When you have to buy speakers for your television screen, our minds’ first option is to purchase soundbars. You might be thinking, why? No one likes to have bulkier box-shaped speakers near their screen, and these bars are designed so that they give the best sound experience for any budget.
The soundbar’s cabinet is slightly large, and it provides some space for the speakers to breathe. This allows them to give more bass, and you can enjoy the music in a better way. There are a couple of soundbars that you can consider buying, and we’ve reviewed each of them so it will be easy for you to decide which one is better.
The soundbar comes in various sizes as some are a foot long while most of them are the same in size as your television screen. A large soundbar gives excellent experience, and that’s the thing of what you are paying for.
However, there are some disadvantages of soundbars too, as they are large in width, so you need a table or rack that can hold them. But most of them support wall mounting, and you can easily mount them with a wall at the bottom of your screen. Also, I’ve seen some users saying that they found soundbars poorer than any traditional speaker.
Hundreds of soundbars in the market we’ve picked the best soundbars in 2021.
10 Best Soundbars
Award | Model | |
---|---|---|
Best 4K Soundbar | Check Price | |
Best Mid-Range Soundbar | Check Price | |
Best High Resolution Budget Sound Bar | Check Price | |
Best Premium Wall Mounting Soundbar | Check Price | |
Best Soundbar with Google Chromecast | Check Price | |
Premium Soundbar | Check Price | |
Expensive But Impressive Features | Check Price | |
LG Dolby Atmos SoundBar | Check Price | |
4K Soundbar for Movies, Games & Music | Check Price | |
Best 4K Pass Out Soundbar | Check Price |
Polk AM9640 Command Audio Sound Bar
We all know that having a voice-activated speaker at home is a pretty great thing, and any Alexa owner can tell you that if you have already used Alexa before, you might know that with it, you can listen to the weather condition or can say to it to play a song. Polk AM9640 gives an excellent sound quality that will improve the experience, and you will find it much better than any traditional speaker. This soundbar connects with your television with HDMI cable, or you are allowed to use it with a wireless interface.
This soundbar is very affordable and offers the best value for the price we are paying, and I’m sure you will like it. This soundbar’s power consumption is slightly lower than any other in the market, but that doesn’t mean it lacks some features. However, I’ve noticed that this soundbar gives just an average performance or response at high-frequency channels. Also, it’s unable to produce large or dynamic sound, and you will notice it if placed in a large room. Overall, you will find this soundbar a great option to consider for its price and comparing it with some other competitors.
Specifications
Model | Polk AM9640 Command Audio Sound Bar |
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Sound clarity | 22000 Hz |
Speaker Type | Surround Sound |
Speakers Output Power | 260 Watts |
Connectivity Type | HDMI 2.0 |
Dimensions | 4 x 43.3 x 2.1 inches |
Weight | 4.95 pounds |
- Comes with built-in Alexa.
- The sound quality is impressive.
- Supports HDMI 2.0b.
- Budget-Friendly price.
- High-frequency response is just average.
- Unable to produce a broad or dynamic sound.
Samsung Harman Kardon HW Q6CR/ZA Series – Best Soundbar with Subwoofer
When you are looking for a balance between the performance and the features there, you will find Samsung Harman Kardon HW Q6CR/ZA, an excellent soundbar for your television. It gives impressive sound quality and bass with tv, movies, and even games, but some missing features like Dolby, DTS, and Wi-Fi disappoint me a bit. I would say it’s an excellent option to consider, but when we look at the other soundbars from Samsung, you will find some other great options to consider. The design of this bar is beautiful, and I’m sure you will like it much.
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This bar’s power consumption is much higher than the model mentioned above, but it has 8 speakers and a subwoofer. This bar doesn’t support height channels, and some users might not like that. Also, the missing Atmos, Dolby, and DTS are very disappointing in the soundbar from Samsung. It disappoints me a bit because this soundbar doesn’t even connect with Wi-Fi, meaning you have to connect it with an HDMI cable and no wireless interface. These are the few things you need to take care of in mind before getting your hands on it.
