The sole purpose of a soundbar is to provide good quality audio. Televisions these days are getting better every day. We hear about new features being launched in upcoming television. But still, no Television can provide you with a home theater kind of experience with its sound quality. So if you are a fan of movie nights and home theaters, what’s the best soundbar to buy which is somewhat of a necessity for you?
An improved sound quality, clear dialogues, and loud and crisp audio make the whole experience better and fun. But the market out there is flooded with soundbars of different quality and price ranges. So to solve the problem of what’s the best soundbar to buy, we present you with this guide.
In it, we have covered all the things you need to know before choosing a suitable soundbar for yourself. There are huge chances that you can get a soundbar that will cost you a fortune. And will still not get the quality worth the price.
Therefore, to save you from these kinds of fraud, this article is written. It will help you in selecting a perfect soundbar at a reasonable price. Things you need to consider before buying a soundbar for your Television are addressed below. All the details are present to guide you step-by-step. So that you have a clear idea of what to look for in a soundbar before buying it.
SIZE
The size of a soundbar plays a prime role in maintaining the aesthetics of your television launch. A soundbar is bigger than the width of the television. Can divert attention and makes it stick out and not in a good way. Therefore, before buying a soundbar, measure the place you have for placing it either you want it on the same table as the television or mount it somewhere on the wall, having a measurement to help you select a perfect size always comes in handy.
Also, consider the height of the soundbar if you want to place it on the same table in front of the television, as some soundbars can be too tall for it and will block the bottom view. Moreover, if you are specifically looking for a soundbar that you can mount on the wall, get yourself a soundbar that comes with a mounting kit. There are a lot of soundbars in the market that comes with a mounting kit, which makes it easy to set up your soundbar without any help.
CONNECTIVITY OPTIONS
A soundbar needs to be connected with your television in order to sync with the audio of whatever you are watching. Hence, you have to consider a soundbar that can support HDMI ARC, USB, and optical ports for buying. A HAMI ARC is always preferable over optical ports as you will get more features and better sound quality.
However, an Optical port connection also gets the job done, but with HDMI connectivity, the soundbar and the television can share more information. You will have more control over the soundbar, as a lot of new models of soundbars now support remote control through which you can manage all the settings of the soundbar by the pleasantness of your couch.
Additionally, if you have an option for the USB port, you can connect devices that do not support Bluetooth or wifi connectivity directly to the soundbar. Moreover, you can play your music playlist directly from the soundbar without having to play the music on your television or smartphone.
There are more ways to connect your soundbar with other devices, which brings us to the other feature which is not the key feature to look for but makes everything better if you have it, that is
SMART SOUNDBARS
You can now get smart soundbars in the market, which permits you to connect the soundbar with your cell phone or other devices with the help of WiFi or Bluetooth. These soundbars enable you to directly stream series and movies from the internet without needing an extra setup. Smart connectivity is just an advanced feature that allows you to use the Alexa voice assistant.
This feature makes everything easy and increases your options if you don’t have anything worthy to watch on the television, you will find something on the internet. Then again, having smart connectivity is not the job of a soundbar, so focus on the sound quality you are looking for, and if you can get both quality and smart connectivity, then I will say the more features, the merrier.
ACTIVE OR PASSIVE SOUNDBAR
Active and passive soundbars are two different kinds of soundbars in which the passive soundbar does not come with a built-in amplifier. Whereas the active soundbar comes with a built-in amplifier, which means you will not have to connect extra wires and devices with the soundbar. In passive soundbars, you will also need to connect a receiver.
However, the speakers are better than you will find in the active soundbar. Meaning that the sound quality of the passive soundbar is better than the active soundbar. So if you need a soundbar to create a home theater with a loud and crisp sound passive soundbar will be perfect for you. However, you will have to install an extra subwoofer, and it will cost more than the active soundbar.
Besides, if you want to maintain the aesthetic of the room and avoid extra wires, and don’t need to create a proper home theater, active soundbars are perfect for you. They also provide loud and clear sound quality and improve your experience ten times the original audio of the television. I think an active soundbar is a go-to if you are looking for a soundbar that you can use on daily movie nights or while watching series with friends.
