Price
Expand to view more details.Recommended retail price at the time of testing. We suggest shopping around where you can to find more competitive prices from retailers.
enter value/s in increments of 1 between 80 and 3999
Recommended products
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Type
Models listed as 'soundbar' do not include a subwoofer. A soundbase includes a built-in subwoofer and some models also include rear speakers.
Music quality score
Audio experts listen to two songs to assess music quality. This contributes to the stereo listening panel score.
enter value/s in increments of i between 40 and 93
Multi-channel audio quality score (movies)
Audio experts listen to 5.1 channel film audio with video in a small lounge room environment to assess multi-channel (surround sound) immersion and audio quality. This includes assessing surround sound on soundbars with less than 5.1 channels e.g. stereo, 2.1, 3.0 and 3.1.
enter value/s in increments of i between 35 and 97
HDMI inputs
Multiple HDMI inputs allows you to connect different devices into the soundbar such as a PVR, Blu-ray player or games console and switch between devices to listen to and watch on the TV.
enter value/s in increments of i between 0 and 4
Shop Ethical rating
Shop Ethical rates the environmental and social impact of the company (not the product) using independent sources. This rating is not included in our total score. N/A means there is no rating for that company.
Voice quality score
Audio experts listen to a newscast to assess voice quality and clarity. This contributes to the stereo listening panel score.
enter value/s in increments of i between 43 and 97
Ease of use score
We check how easy it is to use the connections, calibration options, on-screen and front panel displays, as well as the manual and any other instructions that come with the product.
enter value/s in increments of i between 48 and 85
Remote score
We assess the remote control to determine how easy it is to use for common functions including key size, shape, colour and grouping for ease of understanding.
enter value/s in increments of i between 30 and 90
Wall mountable
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi connections allow your speaker to be incorporated into a wireless home network to play music stored on your local drive, in the cloud or on your smart device, as long as it's also connected to your home network.
Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology that creates a spherical audio space to add a sense of height to the mix. It's designed to be more immersive than 5.1, 7.1 etc. Atmos enabled soundbars can process the signal and simulate the effect by bouncing audio off the walls and roof.
Automatic room calibration
A microphone and clever smarts is used to identify the angling needed to recreate the surround sound experience. The soundbar companies call it automatic room calibration.
Availability
A Similar model is identical in most aspects except for a few. This means that a majority of its test results are identical so you can reasonably expect to get the same results from the model we tested, but for those aspects which aren't identical, we'll note these as "Not Tested" in the Compare tables.
A Tested model refers to a model that is still current and available in the Australian market. You should be able to order this model through your local retailer, or find it online.
These models can't be found in retailers or online or are no longer manufactured. You may still find these models on second hand websites, or in second hand dealers. Test methods may change over time, so criteria which can't be directly compared will contain an N/A.
An Identical model is exactly that. Performance characteristics will be identical and the only difference will be something trivial such as colour, which won't have an impact on performance.
These are models we haven't yet tested but that are available.
Included in this review
- Recommended
- CHOICE Expert Rating
- Music quality score
- Voice quality score
- Multi-channel listening panel score
- Ease of use score
- Remote score
- Standby energy score
- Good points
- Bad points
- Price
- Shop Ethical rating
- Annual standby energy cost
- Month and year tested
- HDMI-ARC support
- Video switching
- Bluetooth
- NFC
- Wi-Fi
- Dolby Atmos
- DTS X
- Alexa support
- Google Assistant support
- HDMI input
- Automatic room calibration
- Wall mountable
- Wireless subwoofer
- Wireless surround speakers
- Subwoofer speaker orientation
- Multi-channel claim
- Internal speakers
- Soundbar dimensions (cm, H x W x D)
- Subwoofer dimensions (cm, H x W x D)
- Soundbar weight (kg)
- Subwoofer weight (kg)
- Country of origin