Any television you buy today will have onboard speakers, but every single one can be improved with the addition of a great-sounding soundbar. With the right model, you get the benefits of a home theater system or AV receiver without having to run messy wires or take up as much space. I’ve tested hundreds of products from big-name brands over the years to help you discover the best soundbar for your needs. With Black Friday approaching there are plenty of deals available on soundbars, and definitely more to come. From cheap and cheerful models to those packed with features like Dolby Atmos, Bluetooth, built-in streaming, multiroom audio and immersive surround sound, here are my picks for the best soundbars of 2025.
Best soundbar of 2025
Factors to consider when choosing a soundbar
Everyone’s audio needs are different, so be sure to consider your unique preferences, space and listening habits. Use this guide to navigate the options and find the best soundbar for you. If you need a little extra help, check out my complete guide to how to buy a soundbar in 2025.
Budget
The most important consideration when choosing a soundbar is working out how much you can spend, and I have found there are great soundbars at every price, starting at $100. If you’re looking for more premium, feature-packed models, be prepared to spend a lot more — upwards of $3,000. I do have one rule of thumb: Once the price of a soundbar exceeds $500, you may find it more worthwhile to save for an AV receiver and speakers.
If you’re a movie buff, consider splurging on features like Dolby Atmos to bring the theater experience home. Music lovers will want to prioritize audio reproduction and multiroom or wireless streaming to fill their space with sound. Gamers should look for soundbars with dedicated gaming presets that enhance dialogue clarity and directional audio cues.
Room size
Consider your room’s size and layout. Smaller spaces, like bedrooms and offices, might be overwhelmed by high-wattage soundbars with separate subwoofers. Single-bar systems are great for smaller rooms and TVs, as their length allows for built-in stereo sound while still being compact. Larger rooms or home theater setups will benefit from more robust soundbars with additional speakers and subwoofers to produce that booming surround sound.
Also think about where you’ll place it — will it sit on an entertainment console, be mounted on a wall or fit beneath your TV? Be sure that your soundbar can physically fit in the desired space by checking the dimensions and mounting capabilities.
Audio format compatibility
Match your soundbar’s audio format to the content you enjoy most. Here are a few of the most important audio formats and their use cases to consider when choosing a soundbar:
- Dolby Atmos for 3D soundscapes with height channels that create immersive experiences perfect for movie buffs
- DTS:X for object-based audio that adapts to your specific speaker setup, ideal for home theater enthusiasts
- PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) for uncompressed digital audio commonly found on Blu-ray discs and gaming consoles
- Dolby Digital 5.1 for traditional surround sound with five speakers and a subwoofer, the standard for DVD content
- Bluetooth audio codecs (AAC, aptX, LDAC) for wireless streaming with varying levels of quality, essential for music streaming from mobile devices
Check your TV’s connection options (HDMI ARC/eARC, optical) to ensure compatibility with the soundbar you choose.
How CNET tests soundbars
CNET follows a rigorous, unbiased evaluation process for all of its soundbar testing. In the CNET AV lab, I do comparative testing, pitting similar soundbars against each other side by side.
I evaluate the sound performance of each soundbar with several different types of content, including movies, music, TV shows and games. I use several test scenes, mainly from action movies, including the opening of Mad Max: Fury Road for playback of the spatial audio standard Dolby Atmos for soundbars that support it. I also use the Thanator attack scene of Avatar (26:53) to test a system’s dynamics and detail retrieval.
CNET’s dedicated audio lab in downtown New York includes a selection of recent televisions (with HDMI eARC), plus an Apple TV 4K streamer and Roku Ultra streamer, a Microsoft Xbox Series X and an Oppo UDP-205 4K Blu-ray player. I also use Roon music software to stream to individual devices or the Oppo player as needed.
When it comes to music, I use several CNET test tracks, which you can find here in a Tidal or Spotify playlist. Tracks such as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Red Right Hand, with its deep bass notes and tenor vocals, help determine a system’s ability to track male voices in particular, without sounding congested. The song also helps with uncovering hidden details and the relative dynamics a speaker is capable of. Using both types of content — movies and music — I then grade the sound quality of each soundbar. I evaluate characteristics such as speech clarity, dynamics/volume, bass response and musical playback.
Other soundbars we’ve tested
Sonos Arc Ultra ($1,099): The high-end Sonos Arc Ultra has even better bass than the previous model, and it’s great for music in particular. Yet it isn’t as expansive-sounding as before and it costs more than the original, as well as its main rival: the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. Read my review of the Sonos Arc Ultra.
JBL Bar 500 ($600): Alongside Klipsch, JBL has long had a reputation for being a rock ‘n’ roll brand with a big sound and even bigger cabinets. During my tests, the JBL Bar 500 fulfilled both parts of the brief by pairing excellent sound with one of the largest subwoofers I’ve ever seen with a soundbar. Yet, while it includes both HDMI and networked music streaming, the JBL is missing Dolby Atmos height speakers — which is disappointing for the price. You can save yourself a lot of money by getting the even bigger-sounding Klipsch Cinema 400 instead.
Polk Signa S3 ($300): If you’re looking for a speaker that can do music as well as play the latest episode of The Last of Us, then the Polk Audio Signa S3 has a lot to offer. It’s great for accessing streaming services, as it has Chromecast built-in in addition to Bluetooth and an HDMI input. Read my Polk Signa S3 review.
Sony HT-S2000 ($298): Better in some ways than the competition and worse in others, the Sony HT-S2000 boasts a better bass response than the Sonos Beam. For its original price of $500, it missed a lot of the features of its single-bar competition, namely Dolby Atmos compatibility and Wi-Fi streaming. It can now be found on sale for closer to $300. See how it stacks up against the Sonos Beam in our Sony HT-S2000 Soundbar vs. Sonos Beam comparison.
Zvox SB500 ($400): If you’re looking for a single audio bar that’s even cheaper than the Sonos Arc, the Zvox SB500 is a great option for people who still prize sound quality. This speaker offers multiple sound mode options, tighter bass and better sound than most other single-speaker options. While it may lack the Sonos’ Wi-Fi streaming, the Zvox still includes Bluetooth connectivity for streaming audio from your phone or tablet. Read the Zvox SB500 review.
Sennheiser Ambeo Max ($3,000): The Sennheiser Ambeo is the best surround experience I’ve had from a single speaker.Without rears, the Sennheiser can make voices hover over the top of your head, even if it still can’t convince you that things are behind you.
