In this review we feature the best home theater soundbars that provide powerful and crystal clear sound with surround sound effects. These soundbars come with built-in speakers and amplifiers that provide virtual surround sound and disperse sound as though you are sitting in a real life cinema. These soundbars are designed to for easy connectivity and can connect to your device using Bluetooth or TV using wired connections. They also support RCA, optical inputs and coaxial inputs for versatile connections. We also liked the fact that these home theater soundbars come with a discreet and minimalist design which blends in nicely with modern home interior décor. Our experts have tested numerous soundbars to determine which ones provide the best virtual surround sound and HD effects for home theater. If you are looking for the best home theater soundbars for watching movies and listening to music, be sure to check out our top picks below!
#1 Best Overall: TaoTronics 40” Home Theater Soundbar
Features: Four amplified internal drivers for deep bass
Connections: Bluetooth, RCA, optical and coaxial inputs
What we liked: Slim design and placement, blends in with TV
View Full Specs: TaoTronics 40 inch Home Theater Soundbar
The TaoTronics Sound Bar for TV is a high quality speaker system dedicated for bringing a high quality cinematic experience from any home setup. It is equipped with 4 amplified drivers which produce clear and powerful sound with a balanced frequency response which have been engineered to bring out all the subtleties in music and films. The LED displays enable users to easily navigate the menus while the provided remote control allows users to change settings from a distance.
The TaoTronics soundbar has multiple connectivity options to suit any kind of existing home setup, such as connecting through Bluetooth to achieve a high quality wireless network, using the traditional RCA analogue ports, a digital optical input and even a coaxial input. Its slim and sleek design enables it to be placed in multiple positions, either below the television or above it, giving listeners the impression that the sound comes from the events happening on-screen.
We also liked the all-black and modern look which makes the soundbar easily blend with flat screen display and offers a pleasing visual aesthetic to the home cinema setup. Overall, the TaoTronics soundbar is one of the best home theater soundbar we have tested and highly recommend them.
#2 Best 5.1 Soundbar: JBL Bar Ultra-HD Home Theater Soundbar
Features: 5.1 JBL bar, 510W total system power, full surround sound
Connections: Wireless subwoofer, Bluetooth connection, three HDMI inputs
What we liked: Easy to connect all 4K devices and play ultra-HD
View Full Specs: JBL Bar Ultra-HD Home Theater Soundbar
The JBL Bar is a multichannel surround bar with wireless connectivity. It has a distinguishable feature which is characterized by two detachable speakers at either end of the soundbar. By itself, the soundbar comprises of the left, right and centre speakers, with two additional speakers connected on each end. Those two speakers separate and can be placed anywhere to serve as the rear left and rear right speakers.
They are wirelessly connected to the main soundbar and are also battery powered. Both the remote speakers and the soundbar are small and can be placed discreetly on top or below the television to give the impression of the sound coming from the screen. The subwoofer features a 250mm diaphragm which can render powerful low end which is suitable for any kind of small to medium sized room.
The JBL Bar supports Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS formats, meaning it is compatible with most types of 5.1 encoding and delivers a truly immersive surround sound experience. It can connect to 4k devices through a HDMI cable meaning that the home viewing experience will be on par with a cinema experience.
#3 Best High-End: SONOS Playbar TV Home Theater Soundbar
Features: HD sound quality from nine amplified speaker drivers
Connections: Wireless streaming, simple two-cord setup for TV and power
What we liked: Syncs wirelessly with other SONOS speakers
View Full Specs: SONOS Playbar TV Home Theater Soundbar
The Sonos Playbar has been designed to be used alongside a television setup and enhance the listening experience for both films and music. It complements flat screen televisions by providing a crisp and powerful sound which is produced by 9 amplified speaker drivers. Its slim design allows it to be placed either below or above the screen, giving listeners the impression that the sound is produced by the events happening on-screen.
The Playbar connects wirelessly to a Wi-Fi network and it can be used in conjuncture with Echo or Alexa to provide an additional layer of convenience through voice-control commands. The Sonos Playbar can be wirelessly synchronised with other Sonos speakers which means that users can enjoy fully synchronised music from multiple speakers. By paring the soundbar with Sonos Ones and a Sub, users can create a 5.1 surround sound system which can deliver an exceptional home theatre experience.
Overall, the SONOS Playbar delivers high quality audio with a balanced response across all frequencies which creates an impactful listening experience that does justice to multiple genres of music and bring out subtleties in movies and films.
