Soundbars

Get Smart About Sound with a Soundbar

Soundbars are the convenient all-in-one solution for your home audio needs. Bluetooth and wireless capabilities eliminate tangling wires or bulky home theatre systems. Slim and compact, a soundbar will save space, match the streamlined look of your smart home TV, and deliver powerful sound.

What is a soundbar used for?

A soundbar is a slender cabinet holding two or more speakers, for stereo or surround sound. Often a worthy replacement for poor audio TV speakers, soundbars are good for listening to music, too – just connect via Bluetooth to stream music from your smartphone, tablet or laptop. You can use any sound bar on any TV using two options: an HDMI ARC cable for video and high-resolution sound, or an optical audio cable for audio. A soundbar, even wireless, still needs to be plugged into a power source.

Which is the best soundbar?

If you’re simply looking for a soundbar to replace your TVs speakers, soundbars like the Samsung 2.1 Channel 130W, 200W or Bose Solo 5 TV Sound System will hit the mark. 2.1 means two speakers and one sub-woofer. The difference between a 2.1 and a 5.1 sound bar is 5.1 is surround sound, using five speakers to bounce sound off walls. The 999 Yamaha YSP-1600BMK2 Soundbar is a good starting point, and also offers HDMI connectivity for greater sound immersion. Sonos Soundbars are diverse: the Sonos Playbar is 3.0 but you can add wireless speakers and a sub-woofer to transform into surround sound, and the smart soundbar Sonos Beam offers this and an integrated Alexa voice assistant.

For the best value surround sound, check out three-in-one options like the Sony 5.1 Channel 4K HDR Sound Bar, which comes with Wireless Subwoofer and Rear Speaker. For the best surround sound altogether, look for sound bars like the Samsung Series 9 5.1.4. The '4' refers to four upward-firing drivers that project sound onto the ceiling, using Dolby Atmos – perfect for Blu-Ray and your home theatre.