Short article upgraded on March 3, 2024 at 8:30 PM PST
Including a soundbar to your television is a terrific method to jazz things up with music streaming and voice abilities. These are the very best soundbars we’ve checked.
Our Experts
Buying an excellent soundbaris a simple and relatively low-cost method to enhance your home entertainment setup. It will not simply improve the sound profile of your television, it’ll likewise combine the variety of boxes on your television cabinet. Modern soundbars feature a great deal of bells and whistles, consisting of voice assistants, music streaming and even video streaming. And the very best part? They do not cost an arm and a leg any longer. You can get a few of the very best soundbars on the marketplace, beginning at around $150.
There are substantial distinctions in between a wise soundbar and a wise television. You get onboard streaming apps with wise TVs, however a wise soundbar generally implies the speaker has an onboard voice assistant — typically either Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. The Roku Streambar and Streambar Pro (formerly theSmart Soundbarare the primary exceptions here, with streaming apps and an optional always-on assistant.
All soundbars deal with the majority of TVs, despite whether either gadget is wise or not. If you’re looking for an all-in-one streaming speaker and voice assistant, these are the soundbars you need to purchase.
Learn more:Finest Smart Speakers for 2024: Alexa, Google and More
f4460621-d018-49ef-a6db-21e2a8af5985″ section=”cap” data-id=”listicle-f4460621-d018-49ef-a6db-21e2a8af5985″ data-techprodid=”6b8c3e36-65b0-4aba-8105-fd1bcaf781a4″ data-cy=”bestListProductListing” content=”LIST ITEM” superlative=”Best smart soundbar” description=”
The compact Roku Streambar plugs into your TV’sHDMI ARCport and works as both a 4K streamer and a soundbar. We’ve found the Streambar easy to set up, and it sounds good for the size, particularly with dialogue. To make the soundbar truly smart, the $30 Voice Remote Pro adds an always-on voice assistant that’s handy for finding new shows, and even the remote itself.
” page-position linktext linkurl can-collapse=”true” collapse-on-page-load=”true” can-truncate=”true” truncate-on-page-load=”true” offer=”redirect” techobjectinfo=”” overridecredit overridecaption=”
” imagegroup=”a” usepricing=”false” ng-block=”” edition=”us” data-key=”cnetlisticle__f4460621-d018-49ef-a6db-21e2a8af5985″ index=”1″ contenttype=”Best List – Precap” pagelayout=”FAQ Markup + BL Precap” tagslugs=”yamaha,google-assistant,alexa,bluetooth,hdmi,bose,roku” isbestlistredesign=”true” imagecredit>
The Polk React with DTS Virtual Surround Sound is a single soundbar upgrade to among my preferred clever soundbars, the Polk Command Bar. While it misses out on the subwoofer you can constantly purchase an add-on one, and raises too. The 3D surround sound innovation uses exceptional sound quality and the Alexa onboard is responsive. The Yamaha YAS-209 is worth thinking about for its subwoofer and extra HDMI port, and it can frequently be discovered for the exact same cost or less than the Polk.
< div id="754499e0-0d61-4ae1-aa11-e4d3d831a7ab" area="cap" data-id="listicle-754499e0-0d61-4ae1-aa11-e4d3d831a7ab" data-techprodid="36aec6af-6ae1-43f9-a359-4b9d864ef89a" data-cy="bestListProductListing" material="LIST ITEM" superlative="Best wise soundbar and sub combination" description ="
The Yamaha YAS-209 uses outstanding sound quality in a compact soundbar with Amazon Alexa voice control built-in. The mics work well in loud environments and you can utilize them when you’re streaming music. The soundbar deals DTS Virtual: X surround noise processing and a cordless subwoofer. The YAS-209 does not utilize the business’s MusicCast system, however, so you can’t sync up with other Yamaha speakers. It’s typically on sale for less.
page-position linktext linkurl can-collapse=”real” collapse-on-page-load=”real” can-truncate=”real” truncate-on-page-load=”real” deal =” cf9fb0a5-2256-4203-b0ec-bc6829195c2b” techobjectinfo =” ” overridecredit=”Sarah Tew/CNET” overridecaption =”
imagegroup =” hub” usepricing=”incorrect” ng-block =””id”:”b2ue5wtd94f8vbi””type”:”listicle”” edition=”us” data-key=”cnetlisticle __ 754499e0-0d61-4ae1-aa11-e4d3d831a7ab” index=”3″ contenttype=”Best List – Precap” pagelayout=”FAQ Markup + BL Precap” tagslugs=”yamaha,google-assistant, alexa, bluetooth, hdmi, bose, roku” isbestlistredesign=”real” imagecredit=”Sarah Tew/CNET” >
The Yamaha YAS-209 provides outstanding sound quality in a compact soundbar with Amazon Alexa voice control built-in. The mics work well in loud environments and you can utilize them when you’re streaming music. The soundbar deals DTS Virtual: X surround noise processing and a cordless subwoofer. The YAS-209 does not utilize the business’s MusicCast system, however, so you can’t sync up with other Yamaha speakers. It’s typically on sale for less.
