Top Soundbars 2023

The Vizio M-Series 5.1 (M51a-H6) system combines a soundbar with a subwoofer and two rear satellites to deliver powerful home theater audio at an affordable price.

If all you want from your reasonably compact, reasonably affordable soundbar is to put the native sound of your TV to shame, you’ve come to the right place.

The Sonos Arc is a $799 soundbar that features immersive Dolby Atmos surround sound. It offers more powerful audio than the company’s more affordable Beam soundbar, and it’s an excellent choice whether you’re already invested in the Sonos ecosystem or not.

The affordable Klipsch Bar 40 soundbar delivers solid bass depth matched with detail and clarity in the highs.

The JBL Bar 2.1 soundbar comes with a wireless sub, adjustable listening modes, and a price that feels low for the system's overall quality.

The Sony HT-CT770 is a thunderous-sounding soundbar thanks to its wireless subwoofer, but even with Bluetooth it's better with movies and games than it is with music.

Razer’s Leviathan V2 soundbar improves upon it predeccesor with fun RGB lighting and improved audio, but loses two very useful wired connections.

The Sonos Playbar is alright for mixed use. Its sound is suitable for most audio content, like vocal-centric genres like podcasts or TV shows. However, it lacks sub-bass and won't be ideal for bass-heavy music or action movies. It also has poor surround performance and it doesn't support height channels or Atmos. Still, it has a wide soundstage which can help immerse you in your movies or music. The bar gets loud but at max volume, you can hear noticeable compression artifacts, especially in the bass range.

The JBL 5.1 Bar is a pretty versatile soundbar, making it a decent choice for mixed usage. Dialogue in your favorite TV shows is clear and easy to follow, and voices and lead instruments in music sound detailed and pleasant. Its sub adds rumble in the bass, great for bass-heavy music and action-heavy movies. While it can playback surround sound, unfortunately, you can't enjoy object-based content like Dolby Atmos, which is more and more common on streaming platforms.

The Philips Fidelio is a well-equipped single soundbar that fills a room, but the sound is a little too loud.