See The 5 Best Soundbars on Amazon

Have you ever struggled to clearly hear dialog and sound effects while watching your favorite movies and shows on TV? Most modern flatscreen TVs seem to skimp on built-in speakers resulting in subpar, tinny and hollow audio quality.

This is where connecting an external soundbar speaker comes in. Soundbars are specially designed compact speaker systems that dramatically boost the sound performance of your TV.

In this detailed guide, we will uncover the 5 top-rated soundbars across pricing segments that you can buy right now on Amazon to elevate your TV audio experience.

What Is A Soundbar?

A soundbar is a long, slim speaker bar that aims to improve on the mediocre built-in speakers of modern slim TV designs. Soundbars come packaged with multiple dedicated drivers – woofers for bass, tweeters for treble and wide frequency range full-range drivers for accurate mid-range sound.

Some key benefits soundbars offer over TV‘s stock speakers:

• Significantly louder, room-filling audio volume
• Far superior sound clarity especially for vocal frequencies
• Added bass response punch for a richer audio experience
• Surround sound effects from added satellite speakers
• Better resonance by angled driver positioning

Soundbars achieve this through advanced audio engineering design often incorporating technologies like Dolby Atmos for height/surround channel expansion and better driver materials compared to cheap TV speakers.

Many also come with wireless subwoofers for earth-shaking low frequency sound and separate satellite speakers to create complete surround home theater systems. Modern soundbars feature estimate aesthetics with metal/glass finishes to match contemporary interior decor.

With simple plug-and-play HDMI connectivity to TVs and streaming media devices, wireless music streaming features, voice assistants and expandable modular designs – soundbars offer outstanding audio performance with exceptional ease of use.

How We Chose The Best Soundbars On Amazon

With dozens of soundbar models and configurations available just on Amazon itself, making the right choice that meets your audio needs and fits within budget can be challenging.

We simplify this research process for you by identifying the top 5 highest rated and best selling soundbars across pricing segments based on:

• Audio Quality – Sound profile balance, clarity, loudness and bass response
• Industry Expert Reviews – Ratings, recommendations and subjective assessments
• Customer Satisfaction – Amazon ratings and percentage of 5/4 star reviews
• Feature Set – Support for latest connectivity standards, music streaming options, voice assistants and audio formats
• Ease Of Use – Setup complexity, control options, number of cables required
• Design – Size/form factor that aesthetically fits modern living spaces
• Price And Value – Sound performance relative to current street pricing

Now let‘s look at the top picks…

1. Best Overall: Sonos Beam

Regarded by CNET‘s expert reviewer Ty Pendlebury as the “the best single-body soundbar he‘s heard in years”, the Sonos Beam delivers stunningly clear, rich and room-filling sound in a compact soundbar design.

It supports Dolby Digital sound decoding plus Sonos‘ proprietary advanced voice processing algorithms to lift up dialog clarity. Music and effects gain added bass punch and more immersive surround effects from the angled speaker design.

You can control Beam using the intuitive Sonos smartphone app, included IR remote or completely hands-free via integrated Amazon Alexa and Google voice assistant support. It also supports Apple AirPlay 2 for one-touch audio streaming from any iPhone, iPad or Mac device.

For multi-room audio, you can easily pair the Sonos Beam over WiFi with other Sonos speakers placed across rooms for synchronized whole-home audio.

Considering its premium design aesthetic with matte finish and touch sensitive controls, fantastic sound quality rivaling more expensive systems and smart connectivity, the Sonos Beam undoubtedly stands as the #1 overall soundbar available on Amazon today.

“Fantastic addition to your home entertainment setup. The sound quality is amazing, very easy to set up…We‘ve owned several sound bars, and this is by far our favorite.” – M. Carroll (Amazon reviewer)

2. Best for Bass: JBL Bar 9.1

According to WhatHiFi “if you love bass, this is the soundbar for you”. Housing an expansive set of dedicated speakers powered by 820W amps plus a gigantic 300W 10" wireless subwoofer, the JBL Bar 9.1 can quite literally shake your walls with window-rattling bass. Augmenting the hammering lows are distortion-free mids/highs from dedicated front, rears and height speakers.

Dolby‘s Atmos and DTS‘s DTS:X decoding means the Bar 9.1 can expand stereo signals into utterly immersive 3D surround audio with unparalleled realism. The two detachable battery-powered surround speakers give you incredible flexibility in 5.1.4 speaker layout configuration without having to run cables.

With eARC support for lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio pass-though to compatible TVs, 4K Dolby Vision passthrough, Chromecast and voice assistant support – the feature-packed JBL Bar 9.1 delivers a visceral cinematic sonic experience.

“The sound is EXCELLENT!!! We‘ve been through many sound bars over the years and this one is the best I‘ve had in my home so far!!” – Tech Fan 1983 (Amazon reviewer)

3. Best Budget: Sony HT-S100F

Delivering surprisingly big and detailed audio for its compact form factor, the affordably priced Sony HT-S100F is regarded by Rtings experts as their “Best Budget” soundbar recommendation.

Despite having just two full-range drivers, Sony‘s proprietary S-Force PRO Front Surround technology throws a much wider, immersive soundstage enhancing movies, games and music alike. The built-in subwoofer boosts bass response using the Deep Bass tech coupled with Clear Phase circuitry for electronic crossover management.

With convenient basics like ARC, Bluetooth streaming and voice enhancement covered alongside great balanced sound in a minimalist design, the Sony HT-S100F brings genuine audiophile-grade performance to buyers on a tight budget.