#4 Best Bass: Bose Solo Home Theater Soundbar
Features: Crystal clear sound, crisp highs, detailed midrange and deep bass
Connections: Bluetooth connectivity, optical audio input, coaxial audio input, 3.5mm aux
What we liked: Dialogue mode, wireless Bluetooth connectivity, universal remote
View Full Specs: Bose Solo Home Theater Soundbar
The Bose Solo 5 is a single sound bar which provides better sound quality for any TV or home cinema system. The Solo 5 has been specially engineered to deliver high quality audio for films, rendering clear and powerful audio across the whole frequency spectrum. The dialogue mode brings out the speech by enhancing the associated frequency bands while diminishing the others, making the human voice easier to be distinguished in the film.
The Bose Solo 5 soundbar connects wirelessly using the reliable Bluetooth technology, also allowing smart devices to connect such as phones, tablets and laptops. The Solo 5 has multiple connectivity options including a digital optical audio input, a digital coaxial audio input and a traditional 3.5 mm auxiliary input.
Users can easily control all the options pf the sound bar using the provided remote control, enabling listeners to change the volume, bass level, Bluetooth connection and more. The speaker is lightweight and slim, so it can be placed almost anywhere in your home setup, either below or above the television to create an authentic listening experience.
#5 Best Slim Soundbar: Yamaha ATS-1070R Home Theater Soundbar
Features: Crisp dialogues, built-in subwoofers for deep bass
Connections: Bluetooth wireless, HDMI, optical and analog connection
What we liked: Ultra-slim, sleek and modern design
View Full Specs: Yamaha ATS-1070R Home Theater Soundbar
The Yamaha ATS-1070R is an ultra-slim, powerful soundbar which can seamlessly integrate in any home cinema setup. Although it has a slim design, the ATS-1070R offers powerful and punchy bass which bring to life both music and video using dual built-in subwoofers. It has been engineered to provide clear audio across all frequencies and deliver a balanced sonic experience. The speaker also performs very well in enhancing the human voice and ensuring dialogue clarity.
The Yamaha ATS-1070R soundbar has multiple connectivity options depending on user preference. It can connect to both televisions and other devices without much hassle of changing between them. The ATS-1070R is Bluetooth enabled, meaning it can easily pair with other Bluetooth devices, generally tablets, phones and laptops.
For TV connections, the soundbar can connect using an HDMI cable, a digital optical input or a traditional analogue connection. The sleek and slim design of the speaker makes it easy to integrate in an existing home setup, either placing the ATS-1070R above or below the television, giving the impression that the sound comes from the events happening on screen.
#6 Mini Home Theater System: Polk Audio MagniFi Home Theater Soundbar
Features: Full-range sound, wireless soundbar and soundwoofer system
Connections: Wireless Bluetooth streaming, HDMI inputs
What we liked: Immersive sound quality with 5.1 Dolby Digital coding
View Full Specs: Polk Audio MagniFi Home Theater Soundbar
The Polk Audio MagniFi is a home theatre system which provides powerful, enveloping audio while being compact in size. It is equipped with powerful drivers which produce exceptionally clear sound. Using Polk’s patented SDA audio technology, the soundbar, which is just over 30 centimetres long, alongside the subwoofer can bring room-filling surround sound, enhancing any movie-watching experience. The integrated Voice Adjust Technology allows users to control voice levels and maximizing the sound clarity by manipulating the frequency contents associated with human speech.
The MagniFi is equipped with multiple modes for films, music and sports, each having a different setting and balancing the produced sound accordingly. The sound system can be connected wirelessly to a Wi-Fi network, allowing users to stream music from their preferred service such as Pandor and Spotify.
This home theater soundbar system is compatible with Google Cast and it is easy to set up, the installation taking up only a few minutes using the Google Home application. The speaker system can easily connect to the television using an HDMI cable, and it is also Bluetooth compatible, making it easily accessible for mobile devices such as phones, tablets and laptops.
#7 Best Budget: VIZIO SB3851 Home Theater Soundbar
Features: Complete 5.1 channel true surround sound with great audio performance
Connections: Wireless Bluetooth connection, auxiliary inputs
What we liked: Comes with a soundbar app for easy controls and touchscreen mode
View Full Specs: VIZIO SB3851 Home Theater Soundbar
The Vizio SB3851-D0 Smart Cast is a surround sound system designed to bring a genuine cinematic experience into anyone’s home. It is a complete 5.1 setup composed of a central sound bar, a subwoofer and 2 satellite speakers which can be placed anywhere due to their small size. It blasts out audio to an impressive volume of 101 dB, which is more than enough to fill a medium to large-sized room.
