The best soundbars for TV 2024: superb cinema audio

best soundbar for movies and TV

Picking up one of the best soundbars is vital if you want better than average TV audio. While the speakers built into your big screen are perhaps perfectly serviceable, many all-in-one solutions lack the oomph of a dedicated setup, not to mention some designs mean all those wonderful cinema sounds are firing in the wrong direction. So, if your ears are craving something more while you watch your favorite movies and TV shows, you'll want to dive into our soundbar picks.

If you're looking to invest in a 4K TV to go with your new soundbar, you should familiarise yourself with our guide on the best gaming TVs, and best gaming sound systems. Once you've done so, you'll know exactly what sort of sound-add on your screen on choice might benefit more from. Not all TVs even require additional speakers, but there are plenty that could be doing with a helping hand and extra oomph.

It's also worth noting that while most of the best soundbars are designed with TVs in mind, there's nothing stopping you adding one to your gaming PC setup. Most monitors don't come with speakers built in, meaning a soundbar could serve as a slick way to add output to your rig. With that in mind, here are the models we think are worth your time and money, with options spanning across all budgets.

Q Acoustics M2 Soundbar with Built-in Subwoofer

Best budget sound bar

Specifications

Power: 80W (2 x 20W + 40W)
Speakers: 2 x 2.1
Subwoofer: Built-in
Connections: 1 x HDMI input, 1 x Optical, 1 x USB, 1 x 3.5mm, Stereo RCA,
Wireless: aptX Bluetooth with NFC
Dimensions: 550mm x 93mm x 338mm

Reasons to buy

+
Good value
+
Sturdy enough to support a TV
+
180 degree sound technology makes them whole room the 'sweet spot'

Reasons to avoid

-
2.1 only
-
Only has one HDMI port
-
Doesn't support wireless connections

The Q Acoustic M2 isn't technically a soundbar, but the sturdy sound base can comfortably support a TV weighing up to 25kg. It's sleek, compact, and offers a number of inputs. It even has Bluetooth support, making it perfect for listening to music as well as for giving your TV and movies an oopmh when it comes to audio. 

The best feature of the M2 is the 180-degree sound technology, that makes the whole room the 'sweet spot'. You don't need to be directly in front of the sound base to get the optimum sound. The 58mm mid-high BMR drivers are complemented with a down-firing subwoofer to take care of the  bass, making for a balanced sound. If you really want to ramp things up, you can turn on the MoviEQ setting for some beefed up bass for that home cinema sound. 

Philips Fidelio B5

Best for versatility, and it isn't too expensive

Specifications

Power: 120W
Speakers: 4
Subwoofer: Yes, wireless
Connections: 2 x HDMI input, 1 x HDMI output, 1 x optical, 1 x coaxial, 1 x 3.5mm
Wireless: aptX Bluetooth with NFC, AAC
Dimensions: 1,035mm x 70mm x 156mm

Reasons to buy

+
Surround sound experience
+
Detachable wireless speakers
+
Movie and Music modes

Reasons to avoid

-
High profile can obscure TV infrared sensor
-
Detachable speakers only have 5 hour battery life

The Philips Fidelio B5 bridges the gap between a soundbar and a surround set up, with detachable rear wireless speakers to create  “Surround on Demand,” taking your setup from 2.1 to 4.1. What's more, the rear speakers utilise a spatial calibration function to create the perfect sound balance, no matter where you place them in the room. Another big draw is Philips' Crystal Clear Sound, which just means that the sound source of whatever you're watching has been reproduced, letting you hear it as the creators intended. 

Those rear speakers can also function separately to the soundbar, and independently of one another, effectively giving you three speakers, with two of those being portable that you can place anywhere in the house. The wireless 6.5-inch subwoofer is a little on the tall side, but it's narrow enough to be tucked away somewhere discrete. If you want a surround sound setup, with none of the faff, this is the soundbar for you.