Specifications
Model | Samsung Harman Kardon HW Q6CR/ZA Series |
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Number of Speaker | 8 |
Channel | 5.1 Ch |
Speakers Output Power | 360W |
Connectivity Type | Wireless Active |
Dimensions | 1167.0 x 481.0 x 277.0 mm |
Weight | 12.9 kg |
- An excellent stereo sound profile.
- Build quality is impressive.
- Great sound quality.
- Works well on high volume.
- Doesn’t support height channels.
- Missing Atmos’ support.
- Also, it doesn’t have a sub-bass.
LG SL5Y 2.1 Channel High Resolution Sound Bar
Not sure if you ever noticed, but LG has released a complete series of their soundbar just in a year, and these include seven different soundbars that cover every different budget and needs. I was noticing that from a few years ago that this company is very consistent with the soundbars, but there we’ve got their SL5Y, which is the second model of this current series. Those users who are looking for a soundbar to improve the sound experience but not willing to spend a significant amount will find this a great option to consider.
This soundbar makes a perfect balance between the price and the features and offers excellent value for the price. Connectivity is one of the main things we need to check before buying any soundbar, and this one connects with both wireless or HDMI interface. This bar’s main unit doesn’t support the surrounding depth, which seems a bit disappointing. The sound quality of this bar is just average, but for its price, it looks good. Also, the remote is a bit large and hard to hold in hand.
Specifications
Model | LG SL5Y 2.1 Channel High Resolution Sound Bar |
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Sound clarity | 24bit, 96Hz |
Channels | 2.1ch |
Speakers Output Power | 400W |
Connectivity Type | Wireless |
Dimensions | 35.00 x 3.30 x 2.20 inches |
Weight | 16.90 lbs |
- Fantastic performance for its price.
- Supports wireless interface.
- The setup process is straightforward.
- Affordable price.
- The main unit doesn’t support surround depth.
- Average sound quality.
- The Remote is a bit large.
DALI Katch One Soundbar Mountain White
Are you looking for the best soundbar? Why not check the DALI Katch One soundbar, which comes in white mountain color and gives excellent performance and aesthetics. Previously the company launched the Katch Bluetooth Speakers, and the Katch One soundbar is based on those speakers. This soundbar is available in three different color schemes, and you can select the one that matches your build’s color scheme. The extra-wide design of this soundbar gives the best sound experience you can imagine.
One of the great features of this soundbar is the surrounded sound, and when you place it near a wall, it gives the best sound ever. While on the other side, if you set this soundbar in an open area or large room far from the walls, the sound quality can worsen. Also, this soundbar doesn’t display behind the grille cloth, as reported by some users. One more thing that it’s not a cheap option, but DALI Katch One is one of the most expensive soundbars in the market. Overall, we are getting many things with this soundbar for its premium price, including excellent audio experience in movies and games and a lot more items.
Specifications
Model | DALI Katch One Soundbar Mountain White |
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Sound clarity | 46 - 25,000 |
Speaker Type | NA |
Power (idle) | <0,5W |
Connectivity Type | HDMI |
Dimensions | 148 x 860 x 69 |
Weight | 3.7 KG |
- Gives excellent sound when placed near a wall.
- Wide design improves the sound in a significant way.
- Sleek and appealing design.
- If placed far from the wall sound quality doesn’t look right.
- Doesn’t display behind the grille cloth.
- Costly option to consider.
LG Electronics SH7B 4.1 Channel 360W Sound Bar
When we have to buy a television for our room, the first options that come to mind are from Samsung or LG. But that’s not just limited to TVs as these companies are also manufacturing other electronic devices and we’re using them in our daily life. LG has previously had a couple of different soundbars, and they are very consistent with that but the model today we’ve picked for our list is SH7B. If you own 49 inches or big television, this soundbar will be best for you as you can experience movies and games sound with it.
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This soundbar supports streaming over the Wi-Fi network as well as on the Bluetooth, and you can listen to music without even connecting it with the tv screen. While listening to music with this soundbar, you will notice that its quality is just average and we can’t expect much with this soundbar. Also, while reviewing, I’ve seen that the excellent crossover of this soundbar is entirely wrong. Except that this soundbar is perfect and it will not disappoint you for any reason. There are a couple of other soundbars from LG that you can also consider buying if you don’t like this one.
