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Reviewed/Jackson Ruckar
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Samsung’s HW-Q990C is an 11.1.4-channel Atmos soundbar whose channel count actually seems legit. Read More
Vizio's Elevate soundbar isn't our favorite for music, but its premium design and superb cinematic chops add up to great fun and fantastic value. Read More
The Vizio M-Series 5.1.2 soundbar offers solid Dolby Atmos performance at a remarkable value that most competitors just can’t match. Read More
The Sonos Arc is among the best-sounding one-piece soundbars you can buy, offering thrilling Dolby Atmos audio in a singular system that's also upgradeable. Read More
Sony’s flagship Dolby Atmos soundbar doesn’t disappoint, especially when it comes to virtual surround sound. But its price is a cause for pause. Read More
Dolby Atmos is one of the coolest and most sought-after sound formats around. It brings a new dimension to surround sound (literally) that allows supported TV shows, films, and games to engulf you in sound. But a traditional speaker setup, including ceiling-mounted or upward-firing speakers to add the “height” element of Dolby Atmos, is not only costly but may require a dedicated theater room. That’s where Dolby Atmos soundbars come in, providing a one-stop solution for exhilarating home audio.
Not all Dolby Atmos soundbars are created equal, of course, and we've tested dozens of them to find the best models whatever your limitations, from space concerns to budget. If you want the very best, the Samsung HW-Q990C (available at Amazon) is the king, offering tons of features and great performance. But there are several other good choices on our list, from the value-packed Vizio Elevate, to single-piece models like the Bose Smart Soundbar 600. Follow our list below to find your perfect Dolby Atmos solution.
The Samsung HW-Q990C delivers a truly impressive Dolby Atmos experience.
The Vizio Elevate has 18 speaker drivers making action scenes immersive and thrilling.
The Vizio M-Series 5.1.2 offers the best Dolby Atmos package for the price.
Rich, powerful sound
Hands-off interface
Sonos style and versatility
Dolby Atmos limited to newer TVs
Short on inputs
Big and heavy
Excellent virtual surround
Tons of features
Stylish design
No included subwoofer
Weak-sauce app
Fantastic Dolby Atmos
Equal parts power and musicality
Easy to adjust
Dodgy Wi-Fi setup
No HDMI 2.1 support
Clear, immersive sound
Loaded with A/V features
Upgradable
Requires a learning curve
No viable app or EQ
Great sound signature
Real, affordable Dolby Atmos
Simple setup and use
Limited settings
No Wi-Fi
Sleek, minimalist design
Versatile features
Sweet, expansive sound
Short on bass
No spare HDMI input
Missing some A/V extras
Big sound with solid Atmos
Easy setup
Excellent app
Could use a sub
No room correction
Excellent sound and features
Respectable virtual Dolby Atmos
Elegant design
So-so overhead audio
No spare HDMI input
Still no Trueplay for Android
Reviewed staff have spent over a decade evaluating soundbars—everything from simple 2.1-channel value models to the huskiest Dolby Atmos bars—in order to narrow down the picks and find the best soundbars for every buyer. Our soundbar testing is spearheaded by Reviewed's experienced team of home theater and tech experts, including Reviewed's A/V and Electronics Senior Editor, John Higgins, former Electronics Managing Editor Ryan Waniata, contributor Nick Woodard, and our former A/V Editor Lee Neikirk. All results are backed up by a rigorous rubric of testing data to ensure accuracy.
Reviewed has listened to, loved, and argued over standalone soundbars, soundbar/sub combos, speakers, and a few home-theater-in-a-box products to find the best soundbars you can buy for years.
Testing mostly involves using them as any consumer would, utilizing each bar as an audio substitute for a TV (via either HDMI ARC or optical connection), testing its Wi-Fi streaming and Bluetooth functions, and analyzing its sound modes, voice-boosting modes, setup and calibration settings, and individual proprietary features.
We also conduct back-to-back analyses of sources like Netflix/Blu-ray movies, surround sound, and Dolby Atmos demo discs to ensure accuracy for height speakers and object-based 3D-sound mixes, Spotify over Bluetooth and/or Wi-Fi, and occasionally, 3.5mm aux sources and USB audio.
While the best soundbars all have different combinations of drivers, tweeters, woofers, and external subwoofers, generally, audio quality is respectable across genres and sources for the bars on our list. Performance features like surround sound speakers and, of course, Dolby Atmos/DTS:X height speakers' ability to create an effective 3D dome of sound are at the top of our list, as are factors like usability and especially value.
Other factors that set soundbars apart in like price ranges include setup and operational pain points, design aesthetics, and overall responsiveness—where the day-to-day rubber meets the road, so to speak.
In short, the point of a Dolby Atmos soundbar is to either replace a home theater speaker system with a less obtrusive device or, more simply, to replace your TV's built-in speakers with something that takes advantage of today's 3D audio formats. Dolby Atmos (and DTS:X) soundbars are designed to offer a more immersive and cinematic audio experience, adding height channels that bounce sound off your ceiling to create a vertical element of sound alongside the horizontal. How well they do this, and how easily they are to incorporate into the average home are extremely important factors to our evaluation.
Soundbars aren't your only option for improving your living room/home theater audio, but they're generally the most affordable and convenient. If you don't have the ability to build out a dedicated home theater room, or simply don't want to shell out the considerable funds it requires to install a surround system complete with a receiver and mounted speakers in your home, a Dolby Atmos soundbar is a simplified way to greatly improve your audio experience.
