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Soundbar reviews

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Last updated: 24 January 2024
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Checked for accuracy by our qualified fact-checkers and verifiers. Find out more about fact-checking at CHOICE.

A soundbar can help your TV deliver better sound without the need for a sizeable (and costly) home theatre set-up.

Our audio experts test every soundbar to find out which ones:

  • sound the best for music, movies and newscasts
  • are best suited to your TV and space
  • include a subwoofer and rear speakers
  • are easy to operate
  • are the most energy-efficient.
 

We've also partnered with Shop Ethical on this update to show the ratings the Ethical Consumer Group gives to each company.

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We look at soundbars with a variety of surround configurations including stereo (2.0), 2.1, 3.1 and 5.1, as well as newer models that support Dolby Atmos and DTS-X.

Our interactive comparison tool will help you find out which models have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ARC and eARC, and support for Google Assistant or Alexa. Our Recommended list will show you at a glance which soundbars come out on top.

Some manufacturers sell rear speakers as optional extras for a true surround sound experience. In this case, we conduct two tests – one on the default kit and another with the optional rear speakers. These are added to our table as two separate entries. Though we note if Atmos and DTS-X are available, we don't conduct a specific test for these audio codecs.

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Brand

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List of brands we tested in this review.

    Price

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    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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    Member only

    This test score is for members only. Join now to unlock our expert results.

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    Type

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    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

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      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 48 and 93

      Multi-channel audio quality score (movies)

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      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

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      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

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      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.

        Included in this review

        Members-only access
        • 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

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