Sonos Playbase

Best soundbase to integrate into a growing set-up

Specifications

Power: Undisclosed
Speakers: 9
Subwoofer: Built-in
Connections: 1 x optical
Wireless: WiFi
Dimensions: 720mm x 58mm x 380mm

Reasons to buy

+
Easily integrates with other Sonos speakers 
+
Can support TVs up to 35kg
+
Great sound for movies and music

Reasons to avoid

-
Lacking connectivity options 
-
No remote control (only phone Apps)

Another sound base makes the soundbar list, with Sonos' Playbase. Large, but with a sleek and simple design, the Playbase is available in white or black, and can take up to 35kg of weight. Despite the lack of a sub woofer, there's a pleasantly surprising amount of bass. You'll find 10 amplified speaker drivers inside; six mid-range, three tweeters, and one woofer, and you can tweak the bass, treble, and loudness to your personal taste.   

For the sake of simplicity, Sonos has pared down the inputs to a single optical, and the wireless connection is WiFi only. Ideally, the Playbase is designed to integrate with the family of other Sonos devices, but the sound is robust enough that this isn't a necessity. The speaker doesn't have a remote, and is controlled with the Sonos Controller App, which lets you stream music directly to the device from most streaming services. If a minimal aesthetic and a fuss-free set-up that you can expand on as-and-when you want is your cup of tea, the Sonos Playbase will happily oblige.

Sony HT-ST5000 Soundbar

Best sound quality for bigger budgets

Specifications

Power: 800W
Speakers: 9
Subwoofer: Yes, wireless
Connections: 3 x HDMI inputs, 1 x HDMI output, 1 x optical, 1 x analog audio in/ out, 1 x ethernet
Wireless: Bluetooth and WiFI
Dimensions: 1180mm x 80mm x 145 mm

Reasons to buy

+
Dolby Atmos support
+
High Res-Audio
+
Amazing sound quality

Reasons to avoid

-
Expensive
-
Not true surround sound 

The Sony HT-ST5000 Soundbar is a little on the steep side when it comes to price, but it offers high-end that will make you feel somewhat better about blowing £1200 on a soundbar that doesn't offer surround sound. A slim build houses seven 65mm drivers, with the centre, far left, and far right drivers benefiting from centrally mounted tweeters. Two up-firing Atmos drivers also sit on either end, and this is all rounded out with a rather hefty wireless subwoofer housing a 12 x 8-inch passive radiator and forward-facing driver.

The selling-point is Sony's 7.1.2ch S-Force PRO Front Surround technology which "emulates a natural, three-dimensional sound field." The setup menu allows for further fine-tuning, letting you input your distance from the speaker, and the ceiling height, which the Atmos relies on to create that 3-D sound. If you have the money to spare, value sound quality, but want to keep your living room as uncluttered as possible, you can't go wrong with the Sony HT-ST5000 Soundbar.

Samsung HW-N950

Best surround soundbar

Specifications

Power: 512W
Speakers: 9
Subwoofer: Yes, wireless
Connections: 2 x HDMI input, 1 x HDMI output, 1 x optical,
Wireless: Bluetooth and WiFi
Dimensions: 1226mm x 83mm x 136mm

Reasons to buy

+
Dolby Atmos support
+
Wireless rear speakers
+
High quality and immersive sound

Reasons to avoid

-
Expensive

Designed for use with TV screens measuring 55" and above, the Samsung HW-N950 is a part of the manufacturer's Cinematic range, and it delivers on high quality, immersive sound thanks to Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.  The soundbar houses three front-facing speakers, left and right side-firing speakers, and two upward firing drivers, in addition to the bass-reflex design wireless subwoofer.

The soundbar can be set up and controlled using Samsung's SmartThings app, but it also features Alexa support, giving you a wider range of control options. It delivers on both clarity and bass, and is truly one of the best soundbars on the market.


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Shabana Arif
Shabana was born looking like a girl wearing a Pikachu hoodie, so when such things became popular, she fitted right in. She writes guides, reviews and features for GR+ when she isn't screaming at Dark Souls 2 on YouTube.