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Soundbar Reviews

Detailed and unbiased soundbar reviews covering wears from Harman Kardon, Pioneer, and other manufacturers. Compare models based on rating, features, wireless capability, and more.

Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus: top controls.

Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus review: an easy TV upgrade

Amazon new soundbar comes in multiple configurations and each offers a super-simple home theater upgrade for your TV.
Sony Bravia Theater Bar 8, right angle view.

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 8 review: plug-and-play Dolby Atmos

Sonos Arc Ultra and Sonos Arc.

Sonos Arc Ultra review: bigger bass, better sound, and Bluetooth too

The Sonos Arc Ultra is a worthy successor to the popular Arc, with improvements in bass, dialogue, and music quality.
Sony Bravia Theater Bar 9.

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 9 review: a bare-bones soundbar with brilliant sound

Sony's newest flagship soundbar can produce impressive sound for movies and shows, but its lack of extra features makes us question its high price.
Sony Bravia Quad Review

Sony Bravia Theatre Quad review: Big-sound dreams do come true

Your big-sound dreams can come true in a smaller package — but that doesn't mean you won't have to pay a pretty penny for it.
Klipsch Flexus Core 200: close-up on badge.

Klipsch Flexus Core 200 review: pure cinematic soundbar power

Klipsch's Onkyo-powered Flexus Core 200 is a $500 powerhouse Dolby Atmos soundbar.
Side view of the Polk MagniFi Mini AX soundbar.

Polk MagniFi Mini AX review: Tiny soundbar, giant TV sound

Polk's latest soundbar squeezes big, bold, and powerful sound into a tiny speaker. But does it do Dolby Atmos as well as other soundbars at this price?
Platin Audio Milan 5.1.4 wireless surround speakers and wireless subwoofer.

Platin Audio Milan 5.1.4 review: big Dolby Atmos sound on a budget

Dolby Atmos soundbars with four up-firing speakers tend to cost a lot, but the Platin Audio Milan 5.1.4 is only $800.
Amazon Fire TV Soundbar right side view.

Amazon Fire TV Soundbar review: surprisingly immersive

Amazon's new Fire TV Soundbar might not be an actual Fire TV device, but it delivers decent sound for the money.
Sonos Arc Dolby Atmos soundbar

Sonos Arc review: A solid soundbar for the Dolby Atmos era

The $799 Arc is Sonos' first Dolby Atmos-capable soundbar, fulfilling years of customer requests. Now that it's here, does it deliver? Here's our full review.
Zvox AccuVoice AV157 TV Speaker

Zvox Accuvoice AV157 review: TV dialogue loud and clear

Zvox's $300 AV157 may not look like much compared to bigger, fancier soundbars, but it can do the one thing they can't: Clarify hard-to-understand dialogue.
Close-up of Bose Smart Soundbar 600.

Bose Smart Soundbar 600 review: bigger than its body

Don't let its small size fool you — this soundbar delivers massive, immersive sound.
Ambeo indicator: Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus.

Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus review: you won’t believe your ears

The wait is over: Sennheiser has made a smaller and more affordable Ambeo soundbar that still delivers some of the best virtual Atmos sound you can get.
Vizio M213AD-K8 M-Series AiO Sound Bar Review

Vizio M-Series All in One soundbar review: a real all-in-wonder

Vizio's latest affordable soundbar is an all-in-one powerhouse for under $200. Find out if it delivers the goods.
Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini - Dolby Atmos indicator.

Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini review: Dolby Atmos for your bedroom

The Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini has impressive virtual Dolby Atmos, but its high price, middling bass response, and lack of expansion options give us pause.
Nakamichi Dragon Surround System Review

Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6 home surround sound system review: bringing the fire

Nakamichi has unleashed the Dragon 11.4.6 surround system and I put it through its paces to see if the Dolby Atmos system really is the stuff of legend.
Sony HT-S2000 in front of a TV.

Sony HT-S2000 soundbar review: Sony trades smarts for bigger audio

You don't get many features, but Sony's Dolby Atmos sound is superb, making the HT-S2000 a truly immersive one-speaker system.
Razer Levithan V2 Pro sitting on a desk.

Razer Leviathan V2 Pro review: AI for your ears

The Razer Leviathan V2 Pro has very impressive AI head tracking capabilities, but its high price and experimental tech definitely isn't for everyone.
Apple HomePod 2023

Apple HomePod (2nd Gen) review: two is better than one

One second-generation Apple HomePod is great. But it really starts to shine when you put two of them together.
The Samsung Q990B soundbar sitting lengthwise in front of a Samsung S95B OLED TV

Samsung HW-Q990B soundbar review: the best Dolby Atmos soundbar system

Truly great cinematic sound out of a one-box soundbar solution? Samsung's Q990B Atmos soundbar challenges the very concept of what a soundbar can do.
Vizio M-Series Elevate Soundbar (M512E-K6)

This Vizio Dolby Atmos soundbar system defines bang for your buck

Does getting Dolby Atmos sound in your home get any easier than the Vizio M-Series Elevate 5.1.2 soundbar system? We have the answers.
Angled view of The Sonos Ray soundbar in white.

