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Your fancy 4K TV: awesome. Your fancy 4K TV’s speakers: not so awesome. They’re small, underpowered and usually pointed straight down, exactly where your ears aren’t. That’s why you have to crank the volume to room-rattling levels just to hear Martin Short crack wise in Only Murders in the Building. Fortunately, there’s a simple fix: Add a soundbar. Whether you want to boost the volume or voice clarity or build out a proper home theater, these speaker systems will vastly improve your audio experience. Below I’ve rounded up the best soundbars for all needs and budgets.
As a technology journalist with over 30 years covering consumer electronics, I have considerable experience in this area. And as a certified TV junkie who logs more hours on the couch than I care to admit, I’m personally vested in having the best possible audio experience. Chances are good that if I sign off on one of these products, you’ll like it.
How much do you need to spend? There’s something here for every budget, from around $150 for a simple setup to a $1,300 home-theater sound system splurge. I recommend investing a little more if you can, because quality speakers really do make a difference for clear dialogue and an overall great sound. Don’t your ears deserve it?
Make sure to keep scrolling after the reviews to learn how we tested, what factors to consider when choosing a soundbar, and the answers to frequently asked soundbar questions.
Best soundbars for dialogue in 2024
VIZIO
Vizio makes some of the top-rated soundbars in the biz, budget and fancy alike. This one falls squarely in the former category, with the lowest price tag in the group. Despite that, it’s a solid pick, offering bright, nicely balanced sound and perks like a dialogue mode and virtual surround. Just be prepared for a few setup and usability challenges: the instructions aren’t great, and the soundbar’s LEDs are hard to interpret.
- Affordable price
- Dedicated dialogue mode
- Loud, nicely balanced sound
- Can be challenging to set up
- No HDMI input
- Confusing LEDs
Roku
A solid soundbar with a premium Roku streaming box built right in, the extras-laden Streambar Pro features Dolby Audio, a superb remote and more. This is an especially great setup for headphone fans: You can plug wired ones into the remote or pair Bluetooth headphones to the soundbar itself. The latter is light on bass, but you can add a wireless subwoofer (and wireless rear speakers) if you wish.
- Nicely balanced sound
- Adds a premium Roku experience to your TV
- Headphone jack on remote for private listening
- Light on bass
- Occasional streaming glitches
Zvox
Audio channels: 3 | HDMI port: No | Wireless: No | Built-in voice assistant(s): No | Dolby Atmos: No
Zvox’s AccuVoice soundbars are utterly amazing at voice enhancement, such that you’ll no longer have to crank the volume to maximum (thereby sending others fleeing the room) to hear what’s being said. The AV355 in particular offers 12 distinct levels of voice adjust or «voice boost,» which is probably an overkill number, but it’s hard to argue with the results. Although it lacks a few features (most notably Bluetooth), no other soundbar is as good at making speech sound louder and more natural. For anyone with even a little hearing loss, it’s the best choice.
- Multiple levels of voice enhancement
- Bright LCD shows volume and mode setting
- Very good remote
- Lacks Bluetooth
- Underpowered for large rooms
- Not much bass
Bose
Audio channels: 5 | HDMI port: Yes | Wireless: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Built-in voice assistant(s): Alexa, Google | Dolby Atmos: Yes
Despite its compact size and relatively low price, the Bose 600 can really fill a room — and it’s especially good at enhancing dialogue. It’s packed with features and exceeds the close-rival Sonos Beam in a few key ways — not the least of which is actual up-firing speakers to achieve real-deal Dolby Atmos audio. Plus, it includes an actual remote, unlike the Beam.
- Room-filling audio in a compact form factor
- Dolby Atmos on the cheap
- Dialogue really pops
- Minimal printed instruction
- Barely visible volume LEDs
- Light on bass
Sonos
Hold onto your wallet: The Arc is one of the most expensive soundbars around. It’s also one of the best, with good bass, amazing Dolby Atmos and your choice of Alexa or Google voice assistants. It comes without a remote, however, and relies heavily on the Sonos app for setup and other functions. If you have a smaller room, consider the smaller, more affordable Sonos Beam, which is nearly as good.