SUBWOOFER OR NO SUBWOOFER?
The subwoofer is the major part of a soundbar if you are a fan of good audio bass. Normally, the soundbar comes with a separate box-like shaped subwoofer however, some soundbars come with a built-in good-quality subwoofer. External or Built-in, the quality of the sound only gets better.
The job of a subwoofer is to provide improved bass and make the audio sound more fun and exciting. Despite not being a necessity to have but if you want to have properly enhanced bass in the audio a subwoofer is a must. Subwoofers help the soundbar fill the room with voice, and if you like watching action movies and do not want to leave any bit of action unheard subwoofer is a must for you to improve your experience.
The same goes if you like musicals or movies that have a lot of music in them as the subwoofer will enable you to hear almost every detail present in the audio. Keep in mind if you are going to buy a subwoofer separately, make sure that your soundbar can support it because not all soundbars can support subwoofers. Some of the soundbars come with wire connectivity, however, others can be connected wirelessly, so look around and search for a perfect option if you want to buy the subwoofer separately.
AMOUNT OF CHANNELS
You can find from 2 to 7 channels in a soundbar. The purpose of the channels is to act as different speakers and provides an adequate room-filling sound. The soundbars with 2-channels mean there will be two built-in speakers, left and right. As the number of channels increases, the number of speakers increases, and the quality of the sound becomes better and more filling.
I would recommend a soundbar with 5-channels, which include the center, left, right, and two rare speakers. The 5-channels soundbar provides a more filling, pound, and clear audio, giving a home theater experience. However, the 7-channel soundbar does the same job with some additional information, so if you want the latest version with the best audio quality, the 7-channel soundbar will be the best option for you.
But, the soundbars supporting 5-channels get the job done perfectly. Additionally, there comes a Dolby Atmos soundboard. Which provides the best of the best kind of audio quality better than the 5 and 7-channel soundboard. In Dolby atoms, the speakers are faced upwards therefore it improves the audio quality.
As the audio gets reflected by the roof and fills the room with a crisp sound making your whole experience 10-times better. So if you want to impress your friends and family with your home theater and movie night setup, I would say that the Dolby Atmos soundboard is a go-to for you.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Now that we have discussed all the main features to look for before finding a soundbar I have decided to review some of the best soundbars out there with all these features to help you make up your mind on what the best soundbar to buy and make it easy for you to choose an ideal soundbar. Now there is a huge range of soundbars that you can get for different price ranges and if you are looking for a more affordable yet amazing soundbar check our article on BEST SOUNDBAR UNDER 500.
YAMAHA YAS-209
BODY
Yamaha YAS-209 is a sleek black bar having a plastic body with a matte finished look along with a black fabric-covered grill in the front. The soundbar is around 2.5 inches tall and can be placed in front of the TV easily without blocking the bottom side of the screen. You can also mount it on the wall without any problem as it comes with wall mount screw holes.
There are a bunch of touch-sensitive buttons present on the top of the soundbar for managing its settings along with several LED lights labeled by the name of the operations they indicate. Moreover, the soundbar comes along with a subwoofer having a similar look to the soundbar. The black big matte-finished subwoofer is 6.5 inches tall.
The subwoofer supports wireless connectivity, therefore it can be placed anywhere without having to worry about the wires for connection. However, for perfect quality, it is preferred to place the subwoofer close to the soundbar.
PERFORMANCE
Yamaha YAS-209 supports WiFi connectivity along with Bluetooth connectivity, which always comes in handy as you can effortlessly connect the soundbar and operate it via your cell phone. The WiFi connection also enables the soundbar to support Alexa voice assistant and Spotify connection. It is a delightful feature as you can directly play your playlists and songs from your cell phone without having to connect it with the Television.
The soundbar comes along with some fun yet easy presets like music, movies, sports, games, TV shows, and stereos. It also supports DTS VIRTUAL: X to provide enhanced and satisfying surrounding sound effects. The audio quality of the soundbar is impressive, and it produces a pleasant experience whether you are playing a game, watching movies or TV shows, playing music, or watching sports, the audio quality will always stay clear and solid. Furthermore, the subwoofer improves the audio quality and produces crisp sound.