Sonos Ray soundbar review: The start of something awesome

The Sonos Ray might be smaller and cheaper than its soundbar siblings, but it packs a surprising punch and can become the basis of a great home theater system.
Polk React Soundbar

Polk React soundbar review: Affordable, expandable, and smart too

Finding a soundbar that sounds great, doesn't break the bank, and yet can be expanded as your needs grow isn't easy. But the $250 Polk React is all three.
Klipsch Bar 40 review

Klipsch Bar 40 soundbar review

Klipsch’s Bar 40 does its namesake proud when it comes to both style and sound, with a great look and impressively clear performance. But those seeking loads of features may want to look elsewhere. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know so you can make the best decision for your budget.
yamaha yas 203 review yas203 hero

Yamaha YAS-203 review

While it may not be the most powerful or feature-packed bar in the Yamaha family, when it comes to sheer dollar to performance value, few outpace the YAS-203.
Klipsch R-20B main 1

Klipsch R-20B review

The R20-B may be a step up from the model before it, but more sub, more drivers, and more money doesn’t always equal more performance.
Pioneer SP-SB03 Andrew Jones speaker base review 1

Pioneer Andrew Jones SP-SB03 Speaker Base review

While it isn’t without a couple of quirks, Pioneer’s first sound platform has been expertly tuned to offer cinematic excellence, and great music playback to boot, putting it at the head of the class.
Yamaha SRT-1000

Yamaha SRT-1000 review

Yamaha ups the ante (and the price point) for the sound platform genre with a model bearing its effective Sound Projector technology, the SRT-1000. And while powerful bass and clean treble highlight its sound signature, a lack of features steals some of its thunder.
Yamaha YSP2500

Yamaha YSP-2500 review

At the entry point of Yamaha’s top-tier, the YSP-2500 sound projector earns its lofty price-point with a wealth of features, ample detail, and a vivid expanse of virtual surround sound that elevates the home theater experience.
Klipsch R10B main

Klipsch Reference R-10B review

As Klipsch's new 'Reference' sound bar, the R-10B promises premium components and sound performance for its manageable price tag. While it leaves a few features behind, the system delivers, offering a wealth of power and clarity for the price.
Pinnacle Theater One 2.1 Soundbase

Pinnacle Theater One 2.1 review

The Theater One 2.1 is a coffee table-sized sound base that aims to beef up your TV’s audio while serving as its stand. It will hold up to a 65-inch TV, but how does the sound hold up?
Sony HT XT1 phone scale

Sony HT-XT1 review

While the sound bar has long been the go-to solution when it comes to a simple way to upgrade your TV’s audio, Sony’s new XT1 proves a sound base can pack a whole lot into a tiny box, and at a great price, to boot.
Vizio soundbar set

Vizio S5451w review

Vizio continues to excel in the sound bar category with its latest effort, bringing supersized 5.1 surround sound that trounces most one-box solutions.
Philips HTB3525B top angle 2

Philips HTB3525B review

Philips brings a little bit of everything to its new Blu-ray surround base. With 3D Blu-ray playback, streaming Internet apps, and a heavy punch of sound, the HTB3535B is an enticing choice for those who need a major technology upgrade.

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Former Senior Editor, A/V

John Higgins is Digital Trends’ former Senior Editor and section lead for A/V. After receiving his Bachelor in Music with an Audio Production focus from Ithaca College and Master of Music in Keyboard Collaborative Arts from the University of Southern California, he began working for Home Theater Magazine in 2003. His time in the print and online publishing world has been spent as a writer, editor, copy editor, researcher, and test lab technician. Before joining Digital Trends, Higgins was the Managing Editor of Tech at Reviewed, part of the USA Today network, where he led the website’s tech coverage. He has previously written for Wirecutter, IGN, Projector Central, T3, Sound & Vision, and Home Theater Magazine covering projectors, televisions, headphones and earbuds, sound bars and speakers, and monitors. He is a yearly attendee at CES and an ISF level 3 certified calibrator.

In addition to his career in publishing, Higgins has been a professional musician since the late 90s, having performed on piano in solo recitals, as a collaborative partner with various singers and instrumentalists, and with the Pacific Symphony. He also is an accomplished guitarist and, with his pop/rock band, has played such hallowed L.A. venues as the Troubadour, Roxy, Viper Room, and House of Blues. For 10 years, he was a teacher and music director at a private school in Los Angeles, and following his teaching career spent some time in the film industry as a post-production sound editor and composer.

Originally from just outside Boston, Higgins has been a Los Angeles resident since 2001 where he lives with his wife, son, two rescue dogs, and parrot. When not working, he spends his time watching TV shows about cooking and serial killers, preparing for his next D&D session, ignoring the growing list of games in his Steam gaming library, and building Legos with his son.