The subwoofer produces frequencies as low as 50 Hz which are able to The sound system produces clear and high quality audio even at full volume, with less than 1% total harmonic distortion. The soundbar’s design is ideal to be placed below or above a television to give the impression that the sound is produced by events happening on screen.
To provide users with a high level of convenience, the Vizio SB3851-D0 SmartCast has an application which turns any mobile application into a remote controller, enabling people to control the system form a distance. The application offers a multitude of controls over the volume and playback, as well as many others.
#8 Best Design: Yamaha YAS-108 Home Theater Soundbar
Features: DTS Virtual 3D surround sound, sleek design
Connections: Bluetooth streaming, HDMI, optical and aux connections
What we liked: Clear voice for enhanced dialogue clarity, virtual sound
View Full Specs: Yamaha YAS-108 Home Theater Soundbar
The Yamaha YAS-108 sound bar renders powerful and high quality audio suitable for enhancing anybody’s experience when listening to music or watching films. The soundbar produces impressive, powerful bass even though it is very slim by design. It’s equipped with built-in subwoofers and tweeters that together render sound with a balanced frequency response suitable for multiple music styles and movies.
The YAS-108 home theater sound bar is capable of emphasizing human speech by boosting specific frequencies, ensuring the dialogue is clear and cuts through any additional sounds. It is DTS Virtual enabled, allowing for 3D virtual surround sound from a single unit. It connects to any Bluetooth-enabled device by establishing a reliable connection that poses no transmission issues and has a range of up to 10 metres.
The sound bar can connect to 2 devices simultaneously and switch between the 2 seamlessly depending on which one streams audio last. It can connect to a television in a multitude of ways, including through HDMI, digital optical cable or traditional analogue auxiliary connection. The design of the soundbar allow it to be placed both below or above the television to give the impression that the sound is produced by events on screen.
#9 Most Compact: ZVOX SB380 Home Theater Soundbar
Features: Three 2” full range speakers, one 4” subwoofer
Connections: Standard TV connections
What we liked: Features a four-digit display, elegant aluminium cabinet
View Full Specs: ZVOX SB380 Home Theater Soundbar
The ZVOX SB380 sound bar has been designed to bring a high quality audio experience for movies which are on par to an experience at the cinema. It is able of producing room-filling 3D sound from a single, slim aluminium cabinet using state-of-the-art technology. The integration of the AccuVoice feature ensures ultra-clear dialogue by implementing techniques used in hearing aid technology which put an emphasis on human speech through psychoacoustics.
The SB380 features a built-in subwoofer which renders powerful bass that’s enhanced by digital signal processing algorithms. The unit provides overall great sound quality which is characterised by a balanced frequency response which make this device suitable not only for films, but for music, video games and other types of media as well.
The slim design of the sound bar makes it suitable to be placed both below and above the television, giving users the impression that the sound is produced by events happening on screen. The Output Leveling features uses a complex process that compresses audio in such a way that quiet sounds are brought up and loud sounds are toned down, useful when loud commercials interrupt films.
#10 Best Sound Quality: Bose 700 Home Theater Soundbar
Features: Full-range sound, crystal clear sound and good bass response
Connections: Integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connection
What we liked: Bose music app for simple setup, slim design
View Full Specs: Bose 700 Home Theater Soundbar
The Bose Soundbar 700 is designed to be modern and sleek, fitting well with any existing home setup and delivering high quality sound for any kind of media. For an added layer of convenience, the soundbar has Alexa functionality built-in which enables it to be voice controlled, allowing users to play a song, playlist, change the volume, all using their voice.
This home theater soundbar is equipped with an 8 microphone array for guaranteed voice pickup. The Soundbar 700 connects to any available Wi-Fi network and allows users to play music directly from their favourite streaming service such as Spotify or similar. In addition, the soundbar is also compatible with bluetooth-enabled devices, allowing users to pair their smartphone, tablet or laptop to the speaker creating a dedicated connection which is reliable and has a range of up to 10 metres.
The Soundbar 700 can also be controlled with the Bose music mobile application or a universal remote. The experience can be further enhanced by adding the Bose bass module and surround speakers to create a comprehensive home theatre system.