SENNHEISER AMBEO SOUNDBAR
BODY
SennheiserAmbeosoundbar is a big, hefty soundbar having a weight of around 41 pounds. The soundbar has a big black plastic matte-finished body having 13 speaker drivers. The massive soundbar is almost 5.5 inches high, which makes placing it in front of the television a problem.
It can’t be placed in front of the TV as it blocks the screen and the IR receiver and cannot be placed on a bottom shelf as the upward-facing speakers will be blocked and won’t create a satisfactory Dolby effect. I guess having this big size has its drawbacks. You can mount the soundbar on the wall. But for that, you will have to buy a wall mount separately as the soundbar, even with its expensive rate, does not come with one.
However, you can mount your television on the wall and place the soundbar on the top shelf. Either way, you will have to put some effort into its placement. Furthermore, the soundbar does not come with an external subwoofer as it does not need one due to its high-end drivers.
There are several ports on the rare side of the soundbar, which include three HDMI input ports, one HDMI-EARC output port, a USB jack, an Ethernet jack, and a Stereo RCA aux-in. There are a bunch of LEDs present at the front of the soundbar to indicate the input options being used along with a backlit Ambeo logo.
PERFORMANCE
As mentioned above, SennheiserAmbeosoundbar does come with a lot of ports and jacks for connectivity. But, in addition to that, the soundbar also supports a lot of wireless connections which include, Bluetooth 4.2 and dual-band WiFi connection. Through which you can stream your music and playlist directly from your device.
It contains six woofers, two upward-facing full-range drivers, and five tweeters which enable the soundbar to provide the best surround sound experience you can get from a soundbar. Ambeosoundbar is the best alternative if you don’t want to get a complete setup of the home theater system as it provides impressive audio quality.
The soundbar comes with a calibration microphone which comes with a stand and setting it up is quite effortless. The mic does its job in around a minute or two. And once the calibration is done, you can start watching whatever you want and will get a delightful surround sound experience. With the bass, surround sound, and audio tones Ambeo provides the perfect quality making it worth the money it costs.
The soundbar comes with a remote for control and also has a mobile app through which you can manage the backlighting on the soundbar and other settings. The audio quality of the soundbar is remarkable despite the problems you have to face for your placement, buying this soundbar if you have the money is worth it. The impressive surround sound effects it provides make it the perfect option if you are looking for the best soundbar to buy.
SONOS ARC
BODY
Sonos Arc is a curvy soundbar having a matte-finished plastic body. It has a 273-degree grill on it and is longer than a lot of other soundbars having a width of around 114.1cm. The soundbar has a decent design and looks good. Arc is 8.5 cm high, which is not too high and will not block any of the television screens, but it can block out the IR receiver from receiving the signals of some TVs.
The grill on the soundbar has a Sonos logo in the middle, and above the logo. There are a couple of LED lights present which indicate different settings and operations taking place by the bar. The LED lights are not too bright and are not distracting in any way.
Some touch-sensitive buttons are present in the frame of the bar for controlling the volume, power on/off, and microphone buttons. On the rare side of the soundbar are several ports present for connectivity, which include an HDMI port, an Ethernet port, and a power socket.
PERFORMANCE
Sonos arc has 8-woofers and 3-tweeters built inside of it, however, it does not come with an external subwoofer. The soundbar supports Bluetooth as well as WiFi connectivity and allows you to use Google voice assistant and Alexa voice assistant. There is also an Android and ISO application for controlling and managing the soundbar, which always comes in handy.
Arc supports The Dolby Atmos, TrueHD, and Dolby Digital Plus sound effects and creates room-filling clear 3D audio. The soundbar can be connected to other Sonos devices. Like Sonos subwoofer or speakers to create a louder and much deeper sound effect. But for that, you will have to invest more money, Sonos Arc itself is an amazing device that provides reliable audio quality.
The audio quality of the soundbar is top-notch. Provides a pleasing surround sound effect, but the Dolby Atmos may not work that well in big rooms. The audio produced is crisp and clear. Making the experience of watching a movie or listening to music a lot of fun. Having such impressive audio quality in a single-unit device makes it perfect for our list of best soundbars to buy.
