for music streaming as its higher bandwidth supports higher quality formats like lossless FLAC, ALAC, WAV, and others. See the above question for wireless functionality with your TV or receiver.
Do soundbars always have a separate subwoofer?
No, not always. Some are built without them purposefully to save space, but most rely on a wired (or wireless) subwoofer for low-frequency sound.
Do soundbars support Alexa? Google Assistant? Siri?
Yes, but in slightly different ways. Some soundbars can double as smart speakers. The Sonos and Bose family of soundbars give you a choice of Google Assistant or Alexa. Other brands/models (like the Yamaha YAS-209) only support one voice assistant. We aren’t aware of any soundbars that give you direct access to Siri.
Soundbars can also be voice assistant-compatible, which means that you’ll be able to use one or more voice assistants to control the soundbar if you already own a smart speaker or some other way to issue voice commands. Several soundbars can be added to Apple HomeKit, which lets you control them via Siri.
No, but Apple’s HomePod and HomePod mini can act as soundbar replacements if you also own an Apple TV 4K. You can use a first-gen Apple TV 4K to hear streamed content through these speakers, while the second-gen Apple TV 4K adds HDMI ARC, which means a paired HomePod or HomePod mini can play your TV’s audio too.
How we test
After giving a soundbar a thorough break-in period, we put it through a rigorous testing process that includes playing all relevant sources of content, including the latest Blu-rays with the highest-resolution codecs from the likes of Dolby and DTS, as well as audio straight from a TV via HDMI and/or Optical output, including streaming services, broadcast TV, and audio apps. When relevant, we test wireless connections for stability and audio quality. We also place a high degree of importance on the musicality of any speaker, so plenty of music is played to gauge its finer performance aspects. Finally, we compare each soundbar with others at, above, and below its price/features class, and with similarly priced alternative sound solutions.
If you’re still in need of guidance after perusing all the above picks, check out our expert guide to picking the right soundbar.