- Huge sound field fills the room
- Easy app-based setup
- Impressive bass
- Expensive
- No remote
- Not great at dialogue enhancement
Polk Audio
Home theater in a box? Polk’s system includes not only a powerful soundbar, but also a massive subwoofer (make sure you’ve got space for it) and wireless surround speakers. Save for a few minor quirks, the MagniFi AX SR is absolutely superb. It’s versatile and easy to use, and it can blow the doors off even a large home-theater space. If big bass, satellite speakers and Dolby Atmos are on your list of must-haves, this is the system to get.
- True surround sound
- Floor-shaking bass
- Easy to set up
- Huge subwoofer requires a lot of floor space
- No mounting hardware for satellite speakers
SAMSUNG
Did you win the Powerball? Or score an inheritance from crazy old Uncle Leo? Then by all means splurge on Samsung’s utterly spectacular Q990B soundbar setup. It’s expensive and somewhat annoying to use, but also unrivaled at plunking you into a veritable dome of sound. This is how you home theater.
- Unrivaled sound quality
- Dolby Atmos
- Analyzes room noise specifically for dialogue boosting
- Very expensive
- Some setup and usability hassles
- Rear-speaker Dolby Atmos works only with Samsung TVs
Factors to consider when choosing a soundbar
The most important «feature» is the soundbar itself; everything else is just gravy. That said, if you have aging ears, some kind of dialogue- or voice-boosting capability can make a big difference. Luckily, nearly every product here offers that in one form or another.
Audio channels: A 2.1-channel soundbar has two main speakers and one subwoofer. A 7.1.2-channel system has seven main speakers, one subwoofer and two rear speakers. As a general rule, more speakers equals bigger, broader sound.
Size: Does size matter? As with most speakers, the larger the soundbar, the bigger and better the audio quality is likely to be — one exception being the Bose 600, which manages to wring big, quality sound sound from a smallish form-factor. From a décor standpoint, a compact soundbar might look a little awkward sitting in front of a big TV, and vice versa. But even if you’re outfitting a smallish TV that lives in a smallish room, I’d opt for a large-ish soundbar, one that can stay with you if you decide on a TV upgrade someday.
HDMI port: Next, it’s not critical, but if your TV has an HDMI ARC or eARC port (most modern ones do), I recommend choosing a soundbar that has an HDMI port as well. Among other things, that pairing simplifies controlling the soundbar’s volume using your TV’s remote — an important usability consideration. (Juggling multiple remotes is not my idea of fun.) You may be able to do this via an optical connection as well, but the HDMI option also helps you hear soundbar audio from any other sources connected to the TV, like a game console, streamer or cable box. It’s necessary for Dolby Atmos as well (see below).
Wired or wireless: If you’re looking for a fully wireless option, most modern soundbars support Bluetooth, though not all TVs do. My advice is to go wired, as you’ll ensure the best audio quality and avoid possible audio-video synchronization issues. (You can still use the Bluetooth feature, and possibly Wi-Fi as well, to stream music from your phone or tablet.)
Dolby Atmos: This rather magical technology adds «height channels» to the listening experience — basically another way to simulate 3D sound. The Sonos Arc, for example, accomplishes this via a pair of up-firing speakers, the idea being to bounce audio off the ceiling in addition to pointing it at your face. It’s a nice feature to have, but it also adds cost and complexity. I’m not convinced it’s a must-have for the average viewer.
Voice assistants: Some soundbars have Amazon Alexa and/or Google Assistant onboard, the better to control not only the soundbar itself but also the TV and any other connected smart devices you might have. Looking for an interactive speaker? We have a list of the best smart speakers for seniors, too.