< div id="658dd451-d414-413f-b008-e7fee79756d2" area="cap" data-id="listicle-658dd451-d414-413f-b008-e7fee79756d2" data-techprodid="f36ba1dc-97e9-444c-9493-c099d0bacf31" data-cy="bestListProductListing" material="LIST ITEM" superlative="Best for music streaming" description ="
With the addition Dolby Atmos, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is now the midpriced clever noise bar to get. It provides an option of either Alexa or Google voice assistant, and the Sonos environment is among the very best music streaming platforms around. You might be losing out on deep bass without a sub, however this compact speaker makes your motion pictures sound substantial with its virtual surround abilities.
page-position linktext linkurl can-collapse=”real” collapse-on-page-load=”real” can-truncate=”real” truncate-on-page-load=”real” deal =” af73ef30-a35d-46b5-8c14-f8ec59a4825e” techobjectinfo =””uuid”:”0aec6ea8-0319-41bd-92e3-25e773b1dca4″”slug”:”sonos-beam-gen-2″”name”:”Sonos Beam (Gen 2)””productType”:”SERIES””updateType”:”PRISM””mod”:1709433556717″ overridecredit=”Ty Pendlebury/CNET” overridecaption =”
Sonos Beam Gen 2
imagegroup =” img” usepricing=”incorrect” ng-block =” ” edition=”us” data-key=”cnetlisticle __ 658dd451-d414-413f-b008-e7fee79756d2″ index=”4″ contenttype=”Best List – Precap” pagelayout=”FAQ Markup + BL Precap” tagslugs=”yamaha,google-assistant, alexa, bluetooth, hdmi, bose, roku” isbestlistredesign=”real” imagecredit=”Ty Pendlebury/CNET” >
With the addition Dolby Atmos, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is now the midpriced wise noise bar to get. It uses an option of either Alexa or Google voice assistant, and the Sonos community is among the very best music streaming platforms around. You might be losing out on deep bass without a sub, however this compact speaker makes your films sound substantial with its virtual surround abilities.
< div id="fb16d7b6-b060-430d-b3a2-47b705cd5f5a" area="cap" data-id="listicle-fb16d7b6-b060-430d-b3a2-47b705cd5f5a" data-techprodid="5b543654-6782-4748-a4d5-be725f1ece79" data-cy="bestListProductListing" material="LIST ITEM" superlative="Best single bar with Dolby Atmos" description=" 19459002 The Sonos Arc is the full-grown variation of the Beam and uses a variety of upgrades for the additional money. The very first is making use of committed, upfiring Dolby Atmos speakers which offers it an edge in motion pictures, and the 2nd is more chauffeurs and a larger cabinet for much better bass efficiency. Otherwise this is another excellent Sonos offering with the option of voice assistants and the very best music streaming community. 19459003 page-position linktext linkurl can-collapse="real" collapse-on-page-load="real" can-truncate="real" truncate-on-page-load="real" deal=" content" techobjectinfo=" " overridecredit="Ty Pendlebury/CNET" overridecaption=" 19659072 imagegroup=" resize" usepricing="incorrect" ng-block=" " edition="us" data-key="cnetlisticle __ fb16d7b6-b060-430d-b3a2-47b705cd5f5a" index="5" contenttype="Best List - Precap" pagelayout="FAQ Markup + BL Precap" tagslugs="yamaha,google-assistant, alexa, bluetooth, hdmi, bose, roku" isbestlistredesign="real" imagecredit="Ty Pendlebury/CNET"> 19459002 The Sonos Arc is the full-grown variation of the Beam and provides a variety of upgrades for the additional money. The very first is using devoted, upfiring Dolby Atmos speakers which offers it an edge in motion pictures, and the 2nd is more motorists and a larger cabinet for much better bass efficiency. Otherwise this is another fantastic Sonos offering with the option of voice assistants and the very best music streaming community. infoCard” id=”ca5e0a5f-c03e-46df-b7b0-526834d0443a” hed=”How I test soundbars” description=”19459002At CNET I test audio equipment from compact soundbars though to surround sound speaker systems, but regardless of the device my methodology is largely the same. I always compare products against one or more reference devices which offer the best performance at a similar price. When it comes to soundbars, I want to see how well a system performs with music as well as with movies, as most people will want to do both. I watch from a handful of test scenes from 4K Blu-ray or streamed from a 4K streaming service (Vudu, for example) and evaluate aspects such as bass performance and dialog clarity. I also use a19459053number of test music tracks19459016 and evaluate any streaming features such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Systems that can perform well with both types of entertainment that inevitably score the highest.See my19659082for more of the features and other things you should consider when looking for a new system.” primary-topic-slug=”speakers” disable-truncation=”true” tocid=”toc-591298a0-8c86-41d9-90a8-ed67674e0d6f-item-1″> 19459002 There are 2 kinds of wise soundbar– one which provides a single voice assistant (generally Amazon Alexa) and one which provides an option of either Google Assistant or Alexa. The Polk React and the Yamaha YAS-209 are 2 examples of Alexa-only soundbars, while Sonos items provide both assistants. 19659109 Streaming & Television Accessories Learn more