Soundbars: What to know before you buy

Soundbars: What to know before you buy

A soundbar is one of the best upgrades you can make to your TV, but there are so many to choose from. Here’s what you should know and a selection of excellent soundbars hand-picked by CNET editors.

You can see the products featured in this video here 👇
Sennheiser Ambeo https://bit.ly/31pTSua
Sonos Arc https://bit.ly/2ZP5W87
Vizio V21 https://bit.ly/3DjUYoO
Roku Streambar https://bit.ly/3ry4aDI
*CNET may get a commission from these offers.

Read about all the best soundbars here:
https://www.cnet.com/tech/home-entertainment/best-soundbar/

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50 Comments

  1. AJ H on January 17, 2022 at 7:49 pm

    Not sure why this is titled "What to know before you buy". It clearly should be titled "Soundbars we want you to buy because we’ll get commission".

  2. Munyaradzi Marumahoko on January 17, 2022 at 7:50 pm

    Don’t buy Vizio. You have been warned. Their soundars are plagued with firmware issues.

  3. Zach M on January 17, 2022 at 7:50 pm

    Vizio V51 was an amazing deal from Costco … It was like $180 and includes the subwoofer and rear surrounds… Based on what I’ve seen the Dolby Atmos from most sound bars is ineffective compared to actual speakers so why spend the extra money

  4. Avneesh Seth on January 17, 2022 at 7:51 pm

    Bose soundbars are a lot better than Sonos. Specially the 900 is leaves ahead of the arc.

  5. xuxon24 on January 17, 2022 at 7:52 pm

    Almost everytime there is a video like this always the purists appear with the don’t buy a soundbar just get a bookshelf speakers or get a proper home theater but that’s not good for everyone. First a proper home theater with atmos support will more than likely cost you like 2 or 3 times more than a top of the line soundbar, if you don’t have the technical knowledge you’ll had to pay for the installation and that’s more money on top of that you need to wire everything and that can be a nightmare for a first install. Now you can easily get good sound for less than 1000 and awesome sound for less than 2000 in the soundbar category. If you feel you need more and are ready to pay get a proper home theater it would be the best.

  6. videojomo on January 17, 2022 at 7:53 pm

    (me, surrounded by filing cabinet-sized speakers)
    Where were you when I was young and naive?!

  7. alfblack2 on January 17, 2022 at 7:54 pm

    whao. im surprised LG soundbar didnt make the cut.

  8. BreakTime101 on January 17, 2022 at 7:54 pm

    HDMI ARC does not support Dolby Atmos, HDMI eARC does though.
    Google cast lets you send audio to other Google speakers.

  9. Aristotle Kumpis on January 17, 2022 at 7:55 pm

    What about the Bose 700 system? I’ve always liked the Bose sound. $800 with a sub. And it sounds pretty good.

  10. Adam R on January 17, 2022 at 7:55 pm

    Another option for folks with an Apple TV 4K is a pair of HomePod Minis. When they are on sell you can get them for under $200 total.

  11. Christopher Heard on January 17, 2022 at 7:56 pm

    I’ve fully invested in the Sonos ecosystem. I’ll be looking to add the Arc to my Living Room to replace my Playbase. Then i’ll be moving the Playbase to the guest bedroom and keeping my Beam in my master bedroom. Their integration is just top notch.

  12. Evan Ang on January 17, 2022 at 7:57 pm

    Is the creative sonic carrier a good sound bar?

  13. andykillsu on January 17, 2022 at 7:57 pm

    This is one of the most terrible sounds videos I have seen. Not only did you get things wrong about the specs of ARC, you also failed to recommend actually good soundbars like the Q950A and HT-A9. Disliked.

  14. Adrianna miller on January 17, 2022 at 7:58 pm

    Ypohgbvnx💕🧃🍰🍬

  15. 37375 on January 17, 2022 at 7:59 pm

    I hate my Klipsch sound bar the Bluetooth subwoofer is always coming disconnected and making terrible noises.

