Top Soundbars 2023

The LG SP8YA is very good for mixed usage. With its room correction feature turned on, it offers a bass-heavy sound profile that adds extra thump and punch to your audio, so you feel the rumble in bass-heavy music and action-packed movies. Many sound customization features are also available, and it supports Dolby Atmos content. However, it has to downmix surround content into stereo to play it, which doesn't sound very immersive.

The Samsung HW-Q700A is good for mixed usage. It has a pretty balanced mid-range that can reproduce vocals and lead instruments clearly. However, it struggles to reproduce a thumpy, punchy bass, which can be disappointing if you like bass-heavy music and action-packed movies. It supports Dolby Atmos, though, which is handy for movie fans. However, it has to downmix surround content into stereo to play it, which isn't as immersive-sounding.

The TCL Alto 3 is bad for mixed usage. Its uneven sound profile is lacking a lot of low bass, but its balanced mid-range is suitable for vocal-centric content like TV shows. Due to its small size, it doesn't get very loud. It also doesn't support Atmos content, and it downmixes surround content into stereo, which isn't as immersive.

The Vizio Elevate 5.1.4 is very good for mixed usage. This versatile soundbar has a balanced mid-range that reproduces voices in podcasts and TV shows with clarity. There's some extra boom in the bass range that helps you feel the excitement in bass-heavy music and action-packed movies. Thanks to its discrete satellites, the action in your favorite movies seems to take place all around you, resulting in an immersive listening experience.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 is a fair choice for mixed usage. It's a simple 3.0 bar that's designed for listening to stereo content, which includes most music and TV shows. Dialogue is clear in the mix, and there's a little extra punch and sparkle to bring voices and other instruments to life. You can adjust its bass and treble, too, though you don't have access to more premium tools like room correction. It's not the best choice for multi-channel content like Dolby Digital, either, since it downmixes this content into stereo.

The Bose TV Speaker is fair for dialogue-heavy TV shows and podcasts. It's a 2.0 bar, so it lacks a discrete center channel, but thanks to its balanced mids, you don't have any trouble following the action in your favorite shows. Voices are clear and detailed, and there's even a dialogue enhancement tool on hand. Since it's Bluetooth-compatible, you can stream podcasts right from your phone to the bar.

The LG SN6Y is decent for mixed usage. This 3.1 setup has a bass-heavy sound profile out-of-the-box, but it struggles to reproduce the low thump and rumble in the low-bass. However, there are bass and treble adjustments to help you customize its sound. Thanks to its discrete center, it's a solid choice for vocal-centric content like TV shows. Unfortunately, there's no Atmos support, and its surround performance isn't the most impressive.

The Samsung HW-Q60T is decent for mixed usage. Though it comes with a dedicated subwoofer, this bar struggles to reproduce a thumpy low-bass, so you don't feel the deep rumble in action-packed movies or bass-heavy music. Its surrounds performance is poor, and it doesn't support Atmos content. That said, it comes with lots of sound enhancement features to help customize it, including a graphic EQ and presets.

The Polk Audio Signa S2 is a passable stereo 2.1 soundbar. It's a fairly good upgrade from your TV speakers when it comes to watching TV shows and listening to stereo music. However, due to its 2.1 speaker configuration, it doesn't have a great immersive listening experience with surround content and doesn't support Atmos, which is disappointing for movies.

The LG SL6Y is a decently well-rounded 3.1 soundbar. While it has a dedicated subwoofer, unfortunately, its bass response is sub-par and music or movies sound bright and piercing and are lacking thump and punch. It does a good job at handling dialogue, thanks to its dedicated center channel, though the center speaker won't get as loud as some other option available. This soundbar will downmix 5.1 surround sound content to its three front speakers, but this results in sound that appears as if it's coming from in front of you and you don't get as immersive of a listening experience as soundbar systems with dedicated satellite speakers.