Specifications
Model | LG Electronics SH7B 4.1 Channel 360W Sound Bar |
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Recommended TV | 49" and above |
Speaker Type | 4.1 Channel Audio |
Speakers Output Power | 360 Watts |
Connectivity Type | Wi-Fi & Bluetooth Streaming |
Dimensions | 41.7 x 3.4 x 2.1 inches |
Weight | 15.3 pounds |
- Great connectivity options.
- Very easy to connect.
- Support streaming over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
- Great sound quality.
- Music quality is middling.
- The crossover of the subwoofer is slightly low.
VIZIO SB36514-G6 36″ 5.1.4 Premium Home Theater Sound System
The four wireless speakers are enough to give you the best audio experience of games and movies with your television screen. The Vizio SB36514 is a bit expensive but undoubtedly a great choice that you can consider. This soundbar is bundled with all of the required cables and accessories, and it will be straightforward to set up with the manual guide included in the box. Another great thing in this bar is the Dolby surround sound present, which gives excellent surround sound that most of us will enjoy. There are about ten speakers in this whole set while in the bar alone there are about five speakers.
With all of its greatness, I’ve found that the bass quality of this bar is terrible, especially when you are listening to music at high volume. Also the remote lacks the backlit which makes it very hard to use in the dark rooms, and most of the time we watch movies with all lights of the room turned off. Also, there are a couple of things like the compatibility of this bar with iOS 13 at its initial stages was worse, and it was hard to connect with Google Chromecast. And the final nail in the coffin is that this bar is costly for the features its offering to the users.
Specifications
Model | VIZIO SB36514-G6 36" 5.1.4 Premium Home Theater Sound System |
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Number of Speakers | 10 |
Bar Speakers | 5 |
Speaker Channels | 5.1.4 |
Connectivity Type | HDMI, Wireless |
Dimensions | 36 x 2.5 x 3.19 inches |
Weight | 24.7 pounds |
- Very easy to set up.
- All of the required cables and accessories bundled.
- Supports Dolby Atmos.
- Very excellent sound quality.
- Bass quality is not that great.
- The remote doesn’t have backlighting.
- Software compatibility with iOS 13.
- Doesn’t work well with Chromecast.
Denon HEOS Bar 3 Channel Soundbar
If you are looking for a perfect balance between the features and the sound quality, there might be no other better option than Denon HEOS Bar 3 for you. This soundbar supports six different channels and has 3.0 sound speakers. For connectivity, there are plenty of options for you, including the wireless 5.1 and four HDMI ports which all are 4k ready. The sound quality of this bar is very rich and gives you the best experience for an affordable price. If you have the television in the large room, it still works best there, and you will not face any problem with it.
This soundbar can handle all kinds of audio and video formats, and you can stream music from any website or service on it. Also, the accessories included with it makes it very easy to set up this box without getting messed up with different things. There are a few audio tweaks available which you can do to make the audio quality of this bar even better, but only a few one are available. Also, for all these features, you have to pay a high price and this one is a premium soundbar you can get.
Specifications
Model | Denon HEOS Bar 3 Channel Soundbar |
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Sound clarity | 6 channels |
Speaker Type | 3.0 Speaker System |
PSU | 100-240 Volts AC |
Connectivity Type | 4x HDMI |
Dimensions | 5.83 x 43.31 x 2.83 inches |
Weight | 10.58 lbs |
- Very rich sound quality.
- High-resolution multi-room sound support.
- Four HDMI cable support is a plus point.
- Lacks Dolby Digital or DTS support.
- The HEOS application is not that good.
- Remote is a bit tricky to use.
LG SK8Y 2.1 Ch High Res Audio SoundBar with Dolby Atmos
Those folks who are looking to get the clear, detailed and open sound and don’t like the sound system of their television I would recommend you to get the LG SK8Y. As I’ve mentioned before this company has released some of the best sound systems and is manufacturing different electronics products, so we don’t have to worry about the quality and the performance of the work a lot. This soundbar can be connected with any modern television with a wireless interface, i.e. Wi-Fi or the HDMI cable. When we take all of its features, it offers excellent value for the price we are paying.