DALI KATCH ONE
BODY
Dali Katch One is not a normal-looking soundbar. The height of soundbar is taller than any other soundbar and will come in the way of your television screen. The soundbar has a height of 6.5 inches and a weight of 8.2 pounds, with a decent look to it. It comes in three different pleasant colors, which include black, mountain white, and ivory white, and a strap attached to it.
Since the height of the soundbar is the main issue. There are a few things you can do to deal with it. You can either hang the soundbar using the strap attached to it, mount it on the wall using the mounting brackets, or mount your television on the wall and place the soundbar on the shelf. Either way placing the soundbar will be a bit of a problem.
Otherwise, setting it up and getting it started is quite an easy process. The soundbar has curved sides and all the control buttons. Which includes the power button and the volume buttons at the top of the soundbar. Meanwhile, all the ports are on the rare side of the soundbar. Which includes two optical input ports, a 3.5mm aux-in, and a USB port.
The connectivity system is pretty simple, and you can connect two devices at the same time, like your music player and your television. A bunch of LED lights to indicate the settings being used are also preset at the top of the soundbar with the control buttons. The soundbar has an overall adequate look to it.
PERFORMANCE
Katch one does not comes with an external subwoofer however it does possess 2 tweeters, 4 woofers, and 4 radiators to generate solid quality audio. Two of the drivers of the soundbar face forward however the other two face backward, therefore, placing the soundbar near the wall is a good idea so that the sound can bounce back.
The soundbar does not support Dolby Atmos or any other modern-day features to create surround sounds. Neither does it Support WiFi connectivity which is a major drawback as it limits the connectivity options of the soundbar. However, it does support Bluetooth 4.0 streaming?
Katch one may not come with an external sub or Dolby effect. But its sound quality is impressive and provides clear and impressive audio. It comes with two different modes which include Focus mode and wide mode.
You can watch movies and listen to music and the soundbar will make you hear details quite effortlessly. The amazing audio quality of Katch One makes it stand out even without the modern features. That’s why it is a perfect option to look at if you are looking for the best soundbar to buy.
LG SL10YG
BODY
LG SL10YG is an angular soundbar having a weight of 16.5 pounds and a height of 2.48 inches. Therefore, you can easily set it up in front of your television. And you will not have to worry about it blocking the screen or the IR receiver. The soundbar comes in dark grey color, having a pretty decent look to it.
It has metallic grills covering the speaker drivers at the front and the sides while the top has a metallic finish. Moreover, there are four LED lights present on the front side under the grill. Along with a five-digit display that tells you about your connections and voice assistant’s activation.
There are a bunch of ways available for connecting the soundbar using the ports given at the back. The ports include 2- HDMI ports, an HDMI ARC output port, a USB slot, an optical digital input jack, and an Ethernet port. Furthermore, several touch-sensitive buttons are present at the top of the soundbar for controlling the volume, power, and input, and enabling the Google Assistant.
Additionally, a subwoofer comes along with the soundbar having a height of 15.3 inches and a weight of 17.19 pounds. The sub has an adequate built quality with three sides covered with black fabric and the top made of dark grey plastic. There is a port present at the rare side of the subwoofer for connection.
PERFORMANCE
LG SL10YG possesses 5.1.12- channel speakers, including two front-firing speakers along with a central unit, and a side-firing speaker. An upward-firing speaker for creating the Dolby Atmos effect. The soundbar supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, which permits the soundbar to provide reliable surround sound.
Making the experience a lot better. There are a couple of wireless connectivity options that include WiFi connectivity, and Bluetooth connection, as well as the soundbar, which also allows you to use Google voice assistant along with the Chromecast. Through Chromecast, you can cast songs, podcasts, and other stuff from youtube, Spotify, and other platforms.
The soundbar comes with different audio modes, which include movies, music, night mode, adaptive sound control, dynamic range control, and more. These audio modes adjust the soundbar, improving the audio quality, and making the experience of watching movies or listening to music a lot better. Such connectivity options, along with impressive sound modes, make it earn a place in our list of best soundbars to buy.