“Easy setup, great sound and featuring Bluetooth connectivity allowing you to stream your music wirelessly from any of your devices.” – Billy (Amazon reviewer)

4. Best for Home Theater: Yamaha YAS-209

As Tom‘s Guide puts it, the Yamaha YAS-209 soundbar “complete with wireless subwoofer transforms your living room into a home theater”. Leveraging over a hundred years of acoustic instrument design expertise, Yamaha has packed clear and accurate reference-grade amps and drivers into a stylish sleek soundbar.

The powerful 6.5” wireless subwoofer placed anywhere delivers foundation-rattling bass, while two 1.6” speakers immerse with clear mids and highs. Yamaha‘s sound engineering also manifests beautifully in the YAS-209‘s stellar DTS Virtual:X surround implementation creating a 3D hemispherical listening experience that audio geeks crave.

With Alexa built-in, you can enjoy frictionless hands-free voice control of music playback, smart devices and access a world of information. Smooth setup, best-in-class hardware and effect-laden audio makes the flexible and feature-packed YAS-209 quite simply the perfect surround sound anchor for serious home theaters.

5. Best for Gaming: Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus

Designed for gaming audio performance perfectionists, the Sennheiser Ambeo earns a rare 5 star rating from HomeTheaterReview declaring that “there simply isn‘t a better way to upgrade your gaming audio”.

The Ambeo soundbar‘s 13 discreet speaker drivers powered by 500 watts of pure Class-D amplification, pumps out phenomenally lifelike sound with bass that hits with chest-thumping impact. Sennheiser‘s patented upmixing technology leverages artificial intelligence to create stunningly realistic 3D soundscapes from even stereo content.

A low-latency mode ensures perfectly synced audio critical for competitive online gaming. Premium touches like a metal grille, glass top panel, backlit controls and an extensive companion mobile app put you in full command of a sublime audio experience.

If no-compromises gaming audio that leaves LCD displays in the dust is what you desire, look no further than Sennheiser‘s tour-de-force Ambeo Soundbar Plus.

How to Connect A Soundbar To Your TV

The key benefit of soundbars is the sheer simplicity of setup compared to traditional wired multi-speaker surround sound rigs. Here is a quick step-by-step guide to hooking up a soundbar like the Sonos Beam to your TV via HDMI ARC:

Step 1: Ensure your TV has an HDMI ARC/eARC port which supports two-way digital audio transmission directly from TV to soundbar without an extra digital optical audio cable. Refer TV manual if unsure.

Step 2: Power off both the TV and soundbar to begin. Insert one end of the HDMI ARC cable into the soundbar‘s HDMI IN (ARC) port. This will typically be labeled explicitly.

Step 3: Insert the other end of the HDMI ARC cable to the HDMI ARC/eARC port on your TV.

Step 4: Turn on the soundbar first and switch TV input to recognize the newly connected soundbar. You should instantly hear TV audio play clearly through the soundbar versus TV‘s built-in bottom firing speakers. See soundbar‘s on-screen instructions for audio settings.

And done! For watching movies or streaming shows, simply set TV output to Bitstream for digital multi-channel signal passthrough from source to soundbar. Leverage CEC functionality to control soundbar via TV remote.

Through a single standard HDMI ARC cable connection, you can now enjoy the sonic fruits of premium amplifiers and speakers engineered specifically for clearer TV and music playback!

Soundbars – Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some commonly asked questions our readers have about buying and setting up soundbars:

Do soundbars come with subwoofers?

While some premium soundbars have wireless active subwoofers bundled like the Yamaha YAS-209, most affordable models require purchasing a separate subwoofer module to enjoy deep low bass effects. Having a sub isn‘t necessary but recommended for a wholesome home theater experience.

Can you connect a soundbar to TV wirelessly?

Yes definitely! Modern soundbars employ high quality Bluetooth 5.0 wireless transmission allowing cable-free music/audio streaming from any smartphone, tablet or laptop to your soundbar‘s speakers placed near the TV.

What‘s better – soundbar Vs home theater speakers?

For their simplicity, convenience and smaller footprint, soundbars make an excellent alternative to conventional 5.1 or 7.1 surround speaker packages. However standalone external speakers are more flexible allowing placement around a room. For audio purists, a dedicated AV receiver-based system still delivers the pinnacle in sound performance through precise multi-channel separation.

Can I mount a soundbar on the wall?

Wall mounting soundbar installations under your wall-mounted TV set or above fireplace mantels create a clean, integrated appearance. Using the screw holes on rear panels, horizontal or vertical mounts allow flexibility in soundbar placement to complement living space decor. Detachable side satellite speakers and subwoofers also facilitate placement anywhere in a room.

Experience Big Screen Audio In Your Home

Investing is a quality soundbar speaker instantly elevates dull, compressed TV audio into a sensory surround sound experience. Cinematic movies suddenly spring to life with incredible clarity and thundering bass through the multiple dedicated speakers and amplification stages integrated elegantly into compact cabinets.

Even stereo music is transformed from meek TV speakers into panoramic, lively audio you feel. And done right, a soundbar enhances rather than clutters living space aesthetics. Each of our top recommendations like the Sonos Beam delivers on all these aspects making it very easy to recommend them as ideal TV audio upgrades this coming holiday season!

We hope our exhaustive analysis simplifies your buying decision. Please share your questions or feedback on these soundbars in the comments section below.