You may not realize it, but your TV is sad. It’s sad because it wants to offer great sound with its great picture, but it’s woefully underprepared to do so. You can shop for a multi-component home theater system or a A pair of bookshelves To fix things, but if it seems like too much trouble, a Best soundbar is a good alternative. Fortunately, now is the perfect time to grab one. Below we have collected the best Cyber Monday The soundbar deals with reversing your TV. Be sure to check us out Live Cyber Monday deals tracker too.
Wired featured deals
Wired’s Black Friday 2024 coverage
Soundbar deal
If you’re after a simple and affordable audio upgrade, Yamaha’s SR-C20A is an option, now at a very reasonable price. It doesn’t offer conveniences like network streaming or multiroom connections, but its 100-watt power plant easily exceeds the lackluster performance your TV can expect. The 2.1-channel configuration includes dual full-range drivers and a built-in woofer for some height in the low frequencies. You’ll find a simple TV connection over HDMI, standard Bluetooth streaming, and even a 3.5-mm analog input so you can connect one. Turntable with a pre-amp And some cable fiddling.
bar 1300X (8/10, Wired recommends) is a sweet audio system that’s even sweeter with this deal. This multi-piece setup provides realistic Atmos immersion with a unique twist. The battery-powered, completely wireless surround speakers can connect to the main bar for playing and charging, or disconnect to sit behind you for versatile configurations—you can even take them outside as stand-alone Bluetooth speakers. . It’s a futuristic feature, but my favorite feature of this bar is how good it sounds, offering a huge dome of sound with 3D audio, and great musicality for streaming your tunes. I wish the app was a bit more precise for adjusting settings, but the 1300X’s performance makes up for it, bringing a cinematic punch to everything you play.
The Sonos Beam Gen 2 delivers expansive sound from a pint-sized package. It’s not big on bass, but it delivers frame-to-frame dialogue, an expansive soundstage, and solid music streaming prowess that almost disappears under your TV screen. It provides good Dolby Atmos virtualization, although it is more limited than bars with dedicated upfiring drivers (see Bose Smart Soundbar). The Beam’s best trick is its advanced networking skills that let it connect to other Sonos speakers in a surround configuration or whole-home audio system via the Sonos app. The app has been said to have been bugged of late, but now it’s mostly back on track. You can also stream music directly from the app to multiple services, or via AirPlay and Spotify Connect. Beam has long been one of the most popular compact bars, and it’s still a top choice.
It’s not the latest and greatest soundbar we’ve tested, but the Signa S4 (7/10, Wired recommends) is a slim bar with a relatively large wireless subwoofer that makes it great for action fans. I wish it had Wi-Fi for music streaming, but as long as you connect it to your TV, you can use the apps there for that. – Parker Hall
Bose’s Smart Soundbar (8/10, Wired recommends) is my favorite new compact soundbar thanks to its great sound and innovative new tricks. It all starts with true upfiring speakers, which Dolby Atmos helps deliver spacious immersion for TV shows and movies. Equally impressive is the bar’s new AI dialogue mode, which delivers incredible clarity in dialogue and center-channel effects. Perhaps most interestingly, you can now add Bose Open the earbuds For use in concert with bars as personal surround speakers. The app is easy to use to make basic settings or stream music, and the versatile design lets you connect other Bose speakers such as Bass module subwooferSo that you can expand the system according to your needs.
Every TV deserves better sound, and this affordable soundbar and wireless subwoofer from Yamaha is a great way to get a more cinematic experience than you’d get with a standalone bar. It’s very easy to set up with a simple HDMI eARC connection, and it brings a surprising amount of depth to content you’ve probably seen through smaller TV speakers. Its little brother, the SR-C20A, has been ours Best soundbar for most of the year, and it brings more bass at a now-discounted price. – Parker Hall
Sonos’ famous arc (9/10, Wired recommends) has received an upgrade to the Arc Ultra, which offers improved sound and some great new features. But at $1,000, it makes the regular Arc feel like the real deal, especially on sale. The Baseline Arc is still a heckuva bar, offering smooth and detailed sound, great dialogue, and enhanced Dolby Atmos immersion thanks to multiple speakers and acoustic waveguides that bounce sound around your room. It has some fun features, such as the ability to connect Ace headphones (8/10, Wired recommends) with its clever TV Swap feature, or link Sonos speakers in a surround or multiroom audio setup with the Sonos app. The app has made headlines for all the wrong reasons lately, but it seems to be mostly back on its feet, and the Arc is one of the best stand-alone bars you can buy.