Soundbars that support true surround sound may offer separate "satellite" speakers that can be set behind you in a multi-channel configuration. There are also bars that offer "virtual surround" that use digital processing and acoustic trickery to make it sound like there are speakers all around the room. In general, the more speakers that "surround" you, the better the effect. In some cases, such as with bars from Sonos, Sony, and Bose, satellite surround speakers can even be added later for an additional cost.
The soundbars on this list all support 3D audio formats like Dolby Atmos and some also support the less common DTS:X to take things even further. The vast majority add upfiring speakers in the bar and potentially in surround speakers (either 2 or 4), which can bounce sound off the ceiling so that it appears to be coming from above. The goal? Immersing you in a hemispheric globe of sound.
While they only reach their full potential when fed content mixed in 3D audio formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, these soundbars offer the most immersive sound field, bringing you even closer to what you'll experience in a high-quality theater. It's also important to note that some soundbars may be Dolby Atmos or DTS:X compatible, without offering upfiring or surround speakers, meaning the 3D audio is virtualized with digital signal processing or even wave-guide technology to varying degrees of efficacy. Again, dedicated speakers for each audio channel make for the best experience
Either way, you will pay a premium for this technology, and if you want the best experience you'll likely have more speakers to spread around your TV room, so these concessions must be considered before making your choice. Those who don't want to deal with separate surround speakers may be better off with single-bar solutions such as the Sony HT-A7000 or Sonos Arc (though, again, you can add surround speakers to these bars later for a fee).
HDMI ARC and HDMI eARC are the preferred soundbar connection options, not only because these connections allow for newer TVs (around 2017 and later) to pass advanced audio formats like Dolby Atmos, but also because they usually allow you to control the soundbar's power and volume with your TV remote—without the need to program said remote. (To do this, you may need to turn on HDMI CEC in your TV's settings.)
The optical audio connection that also comes standard on virtually all soundbars can carry 2.1-and 5.1-channel surround sound, but that's where it tops out. For more advanced soundbars with Dolby Atmos (which usually includes upfiring speakers), you'll have to use HDMI ARC or eARC to pass these high bandwidth formats.
Nearly all modern Dolby Atmos soundbars have an HDMI eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel) connection rather than HDMI ARC. It is designed to provide high-quality, uncompressed audio from your TV (including the highest quality Dolby Atmos) as well as address any sync issues between on-screen video and the soundbar's audio. As HDMI eARC is becoming more common, it’s important to note its most important functions: to allow for high-resolution audio to be passed down from any device plugged into your TV, as well as to quell any sync issues that may arise between the soundbar and TV.
One last note: Dolby Atmos comes in two primary versions, one of which is higher bandwidth and, as such, higher quality. If you're concerned about getting the highest quality audio possible (including the best Dolby Atmos possible), you'll want to look for soundbars with decoding for the highest quality formats like Dolby TrueHD and, for DTS content, DTS-HD Master Audio (the latter of which is only available via physical media).
The major things to look for when shopping for a soundbar are price, audio output, and connectivity, the latter two usually being directly related to the first. If you don't want to shell out the extra cash for Dolby Atmos, satellite surround speakers, and/or a huge range of decoding/pass-thru options for advanced or lossless audio modes, you may want to check out our versatile list of the best soundbars for any budget for other options.
Tweeters refer to smaller speakers (drivers) assigned to the high-mid and high (treble) frequencies of the audio spectrum. Woofers and subwoofers refer to speakers (drivers) assigned to the midrange and bass/sub-bass frequencies of the audio spectrum respectively.
Soundbars that offer what is known as a 2.1-channel configuration or higher usually include a separate subwoofer to handle lower frequencies (which makes up the ".1" of the equation). Others may simply have a dedicated subwoofer “channel” with larger speakers built into the bar itself to handle low frequencies. This is, in almost all cases, not as effective as a separate subwoofer. A soundbar without a subwoofer or one that has built-in woofers, rather than a separate cabinet, may even be preferred in smaller apartments.
That said, if you're looking for cinematic rumble—whether for movies, TV, or video games—you'll want to seriously consider a soundbar that includes a separate subwoofer. This will greatly enhance action scenes and other dramatic moments, while also helping thinner bars fill in some of the gaps in the frequency spectrum created by their smaller drivers. There are a few cases where low-frequency sound is well-handled without a subwoofer, such as in Sonos' Arc soundbar or Sony’s HT-A7000, but for the most part, you’ll want a subwoofer to add cinematic power.
Lee was Reviewed's point person for most television and home theater products from 2012 until early 2022. Lee received Level II certification in TV calibration from the Imaging Science Foundation in 2013. As Editor of the Home Theater vertical, Lee oversaw reviews of TVs, monitors, soundbars, and Bluetooth speakers. He also reviewed headphones, and has a background in music performance.
John is Reviewed's Managing Editor of Tech. He is an ISF Level III-certified calibrator with bylines at ProjectorCentral, Wirecutter, IGN, Home Theater Review, T3, Sound & Vision, and Home Theater Magazine. When away from the Reviewed office, he is a sound editor for film, a musician, and loves to play games with his son.
Hailing originally from Montana, Ryan parlayed his time working as a musician and audio engineer into a career in digital media in 2012. Since then he's had extensive experience as a writer and editor, including everything from op-eds and features to reviews on TVs, audio gear, smart home devices, and more.
Nick Woodard is a tech journalist specializing in all things related to home theater and A/V. His background includes a solid foundation as a sports writer for multiple daily newspapers, and he enjoys hiking and mountain biking in his spare time.
Dennis Burger
Contributor
Originally a civil engineer and land surveyor by trade, Dennis has made a career of reviewing audio electronics and home automation since 2002. He lives in Alabama with his wife and their four-legged child Bruno, an 80-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who has never met a lap he wouldn’t try to fill.
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