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This soundbar is no doubt significant enough, and we don’t have to worry about its performance or build quality. However, there are a couple of things that I’ve noticed while reviewing this soundbar and you need to know before considering it. First of all, I’ve noticed that the flat design will look suitable for some users but not for everyone one fact most of the users doesn’t like to have a balanced soundbar. This soundbar also lacks the rear channel support. One HDMI port and no 4K pass out again disappoints the users.
Specifications
Model | LG SK8Y 2.1 Ch High Res Audio SoundBar with Dolby Atmos |
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Speaker Type | Soundbar |
Channels | 2.1ch |
Speakers Output Power | 360 Watts |
Connectivity Type | Wireless, HDMI |
Dimensions | 41.7 x 3.5 x 2.4 inches |
Weight | 16.8 lbs |
- Compact and appealing design.
- Apparent sound quality.
- Lots of connectivity options.
- Offer excellent value.
- The flat design might not be appealing for some users.
- Doesn’t have back sound support.
- Supports only one HDMI input.
- Does not support 4K passthrough.
Samsung Harman Kardon Q7CR Series
There goes another Samsung soundbar and as the name suggests this one if from the same lineup like the previous one but might be better in performance and features. When you are very specific with the movies, this soundbar is excellent enough as it gives the best sound quality and has plenty of other features. However, if you have to listen to music throughout the day, I would personally recommend you to consider something else because it’s not made for music. The bass and the other things go much worse when it comes to listening to music with Samsung Harman Kardon Q7CR.
This soundbar has Dolby Digital and DTS, and also it supports 4K pass out which you know is a great feature and a plus point for any soundbar. As it directly comes from a well-reputed electronics brand, so of course, you don’t have to worry about the build quality a lot. The speakers of this soundbar lack some features that I’ve noticed in its rivals which are offering them for the same price and if it comes with them it would be much better. Samsung Harman Kardon is not compatible with the Google Chrome cast, and for some users, this might be not a good thing.
Specifications
Model | Samsung Harman Kardon Q7CR Series |
---|---|
Sound | Excellent |
Speaker Type | Surround Sound |
Speakers Output Power | 330 Watts |
Connectivity Type | Wireless, HDMI |
Dimensions | 43.31 x 2.32 x 39.4 inches |
Weight | 36.7 pounds |
- Gives a significant sound effect for a single speaker.
- Supports both Dolby Digital and DTS.
- Supports 4K passthrough.
- Build quality is impressive.
- Not recommended for bass music.
- Speaker lacks some features that other rivals are offering.
- Doesn’t support Chromecast voice assistant.
Roku Smart Soundbar with built-in 4K Streaming – Best Affordable Soundbar
Putting an end to this list with another tremendous 4K streaming soundbar namely Roku Smart Soundbar and when we look at its price, you will know that it’s one of the cheapest soundbars that you can get. You might be thinking that media streamers only come on smart TVs? They go, but I suppose you might be wrong because these days soundbar even comes with media streamers and some of the most popular media streaming services like Netflix, Spotify, Hulu are supported by this soundbar. The audio quality of this bar is undoubtedly impressive, and you can consider it for music and movies both.
Roku Smart Soundbar is very affordable, and its features are also useful, but I wouldn’t say I like the bass of this bar. When listening to music at high volume, the sound quality of this bar goes worse, and most probably you don’t like that. Though if you ignore this, there is no other problem that you will face with this soundbar and of course what else you will get for this price?
Specifications
Model | Roku Smart Soundbar with built-in 4K Streaming |
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Speaker Type | Four 2.5" full range |
Speakers Output Power | NA |
Connectivity Type | Network, HDMI |
Dimensions | 3.90 x 32.20 x 2.80 inches |
Weight | 5.50 lbs |
- Very affordable soundbar.
- Gives some reliable audio performance.
- Supports plenty of streaming options.
- Bass is not that good in this soundbar.
Conclusion
Using traditional speakers with large television screens doesn’t seem good these days because they can produce sound in a single direction only. To overcome this problem, you can invest some money in buying a soundbar. Companies like LG are releasing tens of models of soundbars every year, and they are available for any budget, so be wise while choosing so that the soundbar will fulfil your requirements. There is another thing I’ve noticed that some soundbars are good for music while some for movies and you can’t use them in replace of the others.