Klipsch’s Flexus Core 200 (8/10, Wired recommends) is the most powerful and musical stand-alone soundbar I’ve heard at its price point. Built more like a traditional speaker system than most plastic bars, it uses MDF construction and Onkyo internals for impressive sound and responsive performance. Upfiring drivers deliver immersive Dolby Atmos performance, and woofers punch deep into the mid-bass region for cinematic punch. What you won’t get here is a Wi-Fi connection, limiting streaming to Bluetooth, but as the bar’s name implies, you can still add surround speakers or a large sub from the Flexus system. . On its own, the Core 200 won’t give you the full boom of bars with a separate subwoofer, but if you value sound quality above all else, it’s a good choice.
Photo: Sonos
ray (9/10, Wired recommends) is a uniquely small Sonos offering, but the smallest bar on the list is a good choice for the right buyer. It’s the cheapest soundbar I’ve seen with these kinds of network capabilities, allowing you to connect over Wi-Fi and enjoy all the spoils of Sonos, including more in a whole home audio system. Includes linking to Sonos speakers. The trade-off is that, unlike almost all soundbars we test, the Ray connects to your TV via an optical connection rather than HDMI. That means it can’t automatically work with your TV remote (although most remotes can be programmed), and it doesn’t even come with its own remote, leaving only the Sonos app as an option. If you don’t mind these limitations, the Ray is the fastest bar of its size, delivering powerful, clear and musical sound in a profile that barely registers.
ZVox AccuVoice has digital processing technology that makes sounds clearer, making it a great choice for people with hearing loss. There are 12 levels of voice boosting to choose from. This is the best price we’ve seen all year. –Lauren Stramp
Photo: JBL
JBL Bar 1300x (8/10, Wired recommends) has detachable wireless surround speakers. Speakers usually sit on either side of the soundbar, but you can take them out and move them around for more immersion. The sound will calibrate itself according to your setup. The speakers require recharging, so you can’t leave them on their own forever, but re-docking them between watch parties will turn them off. It’s a great option for people with limited outlets or just a deep, natural aversion to wires. –Lauren Stramp
It is The most bass-heavy soundbar system We have tried. It comes with two large subwoofers that will make the explosions sound even more explosion-y than before. There are side and rear speakers for added immersion that make playing video games extra fun, and there’s support for formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Just keep in mind that this system runs large, so it’s not ideal for tight spaces. (You’ll probably nod your head in a small room.) –Lauren Stramp
Photo: Song
our The preferred Dolby Atmos soundbar for gamingThis bar has impressively powerful bass, as well as support for high-resolution audio and 3D audio formats like Sony’s 360 Reality Audio and DTS:X. What makes it a standout for gaming, however, is its dual HDMI 2.1 inputs with pass-through for important features like Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). It’s not the cheapest bar out there, but these options may make it worth the investment for passionate gamers. -Kat Merc
This set of four wireless speakers (8/10, Wired recommends) is a more discreet audio system than a traditional soundbar. The thin ‘n’ thin silver rectangle blends in with any decor and can be either freestanding or wall mounted. Setup is a snap via Sony’s Bravia Connect app, and the control box connects via HDMI eARC for use with your TV remote. They’re expensive, but if you’re in the market for a contemporary soundbar option the $500-plus discount might be worth looking at. -Kat Merc
Photo: Platinum
Another speaker system (8/10, Wired recommends) that surpasses the typical soundbar, this stylish platinum setup includes five speakers and an under-sofa subwoofer. It uses WiSA technology rather than Bluetooth, and Wired reviewer Ryan Vanita notes how nice and thin the speakers are. The 5.1.2 linked here is the upgraded version featuring Dolby Atmos; Vaniata doesn’t usually recommend this over the original version because of the price, but it’s worth it at a $280 discount. -Kat Merc
