Best Buy Surround Bar

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The key thing to know about optical is that it's restricted in bandwidth compared to ARC/eARC. So if you have the choice between the two and opt for optical, you might not be making the most of the audio decoding built into your soundbar. The most advanced immersive formats optical can handle are compressed Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 surround sound, so that means no Dolby Atmos or DTS:X.

To be fair to manufacturers, this is often at least partly due to the space limitations inherent to the slim designs of modern TVs. The problem is particularly acute when dealing with smaller sets, where the space limitations are even more problematic, but even with large TVs, all too often we find in our testing that the audio is passable at best.

Delivering Dolby Atmos from a small chassis is no mean feat, but the 2022 What Hi-Fi award-winning Sonos Beam Gen 2 achieves a convincing, immersive performance without so much as a vertical speaker in sight. Instead, when watching Atmos content, two of the soundbar's five front-facing arrays are dedicated to reproducing overhead and surround sounds. With its hefty processing power, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 uses psychoacoustic HRTF (head-related transfer function) technology to give the impression of height without needing to get vertical.

For those who want convincing 3D sound without the speakers, this is the best soundbar with a premium price tag that we've ever tested, which is why it retained its title once again at the 2022 What Hi-Fi Awards.

Produced by hi-fi brand Devialet, the Dione is a premium one-box Dolby Atmos soundbar with no options to add an external sub or rear speakers, instead relying on eight long-throw mid-woofers to deliver an impressively extended bass performance and two side-firing drivers for surround effects.

The SF150 also features Sony's S-Force Front Surround technology, which applies processing to give the acoustic impression of a more encompassing sound stage. While there is no replacement for surround sound, it adds a dramatic sense of weight and separation.

The main soundbar contains ten drivers, with left and right channels handled by two 20mm silk dome tweeters and two 52 x 99mm woofers. A pair of 50mm drivers on either end of the soundbar deliver surround side effects, while two 63mm units on the top surface supply height effects for immersive sound formats.

Sonically this 3.1.2 package also punches above its weight with a broad, vibrant soundstage that can easily match the cinematic scale of larger screens. It can also be easily upgraded to 5.1.2 by the addition of the SPK8 2.0 surround kit for around 130 ($180, AU$249).

Bowers & Wilkins's first Dolby Atmos soundbar is designed as a stand-alone system that delivers 3.1.2 channels of audio from a single unit, with no optional upgrades for surrounds and sub. Instead, it has dedicated subwoofer drivers on the top face alongside its verticle height drivers.

Make no mistake; the SP11RA is a big investment in terms of both money and space. The main unit clocks in at a hefty 144cm long, and the package includes a separate sub and two surround speakers. However, you'd be hard pushed to build a true home cinema system that could match the LG's 7.1.4 channels of excellent Dolby Atmos action for price and convenience.

If you want a more enveloping surround set-up, it can also connect wirelessly, via a dedicated wi-fi module, to a pair of Pulse Flex 2i speakers for surround sound and/or a Pulse Sub+ for extra bass, available for purchase separately.

With a generous 22 drivers delivering 11.1.4 surround sound, the HW-Q950A offers the greatest number of channels of any soundbar on the market right now, as well as 3D audio format support from both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.

Generally, soundbars are a single long speaker with several drivers inside but some come with external subwoofers for extra low-end extension and rear speakers for surround sound effects whereas others are compatible with other speakers from within the manufacturer's brand. If floor-shaking bass is high on your priority list then these are models you'll want to consider.

Have a think about the content you'll be viewing and the sources you'll be plugging in. If you are just watching Freeview, many of these technologies will be redundant. But if you're streaming the likes of Netflix, Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video in 4K HDR, you'll want to squeeze out the best possible audio quality to make sure your content sounds as good as it looks. For a complete overview, check out our in-depth guide on how to choose and set up a soundbar.

Below, we've rounded up the best soundbars for various budgets (if you're specifically looking for a very affordable model, check out our best budget soundbars page), or if a Dolby Atmos soundbar is more your thing, we have a page dedicated to that too. Whether you spend a little or a lot, we think that all the models recommended will up your audio game with a fuss-free setup.

We always try to be impartial and do our best to make sure we're hearing every product at its very best, so we'll try plenty of different styles of films, and TV shows that show what each soundbar is capable of with both advanced and standard audio formats. For example, if it's a Dolby Atmos soundbar, we'll use Blu-ray discs to hear its Dolby True HD performance, but we'll also check its performance with streaming services that use Dolby Digital Plus too.

The best way to connect a soundbar to your TV is with an HDMI cable. You'll need to make sure you have an HDMI port on your soundbar and an HDMI ARC port on your TV. This allows you to use a cable to connect them.

True surround sound means speakers are positioned around you. Some soundbars on this list also come with a subwoofer and two smaller rear channel speakers, meaning you can place them around your room.

However, other devices with only one soundbar claim to offer surround sound. What this means is they deliver a stereo effect, which seems more like sound is coming from different directions, but isn't.

Many of the high-end soundbars in this list also have Dolby Atmos built-in. Again, this isn't technically surround sound, but the audio tech is advanced and creates the illusion of immersive sound by bouncing sounds off the walls and ceiling around you.

If you can afford the high price tag that comes with the best Dolby Atmos soundbars, then it's worth investing in this technology. Especially if you love watching movies and want to recreate that cinematic atmosphere at home.

You generally have two options when it comes to soundbar placement: wall-mounting it, or placing in below your TV on your TV cabinet. If your soundbar is quite tall, wall-mounting may be the best option, as it could obscure the IR receiver on your TV, rendering your remote control useless.

We think the JBL Bar 1300X would suit anyone looking for a powerful and immersive soundbar option, but particularly those who are after the visceral excitement that the best home theater systems effortlessly deliver, while also being relatively easy to setup and not becoming a burden on your living room.

As we've come to expect from Sony, there's more to this soundbar than just stereo, as good as that is. It supports both the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X elite surround sound formats (which is not something that's guaranteed with even more high-end soundbars), and Sony uses its excellent sound processing and acoustic wizardry to create a real wall of sound that stretches way beyond the limits of your TV screen, but with convincing positioning and direction of specific sounds. It might not be quite as good as the Sonos, but it's definitely up there.

Sonos has managed to cram an entire surround sound solution into its Arc soundbar. It isn't cheap, but if you're already a fan of Sonos then we think you're going to love the way this soundbar delivers really impressive surround sound.

If you're tight on space, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is the best soundbar you can buy. Its compact size means it will easily slot beneath your TV, whether you pop it on a TV stand or mount it to your wall, and a sleek design means it won't look out of place with your decor. It's compact enough to work with 32-inch TVs (just about), but it's a perfect fit with 40-inch TVs up to 50-inch TVs. 781b155fdc