How we tested
Here’s the thing: Every soundbar here sounds good, if not great. Obviously, overall audio quality is important, but I believe we’re starting from a high baseline: Any of these products will noticeably improve your sound experience.
So instead of delving into highly subjective sound tests and confusing terminology, I focused on real-world considerations like these:
How good is the instruction manual? Is it clear and detailed, with print that’s large enough to read without a magnifying glass?
How’s the remote? Is it laid out logically, with reasonably sized buttons that are labeled clearly?
Does the soundbar have a useful front-panel display that shows volume levels and/or mode settings?
Speaking of modes, is it easy to switch between TV audio and Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (for listening to music)?
Are there any senior-friendly features like dialogue enhancement and voice controls?
All soundbars were tested with an Amazon Fire TV Omni Series QLED TV. I played movies such as Black Panther, All Quiet on the Western Front and Despicable Me, along with TV shows like Andor, Survivor and The Old Man. Let me just say it again: You can’t go wrong with any of these.
FAQs
What the heck is a soundbar, exactly?
True to its name, a soundbar is basically a group of speakers contained in a long, low-profile cabinet. The advantage is that it can usually sit right in front of the TV, or below it if it’s wall-mounted. There may be other speakers in the mix as well for a full speaker system, including a subwoofer combo (which is very nice to have, as it provides the bass needed for more well-rounded sound) and, in some cases, side and/or rear speakers (aka satellites) to create a surround sound experience.
Are soundbars worth it?
Oh my heavens, yes. There’s a night-and-day difference with and without one. And there’s an option for every budget. As you learned above, the $150 Vizio V214x-K6 offers pretty amazing bang for the buck. So does the $179 Roku Streambar Pro.
Although I didn’t cover super-low-end models here, it’s possible to spend as little as $40-$45 on a soundbar and still get an improved TV listening experience. That said, I recommend investing a little more if you can, because quality speakers really do make a difference. Don’t your ears deserve it?
Do I need a subwoofer with a soundbar?
Need? No. Nice to have? Definitely. A subwoofer brings the bass in a way that a soundbar can’t all by itself, and that helps to round out the home-theater experience. These big square blocks are typically wireless (except for their power cord, of course) and don’t need to sit right by the TV; you can put it in a corner or somewhere else off to the side.
Is a new soundbar hard to set up?
A standalone soundbar is usually quite easy to install: Just plug it into an AC outlet and then connect it to your TV. However, if you’re not electronics-savvy, take note that many of the products here arrive with very basic setup guides and limited instructions. Often you’ll be directed to online manuals and/or videos, which can be challenging if you’re viewing them on your phone.
For example, although the Sonos Arc is fairly easy to install, it comes with barely any printed documentation. You’ll have to install the Sonos app and create an account to complete the setup process, and any additional help must be found online.
If you’re worried about setting up a soundbar, see about buying the senior in your life a new set of headphones instead.
In most installations, you’ll need to adjust your TV speaker settings so the audio gets directed to just the soundbar. Some TVs will do that automatically when such speakers are detected, especially if there’s an HDMI-eARC port. If not, it’s usually pretty easy to find the necessary audio settings in the TV’s menus.
Finally, there’s often a step or two required to make your TV remote recognize the soundbar system. For this you may have to consult both the soundbar and TV instruction manuals — and remember that one or both may live online. If you tend to struggle with tech stuff, consider researching all this before you make your purchase, the better to avoid obstacles or surprises during setup.
Other soundbars we’re evaluating
There are lots of other soundbars on the market beyond the seven listed here. For example, the Sony HT-A7000 looks to be a solid challenger to the Sonos Arc, offering Dolby Atmos and 360-degree spatial sound mapping. Meanwhile, Amazon recently jumped into the fray with its Fire TV Soundbar, a compact model with an attractive $120 price tag.
We’ll continue to evaluate new models as they’re released and update our story with new reviews.