  16. Edward MacGregor on January 17, 2022 at 7:59 pm

    Is Dolby atmos better than DTS X?

  17. Dmitriy TechMix on January 17, 2022 at 8:01 pm

    You read my mind every time. Thanks for this one epic video 📸☺️

  18. Kino Villian on January 17, 2022 at 8:01 pm

    i need soundbar with low watt my room is small so dont need to loud

  19. Shivam Dhawan on January 17, 2022 at 8:02 pm

    Soundbars from Bose, Samsung, LG etc were missing. Can they be reviewed by CNET?

  20. Peter Bergman on January 17, 2022 at 8:05 pm

    These things cost more than a television

  21. NiCoOo on January 17, 2022 at 8:09 pm

    get the best one to avoid any regret, I went all the way for q950a and it blew my mind away how top end bluetooth soundbar sound just as good as wired one!

  22. QuietStormX on January 17, 2022 at 8:09 pm

    I mean do you need them? Have you checked the audio specs of your Flat screen? If you selected a Flat screen with the same or higher audio specs, you don’t need to spend $$$$ extra. Invest in a display for less then and use the sound bar audio. If you select one of these cheap Flat screens? I read both specs… Video/Audio and outputs..

  23. dankcatvacs on January 17, 2022 at 8:15 pm

    hdmi plugged in to my sony sound bar and now cant controll audio with tv remote LAME!

  24. Risy Mondal on January 17, 2022 at 8:16 pm

    Sir your recommendation is totally opposite than mine .you said ambeo doesn’t sound good with song ( I totally disagree).How come you didn’t include Samsung q950a . Vizio elevate , Klipsch cinema 1200 ,jbl 9.1 . Was it a sponsered video that’s why you didn’t include those?

  25. Doug Hill on January 17, 2022 at 8:17 pm

    Funny that you knock music on the Ambeo. That is literally where the soundbar shines. It absolutely cranks out amazing sounding music. You just need to set it up properly. The Ambeo is one of, if not the, best soundbars for music (and movies, and TV…).

  26. bigbadbob143 on January 17, 2022 at 8:18 pm

    I am just simply looking for a soundbar that can lower the background music or raising the voices on tv shows. Lowest price possible. The SONUS ARC has this feature, but way over my budget. Any thoughts?

  27. Eric ten Westenend on January 17, 2022 at 8:19 pm

    Bluesound pulse?

  28. AP on January 17, 2022 at 8:22 pm

    If Apple ever makes a TV, you can bet that their speakers will probably blow us away. But an actual TV from Apple is just wishful thinking, especially when we got faked out and they gave us a streaming box 😂

  29. DosBear on January 17, 2022 at 8:24 pm

    I just purchased a Hisense soundbar with built in sub woofer for 88 bucks after shipping and taxes on Amazon (Canadian) and am very pleased with it. Was a Boxing Day sale. Has ARC/HDMI, bluetooth, bass control, dimmer for lcd so for the price you can’t really go wrong. It also shuts off automatically if you don’t use the sound for a certain length of time which is a good feature I’d say. I wouldn’t listen to the negative reviews on it anyway. Also got a 65" RCA WebOS smart TV for 600 after taxes and shipping from Walmart which saved me 150 bucks. Happy with it as well as it has the necessary ARC/HDMI input/output. The sound on the TV wasn’t the greatest which is reason I went with added soundbar which turned out to be a great decision.

  30. Abdulaziz Abdullah on January 17, 2022 at 8:27 pm

    I needed thia video a month ago 😂

  31. MBJ920 on January 17, 2022 at 8:28 pm

    If you have a new Samsung QLED, I suggest going with a Samsung Q series soundbar to get extra features such as Q symphony (adds the use of TV speakers to your sound bar at the same time), acoustic beam (object tracking on screen), and a room scanner (to adjust sound to your room’s layout and furniture placement).

  32. CNET on January 17, 2022 at 8:28 pm

    You can see the products featured in this video here 👇
    Sennheiser Ambeo https://bit.ly/31pTSua
    Sonos Arc https://bit.ly/2ZP5W87
    Vizio V21 https://bit.ly/3DjUYoO
    Roku Streambar https://bit.ly/3ry4aDI
    *CNET may get a commission from these offers.

  33. Leo saggi on January 17, 2022 at 8:29 pm

    What about bose 900 @cnet?

  34. Joe Baron on January 17, 2022 at 8:30 pm

    Always wondered what ARC was on the HDMI – thanks! Last time I looked at sound bars there was so much variance in price and functions that I bought a milky bar instead – saved me a few hundred quid! Makes a lot of sense that streaming and speaker tech converges: makes things more invisible; less gadgets to plug in and power, less remotes etc. Might have another look!

  35. Tanweer Majid on January 17, 2022 at 8:31 pm

    No Bose sounbar?

  36. lakorai2 on January 17, 2022 at 8:35 pm

    They suck. Get a receiver and speakers. That is all you need to know.

  37. Ευαριστος Martīnus Jr on January 17, 2022 at 8:35 pm

    Personally the best Soundbars are the one’s that have Sub output because you can add a powerful Subwoofer to the soundbar yes you’ll spend more but you’ll also get a lot more in return unfortunately not many soundbar’s have this feature but I know Klipsh Vizio do .

  38. HAREESH MOOKKIYATH on January 17, 2022 at 8:40 pm

    can you please suggest me a soundbar budget friendly and best surrond sound and dolby atmos .im using Philips uhd 50 inch 4k TV dolby atmos supporting.

  39. Felix Five on January 17, 2022 at 8:40 pm

    Oops I just bought a couple of cheap Sony Soundbars…. And their sound is great. They just work, have ARC and heaps of bass.

  40. Mauro Contreras on January 17, 2022 at 8:41 pm

    Got a samsung sounbar free with my samsung hd led tv about 8 years ago, it came with a wireless subwoofer and had an hdmi arc input. Now upgraded to a 4k LG tv and im still using it. Interesting as the technology for soundbars really didn’t change that much.

  41. LonkiGames on January 17, 2022 at 8:41 pm

    Im just scared of adding extra input lag or limit the capability’s of my LG CX

  42. G B on January 17, 2022 at 8:44 pm

    Music doesn’t sound great on the Ambeo…? I’d check your Ambeo settings… or something is definitely wrong…

  43. Diego2thebay on January 17, 2022 at 8:44 pm

    I never understood this website when it comes to audio. They have no problem recommending a soundbar for $2500 off the rip but when it comes to their list of "best" av receivers they won’t ever look at anything past $600. 🤦🏽‍♂️

  44. Jeff Eison on January 17, 2022 at 8:45 pm

    I use an old CRT as my main television, and the built in speakers are amazing, and I don’t really think a sound bar will add too much. It would be nice to have one for my computer monitor though.

  45. Kal-El The Last on January 17, 2022 at 8:45 pm

    🤔..

  46. S D on January 17, 2022 at 8:45 pm

    Its been a decade just to get clarity

  47. Vincent Simon on January 17, 2022 at 8:46 pm

    Bunch if trach. Wait for a pair of ANALOG. Pioneer or KLH.

  48. Tone Loc on January 17, 2022 at 8:46 pm

    I’m looking for soundbar that will work with fire tv stick 4k max

  49. Edward MacGregor on January 17, 2022 at 8:46 pm

    I also heard that Netflix and prime doesn’t support DTS X do you know if that’s true?

  50. Zachary Procter on January 17, 2022 at 8:47 pm

    Where is the link to buy the Vizio M512A-H6? how are you gunna advertise it and put a link with the rest of the products?

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